Likes and Dislikes of the Devil Part II

This is a continuation of the Likes and Dislikes of the Devil..in other words, this is a Part II of what I have shared earlier on the pleasures of th Devil. These disclosures were based on revelations and admissions of words from the devil through the exorcisms carried out by the late Fr. Pellegrino Ernetti, a Catholic exorcist and his collaborators.

Remember the exhortation of the Apostle John in 1 Jn 3: 8?
'Indeed the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil.' As extreme as the light and darkness, so is the Lord God and the devil. For when light shines unto darkness, the light envelopes the darkness. And when Jesus was sent into the world by the Heavenly Daddy, and became man, He was actually the light that the devil dreaded most (Way to go, Jesus!). Remember when Jesus said, 'I am the light of the world'? (Jn 8:12). Yet many attempts were made to destroy Jesus but eventually Heavenly Daddy's plan is greater than anything else in this world.

And with Jesus, I remembered God’s promise in Gen 3:15, when God said to the devil who, then took in the form of a serpent, ‘I will put enmity between you (serpent, devil) and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head while you strike at his heel.’ From this Word of God, He has actually declared unending hostility and disputes between snakes (serpent, devil) and God's people. And this moment too, God has declared His promise to send a Redeemer for us, the fallen mankind through a woman who will bear an offspring.

Based on these verses, I will share about what the devil detests most.

1. Confession makes the devil suffer because it washes the very souls of God’s children with the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Every time a person goes to confession, the devil (admitted by the devil during exorcisms) that when the Blood of Christ washes away our sins and iniquities, it brings pain to him. Therefore, this is the diabolical implication of what Jesus has done to the world through His death and resurrection to the devil. This points back to 1 Jn 3:8, there Jesus came to destroy to works of the devil, which the devil despises most because his kingdom was going to doomsday.

2. The Eucharist and as the devil stated it, ‘the meal where you eat the Body and Blood of the Crucified’. The devil stated that he become hopeless and has no strength to fight when Eucharist is celebrated. This is because God's people become in communion with Him. As stated by the devil, those who nourish themselves with this bread and drink of the Blood become very strong against the devil, become unconquerable to the devil’s wicked temptations and seductions. These people as the devil stated, has a special light and sharper intelligence. And the devil calls them ‘cannibals’, not so much as defined by the word ‘cannibal’ but rather, these people who adore and love celebrating the Eucharist can discern the devil instantaneously and keep away from the devil. How he hated these people!

3. Hours of adoration to the Blessed Sacrament or rather, as the devil called it… ‘Those spending hours and hours, day and night, kneeling, adoring a piece of bread’. These people who adore the Blessed Sacrament, the Body of Christ, actually destroy the devil’s plan and success which the devil tried to draw from many sacrilegious Christians and religious. The devil calls these ‘the irrational adoration’.

4. Devil’s hate for the rosary for the devil said that ‘it is like a hammer that cracks his head.’ The devil calls Mother Mary the wicked woman, the devil’s enemy who hinders the devil from reining the world. Hhmm…remember God’s word in Gen 3:15 when God said that He will put enmity between the woman and the devil? Based on the Word of God, the devil has truly lived out the emnity between him and the woman; Mother Mary.

5. ‘Continuous presence of apparitions of this wicked woman over the world’ Appearances of Mother Mary has persecuted the devil by snatching many souls from the devil’s bondages…thousands and thousands of souls! (However, before believing apparitions, it would be advisable to consult with the nearest parish priest or bishop to obtain validity of the apparitions. Remember, the devil can also disguise himself in apparitions?)

6. ‘The blind obedience of the man, dressed in white; the Pope.’ The Pope who commands in the name of Jesus Christ our Saviour and Redeemer, who ardently devoted to Mother Mary destroys the kingdom of darkness as stated by the devil. And what does the devil do? He tried to stir up Christians to fight and oppose the Pope. The devil has declared war without restraint to the Pope through Christians because the Pope crushes the devil.

