Can you feel it? Does it weigh on you? Almost everywhere we turn, whether it be the news or social media, there is an evident unrest in our society today. I and many others have never felt or seen such tension in our lifetimes prior. But why? This palpable unrest is not Left or Right, it is spiritual. We are living through a period of spiritual warfare like no other.
Like I always say, there’s a book for that. Kathleen Beckman has written a fantastic book on the subject of spiritual warfare entitled, “A Family Guide to Spiritual Warfare: Strategies for Deliverance and Healing.”
There are a number of books on the topic of spiritual warfare, many aimed directly at men or women. This one is particularly useful as it focuses on the family unit. We know through the words of the saints and popes that the battle over the family will be the great final battle. Between the trivializing of the Sacrament of Marriage to the continuance of abortion, the devil is waging a war against the ideology of families like never before. The enemy enjoys nothing more than to see the splintering of good and faithful families, but what are we to do about it? How are we to arm ourselves?
Kathleen Beckman’s book provides families with a roadmap on how to successfully defend and fortify themselves against these attacks. From page one in chapter one to the last page of the book 309 pages later, you will find helpful strategies on how to build your family’s defenses against the demonic. She draws on her 12 years as an active participant in an exorcist’s team to provide guidance and help for this very real threat to all families today.
The book is comprised of ten chapters and contains a myriad of strategies for spiritual warfare. In the first chapter, “The Battle for the Soul,” you will learn about Fearless Faith, Vigilance, and Discernment of Spirits. The second chapter looks at the art of spiritual combat and covers Catholic Remedies, Fighting Like a Knight, and Healing the Heart. Other areas to help fortify readers for battle are the protective measures of The Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and Blessings.
No one can consider engaging in spiritual battle without asking for some heavenly help. Kathleen includes a chapter that covers Working with Mary, and Devotions to Your Guardian Angel and St. Michael. Other chapters of interest include The Language of Spiritual Combat and Six Categories of Demonic Attacks, as well as Dressing Your Family in the Armor of God. Many will find the two appendicies in the book very helpful. The first contains prayers for family healing and deliverance. The second covers some family deliverance case histories.
Spiritual warfare is real, but we don’t have to be afraid of it. We must simply be prepared. Kathleen Beckman has written a resource that will help many families face the enemy with strength and valor and come out on top victorious. Just as our loving God has promised.
Interview Highlights:
Pete: There is a line in Chapter Two where you point out that we are on a great stage where all heaven and earth are watching. I think that is a very important point to drive home. This battle is global. It stretches across the spiritual realm and it’s not just us in our small corners of the world facing this, is it?
Kathleen Beckman: No, and thank you for that question. Those are the words of the Lord that he gave to St. Faustina and he was giving a retreat to St. Faustina. Imagine that! Imagine that the Lord was going to give you a three-day private retreat and he said, “I want to teach you about spiritual warfare.” Those words you just said were His words to St. Faustina.
You think of how the Divine Mercy has spread across the nations. What’s in the book is not only [the] United States. Much of the stories and the cases I share are from 13 different countries. It is a global stage that we are on. I encourage families to have holy daring. I encourage them to be bold in proclaiming Christ’s victory for one another. In the beginning of the book, I quote St. Mother Teresa about finding our Calcutta in our own home, in our own family. Something profound is happening in the family. I quote the Holy Father when he says the Devil does not want the family. We need families who will stand firm. Who will not succumb. Who will not settle for anything other than Christ’s victory for one another. Who will take great care to look at one another and to extend that love, affection, affirmation, and prayers for healing and for deliverance.
We all fall and we can all get caught up. In the book, I talk about how I struggled to forgive the murderer of my father-in-law and how important forgiveness is for healing the family. We all know what it’s like to hold family grudges, and it’s just not healthy. We want the family to be truly liberated from demonic attacks. It takes holy daring to be very bold. No matter how difficult your trial may be, no matter how demonic it may be, faith moves mountains, and by exercising your spiritual authority – baptismal, parental, and spousal – and by standing firm on the Scriptures, together with the huge spiritual arsenal that is the Catholic Church, you have all the weapons for victory.
(See the full interview at: https://catholicstand.com/a-family-guide-to-spiritual-warfare-off-the-shelf-196-with-kathleen-beckman/)
By Pete Socks, Special to The Witness
