Ed. Note: This was a mass that Fr. Mon celebrated during one of his trips to Israel, at the famed Monastery of Stella Maris on Mount Carmel in Haifa

In the world that we live in there is the seen and there is the unseen. This is professed by our faith. In the unseen, there is good and there is evil. St. Paul reminds us that good and evil are constantly in battle. It is the spiritual warfare. Even fact, St Paul says, the battle is against “principalities.”

In this very place, there was once a battle of 440 prophets of Baal versus Elijah – who had the true God. Let us remember that these prophets had dealt with spirits who they say were from Baal. They do have powers, real powers. Their numbers will not grow if they have not seen and not experienced these powers. Something like an authentic healer, fortune teller, water diviner, or anyone who is into the occult. Their powers are real but it does not come from God.

From this place, three things we can learn from Spiritual Warfare: 

1. Aside from temptation, evil enters into our lives through
   • Obsession: bad things go through our minds
   • Oppression: bad things happen that are so hard to explain
   • Possession: the spirit takes over our body
   • Hauntings: the spirit infests a place, home, or objects
     
2. Have nothing to do with the occult. All it needs is for the spirits to be invited and they take that invitation seriously. A simple Ouija board looks benign, but the spirits grab the opportunity once it is conjured. 
   
3. Their powers are real and powerful. People whose third eye is open can see and hear spirits; a fortune teller is guided by a spirit in studying the future; a healer is guided by a spirit in healing. The spirits will give you power and money, but it is always the soul that is sacrificed. 

This Mass is being celebrated at the Chapel of our Lady of Mount Carmel. If there is one person whom the devil fears, it is none other than Mother Mary. Remember when Adam and Eve sinned, the very first promise is the Messiah. In Genesis, God told the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel.” 

Why is the devil so afraid and angry at Mother Mary? The devil was an angel brought down because it wanted to exult itself. On the other hand, Mother Mary was a humble woman exulted by God – “All generations will call you blessed.”

Hence, here are Mount Carmel, always wear the Brown Scapular with devotion for Mother Mary’s maternal protection and intercession.