7. Contemplative religious who pray and fast and sacrifice themselves to God. The devil admitted to being terribly fearful of these contemplative religious for they are the most terrible and aggressive enemies. When they pray and fast for the conversion of many souls, the devil is at loss. These religious perseveres, were very tenacious and hardheaded through their penances, fasting and prayers.

8. Exorcists as claimed by the devil to be his great enemy because they are God's warriors in the battle against the kingdom of darkness. The devil tried to counter-attack these exorcists with many ways through their health by giving sicknesses to them, attacking them at the weakest or strongest areas of the exorcists’ life. But sad to the devil, these exorcists persist in their works for God. It is an unrestricted battle against exorcists and to those (laypersons) who have devoted their lives to become God's warriors in deliverance. Because exorcisms and deliverance cast out evil spirits in people, releasing them of the bondages of the devil. This is a pain and agony for the devil.

Even at the time of Jesus, the devil and his legion were terrified with Jesus. I recalled the deliverance stories from the Gospels about how the legion were scared of Jesus in Mark 5:1-20. The unclean spirit asked Jesus, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!’ Another unclean spirit almost revealed Jesus’ identity when the unclean spirit said, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ Wow, even the devil of the spiritual realm acknowledged Jesus as the Son of the Most High God!
And now, we can see that the devil is still and will always be terrified of Jesus Christ and to add into the devil’s hate list; Mother Mary and also all those who follow and obey Jesus Christ.
Without realising, the devil has revealed many truths to us. Through the dislikes and likes of the devil we see the elements of negativism and positivism. But these two elements that is of the devil will always be diabolical for us, who follows and adore Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is up to us, whether to do, or not to do, to avoid or to follow and learn from these sharing.
What more can we ask? Even the beings of the spiritual realm has, not realising, acknowledged the supremacy and identity of Jesus Christ. I think there has never been such statements made to any prophets of God by the devil and its legions.

I have had my share in experiencing Jesus ;D either by witnessing the sessions of deliverance where the evil spirits were terrified at the name of Jesus Christ or personal encounter with Jesus Himself. From these experiences, I have been made stronger in my faith because I have witnessed the greatness of my Living God. Yes, I must admit, when I was young, I was sceptical about my religion and faith (Forgive me, Lord for being like this). I thought, 'What if I was being deceived from the truth? What if all that I believed was a hoax? What if the Bible was a human error?' and all the 'what ifs' used to play in my mind. But God is almighty and knows all things. He even knows the depths of Lidwina! Even during my first true encounter with Him, I was sceptical and fighting back, did not want to believe it. And I kept on asking myself, 'was it a visual hallucination?'. However, when I looked up to the DSM-IV reference book (psychiatric refence book for classification of illnesses), I do not meet any criteria or condition to be classified to have hallucinations, either organic or in psychiatric in nature. And the Lord, being the Creator of me, Lidwina, was all understanding and patient in carrying out His plan on me based on His time frame and will. Reflecting back now, I thanked the Lord for making me go through what I needed to go through. Because through my times of scepticism and doubts about God, He has carved a way for me to experience Him. It is true when my lecturer used to say, we sometimes need to 'disagree to agree' (hehehe, it's the other way round!). When I finally realised about all these scepticism and doubts of mine, I remembered the sceptical Apostle Thomas who refused to believed that Jesus Christ has actually resurrected even though the other apostles actually met the resurrected Jesus in person. And what did Thomas said to the other apostles to make him believe that Jesus is really resurrected? Apostle Thomas said, 'Unless I see the marks of the nails in his hands and out my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side I will not believe.' (Jn 20:25). And what happened after that? Jesus, being the Son of Most High, the Living God, knows the heart of man. A week after the statement was made, He went through the locked doors where the apostles were gathered and told Thomas to put his fingers through the nailmarks and see Jesus' hands and bring his hand and put it into Jesus' side and told Thomas to believed that this is really Jesus standing by Thomas! (Jn 20: 26-27)

Well, anyway, back to the main story, the revelations about the likes and dislikes of the devil has taught me on the fear of the Lord thus learn the ways of showing my love and adoration for the Lord through the dislikes of the devil. It was not through blind faith that I have believed what I believed in this book. I have also had experiences where Jesus was truly the Son of the Most High God in heaven. Well, that will be shared in the future soon! ;D Anyway, I was ever so grateful to be chosen to know and believe in Him ;)

Thank you, devil, for your revelation..and now, we know what you detest most, is what the Lord in heaven loves most!

