- Can't you just feel it? The conflict is becoming
apparent in our culture. It reminds me of those
words of John Paul II. We're now living in
the final confrontation between the gospel
and the anti-gospel, between the church
and the anti-church, between Christ and
the antichrist. And if we don't choose
to know God's word, to believe God's word, and to follow God's word, we're gonna be a sitting duck
for all kinds of confusion, all kinds of disorder. Those are really
important choices that
people have to make. And these choices are difficult. Who am I gonna marry? What kind of life
am I gonna live? How am I gonna raise my kids? What am I gonna do with
my time, my talent, and my treasure? And I have to make
a choice today. Jesus says to each one of us, I came that you might have
life and have it to the full. The question is do we want it? (dramatic music) Hey, welcome to another
week of The Choices We Face. One of our favorite guests and our dear sister in the Lord, Patti Gallagher Mansfield, is with us today. Many of you know Patti. She's been with us for years. She's one of the few
people we ask to come back year after year. She's special. She's a witness
to the beginnings of the Catholic Charismatic
Renewal and the Catholic church. Her book "As By
A New Pentecost", the dramatic beginnings of the
Catholic Charismatic Renewal. She has a quote
from Pope Francis. Share with all in the church the grace of baptism
in the Holy Spirit. So this isn't just a movement
that everybody has to join. This is something God's doing, a grace that's really spreading
throughout the church. He just wants people to come
alive in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit and
the gifts of the Spirit aren't the property of
a particular movement, but they're a grace
for the whole church. But Patti isn't gonna
speak about this today. What she's gonna speak about
is pretty darn exciting. We were actually talking about, she was trying to choose
between two topics. First topic was walking
by faith and not by sight. Which I said oh
that's a good one. She says, I'm not
gonna talk about that. My husband suggested
another topic. Patti and her husband are
a great Catholic couple that really are walking
in the Lord together, or serving the Lord together. So her husband suggested
that she speak on spiritual warfare. - Yes. - And that's a good one too. So Patti, tell us a little bit. - What do you think
about a grandma talking about spiritual warfare? Isn't that amazing? You know, I never
really reflected much on being involved in
spiritual warfare until I was baptized in the
Holy Spirit in 1967. And almost immediately, I became aware of the fact
that the devil is real, that he doesn't like me, that in fact he's
opposed to our salvation. There's a beautiful
passage from 1 John 3. And it says simply this. The reason the Son of God came is to defeat the
works of the devil. There it is. And I'm reminded of something
that Saint Paul VI said back in 1973. I'm gonna read it to you. He was talking about the
greatest needs of the church. And he said, what are the greatest
needs of the church today? Do not let our
answer surprise you as being overly simplistic, superstitious, or unreal. One of the greatest needs is the defense from that evil
which is called the devil. And so just as I was
introduced rather quickly into the reality of
spiritual warfare, I believe brothers
and sisters today, we need to know what
weapons we can use in spiritual warfare. And I'm just gonna draw
from my own experience of some of the key
means that I use when I know I am under attack or when I see members of
my family under attack. Or when I see the
difficulties in the church and in the world. The first weapon, the first means of combating
the enemy, the devil, is the name of Jesus. Jesus is our Savior. Jesus is our Lord. He has the name that
is above every name. We read in Philippians 2. At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, and every tongue confess
that Jesus is Lord. Sometimes, brothers and sisters, when I'm afraid, when I feel threatened, when I am in the
presence of evil in some way or another, I simply say the name of Jesus. There's so many beautiful
scriptures about the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus is
like a strong tower. The just man runs to
it and he is safe. Our help is in the
name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. I believe you might know and
be able to correct me on this. I think The Desert
Fathers used to use that. Our help is in the
name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. - That's absolutely true. You know, yeah, the name of Jesus. - Yeah, St. Bernard of Clairvaux has this beautiful passage
on the name of Jesus. And oh, it's magnificent but it
