When he holds someone in slavery to sin, the demon has no other goal than to blind him all the more and to direct him away from any thought that might lead him to an awareness of his miserable life. Nor does he merely use other, contrary thoughts to direct him away from thoughts and inspirations that would call him to conversion, but with ready and diligent promptness he makes him fall into the same sin or even into greater ones. For this reason the victim’s blindness grows thicker and darker; so that the victim falls all the more into sin and grows accustomed to it. His miserable life flows as if in a vicious circle, from this blindness to a greater one, from this fault into a deeper one, until his death — unless God should supply his grace.
The remedy for this, as far as we are concerned, is that if someone should discover himself in this desperate state, he should urgently make room for reflection and for the inspirations that call him from the shadows towards the light, crying out with all his heart to his Creator: “My Lord, help me! help me quickly, abandon me no longer in this darkness of sin!” Nor must he give up repeating this or something similar, shouting it many times. If possible, he should hasten quickly to a spiritual father, to seek help and advice on freeing oneself from the enemy. If it is impossible to go quickly, he must make promptly for a crucifix, throwing himself before its sacred feet with his face to the ground; he should also hasten to the Virgin Mary, begging for mercy and help. He must realize that victory depends on this urgency, as the next chapter will help you understand.