St.Gemma, pray for us.
St. Benedict, pray for us.
Holy Name of Jesus, have mercy on us. Amen.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
SAINT GEMMA GALGANI - TERROR OF THE DEVIL
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Pray & Trust God - Beware of the Devil's Deceptions Against the Pope
For the past few days, I was alarmed with friends sending text messages, Facebook posts and suggest viewing of several websites that seemingly disturb them about our new Pope. Let us remind everyone then about the devil's tactics that most Catholic Christian faithful usually fall trapped with.
With the most recent developments where Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI steps down from papacy and Pope Francis assumes leadership of the Catholic Church, the Catholic faithfuls have become easy targets of intrigues and controversies surrounding the stories behind Benedict XVI and Francis. Many groups and individuals take this as their best opportunity to spread rumors and unverified & fabricated stories to destroy the reputation of the new Pope, just in time while the people are adjusting to the changes.
There are internet sites and text messages being forwarded questioning the decision of Benedict XVI and also the election and profile of Francis. There are even sites who present themselves as a Catholic Source, Catholic Visionaries, and somewhat prophetic that aims to make people believe that their prophesies and testimonies are from heaven, even using names that imply they are very Catholic. However, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the fruits will reveal the true source.
Many people have become weary, fearful, depressed, uncomfortable, confused and paranoid with the prophesies that the change in Vatican leadership is a sign that the so-called Second Coming is very near and that Satan is already taking-over. By the fruits, know that these are of evil source. The Holy Spirit spreads cheer, hope, joy and peace. News that spreads fear, unrest and doubt are diabolic - dividing the people of God. Because Satan in his wise mind wants the Church to be divided and make us all defenseless and susceptible to all kinds of attacks. And this devil starts by attacking the Pope by insinuating insults and evil machinations.
The devil knows that when people lose confidence to the Pope, they lose also their trust to the entire Church, thus, allowing their faith to become shaky and susceptible to suggestions of abandoning their Catholic faith. The devil also knows his timing. He knows the perfect timing to implicate doubts among the Catholic faithful while everyone is trying to be acquainted with Pope Francis' profile and track record.
The tactic is simple yet very effective. The devil uses "prophesies" that catches the attention of many Catholic faithfuls as this kind of strategy is very appealing to people. He hides in the names of individuals, organizations and internet sites that appear to be Catholic in order to deceive the innocent and unknowing faithfuls. Satan knows well how to play around with the weaknesses of people by using the title of their own devotions to mislead the flock (e.g. Divine Mercy, Mary, etc.). This "prophetic" approach pretends to possess the Divine Knowledge revealed by God, thus enabling them to know the future and proclaim the right interpretation of events. This is perfectly the devil's line of attack. Only the Church, the Magisterium, has the authority in teaching, preaching and proclaiming the truth through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let us pray and learn to trust God more. If we really believe in God, and if we really believe that God hears our prayers, will He give us a snake and stone when we asked Him for bread in our prayers for the conclave while the cardinals are discerning for the election of our new Pope?
Begone Satan! Go back to hell where Christ commands you to go and never come back.
St. Benedict, pray for us.
St. Michael the archangel, pray for us.
All Carmelite Saints, pray for us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us and deliver us from all evil. Amen.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
How Chinese culture and Catholicism blend
Kung hei fat choi!
As we celebrate the Chinese new year, it is good for us to reflect on our Catholic beliefs vis a vis our Chinese cultural heritage.
Superstitious beliefs are clearly incompatible with Christianity. They are against the very first commandment, “Thou shall have no other gods before Me,” because they ascribe to certain things or practices some kind of magic that brings to a person’s life good luck, charm, etc.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states the following:
[2110] The First Commandment forbids honoring gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his people. It proscribes superstition and irreligion. Superstition in some sense represents a perverse excess of religion; irreligion is the vice contrary by defect to the virtue of religion.
[2110] Superstition is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand is to fall into superstition.
