Spiritual Warfare and the Preparation to Fight Evil Now

NOW IS THE TIME OF MERCY FOR ALL PERSONS

No matter what evil we may have committed, if we return to the Lord and ask forgiveness, He will receive our sincere repentance with love and mercy. "I desire not the death of the wicked but that he turn from his wicked way and live" (Ezekiel 33:11)

"As it was in the days of Noah, they ate and drank, married and were giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the Ark and the flood came and destroyed them all...Even shall it be in the day when the Son of Man shall be revealed" (Luke 17:26-30) WORDS OF CHRIST TO ST PADRE PIO (excerpts):

"My Son, My love for man is very great, especially for those who give themselves to Me...The time is near at hand in which I shall visit my unfaithful people because they have not heeded the time of My grace. My judgment shall come upon them suddenly and when least expected-- not one shall escape My hands. But I shall protect the just. Watch the sun and moon and the stars, when they appear unduly disturbed and restless, know that the day is not far away.

Let me take you back…when I first began military basic training:

It seems like only yesterday that I enlisted in the United States Military. I did not know what to expect since I came from the barrios of San Antonio, Texas. Therefore, I entered into an unknown world that I did not know existed. It was extremely tough, and many of the young men who enlisted with me did not make it. Our daily schedule was non-stop from 3:00 a.m. to almost 8:00 p.m. During this time, I was physically taught many things that were needed in combat. We trained with different weapons of various kinds, from M-16 to grenade launchers and others. We were also taught strategy when fighting the enemy. The main task was to teach us discipline, and to use the experience and knowledge to defend ourselves and our country. That was in the natural. I ended up using the training I was given in Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Our training worked.

Almost the same thing took place when the Lord took me into a new realm of Spiritual Warfare. Rapidly, I found out that this miraculous gift is not for everyone. As I will describe and I’m sure you know, Spiritual Warfare is more dangerous than natural warfare. It is definitely not for everyone.

I was very blessed that, for a number of years, I was able to work with a priest from Boston. Father Ralph DiOrio. This amazing priest was blessed by God with miraculous gifts of healing, deliverances, prophecy, discernment and many other extraordinary spiritual gifts. I traveled with him for a number of years, and he trained and taught me how to use God’s gifts. I observed people who were possessed, moving snake-like as we prayed for them. Others would utter horrific screams or have appalling demonic outbursts.

Father mentored me in discernment of spirits, different prayers from Holy Scripture and how to deal with demonic entities in the Name of Jesus Christ. I was involved in many crusades and witnessed thousands of people transformed by and for Jesus. Healing, deliverances and many manifestations of God’s love took place. I also worked with Father Robert De Grandis from Louisiana. I met people like Sister Bridge McKenna, Sister Francis Clare and many other anointed people of God.

To make a long story short, this is a very wonderful but dangerous ministry; not everyone is called to this ministry. However, this intense type of training and gift will be given to many that are being called to the preparation of the Refuges because Satan and his minions will attack from all sides. This is in the supernatural. Those of us called to prepare must be constantly vigilant and careful because he will try to confuse and destroy us in various subtle and obvious ways.

Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual Warfare! Most people today would laugh at that very term. Why? Because most "enlightened" people today don't even believe in the existence of angels and demons fighting all around us for the prize of our souls. However, spiritual combat between angels and demons for our souls is as much a reality as the existence of the Grand Canyon or the sun shining. One side wants to win the battle so that they can drag us down to hell for eternal damnation, and the other side wants to win to take us up to heaven for eternal bliss and happiness. The demons are definitely an enemy to be taken seriously.

May prayer strengthen us for the spiritual battle we are about to enter!

We are told about this conflict in the Letter to the Ephesians: 'Draw Strength from the Lord and from His Mighty Power' (Ephesians 6:10). The Book of Revelation refers to this same battle, recalling before our eyes the image of Saint Michael the Archangel (Revelation 12:7). Pope Leo XIII certainly had a very vivid recollection of this intense fight when, at the end of the 19th Century, he introduced a special prayer to Saint Michael throughout the Church. Although this Prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass, I ask everyone to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the present forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world.

