Whenever we are under attack from the slimy one, it is difficult to remember that God is in charge and that he is allowing this to strengthen us for even greater battles.

The honeymoon over, God stood by and permitted Satan to tempt our little Catherine. But Sister Catherine was not so little that she could not tell the devil off when he tried to tempt her. When he really got under her skin and wouldn’t let up, she rebuked him, saying: “Be sure, evil spirit, you will not tempt me so openly nor so stealthily without my knowing it.” Or to quote one of our young members of the Junior Legion of Mary, “I recognize you, sucker. Scram!”

The enemy was determined that she would fall; but God was more determined. She learned a very essential lesson from this, which was: Human nature is fragile; never underestimate the devil and his cunning. He is the one who makes jokes that he doesn’t exist, that concern over the devil is all nonsense.

The Lord wanted to make sure that she would never pridefully believe she was a match for the devil and his cohorts. For what seemed an endless five years, from ages 15 to 20, the prince of darkness relentlessly attacked the one whom he knew was his mortal enemy: Saint Catherine of Bologna.

In her book The Seven Spiritual Arms, our future saint would not only write to warn future novices, but all Christians for generations to come. Saint Catherine of Bologna recounted battles waged and won. She dug into the horror of those years and wrote with pain remembered so that the novices under her care would be forewarned and not fall prey to the father of lies.

She shared her tears. Sometimes, they were tears of blood like her Savior before her. Do you ever wonder what Jesus suffered in the Garden that he shed tears of blood, and now, what Catherine experienced that she did, as well?

In the end, she vanquished the enemy. God was the victor! The Cross triumphed! She had glorious wounds, sustained in battle to remind her always and to pass on that truth that Satan is alive and he never sleeps. But she also learned that God is always nearby; we are not alone.