My friend and the devil, please help!

[Lief_Erikson]

Praise be to God . Thank-you, Emma, for being a true friend to your friend. You’re both in my prayers. God’s love, mercy and power are with you both. He is our refuge and if we turn to Him in times of doubt or fear, He will protect us from evil.

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, Amen.

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.

Oh Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amen.

 

[prodigalson12]

Thank you to everyone for your answers, your support and help, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Presidentjlh, I am very impressed at your wisdom and knowledge at only 18 years old! I wish I had been so strong in my faith at your age. LeifErikson, BluesPicker, Prodigalson, Dorothy, CB Catholic, and lutherlic, thank you so much for your advice, insights, and wisdom. ArizonaMom, I am praying for your friend and all who are trapped in occult practices, that they find their way back to the Church and into the light of God. Tom Qualey, thank you for your help and advice. If I may ask, what do you mean that the devil is not a fool in negotiations? Do you mean that these “pacts” still have some validity? My friend may have “given” herself freely in the past, but no longer wishes to do so!

Update - I spent all weekend with my friend. I showed her this thread, she cried while reading it, it brought her some much needed peace and hope. We went to mass together on Sunday and afterwards she told me she felt the strength and goodness of the Church there, and wants to become a Catholic (YAY!!!). She believes in what the Church teaches and believes it’s the only way to save her soul. I’m going to help her find an RCIA program and go to classes with her (it will be good for me too - I’ve been pretty lukewarm in my faith for many years now and could use a refresher course). Right now she is oscillating between happiness during her moments of faith, and despair during her moments of doubt, which I think is understandable given what she’s gone through. She wants so badly to believe she can be saved, but it’s not easy for her to overcome the despair in her soul. But I think as her faith increases she will overcome her doubts and find lasting peace. She is in a very fragile state right now, but tells me that for the first time since coming to believe in God, she feels a bit of true happiness. She still won’t go to a priest because she’s too ashamed of her past, but perhaps sometime she will get the courage to go. I did some research and showed her some links about Bl Bartolo Longo, and she is now eagerly reading everything she can find about him, and praying to Blessed Mary for intercession. His story is the perfect message of hope to people like my friend.

Regarding baptism, she has not requested to be baptized immediately, if she did I would take her to a Protestant minister who would do it right away, rather than baptize her myself. She is in her 20s and physically healthy, so emergency baptism would not apply.

So for now, things are looking good for my friend, as long as she stays strong and does not fall into despair. I feel very blessed that I get to play a role in bringing her into the Church. Thanks be to God!

I fall into despair along with the rest of us from time to time, just be her helping hand through it all, make sure she is always lifted up with God, and if at all possible, you her friend, it’s critical that you show the true faith, in it’s glory in the here and now. Just be there for her at all times you can, the best advice I can give you, and God bless the both of you. Brian

 

[Tom_Qualey]

*Hi, Emma2481,

It sounds like you have had some busy days… Let me offer a clarification or two… *

Thank you to everyone for your answers, your support and help, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Presidentjlh, I am very impressed at your wisdom and knowledge at only 18 years old! I wish I had been so strong in my faith at your age. LeifErikson, BluesPicker, Prodigalson, Dorothy, CB Catholic, and lutherlic, thank you so much for your advice, insights, and wisdom. ArizonaMom, I am praying for your friend and all who are trapped in occult practices, that they find their way back to the Church and into the light of God. Tom Qualey, thank you for your help and advice. If I may ask, what do you mean that the devil is not a fool in negotiations? Do you mean that these “pacts” still have some validity? My friend may have “given” herself freely in the past, but no longer wishes to do so! *What I meant is that the Devil has been at his art of deception ever since our First Parents - so, it is very doubtful that he has seen anything new on human nature in quite some time. So, while there are classic literature (e.g., Faust) involving the ‘sale’ of one’s soul the truty is, most people are just interested in sinning and not really interested in negotiations! Essentially, the Devil can get them for ‘free’ … or, at least heavily discounted! But, this is just my guess. If there is deceit involved - you can find the Devil! So, maybe he does play games. The reason why I mentioned deceit, is that during the Temptation of Christ in the desert, the Devil offers Christ all the kingdoms of the world if Christ would worship him. Well, one can only offer something that one owns! He was engage in a con game with God - and, there is a lesson there for all of us when it comes to the promises of the Devil. In my view, he can not even offer us Hell - because he doesn’t own that either … all he can offer is the displeasure of his company for all eternity! *

