‘The Five Generals’

There was a fascinating podcast released a few days ago where Fr. Ripperger, an American exorcist, was interviewed by Shawn Ryan, a recent revert to Christianity and former Navy Seal. It was a 4 hour deep dive behind the veil of the spiritual world and the work of the exorcist where he shares decades of experiential knowledge.

Amongst the many insights he shared was one related to the hierarchy of demons under Satan and what their functions were as they worked their plan for our destruction. He called them the Five Generals.

The first is a demon of impurity which ushers in the moral collapse in societies, a first wave of attack we might say. The next is a demon of homosexuality in men, then two demons of homosexuality in women, one for the more feminine or passive and the other, the more aggressive type that adopt a ‘masculine’ persona. So they bring in the perversion and distortion that we see growing in influence. The last of the five is a demon of child sacrifice, which in our day, is abortion. 

Taken together they have certainly influenced the moral collapse in the western world and the communist nations. We have seen since the 1960’s certainly each wave of assault on society, in tandem with government legislation to support them. Both homosexuality and abortion, once unthinkable by any society, have been decriminalised and ‘legitimised’ by most western governments and some in the east. They are embedded now in culture and in law; hence rather difficult to dislodge. 

It’s certainly an eye-opener to see and understand that these changes in society are not random or simply the ‘enlightened age’ they are marketed as, but as their nature suggests, demonic manipulation of peoples and nations who, without God at the centre of their lives, become willing co-operators and simultaneously helpless victims of these tormentors. 

There is a great deal more in the podcast to reflect on; it’s an important resource for situation awareness and the need to not be complacent in our prayer life; there is a lot going on behind the veil and we too, need to engage for our protection and to advance the kingdom of light !

 

Our Lady's Role in Spiritual Warfare

 

The March 18, 2026 Message from Medjugorje through Mirjana Soldo:

“Dear children, never forget how great is the love of God. 

Through that love I am with you. Do not forget how great is His mercy. Through that mercy I am showing you the way to true happiness and perfect peace. That is the way to my Son.

Therefore, my children, with complete trust, abandon yourselves to my Son and do not be afraid. Do not be afraid of the future because it belongs entirely to the will of my Son.

Therefore, my children, renounce everything that distances you from my Son: false happiness, false hope, false splendor. Trust my Son. Tell Him about your pains, sufferings, desires and hopes. You will feel His love and His blessing.

Thank you! 

(With Ecclesiastical approval)

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart – Psalm 37:4

 

One of the fundamental elements of our faith is having the correct understanding of who God is as He is often misrepresented and badly learned. 

Jesus called Him Father. Often we can think of Him as a judge, a policeman, a jailer perhaps, an unknown who seems a bit scary. Even with the gift of conversion and sacramental absolution there may be a lingering notion that we are just on probation and our every move is being scrutinised…! These are roadblocks to the open relational style we see in the way Jesus speaks of Him. Only time, intimate prayer and a right interpretation of our experiences in our walk with God can bring His true nature into focus. 

Last week though, my wife and I had a rather beautiful glimpse at the Father as He took us on a journey to show us a few of the wonders in His creation. We had a week off and I planned a trip to a new destination, the last island in a chain we had been exploring over a few years. The logistics had a lot of ‘moving parts,’ it would take 8 different modes of transport over a 24 hour period to get us there and some of the timing was tighter than I would like. 

But I have learned to trust God to give us the best, because that’s what a father does. He knows the needs and hearts desires of His children and always acts in their best interests. We prayed on the ferry that it would arrive an hour earlier than scheduled and slept soundly, handing over our vessel (and the rest of the Universe) to His care. We arrived an hour early, had time for the Morning Mass and breakfast before taking a fast van to the other end of the island to catch the last out-rigger to our destination. 

An hour later I gazed on the most beautiful coastline I have ever seen: blue sky, turquoise clear water, white sand and light that an artist would die for. We rested with a view of the ocean and the sound of incoming waves as a remedy for the busy months behind us. 

Our Father had another unexpected surprise arranged for us the other side of the Island. We spent one night at an observatory with the Philippines’ largest telescope. As we checked in, we discovered that the night we had chosen was a special event, a lunar eclipse or blood moon. And it was truly astonishing to see! 

Nearby was another magnificent coastline on the edge of coral reef where we spent a couple of days mostly underwater and were shown a mystical garden beneath the waves with a variety of unusual creatures from sea snakes to clown fish playing amongst the corals. Absolutely mesmerising! We were in awe at all that He has made and could sense His joy in sharing it with us. 

