THE FOUR PRINCIPAL TORMENTS OF THE DAMNED

Ever increasing is the number of people in today's society who do not believe in the existence of hell. A reality commonly defined by secular society as a place where only the worst of the worse end up; the Adolph Hitlers and Osama Bin Laden's. After all, they may argue, since God is all good how can He throw most of us in hell? The majority of us are decent people, right? Beside this, modern relativism will have you convinced that "if" hell exists (or better yet if you believe hell exists) one would need to be a cold blooded killer or an absolutely horrific person to end up there. Nevertheless, this is all only if hell exists!? Time and again even certain theologians attempt to redefine or explain away the existence of hell calling it symbolic of a deeper truth or a metaphor explaining another truth of Christs teachings. The fact is, I believe, the idea of the existence of hell and the knowledge that some of us will end up there for eternity is too much for some minds to except. It is too great a torment, not possible for an all loving God. It is, however, a mandatory tenant of our Catholic Christian faith which all Catholic need to believe in order to be rightfully called a Catholic.

Oh' how masterfully our adversary has deceived us! We can go on-and-on about the lies that society believes about the existence of hell, what hell will be like and who goes there. Just like relativism we can make hell to be whatever we want. And although Satan gets an A+ for effort and effectiveness he still breathes lies and we're the ones deemed too stupid to know the difference! I will, therefore, set down at length the Church approved revealed explanation of the reality of hell as given to St. Catherine of Siena by God the Father in her writings entitled, "The Dialogue." Teachings which are in no way contrary to Divine Revelation and only serve to shed more light onto it's reality.

First we must define hell itself. The Original Catholic Encyclopedia defines hell as, "a place where all those who die in personal or mortal sin, as enemies of God, and unworthy of eternal life, will be punished by God after death." (Original Catholic Encyclopedia: Page 207) You can take the time to read the entire encyclopedia entry to find out more specifics as to the origin of its name, it's existence based on Divine Revelation and the more theological aspects of hell. I will only be treating here of the specific teachings God the Father gave to St. Catherine of Siena as to the realities of hell.

THE FOUR PRINCIPAL TORMENTS OF THE DAMNED, FROM WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHERS

There are three principal vices (sins which humans can be enslaved to) which destroys a soul and if left un- repented leads them in hell. These determines the extremity of their torments in hell. They are as follows...

1) SELF LOVE, from which proceeds the second vice,
2) LOVE OF REPUTATION, from which proceeds the third vice,
3) PRIDE, and from pride all other sins come; especially injustice and cruelty.

These vices determine the torments one will experience in hell which God told St., Catherine "the tongue is not [even] sufficient to narrate."

1. The damned see themselves depraved of the vision of God. 
     - God explains that this is such a pain to the damned that, if it were possible, they would rather choose fire, the other tortures and torments and to be able to see Him than be able to go without the fire, the tortures and torments and not see Him.

2. The Worm of Conscience.
     - It is from not being able to see God that the damned are tormented by the worm of their own consciences. It gnaws at them unceasingly. This is what Jesus meant when He referred to the "weeping and gnashing of teeth." To make the torments worse is that in this state the reality that the damned can see the conversation of the fallen angels through the eyes of their sins and understand that there is absolutely no redemptive hope for them.

3. The vision of the devil.
     - The mere sight of the devil to the souls in hell redoubles their every toil. As the Saints rejoice at the sight of God in heaven, refreshing themselves in joyousness in the fruit of their toil borne for God with such abundance of love, and all displeasure of themselves, so does the sight of the devil revive these wretched ones to torments. This is because in seeing the devil they know themselves more. In other words, they know their own sin and have made themselves worthy of it.

This torment increases the worm of conscience more and more and the fire of conscience never ceases to burn. The sight of the devil, moreover, is more painful to them because they see him in his own form, which is so horrible that the heart of man could not imagine it. Of this, St. Catherine herself was abler to catch a sheer glimpse of Satan once and exclaimed that she would rather walk along a road of hot coals until the day of Judgement that to see him again!

Even with all of this described, God told St. Catherine, we don't even know at all how horrible the devil is. It is because of Gods Divine justice that the devil appears more horrible to the soul that is depraved of Him, more or less according to the gravity of their sins.