ends with these words. The name of Jesus is
honey on the tongue, music in the ears, and a cry of gladness
in the heart. So first means of combating
the devil and his wiles, the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus. The second is the
blood of Jesus. We have been purchased not
with something perishable, but with the blood
of the Son of God, the unblemished Lamb of God. And he is, his blood is not
only our salvation, but it's our protection. You know sometimes I meet
people who will share with me that they're under temptation, they're in difficulty, and I'll ask 'em the question. But do you plead
the blood of Jesus? And they don't seem to know
what I'm talking about. Well you remember how
the Israelites of old were saved from
destruction and death because they painted the blood
of a lamb on their doorpost. Well brothers and sisters, we can paint the blood
of the Son of God on the doorpost of our life. How do we do it? Very simply. Just say, Jesus I
plead your blood on me, on my family, on my home, on my work. You know, this is one of
the most powerful means I have found over
many, many years to simply appropriate
the blood of Jesus. For us Catholics, we have a wonderful opportunity when we receive holy communion. We know that even if we're
only receiving the host, we're still receiving
the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus. But if you receive
from the chalice, at that moment, I like to say to Jesus, Jesus, let your blood as it comes into me wash my
conscience free of any sin, any disturbance, you know. I've felt in preparing
these remarks that some of you listening might be troubled
in your conscience even after you have confessed in the Sacrament
of Reconciliation and received absolution. Well the blood of Jesus
cleanses our consciences. Even if our hearts condemn us, the scripture says God is
greater than our hearts and he knows everything. The name of Jesus,
the blood of Jesus. What's another weapon we
can take up in our hands as children of God? Well, the cross of Jesus. I have my crucifix with me. I've been bringing it, Ralph, when I'm here with you. You know, our salvation was won when Jesus died on
the cross for us. We can never wander far away
from the cross of Jesus. Well I like to have a cross that I hold in my
hands every day. I recently had an
opportunity to speak in Mount Vernon, New York. And it's interesting
'cause Mount Vernon is the first place I
ever visited in mission back in 1967. Can you imagine? And just recently I was invited
by some Brazilians to speak. I don't know, maybe
three, 400 people. And as I was
speaking about Jesus, the need to believe in
his sacrifice for us, believe in the cross of Jesus, I felt like the Holy
Spirit said to me, call the men up. Now there were many
more women than men. But it's amazing. When I called them up, I was standing by a crucifix. When I called them up, there were a whole lot more
men there than I thought. I don't know, maybe they
were hiding in the back. In fact, even
little boys came up. And I began as the
Holy Spirit prompted me to speak directly to them. And I'm gonna speak
right now to any men who are listening
or are watching. That Jesus was calling the men, calling all of you men, to give your lives to him, to surrender, and to receive the fruit of
his sacrifice on the cross. And then I felt
led to say to them, there are certain temptations that are very particular to men. We women have our
temptations too, but there are some that men
seem to experience more. And I said to them
take a crucifix and either wear it
around your neck or put it in your pocket. Doesn't have to be this big. It can be something
much smaller. And when you are
tempted by the devil, or by your own flesh, your own passions, just touch that Crucifix or reach into your pocket. And as you touch
the cross of Jesus, this representation
of his sacrifice, the Lord will give you power. And that's what we need
when we're in temptation, when we're confronted
by our own weakness. But also by the taunts, and the allurements, and the lies of the devil. Just to touch the cross of Jesus will give you strength
to overcome temptation. There were some
little boys, Ralph, little bitty boys
standing in front of me. - That's wonderful. - It is. My translator who's translated
me many times in Brazil said to me, that was really beautiful. All those men, all those little boys. The power in the cross. So the name, the blood, the cross. The Spirit of Jesus. The Spirit of Jesus. You know, in that famous
passage in Ephesians 6 which is about
spiritual warfare, and I recommend that you
read that whole passage where St. Paul says, we're not contending
against flesh and blood but against the powers