The Chinese people being known for having many superstitious beliefs, we now raise the question: can a Chinese who is proud of his cultural heritage be a good Catholic?
The answer, of course, is yes. He only needs to be careful as to what aspects of his culture he will embrace. An important caution is for a Catholic Chinese to limit feng shui to what is practical. For example, keeping the house clean is certainly a good practice, as is placing items in areas that are safe for them and for the people inhabiting that space. He cannot, however, pin his hopes on feng shui and ascribe to it certain magical powers. After all, if a person has faith in God and entrusts himself to His divine providence, what need has he for feng shui and similar practices?
For insights on Catholicism and feng shui from the perspective of Chinese Catholic priests, check out theinterview with Fr. Jimmy Liao and the UCAN article cautioning Catholics.
Happy Year of the Lord, everyone!
(by JBAlcoreza, orginally posted at http://knightsofsaintbenedict.wordpress.com/2013/02/02/how-chinese-culture-and-catholicism-blend/)
Sorcery and Cults in Papua New Guinea - Let us pray for them
We are enemies of evil (Satanic cults, sorcery, witchcraft, etc.).
But we are also enemies of murders and violence, for it is also the same devil working behind them.
AFP News – Thu, Feb 7, 2013
But we are also enemies of murders and violence, for it is also the same devil working behind them.
PNG woman tortured, burned alive in 'sorcery' case
AFP News – Thu, Feb 7, 2013- AFP News - This photo, taken on February 6, 2013, shows a young mother accused of sorcery who was stripped naked, reportedly tortured with a branding iron, tied up, splashed with fuel and set alight on a pile
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A young mother accused of sorcery was stripped naked, doused with petrol and burned alive in front of a crowd including schoolchildren in Papua New Guinea, reports said on Thursday.
The woman, named by The National newspaper as Kepari Leniata, 20, was reportedly tortured with a branding iron and tied up, splashed with fuel and set alight on a pile of rubbish topped with car tyres.
According to the rival Post-Courier newspaper she was torched by villagers who claimed she killed a six-year-old boy through sorcery, with police outnumbered by onlookers and unable to intervene.
A fire truck that responded to the incident, which took place on Wednesday morning in Mount Hagen city in the Western Highlands, was also chased away.
According to the reports, which were accompanied by graphic front-page images of the woman's burning corpse, she admitted to killing the boy, who died after being hospitalised with stomach and chest pains on Tuesday.
Police said they were treating the torching as murder and preparing charges against those responsible.
There is a widespread belief in sorcery in the poverty-stricken Pacific nation where many people do not accept natural causes as an explanation for misfortune, illness, accidents or death.
In 1971, the country introduced a Sorcery Act to criminalise the practice. But PNG's law reform commission recently proposed to repeal it after a rise in attacks on people thought to practise black magic.
Local bishop David Piso said many innocent people had been killed.
"Sorcery and sorcery-related killings are growing and the government needs to come up with a law to stop such practice," Piso told The National.
The US embassy in the Papua New Guinea capital Port Moresby issued a statement strongly condemning the "brutal murder" of Leniata, who had an eight-month-old daughter, as evidence of "pervasive gender-based violence".
"We add our voice to those of Papua New Guinean religious and civil society leaders who have spoken out against the brutality inflicted upon Ms Leniata," the embassy said.
"There is no possible justification for this sort of violence. We hope that appropriate resources are devoted to identifying, prosecuting, and punishing those responsible for Ms Leniata's murder."
Police arrested dozens of people last year linked to an alleged cannibal cult accused of killing at least seven people, eating their brains raw and making soup from their penises.
There have been several other cases of witchcraft and cannibalism in PNG in recent years, with a man reportedly found eating his screaming, newborn son during a sorcery initiation ceremony in 2011.
In 2009, a young woman was stripped naked, gagged and burnt alive at the stake, also in Mount Hagen, in what was said to be a sorcery-related crime.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Sunday, November 4, 2012
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