July 17

The Blessed Martyrs of Compiegne

Jesus proposed another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?' He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn" (Matthew 13: 24-30).

The devil is for real and he wants to drag you into hell for all eternity by having you reject God like he did. He is the father of lies and an agent of doubt. His greatest victory is to have you think that he doesn’t even exist. Make a special effort to refuse to listen to his temptations and traps.

Lord, strengthen me in my fight against the devil. St. Michael come to my aid.

Impact Sports: When my team prays, do I mean it?

Impact Life: Do I ever think the devil is just a joke or a hoax?