Such days are an Oasis on the journey of life, much of which is desert and challenge. But it illustrated for me a part of God’s nature we often miss. He is a Father, He made the world and all that is in it for us, His gift to us. And I believe He loves to share it with us, to show us the beauty He has made if we have eyes to see it. Whilst we will not see Eden in this life, we can still share now that same intimacy and communion with God in some measure, ‘for now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face’ (1 Cor 13:12) 

Arriving home we discovered that our parish had just received a relic of St Charbel from the Lebanon, which arrived on the last flight from Beirut before the airspace closed. We didn’t even know a new war had just started !

February 25, 2026 – Our Lady’s Message from Medjugorje.

Dear children,

In this time of grace, anew, I am calling you to offer your lives to God that He may lead you towards the resurrection through your personal conversion. Little children, God is near to you and heeds your prayers, but you are lulled to sleep, and that is why He sent me to you to awaken you, and that you may shine holiness like a spring flower.

Thank you for having responded to my call.

(With ecclesiastical approval)

The servant of God Zviad testifies about events from 2013:

I was abroad and I didn’t even notice how hooked I was getting on drugs. First I grew weak, then I lost all joy. I lost interest in my job and I drifted apart from all my relatives and friends. When I returned to Georgia, I rented a house in the middle of nowhere to be alone and to try to kick the habit—to try to wean myself off that filth. What a mistake it is to think we can get by in such situations without God and our loved ones! It was only later that I realized it was the prayers of my loved ones that pulled me out of this pit.

One evening I was walking by the woods when I saw an old priest with a white beard sitting on a bench and crying… He was crying so bitterly that even as stoned as I was, I went over to help.

“I haven’t eaten for three days. My strength is failing me,” he whispered.

I practically carried him back to my place. There wasn’t much in the fridge—just some bread and bologna. I sat him down in a chair and rushed off to the grocery store. I ran back and started cooking scrambled eggs and macaroni, and he said: “I won’t eat without you.” And there I was, a man who’d forgotten what normal food was, sitting and tending to this priest for two solid hours.

“I’d like some wine,” he said.

I told him I don’t drink and didn’t have any wine. He reacted immediately. He looked at me sternly and said:

“Oh, but you have no problem with things that aren’t allowed. You’d better watch out or I’ll show you a thing or two,” he said laughing. He introduced himself as “Mama Vasily,” which means “Father Vasily” in Georgian (in childhood, everyone called the future elder Vasiko in honor of his late father).

After a while, he became ill. He was trembling and gasping but forbade me to call the ambulance. And I was afraid myself—what if the police came with the paramedics, searched the place, and found the stuff that had put me in this state?”

“Call the Theotokos!” he shouted. “Ask her to help!”

I didn’t know any prayers. Out of a fear, I just started yelling up to Heaven: “Theotokos, help! Jesus, help!” And he whispered the names of saints to me—I only remember Sts. Charalampos and Xenia of St. Petersburg. After a while he came around. And at four in the morning, a new request: “Take me to Sagarejo.”

I was already sick of this weird priest, so I agreed. We drove about forty-five miles. He told some stories along the way, but there’s only one thing I remember for sure: I really liked hearing his voice and his stories. As soon as we arrived at Sagarejo, he shouted:

“Where have you taken me? I asked to go to Saguramo!”

And that was in the opposite direction, another fifty miles. I apologized and headed that way. And then it started. First a tire blew out with a bang. Cursing under my breath, I put on the spare. We went a little further and the spare was in shreds! The car was stuck, silence all around, and this mysterious old man sitting next to me...

I spent an hour and a half trying to flag down someone to help us. At dawn, a kind man gave me a ride to the nearest tire shop, ten miles away. This strange priest stayed in the car, saying he’d keep an eye on it. In short, I somehow changed the tire again, and we again headed off for Saguramo.

This priest sang the whole way there—some Georgian songs, some gypsy songs from the film, Gypsies Are Found Near Heaven. He asked me: “Have you seen this film? I followed a gypsy camp, I lived with them. I baptized many of them. I have many friends there. The gypsies are good people…” I started realizing that this man knew too much about me. He answered questions before I even asked them. He took me along the roads of Saguramo for a long time, telling me to turn right, then left. Finally, he got out somewhere at the end of the road. Getting out of the car, he turned around and said:

“This is a day neither you nor I will ever forget… You won’t forget, will you? You’ll tell everyone which roads we took?”

To be polite, I agreed, and then started driving back. Before I could even turn back to look, the priest had disappeared—I have no idea where to. I still had fifty miles to go. With great difficulty, through seemingly endless obstacles, I finally made it home—it took about four hours. I got inside and collapsed on the couch. Nearly a full day in such a crazy, tense situation... I didn’t just fall asleep—I was out like a light.