Which would I choose to do?

"My Lord, where's my bag?"....I stared hard at the laundry bag and the other clean clothes which I just received from the laundry man. My brown Padini sling bag was missing, nowhere to be found. I could suddenly feel my fury fast arising. This is not the first time that I have lost my things after sending to the Millenium Court's laundry service. The first month I stayed in this residence, I lost my other black sock...their reason is because the little sock was too little for the staff to notice. It must have made its way into the next person's laundry bag who used the washing machine after me. I took their explanation and bought a little laundry bag to accomodate my little washable items. On the second month, my friend's new big towel (inside my laundry bag) went missing. That time I sent three towels (two old ones and one newly bought towel). The funny thing is, why is it that, the new one got misplaced? Or maybe the new big towel was also left in the washing machine because it was 'TOO LITTLE' for the staff to notice? The third month I stayed here in this Millenium Court, I lost my worn-out but very lovable Padini sling bag. Now, what's their reason? The 'BIG' bag must have made its way to another person's laundry bag. Imagine if I stay here in Millenium Court for 36 months...that means if I am to lose an item every month, I will end up losing 36 items for the every month that I stay in Millenium Court! I do not think I can afford this!
I do not have the intention to blame anyone but I believe that God is in control of this incident. I am not angry or in rage but I am very much disappointed of such lacking in responsibility of handling the residents' laundry. After some discussion with in-charge of the laundry service, it sounded that they have an organized way of doing the laundry, from the receiving of the laundry bag to the washing to the drying up of clothes to the folding of clothes and lastly, on returning the laundry bag with clean clothes to the residents. And now, if their method of laundry is organized, how come the clothes still get misplaced or the new and nice items go missing? The in-charge was defending his staff and asking me "so, are you saying that one of my staff stole your bag?" Well, God knows who took my bag...
People will say, oh..it's just a bag, don't make a big fuss of it...Yes, it's only a bag but if people live in ignorance here and have this attitude of 'takpe la' or 'tidak apalah', then, I can assure myself that I will, and so will the other residents. lose their items, if not every month, maybe for every week that they send their laundry! This is about responsibility on the part of the staff and also the residents! Now, I have a choice to either forget the lost bag, accept the in-charge's offer to settle this dispute at their level (money compensastion, of course), go on with my life and just be ignorant of what had happened to me. This way, the laundry staff will not be in trouble with my complaint about the missing items and my life will be peaceful here in Millenium Court. On the other hand, I can make a change, give a wake up call to everyone and file a complaint to the Millenium Court Management (which the laundry in-charge told me NOT TO DO), sending the laundry staff into hot soup. Which one would I choose?

Prior to my knowledge of my missing bag...

Last Sunday, I went shopping with my sister at Sg. Wang Plaza and Lot 10. That time, as I entered Parkson, I had a strong prompting to have a look at the ladies sling bags and handbags (That day, my Padini bag was still in the laundry). I told my sister that I wanted to get a bag, I do not why, but I needed to get a bag, but thinking that I have the Padini bag for me to use on my vacations later, I buried my prompting. In other words, I choose not to follow my prompting. Leaving Sg. Wang and Lot 10, then suddenly, both of us decided to return to Parkson to survey through the bags again. We went to Parkson twice to check on the bags and at last, we did not buy any bag :( ...instead we decided to buy our mother a perfume. (Sigh) The Holy Spirit must have tugged my heart but I choose not to listen to it.

