20 Ways To Pray For The Souls in Purgatory

(Source : http://www.catholiccompany.com/getfed/20-ways-to-pray-for-the-holy-souls-in-purgatory/)

20 WAYS TO PRAY FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY

1. Pray the Novena to the Holy Souls.

2. Offer up your Holy Communions for the souls in purgatory.

3. Have Masses said for your departed loved ones, especially on the anniversary of his or her death.

4. Pray The Way Of The Cross for Souls in Purgatory.

5. Pray the special Holy Souls Rosary. After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Holy Rosary is the most powerful prayer.

6. Obtain indulgences:  Indulgences reduce or cancel the temporal punishment that we incur through sin.* There are many ways to obtain indulgences through pious actions, and we can apply their merits to the dead. If you visit a church or oratory on All Souls Day and recite there the Lord's Prayer and the Apostle's Creed, you can earn a plenary (full) indulgence applicable only to the souls in purgatory (under the usual conditions).

7. Give alms: The giving of material assistance to the poor has always been considered a penance that can be offered for the Holy Souls. "For almsgiving saves from death and purges away every sin" (Tobit 12:9).

8. Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for the intention of the Holy Souls.

9. Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great: tradition holds that St. Gertrude was told that piously reciting this prayer releases 1,000 souls from purgatory.

10. Sprinkle holy water on the ground: St. John Macias, a great friend of those in purgatory, would often sprinkle holy water on the ground for the spiritual benefit of the suffering souls.

11. When passing by a cemetery, pray the short Eternal Rest prayer: "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let the perpetual light shine upon them. And may the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen." This prayer carries a partial indulgence applicable to the poor souls.

12. Practice the tradition of praying the Eternal Rest prayer (above) before and after your meals as an easy way to pray for the holy souls daily. You can also pray the prayer between the decades of your daily rosary.

13. Visit a cemetery: Pray over the graves of your departed loved ones, or visit a random graveyard and pray for those who may have no one to pray for them. Simply doing this gains a partial indulgence for those in purgatory.  While you're there, sprinkle holy water on the graves. If you make this visit daily during the octave of All Souls Day (November 2-9) you can gain a plenary indulgence* applicable to the souls in purgatory.

14. Eucharistic Adoration: make reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for those in purgatory.

15. Sacrifices: practice acts of self-denial and offer these penances up for the poor souls.

16. Pray the Office of the Dead. You can find this in your volume of the Liturgy of the Hours or online here.

17. Ask for the intercession of saints who were known to be great friends of the Holy Souls during their lifetime: St. Nicholas of Tolentino, St. Gertrude the Great, St. Catherine of Genoa, St. Padre Pio, St. Philip Neri, St. John Macías, St. Faustina Kowalska, St. Joseph, Our Lady, and others.

18. Special prayers: Throughout your day, offer up short and spontaneous prayers for the holy souls. Consider buying purgatory books with more prayers and special devotions for the Holy Souls.

19. Repent go to confession: Confessing your own sins makes your prayers for souls more effective.

20. Spread devotion to the Holy Souls: Make others aware of the great need these suffering souls have for our prayers.

"Get Us Out Of Here!"

I just finished reading a book so riveting that I couldn't put it down. 

"Get Us Out Of Here" is a record of interviews with Maria Simma which was written by Nicky Eltz.  For those who have never heard of Maria Simma, she was an Austrian mystic who had the charism of being visited by souls from purgatory who were allowed to make requests of her.  Most of the requests were of masses and prayers and some were for messages to be conveyed to family.

This book was given an imprimatur in its eighth printing (October, 2010).  Which means that there is nothing in the book that is against church teaching.

Here are some excerpts from the book:

Excerpt 1
Maria, what happened the first time a Poor Soul visited you?
             The very first time I woke up because someone was pacing back and forth in my room.  I was never scared easily and really wouldn't be unless someone actually jumped into my face.  So I thought,"Who's this?"  It was a complete stranger walking impatiently back and forth at the foot of my bed and I called out,"Hey! Who are you?"  No answer.  Then I jumped out of bed, ran at him and tried to grab him, calling,"Now see to it that you  get out of here.  Get lost!  There's nothing here of yours!"  But nothing was there!  Then I thought,"I wasn't dreaming.  I saw him, I heard him."
.......
The next day, I quickly went over to my Priest and told him what had happened.  "I don't know what happened to me last night.  Have I gone mad?"  To this he said,"Why should you have gone mad?  If it was to happen again, do not ask,'Who are you?', but rather ask,'What is it that you need from me?'  It could be a Poor Soul."
.......
The next night, there he was again!  This time I did ask,"What is it that you need of me?"  The fellow stopped, turned and looked at me, saying,"Have three Masses celebrated for me: then I will be delivered."  And he disappeared instantly.

