Confession: Stronger than Exorcism

We must insist on the need for frequent confession - in spite of all the difficulties existing today to the frequent reception of this sacrament - since both theologians and exorcists reaffirm its great efficacy.

The exorcist of the Archdiocese of Venice, Fr. Pellegrino Ernetti, of the Order of Saint Benedict, said: “The sacrament of the Confession, we know, is the second best 'safety belt', right after Baptism… Experience teaches us that it is most difficult for Satan to penetrate a soul that washes itself frequently with the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. This Blood becomes a veritable armor against which Satan may force, but never succeeds in opening, not even the smallest breach. The assiduous and constant frequency to this sacrament is a necessity, for both those who perform the exorcism and those who need the exorcism. I am convinced, after my long experience that the priest ought to wash his soul in the Blood of Jesus daily, if he wants to fight against the demon, side by side with Jesus, and be victorious. It is this, truly, the sacrament that Satan fears… Christ defeated Satan with His Own Blood. And the Apocalypse tells us explicitly: 'These are the ones that have conquered Satan by the Blood of the Lamb'."

Fr. Gabriele Amorth, exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, is equally forceful: "I have written many times that one causes much more furor to the demon with Confession - that is expelling the demon from the soul - than with exorcism, that expels him from the body… Confession is much stronger than exorcism."

A sovereign contempt for the demon

The Saints and spiritual authors also encourage a sovereign contempt for the demon.
Let us hear to what Saint Therese says:

"It is very often that these damned spirits come to torment me; but they inspire very little fear in me, because I know them well and they cannot even stir without God's permission… This should be well known by all: every time we show our contempt for the demons, they lose their strength and the soul acquires more predominance upon them… To see themselves despised by weaker beings is, in fact, a severe humiliation for these arrogant beings. Well, as we said before, humbly supported by God, we have the right and the obligation of showing our contempt: if God is with us, who will be against us? They can bark, but they cannot bite, unless in the cases that - by imprudence, or pride - we place ourselves in their power".

Evidently, we must not confuse this contempt for the demon with the vain pretension that we, by ourselves, have any power over the fallen Angels.

By our nature, we have no power whatsoever over them; on the contrary, by their superior nature, they are far more powerful than us. Therefore, the foundation of this healthy contempt for the infernal enemies must not be based on a rash disregard of danger. Rather, it must be supported by the most perfect humility and true confidence in the Creator and in the Most Holy Virgin. If these cares are taken, it is befitting to do what the great Saint Therese indicates with such propriety.

Above all, we should make every effort to live a life of serious and sincere piety, without superstition or sentimentality. This will certainly maintain the demon at a distance, as much as that is possible.

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(By Luis Solimeo, from his book Angels and Demons)

We just exist when we aren't serving

by Rick Warren

Each of us will have to give a personal account to God. Romans 14:12 (NLT) "If you aren't serving, you're just existing, because life is meant for ministry. " At the end of your life on earth you will stand before God, and he is going to evaluate how well you served others with your life. The Bible says, "Each of us will have to give a personal account to God." (Romans 14:12 NLT) Think about the implications of that. One day God will compare how much time and energy we spent on ourselves compared with what we invested in serving others. At that point, all our excuses for self-centeredness will sound hollow: "I was too busy" or "I had my own goals" or "I was preoccupied with working, having fun, or preparing for retirement." To all excuses God will respond, "Sorry, wrong answer. I created, saved, and called you and commanded you to live a life of service. What part did you not understand?" The Bible warns unbelievers, "He will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves," but for Christians it will mean a loss of eternal rewards." (Romans 2:8 NLT) We are only fully alive when we're helping others. Jesus said, "If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live." (Mark 8:35 (LB); see also Matthew 10:39; 16:25; Luke 9:24; 17:33) This truth is so important that it is repeated five times in the Gospels. If you aren't serving, you're just existing, because life is meant for ministry. God wants you to learn to love and serve others unselfishly.

