Ad Jesum per Mariam

Ad Jesum per Mariam
...if you genuinely wish to reach a high level of prayer in all honesty and without falling into the traps that the devil sets for those who pray, SAY your Rosary everyday... St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Spiritual Warfare (Part 1) : You Can Never Escape From It!

"The Church believes that each day, there is an on-going fight between the good and the evil - between God and the Devil. The Church calls it Spiritual Warfare...." - from Liwanag sa Dilim (Light in Darkness), a documentary of Jesuit Communications Foundation and Archdiocese of Manila Office of Exorcism

It is clear that Spiritual Warfare deals with two opposing powers - powers that were on the side of Good and God who are called angels while the other side were once good angels, but became evil ones - Satan and His demons.

And it should or must be clear that these two opposing powers are not battling by just themselves - because we, humans, are in the middle of them, in the middle of their battle, in the middle of their fight.

"Many are unaware of the on-going fight between angels and demons over the destiny of human beings. The two groups of invisible spirits, the holy angels on one side and the demons on the other, are engaged in a tug-of-war with us in the middle." [From Of Angels and Saints, authored by a columnist of Philippine Daily Inquirer, one of the biggest broadsheets in the Philippines.]

So we are also a part of it, and we cannot escape from it. Now I asked myself : Is God a cheater? Why then He placed me and included me on this on-going war if He is a Goodly God? Why? Why is it so?

Then an answer popped up, came from St. Padre Pio saying that, "Jesus permits the spiritual combat as purification, not as a punishment. The trial is not unto death but unto salvation."

If we can never escape from it, what a person must do? Is their other means not to be part of it? Anyway it is on the language of the Catholic Church who knows anything and everything about this warfare. Can I just change my religion or become lukewarm knowing that this methods will save me from these attacks? That these so called demons will not waste their time attacking me because I do not participate on the ways a Catholic does which are against these demons and I'm not joining myself especially in prayers in the spiritual battle against these wicked ones?

Now these questions can enter ones own mind if a person has a first step view about this Spiritual Warfare but, I honestly say to you, that I was just "accidentally" opened a book about Exorcism and, here I am now, making efforts to spread these "sleeping" necessary information about this invisible world of the spirits - that
sees us here on earth - we are visible to them, but they are invisible to us(unfair, right? But their are people who can see them. Not too many, however.)

The good way of keeping oneself on the right track in this warfare is to choose what is good and living an authentic Christian life that centers on prayer, the Church, the Sacraments, the Sacramentals and everything that is of Jesus and those things or ways that are of or belong to Jesus and those persons who are close or with Jesus.

Now, in changing religion, you are not sure if this option can protect you or can save you or can help you to enter heaven. I may say that if a demon "ceases" his attacks through a person who became "good" after changing his religion or faith from being a Catholic to another, that demon was already numbered that person to all those he will bring down to hell. It may seem that the person is at "peace" like no worries, the career or living is smooth with no "bad luck", or not getting struck of misfortunes. And pardon me that I am not saying that those Catholics who are experiencing these things that I just typed were belong to the evil one but, the reasons can be found out if one is discerning or thinking over those things why they are happening. Maybe, the people experiences these "misfortunes" because they are living in sin, or maybe because, they are living a holy life and they are on the way of purification and tried by these, of course, trials. Another reason that I may add is this that if a person move himself away from the Holy Church and he is now living a "prosperous" life, it can be said that the evil one is using this person to become his "example" or "model" or instrument in proselytizing people to change their religion and move themselves away from the Holy Church and to the Holy and Real Presence of Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist showing and testifies also that no one can live a merry life and cannot attain progress in life while being a member of the Holy Church - the Catholic Church.

Now, on the part of being a lukewarm Catholic is like swaying of oneself in the wind, a boat that is just floating in the ocean with no desire to push and sail oneself to progress in knowing, loving, and serving God. It is mellowness of spirit to go on and  to take courage and to go forward to fight for God and to win souls for the love of Him shown by our love for our neighbor. In the Revelations 3:16 we read that, "The lukewarm I will spew out of my mouth", says the Lord. Then one must choose who will he/she wholly belong : to the good or bad; to God or to the Evil One. It is just like this scenario - that no one can escape from earthly death. But we can attain eternal life living on the way of holiness started in Baptism, and then later on the Confirmation of belonging oneself to Christ together with uniting ourselves bodily with the Body of Christ in the Mass of the Faithful or the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, frequent use of the sacramentals that are in line with the Sacred Traditions of the Church, patronizing the Sacrament of Confession, et cetera. 

The warfare is about us humans. We are at war every second of our days. No one can escape from it. We should or must go forward, no turning backs from it. No giving up. No surrender. Because we are not alone on this fight. We are not alone. And those who are fighting with us is so much so greater and powerful than those of hell. COURAGE! FORWARD! The real Christians are those who belong to the Catholic Church!
Do not desert our Holy Commanders in Heaven!

Become a saint!


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