The Prayer to Saint Michael:

Saint Michael the Archangel, Defend us in Battle; be our Protection against the Wickedness and Snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we Humbly Pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Power of God, Thrust into Hell Satan and all the other Evil Spirits who wander throughout the World seeking the Ruin of Souls. Amen

My Trials and Battle with the Existence of Evil: Trust in God

"My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials. Be sincere of heart and steadfast, and do not be impetuous in time of adversity. Cling to Him, do not leave Him, that you may prosper in your last days. Accept whatever happens to you; in periods of humiliation be patient. For in fire gold is tested, and the chosen, in the crucible of humiliation. Trust in God, and he will help you; make your ways straight and hope in him. You that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy do not stray lest you fall. Sirach 2: 1-7

The Holy Scriptures make it plain that God did not create the world in the state in which it is now, but evil came as a result of the selfishness of man. The Bible says that God is a God of love, and He desired to create a person and eventually a race that would love Him. But genuine love cannot exist unless freely given, having free choice to accept God’s love or to reject it. This choice made the possibility of evil become very real. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they did not choose something God created, but, by their choice, they brought evil into the world. God is neither evil nor did He create evil. Man brought evil upon himself by selfishly choosing his own way apart from God’s way.

Because of the fall, the world now is abnormal. Things are not in the state that they should be in. Man, as a result of the fall, has been separated from God. Nature is not always kind to man and the animal world can also be his enemy. There is conflict between man and his fellow man. None of these conditions were true before the fall. Any solution that might be given to the problems mankind faces must take into consideration that the world as it stands is not normal.

When I consecrated myself to serve God, I was shown the hardships that I would face in my journey to follow the Will of God. I chose and decided to serve Our Lord with all my heart, body and soul. Nevertheless, my journey for the past 34+years has not been easy. I have had many encounters with the presence of evil, and I now humbly share some of these encounters with you. I share them to teach and prepare, for future events will place many of you in similar or possibly even more precarious situations.

One evening in 1985, I was called by a priest to help in the deliverance of a man that was possessed by demonic entities. The man in question for deliverance was of a small fragile frame. He was about 5 feet 2 inches and probably weighed 135 pounds. His four brothers could not hold him down, thus, they called a priest. Each of the brothers was almost 6 feet and easily weighed over 200 pounds. Yet, they could not hold him down.

I was behind this priest whom I considered a very holy priest. One of the brothers came out to greet Father. When the brother touched the hand of the priest, he was thrown over a 6 foot fence without any effort from the priest. Now, why did this happen? The hands of a priest are anointed by God and are holy; this is the reason that only an ordained Catholic priest can celebrate Mass and has been given the authority by God to say the words of consecration where the bread will turn into the Body of Christ and the wine will become the Blood of Jesus. Demons know this, but many do not understand the spiritual power that has been given to a priest to battle good and evil.

Why did the brother, at the touch of the priest’s hand, get thrown over a 6 foot fence without any effort from the priest? Spiritual Warfare is for everyone, but the deliverance of possessed people is not for everyone. It is very dangerous and I do not recommend untrained people to perform this kind of deliverance. God chooses certain individuals for this dangerous task because in deliverance, if one is not protected by God and the Holy Spirit, some of the demons will jump from the person possessed to any individual that might be at a close distance or touching the victim. The demonic entities jumped on the brother, and when he tried to greet the priest, the holy anointed hands of the priest cast out the demonic entity. It took us over three hours, through the Lord’s grace, to completely get rid of the legion of demons. After the prayer was finished, the young man was normal again. He turned to God and has given his life to serve Him.

One afternoon, my wife called me at our office, and as we were talking on the phone, I heard a horrible static and could not figure out what had happened. Shortly after, my wife called me back, very scared and shaken up. She told me "Johnnie, did you hear that demonic voice on the phone? He was talking about you; that he was going to destroy you. His voice was very ugly and evil." Can I explain that? … yes….when a person agrees to follow the calling of God ,all hell will come against you.

For many years, I have been attacked by three demonic entities-entities I have spiritually discerned/recognized as being the spirit of death, a large fallen arch-angel demon, and a large black dog with evil red yes. I have had car wrecks and accidents, many which, in the natural, should have killed me. Sometimes, things happened so quickly that I could not react immediately, but the grace and the protection of God was with me as He has assigned several angels to guard me from evil. All of these things have been real life lessons that I needed to learn and to experience. What I have learned is that, however tough the battle, we can do all things through Jesus Christ!

"For what we wrestle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12

One evening, my wife and I had a disagreement and I took a walk, upset and angry. As I was walking, I witnessed a demon come out of thin air. He stopped and looked at me, then walked back into thin air. He was about 18 feet tall and had a horrific look. His skin looked like snake or alligator skin.

Why did the Lord allow me to see and experience all of this? He wants to ensure that there is no doubt in my spirit that evil is real and is all around each person on this planet. No one is immune or spared from the presence of evil. The lesson that I have been taught is to share all of my experiences with conviction, however they might be received.