Blessings in Disguise from God

What I wanted to proclaim here is that God is at work in this incident. Simple and common incident it may sound, I believe that my God who is the Living God, will take control of this incident. Yes, when I call, when I pray to Him, He will listen (see Jer 29:12). No other God is like my God. God who is full of Love and Mercy. "God please make way for my bag to return to me again, but above all, O Lord, let Your will be done unto me." This incident has also taught me to stand up on me two feet, to speak out my mind, for I was very much a timid girl before. Well, of course, I did not go amok, start a quarrel with them and start banging at the counter or tearing other people's clothes. Of course, reverse psychology is being applied here too :P
I learned to speak up in a diplomatic way, for I was very much an impulsive and abrupt person before, in timid way that is! Now, I think with my head, not following the impulsivity of my heart.
Praise God! This incident has also introduced me to St Anthony of Padua, the Patron of Lost Things and Missing Persons. St. Anthony, I have lost a bag, please intercede for me so that my bag will be found again. Thank you, St. Anthony! ;D

This is a beautiful prayer to St. Anthony of Padua, a prayer of asking his intercession for us. Pray it and believe that St. Anthony listens to your prayer and that he will most certainly offer up your prayer requests to our Beloved Jesus who is so near to him in heaven ;)

Unfailing Prayer to Saint Anthony
Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints.

O Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love for God and Charity for His creatures made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Miracles waited on your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in trouble or anxiety. Encouraged by this thought, I implore of you to obtain for me (request). The answer to my prayer may require a miracle. Even so, you are the saint of Miracles.
O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the Sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms, and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours.

Amen. (Say 13 Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)

God, My Friend…the Lord of All Things…

I remembered these sayings from my favourite book, the Bible; ‘…when you call me (God), when you go to pray to me (God), I (God) will listen to you’ (Jer 29: 12)… ‘Jesus said ask and you shall receive…for everyone who asks, receives…your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him’ (Lk 9:9, 10, Mt 7:7, 11).

I have always made my prayers communicated to God is such a prayer-like way. To give one example, with the elements inclusive of adoration, thanksgiving, atonement and petitions…

(Adoration) Heavenly Father,
(Thanksgiving) I want to thank You for this gift of life and everything that You have done for me.
(Atonement) And I’m sorry for the many things that I have failed you, in loving You and loving others. But Lord, You have called me again, unworthy as I am, You have held me up again, never turning You face against me. And thank you again for making time listening to this unworthy child of Yours.
(Petition(s)) Today Lord, please make way for…

This goes on and on as I make my prayers requests known to Him, even though I know well that He knows beforehand the desires of my heart. From praying with the four elements, I have chosen to talk to God is a very humane way…just like my daily conversations with people. Just like my conversations with my friends and family! Some may say, ‘oh yeah, she has plenty of time to do this unlike us busy bees over here’ but I did not start talking to God like this only recently. I have had such ‘informal and friendly’ way of talking to God since I went down from the silence and solitude retreat few years ago. And now, I felt compelled to share few of God’s little surprises which He has showered upon me during and after our little conversations. The surprises become more evident as I become closer to Him. Hhmm…What say u? Prayers answered by God? Well, He listens when we tell Him and He’ll give us accordingly to His will…and you know what? He knows what’s best for us! Even though what is best for us may seem to be contrary to what He thinks what is best for us! :)

Hhmm…I wish I have a mooncake to eat…

Mooncake Festival was just around the corner and I have just realised that I haven’t had a taste of mooncake this year! That morning, I made a plan to get a mooncake after training later today. It was a few days before the big Mooncake Festival so I planned to take a bus to Midvalley and go to Carrefour to get a little mooncake. I prayed for protection on my journey from UH to Midvalley and then back to my room. That afternoon, I was in the neurology lab when a sales rep from a drug company came with a box of Thai Thong mooncakes (yum, yum). Knowing that I was still a new student under training in the neurology lab, I did not bother to even have a look inside the beautiful red box. I continued reading the EEG book when suddenly I felt a tap at my shoulder. Letchumy, holding a packet of mooncake on my shoulder, told me to have the mooncake. Reluctant to take the mooncake as those are for the Neuro Lab staff, I shook my head, told Letchumy that I will not take it and please give the mooncake to all the staff. But Letchumy insisted and nudged me to take the mooncake and savour it in my room. I thanked her and told her of my mooncake plan today. And she said with a grin, “Hehe...God must have sent this young man & me to give you this mooncake!” And me too, grinning away thinking that God was provided me a mooncake without me having to carry out my trip to Midvalley. My Lord, this is truly a surprise from you…:) thanks!

