Posted on 06/30/2011 4:49:27 PM PDT by stfassisi
True Soldiers in the Church Militant
 King St. Louis IX of France led the seventh and eighth crusades. He enforced strict military regulations against killing noncombatants and prisoners, holding the conversion and baptism of infidels among the highest of priorities. As a child, his mother would often say to him: "I love you my dear son, as much as a mother can love her child; but I would rather see you dead at my feet than that you should commit a mortal sin." |
Spiritual warfare in modern times
The body of faithful which comprises the Catholic Church is divided into three parts: the Church Triumphant (souls in heaven), the Church Suffering (souls in purgatory) and the Church Militant (faithful on earth).1 The Church Militant has been defined as:
It is useful to consider the military metaphors contained in such a definition. As Catholics, our lives should not be seen as "business as usual" but warfare — "constant warfare". We are not regular citizens or noncombatants, but soldiers in the war against Satan; a war which has both spiritual and physical dimensions.
All soldiers are called to a particular cause, traditionally the glory of a king, emperor or state. As Catholics soldiers, we are called to fight for the glory of Christ the King and the triumph of His will. We must follow His commandments, receive His sacraments and carry out His directive to convert all nations. While a worldly soldier is concerned with physical warfare, a Christian soldier is involved in a struggle infinitely more important — the spiritual battle for the salvation of souls.
Enemies of a Christian soldier
Just as "soldier" and "warfare" take on different meanings in the context of the Church Militant, so does the term "enemy". The only enemy of Christians is and has always been Satan, but because of his powers, he must be fought both internally and externally (or spiritually and naturally). He is our spiritual enemy when we tempts each of us internally and our natural enemy when he works through other men to subvert the will of God. Since, he is capable of deceiving and tempting every person on earth, he can make accomplices or slaves of men without their explicit knowledge. Such men can be referred to as our "human enemies".
This is an important distinction to make because if Satan rather than an individual human is the true enemy, how we face battle and evaluate victory are very different. Unlike worldly soldiers, we are commanded by our Lord to love our enemies.
 St. Michael the Archangel has been battling Satan since the Fall of the Angels. |
Therefore, we must always seek that which is best for our human enemies — not their worldly comforts or success, but their eternal salvation. This is not to say the only end to our efforts is conversion since a "victory" occurs every time the desires of Satan is thwarted. And since his desires are always opposed to God's will, a victory is also each instance in which His divine will is done. Both Christ and His Mother have repeatedly told their children that all sins (even by non-Catholics) offend their respective Sacred and Immaculate Hearts. Christ's soldiers must fight to prevent any and every such offense, even if the offenders are not converted. Conversion however remains the surest and most effective way to ensure such offensives will not be committed again.
The human enemies of the Church can usually be divided into two groups — public and private enemies. Public enemies openly declare war on and attempt to carry out the destruction of the Faith or the faithful. Historically, such human enemies have included Jews, Muslims, Protestants, Freemasons and Communists.
Private enemies are those who either do not admit to (secret enemies) or do not realize (deluded enemies) their destructive intentions. These are the most difficult enemies to recognize, let alone fight. They are usually outwardly benign or "well-intentioned" people and are comprised mostly of schismatics, heretics, liberals, modernists and humanists. Their ranks include men and women, young and old, clergy and laity who cloak themselves in acts of human charity and prideful piety which only serve to confuse and seduce others. They are enemies of the Church because they spread defiance of God's laws and undermine his Church through heresy, disobedience or indifference.
They are the atheists who consider Christ to be no more than an example of tolerance, cooperation and kindness.
They are the humanists who see no need for "religion" unless it can be useful in preventing poverty and war.
They are the naturalists who perform the corporal works of mercy while rejecting the spiritual and see no use for monastic life unless it accomplishes some humanitarian goal.
They are the heretics who claim to follow God's commandments but reject the revealed Truth entrusted to His Church.
They are the modernists who seek to "evolve" or "renew" the beliefs and practices of the Church in order to "better accommodate" the changing times.
They are the abortionists who lovingly care for newborn infants days after they would have them brutally murdered.
They are the schismatics who claim for themselves apostolic succession but openly defy the successor of the Prince of the Apostles.
