Choose well the company you keep

Halloween’s ghouls and ghosts on the prowl never appealed to me until I became a lola (nonna). Seeing my apos dressed as pencils, pumpkins and Frankenstein monsters brought shrieks of delight, not fright.  But tell me, what would?

Demons, unclean spirits or the fallen angels.

Father Winston Cabading, professor of Theology, Secretary General of the University of Santo Tomas (UST), member of the official team of exorcists of the Archdiocese of Manila, gave a talk that shed light on the good angels and demons (the bad, fallen angels).

What he shared was not drawn from his own conclusions or on hearsays, fables, and myths.  Rather, it was based on the teachings and catechism of the Catholic Church covering a gamut of dogma, doctrine, traditions, and teachings of early fathers, doctors of the church, revelations made to and experienced by saints, papal dissertations, teachings of the Magisterium, etc.

In short, this was the honest-to-goodness real McCoy.  Indisputably, the factual case and walang bolahan ito.  It’s time to bust some misleading practices and untruths.   

Father Cabading said that in the invisible world — ignored, if not dismissed, by us — the realm of angels exists.  “Angels were created by God from the beginning of time and, being spirits, they have no end,” he said.  From our moment of birth, God has assigned a guardian angel to each of us and he remains with us until the end of our earthly life.

Do guardian angels have names?  No. There are only three angels named in the Bible:  Michael, Gabriel, and Rafael.  No other angels were given names.

Why not?  When one is given a name, it signifies ownership, just like one is given a name at baptism.  We own our names.  On the other hand, angels do not own, they purely and totally reflect the kindness, the generosity, and glory of God.  Thus, they remain nameless. 

Some believe that you can discover your angel’s name?  You merely ask him before you sleep and whatever name sprouts to mind when you awake is, eureka, his name?

False.  You cannot ask for their names because their focus is only on God.  Discard therefore such pamphlets, prayers, devotions addressed to so-“named” angels.

Related to above, there are published prayers and devotions to seven archangels for each day of the week, including Uriel, Sealtiel, etc.?  Throw them away.  They are not sanctioned by the Church.   

Who are our enemies?

The fallen angels a.k.a. as the devil, evil spirit, demon, diablo, etc.

How real are demons?  Take them seriously.  Jesus did.  He had several encounters:  Forty days in the desert, healing those possessed, throwing the demons to a herd or sounder of swine, and others.  Jesus never fell for his tricks; the devil failed to tempt Jesus.  

Wasn’t the devil an angel once? 

Yes.  The devil was created naturally good, but he became evil out of his own free choice.  The devil, led by Lucifer, didn’t want what God wants.  The devil could not accept:  1) the mystery of the Incarnation, Jesus exalting human nature by becoming man.  When Jesus ascended to heaven, body and spirit, he elevated man to be higher than angels; 2) That Mother Mary, a mere mortal — and a woman at that — is their Queen.

What sins did the devil commit?

• Envy.  He was jealous that God elevated man through the Incarnation and Mary’s assumption and coronation.

• Pride. They want to be worshipped as God and not be ranked below man.

• Hatred — towards man because God’s love was so great that He offered His only Son as sacrifice to ransom man from death.  It was man, in fact, who caused the devil’s downfall. 

What are the consequences? The devil’s decision to defy God is forever.  When they rebelled and said no to God, it was irrevocable.  They cannot change their minds anymore. 

Are there any good news for human beings?  a) Fallen angels cannot reproduce.  From the time they defied God, their number of followers stayed the same; b) Their powers are limited because they’re not equal in might to God; c) They cannot fight our free will.  The devil can only suggest but doesn’t have the power to compel or force you against your will.

What are the most common names of the fallen angels?  Each devil has its own specialty or skills. When they lure us to sin, their approach is cunning and subtle that, oftentimes, we are unmindful or unconscious of their influence.  Father Jeffrey Quintela, liturgist and exorcist in the Diocese of Antipolo, said,  “The devil is already in our daily lives, but we remain unaware or we play deadma.”  Among them are:

• Beelzebul — gluttony.  If you pig out, gorge, stuff, and overeat, everything to the excess and wasteful, that’s Beelzebul feeding your unquenchable hunger and thirst, not necessarily limited to food and drinks.   

• Belial — sloth.  If you procrastinate, you’re reluctant to work or you’re idle, lazy, that’s Belial egging you on.

• Asmodeus — lust.  He feeds your sexual cravings and your yen for the flesh, orgies, and debauchery.  In colloquial lingo, they are the maniac-kis. 

• Lucifer — pride.  You’re vain, conceited, haughty, and arrogant.  You think of yourself as second to none, frightfully superior with a bursting ego, and you crave to be the center of attention.  You want to be in the limelight, hungry for publicity, seeking fame and recognition, you’re convinced that you could do nothing wrong; 

• Satan — anger.  You’re bad-tempered, red with rage, hostile, and burning with wrath.  You find it hard to forgive and you enjoy harming and causing damage and destruction, especially if it benefits you.  Ever hear of the expression “not a mean bone in him”?  It definitely doesn’t refer to you.  You’re wicked and evil.         

Were there other persons who were tempted and tormented by the devil in contemporary times?  Saints like Padre Pio, Francis of Assisi, John Mary Vianney, Pope John Paul II, Gemma Galgani (The Flower of Lucca, Italy), etc.

How can the devil continue to deceive us? According to Father Amorth, chief exorcist of the Vatican, “the devil wants to make you believe that he doesn’t exist.”

What are the demons’ ultimate goal?  To haul and drag as many people as they can to rot in hell. With them: “Misery craves company.”

Why keep doom, gloom and the dark side as company when we have our guardian angel to “light, guard, rule, and guide” our way? Choose and choose well the company you keep!