4. The fire.
     - This fire burns but does not consume because the soul cannot be consumed.  God, once again in His Divine justice, allows this fire to burn them without consuming them in many diverse ways according to the gravity of their faults.

Out of these four torments issue all others, such as cold and heat and the outer darkness.

Now because they did not amend themselves after the first reproof that they had of injustice and false judgement, neither in the second, which was that, in death, they did not hope in God, nor greive for the offense done to Him, but only for their own pain, have they thus miserably received eternal punishment.

These torments mark only the beginning of what is in store for the damned. I have just listed the basics here. This doesn't even include the General Judgement at the end of time and the other reproofs which God has made coinciding with this.This does not include the emotions experiences by the damned and how they are literally frozen in themselves through utter hatred.

My dear brothers and sisters and all who read this. Understand that hell is absolutely real. It will not be a place to party with your friends or a place finally rid of God in order to pursue whatever you want. If not taken seriously now it will be too late once you die. This in itself is a torment of hell! God is so merciful and desires none of His creatures goes to hell. Hell was created specifically for the fallen angels and not us!

Perhaps of the severity of this blog my next blog will describe the unspeakable glory of the blessed in heaven!!!

- Paul A. Ray

Copyright 2011 Armor of God

Taken from, "The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena. Dictated by her, while in the state of ecstacy, to her secretaries, and completed in the year of Our Lord 1370" Published by TAN CLASSIC BOOKS 1997

Get the Devil Out of the Confessional! A Brief Guide to Noticing the Demonic in Conscience and Confession

     Of all the ammunition we have at our disposal as Catholics against the wiles of the enemy, it is the Sacrament of Confession which Satan loathes the most. Far too often we see this Sacrament for one thing only; the cleansing of our souls from the ugly stain of sin. This it does, but the Sacrament of Reconciliation goes beyond just the forgiveness of our sins. In this blog we will discuss why this is the greatest weapon in spiritual warfare and what to look out for when it comes to recognizing the devils influence in regards this Most Holy Sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ.

It is of the utmost importance that we first know ourselves before entering into the dynamics of the devil and it's full impact when it comes to confession. It is far easier to see the tactics he uses to prevent us from receiving absolution when we understand, first, how we personally relate to divine truth and how we execute it's reality in our lives. The devil knows the power we receive through this Sacrament and he stops at nothing to prevent us from receiving it. This is mostly achieved by mental withdraw and spiritual laxity. Satan will try to dull our understanding of the grace we actually receive in the Sacrament of Penance by convincing us that confession really isn't necessary. He does this in many unique ways.

1) Whatever sin we've committed, venial or mortal, he enters in dialog with us and he tries to convince us that what we've done really isn't displeasing to God. After all, he may argue, God knows we're trying. Yet, to know the full ramifications of what sin actually is flies in the face of this argument. Any sin, even venial sin, is abhorrent to God. Venial sin doesn't kill us as mortal sin does but if left unchecked we walk on thin ice for the future state of our soul. It must not be taken lightly.

2) Satan will attempt to instill us with fear to prevent us from going to confession. This is the most common tactic he uses and, to be honest, it is the most successful. Perhaps the fear of having to tell another person your faults and being ashamed to think of what that person might think of you. It is very important to always keep in mind that the confessor is sitting in the person of Jesus Christ. In reality it is Christ Himself who hears your confession through the priest. It could be the fear of merely having to disclose something that no one else in the world knows about except you and God; and hopefully your confessor. Satan will tell you, "The priest is never going to look at you the same again." or "You can keep that sin just between you and God; He'll understand." Sound familiar?

3) The devil will oftentimes make excuses as to why you ought to postpone going to confession. He might say, "You're not ready yet. You still need time to think things overor "Maybe what you did really isn't sinful after all. It wasn't that bad." His trick in playing this game is to keep you postponing and postponing confession in and hopes that you eventually lose interest. Worse yet, he convinces you that confession itself, as a Sacrament is unnecessary.