Protect me on the way to the post-office, please?

I was complaining to God and telling Him that I need His protection when I walk to the nearest post office in UM to post the money (RMXXXX) into my ASB account on Friday long lunch break. Carrying the cash money in the bag while walking alone to the post office is not very advisable since the occurrence of few attempted robberies in SS2 and UH area. I was reassuring God the reason I needed to bank in money as soon as possible and that I know He will provide me in this intention of mine. And on that Friday itself, God has actually sent someone, a very unlikely person to help me in this task. She just said that she was prompted to help me during this Ramadan month, and she gladly drove and even accompanied me to the UM post office and kindly waited for me until I have completed my task. I kept on thanking her and apologizing if this task takes so much of her lunch time but she said it was alright and she was happy to help me. My Lord…Thanks for this visible angel! :)

It would be nice if there are two or three gathered in my room…

Hhmm…how nice would it be if I have company (besides the ones in the hospital, of course) during my stay here in this metropolis? This was what I had been whispering to God every time I enter into my conversations with Him. Of course, I would have Him to talk to, my family and friends whom I can call, talk with my acquaintances from the Lab during my training days, but sometimes I feel deprived of human presence. Every time I come home to my little room after training, I feel very much alone especially during the weekends. But of course, I have my conversations with Him J Then one day, I received a call saying that I will have a friend to accompany me in my room for about month, and also a friend who will accompany me during the weekends!. I received these friends with open arms and looking back now, I realised that He has made my intention of getting friends into my room to come alive! Hhmmm…Thank you for sending them to me, Lord, thank you!

Mirina!

I was just sharing with a friend the other day about a friend of mine named Mirina, how I have not been talking to for a very long time and that I have a feeling that I missed her. Then the next two days, I received a call from Mirina! She was coming down to KL for training so she was thinking whether I would like to meet up with her. Well, people will usually say, “Panjang umur oh you, Mirina” when people are talking (not gossip, ah) about a particular person and then the person suddenly appear into their midst or give them a call. Well, in my case, she gave me a call two days after me saying that I missed her! The meet-up was to be on Saturday night after Lifemass and I am to go to Midvalley (this is the most convenient place for us to meet up, I reckon, considering the proximity and availability of transportation from my residence). I was a little scared though especially on travelling at night in this metropolis, alone in a public transportation but I was determined to meet her up. Hhmm…people may call this coincidence but I believe that God has paved a way for both of us to have a fruitful and enjoyable fellowship dinner together. Though I was overcharged by the taxi driver for the trip from Midvalley to my residence, the fellowship was worth it. Thank you God for the gift of Mirina in my life, thank you for answering my intention even before I ask You :)


Twinkle, Twinkle Little Stardust…
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Sadly thrown down from the sky

Glowing, Glowing Little Stardust
How I wonder when you glow
That is when I came to know
Glow is when you found your love

Brightly Shining Little Stardust
This is when you feel at highest
Purity, love, in your wiles
Unconditional love is in your ways

Glow and Shine Little Stardust
With Tristan, dearest of your heart
Come little ones of Yvaine and Tristan
Give more shine to this dimming sphere

Twinkle Shine Oh Little Stardust
Now I know, Oh, what are you :)



Stardust…this name has always been in my mind, even though I have never been actually made any attempt to browse in the Net to satisfy my faint curiosity about this movie. And I am not a movie-goer here in KL. I just cannot bear the long queues and going to movies alone. Well, in short, I do not go to cinema here in KL. But I remembered that a friend of mine back in KK was saying that she will watch this movie soon. I never bother anything about this movie but I have a hunch that I would want to get a DVD of this Stardust. Then on 30th Oct, a staff from the Lab asked me whether I wanted to join her in the premier show of the movie Stardust. And you can just imagine the joy of having to watch a movie for free! And the movie is Stardust! But seriously, at that moment, I do not even have the faintest notion of what Stardust is all about. All I know is that Claire Danes is one of the actors and Danes is very much selective with the movies that she acts in. Well, all in all, I enjoyed this movie very much, and I especially love the essence of this movie. A movie worth watching! I will not give a summary of this movie in this sharing but I think I have purged out the essence of this movie in the modified Twinkle, twinkle Little Star in which I have turned into Twinkle Twinkle Little Stardust :) Again….thank you God for Your surprise on this!

