SPIRITUAL WARFARE

“For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.” (Ephesians 6:12)

 

“Know that you are now on a great stage where all heaven and earth are watching you. Fight like a knight, so that I can reward you. Do not be unduly fearful, because you are not alone.” _ Diary of St. Faustina (1760)  

The Rosary is our weapon against the world, the flesh, the Devil and his evil spirits. And living a Sacramental life [Daily Mass (when possible) and frequent Confession] is the best defense we have against the enemy.

POWER OF THE BLESSING

Evil spirits often speak, rant and rave through people. The good news is that we have the power to silence them. When these spiritual attacks occur, immediately respond with a blessing:

“Lord Jesus, please bless this person / 

these people.”

“Lord Jesus, please bless everyone

in this house.”

- etcetera -

The blessing will drive the evil spirits away, and the person will become quiet. (It may take a few moments for the person to calm down, but you will have defused the situation.) When we bless those who curse us, deliverance occurs.

When entering a building

(house, office, store, church…)

Or a car, bus, train, plane…

ALWAYS ASK JESUS TO BLESS EVERYONE.

“Lord Jesus, please bless everyone 

in this place.”

“Lord Jesus, please bless everyone 

I come in contact with.”

This will prevent the enemy from using others against you. Evil spirits cause people to behave badly. But you can protect yourself.

Before answering the phone

and before making a call,

ALWAYS ASK JESUS TO BLESS
THE PHONE CALL -- TO BLESS
THE PERSON ON THE OTHER END.

“Lord Jesus, please bless

this phone call.”

“Lord Jesus, please bless _____ 

(the person you are calling).”

This will prevent the enemy from interfering with your conversation. Evil spirits cause confusion, misunderstandings, arguments… But you can protect yourself.

http://catholicdeliverance.blogspot.com/2011/08/respond-with-blessing.html

 

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PLEADING THE BLOOD OF JESUS

(APPLYING THE BLOOD OF JESUS)

A Defensive Prayer for Protection

“I plead the Blood of Jesus on 

my spouse and children.” 

“I plead the Blood of Jesus on 

my family, home and property.” 

“I plead the Blood of Jesus on 

my church and on all church property.” 

- etcetera - 

Evil spirits, and people under their influence, will avoid everything covered with the Blood of Jesus.

An Offensive Spiritual Weapon for Deliverance

“I plead the Blood of Jesus on my mind. 

I plead the Blood of Jesus on 

every thought in my mind.” 

“I plead the Blood of Jesus on

my body.”

“I plead the Blood of Jesus on 

every evil spirit attacking my mind 

and body.” 

“I plead the Blood of Jesus on

the air and atmosphere in this place.”

Use this spiritual weapon when you are harassed by impure thoughts, attacked with strong temptation, tempted to commit sin… when thoughts distract you during Mass, interfere with your prayer life, torment you during the night, preventing a good sleep… when you are afflicted with depressive or obsessive-compulsive thoughts… when your thoughts falsely accuse you of wrongdoing… when your thoughts are overly critical of yourself… when your thoughts become confused or “out of control”… when your thoughts are not your own…

http://catholicdeliverance.blogspot.com/2011/08/our-secret-weapon.html

 

 

St. Faustina Kowalska

From the Diary of St. Faustina, “Divine Mercy in My Soul”: Conference on Spiritual Warfare, Cracow-Pradnik

June 2, 1938 _ “My daughter, I want to teach you about spiritual warfare. Never trust in yourself, but abandon yourself totally to My Will. In desolation, darkness and various doubts, have recourse to Me and to your spiritual director. He will always answer you in My Name. Do not bargain with any temptation; lock yourself immediately in My Heart and, at the first opportunity, reveal the temptation to the confessor. Put your self-love in the last place, so that it does not taint your deeds. Bear with yourself with great patience. Do not neglect interior mortifications. Always justify to yourself the opinions of your superiors and of your confessor. Shun murmurers like a plague. Let all act as they like; you are to act as I want you to.