Excerpt 2

Is there any official recognition by the Church when it comes to your particular experience?
            I am obedient to my Priest and to my Bishops who have said that as long as everything is theologically correct, as it has been so far, to continue with my apostolate.
            At first, Bishop Wechner did have problems with my being able to get answers for other people.  He called me in to see him and asked me from where these answers came, so I responded exactly the way I had found out myself when all this started.
           Very early on I asked a soul where it was getting the information.  I thought perhaps that it would go out into Purgatory to find the other soul and then ask the second what it needed to be delivered.  But the one in front of me instead answered,"No, all the information that we bring to you comes from and with the permission of the Mother of Mercy."  When the good Bishop heard this he said,"Well, in that case I cannot and will not say anything against it."

What do you mean by the mother of mercy?
           Oh, the Mother of Mercy is one of the many titles given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus and therefore the mother of all of us.

Excerpt 3

What exactly is the difference between your experience and that of spiritists or so-called mediums or channelers?
           If the public believes only one thing that I say, I would want it to be this.  The difference is very simple and very clear, and we MUST hold to it with ALL SERIOUSNESS.  What happens with spiritists is that they THINK they are calling the souls of the deceased; but if there is any reaction to their calling them, it is ALWAYS and without exception SATAN and his agents who are responding.  Spiritists and channelers are doing something extremely dangerous both to themselves and to the people who go to them for advice.  They are living an enormous pack of lies.  We are NOT permitted to call the deceased!  That is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN!  In my case, I NEVER called them, NEVER do and NEVER will.  Jesus has permitted this through His Mother.
           But Satan, of course, can and does copy and fake anything and everything that comes from God.  He monkeys God and monkeys everything God does.  He can copy the souls' voices, and he can copy their looks, but whatever reaction there is, it's ALWAYS from the Evil One.  Don't forget, Satan can even heal, but these healings never last.

Excerpt 3 is supported by so many other sources, among which is the Bible.  Plus a book I read recently written by Father Jose Francisco C. Syquia of the Archdiocese of Manila, Philippines also mentions this very crucial difference.

If someone you know calls souls or spirits, that is a clear sign that what he is doing is NOT good.  It is a signal for all discerning people to quickly distance themselves from the person doing the calling.  It is not worth the risk to your soul.

I tried to find Nicky Eltz's book on local online bookstores but they didn't carry it.  I tried to locate ebook formats but no such luck.  All I have is a photocopy... sigh...

The Heroic Act of Charity

From my previous post on Indulgences, I quoted from the Cathechism of the Catholic Church something about the Heroic Act.

This refers to the Heroic Act of Charity.

There may be some among us who feel sad for the neglected and forgotten Holy Souls in Purgatory and want to help as much as possible.  Besides the Prayer of St Gertrude, we can also offer all the satisfactory value of our prayers, alms, fasts, penances, and the suffrages given to us after our deaths, without reserving anything at all with which to discharge our own debts. We do not do this of our own, but instead deposit our offering with the Blessed Virgin Mary that she might distribute them, as the Mediatrix of All Graces, according to her good pleasure, to those souls she chooses to deliver from Purgatory.

Since by doing this, we forgo the lessening of our own time in Purgatory, hence the title Heroic Act.  St Gertrude and St Therese of Lisieux made this vow while still alive.

This vow is revocable at any time.

By making this vow, we greatly increase our merits in Heaven, especially because we put our total faith in God's Mercy on us.

