Recently, Pope Francis commented in a sermon he gave at Casa Santa Marta, that the devil, and all the ills he causes to society are indeed real. This came after a Gospel reading about how some accused Christ of healing and casting out demons by the power of the evil one. He points out, "even in our days, there is the temptation to belittle the figure of Jesus. Some priests when they read this Gospel passage, this and others, say: 'But, Jesus healed a person from a mental illness.' They do not read this here, right? It's true that at that time you could confuse epilepsy with demonic possession, but it is also true that there was the devil! And we have no right to simplify the thing, as if to say: 'They were not possessed; they were mentally ill.' No! The presence of the devil is in the first page of the Bible and the Bible ends with the presence of the devil, with God's victory over the devil." In this regard, warned the Holy Father, "we must not be naive."
This prompts me to share with you a discussion our teen ECF class had concerning spiritual warfare. You may think that this term is only a metaphor, but I assure you, it is very, very real and quite accurate in describing the state of human life on earth. Teens, who are on the brink of adulthood and stand to loose the most grace if they fall, tend to be the most vulnerable. The enemy lies in wait and seeks to destroy our progress, so that he might deter us from the perfection we seek, and our ultimate union with God. There are ways we can fend him off, and will discuss them today.
First of all, we must understand that EVERYTHING condenses down to the spiritual. Every beat of our hearts, every breath, every breeze that blows, every sunrise and sunset occurs at the command of God. As He works, so the enemy counters. Our spiritual progress is of supreme importance to God, and therefore also to His enemy.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen said:
"The world is rapidly being divided into two camps, the comradeship of anti-Christ and the brotherhood of Christ. The lines between these two are being drawn. How long the battle will be we know not; whether swords will have to be unsheathed we know not; whether blood will have to be shed we know not; whether it will be an armed conflict we know not. But in a conflict between truth and darkness, truth cannot lose."
A Catholic Exorcist once used the words of a demon to describe how numerous these creatures truly are:
“When I am asked how many demons there are, I answer with the words that the demon himself spoke through a demonic: ‘We are so many that, if we were visible, we would darken the sun.” (Resource – An Exorcist Tells His Story by Father Gabrielle Amorth, Roman Catholic Priest, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican, Rome, Italy)
They are everywhere and influence wherever and whenever they are able. We need to know how to recognize their influence and repel their attack. First of all, take courage. Our battle is already won.
From the Catechism (#395);
The power of Satan is, nonetheless, not infinite. He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a creature. He cannot prevent the building up of God’s reign. … It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity, but “we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him."
How do we go about preparing for battle? What does scripture say? In Ephesians 6, Paul tells us that he agrees that we are at war with the enemy of God and that we need to arm ourselves daily:
Ephesians 6:10-20 10Finally, brethren, be strengthened in the Lord, and in the might of his power. 11Put you on the armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. 12For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. 13Therefore take unto you the armour of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. 14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of justice, 15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: 16In all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. 17And take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God).
Ok. Having read that passage, what must we do first?
1. Establish what is the truth both in the teachings of the faith and in your everyday life. Lies are of the enemy and are an abomination to the very essence of God. Some faiths teach doctrinal error. Beware. Some people knowingly choose to live in error, either by living a lie, cheating, hiding the truth, etc. Also beware.
2. Wear the breastplate of justice. What is the purpose of a breastplate. It’s a shield for your heart, in order to keep you from being killed by the enemy In being just toward others, you also protect yourself from the anger of God.
3. Prepare within your heart, an understanding of the Gospels! What a gift and tool for us! It’s like the manual for life. Without a manual, you don’t know where the reset button is, how to turn it on or off properly, how to clean it, how to service it etc. As it is for the video game, it is for life.
4. Faith is a gift from God, given to us through His Church. We need to know the elements of our Faith too. We spoke of apostolic succession, the “authority” of Christ being passed down through his apostles to our bishops and priests. His Church is our Catholic Church and as Christ told us, he would see to it that the “gates of hell would not prevail against it!