Observe the rule as faithfully as you can. If someone causes you trouble, think what good you can do for the person who caused you to suffer. Do not pour out your feelings. Be silent when you are rebuked. Do not ask everyone’s opinion, but only the opinion of your confessor; be as frank and simple as a child with him. Do not become discouraged by ingratitude. Do not examine with curiosity the roads down which I lead you. When boredom and discouragement beat against your heart, run away from yourself and hide in My Heart. Do not fear struggle; courage itself often intimidates temptations, and they dare not attack us.

Always fight with the deep conviction that I am with you. Do not be guided by feeling, because it is not always under your control; but all merit lies in the will. Always depend upon your superiors, even in the smallest things. I will not delude you with prospects of peace and consolations; on the contrary, prepare for great battles. Know that you are now on a great stage where all heaven and earth are watching you. Fight like a knight, so that I can reward you. Do not be unduly fearful, because you are not alone.” (1760)

 

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BEGINNING OF SORROWS

It is the end of an era,
and the beginning of sorrows.

Statue of Mary Survives Hurricane Sandy

At Fatima (1917) and at La Salette (1840s), the Blessed Virgin Mary was sent by God to warn that all humanity will suffer an increase in natural and man-made disasters, a Great Apostasy, God’s Justice and Divine Wrath, due to the increase of sin in the world. Our Lady comes to urgently call us to repentance, conversion, prayer and penance, that some of God’s Justice may be averted. But time is running out.

Cova da Iria, Fatima (July 13, 1917) _ Three shepherd children “saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendor that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: ‘Penance, Penance, Penance!’…” 

_ From the third part of the “secret” of Fatima, committed to paper by Sister Lucia (January 3, 1944)

Question: Is it within God’s permissive will to allow the use of weapons of mass destruction (“man’s inhumanity to man”) to punish mankind?

Answer: “The angel with the flaming sword represents the threat of judgment which looms over the world. Today the prospect that the world might be reduced to ashes by a sea of fire no longer seems pure fantasy: man himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword.” _ Pope Benedict XVI

“And let us not say that it is God Who is punishing us in this way; on the contrary it is people themselves who are preparing their own punishment. In His kindness God warns us and calls us to the right path, while respecting the freedom He has given us; hence people are responsible.” _ Sister Lucia, Fatima visionary, in a letter to Pope John Paul II (May 12, 1982)

This threat of judgment loomed over the world in 1917. We have been given almost one hundred years -- a century of Divine Mercy. But we now live in the darkest of days. We now live in a world begging for purification…

“I (Jesus) do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart. I use punishment when they themselves force Me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice. Before the Day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy.” (1588) “He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice…” (1146) _ From the Diary of St. Faustina, “Divine Mercy in My Soul”

“And so the Church has a profound need 
to re-learn penance,
to accept purification, 
to learn on the one hand forgiveness
but also the necessity of justice.
And forgiveness does not substitute justice.”
Pope Benedict XVI, During his flight to Fatima (May 11, 2010)

Today, the earth groans under the weight of man’s sins and cries out in a loud voice: “Purification, Purification, Purification!” It is now midnight; it is the end of an age, when man begins to reap the full harvest of what he has sown. The Purification has come, and there is terrible Chastisement on the horizon.

Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the Antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour. (1 John 2:18)

The current “global climate of fear” is understandable. For those who do not have faith in Jesus Christ, there is only fear. Fear is all they know. 

 

It is the beginning of sorrows... as global and regional chastisements befall us: “Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!” 

• We need to be in a “state of grace” and “Sacramentally” fortified. (We need to be free of mortal sin through frequent Confession and, when possible, daily Mass.)
• We need to live according to God’s will. (We need to obey the Ten Commandments, submit to rightful spiritual authority, and follow all the teachings of the Catholic Church.)
• We need to pray more, and fast. (Prayer changes things, and the Rosary is a Powerful weapon against the enemy.)
• We need to forgive -- everyone. (Un-forgiveness is a block to receiving God’s grace.)

