An Exorcist tells his story ...

The local and global responses to the Corona virus are interesting, in that, here we have an invisible but real threat seen by its effects. Large efforts and vast resources are being deployed to counter this.

I believe Christians and the church particularly can learn a great deal from this fervor and realization of danger in our midst. For, we too, face an invisible enemy whose effects are more far reaching than a flu virus. Can anything other than the full message and application of the authority Jesus extended to it, counter and protect humanity from such an enemy?

At a time in history when humanity is being assaulted simultaneously on multiple front lines, there seems to be a muted or bewildered response. Clauswitzian fog before the eyes of many leads to rationalizing instead of bold action taken in faith. Whereas every diocese is required to have its own exorcist for example, those in need of one might have to travel half way around Europe to find one nowadays, we are no longer equipped for the times. Fr Amorth in his book “An Exorcist tells his story” mentions what a Bishop (who had not appointed an exorcist in his diocese) said that he ‘did not want to make an enemy of the devil’ perhaps forgetting his predecessors when they said ..“Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 18 He (Jesus) replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven (Luke10; 17-18)

But it goes beyond this. Wishy-washy preaching turns the good news into the good advice, the demands of holiness and a fierce devotion to a baseline of mediocrity and complacency. There is a need to look back and see that what worked for the saints in the centuries gone by, was not sophisticated reasoning but simply telling the truth about God, about our need for Him and the salvation He offers, how desperately He is reaching out to us in love to ransom us and shield us from the clutches of the evil that surrounds us. We must take it seriously.

The legions of the enemy camp take their work very seriously, have undivided hearts as they assault the world with their deceptions of abortion, gender ideology, atheism and a host of other ways to destroy souls; our response cannot be to offer a peace treaty of tolerance and fear but on the contrary to see it for what it is and push back with the full force of the truths of the Gospel, for the healing of souls and the liberation of those who fall into the power of the devil.

What will it take for people to even believe anymore? Does satan have to have his own TV show before we become alert and aware!

A New Way

A few times each day a helicopter passes overhead and lands on the helipad of a five star hotel near Manila bay, a service to guests who would prefer to avoid our famous traffic. Its flight path goes over the national sports stadium in whose covered alcoves the homeless sleep and store their handful of belongings… so close, and yet so far. 

The distance between rich and poor here is greater than anywhere I have seen in the world. Unbridled capitalism and endemic corruption work synergistically to ensure an ever growing underclass and untouchable and increasingly isolated elite. Added to this, are the aspirations of the middle classes which can counter compassion and build walls against the poor. It all chips away at our humanity and increases separation and isolation. A big event like the Papal visit for example, sees the homeless shunted away by the government, dehumanized as an embarrassing problem. 

We must seek out a new way, of compassion and dignity. Everyone has a story but not all have a voice. 

I read a post some time ago and the chap who told the story was just sitting down for lunch at a simple outdoor carinderia (café) when a homeless man came shuffling along with a few bags in tow. He invited him to join him for lunch and they got talking. The homeless man had not always been so. He had worked all his life; he and his wife had a good home and life together until she became ill. Hospital bills quickly mounted and exceeded their savings until he had to sell his house and property to continue treatment. (Whilst the Philippines is a developing country, the medical fees are set at first world prices.) Eventually she died and now he was left grieving (although without regret) and had nothing left. 

He was making his way back to a province where he had relatives who might take him in and so his host bought him a bus ticket to that town and they parted company. Sometimes a few minutes to listen and a few pesos can lift someone up. 

How easy it was to help; how much easier not to bother to engage though, like in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Compassion is the better choice; the better choice for rich and poor alike.

To the ends of the Earth ..

On entering the Radio Maria Philippines HQ in Tarlac in central Luzon, I was greeted by the familiar image of Our Lady of Tihaljina on their logo and immediately knew the quality of their mission. The focus is almost entirely on prayer, both the Mass and Rosary broadcasts daily coupled with the prayer of the church and solid Catholic teaching.

Each Radio Maria station in the world has its own special role to play in bringing the Gospel to the people. Here the terrestrial coverage is limited to a few regions of the country but it struck me that it’s real potential was way beyond that. 

