MARY, OUR MOTHER

Friday, April 14, 2006

GOOD FRIDAY

Spirit & Life

"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63)

Human Life International e-NewsletterVolume 1, Number 11 Friday, April 14, 2006
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www.hli.org
Good Friday: The World's First Exorcism

St. Michael's exorcism of heaven is witnessed in the 12th chapter of the Book of Revelation where he forcefully casts out the ravenous dragon from God's realm, and his minions with him. The devil wanted to devour a new-born baby and deprive a woman of her motherhood—kind of like the abortion industry does today—but God would have nothing of it. Yet, Revelation also warns us of the consequences of that exorcism: "But woe to you, earth and sea, for the devil has come down upon you!"

Woe, indeed.
The devil must also be cast from the earth to the one place where he belongs, in the hell that God created for him and his angels, and this definitive exorcism of the earth was accomplished on Good Friday. Jesus exorcised the devil from our lives by the one and only force that has the power to separate man from the devil and cast him out: His own Precious Blood. One week before His death the Lord Himself solemnly proclaimed that He would apply His authority in this way:
"Now has judgment come upon this world; now will this world's prince be driven out, and I—once I am lifted up from the earth—will draw all men to myself" (Jn 12:31-32).

These are powerful words for sure but not to be taken as just the pious hopes of a man with a death sentence. Jesus was telling us that He would do for us what no other death or human act could accomplish. He would place an absolute barrier between us and the devil with a wall of Blood called the Crucifixion. It all fits together for anyone who has eyes to see:
He is the Paschal Lamb that was slain for the sins of His people; He is the new Passover sacrifice celebrated as His people departed the land of slavery; His is the Blood on the doorposts and lintels of His people's hearts guarding them from the angel of death. No wonder the Church "lifts up" the Cross of

Christ for all men to see!
On Good Friday we must re-learn the value of this Blood for our sad world! By this Sacrifice the devil has indeed been cast out and has no power over those who have entered into the new covenant won by Christ at the cost of His Blood. The devil will continue to carry out his warfare against God's people, but his work now has no lasting consequences for those who choose Christ. Those who are freed by the Blood of Christ are free indeed. For this reason the Church exhorts us to remain in communion of mind and heart with the Church, the one place where this Sacrifice is celebrated daily. It is the only assurance we have of total protection from evil.

The Blood of Christ is also our greatest weapon against the evil that afflicts those we love. Do you have a loved one that is pierced by an addiction? Call Christ's Blood down upon him daily. Pray that the shed Blood will penetrate all the demonic bonds on his soul and break their grip. Do you have a family member or friend mired in an immoral lifestyle? Immerse her in Christ's Blood and symbolically bring her in prayer to Calvary to stand with Mary at the only place in the world the devil will not go. In time you will see the immense fruitfulness of that Sacrifice. It has the power to exorcise the world and free all its inhabitants from evil.

Today, Good Friday, the Day of our salvation, we proclaim in our Church's liturgy the immense hope we have for healing from the devil's malice:
Behold, behold, the wood of the Cross on which was hung our salvation! Come, let us worship!

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Sincerely Yours in Christ, Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,President, Human Life International

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Quotes from 'The Glories of Mary':

‘I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head.’

(Gen. 3:15)

“Since the devil is the head of original sin, this head it was that Mary crushed: for sin never had any entry into the soul of this Blessed Virgin, which was consequently free from all stain.”

Saint Augustine

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PSALM 71 SPEAKS TO MY HEART

Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent

In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me, and save me!

Be to me a rock of refuge,
to which I may continually come;
you have given the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.

Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
you are he who took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of you.

I have been as a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
My mouth is filled with your praise,
and with your glory all the day.
Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength is spent.

For my enemies speak concerning me;
those who watch for my life consult together
and say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue and seize him,
for there is none to deliver him.”

O God, be not far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!
May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
who seek my hurt.

But I will hope continually
and will praise you yet more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all the day,
for their number is past my knowledge.

With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;
I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.
Your righteousness, O God,
reaches the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?

You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
You will increase my greatness
and comfort me again.

I will also praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
My lips will shout for joy,
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have redeemed.

And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,
for they have been put to shame and disappointed
who sought to do me hurt.

Friday, April 14, 2006

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