“An age is coming to an end, not just the end of a remarkable century but the end of seventeen hundred years of Christendom. The greatest apostasy since the birth of the Church is clearly far advanced all around us.” _ Dr. Ralph Martin, Consultor to the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization

Let no one deceive you in any way… the apostasy comes first and (then) the lawless one is revealed… (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

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ADDICTIONS AND DIVINE MERCY

From “Divine Mercy Answers Life’s Crises and Problems”
By Fr. George W. Kosicki, C.S.B.

Father George Kosicki, CSB (1928 - 2014) worked with

the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception

in spreading the message of Divine Mercy. 

“What Should I Do When I’m Addicted?”

There are various types of addictions. They all affect the whole person in body, mind and spirit. The various addictions begin with a seeking of euphoria or pleasure and eventually end in moral degradation and violent behavior. Consider the following:

Addiction to alcohol is a complex phenomenon that involves the chemistry of the brain, genetic propensity stimulated by excessive intake of alcohol and stress. Some researchers have shown that the break down product of alcohol is not excreted but is “dumped” into the brain and sits on the site of the endorphins. The endorphins are the natural chemicals that stimulate a sense of well-being and pleasure. The end product of alcohol metabolism blocks the site of the natural endorphins -- so the alcoholic is addicted to stimulating the endorphin pleasure site with alcohol.

Addiction to drugs (such as heroine, etc.) follows the same pattern as the end-product of the metabolism of alcohol’s inhibiting the natural endorphins. So the drug addict seeks the euphoria of the drug in a compulsive way.

Addiction to pornography is the latest addition to the list of addictions. The euphoric site in the brain is stimulated to give a sense of pleasure from looking at pornographic materials, for example on the internet. Researchers are reporting that addiction to pornography is the major cause of most of the violent action of molestation of the young and the break-up of the family.

“What Should I Do As An Addict?”

There are Twelve-Step programs for each of the various addictions. Seek them out for help; that is why they exist.

In terms of Divine Mercy as the antidote to addiction, consider the following points that echo the Twelve-Step programs:

1. Admit your misery and your inability to overcome the complex pneumo-psycho-somatic (spiritual, psychological and physical) addiction by yourself. Turn to God’s mercy. Plunge into the ocean of God’s mercy with complete trust.
2. Repent of your sinful addiction and repent of your violent actions and moral degradation in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
3. Ask a prayer group or a priest to pray over you for healing of the addiction.
4. Trust in God Who in His infinite mercy is always ready to forgive and to heal.
5. Seek out a support group of merciful friends to encourage you and challenge you to keep your resolutions.
6. Stop all addictive behavior by the grace of God -- i.e., no alcohol, no drugs, no porn...
7. Start with a new life -- new friends, new work if needed to reduce stress, new hobbies, new recreations, change your diet to a balanced intake of food.
8. Start a life of mercy in action: by deeds, by word and by prayer. Seek out ways to be merciful to those in need of help.
9. Repent of your self-concern and be concerned for others.
10. Continue in regular, daily prayer of thanks and asking the Lord for mercy on all those with addictions.
11. Receive regular and frequent Holy Communion to strengthen and nourish you with the Body and Blood of the Lord, the Presence of Mercy Incarnate.
12. Entrust your new life to Mary our Mother, the Mother of Divine Mercy.

Ask for His mercy.

Be merciful.

Completely trust in Jesus.

http://www.renewalministries.net/files/freeliterature/DM%20Answers%20life%20crises%20and%20problems.pdf

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DELIVERANCE FROM FEAR

THE SCREAM

“In the Name of the Father, and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

Jesus, You are my Salvation.

Whom should I fear?

But there is fear in me, O God.

Fear from childhood abuse and traumas

long forgotten,

fear buried alive in my subconscious mind,

fear that cripples me in the present day.

There is fear in me, O Lord.

Fear that binds me and imprisons me,

even though I am now in the Light.

Jesus, please BIND the "spirit of fear"

in my life.

Please heal all areas vulnerable to

the spirit of fear,

and all areas under its control.