4) What's more is Satan will try to convince us to to keep secret certain sins from the confessional for various reasons. Whatever the case may be it is a mortal sin in itself to withhold any sin willfully during confession. St. Padre Pio had the gift of reading the sins of people and who is to say that your confessor doesn't have this same gift? Nevertheless,if this thought comes to mind you'll know where it came from.

Satan is not limited to these examples alone in keeping us from the confessional. To exhaust every effort he takes would take volumes because he is very personal with us as individuals. These examples do give us a picture of the foundation of his assaults; so when he is made known we are able to take the proper precautions in order to expose and destroy any hope he has at separating us from our Father in heaven.

Wherever we receive sacramental absolution we are basically rendered untouchable. There is nothing the devil can do to harm us except by means of our own willingness to cooperate with him and commit sin. This is why he does all within his power to prevent us from going. Take one look at Jesus crucified and you'll see the ugliness of sin. I firmly believe that if anyone of us were allowed just one minute in hell to witness and suffer with the damned we would strive to live our lives here on earth with the most fervent effort to avoid sin.

It's important to note that the forgiveness of our sins isn't usually accompanied by a grand feeling of weightlessness and joy. Sometimes it is, and that is a grace, but most often it is not. Satan will sometimes take this lack of enthusiasm and deceive you into believing that you weren't actually forgiven. We have all been through this before despite knowing (at least intellectually) full well that we have received sacramental absolution. Rest assured that almighty God, in His unfathomable mercy, has forgiven us. We like to think of this as God's way of keeping us free of becoming attached to a feeling rather than on Him, our sovereign Lord, who alone deserves our love.

We ought to run to confession without fear. Being pleasing to God is all that matters in life. We know He is merciful and if we come to Him with a heart contrite we know that He will not deny us forgiveness and His grace. Sometimes it takes real humility to go to confession; and rightfully so. But to be pleasing to God ought to be the first thing we desire to do. Do not think thing of what the priest might think of you. Think, rather, of what God thinks of you. He alone can throw you into hell. Not only this but having a good confessor or someone to help you during tough times and in temptations helps to keep you from sinning and thus offending God. We are certainly blessed to have this sacrament at our disposal. We need to learn to take advantage of it and use it to our own sanctification.

+ARMOR OF GOD+

Copyright 2012 Armor of God

Subtle Aggresion: The Burning Process

     We continue in our study on the activity of the demonic in our lives by bringing our attention to one of the most distributing facets of spiritual warfare. A method by which our enemy of the faith brings to bear that touches upon our vulnerabilities as being weakened finite individuals. We are referring to what we term, "The Burning Process." This is where we are slowly being tempered in division and restlessness; where what starts out seemingly harmless becomes a playground for the devil and his demons to dwell and to create torments unnecessary.

     A common mistake often made by faithful Christians is when they do not heed what St. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 and, "take every thought captive to obey Christ." To take a thought captive is significant. A thought has four different ways of entering our mind.

1. Through the influence of the world.This represents such things as the favor of others, friends, reputation, importance, wealth, delights, and comforts.

2. Through the impulses (or passions/concupiscence) of the flesh.The flesh is the most tenacious in this group and represents the sensory appetites (delight as brought forth by our senses) and natural affections that war against the spirit. 

3. Through the influence of the devil. Since the devil is a spiritual being his affects are more cunning and deceitful. He works hand-in-hand with the world and the flesh in order to bring about sin.

4. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This involves anything in union with divine truth as revealed to us by God through His Church. Inspiration of the Holy Spirit can take many different forms. Through natural or supernatural means, sensory or spiritual.

Since, therefore, as St. Paul tells us our everyday battles are fought against, "the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness and with the evil spirits in the heavens," (Ephesians 6:12) we must understand that all of our thoughts, large and small, stem from one of these areas; the world, the flesh and the devil. The world to use us to loose focus on hope, the flesh to lose focus on love and the devil to lose focus on faith. All three of these virtues are mandatory in our own spiritual development. If we lose one of them we essentially lose them all.

