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

Amidst Combat: The Enemy's Weapons

"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered. And the tempter came..."(Matthew 4:1)

     What can we learn from the temptation of Christ in the wilderness? Brothers and sisters, there could be volumes written about this subject. Everyone from the Church Fathers all throughout Christian history, right up until Pope Benedict XVI, have written extensively on the subject of Christ's temptation. What we plan to do here is not so much write an exhaustive explanation but, rather, a concise overview of how Satan attempted to skew the will of God the Father in Jesus' life and how that relates to us today. There is a reason why Sacred Scripture is called, "God's Living Word". Unlike any other book written in human history, the Bible is authored by God and written by man, (CCC #105) It speaks life into us, it is Divine Revelation and whenever read it goes far beyond mere intellectual understanding. This is the reason why Scripture is held in such reverence during Holy Mass. Like breathing air gives our physical bodies life, reading Sacred Scripture pours life into our souls. This is the reason why we chose to focus, first of all, on what has already been Divinely revealed concerning Satan and how he operates before moving toward the lives of the saints and then our own personal experiences. We, and our reader, will benefit the most from the example of Scripture before all others.
     The very first verse in Matthew's Gospel (Chapter 4) tells us a great deal. It says, "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." God the Father, as He does with each and every one of us, tests our faith and trust, thus, He did so with His Son as well. This verse shows us that this episode was preordained by the Father in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit led Christ right into the devils domain on purpose. Here we see that God will allow for us (as He didn't spare His own Son) to be tempted by the devil. He will even lead us to it at times as He did here. Furthermore, despite Christ being fully God His humanity needed to be tried and found spotless. This incident, perhaps, ordained by the Father, could have been done for our own benefit and not for that of Christs. Christ Jesus, in order to better associate Himself with His Creatures, gives us the perfect example of complete obedience by willingly endured the assaults of our common adversary.While it is understood that God does and has allowed many to be tempted by the devil, it must also be understood that God is all good. God is love! The Father would never will a circumstance to occur to harm us in any way. Rather, He permits it in order to grow in deeper union with Him as was this example which Christ gives to us.

 We will not be commenting on the specific dialog between Christ and Satan but only highlight the ways in which Satan went about to temp and deceive Jesus.