I thank You for the gift of faith --

a faith greater than fear.

Eucharistic Jesus,

You are the healer of my soul.

Please heal my mind and memory,

my intellect and will.

Please heal all childhood memories

of abuse and trauma

that cause me such pain, anguish

and anxiety in the present day.

Jesus, I give You my wounded heart,

my troubled mind.

I give You my broken family.

In total abandonment and trust,

I surrender my life and family to You.

Take care of everything.

Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament,

I trust in You.

Blessed Virgin Mary, liberator of 

the oppressed,

Crush the “head of the serpent”

in the lives of all who cannot

or will not forgive (me).

Immaculate Mother,

you are Mediatrix of all Grace.

For the sake of the sorrowful passion

of your Son Jesus,

please work your miracles of grace

in all whom I have injured.

Hold them, form them,

in your Immaculate Heart. Amen.

I now entrust all members of my family,

and myself,

to the Blessed Virgin Mary:

“Envelop us in thy mantle,

Immaculate Mother,

and we will be in total security. Amen.”

“In the Name of the Father, and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

  

"O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You." 

_ Diary of St. Faustina, #84

 

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CONFESSION: HEALING THE SOUL

One’s mortal sin testifies to Satan’s victory in one’s life.

When’s the last time you went to confession? The Sacrament of Reconciliation not only takes away our sins, but takes away any “right” Satan has that we may have relinquished to him through sin. One exorcist told me that a lot of deliverance happens in the context of sacramental confession... The voice of the accuser is silenced in the face of God’s mercy, thus restoring peace of mind and soul. Satan is a “liar and the father of lies.” So when you bring the lies you’ve been living into the light, the darkness scatters. _ Mark Mallett, Hell Unleashed: The Sacraments,

 https://www.markmallett.com/blog/hell-unleashed/

 

Sacrament of Reconciliation - Penance / Confession

Jesus told St. Faustina:

“Write, speak of My mercy. Tell souls where they are to look for solace, that is, in the Tribunal of Mercy [the Sacrament of Reconciliation]. There the greatest miracles take place [and] are incessantly repeated. To avail oneself of this miracle, it is not necessary to go on a great pilgrimage, or to carry out some external ceremony; it suffices to come with faith to the feet of My representative and to reveal to Him one's misery, and the miracle of Divine Mercy will be fully demonstrated. Were souls like a decaying corpse so that from a human standpoint there would be no [hope of] restoration and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full.” _ Diary of St. Faustina, “Divine Mercy in My Soul” (1448)

“When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls. The proud remain always in poverty and misery, because My grace turns away from them to humble souls.” _ Diary of St. Faustina, “Divine Mercy in My Soul” (1602)  

 

Dr. Ray Guarendi

“‘Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned Your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with You. I need You. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into Your redeeming embrace.’ How good it feels to come back to Him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking His mercy.” _ Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium

“When I go to confession, it’s for healing: healing the soul, healing the heart because of something that I did to make it unwell.” _ Pope Francis

Through the Sacraments, we receive sanctifying grace. The Sacrament of Confession is more powerful than the rite of exorcism. And living a Sacramental life is the best defense we have against the Devil.

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THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

“Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.” (Mark 3:28-30)

This sin (blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) is called an everlasting sin because it attributes to Satan, who is the power of evil, what is actually the work of the Holy Spirit, namely, victory over the demons. (NAB)

“Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” (Matthew 12:31-32)

“Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” (Luke 12:10)

 

Saint Augustine explains the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit to be “final impenitence” -- that is, dying in a state of un-repentance. The refusal to repent of mortal sin, even at the moment of one’s death, is absolutely opposed to the remission of sins. (Until death, it is possible to repent of any sin, renounce evil, and embrace the One True Faith.)

Refusal to accept the salvation 

which God offers to man.