It is not that I wanted to brag about the good things and the not-so-good-things that has happened to me since I have start my solitary life here in this metropolis but I just wanted to affirmed myself and you, reading this, that God realises our intentions in the most ordinary ways, and in some instances, He will make extraordinary things in our life to come alive! Sometimes, we look hard and terribly hard at our lives for the many miracles or extraordinary things in our life but we have overlook and forgotten the many simple gifts and miracles that are happening around us. And there are times that we have in our mindset of the list of things that are supposed to be ‘good things’ and ‘not-so-good-things’ classified into columns. And in some instances, it is very sad because we only see the things that we wanted to see and refuse to see things the way God wanted to show to us. Sometimes, we even close our eyes to the many things that are happening around us. Just like the Pharisees, they just refuse to try to look at the things in another perspective as Jesus tried to show and tell them. Consequently, many negative emotions will start blooming in our mind and heart; feeling of sadness, frustrations, disappointments, loneliness, envy, jealousy, loneliness and even anger towards God. I used to overlook the many blessings that I have received from Him. The gift of an imperfect family to help me to learn to love unconditionally, gift of Church for sense of belonging and learning to love others, gift of ministry to mould me into all the Jesus-like characters that He wanted me to develop, the gift of such a career to burn me into an integration of Him and on how i should treat others around me. I have also learned that total dependence with God can actually bring me to soar like an eagle. I do not know how exactly how to explain this, but it have started off with trust and surrender upon Him. When we open up everything with God, being totally ‘naked’ in front of Him, in another word, giving him in totality, our body, soul and spirit, you will experience Him so much that you will not need heaven, because God is enough for you. Maybe some people cannot fathom what I am trying to convey here, but I hope you will have an experience with God when the time comes.
My God is not just my King and Lord up there in heaven, He is not just a genie who provides me with my ‘wishes’, He is more than that. He is my best friend, a listener, a provider, a protector, a friend full of surprises, a friend who will warn me of any danger, a friend especially when I am at my lowliest. The closer I am with Him, the more time I long to spend with Him. And my Lord is a Lord who listens and keeps His words even if the His words are due for a very, very long time.

Likes and Dislikes of the Devil Part I

"Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Therefore take unto you the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect."
(Ephesians 6.12-13)


The Bible has clearly portrays the influence of Satan even from the early days of Adam and Eve, starting from the Original Sin (read Gen 3: 1-21). Since the fall of our first parents, the Devil together with his legions has been roaming around the world, destroying the very nature of God in humans. But Praise God, Beloved Jesus Christ decended from heaven, to be one like us and taught us how to battle and discern the Devil. And to this very day, battle with this influence of the spirit of darkness. It is true when St Paul wrote in his letters to the Ephesians, that the battle of humans against the devil will be ‘against principalities and power, against the spirit of wickedness in high places’, because this is all so much of a reality to the world today. The devil is getting more cunning and is using the minds and bodies of people to carry out His works of doom unto humanity.

I have come across the diabolical catechesis, shared by the late Fr. Pellegrino Maria Ernetti (1925-1994) in his book entitled ‘The likes and dislikes of the Devil’. He was one of the famous Exorcists of the diocese of Rome who has written few books. The diabolical catechesis here is collected from the words and arguments during the exorcisms sessions that Fr. Pellegrino Maria Ernetti had in the presence of collaborators and registered in magnetic tapes.

Diabolical catechesis below, is the summary of what gratifies Devil, or rather, what is positive for Satan, and indeed is negative for us, humans. Here, I have extracted the ten likes of the Devil, and, in the coming Part 2, dislikes of the Devil. Many will be surprised how an innocent object or issue is actually overshadowed by the enigmatic influence of the Devil to bring humanity to doomsday.