     The text in verse two tells us that Christ fasted for forty days and forty nights when the tempter came to Him. This is key because in this we see that Satan will assail us when he knows we are weak. Scripture tells us that Christ was hungry. This is obvious, but take note of what Satan says to Jesus just before tempting Him to turn stones into bread. He says, "If you are the Son of God..." Why, do you suppose, Satan questioned Christs' divinity? Satan knows what he is doing. He is an intelligent spirit. He understood that in Christs' weakened condition, after not having eaten in forty day and nights, In His humanity His mind might be somewhat delusional. He, therefore, tried to take advantage of the situation and attempt to kill two birds with one stone; to cause Christ to question who He is as Son of the Living God and to lose focus on why He was fasting in the first place. We, too, will be questioned as to our true identity as children of God. Satan will infiltrate our minds with confusion as to the reality that we really are heirs and adopted children of the Most High God. If this isn't enough to discourage us he will 'kick us while we're down,' so-to-speak and, like he did with Christ, take this opportunity to challenge our faith even further. Living an authentic life of faith in God is hard enough let alone having to muster the ability (by the grace of God) to withstand an ambush of doubt. Satan's motive in tempting Christ to turn stones into bread was not done simply to satisfy Jesus' hunger. Otherwise, Christ would not have responded as He did by saying, "It is written, `Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." We see here Satan's deceptivity at work. His intent was to have Christ, the Son of the Living God and the Redeemer of the world, yield to Satan's request rather than remain steadfast to His Fathers command and will despite His hunger pangs. Jesus fully understood Satan's nature as being the "father of lies" (John 8:44) and acted accordingly. Here is where most Christians fall. What makes playing mind games with Satan so difficult is because when Satan speaks (or tempts) he does so because there is no truth in him. It is in his very nature to lie. (John 8:44) As a result, his craftiness and deceitful ways of leading us into sin are very difficult to recognize. We must all understand this before doing battle or else we won't even stand a chance.
   We see in Christs' second temptation that Satan challenges God Himself. He asks Jesus to throw Himself down a cliff overlooking the Holy City simply to see whether or not the angels, as Scripture testifies, will protect Him. Normally such a temptation would seem laughable to Christ but in His weakened condition Satan gives it a try knowing Jesus is suffering greatly and may not be thinking straight. However, Christ quickly responds that we are not to tempt the Lord our God. Satan will do the same with us as well. He knows Sacred Scripture and we see in Scripture itself that he uses it to his own advantage by designating a different meaning to a certain passage than what the author originally intended. In his deceit and because of this, he causes us to doubt God and to turn away from Him. This is why, like a previous blog pointed out (Know Your Faith), we have to know the Word of God so well that we can, like Jesus did, recognize when it is being used falsely. Therefore, once again, KNOW YOUR FAITH and fight back!
   The third and final temptation is one in which most people, I believe, would fall. It culminates the chiefest of all sin, pride. "The devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them;" (Matthew 4:8) This temptation is interesting. We can see that Satan has the ability to transfer images or bi-locate. Whatever the case may be we know that Satan will make sin appear pleasurable and pleasing to the senses. He tickles our fallen nature to yearn for dominion in that which is not ours; to look inside of us and feed the hunger of greed and power. Hence, he challenges Jesus and says, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." It wasn't Satan's attempt to give Jesus that which is rightfully His, for He created them, but it's Satan's desire to have Christ forsake His Father. Worldly dominion, at least from a temporal standpoint, wasn't what was really at stake. Can you see the trickery of the devil? He takes something which is seemingly harmless and tries to bring about destruction. Jesus is fed-up by now and proclaims with authority, "Begone, Satan!" The devil, as St. Teresa of Avila used to say, is like a fly. We swat pesky flies whenever they bother us and here Jesus is "swatting" Satan. "You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve." Simple enough, Satan could not muster the "greed" n Christs' humanity (O' the irony) to cause Him to fall.

There is a prayer in the Tridentine Holy Mass that states, "Laetantibus vobis humana natura mire ["You (God) have exulted man's nature most wonderfully.."] Indeed He has! This is why Satan takes advantage of deceiving us by way of our intellect more-so than through "hauntings" or any other paranormal activity. After all, hauntings and the paranormal probably won't convince the 'hauntee' to fly away from God but toward Him. Therefore, I encourage all readers to consider their every thought, every action and "take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5) May Almighty God richly bless you!

Copyright 2011 A New Voice for Broken Souls


 