(Pope) Saint John Paul II

Dominum et Vivificantem

On the Holy Spirit in the Life of the Church
and the World

#6 -- The Sin Against the Holy Spirit 
46) …(W)hoever rejects (the “convincing concerning sin” which comes from) the Spirit and the (redemptive power of Christ’s) Blood remains in “dead works,” in sin. And the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consists precisely in the radical refusal to accept this forgiveness… If Jesus says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven either in this life or in the next, it is because this “non-forgiveness” is linked, as to its cause, to “non-repentance,” in other words to the radical refusal to be converted… Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, then, is the sin committed by the person who claims to have a “right” to persist in evil -- in any sin at all -- and who thus rejects Redemption. One closes oneself up in sin, thus making impossible one’s conversion, and consequently the remission of sins, which one considers not essential or not important for one’s life. This is a state of spiritual ruin, because blasphemy against the Holy Spirit does not allow one to escape from one’s self-imposed imprisonment and open oneself to the divine sources of the purification of consciences and of the remission of sins.

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_18051986_dominum-et-vivificantem_en.html

~ * * * ~

“Be not afraid of your Savior, O sinful soul. I make the first move to come to you, for I know that by yourself you are unable to lift yourself to Me. Child, do not run away from your Father; be willing to talk openly with your God of mercy Who wants to speak words of pardon and lavish His graces on you. How dear your soul is to Me! I have inscribed your name upon My hand; you are engraved as a deep wound in My Heart.”

…“My mercy is greater than your sins and those of the entire world. Who can measure the extent of My goodness? For you I descended from heaven to earth; for you I allowed Myself to be nailed to the Cross; for you I let My Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance, thus opening wide the Source of mercy for you. Come, then, with trust to draw graces from this fountain. I never reject a contrite heart. Your misery has disappeared in the depths of My mercy. Do not argue with Me about your wretchedness. You will give Me pleasure if you hand over to Me all your troubles and grief. I shall heap upon you the treasures of My grace...” 

Jesus -to- Saint Faustina, “Divine Mercy in My Soul” (1485)

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HELL EXISTS!

“For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36)

Souls of the Damned in Hell being Tormented by Demons

I remember thinking:

“A fire that consumes without destroying.”

And then the Holy Spirit responded,

“Like the burning bush.”

Moses and the Burning Bush

Jesus often speaks of “Gehenna” of “the unquenchable fire” reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe and be converted, where both soul and body can be lost. (Matthew 5:22,29;10:28;13:42,50 / Mark 9:43-48) Jesus solemnly proclaims that He “will send His angels, and they will gather… all evil doers, and throw them into the furnace of fire,” (Matthew 13:41-42) and that He will pronounce the condemnation: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire!” (Matthew 25:41)

The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of Hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, “eternal fire.” The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in Whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.

… Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is completed, we may merit to enter with Him into the marriage feast and be numbered among the blessed, and not, like the wicked and slothful servants, be ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the outer darkness where “men will weep and gnash their teeth.” (Matthew 22:13; 25:13,26,30,31-46 / Hebrews 9:27)

[Catechism of the Catholic Church: 1034 - 1036]

THE “LAKE OF FIRE” IN REVELATION

IS “SYMBOLIC” OF GOD’S PUNISHMENT

And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and if any one’s name was not found written in the book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14-15)

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)

ONE TORTURE IN HELL IS

A PURELY “SPIRITUAL” FIRE

THAT CONSUMES WITHOUT DESTROYING

St. John Paul II - Divine Mercy image - St. Faustina

Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska
“Divine Mercy in My Soul”
(Notebook 2, Paragraph 741)

Today, I was led by an Angel to the chasms of Hell. It is a place of great torture; how awesomely large and extensive it is! The kinds of tortures I saw: the first torture that constitutes hell is the loss of God; the second is perpetual remorse of conscience; the third is that one’s condition will never change; the fourth (torture) is the fire that will penetrate the soul without destroying it -- a terrible suffering, since it is a purely spiritual fire, lit by God’s anger; the fifth torture is continual darkness and a terrible suffocating smell, and, despite the darkness, the devils and the souls of the damned see each other and all the evil, both of others and their own; the sixth torture is the constant company of Satan; the seventh torture is horrible despair, hatred of God, vile words, curses and blasphemies. These are the tortures suffered by all the damned together, but that is not the end of the sufferings. There are special tortures destined for particular souls. These are the torments of the senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and indescribable sufferings, related to the manner in which it has sinned. There are caverns and pits of torture where one form of agony differs from another. I would have died at the very sight of these tortures if the omnipotence of God had not supported me. Let the sinner know that he will be tortured throughout all eternity, in those senses which he made use of to sin. I am writing this at the command of God, so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody has ever been there, and so no one can say what it is like.

