On the very morning of the passing of one of my favorite artists, Amy Winehouse, I felt the need to pray for Lost Souls with such force that I wondered where it came from.  It was as if the Holy Spirit was impressing upon me the need to “pray without ceasing” and to do so immediately. No sooner had I checked my phone, that I realized I had a text telling me she had been found dead.  Now, I didn’t know Amy personally, of course, but nevertheless as a Christian/Catholic and as a fellow former tortured soul, I felt a certain kinship to her.  In fact, some of the headlines have read how much Ms. Amy suffered from her own demons and how she struggled with a drug addiction and eating disorder.  The secular media throws words around like demons, as if its just an idea and not a reality.  We are lead to believe that such things don’t exist. There continues to be speculation about just how she died, yet, no one is really surprised.  She lead a roller coaster life.  And she lead it in public. She became yet another promising young artist who died well before their time and she has drawn attention to just how someone who seemingly has it all can be lead to a life of disarray so as to leave this earth with questions unanswered. 

So, why do we care? It’s just another tortured artist, right? What are we as Christians if we care only for those who live the straight and narrow path? Didn’t Jesus come to save the sinner not the righteous? As soldiers in the army of God, we are to fight! Are weapons are not those of metal and copper but in prayer and sacrifice and the Word of God. The power of prayer is so underrated in our society, for if we truly utilized this gift it would transform the world! Sacrifice or Penance is so liberating that if we were all to give up something each day it would result in untold grace upon the world that you wouldn’t recognize it anymore.  The Word of God is like a knife to the evil one that he recoils such that if we knew it better and could treat it as a trusted loved one that it would result in such a breakdown of the veil of deceit that plagues our world we would be shocked. 

Given the power in these spiritual tools is it any wonder that such treasures are mocked or ignored or banned in some countries and secular establishments. If these weapons of war( spiritual war) work to our benefit, how much more will they do so for those whom we pray for, especially those farthest away from God.  Souls like Amy need our prayers. Even more so in life than in death. I wasn’t always such a die-hard, bible thumping, Jesus Freak…I have to believe that someone was praying for me when I was farthest away from God and helped to bring me back to the fold. It is said that Jesus once said that Heaven rejoices when just one sinner returns to the fold.  We owe it to our fellow brothers and sisters to work hard for their salvation, especially those who can’t or don’t know how to do it for themselves.  God Bless you all! Shalom! :)