Prayer Intention for June, Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
“Sweet Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us and on our erring brethren!” (Raccolta)
+Feast of Corpus Christi+
Introduction
I wanted to address “Fr.” Chad Ripperger’s YouTube video that explains how Catholics today have been deceived and another video of his that warns of an impending chastisement. Ripperger is, of course, presenting as a true priest and exorcist, but he’s a non-Catholic Novus Ordo minister. We know that this sect does not receive true holy orders, so he’s a layman. In his video on Catholics being deceived, he’s telling people that the church that ordained him and gave him whatever powers he thinks he has as an exorcist has actually been promoting false doctrine. Having said that, he has nothing to say about how a Church that Christ promised the gates of hell could never prevail against could possibly promote false doctrine, but that’s another matter.
Why the deceit
In any event, he is telling people what false doctrine is being promoted, why it’s being promoted, how it’s being promoted. And he’s very skillfully manipulating the truth to make it appear that you can basically have a church teaching false doctrine that’s still a true church. Yet at the same time, he indicates that you need to seek the truth elsewhere. So how he figures that, I have no idea. Ripperger rightly blames modernism and cites emotionalism versus doctrine as being the heresy of today that’s leading people astray. Well, of course it is. Pope Pius X pointed that out in his Pascendi Dominici Gregis. And he’s questioning why people cite Christ’s mercy as basically a whitewash for everything that is done wrong and explains that that’s not how it works. Mercy is tempered by justice, and God’s justice must also have its day. Ripperger notes there is theological confusion and a weakening of discernment, in general that is afflicting people today. Well, of course there is. Why? He could explain it, but he doesn’t. He’s citing John Paul II and Ratzinger as if they’re true popes, so we know where he stands.
Christ IS a merciful God, but he expects us to use our brains, and he expects us to study and pray, look into things, do what we’re supposed to do and try our best at whatever we do to find Him. And if we don’t do that, then we can’t expect him to be a merciful God. He says that for some reason, they’re trying to reverse the natural law and divine revelation, and they are, and they have been for a long time, and we know that. And we’ve pointed out how they’ve done that and where they have done that and what is the cause of it. He says that loyalty to doctrine is interpreted as a personality flaw, and orthodoxy is equated to emotionalism and even mental instability. Well, that’s not surprising. He also goes into how psychological language has replaced theological language. In short, he wants to let Catholics know they’ve been deceived, but he isn’t willing to go to the wall and explain the real reason for the deception, how and why. And he weaves his tale with just enough truth to draw the unwary into his lair. And while he recommends people study their faith, that study could only be conducted from the polluted NO sources he is party to. It’s something I have been saying for 40-some years and urging people to do, from sources that can be trusted.
In several of my blogs, I’ve warned readers against watching these people. They’re tricky, and they can easily deceive; they can make it sound like they know what they’re talking about. But we have to remember, this man has no real authority — he is just another layperson circulating videos. And a lot of people will say, “Well, who are you to call him on the carpet?” Well, who am I? I’m a layperson, just like he’s a layperson. As a Catholic layperson, under Can. 1325, I have the obligation to call out anyone who is teaching falsely regarding the Catholic faith and misrepresenting their credentials. And while his title as exorcist draws many to him as an expert, he cannot exorcise by the authority of the Church. He may have the power to exorcise as a layperson, but he lacks true jurisdiction granted to a priest to exorcise in the name of the Church.
Notes from a real exorcist
The Franciscan exorcist Rev. Dominic Szymanski wrote in his A Notebook on the Devil and Exorcism (1944): “Exorcism is private if it is performed not in the name and authority of the Church, but in the name of the expelling person. If some good holy layman would undertake to exclude the devil from a possessed person, he would be performing a solemn private exorcism for which no permission is necessary from the ordinary. The Church restricts the public use of the power of her ordained exorcists, not private persons. What is permitted to a layperson cannot be denied to a priest. When the priest acts as a private person, he should not use the exorcism stole. Although public exorcisms performed by the authority of the Church are more effective, nevertheless the demon may also be expelled from possessed persons by private exorcisms. Christ has promised not only to His apostles, but to all who will believe in His name that they will cast out the devils:
“These signs shall follow them that believe: In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:17-18). Exorcisms should be used often, and whenever they are needed. When the permission is necessary, it should be obtained. Superiors are not free to say yes or no, however. if the case is certain, it must be yes, because the sacramentals cannot be denied to a person who reasonably asks for them. It is a serious infringement of duty and inexcusable sin to leave a person in the power and tyranny of the devil who torments his victims day and night” (See Rev. Szymanski’s book HERE, but please ignore the post Vatican 2 footnotes).
In the Introduction to Rev. Szymanski ‘s work the editors of Immaculata Magazine wrote in the early 1970s: “Twenty years ago a Notebook on the Devil and Exorcism would have been unsalable. At that time, with the exception of a few hidden pockets of devil worshippers, the devil preferred to remain in the background and generally well hidden. It seems as though he were awaiting the “new morality” and the drug cult first before seeking open worship from fellow creatures. According to Mike Warnke, a former Satanist high priest, the devil wins our young people to devil worship through the bait of unlimited sex, drugs and money. With more and more of our society falling under his domination through sin, the devil seems to have thrown away the cover that he is an imaginary buffoon with horns and a long tail. He has openly shown himself in our day as “Prince of the world.” And we do not even want to speculate on the number of possessions existing in the world today.