They are the pagans that sleep and work, laugh and cry, live and die according to the dictates of their conscience which is constantly adjusted by their environment.
These are the human enemies Satan puts in our path and how we choose to respond to them is what defines the true soldiers in the Church Militant.
The Church Militant and the modern world
 Joseph M. Scheidler is National Director of the Pro-Life Action League and one of the few modern martyrs in North America. His organization has faced lawsuits from the National Organization for Women (NOW) under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act — legislation designed to combat organized crime. |
Needless to say, today's Church Militant is plagued with indifference. Too many soldiers of Christ would rather not fight their enemies because the immediate costs in comfort and human respect are too high. When they witness God being insulted through blasphemy, heresy or denial of His law, they are content to remain silent, denying their love for Him. When questioned directly, they may defend God but only in an equivocal way, depending on how much the opinion of the interrogator means to them.
This is not a "constant warfare", it is a surrender! Soldiers don't sit hiding in the bushes, waiting for someone to accidentally discover them before coming out to fight. They know exactly where the battlefield is and go in earnest to join the war effort. Everyone they make contact with knows not only that they are soldiers but that for which they fight.
Since the beginning of time, Satan has successfully used human respect and pride to tempt the faithful into silence and defiance. How many marriages have been destroyed, profanities been committed, children been aborted, blasphemies been encouraged and souls been eternally lost to Satan because people who knew right from wrong kept silent, putting too much value in human respect? They are more worried about being seen as different or "intolerant" or childish in the eyes of sinners than virtuous in the eyes of God. However subtle this brand of "persecution" may be, the struggle between God's will and man's has always existed. It is why Christ told us in the Sermon on the Mount:
And repeated by St. John Vianney:
Catholic soldiers cannot remain silent in the face of evil and they cannot run from it in hope for better days. We must fight for the Faith at all times, especially when we are facing persecution. Our human enemies need to know that we hold and defend the Truth, even if they hate us for it. The history of Christendom is filled with saints and martyrs who chose torture and death rather than denying Christ or His Church. They could have saved their lives by going along with the popular errors of the day — be it paganism, Freemasonry, Communism or Islam, but they refused and were eternally rewarded. As beautifully expressed in the words of Blessed Sister Marie-Anne Vaillot, a martyr of the French Revolution who refused to take a masonic oath:
 St. Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans was an inspirational soldier during the Hundred Years War. She was guided by angels and saints from heaven but was burned at the stake after a mock trial. Among her "crimes" was a refusal to adequately submit to the "Church Militant", a phrase with which she was unfamiliar. |
These days, in most Western countries such courage and dedication is almost non-existent, even though the consequences are much less severe. Many Catholics will deny Christ rather than risk feeling "awkward" or "uncomfortable" in the presence of pagans. They care more about what the faithless think of them than what God does. How many Catholics today would be willingly burned at the stake rather than deny their Faith? What's the use of forcing a denial that is gladly and repeatedly welcomed almost every day?
The dangers of supernatural warfare
Getting caught up in battles against heretics and abortionists, it's easy and dangerous to lose sight of the supernatural aspect of the conflict. Satan and the powers of darkness are fighting to ruin every mortal soul, especially those devoted to Christ. This battle isn't just between the Catholics and non-Catholics, but between good and evil, Christ and Satan.
As such, the ways we can fall are varied. Not only can we be defeated through our own tendencies toward doubt or indifference, but also by giving into the zeal of the battle. Too often, humble soldiers fighting for the will of God give way to the vices of pride and anger. We must not lose sight of the true enemy (Satan) and the true goal (the triumph of God's will). In fighting one error, we must not fall victim to another.
Since this is a supernatural battle, we must use the supernatural weapons heaven has given to us. The Mother of God has given us the Most Holy Rosary and the Brown Scapular to assist in our mission. We also have the teaching of the Church Fathers and Catechism of Trent which prepare us to recognize error when it is encountered. We have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass which is hated by Satan above all, so much so that modern times have seen it subjected to his destructive power. We have been given the other sacraments which give us access to the most precious gift of grace, especially the sacrament of Penance.
