Spiritual Warfare and the catholic female profession

Shanice Padmore

Navigating the challenges of the workplace can be daunting for anyone, but for Maria, it was an unprecedented spiritual battle that left her feeling isolated and uncertain. At age 50, Maria, a devout Catholic, joined a well-known company as the Head of Marketing. She remembered going to church and thanking God endlessly for this fantastic opportunity.

After a year into the job; she began to feel unsettled. In her previous role as the Senior Marketing Manager at a State Enterprise; Maria had always handled professional challenges with grace and competence. Yet, this time, it felt different.

Maria first noticed subtle changes in the atmosphere. Her typically supportive and harmonious team environment began to feel charged with negativity. She experienced frequent headaches, unexplained fatigue, and an overwhelming sense of dread whenever she walked into the office. Colleagues who once collaborated with her openly started avoiding her or speaking ill behind her back. Projects she led, which had always been successful, began to falter inexplicably.

A firm believer in spiritual warfare, Maria couldn’t help but feel she was under attack. The Catholic Church recognises the existence of spiritual battles but often approaches them through prayer, confession, and sacraments. However, the concept of spiritual attacks in the workplace felt alien to her, so she didn’t know how to address it within the context of her faith. Maria sought advice from her parish priest, who reassured her of God’s protection and encouraged her to pray fervently. Despite her prayers, the situation seemed to worsen.

Feeling lost, Maria confided in a close friend, Angela, who practised a different Christian denomination. Angela suggested that Maria’s experience could be a form of spiritual warfare and recommended looking into non-Catholic Christian resources that discussed spiritual attacks in more depth. Intrigued but hesitant, Maria started researching online and found numerous testimonies of people who had faced similar battles. This gave her a sense of solidarity, but she still yearned for a solution rooted in her Catholic faith.

One evening, during a particularly trying week, Maria sat in her living room, reflecting on her options. She realised that while her faith provided a strong foundation, she needed to be proactive in addressing the issue. Inspired by her research and her conversations with Angela, Maria decided to take three crucial steps:

Step 1: Strengthening Her Spiritual Armor
Maria committed to deepening her prayer life. She started incorporating the Rosary into her daily routine and began attending daily Mass whenever possible. She also set aside time for Eucharistic Adoration, seeking strength and clarity from the presence of Christ. By fortifying her spiritual defences, Maria felt more grounded and protected.

Step 2: Seeking Spiritual Guidance
Understanding that she couldn’t face this alone, Maria sought the counsel of a spiritual director. Her CEO who was also Catholic told her who his Spiritual Director was and she reached out to him.
This priest provided Maria with advice, prayers, and encouraged her to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation more frequently. This guidance helped Maria to regain her spiritual footing.

Step 3: Creating a Positive Environment
Realising that negativity can breed in certain environments, Maria took practical steps to create a more positive atmosphere at work. She began playing soft, uplifting music at her desk and kept a small bottle of holy water to sprinkle in her office discreetly. Maria also made a conscious effort to speak words of encouragement and kindness to her colleagues, countering the negativity with light and love.

Through these steps, Maria gradually noticed a shift. The oppressive atmosphere began to lift, her energy levels improved, and her projects regained their momentum. While the journey was challenging, Maria’s proactive approach, rooted in her faith, helped her navigate the spiritual attack with resilience and grace.

Before the Charismatic Renewal started in Trinidad in the 1970s, many of the faithful left the church because they felt there were no avenues to assist with deliverance, so they were seduced into other beliefs that they believed would assist in delivering them.

Maria’s experience highlights the importance of recognising spiritual battles and addressing them with a combination of faith and practical actions. By strengthening your spiritual armour, seeking guidance, and creating a positive environment, Maria found a way to overcome the unfamiliar challenge and emerge stronger in her faith and professional life.

If you would like to read some more on the topic click on the links below:-
https://www.facebook.com/CatholicCharismaticRenewalTT/
https://www.catholicwarriors.com/pages/warfare_prayers.htm