Devil's Torment of the Body

Divine Appeal Reflection - 152

Today, consider in Divine Appeal 152: "Do not fear the devil... He will always torment your body. Never will he be on your side but I will not abandon you to death. The devil will always labour hard to destroy you in order to prevent you winning souls for Me and repairing."

The words of Our Adorable Jesus unveil one of the most hidden mysteries of salvation: the devil attacks the body because the body has become the privileged place where God continues His saving work in history. By the mystery of the Incarnation, the Eternal Word did not merely take a human body but forever united human nature to Himself, elevating it beyond all angelic expectation . Through Baptism our bodies become temples of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 6:19–20), through the Eucharist they become living tabernacles of Christ (cf. Jn 6:54–58), through every sacrifice they become spiritual offerings pleasing to the Father , and through the Resurrection they are destined to share forever in the glorified humanity of Christ . Satan comprehends this dignity with dreadful clarity. Unable to crucify Christ again, he persecutes Christ living within His Mystical Body (cf. Acts 9:4–5). He does not primarily seek to destroy the body but to empty it of its priestly vocation. Thus he turns fatigue into murmuring (cf. Ex 16:2–8), suffering into rebellion (cf. Job 2:9–10), loneliness into impurity (cf. Mt 4:1–11), prosperity into pride , beauty into vanity (cf. 1 Pt 3:3–4), aging into despair (cf. Ps 92:12–15), and illness into the suspicion that God has withdrawn His love .Yet every body kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament, every hand lifted in prayer, every tongue proclaiming Christ, every hidden fast, every act of chastity, every weary step taken in charity, every tear offered in faith, and every suffering united to the Holy Sacrifice proclaims that the mystery of the Incarnation continues to bear fruit until the end of time (cf. Jn. 1:14; Rom. 12:1; Col. 1:24; Heb. 13:15–16; CCC 521; 618). St. Leo the Great urged Christians to recognize the incomparable dignity bestowed upon them through the Incarnation, while St. Irenaeus of Lyons taught that the glory of God is the human person fully alive, for humanity reaches its true fulfillment only by abiding in Christ, sharing His divine life, and being transformed into His likeness .

Yet beneath every assault upon the body lies an even deeper objective. The devil fears the transformation that occurs when suffering leads the soul into complete abandonment to Divine Providence. As long as human strength remains, the heart easily relies upon itself; therefore Satan either magnifies suffering into despair or magnifies earthly pleasures into self-sufficiency, because both prevent total surrender to Christ (cf. 2 Cor 12:7–10; Heb 12:5–11; Jas 1:2–4; CCC 1505, 1521). Throughout salvation history, bodily weakness repeatedly became the birthplace of divine fruitfulness. Jacob entered God's covenant limping after wrestling through the night (cf. Gen 32:22–32). Job discovered that faith purified in affliction beholds God more deeply than prosperity ever could (cf. Job 42:5–6). St. Paul (cf. 2 Cor. 12:9–10) discovered that divine strength shines most brightly where human strength comes to an end . St. Lidwina of Schiedam, St. Rafqa of Lebanon, Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa, and countless hidden saints transformed long years of suffering into quiet channels of grace for the Church . Thus the true battlefield is never pain itself but its interpretation. Hell whispers that suffering proves abandonment;(cf. Col 1:24; Rom 8:17; CCC 618) the Holy Spirit reveals that every cross united to Christ mysteriously participates in His redeeming Passion . What appears outwardly as defeat often becomes, within the hidden economy of grace, the very birthplace of holiness.

Our Adorable Jesus then unveils one of the deepest mysteries of apostolic fruitfulness: the enemy fears reparation more than activity. Hell trembles less before visible achievements than before one hidden soul lovingly united to the Eucharistic Sacrifice (cf. Col. 1:24; Heb. 9:11–15; CCC 618, 1368). Reparation is not merely the endurance of suffering, but the loving union of one's entire life with the eternal self-offering of the Son to the Father (cf. Rom. 12:1; Heb. 10:5–10). Every cross embraced with Christ becomes a participation in His unceasing priestly intercession for the salvation of the world (cf. Heb. 7:25; Jn. 17:20–26). This is why the hidden soul becomes so formidable in the eyes of heaven. Love offered in silence enters mysteries that human activity cannot reach. The Cross reveals that God often saves not through outward triumph but through love freely offered. Thus, the deepest victories of Christ are frequently accomplished where the world sees only weakness, obscurity, and apparent failure (cf. 1 Cor. 1:18–25; Phil. 2:5–11). In the hidden union between the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus and the soul that offers itself with Him, divine mercy continues its quiet conquest of the world until all things are gathered together in Christ (cf. Eph. 1:9–10; Col. 1:19–20). This mystery continues quietly every day. Every unnoticed headache offered for priests, every sleepless night entrusted for sinners, every painful medical treatment united to the Holy Mass, every weary step toward Eucharistic adoration, every hidden act of patience, every silent acceptance of misunderstanding, every lonely hour embraced with Christ becomes a channel through which grace flows into His Mystical Body (cf. Gal. 6:2; Phil. 2:17; CCC 1521). The devil therefore attacks the body because he knows that suffering transformed by love accomplishes what worldly influence, wealth, or power can never achieve. One soul completely abandoned to Divine Love, hidden from every human eye yet united to the Crucified and Eucharistic Lord, mysteriously repairs wounds within the Church that countless merely human efforts could never heal (cf. Jn. 15:5; Eph. 3:20–21).

