Believe in the Gospel and triumphantly defeat the enemy of souls. Our non-belief in the existence of the devil wont save us. The devil exists but there's nothing to fear as long as God is with us. "If God is with us, who can be against us?".

1 John 3:8
"Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil."

Saint Benedict, Intercede For Us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lmHVEB2YcI

SAINT BENEDICT, BE WITH US IN OUR SPIRITUAL WARFARE.

Dear Catholics, Be Catholic! – a reaction on July 2 episode of GMA 7’s “Misterio”

In Spiritual Warfare, it is always essential for people to obey and be under the protection of the Church, the source of Divine Grace and Blessing. More so with the Roman Catholics who firmly believe that the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is the Roman Catholic Church whom Christ Himself built. I urge all to deal with Spiritual Warfare with much prudence and care in accordance to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

July 2 episode of GMA 7’s “Misterio” featured an allegedly (diabolically) possessed girl by the name of Clara. A young house helper, Clara displayed extraordinary strength, change of voice, violent disposition, strong and devilish face, sharp looks, etc. days after complaining of seeing unknown and unidentified beings in the house where she works. She also claimed to have been hearing voices and laughters from an invisible source prior to her ordeal. While these are considered signs of a possible demonic attack, further evaluation must be done prior to authenticating a real diabolic possession.

VISIT TO WITCHDOCTOR

As usual, as most Filipinos would do, the first thing that came to the minds of the people surrounding Carla is to bring her to the local “diviner” (a.k.a. faith healer, witchdoctor, albularyo, etc.).
Catechism of the Catholic Church prohibits visits and consultation to witches and diviners. Moreover, in any case of demonic possession, people are being cautioned not to communicate at all to the alleged possessing evil spirit, like asking its name, something that the alleged healer did.

HOUSE BLESSING BY AN ORTHODOX PRIEST

This part is the most sober and acceptable move of the family who owns the house, having their house blessed by a priest. However, if the family’s faith is Roman Catholic, they should have called a Roman Catholic priest prayers of deliverance and blessing. (religious belief of the family wasn’t mentioned though).

THE EPISODE’S PARANORMAL EXPERT TEAM

The show’s regular team of alleged paranormal experts came to investigate and handle the case. The following can be observed:

1. The group came and found the girl sitting outside the house. The girl showed resistance and violence. Members of the team collectively and forcefully clutch the hands, arms and feet of the girl. Carla was shouting and so are the members of the team especially a certain Anna who claims to be a psychic (a New Age practice forbidden by the Church especially in the area of a Catholic Spiritual Warfare) who displayed power and authority over the alleged spirit, commanding the violent Clara to stop and even saying something like “hindi mo kilala kaharap mo. Kilalanin mo kung sino kaharap mo. Hindi mo alam kung ano dala ko” (you don’t know who is in front of you [referring to herself]. You should know who is in front of you. You don’t know what I can do [against you]). All these are happening in public audience while various people are witnessing and no crowd control is being employed.

TRULY AN IMPROPER WAY TO HANDLE A PERSON AND A CASE OF SUSPECTED POSSESSION. A Catholic Deliverance team and prayer warriors don’t just come to the scene and pin down a person even if the person is displaying violence. THIS MAY INJURE AND HURT THE PERSON. Much more, it should not happen outside the house where a Deliverance case would appear like a public show. And the words referring to self as someone with power and authority over the alleged evil spirit is definitely a sign of both arrogance and ignorance of the risks at stake. These are definitely not Catholic ways of handling a case of Healing and Deliverance where the Centrality of Christ (not of self) is of utmost importance.

2. One female member communicated with the alleged spirit/s asking them to leave the person by saying to what they claim to be several spirits “Kaibigan nyo ako. Tutulungan ko kayo.” (I am your friend. I will help you.)

Except for authorized exorcists, permitted by the bishop to handle a specific case, any member of a Catholic Deliverance team is not allowed to talk to the spirit/s. Team is supposed to talk to God alone in “moments of crisis” (actual event of possession) for His Divine Love and Mercy. And as soldiers of Christ, we declare war against the enemies of God, the devil and his minions and there is no way we should ask the evil spirits in a pleading manner to leave. Catholic team COMMANDS evil in the Name of Jesus – not a request or friendly plea, but a COMMAND. So there is no way to befriend and please evil by saying “we are friends and I will help you” just to make them obey your request to leave. We are always a loyal friend to Jesus and we are children of light, not a friend to the devil nor to any malignant spirit.

3. The team members asked the alleged possessing spirit “Who are you?. This was also asked by the witchdoctor who first attended to Clara. The name Christine was given and behold, they believed and bought the idea.