I was not disturbed or terrified when reading this book. Instead, I was amazed at how desperate the Devil in trying to attract followers and making them his legion of darkness, desperate in his attempt to fill up the hell. But eventually I know that, no matter how hard Satan tried, our Lord God will eventually triumph over this battle between good and evil (see Rev 20:7-10), Amen!

The Likes of the Devil…

1.The profanation of the Sacred Eucharist through the black masses.
2. Religious people committing sacrileges, camouflaged and disguised under the name of God, whom, are actually serving the kingdom of darkness.
3. Priests and religious belonging to the Free Masonry and the Satan’s sects.
4. Immorality in feminine attire; short skirts and alike to make people to fall into the sin of flesh through our minds and actions.
5. Television; the programmes shown, subtle and penetrating (especially explicit programmes such as X-rated movies, shows which showcase magic, astrology, withcraft, to name a few) ) is claimed by the Devil to break the families up. The religious, too are not spared from indulging in this form of entertainment, the Devil attract them through the hours and cease them to pray. Additionally, music has also become a media for the Devil to pollute the minds of people of all ages especially the young ones.
6. Disco-clubs; golden palaces where alcohol, drugs, sexual acts are a continued harvest in here, to bring down the best hopes of society by destroying their souls and bodies.
7. Attack upon the marriage institution through divorce and separation.
8. Instead of the guilty parents, the Devil succumbs to the killing of humanity, the innocent ones, through abortion.
9. Abuse of drugs; the bittersweet food to bring humans to madness
10. Denial of the real existence and the works of demons in this world; this belief, as proclaimed by some theologians and religious, will eventually help Satan to work peacefully without much distractions in bringing many souls into his kingdom of darkness.

I have not the least of intention to cause a stir in the hearts of believers, but calls for reflection and examination of conscience. Hopefully this calls for a return to the House of God and renewal of relationship with God. As for the rest, this hopes to call for penance and fervent prayers.

Fr. Faroni, A. (translator) (n.d.). The likes and dislikes of the devil by Fr. Pellegrino Maria Ernetti. Manila: Diocese of Manila.

Who is Mr. S. A. Tan?

Who is Satan to you? Many would give answers like ‘the enemy of God’, 'evil spirit', 'name that symbolises the bad kingdom' to name a few. A friend of mine defined Satan as ‘a form or being who seductively tempt people to fall into sin.’

As for me, Satan is an angel, a creation of the Almighty God, masterpiece of perfection and purity, endowed with free will and intellect. Satan, named Lucifer, was given the authority and superiority by God, over all the angels. However, Lucifer misunderstood the authority and superiority given as the same authority over everything that God created. He wished to be like God with all the authority that was given to him (Is 14: 13-14). I believed that Satan, like many other angels, was created for the glory of God. But it was through Satan’s perverted will, that is pride, that he has chosen to go against God. He refused to submit to God and wanted the love and glory all for himself. But remember, all the glory and honour was never his. According to St. Augustine, it is impossible for a proud person not to be envious. In the case of Satan, the sin of pride followed the sin of envy towards God’s good rapport with His children (that’s us!). He was jealous to see such beautiful relationship between God with Adam and Eve in the haven of Eden. Satan and the fallen angels were, in other words, sad to see the children’s good relationship with God. Satan wanted so much to destroy this beautiful relationship that God's children experience with their Creator. He has succeeded in severing it during the time of our first parents, Adam and Eve.
Despite the fact that Satan is against Him, God is good and indeed, God is Love. He did not reject his creature. God still allowed Satan and his fallen angels to maintain their power and rank (thrones, dominions, principalities,authority and powers) even if they use their authority and superiority for evil purposes. Saint Augustine did not exaggerate when he claims that, if God gave Satan a free hand, no man would be left alive. However, God will only allow Satan and his fallen angels to limited influence upon humans. This permission or rather this authority did not come naturally on Satan but this was God-given; to inflict pain upon human’s physical body but Satan will never be able to possess the soul. Please recall in Job 1: 12, whereby there was a conversation between God and Satan about a man named Job. God has summoned Satan, or rather given the authority to Satan by saying to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power but do not lay a hand upon his person'. To know more about Job, how about looking up at the Book of Job and indulge in it? (after the book of Macabees and before the Book of Psalms). We are being affirmed here that, Satan can neither kill us nor possess our souls, but he can inflict us with pain (physical, emotional, spiritual, social, mental, to name a few) and manipulate our worldly possessions. He will try, by every means that are within the boundaries that God has made for Satan, to try to make humans into his followers in opposition to God, just as he is in opposition to God. Therefore, since the beginning of the creation to this very moment, he is vehemently and cunningly attracting and gathering humans to increase the population in his kingdom of darkness. However it is by free choice of humans that they choose to follow the Satan’s league.