Update - I spent all weekend with my friend. I showed her this thread, she cried while reading it, it brought her some much needed peace and hope. We went to mass together on Sunday and afterwards she told me she felt the strength and goodness of the Church there, and wants to become a Catholic (YAY!!!). She believes in what the Church teaches and believes it’s the only way to save her soul. I’m going to help her find an RCIA program and go to classes with her (it will be good for me too - I’ve been pretty lukewarm in my faith for many years now and could use a refresher course). Right now she is oscillating between happiness during her moments of faith, and despair during her moments of doubt, which I think is understandable given what she’s gone through. She wants so badly to believe she can be saved, but it’s not easy for her to overcome the despair in her soul. But I think as her faith increases she will overcome her doubts and find lasting peace. She is in a very fragile state right now, but tells me that for the first time since coming to believe in God, she feels a bit of true happiness. She still won’t go to a priest because she’s too ashamed of her past, but perhaps sometime she will get the courage to go. I did some research and showed her some links about Bl Bartolo Longo, and she is now eagerly reading everything she can find about him, and praying to Blessed Mary for intercession. His story is the perfect message of hope to people like my friend.

*I think I am correct in saying that a lot of people on this thread are praying for your friend, and, I am one of them. It sounds like she is on an emotional roller coaster - and, if she doesn’t get off soon, it will destroy her. *

Regarding baptism, she has not requested to be baptized immediately, if she did I would take her to a Protestant minister who would do it right away, rather than baptize her myself. She is in her 20s and physically healthy, so emergency baptism would not apply.

So for now, things are looking good for my friend, as long as she stays strong and does not fall into despair. I feel very blessed that I get to play a role in bringing her into the Church. Thanks be to God!

*Truly, Emma2481, the best advice is to help your friend see a priest with all deliberate speed. The Devil is truly torturing her with doubt and she needs the solid reassurance of Christ’s Church.

God bless

Tom*

 

[choy]

There is a long journey ahead for your friend. The time when youth and adults are baptized is only on Easter Vigil, and that’s not even a week ago, so it’s going to be about a year until she is baptized.

correct me if i’m wrong here, but there is really nothing in the Church that says you cannot baptize adults in any other day outside Easter

there are reasons for doing it in Easter, but should necessities arise, it can be done any day of the year

 

[Alan55]

I would advise your friend to let the priest know about her past, even if she is involved in RCIA and on the way to baptism. In particular, the priest may want to be prepared in case your friend has any unusual experiences or spiritual attacks. Everything may continue to go smoothly, and even if there were to be issues, they can be dealt with as they arise through prayer and good counsel.

God bless you and your friend. God is kind and merciful and strong to defend those who put their trust in Him.

 

[presidentjlh]

correct me if i’m wrong here, but there is really nothing in the Church that says you cannot baptize adults in any other day outside Easter

there are reasons for doing it in Easter, but should necessities arise, it can be done any day of the year

You are correct, yes, but from what Emma has said, there are no urgent necessities for baptism.

 

[mo2169]

Emma, you are a wonderful friend.
The things you are doing or planning to do to help your friend are amazing.
Jesus has blessed you.

Nowadays, I am at peace with Jesus - I feel Him in my heart. His presence is with me at all times. But It hasn’t always been like this.

His Word, the Bible, is what ultimately got me where I am today. (amongst other things)
This is my recommendation to you and your friend - Read His Word.
There, you will see and understand God’s amazing stories, teachings and the incredible amount of Love he has for all of us…

Hopefully this will give you much needed strength and help you build a wonderful relationship with Jesus. One that no evil will dare come near.

Wish you both all the best…
And may Jesus Bless the hearts of everyone else on this thread…
Marcus.

 

[Holly3278]

First of all, I would tell her that it is not possible to sell your life/soul to the devil. Second of all, I would have her speak with a good orthodox priest. Third, I would have her enter into RCIA and begin on the process of getting baptized and confirmed.

 

[Angel7]

I like saying that

“Hope exists where it is Wanted”

I am not sure how accurate that is, but I think it is true.
She desires hope, she has it.

May The Lord Our God Bless You All!