One reason why Catholic Deliverance team members should refrain from communicating directly to these spirits is bec. they simply won’t just tell the truth. The devil is the prince of lies and master of deceits. They will exhaust all possibilities to redirect the attention to something else other than expelling them. And true enough, if it’s really a case of demonic possession, the devil succeeded in diverting the attention of the people. The team suspected it’s really the soul of a person named Christine who died many years ago. And worse, the parents of this certain Christine were informed of the event and they too have become confused, whether it’s their daughter or not, why would their daughter do such thing, what could be the demand of their deceased daughter, what could be the message Christine want to convey, etc. Alas, the poor couple has been infected also with the two most effective strategies of the devil to lure people – Confusion and Curiosity.
Soul of a person does not commonly possess another person. Therefore, it may not be Christine. And evil spirits does not give their names as easy, bec to do so is a sign of weakness, and the Deliverance Prayer team will be able to command directly in prayer the name of the possessing spirit to leave and be cast out.

4. Members of the Paranormal Team used different kinds of objects normally seen in their kind of practice.

A Catholic Deliverance Team uses only religious sacramentals blessed by a priest and allowed by the Church, commonly Crucifix, Holy Rosary, Exorcised or Holy Water & Salt, relics of the saints, etc. (not sticks, nails, hen’s feather, amulets, talismans and the like, all considered occultic when used for this purpose)

5. An Orthodox Priest prayed-over Clara and commanded the spirit/s to leave.

Nothing wrong with the disposal of the priest’s ministry, except that it happened outside home and in the eyes of many audiences, and with the presence of psychic and paranormal practitioners who employs non-Catholic (or even non-Christian) beliefs. For Catholic Deliverance prayers, it is also important to sanitize the environment by holding the event in places blessed and dedicated for holy services such as Churches, Chapels, or inside home where prayers can be said solemnly and sincerely with all praying members of the family, a great opportunity to experience God in the midst of each and every member of the family. The praying-over of the Orthodox priest in this case cannot be considered an official Rite of Exorcism in so far as the Catholic Church is concern. The performance of the Rite of Exorcism, to be authentic and official, must be performed by a bishop or a priest authorized by the bishop. Not any clergy may perform the rite without the bishop’s permission for a particular and specific case, person, time and place.

OUR REMINDERS:

- To our fellow Roman Catholic faithful, pls refrain from consulting diviners, witchdoctors, faithhealers, albularyos, etc. Approach your parish priests and your local Church-based Catholic Charismatic organizations for suspected cases.
- Avoid consulting mediums and spiritists, crustal balls, tarot cards, astrology, Ouija board, spirit of the glass, etc. These are all risky and dangerous, and evil infestation is guaranteed.
- For the family whom Clara worked, assuming you are a Catholic family, ask for a Deliverance and House blessing from your local Parish Priest. Each and every member of the family to go to the Sacrament of Confession and grow spiritually in prayer life especially in regular celebration of the Holy Mass.
- For the family of Clara, pray for one another. Go to confession. Renounce all occultic involvement. Hear Holy Mass regularly on Sundays and Holy days of obligation.
- For the parents of Christine, and other relatives who were affected by the event, pray for one another and pray for the eternal repose of the souls of Christine and of all the departed members of the family.

MAY ALL OF US EXPERIENCE THE HEALING HANDS OF GOD THROUGH THE POWERFUL INTERCESSION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY AND ALL THE HOLY ANGELS AND SAINTS. AMEN

MAY THE LORD BLESS US, PROTECT US FROM ALL EVIL
AND BRING US TO EVERLASTING LIFE. AMEN.


Bro.Arnold, TOC
KSB Team Leader

NEW "RETABLO" AT THE PARISH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

This new "retablo", a devotional sculpture behind the altar (table) has been unveiled and blessed by the father of the Diocese of Malolos, Bishop Jose Oliveros. This is one of the major projects made by Fr.Vergs Ramos in his 1st two years of administration in the Parish of the Holy Spirit.

Fr.Vergs is also our Spiritual Adviser for the deliverance team, Knights of Saint Benedict.

(photo courtesy of Sis.Charlotte Chico of SPPC-Grand Royale)

KSB promotes the veneration of relics of the Catholic Saints. We experience the presence of God through the intercession of our saints who lived and died selflessly for His greater honor and glory. How wonderful it is to pray with the saints of God especially in Healing and Deliverance sessions.

The Relic of St. Padre Pio being venerated during a Saturday night prayer meeting.

