God Is At Work In You!: Every Step We Take Leads Us Onto the Battlefield

This time, I had skated onto the battlefield.

I am eagerly looking forward to returning to my chapel on ice. It has been a long time since I have been able to skate, and I am looking forward to giving it a try within the next several months. Here's why:

http://godisatworkinyou.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-chapel-on-ice.html

You may ask yourself, what does skating have to do with stepping, or in this case skating, out onto the battlefield? What does the ice rink have to do with spiritual warfare?

This rarely told story will explain it to you.

Five years or so ago, my children and I attended a skating party sponsored by their school one afternoon when they had a half day.

Friends met us there, and everyone was having a wonderful time.

My daughter, who was in elementary school at the time, held my hand as we skated around and around and around. At one point I turned around to skate backwards, and was still holding her hand while she continued skating forward. It is worth noting that I have never, ever fallen skating backwards, and because I had just turned around, Alyssa and I were skating very slowly.

All of a sudden, an unseen force struck me from the front with such tremendous power that I was thrown straight backwards onto the ice. I was hit so hard that when I landed on the ground, my head violently bounced off the ice. Two fathers who were skating with their children were shocked by what they witnessed, and skated over immediately to help. I remember looking up and seeing the horrified expressions on their faces.

No one expected me to be able to get up off the ice on my own, because the force of the blow and the impact with the ice were so severe. In fact, they didn't expect me to be able to get up at all.

The entire back of my head swelled immediately, and remained swollen for over a month. It is without a doubt that the Lord granted a miracle, and I was not severely hurt by the force of the impact as my head met the ice that afternoon. But that wasn't the only miracle!

I stopped skating for many weeks while my head recovered, and the change in my schedule led to an encounter orchestrated by our most loving and generous God.

Here's that story: A Pecan Roll and God's Mercy

Every step we take leads us onto the battlefield. Hand your life over to God completely, frequent the Sacraments, live in imitation of Christ, and be a channel of God's tremendous grace. Always wear your Brown Scapular, and consecrate yourself to the Blessed Virgin Mary; she offers us special protection. Get a St. Benedict Cross, have it blessed, and wear it.

Say the following prayer, often:

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host - by the Divine Power of God - cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits, who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

A very powerful weapon we have against the forces of darkness

is the Sacrament of Mercy (Confession):