and principalities, and world rulers of
this present darkness. In that passage, it says at the very end of the instruction
on spiritual warfare, pray at all times in the Spirit. Well there's many ways
of praying in the Spirit. But praying in the Spirit is a powerful means of
overcoming the enemy. Sometimes, brothers and sisters, when I don't know how
to combat the devil with his lies, with his taunts, with his threats, I pray in the Spirit. Another powerful means of
combating the work of the devil and his taunts is the word of God. And I have my Bible with me. - You've got all your weapons
with you today don't you? - I've got all my weapons. You
know what they are, weapons. I've given this teaching before with much more detail and I've called it weapons
in spiritual warfare. The word of God. Brothers and sisters, we need to hide the word
of God in our hearts. Because sometimes the best way to combat the enemy is
with the word of God. When he begins his lies, you have to have the
truth of God's word hidden in your heart. I want to get you another
means of spiritual warfare and I have the rosary here. And it is our lady, our lady. You know there's a
passage in Genesis 3:15 where after the fall
of our first parents, when they realize they're naked and they hide themselves
from the Lord, and he comes and he finds them. And you know, they're blaming each other for how they got into this mess. And the Lord says
to the serpent, I will put enmity between
you and the woman, between your seed and her seed. She will crush you, crush you with her heel as you strike at her head. And you know, there's different
interpretations. You know, the seed
obviously is Jesus. But apparently a
mistranslation has made the person who's crushing
the serpent our lady. Of course we know that
it's the victory of Jesus that has crushed the serpent. But in the church for
many, many centuries, our lady has been the one who even in depictions of Mary is seen crushing the serpent. Well a friend of
mine from Brazil, you know I travel there often. - I think you're an
honorary Brazilian. - I am. I've got Brazilian blood in me. I feel that way, not really. But my good friend,
Father Marcelo Rossi, who's been a priest
25 years this year, he had an experience
just recently, in fact it's on the internet, where he was attacked. - I've seen the video. - Ooh yes well, that morning he said he
prayed a prayer in Portuguese. I'm not gonna say
it in Portuguese. And the prayer was, Mary, go ahead of me and
crush the head of the devil. Crush the head of the serpent. Well he was
preaching at an event for 50,000 young
people, teenagers. And interestingly enough, the topic was spiritual warfare. He had the final Mass. There were many concelebrants
behind him on stage. And he was preaching
and he was saying, we priests may be weak. But when we are at the altar, we act In persona Christi. And he held up his hands. He said, these hands
are not my hands. When I'm at the altar, they're the hands of Christ. And just as he said that, a woman from this
crowd, a young woman, this crowd of 50,000 people, ran from way up in the bleachers with seemingly
superhuman strength, bounded over, passed through four
security guards, jumped up onto
this six-foot stage and shoved him off the stage. As he fell, he said he remembered
what he had prayed. Mary pass in front of me and
crush the head of the devil. And he felt almost as
if our lady caught him in her lap. Even though of course there was commotion, they wanted to immediately
whisk him off to a hospital, he felt the strength
to get on his feet, to come back onto the stage, and to continue
celebrating the Mass. Of course many
people were in tears. But what a sign to those
young people that you know, no weapon forged against
you will prosper. And as he celebrated the mass, he told them I prayed, Mary, pass in front of me and
crush the head of the devil. When I saw, within hours of it happening, I saw it on the internet. And immediately I
thought of that passage about Joseph of old, where Joseph said to his
brothers after they repented, you meant it for evil but
God meant it for good. Immediately I had the sense that God was going to use
this attack from the enemy, because the woman certainly, well she was not
in her right mind, but certainly seemed to
have a superhuman power to make that kind of a
pass through security, that God was gonna
use this for good. And brothers and sisters, in an amazing way. Not after a long period
of time but immediately. Immediately. That prayer, Mary pass in front and
crush the head of the devil, began to spread all over Brazil. They're writing songs about it. People are singing it. In other words, this means of spiritual warfare, which is our lady, our lady, that Mary, her rosary, her name, turning to her, there is... I'm gonna end with this, Ralph. There's a beautiful quote