      What the devil does here is very tricky. Not only is he knowledgeable when it comes to our weaknesses but his intellect far surpasses ours that when he decides to engage us in seemingly reasonable dialog (usually without our even knowing it is him) we are easily led astray because we cannot differentiate between the will of God and our own inclinations; in which we may even be deceived into thinking is the very will of God. Allow us to give you an example. We know that it is the will of God that we receive the Holy Eucharist in a state of grace or else we will commit sacrilege. If Sunday comes along and we consciously know we've committed a mortal sin and a thought comes to mind such as, "Well, God understands my situation" or "God is merciful; He won't mind" we can rest assured that, even though these thoughts may appear reasonable and actual do represent a true characteristic of God (for He does understand our situation and He is merciful), we know that it really is not the particular will of God. Revealed truth shows us that this tenant of our faith is how Christ established it from the very beginning.

     If we do not take every thought captive, as St. Paul says, we are liable to be led away from Christ without our even knowing it. What Satan does is distract our attention away from the things of God in order to create situations where we end up having to rely on our own knowledge (our own will). These things Satan uses, at first, seem harmless or innocent. To the untrained mind they appear reasonable and perhaps just. However, little-by-little like a bucket with a small leak in it, the water (the grace we need from God) slowly trickles out. More times then not by the time we realize it the damage has been done and the means to repair it will cost us a great deal.Take, for example, the episode in the Holy Gospel where Pilates wife had a dream about not condemning Christ. (Matthew 27:19) This, at face value, seems right and reasonable. It seems like a just thing to do. And rightfully so, Christ actually was innocent. The problem, however, was that Satan was using something seemingly good to create an evil. What was the evil? To try to get Pilates wife to convince Pilate not to condemn Christ. It was God the Fathers will that His Son be condemned and put to death.  That's the way in which He saw fit to bring about the redemption of humanity. Satan knew this but Pilates wife did not. Satan is very creative and deceitful, make no mistake. Unless we are in tune with the will of the Father, as Christ was, we would be more apt to fall into his deceitful suggestions.

     The Burning Process begins with a suggestion or thought. We must always learn to bring these thoughts and suggestions captive to the will of God as St. Paul tells us to. He tells us not "some" thoughts or "bad" thoughts alone but every thought. Sometimes the "right" thing to do isn't really the right thing to do. As odd as that sounds it is true that God is specific when it comes to His holy will. Yes, sometimes we have to suffer because of it but at the same time God rewards us with an even greater gift if we patiently endure. This is where authentic freedom is found. It's liberating knowing that not only are you being pleasing to God but He paves the way for you and therefore we not worry. All we have to do is simply love Him in simplicity and keep our hearts in tune with His. The victory over Satan has already been won but the battle is still raging.

"Brethren, be sober, be watchful. For our adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, goers about seeking someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith!" (1 Peter 5:8-9)

Copyright 2012 A New Voice for Broken Souls

The Power of Prayer

*The intent of this blog is to briefly detail what prayer is and in a possible future blog to discuss how to pray.*

How many of us would agree that we have a strong and solid prayer life? If your answer is yes then congratulations! You are on your way to humble and holy saintliness! However, there are many of us that might sadly admit that our prayer life could be stronger or it may even be nearly non-existent. Many may struggle with the basic concept of prayer. What is prayer, exactly? The word prayer originates from the Latin word "precari" which means to plead, to beg, or ask earnestly. That may seem obvious since we ask God of many things amidst prayer. It's simply in our human nature to ask the Divine for intervention. We have been informed by our Lord and Savior to do as such, " Jesus answered, 'Have faith in God. In truth I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, "Be pulled up and thrown into the sea," with no doubt in his heart, but believing that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. I tell you therefore, everything you ask and pray for, believe that you have it already and it will be yours. " (Mark 11: 22-24)

Naturally our mind might gravitate to a more materialistic aspect and beg God for a million dollars. We did speak in a previous blog that God always wishes to give and only desires the very best for us. Jesus did say ask and you shall receive but God will not grant our prayers if those very things we ask for may be of great detriment to our eternal salvation. On the other hand, a prayer that is said with great doubt in the Lord or mistrust may deem our prayers null and void. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes prayer as a three fold means of attaining union with God. 

St. Therese of Lisieux described prayer very eloquently, " For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy."  This details perfectly what the Catechism ( 2558- 2565) expounds upon relating to prayer : Prayer is first and foremost a gift from God, an act of commitment and love for God, and an act of attaining union with God.