SEE US AT WORDPRESS.COM

FOLLOW US ALSO AT HTTP://KNIGHTSOFSAINTBENEDICT.WORDPRESS.COM/

WE WOULD LIKE TO SERVE YOU BETTER BY IMPROVING MORE THE KSB SITE. VISIT AND HELP US.

GOD BLESS.

Novena to St. Benedict

*This novena prayer is highly recommended to start on July 3rd every year.*

SAINT BENEDICT - Patron of Europe and Monastic Life

     St. Benedict was a son of a Roman noble. Born in 480, as a young man he studied in Rome but got discouraged by the lives of his companions who were living in vice and luxury. Reading the gospel had always been a part of his life. Leaving everything behind, he retreated in the mountains of Subiaco, Italy and there he lived as a hermit for several years without any human contact.

     Soon after a shepherd discovered his presence, Benedict received many visitors who sought his advice, some of whom decided to follow him. He was invited to become an abbot of a nearby monastery, but he knew that his way of life was far stricter. Indeed, he encountered many problems in this monastery; three times, he was poisoned but was saved each time by divine intervention. This is why his name is invoked in cases of food poisoning and other stomach-related sicknesses. He left this monastery and returned to his cave in Subiaco where again people gathered around him.

     He established monasteries in the hills nearby and his sister St. Scholastica followed his footsteps, creating a monastery for women. St. Benedict became the father of these monasteries, and his most important contribution was the rule that he wrote for them. That rule became the inspiration for many other monasteries that sprouted in Europe, all bearing the name of St. Benedict.

    According to tradition, St. Benedict died in Monte Cassino, Italy on March 21, 547, and was named patron protector of Europe by Pope Paul VI in 1964. His feast day is July 11.

Daily Prayer

Glorious St. Benedict who taught us the way to perfection by the practice of mortification, humility, obedience, prayer, silence, and detachment from the world, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present needs under your special protection (here make your request). Recommend it to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace to meet God face to face with you, Mary, and all the angels and saints to praise Him through all eternity. O most powerful St. Benedict, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of winning my way to heaven and there worship and enjoy the most holy and adorable Trinity forever and ever. Amen.

FIRST DAY

You spent your early days in the university studying to be someone in the world, but all these you left behind, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to seek solitude in the mountains of Subiaco, Italy. You lived in a cave and survived by eating root crops and other food available in those mountains. You searched for God and God also found you. Inspire us, dear saint, to understand that God is within us and we can only encounter him in the silence of our hearts. Make us aware that the noise within us keeps us away from God—the noise of our ambition, love for money, and honor. Wherever we are, we can silence this noise. Help us, dear saint, to obtain silence within us. Amen.

(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be

St. Benedict, pray for us.

SECOND DAY

You attracted followers to whom you gave a rule known for its moderation. You, St. Benedict, became a father to many monasteries and monks through this rule where you emphasized that the monastery is for people who want to change their bad habits into good. Make us aware of our bad habits and inspire us not to be comfortable with them. Our bad habits, dear saint, will keep us away from Jesus and ingrain in us the power of sin. O dear St. Benedict, help us that we may work for the transformation of our bad habits. Amen.

(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be

St. Benedict, pray for us.

THIRD DAY

O dear St. Benedict, because of your work as a father in the monasteries, certain evil people wanted to poison you. You did not want to compromise the monastic ideals of silence and mortification; yet to their amazement, you drunk their poison and nothing happened to you. Jesus protected you. We live in a world today that is heavily poisoned by pollution and degradation of our forests and seas. Make us sensitive to the presence of these poisons and give us the wisdom not to be blinded by progress and easy money. Inspire us to contribute our part in making our world a better place to live in. Amen.

(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be

St. Benedict, pray for us.

FOURTH DAY

O dear St. Benedict, you understood prayer as basking in God’s presence, experiencing his loving hands in our day-to-day struggle. While you worked in the fields, your heart sang hymns to your creator and you offered him a constant prayer of thanksgiving. May we imitate you in your unending prayer to the Most High. Wherever we go and whatever we do, may we remember Jesus and offer him our thanksgiving. Amen.

(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be

St. Benedict, pray for us.

FIFTH DAY

O dear St. Benedict, despite your material poverty, you were always mindful of the poor and the needy. From the little produce of your monastery, you happily shared something for the poor who knocked daily at your door. Through you, the hungry had always their fill. May we learn from your charity and open our doors to those unprivileged. Inspire us to understand that our faith’s best expression is the help we extend to the needy. Amen.

(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be

St. Benedict, pray for us.