from St. Maximilian Kolbe, one of our great teachers, about our lady, calls it the Immaculata. He wrote this in 1917, same year as Fatima. And Maximilian said this. Modern times are
dominated by Satan and will be more
so in the future. The battle with hell
cannot be won by men, even the most clever. The Immaculata
alone, Mary alone, has been given the promise
of victory over Satan. But now assumed into heaven, the mother of God
needs our cooperation. She's looking for souls who will consecrate
themselves entirely to her, entrust themselves to her, who will be in her hands
effective instruments for the defeat of Satan and the spread of the
kingdom of her son. Well what happened to my
friend, Father Marcelo Rossi, is already conquering
the work of the enemy, putting the love of Jesus, the confidence in Jesus, the way he can turn
evil into good, and darkness into light, into the hearts and
minds of so many people all over the world. And the amazing thing, Ralph, is he is stronger. He's stronger for
having been attacked. Just like we are stronger every time we use
the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, the cross of Jesus, the word of Jesus, the Spirit of Jesus. And when we turn to her, the mother of Jesus,
our mother amen. - Well Patti, thank you so much. As usual, such clarity about
really important truths. And you know, you mentioned
Ephesians chapter six. And we can add a whole
bunch of other stuff from Ephesians chapter six. You know, and I'd like to
say a few things about that because what it says
is that, you know, we need to put on the
helmet of salvation. So in order to make
use of these means, we have to have faith. You know, we have to really
know who the Lord is. We have to have surrendered
our life to him. And then it talks about the
breastplate of righteousness. We have to be trying
to live a holy life. I mean it isn't like you kinda can use these means without
some kind of relationship, without some kind of desire
to kinda obey the Lord and follow the Lord. But then the thing that
I think really ties in, the thing that you might
have spoken about but didn't is the breastplate.
- Faith. - The shield of faith.
- Faith. - Yeah, and you know it says, the shield of faith extinguishes the fiery darts of the enemy. So one of the things
that's really true is that the devil's throwing
stuff at us all the time. I mean he's putting
thoughts in our mind. So sometimes people say hey, don't think you'll find
a devil under every bush. And sometimes it's hard to
discern what's the devil, what's from our own
sort of desires, what's from the peer
pressure of a culture that's really hostile to Christ
that encourage immorality. But the fact is is that we're gonna be having
thoughts coming into our mind. Whether they're from the devil, whether they're from ourselves, whether they're something
we saw in a movie that we shouldn't have seen. The fact is is that we can defeat those
temptations with faith. Faith has two dimensions. Faith in the person
of Jesus Christ. And one of the things
that's really powerful is what Jesus
taught St. Faustina. Just saying when
you're having trouble, when the circumstances
look terrible, when you're being tempted, say, Jesus I trust in you. Jesus, I trust in you
is a powerful prayer. It's the name of Jesus
that you mentioned. But it's also an act of faith. And then also the
shield of faith is the objective teaching of Jesus. If we know what Jesus
said about something, that can really strengthen
us against temptation. If we know that
Jesus says, you know, I've said it to you. You've heard it said, don't commit adultery. I say to you, don't welcome lust
into your heart. If you know the
word of the Lord, that can strengthen
you against temptation. So I want to second
your recommendation that people take a
look at chapter six. But also you're gonna find
there that other theme that you almost spoke about. - Walking by faith.
- Yes, yeah, yeah. - Walking by faith,
not by sight. Well there are many
people who today don't believe in the
spiritual dimension of life. Or they think of
it in some sort of almost like a pantheistic way. And that's dangerous in itself. So we need to be
armed with all that Ephesians 6 gives us. But also, with the full arsenal. We have our lady, but you know we have
many, many saints. - Yeah, we're surrounded
by a cloud of witnesses. - Cloud of witnesses, so great a cloud of witnesses. In our Catholic faith, we have the sacraments. My goodness. You know, what was his name? Gabriele Amorth
whom I never met, but I remember reading. - The exorcist
- He was the chief exorcist - of Rome.