Prayer as God's Gift (2559)

He who humbles himself shall be exalted. Humility is the foundation of building and executing a deep and meaningful prayer life. Jesus as the living example of humbleness lived a life dedicated for the reparation of God's sons and daughters (us) so much so that he paid the ultimate price by sacrificing himself for our salvation. Approaching God with the humblest of hearts shall be rewarded greatly by God as He dispenses grace to us so that we may remain strong in our faith. Prayer increases the amount of graces given by God when we are unable to attend Mass or Adoration (during the week), and that grace transforms our hearts and strengthens our spiritual life. 

Prayer as Covenant (2562)

We can utter words and pray from our minds but if we do not pray to God from our heart then our prayers are in vain. Scripture mentions praying from the heart more than a thousand times! If this doesn't stress the importance of praying and truly meaning it then we're not sure what does! Surrender is at the heart of Christianity. No human person is able to understand the human heart, not even their own like God can. Therefore, unifying yourself to God’s will through prayer and learning to trust the Lord will bring peace and contentment.

Prayer as Communion (2565)

Prayer is a way of attaining communion in God’s love with the unity of the Holy Trinity. The grace of the Kingdom is "the union of the entire holy and royal Trinity . . . with the whole human spirit."( St. Gregory of Nazianzus) Therefore, prayer as a habit, is a way for us to remain in the presence of the Trinity and in communion with God. Communion is possible because through the Sacrament of Baptism we are united to Christ, as members of His Body, the holy Catholic Church. This union with Christ through Baptism bestows a great strength to our prayers. Our prayers united in communion with the Trinity through the union of God’s love and our Baptism extends through the Body that is the Church.

Hence, we must never underestimate the power of prayer. Just imagine the effect if we ALL prayed as Christ told us to, “as if our prayers have already been answered.” That doubtful premonition that lingers in the pit of our stomach could often be labeled as distrust. Imagine God, being all good, all merciful and loving, knowing this feeling remains in us, not trusting that He will do what is best for us. That should strike a cord of sorrow in you, because God can only do good. God wills everything for the advancement in our journey to eternal salvation. Never forget that the purpose of existing on this earth is to live as Christ, and to bring others to His all-encompassing Love and Mercy for their eternal salvation. We exist for the other, and our primary interest remains in the delight of us all sharing eternal bliss together. We must truly consider what great damage our inconsideration and sins against others do to Christ. In essence we are adding more wounds to His precious Holy Body.. both figuratively and literally. Through the mighty Grace and spiritual power that is received through the Sacraments and Adoration, to the weekly sustaining means that is prayer that unites us to Christ, let us learn what it really means to pray and reflect on what it truly means to live in Christ, as Christ lived…ALWAYS being considerate of others’ needs before our own.

Matthew 25: 40 “ Amen I say to you, whatever you did to the least of my brethren, you did to me.”

The Word Became Flesh

     During this most blessed time of Advent when we await the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, we would like to take a much needed break from Armor of God to reflect on the this most sublime event in history.

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." (John 1:14)

Think about that passage for a bit. Allow the words of St. John the Divine to sink in deep and ponder how unspeakable this single event really was. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, I believe, says it the best:

"God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life."
(CCC 1)

To think that God would willingly take on the very flesh and bone of His own created creatures is mind boggling. Whenever one thinks of "God" or a "god" I would presume that they would perceive someone who is virtually untouchable or out of the grasp of the human intellect to fully comprehend; let alone to compare himself to. God, to the average person, is somebody who is on such a higher level in every way that to think the average person could even fathom God as a man is simply too much to wrap our head around. A "god" would need to have certain characteristics. He would need to be a super hero of sorts having the ability to do things no human could do. Perhaps things beyond what Christ did by defying the laws of physics and forgiving sins. Throughout human history many people, namely political leaders, have claimed to be "God" or at least a "god". However, in every case the effects of their own mortality eventually kicked in and clearly shown that this was obviously not the case. All people have a different idea of what God or a god is supposed to be and/or do according to their own presuppositions. Nevertheless, I think it's safe to say that the notion of God being (or becoming) a man seems too far fetched or something found only in ones own creative imagination.

