Oblate Program at Belmont Abbey, NC

Tag: satan

Sin Can Be Attractive Bait, but There’s Always a Hook

Satan, it would seem, does not act in an arbitrary manner when trying to tempt us. Rather, he is more a master hunter carefully setting traps, or a skilled fisherman studying behavior in order to choose the most effective bait. Satan is calculating and clever. Sadly, most of us are far less calculating and clever… Read More ›

Share

Help Me Understand Attacks of the Devil

Dear Father John,  I seem to be constantly tempted to, or away from, one thing or another.  I would like to arm myself as much as possible against this spiritual darkness.  Would you help me understand attacks of the devil? SECULAR ATHEISTS CAN develop strong willpower and natural prudence,  and they can put them to… Read More ›

Share

How to Beat the Devil: Advice from Rome’s Chief Exorcist

Too many Christians do not believe in the devil, such as the Cardinal who alarmed Father Gabriele Amorth, the famous exorcist and expert on Mariology, by saying one day: “Nothing but superstition!” Others see the devil everywhere, paying him an unhealthy amount of attention. Father Amorth restores the proper perspective in this “spiritual testament” at the… Read More ›

Share

The evil rising around us is now extraordinary

The evil rising around us is now extraordinary. It is volcanic — on fire. It portends many things, including flame. Evil is now good and good is evil (as prophesied). Should we be surprised? Many disorientations, in our time. Is the horse out of the barn — the horse of Revelation? Ireland votes overwhelmingly to… Read More ›

Share

God never tires of forgiving us

“But if thou scoffest at hearing of hell and believest not that fire, remember Sodom. For we have seen, surely we have seen, even in this present life, a semblance of hell. For since many would utterly disbelieve the things to come after the resurrection, hearing now of an unquenchable fire, God brings them to… Read More ›

Share

Distorted Desires: The Seven Deadly Sins

The seventeenth century poet Thomas Traherne is known for his joyful and positive spirit. He affirms that human souls are driven by desire, and that we desire what is good. The problem is, that desire is either distorted or directed wrongly by sin. Very often when we think about the seven deadly sins we view them… Read More ›

Share

Prayers urged as black mass organizer claims consecrated Host

Oklahoma City, Okla., Aug 8, 2014 / 04:07 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The purported use of a consecrated Host at a planned satanic black mass at an Oklahoma City civic center would be a “terrible sacrilege” that requires a prayerful response, the local archbishop emphasized.Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City in an Aug. 4 message lamented… Read More ›

Share

Learn to Recognize the Dark forces that Affect Marriage

One of the areas where spiritual warfare is most prevalent is in our homes and our marriages. Here Satan attacks with ferocity. His goal: division. He creates sudden upwellings of often vicious and irrational emotions. When we realize this, it has far less chance of what it seeks: Divide and conquer is his strategy. As… Read More ›

Share

Lent Is Special Time to Cleanse and Protect Against Spirits

Though society and even the Church (can) often turn a blind eye to the workings of spirits, the fact is that they exist and the fact is also that — among their repertoire — is what might be called “spiritual transference”: spiritual energies can be transmitted through people, communication, and things, including at a distance…. Read More ›

Share

Meditation on Ephesians 6:10-20

You don’t hear much about the devil these days. Is he gone? Have his wiles so diminished that we no longer need to fight them by putting on “the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11)? Hardly! Even though Satan and his underlings were defeated at Calvary, they still have some influence until Jesus comes again…. Read More ›

Share