Flower of Devotion

How Satan he hates the soul of man
The Blessed Virgin Mary said to the venerable Mary of Jesus:

“In this life, it is impossible to comprehend precisely the hatred with which Satan and his companions burn against man. It is impossible to describe his anger and the cunning with which he tries to lead the soul to sin and thus to eternal damnation. He endeavours to hinder all the good works which man can do, and if he nevertheless does them, he endeavours to cast them in a bad light by slander, or to destroy them altogether. On the other hand, there is no evil deed to which Satan does not try to induce the soul.
On the other hand, God grants to those who cooperate faithfully with His grace protection, protection and help against this satanic malice. Hence St. Paul’s admonition that in the midst of these snares and wiles of Satan we should walk cautiously, not as madmen, but as wise men, and that we should try to make use of the time, for the days of mortality are evil and full of danger. Elsewhere he writes: “Be steadfast and imperturbable, abounding in the work of the Lord always, knowing that your work is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). The enemy of the soul knows this truth and fears it. That is why, with the greatest intensity of malice, he strikes souls when they have committed sin, in order to deprive them of courage, to fall into doubt and to cease to do good works. In this way, he deprives them of the weapons that their holy angels guard and with which they fight against evil spirits. The habit of doing good works often results in God’s mercy in giving the sinner efficacious graces to perform works with greater zeal, or in combination with repentance and true love, whereby the sinner is justified.
Like Satan, he tries to bring down mainly the souls of the righteous.
To the venerable Mary of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary said: “
Satan also exerts all his strength to bring about the downfall of good and righteous men, because he feels uncontrollable jealousy and rage because these souls do not serve him. Hence he is burning with the desire to deprive God of that honor which he has in his saints, and which he himself cannot obtain. For this reason, he undertakes every effort to bring under his feet every soul who stands on the height of holiness, even those who
were formerly servants of the Most High. To this end he uses all his cunning, foresight, and vigilance. The tricks, snares, and cunning tricks which the serpent of hell uses to seduce the souls of the righteous are so numerous that souls would not be able to know them without God’s special help, much less fall. Therefore, in order to secure this help from God, the soul, on its part, must be on its guard, never trust itself completely, and implore and desire God’s help. It is certain that she can do no good of herself, and if she only trusted in her own strength, she would soon have to fall. In particular, they provide the soul with God’s benevolent help: continual humility and persevering obedience. These virtues impart to the soul the strength and constancy to resist the importunity of the evil one.

How Satan Works With
All His Might to Seduce the Soul

The Blessed Virgin Mary said to the venerable Mary of Jesus:

“Man must not forget that Satan watches over souls with the greatest zeal and vigilance. He is constantly circling around them, setting snares for them, and trying to take advantage of their every omission. He will miss no opportunity not to approach them in the most insidious way with temptation. If he sees that they are careless, he will awaken in them tendencies and passions before they realize that they have made a mistake. If, afterwards, they feel this error painfully, and try to correct it and to arise from it, it makes it still more difficult for them to carry out this purpose. To rise from the fall requires more abundant graces than to resist sin. Sin weakens the powers of the soul, gives greater power over it to the enemy, gives free rein to the passions, and thus hinders the control of them. That is why so many fall into sin and so few rise from it.
In order to escape the danger of falling, the soul must be on constant alert and always be careful; she should constantly strive to be worthy of God’s grace. It should constantly maintain the striving for perfection; She should never waste her time in vain, lest the enemy should ever find her idle, i.e., uncared for, and not exercising her virtues. When the soul observes all this, it will get rid of the heaviness of its nature in part, and its passions and evil tendencies will be weakened. Its enemy will be frightened, and the spirit of man will rise up and gain strength against the body, as well as an advantage over the lower and sensual part of the soul, so that it will submit itself entirely to the will of God.