In Yellow, Fr, Raymund Cruz, Station Director with some of many volunteers

We have reached a stage in human history where we can almost ‘proclaim the gospel to every creature’ by partnering with technology. The station is also available through internet and an App for IOS and Android smart phones and can be heard all over the world. This is particularly important for Filipinos because the work force is so mobile. More than 2 million are OFW’s (Overseas Foreign Workers) and are often employed in some of the most inhospitable countries where the faith is restricted or outlawed entirely but via Radio Maria they can now stay connected to their faith and join in unity with this huge praying community and in their own language. 

Another enormous potential audience are the seafarers. Somewhere between 30-40% of the world’s seamen are Filipinos as Maritime schools have flourished here for many decades. It can be a lonely and isolated life spending months at sea without much to feed the soul, but now they can listen in and join together in prayer as they plough the ocean and sea roads.

Most of the funding comes from the pennies of the poor: parishes and school children filling tins with coins to keep the station running and volunteers provide most of the content as well. A class of school kids might be leading the Rosary on air today, a group of college students from another town tomorrow so it’s really a grassroots and providential undertaking. 

Before I left, the station Director Fr. Raymund Cruz told me news that quickened my spirit even more. They are just starting a new station in one of the darkest corners of Europe…England.

In my mind’s eye, I could see the angels gearing up for this Marian invasion of my homeland. It’s almost a thousand years since the apparitions of Our Lady in Walsingham, at one time a shrine almost as popular as Jerusalem or Rome; such was the strength of faith and Marian devotion in those days. Perhaps the Mother of God is set to reclaim England which in ancient times was referred to as the ‘dowry of Mary’ How wonderful to live in such days of restoration!

Walsingham ... The Ancient Shrine

A glimpse of Walsingham below  and a soundtrack called Mary's Garden by Paul Lisney

Mary's Garden from maxtmh on GodTube.

To download the Radio Maria App to your phone go here to their website:- https://www.radiomaria.ph/

“Does Prayer Work?”

Unanswered prayer is something that everyone struggles with at times, but it may not be that mysterious after all. Particularly with hindsight, when I consider life backwards I am rather relieved that He didn’t answer some prayers and even more relieved that He didn’t answer prayers said for me by others or I may have been peppered with lightning bolts and drenched in lashings of Greek Fire long ago! Fortunately He is irritatingly patient with sinners. 

Our Prayer life goes hand in hand with our evolving or developing relationship with God. From follower to disciple to servant to friend and then to son (or daughter) and at each point there is a different attitude to prayer, a different level of intimacy with God and often a quite different result as our hearts are brought into closer harmony with His. 

Sadly, many stop praying when they discover that God is not Santa Claus and not there to cater to our whims or often selfish demands. He has so much more to offer than mere trifles. Perseverance is certainly a part of the training in prayer and some things can take months or years of prayer but listening is also crucial, asking the right questions in order to refine your prayer until it becomes in line with His desires. As C.S. Lewis noted ‘prayer does not change Him, it changes me.’ 

Perhaps this underlines too the usefulness of seeking the intercession of the saints, as when we pray the Rosary for example, as we offer our prayer through Mary who is uniquely related to God as daughter, mother and spouse, she can ‘correct the grammar’ and perfect the prayer as she would be aware of what is needed more precisely than we would. 

With time, practice and an open heart, prayer will become a joy, a dynamic two-way street and as He changes our hearts more and more, we will be more attuned to know the right things to pray for and answered prayer will become as normal as breathing. 

We have a tradition in our prayer group where at the end of the year, we have a prayer of thanksgiving for the year that passed and petitions for the next, which we record and review. There are very few unanswered or delayed, nowadays.

The Living will envy the dead

In a TV ‘cop’ show I watched the other day, as they were about to introduce a new character they used the phrase – “He’s old testament” to let us know this muscled giant would dispense justice swiftly and squarely without compromise or any faffing around. And so he did. 

The God of the old testament, the one who flooded the earth in Noah’s day, poured fire from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah, rescued His people from the Egyptians and gave us the ten commandments has not taken early retirement. 

It is said that the Father, in this post Resurrection era, views the world through the wounds of His son. It is no less horrifying to Him but sees that the price of our iniquity has been paid by the sacrifice of the Son. And even though the state of the world is far worse now than ever in human history, His anger is held back by the merit of Jesus’ sacrifice. The purpose of that sacrifice was to cancel the debt, to make mercy & forgiveness available. For humanity’s part, we are required (as a minimum) to seek mercy and accept forgiveness and turn back to God. 