SIXTH DAY

O dear St. Benedict, you showed us that if we want to be close to God, we must be able to discipline ourselves. You taught your disciples how to mortify their senses, control their passions and thoughts so that Jesus can live in their hearts and minds. You emphasized that sanctification begins in our minds when we are able to distinguish the impure thoughts that lead us to sin. We ask your help, St. Benedict, that we may always be able to stop these deadly thoughts from influencing us, that we may not entertain them. Lead us to purification of mind and heart. Amen.

(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be

St. Benedict, pray for us.

SEVENTH DAY

O dear St. Benedict, you taught your followers to welcome visitors as if they were Christ in his person. Your rule of hospitality enabled you to treat with respect strangers and offer for them the warmth of your welcome. Teach us to be welcoming in our homes, to treat our guests with respect, and enable them to feel the warmth of Christ’s embrace. Teach us to develop a listening ear that our guests and visitors may easily feel that we are authentically interested in their welfare and well-being. Make our homes a place where the sorrowful may encounter relief of their sufferings. Amen.

(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be

St. Benedict, pray for us.

EIGHT DAY

O dear St. Benedict, for you the highest kind of prayer is when you kneel in silence and, uttering just one word, you come into contact with Jesus himself. You established monasteries that they may become the birthplace of contemplatives, people who in silence utter your name and experience your presence in their hearts. Teach us this kind of prayer, when your presence becomes everything. Enable us to be contemplatives, who put our utter trust in Jesus and who really believe that God’s Kingdom is already in our midst. Amen.

(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be

St. Benedict, pray for us.

NINTH DAY

O dear St. Benedict, you taught your followers to stand always in awe and wonder at creation. Help us that we may not lose this sense of wonder, and that in everything we do, we may always give thanks to God. Let not the tragedies and sorrows of this life make us pessimistic and dry. Allow us to discover that all problems are challenges and that the future is always bright and promising despite the sad things we see around us. Give us the energy to work hard so that God’s will may be implanted in our homes and society. Amen.

(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be

St. Benedict, pray for us.

Litany to St. Benedict

Lord, have mercy on us, Christ, have mercy on us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.

Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us.

Holy Father, Saint Benedict, pray for us.

Father most reverend, pray for us.

Father most renowned, pray for us.

Father most compassionate, pray for us.

Man of great fortitude, pray for us.

Man of venerable life, pray for us.

Man of the most holy conversation, pray for us.

True servant of God, pray for us.

Light of devotion, pray for us.

Light of prayer, pray for us.

Light of contemplation, pray for us.

Star of the world, pray for us.

Best master of an austere life, pray for us.

Leader of the holy warfare, pray for us.

Leader and chief of monks, pray for us.

Master of those who die to the world, pray for us.

Protector of those who cry to thee, pray for us.

Wonderful worker of miracles, pray for us.

Revealer of the secrets of the human heart, pray for us.

Master of spiritual discipline, pray for us.

Companion of the patriarchs, pray for us.

Equal of the prophets, pray for us.

Follower of the Apostles, pray for us.

Teacher of Martyrs, pray for us.

Father of many pontiffs, pray for us.

Gem of abbots, pray for us.

Glory of Confessors, pray for us.

Imitator of anchorites, pray for us.

Associate of virgins, pray for us.

Colleague of all the Saints, pray for us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, o Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, o Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

V. Intercede for us, O holy father Saint Benedict,

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray: O God, Who hast called us from the vanity of the world, and Who dost incite us to the reward of a heavenly vocation under the guidance of our holy patriarch and founder, Saint Benedict, inspire and purify our hearts and pour forth on us Thy grace, whereby we may persevere in Thee. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer To St. Benedict

O glorious St. Benedict, sublime model of all virtues, pure vessel of God's grace! Behold me, humbly kneeling at thy feet. I implore thy loving heart to pray for me before the throne of God. To thee I have recourse in all the dangers which daily surround me. Shield me against my enemies. Inspire me to imitate thee in all things. May thy blessing be with me always, so that I may shun whatever God forbids and avoid the occasions of sin.

Graciously obtain for me from God those favors and graces of which I stand so much in need, in the trials, miseries and afflictions of life. Thy heart was always so full of love, compassion, and mercy towards those who were afflicted or troubled in any way. Thou didst never dismiss without consolation and assistance any one who had recourse to thee. I therefore invoke thy powerful intercession, in the confident hope that thou wilt hear my prayers and obtain for me the special grace and favor I so earnestly implore (mention your petition), if it be for the greater glory of God and the welfare of my soul.

Help me, o great St. Benedict, to live and die as a faithful child of God, to be ever submissive to His holy will, and to attain the eternal happiness of heaven. Amen.