5. Salvation is the desire of God for all souls. Partake of the Sacraments to keep your salvation a possibility.
6. The Spirit gives life and zeal to the works that man does! It isn’t enough to KNOW the teachings of Christ, you have to actually LIVE them.
This being said, we must now ask ourselves what happens to those who do not choose to live these teachings? Are they more vulnerable to demonic attack? The answer is a profound YES!!!! Here’s what the catechism tells us about practices that we are to reject if we wish to remain squarely in God’s protective grace:
2116. All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to 'unveil' the future.[Cf. Deut 18:10 ; Jer 29:8 .] Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
2117. All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity.
What happens if we, as Christians do or have done these things in the past. At first, it may seem as if it is harmless foolishess, no harm done. Not quite. Here is what The Ohio Spiritual Warfare Center, a Roman Catholic Apostolate has to say about these things: (www.oswc.org)
Sometimes it can take many years for problems to develop. Sometimes problems will not develop at all. Sometimes the problems start with the individual's children, perhaps even after the children are grown and have families of their own. We will talk about this in a moment when we speak of generational curses and hauntings, but first we will give a few samples of what these "harmless games" have done for those who have wittingly or unwittingly "played" them.
Can you imagine waking up in the middle of the night after having your bed covers ripped from atop of you? Or, how about having your pillow snatched from under your head while you sleep? Or, can you imagine being pushed down a staircase by an invisible force? All of these things, and many more, can and do happen in violent hauntings that are the result of occult involvment. Here are some other examples:
• Being bitten Being slapped
• Being punched Being thrown
• Objects hurled through the air People being hit by flying objects
• Fires mysteriously starting in the home Drywall being torn out in chunks
• Beds shaking and 'jumping' up and down Heavy objects thrown or moved (i.e., dressers, tables)
• Doors slamming shut Seeing black shapes
• Hearing voices Hearing growling
As we pointed out before, all of these things do happen in violent hauntings and this is but a very short list. There are many more, and some far more terrifying and brutal than what we have chosen to list here.
Brothers and sisters, we hope that you can now see that these "games" are deadly serious; not only for you, but also for your children, and potentially their children and so on through many generations.
God punishes sin. This is a fact. Many do not realize, though, that this punishment can extend to our children and beyond - especially when we are dealing with things that are ABOMINATIONS in God's sight. Consider the following passage from Exodus:
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord , the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." (Exodus 34:6-8)
God is so Holy and sin is so offensive to Him - so much so that the sins of the father fall not only on the father, but on his progeny. Is it any wonder, then, why generational hauntings and curses are a reality?
Yet, God is also merciful - He is mercy itself - and will deliver those who are generationally haunted and cursed if they but turn to Him and ask forgiveness for their sins, and the sins of their ancestors, and decide to live a holy life pleasing to Him.
"But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord 's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts." (Psalm 103:17)
"And His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him" (Luke 1:50)
If you want to remain in God's mercy, and if you want to bring blessings on your children, then choose to live a life pleasing to God. If you have engaged in occult practices at any point in your life, you need to repent. If you are Catholic, you need to confess these sins to a priest and receive absolution. It is also important to reclaim ground claimed by Satan by our involvement in these things.
Deliverance counselors and professionals in this field resoundingly agree: Divination and involvement in the occult is one of the more common causes of extraordinary demonization - both of persons and of places. If you do not want to be plagued by the enemy, don't play in his sandbox. If you do, you will get sand between your toes.
In this post we have listed several concrete examples of occult practices and what can happen to those who dabble in them. These are only a few of the things that can cause demonization even when one has done them only out of curiosity. A playful and innocent indulgence at a Carnival can potentially cause years of nightmare.
Another interesting phenomenon that we have heard from some individuals seeking to justify their actions is along these lines, "Well, this person is not a 'psychic'. He/she is a Christian and lives a very holy life." Brothers and sisters, believe us when we say that the Gifts of the Spirit, given by God for the building up of the Body of Christ (the Church) are not powers that we can turn on and off. They are driven by the will of God - not ours. A person who claims that they give psychic readings from God on demand is not of God. They are either charlatans or their power comes from the enemy.
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