Above all else, those fighting for the Christ's Church must never neglect regular prayer and sacrifice. To do so is to fall in to the very errors of the naturalists against which we fight. We cannot inadvertently become allies in the propagation of supernatural indifference. For it is only through the mercy of God and in a State of Grace that we will prevail.
Ancient advice for modern times
 St. Martin de Tours, a Roman soldier born of pagan parents would go on to become a monk, a bishop and the Patron Saint of France. |
For a reminder on how Catholics are called to live their lives and relate to the world, we will always be able to turn to the timeless words of St. Justin Martyr:
They live in the flesh but not according to the flesh. They dwell on earth but regard heaven as their city. They follow established law but in their way of life, go beyond what the law requires. They love all and everybody persecutes them. No one knows them, while all condemn them; they are put to death and still are very much alive.
To put it all briefly: What the soul is to the body, Christians are to the world. The soul is present in all the body's members; so are Christians in the world's cities. The soul dwells in the body but does not originate from it; Christians live in the world but do not have their origin there. The invisible soul abides in the visible body; Christians are seen as living in the world, but their piety is invisible. On the other hand, the body, though it suffers nothing from the soul, hates it and makes war upon it because it cannot enjoy its pleasures in peace; the world suffers nothing from Christians but hates them because they reject its pleasures.
The soul loves the flesh and members which hate it; so do Christians love those who hate them. The soul is enclosed in the body but it contains the body; Christians must remain in the world as in a prison, but they contain the world. The immortal soul dwells in a mortal home; Christians are pilgrims in a corruptible world while they look forward to heavenly immortality. God has set them in the world as His sentinels and they may not leave their posts." 5
Negative.
Luther sought luxury, recognition and wealth. Calvin sought power and control. Zwingli was a perpetual teenager, with dreams of personal success in battle. The German barons who made the Reformation happen were after personal power in the various fiefdoms of what is now Germany. There was no idealism here; only pragmatic personal ambitions.
Here we have it again: Jesus taught out of the KJV written in English. When will you people understand that the NT Scripture (and the OT that Jesus and the Apostles used) was written in Greek?
“”Do you claim that Pope Benedict XVI holds all Protestants to be contained in the group of Invincible ignorant?””
No,there are some who have a mysterious relationship with the Church and are ignorant of this.Those who love unconditionally even extends to some muslim’s as well who love unconditionally and are ignorant.
All Salvation still comes through the church regardless
Here is an excerpt from Cardinal Ratzinger(Pope Benedict XVI)
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html
The Church is the “universal sacrament of salvation”,79 since, united always in a mysterious way to the Saviour Jesus Christ, her Head, and subordinated to him, she has, in God’s plan, an indispensable relationship with the salvation of every human being.80 For those who are not formally and visibly members of the Church, “salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of a grace which, while having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally part of the Church, but enlightens them in a way which is accommodated to their spiritual and material situation. This grace comes from Christ; it is the result of his sacrifice and is communicated by the Holy Spirit”;81 it has a relationship with the Church, which “according to the plan of the Father, has her origin in the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit”.82
You are completely wrong and I don't hate protestants at all(I am married to one for 28 years)I hate the heretical teaching but love the people
That is completely silly,dear sister.
Luther was a liberal who wanted power and women- this is nothing you will find in monastic Orthodoxy
Hope all is well with you and your family these days
The article speaks of historical enemies and the average protestant(even many Catholic) tends to be ignorant of the history So,I would agree that we should not group ALL protestants in this category which I believe the author of this article thinks as well.
LOL! Suggesting I’m a democrat because I believe the Bible!!
That’s a good one. You just demonstrated classic democratic tactic: resort to name calling.
All I’m saying is you can’t biblically support the church in physical conflict.
Rosary? Try finding that in the Bible.
I’m a retired Marine, thank you.
true. it was just a reference to history, the past
BB -- does your sect in any way resemble the Church as described in the Didache?
With a Eucharist on the Lord's day, appointing bishops and deacons etc?
Do you have monks such as +Pachomius of Egypt (292 AD)?
St. Augustine (3rd century): "Let us not listen to those who deny that the Church of God has power to forgive all sins" (De agon. Christ., iii) -- does your sect follow the sacrament of penance as the Early Christians did?