What happens when humanity stops turning back to Him, when a tipping point is reached where the sin is so great and the desire to repent or change is almost entirely absent? He sends a warning. I was reading about the approved apparitions in Akita in Japan in the 1970’s where Our Lady spoke to a Japanese nun about what would happen. One message reads “As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never have seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and priests” 

It’s hard to imagine what ‘envy the dead’ might look like but surely it’s better to avoid it by heeding this and the many other heavenly warnings we are receiving. The local bishop called it an update on Fatima and if we pay attention to this and the more recent apparitions which point to the same end (although in our day with greater urgency perhaps) disaster can be averted or lessened. Some people wonder why so many apparitions of Mary in our days, it’s because she is pleading with us to change, to pay attention, to see how precious human souls really are and how tragic when lost for lack of prayer or vigilance. 

Maybe this time of year is a good opportunity to begin again.

“All things new”

                                                                    

Perhaps the greatest mystery for us is what happens if we actually make it to heaven? The subjects of purgatory and hell have been very well documented over the centuries but heaven... eternal life...it’s a bit vague. Sitting on a cloud with a harp is an unbearable image, singing for 10,000 years might be a bit much too.

Some days ago, a chap called Maurice Mounsdon died, he was 101 and was one of the ‘last of the few’, a former pilot in the Battle of Britain. Most of his mates from those days would have been dead for 80 years by now. It reminded me of a favourite image of the here-after, which is from the end of the movie Titanic.

In the film, as the old lady breathed her last, she was transported down below the waves to the ancient wreck. As her spirit glided along its decks they were once again flooded with light. The rust and decay gave way to complete restoration of every detail. As she made her entrance and went up the grand staircase, all her acquaintances smiled and applauded as she was reunited with her beloved. A grand reunion, all things made new, nothing lost and she was young again without infirmity.

I think Maurice must have had a similar journey, as his guardian angel led him to have his debriefing with the Lord, I can well imagine the rest of the ‘firebirds’ (56 squadron) on hand to welcome him home and if there’s a soundtrack it must have been a Merlin engine’s roar! Nothing is lost in death, all things are made new and what is important to us now, what we have loved in life is still a part of us it’s just perfected by then. We think of deceased loved ones at this time of year, we will see them again!

“Disrupting ISIS Recruitment”

I recently visited the Island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, the scene of the siege of Marawi, where the ISIS affiliated ‘Maute group’ briefly took over the city and inevitably met their end. Sometimes it takes a tragedy to stir people from passivity and complacency; face a situation head on and contend with it. 

I met with the staff of Duyog Marawi a group initiated by the Redemptorist order with support from the wider Catholic Church in the Philippines. Their staff and volunteers are Muslims and Catholics, mostly young people who are committed to peace and the restoration of the lives of those affected by the troubles in Marawi. Duyog means to ‘accompany’ and the group intends to ‘journey with’ the Meranaw people as they move through the various stages of recovery and development.

Before the insurrection in Marawi, ISIS recruited children as young as 9 years old as fighters, the younger they are the easier to brainwash, coerce and manipulate. The Maute family ran a residential school where many were recruited and whilst their families noticed how their joy left them to be replaced by aggression and hatred, they did not anticipate the outcome. Now however, through Duyog Marawi, the Muslim community have taken ownership of the problem. 

Duyog Marawi is now involved in countering the ideology and recruitment tactics of ISIS through a mobile Madrasah (Islamic school) for the children and a similar system to reach older youth to warn them ahead of time and teach them proper values. They are seriously disrupting ISIS recruitment through their efforts. The Muslim communities are forearmed now and can better protect their youth from those who would merely seek to profit from their children’s deaths.

As I listened to the three courageous young Meranaw Duyog Marawi staff, Juji, Jam and Hudaifa, it occurred to me that every young person seeks to know and find his part in the larger story, a noble or worthy cause to champion. Along with their Christian colleagues they had chosen the way of peace. They are the beacons of hope for a shared, common future.

As Christian and Muslim youth unite under a common banner of peace and understanding to protect their communities and nation from those who come only to ‘kill, steal and destroy’ (John 10:10), they become an impenetrable phalanx (interlocked shields) that will break the waves of fanciful infantile ideologies that crash against them, with unshakeable resolve and manly courage.

Perhaps communities in other nations can learn from this excellent project and apply a similar model to prevent radicalization of the young.