We know that the devil is prowling the world seeking the ruin of souls. That's the way it is. And some of us he possesses and some ideologies he makes attractive even to Christians and others normally of good will, no matter their religion.
Are we at another tipping point in terms of the influence of Satan on individuals, groups of people and the ideologies that are hate-filled?
ISIS and their minions and other terrorist groups have the potential to do to innocent people what Hitler, his minions and ideology did to 6 million Jews, 6 million gypsies, (Christians) and countless disabled people of all religions.
We have Russia longing for the good old days and willing to go to war to prove their virility.
We have godless secularism already having overrun Europe and making deep inroads into American life in the years since President Obama took over the White House. The culture of death has been ratcheted up to a virtue under his presidency and the redefining of marriage has made the unnatural natural in eyes of a significant portion of our country, but certainly not all, but those opposed are afraid to speak out because of the tyranny of secularism in this regard.
I met with about 30 juniors and seniors at Macon's Presbyterian Day School. What a nice group of kids. I gave them a tour of our church and spoke about Catholicism, what we have in common and what the differences are.
I spoke a little bit, and really only briefly, on the devil. After the talk, the kids milled about and about 15 of them surrounded me and wanted me to talk about exorcisms. Oddly enough, just this past Saturday I celebrated an EF Baptism and quite frankly I felt like an exorcist at that baptism as you can tell on my previous posts about it.
They asked me if I had ever done a major exorcism. I told them I can't that the bishop has to give permission for such a thing and all the other reasons why a person might seem to be possessed must be ruled out.
I told them that normal priests and deacons can only do minor exorcisms. The laity are not permitted to do this ministry as far as I am aware.
I warned them that no one should engage the devil in a conversation even to expel. That the prayed should be made to Jesus asking him to do it or to one of the saints like the prayer to St. Michael. Only a priest who is appointed to do a major exorcism may speak to the demon directly in the prayers of the Church.
These kids feel that the devil is on the prowl and they need strength to resist him.
The world does too at this critical juncture in our human history! Will the world resist the devil or will there be another catastrophe that fomented both World Wars I and II?
And let us not forget the Satanic Mass (Black Mass) in Oklahoma City and this response:
From the Rite of Baptism of Infants, Extraordinary Form:
I. "Go forth from this child, unclean spirit, and give place to the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete."
II. "I exorcise thee, unclean spirit, in the name of the Father...(three signs of the cross), that thou goest out and depart from this servant of God For He commands thee o accursed one, Christ who walked upon the sea and stretched out His right hand to Peter about to sink. Therefore, accursed devil, acknowledge thy sentence and give honor to the living and true God.Give honor to Jesus Christ His Son, and to the Holy Spirit and depart from this servant of God because God and our Lord Jesus Christ..."
III. "I exorcise thee, every unclean spirit, in the name of god the Father almighty, in the name of Jesus Christ His Son, our Lord and judge, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, that thou be depart from this creature of God which our Lord hath deigned to call unto His holy temple, that it may be made the temple of the living God and that the Holy Spirit may dwell therein. Through same Christ our Lord, who shall come to judge the living and the dead and the world by fire!"
11 comments:
Me thinks the Lord knows this and he is giving us a helping hand. Here's my chance to be "clairvoyant"
The fact that the SSPX is even having talks at this time when Rome seems to be going batty, is a big sign to me of Divine intervention.
I think the good Lord knows that this synod is going to be a proverbial sh*% storm for the Church. Hopefully the SSPX will be regularized, it can do way more good inside the Church that outside, and it will give us faithful a place to flock when our local parishes start following the "spirit of the synod", which is what I expect to happen.
Would love to have your thoughts Fr..
Good to see you support the SSPX in this and will in future stop referring to them (absurdly) as schismatic.
Regarding baptism, the new form falls flat on its face at the very beginning, the Questioning.
Traditional rite: 'What do you ask of God's Church?' 'Faith.' 'What does faith bring you to?' 'Eternal life.'
New rite: 'What do you ask of God's Church?' 'Baptism.'
That's it, folks. No mention of faith or eternal life. And no exorcisms; the so-called prayer of exorcism is nothing of the sort. But, hey-ho, we can have Scripture readings and 'baptismal songs' (whatever they are).
