The Demoniac And The Swine

James Tissot's Demoniac and Swine (with apology for the loincloth)

It seems whenever we have daily mass gospel readings which deal with the devil, we have the youngest schoolchildren at mass - a challenging topic for any of us to grasp. They frequently ask about the devil and often have some very imaginative concepts of what the devil may be like. Most of them are helped along by Hollywood and TV. 

While fighting Satan is surely a battle, the victory is already won by Jesus Christ's Resurrection in which we share through our Baptism. Invoking Jesus' name in prayer, praying the sign of the cross and using sacramentals like holy water can help loosen the grip of temptation and remind us of Jesus' saving action.