The Heroic Act of Charity

O Holy and Adorable Trinity, desiring to aid in the relief and release of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, through my devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, I cede and renounce, on behalf of these souls, all the satisfactory part of my works, and all the suffrages which may be given to me after my death. In their entirety, I offer them to Mary, the Most Holy Mother of God, that she may use them, according to her good pleasure, for those souls of the faithful departed whom she desires to alleviate their suffering. O my God, deign to accept and bless my offering which I make to Thee through the most august Queen of Heaven and Earth. Amen.

For those who may argue against praying 'for the dead'.
II Maccabees 12:43-46 : "And making a gathering, he [Judas] sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection, (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,) And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins."

Why Do I Believe In Purgatory?

Actually I find myself shaking my head at this question.  For a Catholic like me, the belief in Purgatory is dogma. 

Canon XXX Session VI Of The Council Of Trent
"If any one saith that after the grace of Justification has been received, to every penitent sinner the guilt is remitted, and the debt of eternal punishement is blotted out in such wise that there remains not any debt of temporal punishment to be discharged, either in this world, or in the next in Purgatory, before the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven can be opened to him - let him be anathema."

Decree Concerning Purgatory : Council of Trent : Session XXV
"Whereas the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, has, from the sacred writitngs, and the ancient tradition of the Fathers, taught in sacred councils and very recently in this Ecumenical Synod, that there is a Purgatory and that the souls there detained are helped by the suffrages of the Faithful, but particularly by the acceptable Sacrifice of the Altar - the Holy Synod enjoins on bishops that they diligently endeavour that the sound doctrine concerning Purgatory, transmitted by the holy Fathers and sacred councils, be believed, maintained, taught, and everywhere proclaimed by the Faithful of Christ."

I'm not going to bother going into the explanation of why I have to be obedient to the shepherds of my church... just read the lives of the saints and anyone can see how much obedience was relevant to their spiritual lives.

But, being a questioning person and someone who likes to know why, I thought about finding out about Purgatory.  I am not going to be like some of the people I have come across on the Internet who proclaim loudly that Purgatory is a lie Purgatory is a falsehood... and when I ask them to tell me why, they fall silent.  I think they have put so much faith in someone in their lives that they believe everything the person tells them but they do not know why.

Logically when something is already put in place and you are obedient to it, especially when it has been the tradition and  belief of CENTURIES, it is not wrong.  For hundreds and thousands of people (and most of them so much more exalted and saintly compared to my poor self) have all these years of experience in this.  I'd rather believe them than someone who only began thinking about Purgatory two years ago.  Makes sense, don't you think?  After all, a lot of the people who have had encounters with souls from Purgatory have been canonised.  Am I going to say all of them are wrong, misled and high on drugs?  

Just take a look at this incomplete list of saints who have prayed and offered suffrages for the souls in Purgatory.

1.  St Catherine of Genoa (lived 1447-1510)She personally experienced the flames of Purgatory and wrote The Treatise on Purgatory http://www.catholictreasury.info/books/treatise_on_purgatory/.

2.  St Gertrude the Great (lived 1256-1302)

3.  St John Chrysostom (lived 347-407)

4.  St Augustine (lived 354-430)

5.  St James The Apostle (born in the First Century)

6.  St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)

7.  St John Vianney (1786-1859)

8.  St Nicholas of Tolentino (1245-1305)
In 1884 Nicholas was proclaimed by Pope Leo XIII "Patron of the Souls in Purgatory".

9.  St Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938)
Was given the grace of being with the souls in purgatory.

10.  St Lidwina (1380-1433)
She visited Purgatory.

11.  St. Lutgarda

12.  St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)

13.  St Peter Damien (1007-1072)

14.  St Magdalen de Pazzi (died 1607)
Was brought to see the souls in purgatory.

15.  St Malachy (1094-1198)

16.  St Peter Claver (1580-1654)

17.  St Vincent Ferrer (1357-1419)

18.  St Gregory of Nyssa (died 386)

19.  Blessed Anna of the Angels Monteagudo (1602-1686)

20.  Blessed Eugenie Smet (1825-1871)
Also known as Blessed Mary of Providence, she established the Society of Helpers of the Holy Souls in France, Paris (19 Jan 1856). 

21.  Venerable Catherine Paluzzi

All one has to do is look at the years these saints lived and died and you can see that they are spread out throughout known history.  If purgatory is a lie, it is a very well-crafted and well-organized lie.  Imagine getting all these people to lie consistently about the same details.  And I'm getting pretty tired of hearing of how good the Vatican is at putting together falsehoods to keep their 'sheep' in ignorance. 