- of the Diocese of Rome. - But the devil fears the
Sacrament of Reconciliation more than the
prayer of exorcism. Now I don't know if
he really said that. I read it somewhere. - Well it makes a
certain sense because if you're holding onto sin, you can't expect to expel
a devil from your life. There has to be repentance. There has to be a sincere desire to turn away from sin
and turn to the Lord. And if there are influences, evil spirits that are
holding you back from that, the first thing is
wanting to break with sin so then you can be freed
from those influences. - Repent, repent, repent. Let go of unforgiveness
and the whole battery of serious sin. You know, I talked
about the blood. What I've been doing, Ralph, is when I go to confession, as I am saying my
act of contrition and listening for those
wonderful words of absolution. You know, the priest says, and I absolve you of your sin. I like to picture myself. - Those are wonderful
words aren't they? - Aren't they?
- Yeah. - They're beautiful words. I like to picture
myself kneeling under
the cross of Jesus and receiving his blood right at that moment. So it's not only the Eucharist
where we can appropriate the power of his blood. But also when we're
making a good confession. And I've been saying this, I said it to those men at
the foot of that stage. If you haven't been to
confession in a while, run. Go, it's free. It doesn't cost. It cost Jesus his
death on the cross. But it doesn't cost us anything. A little bit of humility. A little bit of you know, of feeling uncomfortable. But if it's been a long time, I'm saying this to some
of you who are watching, if it's been a long time, just tell the priest
it's been a long time. Can't even remember how long. Could you help me make
a good confession? They love to do that. - Yeah, absolutely yeah. And again the divine
mercy revelation, Jesus says, those who are
furthest away from me, those who are deepest in sin, those who think they
never could be forgiven for what they've done, those who think that they're
so living in darkness. Those are most entitled
to the mercy of Jesus. - Yes, yes, yes. And you know, some who are watching
us may be thinking, well what can I do to make a change in the world, in the church, in the lives? We can pray. Our best weapon is prayer. And so for temptation
that we're going through, but when we see a loved one being kind of tossed about, we can pray. And our prayer is powerful, especially when we pray
in the name of Jesus. - Yeah, yeah and
prayer and fasting, reparation for sin. - You taught me that. - Conversion of
sinners, you know, all the things that
Mary asked us to do that we could really
make a difference in people's lives forever. So Patti, thanks again
for being with us again, and thanks for your life, your mission. Thanks for your
great husband Al, your children and grandchildren. And may the Lord just
continue to fill you with the Holy Spirit so you could be a witness to him - Thank you Ralph. - forever and ever.
- Thank you. - Hey, Peter Herbeck, our friend has written
a booklet called "The Unfailing Promises". And when we're buffeted
by spiritual warfare, we need to remember
the word of God. We need to remember what
Jesus has promised us. Jesus has promised us wherever two or three
gathered together, he'll be with us. Jesus has promised us that we won't be tested
beyond our strength. Jesus has promised us that
if we're faithful to him, he'll never abandon us. So I'd like to send this
booklet to you at no cost just for the asking. Call the 800 number
on the screen or go to our website,
renewalministries.net. Click on the free booklet and
we'll get it right out to you. You need the word of God. This is a good resource. Patti, thanks so much.
- My pleasure. - We'll see you
again very soon, bye. (dramatic music) - We live in unsettling
and challenging times. People everywhere are
reaching for an anchor, something that's true, something they can hold onto. St. Peter tells us we
can find this security in what he called the precious and very
great promises of God. The Bible is filled
with promises that come directly from the
heart of a loving Father. And they've all been
fulfilled for us in Christ. I've written this booklet,
"Unfailing Promises", to help you lay hold of promises that will give you the
hope and strength needed in the face of any and
every kind of trial. To receive a free copy, please visit our website or
call the number on screen. ♪ Is great to the heavens ♪ ♪ And Thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Thy faithfulness
to the clouds ♪ ♪ Be exalted ♪
♪ Be exalted ♪ ♪ Oh God ♪
♪ Oh God ♪ ♪ Above the heavens ♪ ♪ Let Thy glory be over ♪ ♪ All the earth ♪ ♪ Be exalted ♪
♪ Be exalted ♪ ♪ Oh God ♪
♪ Oh God ♪ ♪ Above the heavens ♪ (clicking and whooshing)