I have made it clear that I have no problems with the NO Mass provided it is judged on its own terms. But the revised Roman Ritual is a disgrace and a scandal; a 'book of blessings' that doesn't actually bless anything, rites for the dying which are designed not to upset the grieving relatives, and a rite of exorcism which is so ineffectual that exorcists won't use it. Fortunately all priests can avail themselves of the Rituale Romanum (1614 with later amendments and additions).
I had to laugh at the reference to 'modern liturgists'. I've met quite a few of them and they are very learned and very orthodox as a result. The fossilized soi-disant liturgists who are mired in the 1970s are neither modern nor liturgists.
ISIS is not the specific threat we think it is. It is the the aftershock of catastrophe. However many people are involved with ISIS that number is dwarfed by the numbers involved with child sex trafficking, child pornography, the drug trade, subjugation of women and the murder of the babies we sired for sport, and the rehabilitation of depravity so that it may openly walk not only unchallenged but protected in our society. ISIS looks upon us and sees our emptiness and rightly sees it as weakness. The war with ISIS is not the Enemy's method of victory, it is his celebration of it.
The baptismal rite is a mess (new one) however one of the options is "faith" instead of baptism--which is certainly the answer that should be the only choice. Baptism as an answer is stupid. The book of blessing is equally a mess--left to liturgists to distort.
My thoughts on the SSPX. When a Catholic views the video I posted and the very articulate priest and laity who speak, there is absolutely nothing that is contrary to being in full communion with the Church and this is the way most Catholics were and would have been prior to the Council. The law of prayer is the law of belief. Now try to do what this parish organized in an ordinary form parish and get youth and young adults out there and ask them to speak and see what you get in terms of number and what is said. It is sad when I think about it, where we were and where we went and what we have come to.
The SSPX scares me in the rigidity and haughtiness. There could also be the cult of the personality given to their founder and current bishops. This makes me uncomfortable too. There are attitudes towards the Jews and other Christians and other religions that I remember well that are not good and I didn't think so even as a child. This is unfortunate and they've made this attitude into an ideology. Vatican II was right on Religious freedom and dialogue. But it has to be from a position of strength not universalism and all things are equal.
So 'faith' and 'eternal life' are only optional in the new Ritual.
What a disaster.
And many priests, like yourself, are part of SATANS welcoming commitee.
But, you refuse to see it.
Oh, how blind, by your personal choice, you are and you blow off the good you could do.
Karl
So...Anonymous 4:20 AM...are you also Karl? Haven't you heard the popular Papal saying "Who am I to judge?" Who the hell do you think you are?
Good Father - What does a priest wear to signify that he a member of the Satan Welcoming Committee?
Is there a secret handshake or a password you can share?
Maybe you get to use a particular cologne - Eau de Sulfur or Essence of Brimstone?
Are you required to be VIRTUS trained for this remarkable responsibility?
We are being divided and stripped of respect for authority... atomized and thus our collective, communal strength reduced.
One unified Catholic community has fractured into smaller and smaller cells of mutually antagonistic, distrustful, and cynical blocs.
And thus we're less and less politically and culturally significant. We're less and less capable of salt, light and leaven activities not only among our own but among out-siders.
Us laity often are hyper-critical of pastors and pastors can return the favor, but we all must realize that if we have any faith in Jesus at all, it's God's providential grace that allowed it for a much bigger reason than our own salvation.
Those who love Jesus can come to love another even if they don't like them. Those who love Jesus can find in that mutual love the bridge to accept real difference, real disputes and disagreements.
I've seen this ecumenism in the trenches play out in the pro-life field where Fundamentalists, evangelicals, etc. work hand in hand with Catholics for the sake of life.... putting aside for a while our legitimate disputes.
I think the same is needed now between Catholics. We all do very much have common enemies in the world, the flesh and the devil.
We really can ill afford to allow our real differences to so distract us as to make us focus more emotional energy towards each other than towards that enemy that seeks to really destroy us all.
That's why I encourage everyone to break bread with your on-line 'enemies' or argument partners. See them as people who happen to have a disagreeable opinion rather than a totem of that disagreement.
Hey Karl....I love you man....You too Jusad...
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