We may ask, why did God allow this? St. Augustine continued to tell us that this permission is to punish us and to test us temporarily. In my opinion, God allows all this for the glory of His kingdom. Like what Jesus has said when He was questioned about the man born blind in Jn 9:1-3; so that the works of God (healing) may be made visible through him (the blind man). In other words, this man was being born blind so that, when the right time comes as according to God, the work of God can be made; healing to his blindness, that is, he is able to see again! This will eventually be a great testimony about God; how God brought a great miracle through the imperfection of this man. And for the agape love and mercy for humanity, God has brought down His Most Beloved Son, Jesus Christ into this world to reconcile man and God again after the relationship is being severed by the fall of the temptation of Satan. My friends, going back to the story of Job, we are made affirmed by St Thomas Aquinas that the power of the Satan and his counterparts is not absolute and sovereign but restricted to the limits established by the power of God. Satan, a creation of God since the beginning, will always remain God’s creation for eternity (Amen!).

with Love, from Lot to Lidz....

This poem was presented to me as Christmas gift by a talented, poetic lady named Lot, a Filipino caregiver whom I first met in the medical centre where I am working. She was assigned to look after an old lady for about two weeks. During these two weeks, she has been observing me and thus, (according to her) the birth of this poem. Lot observed me as I go through the ups and downs of my daily schedules; attending to patients, doctors ward rounds and sometimes colleagues in the ward.
The short but fruitful time has also allowed our friendship to blossom. We enjoyed each other’s company and talked much whenever we have the opportunity. Well, some friendships just do not fade away with time, eh? My friendship with her definitely did not fade! Despite the great distance between us, we still manage to contact each other once in a blue moon & update each other. We know that our friendship is always alive and that we will keep each other in prayer always.

My dear Lot, remember that I promised your sometime ago to post one of your poems in the Net or the papers? I am realising it now!

This poem should be dedicated to all the health care personnel and caregivers who have persevered in caring for people and especially to those who felt that their work is not appreciated…and this includes you, Fabio! Savour this poem and tell yourself that ‘I am an angel, a visible angel…’

VISIBLE ANGELS

In the world where we exists today,
there are still angels visible to come our way
who understand words we don’t even say
who trust us and believe, come what may.

These angels may not have wings or crowns
They may be persons who got some downs
They may be walking behind with no sound
But their faces surely bear no frown

Being with them maybe an hour or two
Enough to lift us for what they do
The words they say goes through the soul within you
For their essence touch anyone deeply through

Wherever we may go,
Why not take time to look around?
For when we do
How much more can we be astound
For anywhere we turn
Angels we can see still abounds
Yes, maybe new friends or old ones sweetly found

And you are an angel, visible, do you not know?
You help the worthy ones wherever they go
For truth sake, the only time you say “No”
But often you lead up friends you care to show.

How blessed am I to be one of your friends
For the assistance you gave to me with no end
You are one of the visible angels God lovingly send
To offer us your willing helping hands

But though an angel
You too got your ups and downs
Your eyes may bear pain with tears so freely flow
At times, no loving words can comfort
Your spirit really low
And yet as angels do, how bravely you face tomorrows

May God bless you then our angel dear
May He will take away your worldly fears
May He wipe out your flowing tears
And send you angels too throughout the years