Know Your Enemy

     One of the most interesting facets of our Catholic faith is how many "mysteries" we have. Sometimes trying to figure out what God is up to is certainty enough to make one feel truly ignorant. The old adage, "The more you know, the more you realize you don't know!" rears its honest head and has us dumbfounded just when we thought we finally "Got it". I honestly believe one single lifetime is still not enough to learn the entire Catholic faith and rightfully so. It's not possible for our finite minds to wrap themselves around nearly 2000 years of rich Catholic history. Nevertheless, our Father has provided a way for us to understand just enough in order for us to live the life He has called each of us to. Since, therefore, every one of us is unique in our own way God works within each of us differently. The same Holy Spirit is at work and guiding us toward the same goal but the means are different for each of us. (1 Corinthians 12:7-11) Once we have freely chosen to, "be transformed by the renewing of our minds" (Romans 12:2) and willfully allow God to form us as to reflect of His Son, Jesus Christ, we will be ready to distinguish the now illumined narrow path that leads to life.
     Along this beaten path many obstacles present themselves in an effort to buffet our progress. Sadly, many souls who encounter such adversity get discouraged and relapse into their old ways. (Matthew 13:19) If not deeply rooted in the Faith and in love with Jesus Christ one doesn't stand a chance once the seed is sown within their hearts. Satan knows this all too well so he goes to extreme lengths (so far as God permits him to) to thwart the initial sincerity of the newborn child of God. His methods are unique in themselves and take on many forms. We will discuss each form at length in blogs to comes but we will begin with his most used (at least in my own experience) tactic and make our way to the more lesser known.
      Satan will most often use a false pretense of normality to quickly deceive the vulnerable soul. In his craftiness he will convince us that the thought, inspiration or idea we are having is of our own origin. It is disguised, oftentimes, as a "good idea" or something that appears to be normal and harmless. Case in point, after Jesus hands the keys of the kingdom to Peter in Matthew 16 Peter approaches Jesus to rebuke Him for when He had told them that "He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things...and be killed" (Matthew 16:21) Peter exclaims, "God forbid! Lord! This shall never happen to you!" (Matthew 16:22) To this Jesus hastily responds, "Get behind me Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not on the side of God but of men." (Matthew 16:23)
     At face value Peter's rebuke seemed reasonable. Peter, perhaps, probably thought he was showing his loyalty to our Lord. Satan, desiring to deter Christ and His mission, uses Peter as an unsuspecting host to cleverly (more appropriately foolishly) infiltrate the will of God the Father. He will do the same thing with us. Had not Christ known His mission He may have heeded Peter's rebuke. Satan knew Peters simplicity and took advantage of it.
     Also, it's important to underscore that Jesus said, "You are not on the side of God but of man". This seems obvious to us but some Bibles translate this passage to read, "You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." (see New American Bible) This clearly shows us that man's will by itself is contrary to the Divine will. As a result, by ourselves we cannot see the end in which God has for us until we see things from His perspective first. Then the things that happen to us begin to make sense. Once we know what God has planned for us personally and as a whole together as His Church, we will, as Christ demonstrated, be able to discern how God thinks and be able to recognize the sly deceits of the devil as he has shown us here in the Holy Gospel. Thinking "as humans do" is rooted in pride and must be countered by humility which can only be achieved through shouldering ones cross as Christ has.
     Another means Satan employs to orchestrate his wretched will is by the justification of selfishness. Namely, the Seven Capital (or deadly) Sins. He will utilize pride, greed, envy, wrath, sloth, gluttony and lust in order to insinuate the need to satisfy an otherwise insatiable disorder urge. The occult of Satanism holds to vices much like Catholics hold to virtues. Since, therefore, the fallen human condition (our flesh) desires these vices by nature, Satan utilizes them to his advantage and an unsuspecting heart can turn black by no fault of it's own. We will be having a series on each Capital Sin individually in the future but for now let it suffice to mention the very thing they all hold in common which the evil one uses to drive souls away from God.
     Take, for example, the account in the book of the Acts of the Apostles where the early church is growing rapidly and all the new followers of "The Way" were selling their property and giving the proceeds to the poor. (Acts 4:34-35) A man named Annanias and his wife Sapphira sold a portion of their land in order to help the poor. However, Scripture tells us that they contrived together and kept back a portion of the proceeds. St. Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, knew immediately what they had done when they arrived to hand him the money. He exclaimed, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land?" (Acts 5:3) Upon hearing these words Annanias and his wife Sapphira dropped dead instantly! Satan used what he knew to be the selfish nature of man and exploited the Capital Sin of greed in order to separate Annanias and his wife from God. This account not only shows us how Satan works but it also is a great reminder of how serious sin is. This is why self discipline is vital in the spiritual life. Had Annanias and his wife recognized their own weaknesses in the sin of covetousness they would have quickly been able to see that it was Satan trying to fill their hearts. Perhaps, Annanias and his wife even had good intentions with the money they kept for themselves but the deed was already done. One cannot use evil in order to bring about a good from it.
     A sad reality is that Satan (and demons) know us all to well. They know our evil tendencies and latch onto them and use them against us. This is why we stress the absolute importance of knowing ones self and our own tendencies before attempting to thwart Satan's schemes. Otherwise, the powerful force of "self" will overwhelm reason and truth and plunge your soul further into darkness. We need to acquire the ability to see clearly our own hearts in light of the Divine will before we can even think about conquering the evil one. He is a mastermind of how human nature operates and manipulates in such a way that can have uis questioning what we know with absolute certainty to be true. He feeds off our wants and desires that do not parallel the law of God and crushes us if we don't know what we're doing.
     We will be discussing the three temptations of Christ in the desert in our next blog and picking apart how the devil's tactics affected Jesus and what we can learn from them in our own lives. While this topic may be scary, the good news is God has already won! However, the battle still exists in temporal form and as we have discussed proceeds from the fall of man and fall of the angels. One thing is for certain, just know amongst all the confusion that sin bestows, all stands still in Christ!

