Chapter 1 : Be prepared
The walls of old Jerusalem stand the test of time. Their job was to be a sign of defence.
For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? (1 Corinthians 14:8)
When Rome occupied Israel, it wasn't uncommon to find a walled city. In fact, walled cities were common in Europe even to recent times. One of the features that made city boundary walls so effective was the sentry who stood at the top of the wall and had some sort of signalling method like a horn or trumpet. When it was sounded in a particular way, the people knew either an enemy or a friendly force was approaching. Israel, being a nation of warring tribes, would have assumed some sort of defensive formation using their military force within their cities, like Jerusalem, to be prepared for an impending attack.
In times of peace and calm, however, a trumpet blast would be something out of the ordinary, something uncertain. This Bible verse is asking us something. When we hear that blast of the horn during peacetime, what do we do?
Preparation is key. We don't know when the enemy will storm the gates of our city—meaning our hearts or our minds. We may have some warning, or we may not.
When the trumpet sounds, what then? Women and children aren't built for the fight. Men, as the heads of your households, responsible for the women and children in your home, you are built for the fight. When demons try to get in, when sin comes creeping under the door, who will battle it?
To defend ourselves in this spiritual war, we turn to the faith. Christ left us tools so we can take hold of our salvation. We, as students, are left tools by our instructors to use when we are on our own and are required to act.
The martial science practitioner understands this only too well. We want to have training up our sleeve, not just for a sporting fight where the environment is controlled. Our training is our insurance system. We hold it close because we just don't know the enemy will come knocking and as practitioners of self protection, we’re ready for the time we hope will never come
We can either let our enemy come into our city and burn it to the ground, or we can take up our defences and ensure the city stands despite the attack. Part of living this life is dealing with the enemy. We need to be trained enough to identify what this enemy is, before the enemy attacks, and we also need to be trained to deal with the enemy when it’s inside. We are not living in a controlled environment where the time is up for that round and we take a break or just go home. We will always be attacked and the playing field is never fair. I believe what makes an enemy formidable is one that doesn’t let on that they’re dangerous, or that they’re not a threat. The enemy I’m talking about is the devil. The devil doesn’t want you to think of him as a threat. He wants you to think he doesn’t exist and he’s a made up fairy tale to scare these idiot Catholics into dumping hundreds of dollars into the collection plates at church. Could anything be further from the truth?
So what does satan look like? The prince of darkness looks like the wickedness in our world today. Those who actively, continually, and deliberately, go against the laws of God. Those who think they are gods, and those who enjoy the suffering of others who are weak and helpless. For me personally, I would see satan as the person who wants to see me destroyed. I see the devil in people who don’t want what’s best for others and goes out of their way to inflict misery onto people violently or not.
As men, the head of the house hold, we need to get onto what's happening, for our city (household, and even ourselves as cities) is in the middle of a war zone. The choice is ours to survive or perish. Preparation will ensure our survival and that of the family for which we are responsible. Being prepared spiritually to guard our homes is of vital importance to us as heads of households. The right types of armaments we need to have in our homes are of a spiritual nature. But also physical things are needed to.
I believe every Catholic home needs to have the following:
At least one crucifix in the living room and another facing the entrances to the home
A statue or painting of the Holy Family
A statue or painting of Our Lady
A small vial of Holy Water or Epiphany water
A scapular for each member of the family
At least one picture of your patron saint
A childrens and an adults bible
Rosary beads for children and adults
You may believe it to have more or less than these, but this is what I believe needs to be in the home. I also believe that the home should be blessed by a Catholic priest from the parish you live in. The bible should be read as a family, even if children are small and can’t even talk yet. A very good friend of mine, Father John, told me that the Book of Luke needs to be read every day during my wife’s pregnancy as well as a rosary said together. Every time this happened, the baby would kick.
Even those in martial arts known there’s certain things that need to be kept in the home, like handbooks for training, home training equipment, training or even live weapons. The contrast between certain martial systems and Catholicism is apparent. For some people, a martial art is a belief system, and because of that certain things are needed in the house. For example, certain foods needed for adequate training. Students of martial arts need clean food for good training, and when Catholic’s adhere to Lent, fish is usually consumed more frequently.
So that’s what I believe should be in the house as weapons against the unholy, but what about what should be kept out of the house?
Anything related to the occult like tarot cards or ouija boards or voodoo dolls. Anything that gives praise to the devil or glorifies evil. That includes pornographic material. Think of this question “If God visited for a coffee and had a look around my house, would he be happy with what he saw?”. If the answer is no, then it has to go.
Like any walled city of ancient times, spies would sometimes be planted to attack from the inside and open the gates when the enemy approached. Would we risk our homes to be attacked from the inside when we go to so much effort to keep it safe? Things like crystal balls are just that. Spies able to open a gate for their own evil companions to come in to the city to wreak havoc. A Buhddist friend of mine, who told me that tarot cards were not considered irrelevant to their beliefs, said there was a time where she sat down to have her fortune told by a tarot card reader. She said that despite her not being a Catholic, she felt the dark presence at that time her cards were placed in front of her, even though the fortune teller said all positive things about her future. She said she was overwhelmed with sadness and fear for weeks after that event and vowed never to touch them again. For a buhddist to tell me that, and for someone who isn’t Catholic to acknowledge this, then surely there’s some weight to the Holy See’s ruling on the occult devices such as tarot cards.
I know teachers of martial arts who fill their home with weapons, like knives and blades and have them hidden around their home. They are of the belief they’re preparing for an invading force, should it happen. While I don’t necessarily agree with it from a practical standpoint, the idea behind it is sound. They are preparing for the worst to happen to their “city”. They know the sound of the trumpet and what it means. They have a degree of training which enables them to be ready for an invading force.
I don’t believe you should have to live in fear of an attack that will never come, but I do believe in being prepared. Spiritually and physically. One cannot work well without the other.
Action plan for Catholic Conquerors: Meditate on 2 Kings 19:34 and...
1 Be aware of your actions and thoughts. When you find yourself thinking about evil thoughts, you need to stop and take