There is absolutely no doubt that I and many others are being prepared for the great battle against evil that is coming. I present some additional thoughts about this huge battle---not my own, but views from our great brothers and sisters in the faith:

"The devil has always attempted, by means of the heretics, to deprive the world of the Mass, making them precursors of the Anti-Christ, who, before anything else, will try to abolish and will actually attempt to abolish the Holy Sacrament of the altar, as a punishment for the sins of men, according to the prediction of Daniel,' And strength was given him against the continual sacrifice' (Daniel 8:12)." 
St. Alphonso’s Liguori, Doctor of the Church. (1696-1787)

Pope St. Leo the Great (400-461)

"He that sees another in error, and endeavors not to correct it, testifies himself to be in error."

Pope St. Felix III (†492)

"Not to oppose error, is to approve it, and not to defend truth is to suppress it, and indeed to neglect to confound evil men, when we can do it, is no less a sin than to encourage them."

Pope Pius IX (1792-1878)

"There will come a great prodigy, which will fill the world with awe. But this prodigy will be preceded by the triumph of a revolution during which the Church will go through ordeals that are beyond description."

"Liberal Catholics are the worst enemies of the Church."

Pope St. Pius X (1835-1914)

"Who can fail to see that society is at the present time, more than in any past age, suffering from a terrible and deep-rooted malady which, developing every day and eating into its inmost being, is dragging it to destruction? You understand, Venerable Brethren, what this disease is—apostasy from God… When all this is considered there is good reason to fear lest this great perversity may be as it were a foretaste, and perhaps the beginning of those evils which are reserved for the last days; and that there may be already in the world the ‘Son of Perdition’ [Antichrist] of whom the Apostle speaks."

Pope Pius XII (1876-1958)

"We believe that the present hour is a dread phase of the events foretold by Christ. It seems that darkness is about to fall on the world. Humanity is in the grip of a supreme crisis."

Eugene Cardinal Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII) in 1931:

"I am worried by the Blessed Virgin’s messages to Lucia of Fatima. This persistence of Mary about the dangers which menace the Church is a Divine warning against the suicide of altering the Faith, in Her liturgy, Her theology and Her soul...I hear all around me innovators who wish to dismantle the Sacred Chapel, destroy the universal flame of the true Faith of the Church, reject Her ornaments and make Her feel remorse for Her historical past."

"A day will come when the civilized world will deny its God, when the Church will doubt as Peter doubted. She will be tempted to believe that man has become God. In our churches, Christians will search in vain for the red lamp where God awaits them. Like Mary Magdalene, weeping before the empty tomb, they will ask, ‘Where have they taken Him?"

Messages of Our Lady in Akita, Japan

On August 3, 1973, the First Friday of the month, Sister Agnes received the second Message from Mary:

"My daughter, My novice, do you love the Lord? If you love the Lord, listen to what I have to say to you. It is very important. You will convey it to your superior.

"Many men in this world afflict the Lord. I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father. I wish, with My Son, for souls who will repair, by their suffering and their poverty, for the sinners and ingrates.

"In order that the world might know His anger, the Heavenly Father is preparing to inflict a great chastisement on all mankind. With My Son, I have intervened so many times to appease the wrath of the Father. I have prevented the coming of calamities by offering Him the sufferings of the Son on the Cross, His Precious Blood, and beloved souls who console Him and form a cohort of victim souls.

"Prayer, penance, and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father's anger. I desire this also from your community, that it love poverty, that it sanctify itself and pray in reparation for the ingratitude and outrages of so many men. Recite the prayer of the Handmaids of the Eucharist with awareness of its meaning; put it into practice: offer (whatever God may send) in reparation for sins. Let each one endeavor, according to her capacity and position, to offer herself entirely to the Lord.

"Even in a secular institute, prayer is necessary. Already souls who wish to pray are on the way to being gathered. Without attaching too much attention to the form, be faithful and fervent in prayer to console the Master."

It was on Saturday, October 13, the anniversary day of the last Apparition of the Virgin Mary to the three children of Fatima, that Mary gave to Sister Agnes Her third Message, the most important and serious one:

"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 the priests.

"The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see Cardinals opposing Cardinals, Bishops against other Bishops. The priests who venerate Me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres (other priests). Churches and altars will be sacked. The Church will be full of those who accept compromises, and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord.

"The demon will be especially implacable against the souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of My sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will no longer be pardon for them.

"...Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary. I alone am able to still save you from the calamities which approach. Those who place their confidence in Me will be saved."

Again, for our spiritual protection, The Prayer to Saint Michael:

Saint Michael the Archangel, Defend us in Battle; be our Protection against the Wickedness and Snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we Humbly Pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Power of God, Thrust into Hell Satan and all the other Evil Spirits who wander throughout the World seeking the Ruin of Souls. Amen.

Your brother in Christ ,
John