Years later, at age 51, he wrote of his teenage experience: 'All of a sudden I experience the sensation people talk about who have been through an earthquake, when the ground shakes under their feet, as do the walls around them, the ceilings over their heads, the furniture beneath their hands, all of nature before their eyes. I was seized by the blackest melancholy, then by an extreme disgust with life.'

How do we deal with this emotional pain? Phil.4:6-9 is St. Paul's prescription to cope with anxiety. First of all, in the midst of whatever troubles us, pray with thanksgiving. The story of Jonah illustrates this. From inside the fish that swallowed him Jonah prayed (2:1-9) "But I, with a song of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you."

We must see what Jesus says in its proper context. He is talking about worshipping Money rather than God, being so preoccupied with making money, and taking care of ourselves, that we forget that God gives us that ability, and fail to give God the credit. We can be so focused on taking care of ourselves, so proud of our independence, that we think that what we have is due solely to our own efforts, and not the result of God's blessings.

Who are our predators? The spiritual forces of evil are the powers, the rulers, the authorities of the darkness in this world. They are the aggressors who oppose the kingdom of God and seek to recruit us to their destructive mission by infiltrating our defenses and exercising control over us. They are constantly seeking to find ways to demoralize us. They are as old as the serpent in the Garden of Eden, the false idols of paganism and the seduction of material success and power.