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.

Abraham Lincoln, (attributed) 16th president of US (1809 - 1865)

The way some people talk about the Catholics as if we are all dull-headed and stupid and mindless sheep borders on the insulting and actually inspires me to stay away from them.  They are so blinded in their erroneous beliefs that they refuse to hear other than what they are saying.

It's so SIMPLE.  If you want to find out about something, do your research.

And there are so many books and articles on Purgatory.  Anyone who reads the books with an open heart should be more than satisfied as to Purgatory's existence. 

Besides, Purgatory is a LOGICAL state.  For if we are not so evil that we deserve Hell and yet not so saintly that we deserve Heaven, where do we go, especially when the Bible keeps telling us in many verses that sin cannot enter heaven.

"And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." Revelation 21:27

So where are we purified?  There has to be a middle state, other than Heaven or Hell.  Some say we are purified on earth.  Ah but what if you die before you have begun atoning?  What happens then?

There are also those who believe that once you have accepted salvation in Christ, you are saved.  All you need is faith.  Well, sorry, but here's another Bible verse :

"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." James 2:19

So you've got company with the devils.  But don't tell me the devils go to Heaven too.

Here are some of the books I have been reading... and I RECOMMEND them most highly.  May God bless all in search in truth!

 

Charity For The Suffering Souls by Rev. John A. Nageleisen

 

 Purgatory : Explained By The Lives and Legends of The Saints by Fr. F. X. Schouppe

  
Hungry Souls : Supernatural Visits, Messages, and Warnings from Purgatory by Gerard J.M. Van Den Aardweg and Janusz Rosikon

Susan Tassone's books on purgatory http://susantassone.com/books/

The Hungry Souls of Purgatory

Recently I got myself a Kindle (ebook reader).  One of the first few ebooks I read on it was entitled 'Hungry Souls - Supernatural Visits, Messages and Warnings from Purgatory' written by Dr Gerard J.M. van den Aardweg, who is a Dutch psychotherapist in private practice.

From this book I learned about the 100-year-old Little Purgatory Museum in Rome (Piccolo Museo Del Purgatorio) which was set up by a French priest called Victor Jouet.  The priest collected relics.. proof left behind by the holy souls of Purgatory.  Finger prints burned into a prayer book, a handprint burned into a table, Similar marks on shirt sleeves, an apron, a night cap.  And all investigated thoroughly by critical personages.  You can read more here.

Face Burned Into The Wood

Relics Preserved In Glass Cases

As I read the book, I felt very moved at the information shared by people, who on the whole were reluctant at first to believe what they were experiencing.  After that, they were reluctant to share with others, for fear of being ridiculed or denounced as liars.  But how on earth would one explain a burn bad enough to sear the flesh down to the bone?  This was experienced by a lady who was visited by her lover on the same night as his death.  He came to tell her that there WAS a purgatory.

But as I read the book, and learned of the purgatory revealed to St Catherine of Genoa, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina and many others, this is what I understood.

Purgatory is a place of purification.  After death, souls will spiral towards a bright beautiful light (a Centre) from which they will feel an all-consuming desire to go to and to belong to.  But then they will sink down into the Purification.  This will happen according to their will for they will feel their unworthiness, their uncleanness to be with the magnificence of God and they WANT to be cleansed of the rust of sin.

The first phase of purification involves flames of cleansing.  One soul showed to his daughter (a nun) a cistern of smoke and flames.  From where he stood near the wll, the nun could feel the pain and overwhelming heat of the flames.  But after masses and Stations of the Cross offered for him, the soul was delivered.

Some souls were delivered from the flames to a place of contentment and peace, but not yet in Heaven.  They were still in Purgatory.  This depends on the sins borne by the souls.  But these souls still feel torment... the torment of longing to be with God that is like a physical pain.

There was even a soul of a man who lived his life far from God but he was saved from hell by the goodness and faith of his wife.  This gives hope to those of us who worry about loved ones.

