Day 1 – Let Freedom Ring: Freedom from Fear

by Fr Richard Heilman | February 17, 2021 12:05 AM

Let Freedom Ring: Freedom from Fear

My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
At a word from You the devil and his minions flee in terror.
You are the source of all truth. You are the source of all strength.
By the power of your Cross and Resurrection, we beseech You, O Lord
To extend Your saving arm and to send Your holy angels
To defend us as we do battle with Satan and his demonic forces.
Exorcise, we pray, that which oppresses Your Bride, The Church,
So that within ourselves, our families, our parishes, our dioceses, and our nation
We may turn fully back to You in all fidelity and trust.
Lord, we know if You will it, it will be done.
Give us the perseverance for this mission, we pray.
Amen

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception…pray for us
St. Joseph…pray for us
St. Michael the Archangel…pray for us
(the patron of your parish )… pray for us
(your confirmation saint)…pray for us

 

“Freedom from Fear” by Fr. Bill Peckman

In the Garden of Eden, the devil tempts Adam and Eve. He lies to them. His lie is effective because it taps into fear. The fear is simple: God does not want what is good for you. The devil sells a fear to Adam and Eve that God wishes them to be perpetually ignorant of good and evil (even though they already knew the good), and that they are missing out without that knowledge. Fear finds its roots in a disbelief in God’s providence and care. God knows this and, in the Scriptures, He tells us repeatedly to not be afraid. Overcoming fear is trusting in God.

Fear rules our nation now. It used to be that the American Dream was the ability to act rightly and freely and set a course independent of one’s socioeconomic status. In the last 100 years the American Dream transformed into accumulation of possessions and status. Now the American dream has turned into a nightmare of anarchy by which the dream is complete autonomy and self-determination independent of God, science, or reason. The fear comes from a belief that this life is all that there is, and we must create a reality conducive to our personal truth. Anyone who challenges this is to be feared and despised.

Fear rules within most churches now too. It has reduced the evangelical call of the Great Commission to a call for the comfortable and non-challenging. It has stilled our tongues on moral issues, gutted our catechesis, emptied our seminaries, and decimated the priesthood. Being Catholic has always carried a stigma in this country. With the scandals in the Church, fear of being accused of things one would never do is a strong deterrent to answering God’s call. It was for me. When the purveyors of fear have raised their voices, we Catholics have allowed ours to be scared silent. A fearful person who will not stand up against the lies of a human being will never stand up to the lies perpetrated by the father of lies, the devil. We would do well to heed Jesus’ rebuke of His apostles in Matthew 8:26, “Why are you fearful, ye of little faith?” He says this as they are being tossed on the sea by a strong storm.

It might be said that courage is the virtue that combats fear. It goes deeper. The real virtue to cultivate is the theological virtue of faith. To countermand the devil’s use of fear (that God does not want what is good for us or will abandon us if we follow Him), we must develop faith.  Faith makes us able, and willing, to put our trust in His goodness and plan.

Because it is a theological virtue, the virtue only grows with the assistance of the grace of God. We will not be able to cultivate faith without the sacramental life of the Church. Even when circumstances prevent our participation in the sacramental life of the Church, the fervent desire to participate in the sacramental life of the Church allows that opening for God to flood us with the grace to grow our faith. Such desire has aided the imprisoned, the ill, and the exiled.

Faith must lead to conversion. If not, then the grace of God is squandered. We shall have to answer for this. Conversion is an outward and inward sign of the trust and faith we have in God. Conversion sets the devil on his heels. It calls out his lie. Faith will lead us to a place where we can stand out against the rising tide and fight against the diabolical. Dead men float downstream, weak men are pushed downstream, but strong men can walk against the current and move forward. Faith is the powertrain to give us such abilities.

 

Prayer of Reparation

My Lord and my God, we have allowed the temptation of the devil to move our hearts to doubt in Your goodness. We have stilled our tongues in the face of evil. We have been too fearful to stand out in our culture, allowing the strong storms to quell our trust in You. In our fear, we have allowed the ancient foe to advance. We turn to You Lord, in our sorrow and guilt, and beg Your forgiveness for our fear and timidity. We beg for the grace of Your goodness to build up within us what You sought to build up in Your apostles in that tempest-tossed boat. We know, Lord, if You will it, it will be done. Trusting in you, we offer our prayer to You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

 

Prayer of Exorcism

Lord God of heaven and earth, in Your power and goodness You created all things. You set a path for us to walk on and a way to an eternal relationship. By the strength of Your arm and Word of Your mouth, cast from Your Holy Church every fearful deceit of the devil. Drive from us manifestations of the demonic that oppress us and beckon us to faithlessness and fear. Still the lying tongue of the devil and his forces so that we may act freely and faithfully to Your will. Send Your holy angels to cast out all influence that the demonic entities in charge of fear have planted in Your Church. Free us, our families, our parish, our diocese, and our country from all trickery and deceit perpetrated by the devil and his hellish legions. Trusting in Your goodness Lord, we know if You will it, it will be done, in unity with Your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Litany of St. Joseph

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us. 
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us. 
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us. 
Holy Mary, pray for us. 
Saint Joseph, pray for us. 
Illustrious son of David, etc.
Light of the patriarchs,
Spouse of the Mother of God,
Chaste guardian of the Virgin,
Foster-father of the Son of God,
Watchful defender of Christ,
Head of the Holy Family,
Joseph most just,
Joseph most chaste,
Joseph most prudent,
Joseph most valiant,
Joseph most obedient,
Joseph most faithful,
Mirror of patience,
Lover of poverty,
Model of workmen,
Glory of domestic life,
Guardian of virgins,
Pillar of families,
Solace of the afflicted,
Hope of the sick,
Patron of the dying,
Terror of demons,
Protector of Holy Church,

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord. 
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

He made him the lord of His household,
And prince over all His possessions.

Let Us Pray.
O God, Who in Thine ineffable providence didst choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most Holy Mother, grant that as we venerate him as our protector on earth, we may deserve to have him as our intercessor in Heaven, Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever. R. Amen.

 

Daily Checklist

 

More Information

To see the Goals, Methods and Levels of “Let Freedom Ring,” go HERE[1].

For those enlisted in the US Grace Force, you will receive, by way of email, the daily prayers and reflections for “Let Freedom Ring: A 40 Day Tactical Training for Freedom from the Devil.”[2] 

You can enlist in the United States Grace Force HERE[3] (please recruit family and friends!)

Information on the United States Grace Force can be found HERE[4]

We highly recommend ordering the book (recently published), authored by Fr. Bill Peckman, Fr. James Altman and Fr. Rick Heilman. This amazing book will be a great tool for easy access, highlighting and bookmarking as you traverse through this 40-day challenge with tens of thousands of other special forces prayer warriors!

You can order the book at RomanCatholicGear.com[5].

 

Source URL: https://usgraceforce.com/day-1-let-freedom-ring-freedom-from-fear-2/

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