But this is exactly what God did. The very Creator of everything we see walked and talked as we do. In an act of complete humility He came to us not in pomp and ceremony but in the raw confines of a hidden away cave on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Allow the reality of this truth to penetrate your heart. Think about how the all powerful Creator of everything that exists came to His own Creation in complete poverty. He could've had it all. He could've chosen to be born in the upper echelon of the time and been brought up as king that way. He could've chosen to be born in wealth and have respect from birth but He didn't. Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, freely chose to be born almost without notice. Hence, the words St. John speak volumes, "He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not." (John 1:10) This passage only goes to show that the world back then, so much like today, didn't have their priorities straight.

God created us for Him; to love Him in return. Going to such great lengths to show us His love for us I marvel at the worlds ingratitude. Perhaps it's simply too difficult to comprehend for some. One might think that if God became human everyone would easily recognize Him. As we've seen above that is not the case, however, as Christ said, "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that through Him it might be saved." Jesus gives us the perfect modal of how the human life is to be lived. Our world thrives on power and influence so when Christ came in the flesh the world didn't recognize Him as such because He didn't fit the world's description.

We see the beginnings of the full manifestation of God's love for us in the birth of Christ. Foretold centuries beforehand and fulfilled to a tee when the fullness of time had come. Imagine the stillness of that very night some two thousand years ago. The heavens were all in awe and amazement. The angels look on in wonder as for they have never even taken on flesh. Their very Creator and God stooped even lower than them. Everything was going as planned as the will of God the Father was taking shape.

This Christmas season we urge our readers to reflect on the humility of God. Take some time before Holy Mass or at home in silence and allow the Holy Spirit to infuse you with the magnitude of how great and incomprehensible the incarnation is and was. Place yourself in the secluded cave beside Our Lady and St. Joseph and ponder on what you might have said or thought. Imagine the stillness and calm over all of creatron at that moment. Imagine the Blessed Virgin picking up the Baby Jesus and handing Him to you to hold. Draw closer to our Lord Himself as you ever so gently hold your very own Creator and God in your arms. The very one who shall redeem you through His suffering and love unspeakable. Imagine all the angels present with you and around you bowing in complete submission to a baby. Watch as the shepherds and wise men approach and offer the newborn Messiah gifts. Look back on your own life and reflect on how you have treated God and if necessary repent and embrace His love like never before. Ask God to grant you the strength to submit to Him your life and love. Unto us a Savior is born, Christ the King!

LOREM NATIVITATIS!!!

~Merry Christmas!~

Copyright 2011 New Voice for Broken Souls

The Flames of Love and Hate: The Inner Struggle

   

