Because I gave Immaculate Mary carte blanche through total consecration in 1983, Our Lady placed me on an unexpected spiritual journey which I have gradually come to understand was designed to help millions of sincere Catholics become saints—and ultimately, make America the most Catholic nation on earth.
I like to think of her plan in terms of progressive steps. These steps are simple yet difficult initially because they require the cultivation of new spiritual habits, which is a kind of death—also known as mortification. No sane person enjoys mortification, but everyone enjoys the new good habit which “rises” from the dead. And on other hand, not being a saint is a miserable way to live because it is marked by chronic spiritual pain.
So let’s begin.
Step One
Reject the “No Sanctity for Me” heresy.
This tricky heresy comes in various forms. We give up trying to be a saint—before applying any normal human effort—because we falsely believe it is not necessary and, on some level, do not want to make the effort.
I gave up on becoming a saint as soon as I was seriously introduced to its necessity when I was seventeen years old. I have finished jigsaw puzzles with more effort than I ever put into trying to become a saint. I have paid more attention during hours of televised sporting events than I ever paid attention during minutes of prayer.
I also kept putting off living a holy life until “someday,” which didn’t turn into “today” for decades. Decades. Can you relate? I am not trying to run myself or you down. But imagine “someday” beginning today, because anyone can be a St. Francis of Assisi or Mother Teresa in their own way.
I imagine you—yes, you—with the divine light of the Holy Spirit flowing out of your eyes, impacting everyone in your life. Do you believe this is possible?
Nod yes. Say yes. Reject the heresy.
I had embraced this No Sanctity for Me heresy fully, rationalizing that it was “enough” to believe what the Church teaches, act upon my God-given desire to help everyone go to Heaven, and undertake otherwise wonderful Catholic things, such as praying the Rosary, frequenting Confession, and attending daily Mass.
Nope—holding orthodox beliefs did not make me holy, as much as I relish doing so, even though it is usually a starting point for holiness.
So, reject the No Sanctity for Me heresy as the pathetic, satanic excuse it is, shake the dust off your feet, and move on to Step Two, which makes everything so much easier.
Step Two
Free yourself from unnecessary demonic influence with the daily Three Angelus Cure and the Auxilium Christianorum exorcism prayers.
Given the utterly diabolical era we live in, most of us have been unknowingly hamstrung by demonic slavery to serious and venal sin, typically for years or decades. Confession. No progress. Confession. No progress. Repeat.
Great news! We can dispatch with almost all diabolically-caused temptation with two simple daily devotions. I explain the amazing Three Angelus Cure that Fr. Chad Ripperger personally taught me here. His Auxilium Christianorum exorcism prayers for the laity are in the Daily Prayers to Save America.
It’s been less than three years since I began doing both every day. Everything Fr. Chad promised came true for me. It came true for my friends. It came true for countless people who have since discovered them through the Mary Foundation.
Merely restating the eternally infallible teachings of Christ and His Church, Fr. Ripperger assures us that we can live life free from serious sin and most venial sin. So be ruthless and confident in allowing God to take away undue demonic influence.
The Three Angelus Cure and Auxilium Christianorum prayers don’t really require much effort, especially if you already set aside time for prayer each day.
Promise yourself this gift of freedom. Be generous with yourself through these devotions. Be your true self, like a child. You deserve to be delivered from evil, which you have asked for with every Our Father since childhood. Ask, and you shall receive…
…divine mystical life, all day, which is what saints crave and enjoy.
These devotions do not get rid of all temptation or nullify the darkened minds and disordered desires we inherited through Original Sin, but they certainly help, and there are many stories of success.
Step Three
Pray the De Sales way, and God will do the rest.
During the release of our new book, How to Pray, I shared how Fr. Ripperger teaches that most otherwise good-hearted Catholics open a “gate” through which the evil one enters their lives, homes, and families by neglecting meditative prayer as the non-negotiable first thing they do every morning.
There are two essential elements. First, one must commit deeply to beginning every day with prayer. Second, it must be meditative prayer.
(Please take a moment to note your internal emotional reaction to Father’s recommendation. Was it positive or negative? Weak or strong? Now pray: Dear Jesus, I trust in you, guide me. Amen.)
When asked how to learn meditative prayer, Fr. Ripperger always recommends St. Francis de Sales as the best teacher. So, we published it. How to Pray is only 37 pages. It takes just a few weeks to become comfortable with this brilliant saint’s simple methods.
St. Francis describes meditative prayer as “focusing on the life and passion of Our Lord. By meditating on Him often your whole soul will soon be filled with Him, you will learn His attitudes, and you will model His ways.” Short, meditative prayer allows Jesus Christ Himself to become your teacher in the school of holiness, so you can be Christ in the world.
Fr. Ripperger often notes that most people refuse to attempt to build the habit of meditative prayer because it requires mortification to concentrate and avoid distraction, especially early on. I put it this way: the evil one will tolerate just about any other Catholic devotion as long as it is not beginning your day “the de Sales” way, with meditative prayer focused on Christ Himself.
Of course, this does not mean that you have to stop doing any of your other devotions: the Rosary, adoration, daily Mass, and so on. In fact, you’ll find that you will pray all these with greater fervor as you develop the focus required for meditative prayer.
The brilliance of St. Francis de Sales is the four practices he will teach you to extend your mystical state into the entirety of your day. The “resolutions” you’re taught to make as the crowning purpose of meditative prayer are life changing. Making 365 specific daily resolutions a year, guided by Jesus Himself, is how God makes you a saint.
God really does do the rest.
Get Started
- Commit to being a saint today.
- Secure your freedom from demonic influence.
- Begin each day with meditative prayer to learn from Jesus and carry out His resolutions to form you into a saint.
This all assumes that you otherwise live a normal Catholic sacramental life—attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation while keeping the fasting and tithing laws of the Church.
Finally, I am excited to extend the 100% guarantee because it is from Christ. He is divine. Everything Jesus does is perfect. It is He who makes you a saint. “For man, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Mt. 19:26).
Ask every morning, and you will receive. In fact, join me tomorrow morning, if you’re not there already!
Author’s Note: We all know our prayer has never been as good as it should be—and for many of us, it is barely any good at all. We want to experience the presence of God and have it flow into the rest of our day, yet this rarely happens. How to Pray by St. Francis de Sales will quickly change all of that beyond your most optimistic expectations—and will do it quickly. It will transform your entire life as it has done for hundreds of millions of Christians over the past four centuries. Order for $1 here!
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Catholicity.com, January 30, 2025. Adapted and reprinted with kind permission.
Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash
