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Apologetics

Expert Answer Forum

by Catherine Frakas 20 Jun 2003

Can devil tempt you by the eucharist QUESTION from Dustin Dreifuerst M.I. November 28, 1999 Dear Mr. Ignatius,
Can the Devil and demons tempt you when you're in eucharistic adoration. Is the devil able to tempt after we ingest the body of Christ and we have him in us?
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius on December 1, 1999 Dear Mr. Dreifuerst:
Yes, he can tempt you and try to distract you. Many saints have reported such intrusions into their prayer lives.
Jesus, himself, was tempted by the devil.
And yes, after we take communion the devil can certainly tempt us. In fact, from my experience the greatest temptations come right after the Sacraments (confession and eucharist).
This is all so, because God allows it.
Temptations do not necessarily go away when we get closer to God. Rather, falling into sin from those temptations should be less frequent as we get closer to God.
There is a popular idea among some Protestant fundamentalists that where the Holy Spirit is, the devil cannot be. Thus Christians cannot be possessed or after consuming the Eucharist, the devil cannot get to us. This is incorrect.
Jesus was tempted. He IS the Eucharist. The devil can bother Christians as evidence by clinical experience and by the Bible (i.e. Peter was overcome by the spirit of satan when Jesus said, Get thee behind me. The Saints report constant attacks adn temptations from the devil. Satan went to the throne-room of God to ask permission to bother Job.
The Holy Spirit indwells us from the moment of our baptism. He is still with us when we sin.
In short, being in a state of grace, adoring the Sacrament, being baptized, does not guarantee that we will be free from Satan's attacks and temptations. In fact, it guarantees the opposite. Satan does not bother those of whom he already has, he goes after those he does not have -- the ones that seek God.
We have to look no further than the lives of the saints to see the truth of this.
Also remember the words of our first Pope, Pope St. Peter (1 Peter 5:8): Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour.
St. Peter was talking to Christians.
God Bless.
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