Spiritual warfare is real. This reality of demonic powers has always been a constant doctrine of the Catholic Church. Join Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, as he discusses why Satan hates man and why he wants us to fall as he did, trying to assert control through infestation, oppression, obsession, and possession.

On this great solemnity, Fr. Chris reflects on the mystery at the heart of the Marian Fathers’ charism: the Immaculate Conception—God’s greatest act of mercy ever given to a creature. Despite the grief of losing his father just days earlier, he reminds us that Our Lady’s purity is the blueprint for our own path to holiness. Long before the dogma was defined in 1854, the Church cherished this truth in Scripture and Sacred Tradition, seen in Gabriel’s greeting, “Hail, full of grace,” revealing Mary as wholly transformed by divine life.

In today’s homily, Fr. Chris Alar reminds us that prayer is not just something we do—it is who we are called to be. It is the lifeline between our soul and God, the “raising of one’s mind and heart to God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2559). Prayer is communication, relationship, and covenant. It is how we learn to love the Lord and conform our human will to His divine will.