Our Adorable Jesus further unveils the deception through which Satan enslaves entire civilizations. The enemy wages war against the body through opposite errors that lead to the same spiritual ruin. At times he persuades humanity to idolize the body, making pleasure, youth, beauty, strength, health, and comfort the highest good; at other times he teaches contempt for the body, reducing old age, sickness, disability, suffering, and death to meaningless burdens (cf. Rom. 1:21–25; 12:1–2; 1 Cor. 3:16–17; CCC 362–368; 2288–2291). In both deceptions, the body ceases to be contemplated as God's dwelling place and future temple of glory. The first worships the body instead of God; the second despairs of the body because it has forgotten God. Yet divine Revelation unveils a far more glorious mystery. The human body is destined neither for corruption nor self-exaltation, but for transfiguration in the Risen Christ . St. Hildegard of Bingen contemplated the human person as a living harmony reflecting the wisdom and beauty of the Creator. Blessed Columba Marmion taught that every sacrament gradually conforms both body and soul to the humanity of Christ. St. Athanasius of Alexandria proclaimed that the Son of God became man so that humanity might share in the divine life . Thus, every fast proclaims that God alone satisfies the deepest hunger of the heart (cf. Mt. 4:4). Every act of chastity reveals that love is greater than pleasure . Every body kneeling in Eucharistic adoration confesses that worship is the highest vocation of human existence (cf. Ps. 95:6; Phil. 2:10). Every aged disciple who perseveres in hope bears witness that eternity is already stronger than decay (cf. 2 Cor. 4:16–18). This is why Satan hates the human body with such relentless fury. He sees in every baptized person not merely fragile flesh but the living temple of the Holy Spirit, the member of Christ's Mystical Body, and the future radiance of the resurrection (cf. 1 Cor. 6:19–20; Eph. 5:30; CCC 1265–1266). The glory that shines in the risen humanity of Christ is the very glory destined for His faithful saints. What the devil rejected forever, grace now prepares within those who belong to Christ. Every body surrendered to divine love is already being fashioned for the day when it will shine with the splendor of the Risen Lord and eternally glorify the Blessed Trinity (cf. Dan. 12:3; 1 Jn. 3:2; Rev. 21:3–4; CCC 999–1000).

Finally, Our Adorable Jesus seals His appeal with a promise that reaches beyond time itself: "I will not abandon you to death." He lifts the soul beyond the preservation of earthly life to the mystery of eternal communion with Him. His greatest promise is not that we shall be spared suffering, but that nothing endured in union with Him can ever separate us from His love or deprive us of eternal life (cf. Jn. 11:25–26; Rom. 8:35–39; CCC 1010). The final victory is not escaping the Cross but remaining faithful to Divine Love until the end (cf. Mt. 24:13; Rev. 2:10). Every saint eventually discovered this hidden triumph. Servant of God Elisabeth Leseur silently offered years of illness and misunderstanding, trusting that hidden suffering united to Christ would bear fruit for souls. Their lives proclaim that Satan does not truly fear brilliance, influence, or earthly success; he fears souls so completely surrendered that every wound becomes an opening for divine mercy, every humiliation an altar of love, and every suffering a participation in Christ's redeeming sacrifice . Such souls become living Calvaries where mercy triumphs over hatred (cf. Lk. 23:34), new Upper Rooms where the Holy Spirit continually descends (cf. Acts 2:1–4), living tabernacles where Christ prolongs His Eucharistic presence in the world (cf. Gal. 2:20; 1 Cor. 6:19–20), and hidden channels through which grace quietly renews the Church (cf. Jn. 15:5; CCC 521). What Satan wounds, Christ sanctifies. What hell seeks to corrupt, Divine Love transfigures. What seems to perish in time is already being prepared for incorruptible glory (cf. 1 Cor. 15:42–44; Phil. 3:20–21). Then every faithful body, purified through love and raised by the power of the Resurrection, will forever reflect the splendor of the Risen Christ (cf. Rev. 7:9–17; CCC 1042–1050) and join the unending praise of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit .

Prayer 

Our Adorable Jesus, when the enemy afflicts our bodies through suffering, weakness, illness, or persecution, unite us ever more deeply to Your Sacred Passion. May every cross become reparation, every weakness reveal Your power, every trial bear fruit for the salvation of souls, and every suffering prepare us for the glory of the Resurrection. Amen.

Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us.