When I woke up the next morning, I was amazed that I felt good. Out of habit, I opened the drawer to take my “morning dose,” but I couldn’t find anything there or in any of my hiding places. Everything was gone… I got angry, then scared, and I thought: “Were the police here?” In that frantic state, ransacking everything all around, I made my way to the bookshelf. My eyes caught a book with a figure on the cover who looked strangely familiar.

It was the book, The Elder’s Diadem. And on the cover—that “strange priest” whom I’d taken care of for two days… Or rather, not a strange priest, but Elder Gabriel. And it turns out I wasn’t driving him that whole time, but he was driving me.

I just sat there, looking at this photo. I couldn’t tear myself away. I’d heard about the Elder but didn’t really know anything about him. A chill ran through my whole body, and tears, as they say, flowed like a river… I don’t know how many hours I spent in this state. But the most amazing thing was that in the past, if I was even half an hour late taking that awful stuff, a terrible “withdrawal” would begin. But here it’d been two days already, and no withdrawal, no shaking, no craving. I was the happiest man in the world at that moment.

Soon I returned to my job abroad, returned to my family, returned to God, and to life itself. It’s been thirteen years since that day when I was reborn. I was reborn by the Lord’s great mercy and the direct intervention of Fr. Gabriel. At first, no one could believe that I wasn’t taking that poison anymore. When my family was finally convinced, my mother confessed that at that same time, she had lit a candle before an icon of Fr. Gabriel and prayed: “Please save my son…”

I always remember his words: “This is a day neither you nor I will ever forget… You won’t forget, will you? You’ll tell everyone which roads we took?”

Indeed, Fr. Gabriel! Truly, our kind, tireless intercessor, our hope and advocate! I won’t forget. And with this letter, I’m telling everyone that you’ll never leave us. And if need be, you’ll come and bring us to our senses. You’ll do it as only you know how: strangely, majestically, and in ways our sin-laden minds can’t even begin to fathom.

***

Listening to Zviad’s story, I couldn’t help but recall—as if in confirmation—what Elder Gabriel repeated more than once in the days before his death: “I’m leaving, but I’ll always be invisibly with you. I will never forsake you.”

Truly, our beloved Mama Gabrieli doesn’t abandon anyone! On February 22, Elder Gabriel is “uncovered” again for every one of us. He comes from the silence of Samtavro to meet us in our pain, our unbelief, and our hope. He comes to us, so that everyone—from their Sagarejo, from their dead end, from their personal “withdrawal”—might finally find the road home! And as long as we remember these roads, as long as we tell each other about them, we’re not orphans.

We don’t just believe this—we see his presence firsthand in transformed lives and we hear his triumphant cry in every heartbeat, conquering all death:

“I have died, yet I live! And I will never leave you.”

Joyous feast of the uncovering of the precious relics of our beloved Venerable Gabriel, dear ones

He has set Eternity in the human heart

 

On the M25, the orbital motorway that surrounds London, there was a piece of graffiti written on a wall in large letters, visible to all sat in the daily traffic jam, which read “Why do I do this every day?”  When I lived in the Midlands, my job took me that way once a month, and along with millions of other motorists, I groaned every time I saw it! 

It was a running commentary on how far our lives are from the desires of our hearts and how much our broken world (and the broken people within it) refuses to cooperate. Whilst childhood dreams quickly evaporate and the idealism and promise of youth yield to duty and obligation, the angst remains as St Augustine frames it for us, “our hearts are restless until they rest in You” 

The things we love on earth can be brief glimpses of eternity and keep us going, the sunsets, the mountains and valleys, the smell of rain and for others, sea spray and a billowing sail. 

I know a couple of sailors and in my quest to learn new things every year, I picked up a book called ‘sailing made easy’. I was finding it informative and started to pick up the terms and language; the author though seemed to be a sailing scientist rather than a buccaneer until half way through the manual he suddenly spoke from the heart and said that sailing was “the sensation of being propelled by an invisible and silent force that induces first awe, then wonder, then the desire to understand how it all works” 

And then I understood. How close he came to identifying what we are all really seeking. 

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going, so it is with everyone born of the Spirit” 

Sailing is analogous to being born of the Spirit. If you are in the Spirit’s flow without hindrance you are sailing downwind or running.  More usually we encounter resistance and will have to trim our sails to find the optimum speed and direction, and tack to move forwards gradually, akin to a process of listening prayer or discernment: a constant process of adjustment really to stay in line with the Spirit and maintain the course He sets. 

I imagine then that a sailor who is also born of the Spirit has a double portion of Joy and an excellent hope of reaching the desired eternal port safely. If you’ll excuse the pun, St Augustine has just thrown me another line… 

“God provides the Wind, man must raise the sails”