THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Third Sunday in Lent

8 March 2026

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The Sunday

Sermon

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Dear Friends in Christ,

In today's Gospel reading (Luke 11:14-28), Jesus casts out a devil and is accused of casting out devils in the name of devils. After pointing out just how ignorant, foolish, or malicious such an accusation is, Jesus instructs us in the ways of demons.

Demons are not like so many humans who give up after their first failure. The devil that has been cast out goes looking for another soul to bring down with him into Hell. If he cannot find another, he returns to the first soul that he was cast out from, looking for another way in. He will not just walk away and give up. He brings forth every effort that he can and even employs the help of other demons.

The persistence of the demons is truly something that we need to understand, but this is not all. The devils existed before the creation of humankind. They watched us and studied us from the beginning of time. They know more about our human nature than we do. They know our temperaments, our weaknesses, and our strengths.

They are not God and do not know everything, but they are intelligent beings with much more experience than any of us have or will attain on this earth; they have greater intellects that are not hindered as we are. They have acquired a living data set of humanity from the beginning to the present moment. They will continue to add to this until the end of time. Through countless tests or experiments, if you will, they know what temptations work on various human temperaments, and which ones do not.

They, in addition to persistence, intelligence, or knowledge, have cooperation in the demonic kingdom for the destruction of souls. Their hatred of us knows no bounds. As long as we are on this earth, the demons will use every method that they can to bring about our eternal ruin and join us with them in the eternal fires of Hell. In addition to all this, they have the permissive Will of God that allows this constant and unrelenting assault upon the souls of men (Recall God granting the demon permission to assault Job).

The demons are not beings to be toyed with or entertained in the least. On our own, we never stand a chance in a battle against one or more demons. But, herein lies our greatest defense or strength. God told Saint Paul that his weakness was his strength. Our humility, our weakness, is what brings us to flee from the demons and to call out to God for help. The pride, vanity, strength, intelligence, knowledge, etc. that the demons possess are their very weakness. Our weakness, humility, ignorance, etc., is our greatest strength in the battle against them. The demons' pride even led them to tempt Our Lord, showing us that it is their greatest weakness.

The most powerful human against these demons is the Blessed Mother of God. She is of the weaker sex. She is the least and the humblest in her own eyes. She chose to deny her own will to follow the Will of God — "Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to Thy Word." In all of these things, she is stronger than all the demons in the kingdom of Hell. It is for all these reasons that we, poor sinners, seek our refuge in her. It is in her arms or hidden in her mantle that we find a respite from the constant assaults of the demons.

When Jesus was tempted, we see that the demons were driven away because He was in complete conformity with the Father's Will. The weakness of His Human nature brought Him into complete conformity of Will with the Father. "I came not to do My own Will, but to do the Will of My father." In the Garden, He prayed: "Not My Will, but Thine Will be done." When demons sought out Jesus' mother, they found her to be strong against their assaults because of her "Fiat" — her complete love and union with God and His holy Will. If we look at any of the saints who have successfully fought against demons, we again see that strength is in weakness and humility. Not relying upon themselves, they called upon Mary to utterly humiliate and drive the demons away. They drove out the demons, not in their own name or by their own power, but every time they drove demons out in the Name of Jesus.

Devils do exist, and they are not to be played with. There are two extremes to be avoided. We should not allow ourselves to be overcome with fear of the demons to the extent that it cripples us or gives them power over us. Nor should we be so brazen or proud as to think we are smarter or better than them. To knowingly or willingly engage them is generally prideful or boastful. It is in that spirit that we are weakest and most likely to fail. Our greatest safety is to flee from them whenever possible. When this is not possible, our next tactic should be to call out to the Great Mother of God, Mary Most Holy, for her help. Only when we are completely humble and in complete conformity to the Will of God will we be able to successfully say with Jesus or in His Name: "Begone Satan!"

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us!