     God seems to take us where He wills and leaves us questioning our very existence and life during the process. The things He uses, allows and permits, although unknown to us at the time, serve as His means to accomplishing this end. He desires our best and our souls, even while being conformed to His, still lack the substance needed to adapt to His method of transforming us. We are carnal, limited and finite; He is pure Spirit, unlimited and infinite. Hence, the struggle begins. We have looked at our own lives and recognized this unfamiliar process of death from within. We struggle and ask questions only to have the heavens seemingly shut to our cries for answers. But God is faithful and true. When He knows we're ready He will begin to show us what He's doing with us. We have no say in the matter except to trust Him in love. We are not our own. We have been bought with a price by the Redeemers Precious Blood and we need to be open to every possibility that may present itself as something coming from His hands. It is the will and not the circumstance where with we ought to remain focused. That is key and needs to constantly be in the forefront of our spiritual journey.
     With this being said our Lord will, at times, allow the powers of darkness to revel over us with such violence and determination in order to prove us. The devil's know that when you kill love you kill the value of anything done. Even good works are put to naught when not done in light of our love of God and neighbor. The demons know what our weaknesses are and they use them against us in order to fulfill their call to kill the love within us. In many and various ways they cleverly turn the tables against us having us see things as they really aren't. That's right, as they really aren't! At face value the things we perceive as happening really seem to be real and in accordance with the truth. But in reality (in light of revealed Truth, Jesus Christ) they are merely deceptions or illusions reinforced by the devil's attempt to squeeze the love out from within us. Satan's goal is to put a wedge between ourselves and God.
     Pure love brings vulnerability. As a result, this is how God tests our faith and trust in order to unite ourselves with Him. We know intellectually that God is all good and desires the best for us but at times when He's purifying us through fire we are, as it were, left as bate for Satan. We are left completely exposed and open to his schemes of division and foul play. He will feed on the very weaknesses which God the Father is trying to eliminate from within us. It is a battle of celestial titans waging war over our will and we're caught in the middle struggling to find out what is real and what is false. This is not a battle for the weak of faith but takes real fortitude and perseverance. It is a time when most Christians quit rather than fight and so lose the very hope they long for.
     Using the methods of humiliation and self loathing, Satan attaches himself to a person's vulnerabilities and convinces them there is no satisfaction (or hope) other than what he subscribes. Usually in convincing the victim in covering up the exposed darkness left within the heart and soul. This darkness, however, while being brought into the light of Truth and Life can only be dealt with by the will of the person. That is where the outcome of this spiritual struggle is decided. Will they sink into self or cling to God?
     In 1 Corinthians chapter 13 St. Paul shows us that love is the key in unlocking value in the advancement of the kingdom of God and in out own relationship with the Blessed Trinity. In anything we do the motivation needs to be rooted in love or else it is useless. Satan knows this and therefore he tries to take away our love by means of the above mentioned method and feeds us with hatred toward ourselves and eventually, if we allow it, God. This hatred is fueled by us defaming our very selves through being exposed in this spiritual growth process . It plays on the very dignity of the person involved to such an extent that borderlines insanity. God is the ultimate reality and so when He is taken out of the picture purpose and meaning fades away and we're left for dead by our own devises. Satan tries to convince us that God doesn't care and we are the only ones who can satisfy our deepest longings, which, oddly, is to love and be loved.
     Both hatred and love are like fire. They are kindled and when fanned grow larger and larger. Hatred, to our destruction and love to our betterment if properly utilized and understood. When it comes to the eternal destination of everyone of our souls God and the devil do not play games. We will not feel the full weight of this reality until we pass from time into eternity but by then it will be too late.

Let us turn to the saints in this dark struggle. Reflect upon their lives and see how they overcame such inner adversity even to the point of giving their lives over to death for the sake of love of Christ! God calls us all to be saints and He will fully equip us with every spiritual gift and grace we need to shine His light in this blackened world we live in!

"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith."

(1 John 5:4)

Copyright 2011 New voice for Broken Souls

    

"Quid est Veritas?" What is Truth?

"Pilate said to Him, "What is Truth?" (John 18:38)

