I can’t explain an experience, but we should get our doctrine from the Word of God, not experience. I certainly would never trust feelings and experiences. The Bible says “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Feelings and experiences can seem right, but you can’t trust your own fallen mind to judge them.
The Bible also tells us to “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” God never intended His people to worship Him apart from the use of their minds. Real spirituality begins with a precise understanding of truth. His Word is objectively true. Use your mind to measure all experiences and feelings against the Truth, against His Word. We are to be like the Bereans in Acts 17 who were “more noble” because “they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” As a result “many of them therefore believed.”
In Ephesians 6:11 Paul says, “Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” What is our armor? It consists of the belt of truthfulness (not merely knowing the truth, but being committed to it), the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace (confidence that we have made peace with God), the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation (confidence in our security in Christ), and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. None of those hints at any secret technique. Rather, they speak of clear understanding and a solid commitment to biblical truth and holiness.
When we resist Satan by taking our stand in the armor of God’s truth, he flees. James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Peter said, “Resist him, firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:9, emphasis added)-firm in the Christian faith, which is the revealed truth. This is objective truth, not some unseen cosmic force. Since Satan is a deceiver and a liar, we can successfully resist him only by knowing and obeying the truth.
Paul said, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Again, we don’t battle Satan with magic words and imaginary forces; we rely on the power of His truth as it brings even our thoughts captive to our Lord. That is genuine and ultimate victory over satanic forces.
No matter how Satan attacks, the solution is the same. We stand in the truth. We don’t need to learn hidden strategies to fight Satan. God’s truth is the supreme weapon against the father of lies (cf. John 8:44). Only when we know the truth and commit ourselves to obey it will we stand strong.
To measure the efficacy of praying rosaries and saying Hail Marys we can’t rely on our experiences or the claimed experiences of another. If you search the Scriptures like a Berean you will find that Mary is presented in a favorable light, but the unrestrained praise and sentimental effusion common among Catholics are no where to be seen. There isn’t even a hint that Mary participated in the redemption, so she can’t be a mediatress of all grace. To the contrary, the Bible teaches Jesus is the one redeemer and one mediator.
I am curious as to where this Bible came from that you quote.
The Hail Mary:
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee (Luke 1:28)
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb (Luke 1:42)
Holy Mary (Not explicitly, but Luke 1:46-48)
Mother of God (Luke 1:43)
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death (Protestants ask people to pray for them. If you raise the question that Mary is dead, please prove it. If you retort that death is a fact of life, is the virgin birth any more believable?)
Another foundation of the Rosary is that Mary is Queen of Heaven and Earth. (Rev 12)
And as for Mary’s ability to intercede for us? John 2.
Jesus and Mary attend a wedding and the hosts run out of wine, a serious problem. Mary asks Jesus to do something. His response is that his hour has not yet come. Mary’s response is to turn to the servants and tell them to do whatever Jesus asks. Jesus proceeds to do the exact thing Mary asks; even though by his own profession it is not yet time.
We also have the question of whether Mary suffered at the Cross. This can be inferred since her son had been betrayed, beaten, humiliated and nailed to the cross for everyone’s sins. What mother would not suffer seeing her son go through that? Then there is a little problem of Simeon’s prophecy. In addition to saying Jesus is destined for the fall, he also tells Mary that her own soul will be pierced. Finally when Jesus was on the Cross, he declared that Mary was now mother of John, the only Apostle to never abandon Jesus.
Mary did participate in the Redemption. Her only objection to conceiving Jesus was that she had no husband. She said that she will carry out the Word. She also saved the couple at Cana by requesting that Jesus help them, even though his hour had not yet come.
The unrestrained praise is due to Mary. In a society where promiscuous women were not tolerated, Mary agreed to have a child without the guarantee that she would have a husband. No promise was made to her, but she put her faith in God.
The Rosary is not a secret technique; it is not an unseen cosmic force; it is not a hidden strategy. The Rosary is routinely prayed publicly by Catholics. Discovering it is easy. The only thing it requires is Faith, which Mary had.
You quote a passage that says when you stand firm against the Devil he flees from you. When I pray three Hail Marys, lustful thoughts depart from me. If that is not the Devil fleeing, I am uncertain what would be. One can lose their firmness and invite the Devil to try again.
The passage you cite with the Bereans is interesting. They did not have a New Testament (or any books of it). The scriptures cited must therefor be the Old Testament. They had to trust that what Paul was saying was true and had happened.
The quote from Proverbs 14:16 is also interesting. The Catholic Church is an enormous organization that has existed for 2000 years. One word that does not fit this would be “man” in the singular.
You ask me to to measure all experiences and feelings against the Truth. The Truth maintains that lustful thoughts are wrong. How one would view porn or masturbate without said thoughts escapes me. When I pray the Rosary, keep the Divine Office, and say Hail Marys when suffering temptation, I do not suffer these temptations or am able to banish them when they arise. I am uncertain how else to interpret this.