I, Sister Faustina, by the order of God, have visited the abysses of hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence. I cannot speak about it now; but I have received a command from God to leave it in writing. The devils were full of hatred for me, but they had to obey me at the command of God. What I have written is but a pale shadow of the things I saw. But I noticed one thing: that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell. When I came to, I could hardly recover from the fright. How terribly souls suffer there! Consequently, I pray even more fervently for the conversion of sinners. I incessantly plead God's mercy upon them. O my Jesus, I would rather be in agony until the end of the world, amidst the greatest sufferings, than offend You by the least sin.

“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins,

save us from the fires of Hell,

lead all souls to Heaven,

especially those who are in most need of 
Thy mercy.”

Prayer requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima

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FOUR PRINCIPAL TORMENTS IN HELL

 

Dictated by St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) during a state of ecstasy while in dialog with God the Father.

 

Of the four principal torments of the damned, from which follow all the others; and particularly of the foulness of the Devil.

“My daughter, the tongue is not sufficient to narrate the pain of these poor souls. As there are three principal vices, namely: self-love, whence proceeds the second, that is love of reputation, whence proceeds the third, that is pride, with injustice and cruelty, and with other filthiness and iniquitous sins, that follow upon these. So I say to you, that in Hell, the souls have four principal torments, out of which proceed all the other torments. The first is, that they see themselves deprived of the vision of Me, which is such pain to them, that, were it possible, they would rather choose the fire, and the tortures and torments, and to see Me, than to be without the torments and not to see Me.

This first pain revives in them, then, the second, the worm of Conscience, which gnaws unceasingly, seeing that the soul is deprived of Me, and of the conversation of the angels, through her (his) sin, made worthy of the conversation and sight of the devils, which vision of the Devil is the third pain and redoubles to them their every toil. As the saints exult in the sight of Me, refreshing themselves with joyousness in the fruit of their toils borne for Me with such abundance of love, and displeasure of themselves, so does the sight of the Devil revive these wretched ones to torments, because in seeing him they know themselves more, that is to say, they know that, by their own sin, they have made themselves worthy of him. And so the worm of Conscience gnaws more and more, and the fire of this Conscience never ceases to burn. And the sight is more painful to them, because they see him in his own form, which is so horrible that the heart of man could not imagine it. And if you remember well, you know that I showed him to you in his own form for a little space of time, hardly a moment, and you chose (after you had returned to yourself) rather to walk on a road of fire, even until the Day of Judgment, than to see him again. With all this that you have seen, even you do not know well how horrible he is, because, by Divine justice, he appears more horrible to the soul that is deprived of Me, and more or less according to the gravity of her (his) sin. The fourth torment that they have is the fire. This fire burns and does not consume, for the being of the soul cannot be consumed, because it is not a material thing that fire can consume. But I, by Divine justice, have permitted the fire to burn them with torments, so that it torments them, without consuming them, with the greatest pains in diverse ways according to the diversity of their sins, to some more, and to some less, according to the gravity of their fault. Out of these four torments issue all others, such as cold and heat and gnashing of the teeth and many others. Now because they did not amend themselves after the first reproof that they had of injustice and false judgment, neither in the second, which was that, in death, they would not hope in Me, nor grieve for the offense done to Me, but only for their own pain, have they thus so miserably received Eternal Punishment.”

The Dialog of Saint Catherine of Siena

A Treatise of Discretion (pp. 42-43)

 

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