May the peace and love of God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, rest upon you and your loved ones!


Copyright 2011 A New Voice for Broken Souls All Rights Reserved.

A Well Formed Conscience = A Well Formed Foundation

It is not a pleasant task to have to highlight the tactics of our common enemy in the faith. It would bring greater joy to be able to speak of the immeasurable love of our heavenly Father or the richness of His mercy. However, our being called to help bring to surface the severity of what is happening everyday in the realm of things invisible and unseen does have it's benefits. Even while researching material for our blogs we get first hand experience of the very thing we're writing about. The tactics of the one we're researching begin to surface before our very eyes. By the grace of the Holy Spirit we suffer for a time in wonderment but then He quickens us, opens up our eyes and reveals what's happening and why. It truly is an amazing phenomenon. As a result, two things happen. First, we gain invaluable insight on the very subject matter we're are called to bring to light and secondly we grow in knowledge of our own walk with Christ. Virtue grows and fruit is borne. Now we have that extra "push" to be able to tell you, our readers, the reality of this demonic chess game Satan plays.

 Our goal in this blog is to sear into the minds of our readers, and every faithful practicing Catholic, that we must be on full alert every single day. The reality of what happens each day on a supernatural level must not be ignored or taken lightly by any Christan. Indeed, it must be on the forefront of all of our minds when we first wake up. We need, first of all, a mind and conscience formed to that of Christ and His Church. In other words, know your faith! Know what the Church teaches and why She teaches it. Receive frequent Holy Communion and utilize the sacraments. Commit yourself to prayer daily and get to know Jesus personally.  Have the understanding that the lives we lead here on earth have heaven as their ultimate end and goal. This is of the utmost importance. Otherwise, whatever we say will be foreign and make but little sense. Until this is achieved, even if in degrees, the wiles of the devil will be hidden and have a more profound effect on you.

Hollywood's portrayal of the devil having horns, a pitchfork and a long red tail which he uses to simply scare us is far fetched. However, the old cartoons featuring the devil on one shoulder whispering temptations and other hostilities into our ear and an angel on the other shoulder telling us not to listen to the devil is not entirely far off! All of our choices, decisions and thoughts are being influenced each day in a way not far different than this. Satan is clever, he would more often disguise himself as an angel of light to deceive his foes than as a horrific beast of some sort. The world, the flesh and the devil all play a role in this celestial game of tug-of-war. Since, therefore, the world and the flesh are consumed mostly by wickedness we can safely hold Satan as our primary "care giver" of our bad choices. Our will is what is utilized as the lasting "judge" as to whether or not thought becomes sin. Sin, as we know, results in death and separation from the Almighty. Ideas are conceived within our minds and if acted out sin is born. Once this trail of sin continues to snowball downhill sin becomes easier and easier to commit and before long we are in bondage to it. We become sin's slave, having no ability within ourselves to sever the bonds. All because of the powers of darkness whispering seemingly harmless nothings into our conscience.

We need to know that once we understand our faith we can discern things spiritually more easily. One of the greatest impressions made on me when reading about the spiritual life was how we can easily decieve ourselves into thinking we are on the path of righteousness when in reality we've veered away. Satan usually penetrates our minds with certain subtle ideas or lofty thoughts of piety. As a result, little-by-little, we go off course and lose sight of why it is we were striving for holiness to begin with. The focus, then, turns away from God and onto ourselves.