The ensuing chaos such that we can take but one example of the CRC: The Christian Reformed Church (CRC) split from the RCA (Reformed Church in America) in 1857. From the CRC there were splits like the PRC (Protestant Reformed Church) in 1924, the OCRC (OrthodoxChristian Reformed Churches) and the URCNA (United Reformed Churchs in North America). The CRC ended relationships with the PCA and OPC when the CRC had WPs. The PRC also had a split in 53 when half left to form the OPRCA (Orthodox Protestants Reformed Churches in America) not to be confused with the OCRCNA. The OCRCNA joined with the United Reformed Churches in North America (the URCNA) which had left the CRCNA in 1996
Works (i.e. fruit of the spirit) is the evidence of what has occurred within: a regeneration via the Holy Spirit. It’s not a separate way to Heaven. Ask Messianic Jews (there are sites such as “Jews for Jesus” that can help) sometimes why they continue to minister to Jews if they are on track for Heaven without Christ. They know more about the OT than most out there and will quickly tell you they are doomed without Christ. Remember Christ told the Jews they should not rely on their heritage to save them because God could take rocks and make Jews out of them. No salvation from a specific birthright. “For there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galations 3:28) They either know Him or they don’t. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven by which we can be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Those OT Jews who were counted righteous were not called so because of birth. They knew a Messiah was coming and believed God’s promise concerning Him. Those today who are still looking for a different Savior will not find one. There is only One. Deny Him, even believing one is trusting God in so doing, and one does so at eternal peril.
It’s not heresy to acknowledge Scripture as the only authority , but on this I know we will have to disagree.
Ok......so where is the biblical support? If your hermaneutic is to “read into” the Scriptures, thereby alegorizing.....you can make the Bible say anything you want.
You used 7 Gospel verses, and 4 church doctrine verses. NONE of them speak of the church physically fighting.
The Bible isn’t that hard to understand, but only if you use a common sense hermaneutic.
Is that how this discussion should go? Accusing me of something I never implied? I'm disappointed.
If anyone says the Gospel is something other than what is clearly stated in Scripture, then, no, they cannot claim they are right anymore than one church claiming it has the copyright to the name Christian. Some differences ARE minor, BTW, and with those we have liberty in Christ to decide between us and the Lord.
Not one of these sinners and debauchers are the Church. That's the point. The Church is not any man.
Excuse me? Those sinners and debauchers claimed to BE the hierarchy of THE CHURCH. I'm talking about Popes, bishops, and the like. They claimed to be the "magesterium" of the Catholic Church. Yet, I agree they were NOT members of the actual church of Christ, because, if they were, they would NOT have ever indulged in such overt licentiousness. The Church is NOT any man, true, but it is ALL of mankind that has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. We are members of that spiritual body of Christ, the bride of Christ.
I'm curious, if this is your position then no sinner or debaucher can be the authority on Scripture and theology - so much for the Protestant Principle. If you have a problem with sinners, debauched individuals determining teaching then you should have a problem with each individual determining them - not with the Church.
My point is simply that had the very Apostles exhibited the behavior that those within the ruling authority of the church which claims it alone IS the church Christ established - that hell itself would not prevail against - then I doubt Jesus would have allowed them to represent him. Judas was wrong in what he did and he proved his unbelief by his actions and he was not and would never have been an apostle to the church. Perhaps if he had repented and confessed his faith in the Messiah, he may have been rehabilitated and used of the Lord, but we will never know since, instead of doing that, he killed himself. So many times we have heard on this forum words to the effect that the Roman Catholic Church is the one, true church of Christ and whenever anyone tried to clarify that we are all members of the church of Christ it is denied and condemned. So you cannot separate what you have consistently defined as the "church" from the individuals that make up the leadership - and the authority - of that church.
My point is that your view would mean Christ failed from the get-go. You have no more authority than Calvin or the neighborhood Gnostic. There is no reasonable possibility of a Church holding the same basics of faith. It would be as foolish as if the founding fathers had decided to make one nation with each individual determining what the constitution meant. Imagine our nation if they had established that as a nation. Imagine Christianity if Christ had established this individual authority as His Church. It just fails on its face; the failure is all around us and easily predictable. That's why Jesus did not establish your view of Church.