A modern day Solomon, the wise Doctor

A worried woman went to her gynecologist and  said:
'Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your  help! My baby is not even 1 year old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together.  

So the doctor said: 'Ok and what do you want me to do?'
She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm  counting on
your help with this.'
 
The doctor thought for a little,  and after some silence he said to the lady: 'I think I have a better  solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too.'

She  smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request.
 
Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care 2 babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your arms.

This way,  you could rest some before the other one is born. If we're going to kill  one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is.

There would be no risk for  your body if you chose the one in your arms.

The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How  terrible! It's a crime to kill a child!
 
'I agree', the doctor replied.  'But you seemed to be OK with it, so I thought maybe that was the best  solution.

The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point.
He convinced the mom that there is no difference in killing a child that's already been born and one that's still in the womb.

The crime  is the same!

If you agree, please forward.  Together we can help save precious lives!
 
Learn from Yesterday,  live for Today, hope for Tomorrow.. 

__._,_._
"Love says I sacrifice myself for the good of the other person. Abortion says I sacrifice the other person for the good of myself. ..."

Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life USA

The Cross in Our Bodies

This is a pretty neat story and an interesting thing that few of us know. It's brief, so please read. (FROM A DOCTOR)   A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio... And I was BLOWN AWAY!  I want to share what I learned....

He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is... How He spoke the universe into being... How He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire..  Etc. Etc. Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know.) . And I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God's handiwork. I remember so many times thinking..'How can ANYONE deny that a Creator did all of this???'

Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart...how our loving Creator is also our sustainer.
 

And then I lost my breath. And it wasn't because I was running my treadmill, either!!!
 

It was because he started talking about laminin. I knew about laminin.. Here is how Wikipedia describes them: 'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue' You see.... Laminins are what hold us together... LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn't know is what they LOOKED LIKE..
 

But now I do.  And I have thought about it a thousand times since (already)....Here is what the structure of laminin looks like... AND THIS IS NOT a 'Christian portrayal' of it.... If you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see....

 

  Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!!  Amazing.  The glue that holds us together.... ALL of us..... Is in the shape of the cross.  Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind.

           'He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible And invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or Authorities;    All things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him All things HOLD TOGETHER.'                                         Colossians 1:15-17

Call me crazy. I just think that is very, very, very cool. Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together... One cell to another.... By the cross.

You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin 'glue' would look like long before Adam breathed his first breath!!

 What I found when I googled laminin !!!!!!!!!!! 

         

 

The cross is supposed to  be swinging when you receive this.   I  hope it still is. This is cool - had to pass it on.  I think we could all use a miracle.  I know I certainly can!  

You are in my 7 X 7 X 7.   Just repeat this prayer and see how God moves! 

'Lord, I love you and I need you, come  into my heart, and bless me, my family, my home, and my friends, in Jesus' name.   Amen.

Giving Birth to Your Dreams

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world”
(John 16:21, NIV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Years ago when we first found out that Victoria was pregnant, we were so excited. Even though she didn’t look any different on the outside, we began planning and preparing for our new baby. Then as time went on, we moved out of the fun, easy stage of conception and into that much more difficult stage of development. That’s when the mother becomes uncomfortable, swollen, can’t sleep at night, her back aches. Things seem to get the hardest right before the birthing begins.

In a sense, it’s the same way in our spiritual lives. When we conceive something in our hearts from God, it’s so exciting. It’s easy to stay encouraged and full of faith during that time. But the real test is when we go through the development process. Are we willing to keep a good attitude even when we’re uncomfortable and things aren’t going our way? Are we willing to stand and fight the good fight of faith until we give birth to our dreams?

If you’re standing for something today, keep standing. Keep believing even when you don’t see anything happening. Hold on to that promise even when it’s uncomfortable because soon you will give birth to every dream and desire the Lord has placed in your heart!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father in heaven, thank You for the dreams and desires You’ve planted in my heart. Give me the strength to persevere even when times are hard. Give me Your peace and joy so that I can stand strong until I see those dreams and desires come to pass. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

— Joel & Victoria Osteen