["The Ghent Altarpiece: Singing Angels "detail), Jan van Eyck, 1432]
I was praying the Rite of Exorcism a few days ago and got to the line: "Let the joy of peace enter him/her." This is the deprecatory prayer of the Rite which asks God to intervene. In this case, we pray for God to bring joy and peace to the possessed person's life. I was a bit surprised by the demonic reaction- they definitely didn't like it!!!
Similarly, in another difficult case, I noticed that whenever the possessed person had a positive experience and actually felt good for a moment, the demons attacked her and tried to destroy those good feelings. I have begun to realize that demons not only don't want us to experience joy, they themselves don't want it. Joy is repugnant to them.
Theologians tell us that the angels were given infused knowledge of all that would result if they rejected God, but Satan and his followers did so anyway. They willingly chosen misery and darkness. Now demons try to make us miserable like themselves. If the possessed soul they are inhabiting has moments of joy, it is an unwanted and odious experience for the demons present and they try to quash it.
Sadly, we can see similar dark choices in humans such as seeking highs and mystical experiences in drugs, illicit sex, kundalini "enlightenment," witchcraft, the occult, and a variety of other substitutes for the true source of joy and peace.
One of our clients had been involved in the occult for years searching for "enlightenment" and spiritual fulfillment. Then, she had a powerful experience of the source of real love and peace:
I was flooded with Christ’s love for me. It felt like such a personal love. No one had ever loved me like that. I got to “know” him a little bit in this experience. I perceived that there was something spiritually very different about Him than from the other spiritual experiences or other “beings” that I had had. I realized that what He said about himself is true. He is the Son of God, the Only Begotten. It left an imprint on my soul which was life-changing. I must say – if you are a new ager reading this who is searching for spiritual experiences – there is NOTHING like the spiritual experiences you can get as a Christian. Nothing. They completely renew you, change you, make you fall in love with our Creator.
Christmas is a time when we sing "Joy to the World," and when the Prince of Peace sheds an abundance of peace across the land. Demons hate Christmas. The children of God welcome it. We rejoice- the true source of joy and peace that we long for is at hand. May the joy of peace enter you. May it grow and deepen for an eternity.
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[Click here to listen to: "Joy to the World" (The Chosen)]
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