Blessings Defeat Curses

A blessing means to "speak well of" another.  We encourage others when we bless them.  A curse is the opposite. 


The church liturgically gives blessings through the priest.  


Blessings themselves are not sacraments; they are not of Divine institution; they do not confer sanctifying grace; and they do not produce their effects in virtue of the rite itself. They are sacramentals and, as such, they are held to produce the following specific effects:

• Excitation of pious emotions and affections of the heart and, by means of these, remission of venial sin and of the temporal punishment due to it
• Freedom from power of evil spirits
• Preservation and restoration of bodily health
• Various other benefits, temporal or spiritual

All these effects are not necessarily inherent in any one blessing; some are caused by one formula, and others by another, nor are they infallibly produced. It depends altogether on the Church's suffrages that persons using the things blessed derive supernatural advantages. There is no reason to limit the miraculous interference of God to the early ages of the Church's history, and the Church never accepts these wonderful occurrences unless the evidence in support of their authenticity is absolutely unimpeachable.


A curse is an action that is done to harm another with the help of demons. There are specific curses to kill, to cause one to be possessed, to make things go bad in business, and to make someone sick, etc. …Curses are effective only if God allows them to have effect. The more one prays the more one will be protected against these things.


The following highly effective weapons if one believes he is the victim of a curse. One cannot go wrong with these!

1. Pray the Rosary
2. Read the Bible
3. Speak with God every day
4. Attend Mass frequently, even daily
5. Place a blessed crucifix and an image of the Blessed Mother in one’s house.
6. Make the sign of the cross with holy water daily.

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Righteous Anger

Anger is o.k. (righteous) if it is directed toward justice (righting a wrong).  Jesus shows us this in the temple.  Anger is dangerous when it becomes revenge (wrath).  This type of anger causes suffering and depression when turned inward.  Meditation and contemplation can help diminish wrath by helping us not to react to it.  Do not respond to the devil.


The devil is full of impotent and irrational rage. His fury against God and all that is good is impotent because he has no power against God. It is irrational because Satan is the Father of Lies, and where there is no truth there is no reason or rationality. When this impotent and irrational rage surges up in our own lives it shows the face of the deadly sin of wrath.


In one of the wisest observations in sacred Scripture we read, “Be angry, but sin not.” In other words, anger is permitted. Psychologists say that depression is often caused by repressed and unacknowledged anger. Righteous anger is the desire for justice being expressed. It is permissible, therefore to be angry but we are to express anger in a rational and powerful way. Anger should be expressed with an aim to resolve the injustice and move toward forgiveness, reconciliation and a positive solution to a problem.


Wrath, on the other hand, has no desire to bring about justice. St Thomas Aquinas said wrath was the desire for justice distorted into a longing for revenge. Wrath therefore surges forth from impotence and irrationality. Wrath is pointless and destructive anger. It lashes out intemperately without reason and without any desire for a positive, pure and powerful solution. When this kind of volcanic rage explodes from us the borderlands of hell—where irrational and impotent rage rules all—is glimpsed.


What can be even worse than this explosive rate is when the wrath is repressed within. Then we mull over our anger. We plan revenge. We think what we “should have said.” We rehearse our anger, lick our wounds and pick at the scabs of our injuries. Sullen, introspective and dark brooding is wrath turned inward and the poet Dante observes that suicide is the ultimate expression of wrath turned inward. In an act of suppressed irrational rage the human person takes the final act of desperate wrath and destroys himself.

The virtue that counters wrath is patience. Patience is not simply putting up with an offense with a kind of determined forbearance. Instead patience is a fruit of the spirit growing in the human heart. Patience is evidence of true charity in the human soul. Do you remember that old saying, “Be kind. Everyone you meet is carrying a heavy burden.”? That is an example of true, grace filled patience. The patient person does not respond in irrational rage and impotent wrath. Instead they live a daily life infused with rational patience and powerful love.


This kind of patience can only be experienced through the alchemy of forgiveness. Through the transaction of first receiving forgiveness than extending that forgiveness to others we experience and extend patience in the world. Patience is a virtue that the dark forces of hell cannot even comprehend, and its existence in a believer’s life is one of the sure signs that God is doing that work of inner transformation that finally brings the soul to the beautiful shores of heaven.


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Be A Man

Much suffering comes to women when "men" fail to be men.  Christ is the model for men. 


Spiritual growth is a process of transformation, and the ideal goal of that process is the formation of the character of Jesus Christ within each one of us. To accomplish this heady goal, men need to "imitate Christ".  Unfortunately, men are doing the opposite, and women suffer as a result.   


Our culture needs men to "man-up".  Prayer, Mass, the Sacraments and living the Catechism are good places to start.

A Man of Suffering

Fr. Benedict was a priest who lived the passion of Christ.  He dedicated his priesthood and surrendered his will to his Father in heaven.  His earthly ministry taught us much about suffering and how to endure through God's grace.  His talks are timeless and inspirational.  May he receive his reward and rest in peace.  It's only fitting he go to the Lord on the Feast of St. Francis.


Pray for us

Guardian Angels

On the Feast of the Guardian Angels it does well to remember that God gives us angels to assist and protect us in time of need.  Call on your guardian angel in your struggle.


Psalm 91:9-13
Because you have the LORD for your refuge

and have made the Most High your stronghold,

No evil shall befall you,

no affliction come near your tent.

For he commands his angels with regard to you,

to guard you wherever you go.

With their hands they shall support you,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.

You can tread upon the asp and the viper,

trample the lion and the dragon.

Exodus 23:20-26

See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Be attentive to him and obey him. Do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your sin. My authority is within him. If you obey him and carry out all I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.

My angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out. Therefore, you shall not bow down to their gods and serve them, nor shall you act as they do; rather, you must demolish them and smash their sacred stones. You shall serve the LORD, your God; then he will bless your food and drink, and I will remove sickness from your midst; no woman in your land will be barren or miscarry; and I will give you a full span of life.


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