Waging War: Why do Catholics neglect spiritual warfare?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jofa
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Ephesians 6:10-20: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak"

One of the pieces of armor to note is the helmet. One cannot go into battle without the helmet. The spiritual enemy goes for your head. In this case the helmet protects your head from deceptions, doubts, etc. Those who are born of God have this helmet. The helmet of salvation gives one hope because they who are justified, who are continually being sanctified, will eventually be glorified. It’s the promise.

Romans 8:28-30: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (glorification at the end where the believer receives a glorified body and will be just like Jesus)

Philippians 1:6: “…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”
 
Last edited:
The type of thing @jofa is talking about is not direct confrontation as exorcisms would be, and laypeople are very limited in what they can do and only in areas or with people over whom they have some type of authority, namely people they can bless.

People are saying we have the Eucharist, we have the Rosary, and yes, that is true. Receiving the sacraments is the first and most important line of defense.

But it’s like physical health. The first line of defense is a healthy lifestyle. But some mess up the lifestyle, or some have problems despite their healthy lifestyle.

Then they have problems. Some of the problems are serious enough to require a doctor, but others can be treated on one’s own. I don’t go to the doctor every time I have a headache, for example.

But I may take an OTC painkiller, right? And would you tell me that I should just rely on my good diet and exercise and not take the painkiller? No.

But there are limitations on what I can do medically. I can’t take out my appendix or anyone else’s; in fact, even if I were a surgeon, I couldn’t do it everywhere; just as an exorcist does, doctors need permission to practice in each jurisdiction they do anything in.

So maybe some of you are lucky and are never bothered by evil spirits. While Jofa may have started out seemingly critical, there are those who benefit from this area of Catholic practice, and I am happy to see that in the past few years more people have been informing others about it.
 
GladTidings said:
How many books on this subject can you find that have a Nihil Obstat, from Rome?
Click to expand...
This is an example that has the Nihil Obstat, from Rome:

Manual for Spiritual Warfare, by Paul Thigpen

So, it really is approved, and safe.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top