When we read about the saints, we're meant to be inspired by their holiness and courage. But sometimes their extraordinary experiences can leave us feeling more frightened than encouraged — especially when it comes to stories of spiritual warfare. What do we make of these accounts, and what do they mean for our own spiritual lives?
Yesterday my 11-year-old was reading a book of saint stories when he stopped reading and came over to me with a troubled expression.
“Um … Mom? Can I talk to you about something? I just finished reading about St. John Vianney, and it was kind of scary.”
Right away I knew what he was talking about. St. John Vianney had a rare and terrifying experience of the Devil terrorizing him at night when he was in bed:
For 35 years Satan threw everything he had against the holy priest who would hear confessions for 16 hours each day. At night Vianney would hear taunts, harrowing voices, evil singing, or shouting. He was physically dragged from his bed and one night his bed caught on fire. This torment would prevent him from having much sleep, but it did not deter him from living a life of holiness.
While my son’s book didn’t go into quite that much detail, it did say that the Devil would visit St. John Vianney at night and try to scare him.
I knew exactly what my son was thinking, because reading about that scared me too when I was a child. In fact, I recall my first reaction was, “I better not become too holy if that’s what happens to people who really upset the Devil!”
Actually a sign of God's power
But now, as an adult, I understand why St. John Vianney faced such extraordinary attacks. His exceptional ministry — particularly spending 16 hours a day in the confessional — was converting countless souls and dealing devastating blows to Satan's kingdom. The attacks were actually a sign of how powerfully God was working through him. And importantly, despite being frightening, these attacks were powerless against the saint's holiness.
There have been thousands and thousands of very holy saints who never had any sort of scary encounter with the Devil. What St. John Vianney experienced was so extremely rare that the rest of us can dismiss that worry from our minds.
I reassured my son with this explanation, and he seemed satisfied with my answer. But I wanted to make sure I’d explained it to him correctly, so I consulted with a local priest, Fr. Mark Bernhard, in whose parish I am fortunate enough to be a catechist.
He confirmed that most of us do not need to worry about that kind of spiritual attack, but rather about much more subtle and insidious forms of temptation. He said:
It is of course true that every Christian is engaged in a spiritual battle from the moment of their baptism. But we should not fear the extraordinary manifestations of the Devil that St. John Vianney experienced.
Scripture tells us that the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8), but for most of us, his tactics are far more subtle — manifesting through temptation, discouragement, spiritual lukewarmness, and lies that distort our identity and God's mercy.
Our focus needs to be on Jesus and his power over Satan who is a mere creature.
Stay close to Jesus; remain in a state of grace; and stay close to the sacraments, especially Confession and the Eucharist.
Fr. Bernhard’s explanation was so helpful that I shared it with my son, who found it very reassuring.
Each person on earth was sent to fight the battle meant just for them, as St. Paul reminds us: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
Creepy nighttime attacks from the Devil were St. John Vianney’s battle, and he faced them fearlessly. But most likely the battle you and I are sent to fight is something entirely different — maybe pride, materialism, despair, or the temptation to spiritual lukewarmness.
Nonetheless we can learn from his example in facing our foes directly, with courage in our hearts and a song on our lips. After all, the battle is already won. Christ conquered, and in him our strength will never falter. What do we need to fear?
Catechism of the Catholic Church
