Attacks from the Devil and the Years of Persecution
He would destroy her sacramentals, break her rosaries, knock her holy pictures off the walls, throw her crucifix to the floor, plus knock blessed objects to the ground, or, if he didn’t destroy them or try to inflict some type on damage on them, he would spirit them away. Sometimes, if witnesses were present, he would try and push them over as well. Then, he would try other manifestations, appearing as a frightening beast, animals, or in his usual hideous shape, threatening he would eventually succeed in damning her soul, anything to try and force her to abandon her mission to save souls. When terror tactics failed, he changed strategy and would come as a tempting beautiful young man promising her everything from wealth to cures for her maladies, but without success. Other times he tried to fool her during her ecstasies by appearing as angels or saints, but Marie-Julie was extremely cautious about every apparition, testing them all to ensure they were from Heaven and thereby exposing the Hellish imposter by prudence when he did appear in this guileful manner. If a mystical visitor complied and made on Act of Love to the Sacred Heart, she knew the apparition was true. When it was Satan, he would suddenly fly off when she demanded this request. Sometimes she could easily see through the disguise: if the demon appeared as a saint the halo would be missing its glorious rays of light, or the symbol of the cross would not be depicted correctly on his clothes or vestments, appearing bent or twisted.
After this first period of trials caused by the devil, St. Michael came and returned all the objects Satan had stolen from her, giving her a period of peace until January 1875, after which a new round of torment was to begin. Satan adopted new fearful strategies with his hellish appearances, coming in the form of priest, no doubt to fool her he was an earthly human visitor like many she received, but she spotted the ruse when she noticed the ‘priest’ was missing a cross on his stole. The devil tried to give her a ‘host’ while disguised in this form, but she refused. We can only imagine with horror what he was truly trying to give her, for he would attempt to poison her on other occasions and force her to swallow stomach-turning objects. One time he tried to force her to eat grass, other times he shoved a phial of poisoned blood into her mouth, then clamped it shut. She could only open her mouth after her spiritual director, Fr. David, said the Rite of Exorcism over her. There were times the devil tried to clamp her mouth shut and prevent her receiving Holy Communion from Fr. David, but he would stand there patiently with the Blessed Sacrament before her mouth until the devil was forced to release her. These attacks were not without fruit, for they were additional means of sacrifice she could offer to save souls. However, there were times she could get rid of him by sprinkling holy water.
The time of earthly persecution began only a few short years after the stigmata appeared when Bishop Fournier passed away in 1877. He had been the greatest supporter of her cause, declaring everything about her from the stigmata to her ecstasies were of a supernatural order, and now, he was replaced by a bishop who took an entirely different approach to Marie-Julie’s case and she was persecuted by the diocese. A little less than a month after Bishop Fournier’s death, the Chapter of Curates gave the order she be deprived of the sacraments—including the Blessed Sacrament, a decision upheld by the new bishop, Bishop Lecoq. However, heaven ensured Marie-Julie was not deprived of the sacraments, for the minute the order came from the Chapter, the miraculous Communions resumed again and appeared every Sunday and on certain feast days. Doctor Imbert-Gourbeyre however remained her defender, explaining to Bishop Lecoq that his predecessor had ruled everything pertaining to Marie-Julie was of a supernatural origin and that there were credible witnesses to prove his judgement true, also describing the many miraculous Communions, but the new bishop remained deaf to this defence. This period of persecution from the diocese lasted eleven years, ending in 1888 when Pope Leo XIII made an inquest into the matter, entrusting the case to Rev. Fr. Vanutelli who ruled Marie-Julie had been unjustly deprived of the sacraments. By Order of the Holy See, the ban issued by the Chapter of Curates was lifted. Despite the persecutions, she never complained or murmured against the local bishop or the Church, and was always obedient to the successive bishops of Nantes, recognizing with humble obedience the authority given to them by God.
Marie Julie Jahenny "Warnings On Novus Ordo & Planet X"