These souls say that if only the living understand how terrible it is to be in Purgatory, the living would do all things possible NOT to sin.  They would do anything to expiate for their sins on earth.  For a moment on earth is an eternity in Purgatory.  The soul who beseeeched his daughter for help told her that he had been in Purgatory for six years when in fact, he had only died barely three months ago. 

Oh read this book if you can.  I promise you it will touch you and will change the way you think and the way you live.

Postscript :
On the 29th of May 2012, I visited this museum.

The Divine Mercy Chaplet In Action!

My sister is attending a course that may decide her future... but it all depends on her performance in four assessments.  Truth be told, she didn't fare very well in her interview.  Especially in the part where she was supposed to show how she'd sell certain products.  I found this very perplexing as my sister has the so-called gift of the gab.  She can talk and talk and talk.  Plus she'd sold software for an ICT company and also homes for a property developer.  It didn't make sense that she couldn't even do a demo on selling a product.  Interview nervousness?  Perhaps.

Anyway, I asked my mum to tell me the times of her assessments.  The first one was yesterday (Friday).  During the time of her assessment, I was in a car and did one cycle of the Chaplet.  Well, at least that was what I planned to do.  I planned to do a cycle as I picked my little niece up from playschool and brought her home.   The process was supposed to take only about 15 minutes.  However, traffic was extra bad and instead of 15 minutes, it took me more than an hour.  Somehow or other, I ended up doing uncounted cycles in the space of an hour plus.

Later when I called to check on her,  I heard that she did so well, she was held up as an example to the others.  She told me that she felt light and confident.  Unlike her experience during the interview.  By right, if she truly had a problem with nerves, she would've performed worse in front of an audience than in front of a single interviewer. 

I firmly believe that the chaplet helped in keeping her mind clear and her delivery focused.  She's got three more assessments to get through. So I will be doing the chaplet again.

Some may scoff and shake their heads... but please don't do it in front of me.  For I will pity your lack of faith in God.  Well, who knows... if I pity you enough, I'll add you to my list of people to pray for.  LOL.  That can be scary.

Let me explain why I use the word 'scary'.

Previously I mentioned a friend who had a problem with a jealous colleague.  Well, let me tell you the ending to that story.  Over months, that colleague tried to undermine the bosses' belief in her integrity and performance in the office.  She actually fell ill under all the stress and tension.  She suspected him of being the one behind a poison letter that led to an investigation of her office.  All the while, another friend had been counselling her to 'radiate loving kindness.'  In the beginning, she would just shake her head and say,"I can't.  I just can't."  But towards the end, she just caved in under all the pain and just offered all her sufferings up to God.  Let it be.  Thy will be done.  AND she began praying the Divine Mercy chaplet for that colleague.  I was so happy that she had made the journey from anger to forgiveness. 

And you know what?  The man fell sick.  The day she began praying for him, he fell ill and took three days off. 

Well, she was only human, so she doubled her prayers for him.  LOL.

After that, things turned around for her in the office.  The people who supported this man began deserting him.  The investigation turned up many great things that made her star shine even more, while it made him and his cronies look execrably bad.  He was so busy plotting that he neglected to do his job properly.  Stupid man.  Didn't he realise that a poison pen letter would spark off an investigation?  Now he just sits in the office, more alone than ever and gives her perplexed looks.
What I found interesting was that in the beginning, when he was using magic and she responded with prayers, he was informed by his witch doctor that her witch doctor was really powerful.  That was when he stepped up the hostilities.  HOWEVER, the only 'witch doctor' she had was God.

How did she know all this, you may ask?  Well, when rats abandon a sinking ship, they open their mouths really wide.

What I learned from her sharing is that when we call upon God to help us, He responds.  Otherwise what 'presence' was that, that the witch doctor detected??

The further I go on this journey, the more evidence I uncover about how much God loves us and wants to protect us.  So when I come upon a person who questions the existence of God, I really feel sad at the lack of glory in his or her life.

E, S, Z : As I type this, my chest is hurting.

My Experience With The Divine Mercy Chaplet

I'd known about the Divine Mercy Chaplet for a while now... and most especially after Bro. Stanley Villavicencio's visit but I never really put it into practice until recently.