We will be discussing these clever schemes of our enemy in the following blog. We want to make sure you  know exactly what you are to do and why you do it. Everyone one of us is called to live a life of virtue and love. All of us long for authentic and lasting happiness and our Precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ is always quick to help and guide us! In the meantime, pick up the Catechism of the Catholic Church, read Sacred Scripture and pray like you've never prayed before because glory is on the horizon!

May the love of God the Father, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, together with the Holy Spirit be praised, honored, worshiped and glorified! forever and ever!

Copyright 2011 A New Voice for Broken Souls All rights Reserved

Click HERE to read Sacred Scripture

Click HERE to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church

 Click HERE to buy Sacred Scripture

Click HERE to buy the Catechism of the Catholic Church 


 

Darkness Unveiled : The Truth Revealed

So what's the truth behind the devil? Exactly who is he and why is he so eager to lead us to despair? I would venture to say that if polled the majority of Americans would probably define Satan (also known as the devil) and demons as perhaps real but one who doesn't really have any significant impact in our daily lives. Indeed, they might say, Satan and his minions are evil but they don't bother most people, only "evil" people such as murders, rapists, child abusers and the like. Maybe Adolph Hitler and Osama Bin Laden where "possessed" by the devil but never your everyday hard working American who pays his or her taxes and tries to make an honest living. Most Americans are "good" people and therefore, the devil wouldn't want anything to do with them. Some may define Satan and demons as a mere figment of someone’s creative imagination. Still others might say he does exist but since he doesn't bother them they could care less.

     The ironic thing about all of this is that not only do Satan and his demons exist but also, this is precisely how they want people to define them! Let's look at our sources first. Sacred Scripture says this about Satan:

"How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High." But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the Pit." (Isaiah 14:12-15)

Jesus in the Gospel according to Luke, testifies to this when He said, "I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven" (Luke 10:18) after seventy of His disciples returned to Him proclaiming in amazement that even the demons were subject to them in His name.

Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes the once good angels of light fall into death out of envy. (Cf. Genesis 3:1-5; Wisdom 2:24) The Church's Tradition and Doctrine recognizes in this revelation from Scripture a fallen angel, called "Satan" or the "devil". The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: "The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing." (Lateran Council IV (1215): DS 800.) Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels. (2 Peter 2:4) This "fall" consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign. We find a reflection of that rebellion in the tempter's words to our first parents: "You will be like God." (Genesis 3:5) The devil "has sinned from the beginning"; he is "a liar and the father of lies" (1 John 3:8: John 8:44)

(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 391-393)

Satan and his demons do not have a case against us, but against God. Satan knows that he cannot defeat the Almighty so he goes after His children; he, therefore, comes after us. God, being our Creator and the Author of life, in an act of sheer goodness, created each and every one of us not for this world but for the next; In specific, to spend it with Him for eternity in heaven. Since God has given us free will, the ability to freely choose to love Him in return we, on our own account, can refuse His love and choose to be separated from Him. Subsequently, if we choose not to love God in return He, in an act of perfect justice, cosigns us to eternal damnation. This may seem harsh but the truth of the matter is, it is not God who sends us to hell but ourselves. We are the ones who actively and conscientiously choose to go to hell by way of our refusal of His immeasurable love and forgiveness.

Satan and his demons know that they have no hope. They are already destined for the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10) resulting from their disobedience toward God. In a sinister act of revenge they attempt to claim us and drag as many souls to hell as possible. In His kindness, God has paved the way for us to avoid being deceived by these fallen angels, by way of His Son, Jesus Christ, the revelation of Truth. The question is not one of what we believe to be correct but rather, what is correct according to how God has established it.