     We have looked at a few methods in which our common enemy employ's in order to vanquish our union with our Father. We have shown how the prince of the powers of the air (Ephesians 2:2) will occupy our thoughts with doubt concerning our own place in this world by way of challenging us intellectually as to our authentic dignity as being children of the Most High. We have also written exclusively on how this "murderer" (John 8:44) so eloquently deceives us into believing that the Blessed Trinity is holding out on us and desires not our happiness but our misery. This, of course, he does by magnifying our own base, fallen and prideful desires above reason and,therefore, above God Himself. Being a superior being, Satan and the rest of the fallen angels (demons), often have success in advancing their agenda because of the mere ignorance of Gods chosen. Without knowing what hit them many Christians are overcome by his wicked advancements and are brought deeper into themselves instead of deeper into Jesus Christ, their savior. Satan's trickery is masterful and cunning. It is pleasing to the senses and, sadly, seems 'reasonable' whenever viewed outside of divine revelation. Take note, once again, and we stress this, that if not firmly rooted into your faith and in love with Jesus, you will be easily overwhelmed and whatever the devil suggests will seem truthful and innocent. It will appear to you as a light but in reality it's darkness. Without a complete distrust of self and full confidence in God we are like a ship without sails being tossed about at the winds command. We will have no direction and all will be an utter blur until we eventually capsize unto our our own ruin.
     In this blog we will discuss another unique means Satan uses to steer us away from God and lead us deeper into despair. This way is far more (if that's possible) demanding than what we've discussed previously and requires more focus at attention to detail. Something which, in today's world, no one seems to have the time for nor do few inquire about. We are referring to Truth.
     St. Peter, in his second epistle, tells us, "false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction." (2 Peter 2:1) This aspect of spiritual warfare plays on the very shoulders of what we discussed earlier. Once the deception unto 'self' has been accomplished our adversary builds upon his foul foundation another building block of ruin. This we have called the "Distorted Reflection". It is likened to looking into a fun-house mirror. The true mirror reflects the Truth, Jesus Christ, in His fullness. This distorted-fun house mirror does indeed reflect Truth, however,  but not truth in reality as God has established it. Or at best, the 'truth' it does contain it deforms and causes all who look into it to see a distorted reflection of self, truth and real reality.
     Distorted reflection teaches half-truths. It can appear at face value to be absolute but when examined closely it doesn't contain everything needed to be the full Truth. For instance, many world religions outside of Christianity have many "truth's". They speak of revealed truth but do not claim it as from the one true God. They except one truth and reject another making the truth they do except a real truth but half understood. Truth works like that, it is natural, it can bee seen and understood and in most cases without the aid of faith but by reason alone. By conscience as well. All of which has been established by God for the sake of men. All revealed truth made by God and revealed to men is interconnected in one form or another. Whether it be the natural law or the moral law, truth works and operates collectively as a whole. This is why our society accepts stealing and murder as wrong but rejects such things as abortion or euthanasia.
     Satan thrives in distorted reflections. Although he himself is foreign to truth (John 8:44) he can use truth to lead people to lies. This method in which the father of lies works is the most destructive and causes the most damage in the world. Things can appear right and just at surface level but once you dig deep you will begin to see missing pieces. So many people are led astray simply by acknowledging half truths based on what they've seen or heard but take it no further. The intellectual dullness of modern society is something that begins in childhood and evolves as we grow. Especially in western society with the teaching of relativism in the school system and the general synapses of modern media.
     Sadly, this distorted reflection appears on a grand scale in Christianity as well. Not only in the breaking off of Christianity that happened during the Protestant revolt in the 16th century but also within the very walls of our Catholic Church. Protestantism (I speak here namely on Protestantism and not the Eastern Church because the divide within Protestantism and Catholicism is wider and more dangerous) in it's many forms has indeed helped many in forming their conscience to real truth but has done such damage to not only the believer for failing to adhere to the fullness of the truth as established by Christ and found only in the Catholic Church but, also, for confusing secular society as to the truth about truth. How can so many "churches" claim to have the truth when they disagree on so many vital details of what that truth actually is? Perhaps another blog in itself for another time but the point we are trying to make here is that if reality, if truth is to be understood in the way in which God has shown us we need to look no further then the Catholic Church. Her teachings are established by Jesus, the Truth Himself, and are eternal and unchangeable.
     Within our very own walls we see division as well. The Catholic Church is in a dangerous point in human history. Many bishops, priests and laymen are opposed to the true teachings of Christ and His Church and adhere to whatever they personally feel is truth. A good majority our schools and universities are awful examples of Catholicism; corroded with secularism and treated as a business rather than a place to grow closer to God. However, as Jesus Christ promised, the gates of hell shall never prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)We have been given the eyes to see this and the ears to hear this blatant disarray at work. It is a call for all of us, in love of God, to work even more diligently in the work of God and His divine kingdom.

So what ought we to do?

To know the truth, the full truth and nothing but the truth means to know Jesus. The whole Jesus and nothing but Jesus! The fullness of Christ can only be found in the Catholic Church. Lead a life of constant communion with the Blessed Trinity through prayer, devotion and the sacraments. Establish a real relationship with Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and she will help you more than you think in advancing to truth and wisdom. Everything here on earth is to be used as a means to arrive at our true home in heaven. If we do not see (or better yet adhere to) the truth we will not arrive at the very place which God desires for us and has paved the way for us to get there. There will be many crosses and many trials along the way but to be firmly rooted in the Truth of Jesus Christ means safety and security while we await our blessed hope!

Copyright 2011 A New Voice for Broken Souls