A month ago, an old friend (a member of the local Divine Mercy Apostolate) sent a strange sms.  Without any preliminaries whatsoever, she asked me to please do a 9-day Divine Mercy novena at 3 a.m. and the 3 o'clock prayer & chaplet if possible.  She urged me to get my whole family (also my sister-in-law's family) to do it.  She specified praying for the breaking of ancestral bondage, conversion of family members, spiritual and physical healing of every member of our families.

My reaction was 'Wow.'  It seemed a bit strong.  I looked around me.. things seemed okay at home.  Well, one family member was facing a bit of a hard time at work and in her personal life.

So, at first, I didn't start straightaway.  A day later, I began.  I already had this Virtual Chaplet tool on my notebook so it wasn't a difficult thing to do.  Then when I mentioned this to my relative, she told me that she had issues with God & religion.  I also felt as if she had a spirit of failure hanging onto her life.  Nothing in her life seemed to be working or improving.  So I recommended that she go for confession.  But she didn't look enthusiastic.

By the third day of my novena (this relative didn't know I was doing it), she suddenly mentioned that she wanted to go for confession.  Oh joy!  I was so happy!  So far she hasn't gone yet but at least the thought had come to her. 

Strangely on the ninth day of my novena, I woke up around midnight and couldn't go to sleep.  So I read a book until 3 a.m.  When I realised the time, I remembered how The Lord Jesus promised St Faustina Kowalska regarding the time 3 o'clock :  "In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world – mercy triumphed over justice" (Diary, 1572) 

I thought that there was a reason I couldn't sleep till 3 a.m. for I didn't have the intention to stay awake till then.  And so I finished my novena at 3 a.m. on the ninth day.

By then, I had gotten used to the chaplet.  It is remarkably soothing and comforting to recite.  The Divine Mercy Chaplet audio I had is also very beautiful to listen to.  The very next day, some trouble resurfaced in that relative's life.  So I decided to do another novena.  I am now in the fifth day of that second novena and I am beginning to truly believe that there is a unseen struggle going on in that relative's life.   Yesterday, I made the resolution to take her for confession at 3pm.  But just as she walked in through the gates at 2.50p.m., a headache I'd been nursing spiked so badly I could barely walk.  I took a pill and went to sleep.  By the time I awoke at 6p.m., the time for confession was past.

I will continue saying this chaplet for her sake until she goes for confession.  I truly believe that confession is exorcism of the soul.  May God grant my wish.

Latest Update :
Today is 10 Feb 2011.  I finished the second novena..at EXACTLY 3pm.  And this wasn't by design.  So that makes the second novena that finished at that special hour.  Coincidence?  Well, I stopped believing in coincidences about two years ago.  AND today is also the day I got some insight into the possible source of this relative's problems. 

So I am starting another novena.  I will do this until she is back on her feet.  They say that persistence gets prayers answered :)

I'm getting questions answered too... as I move from novena to novena.

Revelations Revelations Revelations

Just an hour into surfing the net, I found myself with almost twenty opened tabs of different revelations.  This also included their supporters and detractors.  I even found a list of 'true' and 'false' private revelations compiled by Ron Conte, the administrator of the Catholic Planet forum. Ron Conte lists Stanley Villavicencio (who I have blogged about) as false.

Most confusing.  And frustrating.

But why am I so surprised? 

Matthew 7:15 (King James Version)¹⁵Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Matthew 24:11 (KJV)
¹¹And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

1 Timothy 4 (KJV)
¹Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

So now what am I to do?  What am I to believe in?  WHO am I to believe in?

The answer is very simple.  Ask a question and answer it..LOL.I will believe in God.

He speaks to us all and has been speaking to us all via his prophets... His words are all in the Bible. Not that I will confine myself purely to the Bible.

Difficult to verbalise... but most reasonable people will know what to do.  If I come across any claims of private revelation, I will consider what is said very carefully.  And I will also consider its effect on me.

Back to Stanley Villavicencio.  He was asked how to tell a false prophet from a true one.  He replied,"By the fruits."  I like that answer very much.  If the effect of a revelation on me is of fervent piety and more attention to my spiritual life, then I will focus on the effect.  People can say whatever they want...what matters is our reaction to it.

Sometimes we need to make our own decisions.  After all, jewels come from the darkest of places.  Didn't 'Amazing Grace' come from a convict?