How I wish I could get you to comprehend what I am trying to say. Just as the individuals assented to the articles of the constitution and agreed to the basic doctrines of liberty and freedom to together establish the nation, we Christians can belong to the universal body of Christ and hold to the basic tenets of what it means to be a Christian. The Catholic Church has not demonstrated that it IS that church established by Christ so therefore it cannot demand allegiance to it in order for a person to be saved. Being a Christian is not and never has been the same thing as being a Catholic. You have said so yourself. Those who in the past and even now veer from the basic tenets of Christian living - of holiness and obedience to God - and who have no desire to repent are simply NOT part of the body of Christ. We are called-out, separated from the world and set apart to live holy and just lives, exactly how Jesus intended us to. That is NOT how the organization known as the Roman Catholic Church has presented itself in real life. Sure it demands that ideal of its members but it seems to exempt the upper echelon from living under those same rules. THAT, my FRiend, is why I KNOW that the RCC is not THE church. And further, even if all those "indiscretions" could be ignored, there are still major doctrinal errors where they have gone astray from where the early church had been.
This failure that you claim to see around you which you blame on Protestants is not because of separation from the errant medieval church, but what was prophesied would happen in the end times, a falling away and apostasy, and it happens within the Catholic Church as well as other mainline churches. There is and always will be a remnant of those who do not fall away but who remain faithful to Jesus Christ. THAT is the true church, the body of Christ.
As far as "purgatory" goes, the meager Scripture passages used as proof text not only do not say what they are assumed to say but they also contradict numerous other clear Scriptures. It is not a simple matter of picking and choosing what to believe, but as we are told, we need to STUDY the word so that we CAN rightly understand its meaning. It is called the science of Hermeneutics. Look it up if you would like to see what it entails, because it does NOT leave it up to millions of "interpretations", rather, it is easy to know the message when you know the messenger. There IS clarity within Scripture and it is clear to those who have allowed the Holy Spirit to illuminate it within their minds. Try it sometimes.
Is that how this discussion should go? Accusing me of something I never implied? I'm disappointed.
Well, let's look at what you actually said in post 45:
There is no need to have an "interpreter" - unless you don't speak English - to understand what the Bible says about the gift of Eternal Life. There are hundreds more such verses that make the plan of salvation - the Gospel - crystal clear. Please, let's not bother with that tired old "it's your own interpretation" saw. We all can see that God did not leave such a critical doctrine clouded in mystery.
You hang out with so many KJV chauvinists, that sometimes I think that it rubs off on you.
No, it is NOT my interpretation at all! And I resent that excuse being thrown into the faces of anyone who refuses to bow the knee to everything that the Roman Catholic Church demands. We are ALL to hold to the clear teachings of Scripture and they are indeed clear enough to anyone who cares to read and study them for themselves. We do not need a "theologian of The Church" leaning over our shoulder to tell us that what we read for ourselves doesn't mean what it clearly does. Are we saved by grace, yes or no? Are we saved by faith, yes or no? Well let's see what Scripture says:
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
There is no need to have an "interpreter" - unless you don't speak English - to understand what the Bible says about the gift of Eternal Life. There are hundreds more such verses that make the plan of salvation - the Gospel - crystal clear. Please, let's not bother with that tired old "it's your own interpretation" saw. We all can see that God did not leave such a critical doctrine clouded in mystery.
Get it now? You don't need someone to "interpret" unless you don't speak English - simply means an interpreter would be needed if you were trying to read this verse in English and you only spoke Spanish.
You hang out with so many KJV chauvinists, that sometimes I think that it rubs off on you.
LOLOL! There you go again with the knee-jerk blather. That was Ephesians 2:8-9 from the New American Standard Bible NOT the KJV! Care to apologize?
Try reading some books OTHER than the Roman Catholic version of things.
Thank you for not only reading my mind but also slandering me by implying I have no relationship with the Holy Spirit is. That's the typical hiding place of those who run out of a basis for their personal opinions and decide it's time to begin the personal attacks.
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