A story for every day...
Deliverance of a slave of Satan.
The following story is likely to make us tremble, but it will fill us with an ever-increasing confidence and admiration for the goodness of our God. – We recently received the following letter:
“Father, the arm of God is not shortened. Yesterday, a prodigy took place in my favor. Let me tell you about it, so that you can, with me and all those who will read it, exalt the infinite mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“When I was twelve years old, I was placed in a large boarding school, run by teachers full of zeal and devotion. But, Father, the spirit of evil, which had penetrated the earthly paradise, also managed to enter our dear asylum… Until then I had been an angel, soon I was a demon:
“I had lost all sense of faith. When people spoke to me about confession, communion, trust in God, I only answered with a sardonic smile. Finally, one day when I had just had a piano lesson, bored with the admonitions that my good teachers kept giving me, I cried out in despair: ‘Satan, I give you my heart! Come and get it, it is yours without return!’
“From that moment there was no more happiness for me. Satan, who had become my master, did not let me rest for a moment… However, Father, I must not let you ignore one thing… I no longer loved either God or the Saints, but I still had a little confidence in Mary.
“Remorse tore at me, but I did not have the courage to confess my condition. However, a devoted person who looked after me understood this, for I did not have that cheerfulness which always accompanies a good conscience. When I smiled, with a forced air, one was almost tempted to exclaim: “It is a smile of Satan!” and one would not be mistaken.
“Finally, I was asked to make a novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, through Our Lady. I willingly consented. From the very first days, I felt changed. The novena ended with a mass in honor of the Heart of Jesus. From that moment on, grace worked on me so much that I returned to grace with God through a good confession, and today I am ready to give my whole heart to Jesus and to work with all my soul to become a saint. For eight years I have been the enemy of God. Oh, pray, pray for me; and if you will, put this fact in the Messenger of the Heart of Jesus Magazine.”