In 1945, C.J. Woolen wrote an article for the December Homiletic and Pastoral Review (H & P) entitled “A Schizophrenic Generation” calling for a worldwide exorcism., possible given the time frame after reading Szymanski’s work. Jean Lehrmitte, in Soundings on Satanism, by various authors, describes hysteria as pseudo-possession, and certainly hysteria is rampant today. Yet his theory is called into question by another author in the same book. F. M. Catherinet. Writing on the many demoniacs cured by Christ that are recorded in the Gospels, Catherinet even goes so far as to state that “all true diabolic possession is accompanied, in fact and by a quasi-necessity, by mental or nervous troubles amplified or produced by the demon.” (And the Devil’s means of amplifying these nervous troubles has been greatly assisted today by the wide variety and availability of both prescription and illegal drugs, which induce relaxed mental states he can easily manipulate.)
So the Evil One can either exacerbate such mental states, thereby installing himself at this point of least resistance, or actually produce them — either out of whole cloth or aided by the use of psychoactive drugs/narcotics — to gain access to the intellect. By the time such a malady comes to the attention of a psychiatrist, it seems likely that it already has advanced sufficiently to admit of such demonic installation. Catherinet admits the capability of psychiatrists to identify the mental condition, but denies them the right to exclude the possibility of possession. “The doctor…if he enjoys the light of faith, will never exclude a priori, and in some cases may well suspect the presence and action of some occult power behind the malady.” As Pope St. Pius X, quoting Pope Leo XIII, stated in condemning the Modernists: “If you carefully search for the cause of errors, you will find that it lies in the fact that in these days, when the natural sciences absorb so much study, the more severe and lofty studies have been proportionately neglected…They have been disfigured by perverse doctrines and monstrous errors.”
Lay exorcism cautions
Although we may exorcise as lay people, these exorcisms do not have the spiritual effects that an exorcism from a truly good and holy priest would have if done by such a priest. We’re sinful creatures begging for assistance. We don’t have jurisdiction. We don’t have powers. We’re asking God to help us regardless. That’s not going to have the same effect as an official exorcism. if we get too deeply into these things, as I’ve warned especially one Traditionalist who contacted me about this, we risk running into real spiritual danger and exceeding our limitations. As one saying goes, “Be careful, when peering into the abyss, lest the abyss peer back into you.” If you want to exorcise someone, a family member perhaps, or a person that is begging you to do it, do it privately, in your home, with people of like mind who could be there to witness it. But to treat it as a service readily available to others on a regular basis, no. In my opinion, that is neither pleasing to God, nor is it going to be helpful to the people afflicted by the devil. And yes, it may appear that it has benefited some people; that’s possible. But we never know for sure whether that is because Christ is assisting us, or the devil is tricking us. And if you read spiritual books and look into discernment, it will tell you that. One of the finest, Sancta Sophia by Rev. Baker, specifically treats of this situation.
In ending his talk, Ripperger says the crises won’t be resolved by making the faith more palatable, that it can only be resolved by God. He tells us to pray the rosary for sin, for our own sins and for purification of the Church, all good recommendations. And finally, he says, don’t give up hope. Well, it depends on what you call hope. And that is what brings us to the second video on the chastisement. Here is what he has to say on why “punishment is coming.”
The Divine Chastisement
God has warned us of this punishment in both Scripture and private prophecy and He has been very patient. He cites Sodom and Gomorrah, the disobedient Israelites, Nineveh and Tyre as types of punishment. He also names the seven deadly sins and explains how the commission of all these has been magnified a millionfold, likewise the sins crying to heaven for vengeance. Leaders of nation and the clergy he identifies as far more culpable. True repentance is still possible he says, but… “You can’t treat a disease you refuse to name.” Really? Of course he cannot name the disease or how it has spread without incriminating himself, so it remains unnamed. He emphasizes true repentance but does not go into any detail about what all is involved to achieve it. He recommends that Catholics return to Church, frequent the Sacraments, fast, do penance, become souls of reparation, consecrate their families to the Sacred Heart. But what he doesn’t say, what he dares not say, is what really needs to happen and it is the only thing that might possibly forestall the Divine vengeance or mitigate it at least, (although I fully believe it will be exacted, regardless).
All of us must certainly repent, but that alone is not enough. It is the leaders of the world pretending to rule legitimately, the scions of “Christianity,” the “hierarchy” of Rome, the Patriarchate of the East and all other heads of world religion who must step down from their imposture as men of God, fall on their faces and beg God’s forgiveness — every one of them. Telling us to repent as though we are the ones who have behaved badly after being persecuted, propagandized and misled by these usurpers and hirelings all these years is rich indeed. He tells us not to be afraid, but if I were him, I would be very afraid.
There is one thing we can do, and it is an act of mercy itself. We can say our exorcism prayers daily, and beg God to end this diabolical deception. At this point, many tell me, a chastisement or the General Judgment would almost be a relief to escape from the horrors of this unbelievably wicked world. Pray always, pray and watch. Dear Jesus, come quickly and do not delay.
