I wonder…do we have any priest on this forum that can give us direction? Certainly there must be a few viewing the forum…? If I get a chance, I’ll ask my priest after mass tonight. Not all of them are versed in this area….but in times like these, they need to be.
I never like to scapegoat anywhere, pick on one place as being bad. Don't fall into that trap. Yes, some places suffer. In the end, I've been able to find good and bad about everywhere in my limited travels.
Yes quite true, it is low hanging fruit for sure. I think many in the protestant evangelical movement liken NYC to destruction because it has been the epicenter of trade and finance in the USA for so long. It sells a LOT of books and DVD's.
Keep in mind: they weren't "promoting blessing". That certainly would have been protected by G_D. But this was a Protestant deliverance ministry. Deliverance is one area that the Laity can participate in, where (as a group) you ask G_D to deliver someone from an evil spirit or a demonic obsession. The point is to call on G_D to do the deliverance. We are allowed to do binding prayers, where we bind spirits and send them to Jesus to be judged. Three of my favorites are: In the name of Jesus, I bind you, spirit of _____________ <anger, confrontation, etc.>, and send you to the foot of the Cross to be judged by our Lord. In the name of Jesus, Any spirit here that interferes with____________ <my sleep, etc.> in any way, I bind you, and send you to the foot of the Cross to be judged by our Lord. <To clear the air:> In the name of Jesus, Any spirit here that is not of the Holy Spirit, I bind you, and send you to the foot of the Cross to be judged by our Lord. Depending on the situation, I'll pick one and repeat it 3 times. Note that these are Not EXORCISMS. These are directed at spirits that pester us and interfere with our daily lives in some form. They are NOT directed at spirits that we have allowed to have some control over us. Such spirits require some kind of exorcism; which can be as simple as blessing yourself with Holy Water or worthily recv'ing Holy Communion. The spirits inhabiting that penitentiary were not simply attached to people that were being pestered or harassed by these spirits. They were spirits that, by the lives the prisoners had led, had been invited in some way into the lives of the prisoners and so had some control over them. I suspect that this Protestant deliverance group, through pride (which allowed the Evil One to enter and condemn them) thought that as Christians they could just demand that ANY demon leave. If they had just limited their prayer to requesting that G_D deliver the prisoners from the spirits, they might have had much greater success and been protected by G_D. Also, keep in mind that ANY form of deliverance, from lay deliverance prayers to full exorcisms, require the cooperation of the person or persons being affected. If there were prisoners who did not want to be delivered (and I suspect that none of them knew this was being done on their behalf), then the spirits will not leave. Having been invited in, no external force outside of G_D could compel them to leave. (Check out "The Devil in the City of Angels: My Encounters with the Diabolical" by Jesse Romero. He's a former LAPD officer whose experiences on the beat lead him to leave the PD and begin a Catholic deliverance ministry. Given the number of brujas [Mexican "white witches"] operating out of so many bodegas in LA, he's had his work cut out for him.) There is one exception to the "requiring cooperation" rule. There is a special kind of exorcism (I forget the name) where a geographic location is exorcised. This happened in Illinois some years back where four priests were granted permission by the local bishop to do this type of exorcism against a notorious abortion clinic. The priests stationed themselves at the four corners of the property and exorcised the land and all the buildings on it. Within six months the abortion clinic went out of business and closed its doors. The key here is that the bishop, as the leader of the local church, has authority over all the land, buildings, and people inside the diocese. As such, he had the authority to delegate to these priests the authority to drive the spirits from that property.
It is also second only to the Vatican as being described as the Harlot Riding the Beast of Revelation.
Yeah, the Baptists and 7th day Adventists love to trot that out regularly. I think their cannon may be founded in it. lol
I use the same form of prayers wherein I send the evil to the foot of the Cross to be dealt with by Jesus.
Yes. Jesse Romero and Dan Schneider and Fr Ripperger all advise the same thing. If you go out ftom under proper authority you can get in real trouble.
Imagine a faith based on the faith you are against. Most protestant theology seems to me a constant feverish attempt to refute the Church.
No one wants to hear that their hometown is on a doomsday list. I don't exactly live in a state that I'm proud of, and I am certain that at some point in time the day will come when we will be held accountable. Everyone here is aware that good and holy people live in not so good places. My own son lives in NYC, but realistically this city, along with other troubled locations are likely to face chastisements on a larger scale. Think about the terrible natural disasters in LA, and the suffering brought about by 9/11, Hurricane Sandy, and the pandemic in NYC, riots in DC, murders in Chicago, the Hurricane Katrina tragedy in New Orleans. These events are most likely all minor chastisements.
Yes Jo. We cannot ignore the signs. These metro areas do seem to draw trouble with increasing intensity.
I think Our Lord's lesson on the tower of Siloam should give us all food for thought. I'm from Ireland and there wouldnt be too many complaints if the entire Island were condemned to the abyss.
The Prophesies regarding Ireland indicate it will be drowned. I just posted that to cheer you up. I suppose there are worse way to go.
Yes AED, I decided to continue to go to the Bible study at my Protestant cousin's church at 6am on Tuesdays; Since we're done by 7:15, it doesn't interfere with my schedule and the church is just 6 minutes from home. They were friendly the first time due to Keith, but I'm sure the temptation to challenge my Catholicism will win out in the end. I love the first epistle of Peter; it's what their study is on and I know Keith can quote the whole letter from memory! Given our times, 1Peter will be a wonderful letter to begin a Bible study with fellow parishioners, so I can learn some good pointers. We shall see. Pray that I be a good witness! Geralyn rolls her eyes when I share such thoughts! She is an angel who has been visiting a former sister-in-law of mine. Geralyn has such a compassionate spirit.
I went to a Protestant bible study for awhile. They couldn't handle me. Especially when I said Mary was a Virgin, Jesus did not have brothers and sisters. I sent them the Greek word for cousins, it does not mean brothers and sisters. So the translation had been changed. I don't think I changed their minds, though . . .they are just too Protestant. When I walked out they were doing homage to the heretic Martin Luther.