The father of lies (John 8:44) uses our weakness as humans to prevent us from knowing Truth. As a result, we are blinded to what is authentically right and wrong and base everything according to mere human reasoning alone. Only when we are introduced to Truth, to Jesus Christ, do we experience the presence of evil for what it truly is. If not united to God by way of His prescribed commands, we have no way of knowing when and how we are affected by the devil. We are, in essence, blinded by our own ignorance and we willingly follow the devil if we reject God or take Him and what He says lightly, without even recognizing it. (See John 8:12-59)

Satan and demons are real. Make no mistake about it. They are active in all of our lives in one form or another. Everything we do on a daily basis has eternal consequences. Our actions depict where we desire to spend eternity. Jesus tells us we will be judged by the fruit we bear. (Matthew 7:16; Matthew 12:33; Luke 6:44) Aren't our fruits according to Christ's call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and give drink to the thirsty? Did we minister to those who are sick and/or in prison? These are the Corporal Acts of Mercy in which Jesus looks for in us, as being the fruit we need to bear in order to draw souls to His kingdom. (Matthew 25:44-46) Satan will influence us to do evil, to act contrary to what God has given us as the way to life. He wants us in hell with him and sadly most people fail to recognize the enormity of this. Viewed from God's eyes and according to His standards this world is heading to hell in a handbag and it doesn't even seem to care. Don't fool yourself in believing that hell will be some sort of party where you will not be held accountable for your actions and can behave anyway you want. We've heard this said many times, and perhaps in a joking manner, but nevertheless it is no laughing matter! Hell will not be a party but endless death and despair.

We say these things not as judges ourselves. For we rely on Gods mercy and forgiveness every single day. It is out of a sincere desire rooted in a love of God and neighbor to not see lives ruined and souls damned for eternity. It is a stern warning with which we feel God has placed in our hearts to share with the world. It is not exactly the most pleasant thing to talk about but an absolute necessity since this reality doesn't quite get the recognition it should. As much as we would like to inform the world, we need your help too!

May God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in union with the Holy Spirit be with you always!

Copyright 2011 New Voice for Broken Souls All Rights Reserved.

An Introduction to Spiritual Warfare

"Sobrii estote vigilate quia adversarius vester diabolus tamquam leo rugiens circuit quaerens quem devoret. cui resistite fortes fide scientes eadem passionum ei quae in mundo est vestrae fraternitati fieri."

(1 Peter 5:8-9)

     The above Scripture passage in Latin as quoted from the First Epistle of St. Peter and which is also read during the Compline prayer each night according to the pre-Vatican II Breviary, is a warning to us all.

The same speaks thus in English:

"Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world."

Ladies and gentlemen, this is real! Never before have people been so deceived of the reality that their lives are greatly influenced by the prince of the power of the air. (Ephesians 2:2) For, as St. Paul testifies, "we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12) The truth concerning the activity of the minions of hell has not only been downplayed by Hollywood and viewed as something fictitious or superstitious (which is exactly what Satan wants us to believe) but it is hardly ever spoken of in homilies or taught thoroughly enough in Catechism classes, RCIA groups, youth ministries, Bible studies and other parish workshops. As a result of this many faithful and well meaning followers of Jesus Christ are unknowingly being driven away blindly into their own ruin. By no fault of their own they have no weapons at their disposal to even recognize that this is in fact a major facet of their everyday walk of faith.

The battle we fight spiritually manifests itself temporally by our choices, our behavior and our actions by way of being deceived into something contrary to reality, namely God. It's been said that Satan's greatest tactic in slowly leading souls away from their Creator by means of infiltrating them with falsehoods and clever ways of personal manipulation, is by having them either ignorant of truth itself or even something as simple as convincing people that he doesn't even exist. The will is where sin is born and sin, then, gives berth to death. Once the enemy takes hold of the human will while still remaining oblivious to his victim it can take years to repair the damage and this only if and when he is discovered.

The adversaries of Truth are far more superior intellectually and physically than we are. They are spirit beings created by God and for God and, therefore, we cannot fight them by our own abilities. Without the very grace of God Himself these spiritual hosts of wickedness would destroy us in an instant.As the story of holy Job shows us, if God permits Satan to freely act within our lives he will certainly devour us. 

The creators of this blog felt inspired by our Lord to begin a series outlining the activity of Satan and his demons as taught by Holy Mother Church and from our own personal studies and experience. We pray to shed more light on the reality of this unfortunate truth, and by the grace of God, help at least one soul recognize, fight boldly and conquer the wiles if the enemy!

Copyright 2011 New Voice for Broken Souls, All rights Reserved