Satan and the Saints

By Rita Kelly

This book is a true account of the author's witness of her father's miraculous conversion from atheism to Catholicism at age seventy-eight and the Satanic repercussions that occurred as a result. This is a must-read for all who think that God is dead or that miracles don't happen. With this book, the author is finally fulfilling her father's request to write of his conversion experience and to title it Satan and the Saint.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781684561643

Book preview

Satan and the Saints

A True Testimony of Spiritual Warfare

From the Memoirs of

Rita Kelly

Copyright © 2019 Rita Kelly

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

New York, NY

First originally published by Page Publishing, Inc. 2019

ISBN 978-1-68456-163-6 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68456-164-3 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Author’s Prologue

Iregret that I did not write this book fifty-seven years ago when my dad was miraculously converted from atheism to Catholicism by a sovereign act of God. He told me I should write a book and call it Satan and the Saint , which I finally did with the help of my spiritual director, an acquaintance author Rebecca Lomas and others.

It seemed somewhat miraculous that Rebecca Lomas called me in June 2014, and offered to help me review my written work and compile this book. She had written a couple of books herself, Rising above Pornography and Beyond Atheism, so she had experience. She also offered to do it pro bono since we agreed that any profit from this book would go to charity. After all, the Lord did it, so why should I profit from it?

Rebecca was most generous with her time, talent, and treasure. I had only met Rebecca about four times over a ten-year period. She and her husband, being Benedictine lay oblates, were chosen to be delegates to a Benedictine Oblate World Congress at the Vatican in 2004.

Other names for this book might be more appropriate, such as The Miracle of the Two Crosses or Spiritual Warfare in the Twentieth Century. However, I felt that I should use Dad’s suggestion. Dad died in 1970, eight years after his baptism. I have added an s to the word Saint in the title, making it plural, since our family had discernment that Dad also is a saint.

Another reason that I procrastinated is that I did not think people would believe this testimony unless they really knew about the situation or me, since it includes many miracles. Therefore, certain friends and priests have provided authenticity.

In His merciful love,

Rita M. Kelly

February 21, 2015

To Satan and the Saints readers:

I have known Rita Kelly for over ten years and believe she is relating this situation as factual as possible. She is very reliable and authentic.

She prays with me whenever I call for intercessory prayer and I always receive relief.

Sincerely,

Aida Erle

Harlingen, Texas

February 19, 2015

Mrs. Rita Kelly has been my best friend since 1998. She possesses many characteristics that I admire. She is kind and makes friends easily. Her word is her bond. She has lived honorably, always striving to do the right thing, and she does the best at all times. She never cuts corners and always puts her own ambitions aside, putting the needs of others ahead of herself. Most especially, she never lies.

Her memories are one hundred percent true. I know this for certain. Rita Kelly is the person that I admire and respect more than anyone else in my life.

Respectfully yours,

Eva P. Crane

La Feria, Texas

June 24, 2015

To whom it may concern:

Mrs. Rita Kelly and I have known each other since July 1997, when I was assigned as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Harlingen, Texas. While I was there, Rita and husband Vincent were very generous parishioners and were very active in the pro-life movement. After I left the parish in 2002, we continued to keep in touch with each other on occasion. Whatever Rita writes I would consider as authentic.

Sincerely,

Rev. Craig G. Carolan

Diocese of Brownsville, Texas

March 14, 2015

To whom it may concern:

I have known Mrs. Rita Kelly of Harlingen, Texas, for the past seventeen years or so. I can attest that Mrs. Kelly is a very honest person and a very good and faithful Catholic Christian. I don’t believe that she would make up any story or exaggerate the truth in any way. On the contrary, I believe that she is very diligent to the need to always be completely truthful and to obey all of God’s commandments, including the commandment on not bearing false witness. She values the Sacrament of Confession, and I believe she is very careful to avoid sin. So while only God knows all, I would believe Mrs. Kelly’s account as truthful until proven otherwise.

Sincerely,

Michael Swartz

Harlingen, Texas

May 28, 2015

Regarding Mrs. Rita Kelly

My memories of a devoted Catholic couple:

After coming back from Ecuador, I spent twelve years at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Harlingen, Texas. During almost all of that time, Mrs. Kelly and her husband were among our most active and devoted parishioners. As very well-educated Catholics, they did not restrict their zeal for just one small community but had a lively interest in all the parishes of the diocese and even beyond.

Mrs. Kelly was especially devoted to the defense of the Catholic Church’s teaching on faith and morality. They represented our parish on the Diocesan Pro-Life Committee for several years. She wrote frequently to the local newspapers very articulate and well researched articles especially on pro-life issues. I as well as, I’m sure, other priests have appreciated and saved these articles as important references on the most important moral problems of our times.

One thing for which I am especially grateful was their volunteering to assist in Catholic ministry to young people in the Juvenile Detention Center in San Benito, Texas. This they did for several years even during the period of Mr. Kelly’s critical illness. Such a generous and courageous couple who ignored many setbacks in their love for the Lord and His church cannot be forgotten.

Reverend Matt. Shanley, SSCC

May 14, 2015

To whom it may concern:

I, Reverend Rodolfo Franco, pastor at St. Francis Xavier Church in La Feria, Texas, write this letter on behalf of Mrs. Rita Kelly, a parishioner of this parish.

I have known Mrs. Kelly for the past two years. I can attest:

that she is a person of good moral character, a prayerful person, generous, and with very high Christian values open to helping those around her;

that in her writings, her intention is to help others realize how in simple things God reveals his love, his grace, and his mercy; and

how in her own personal events she encourages us to have our own experiences to the point that God’s joy is revealed in a very special way, therefore allowing the reader to have his or her own personal encounter with God’s love, grace, and mercy.

Sincerely,

Rev. Rodolfo Franco, pastor

Introduction

Some authors write science fiction or nonfiction stories about wizards, werewolves, witches, and aliens from outer space. Their extraterrestrials and other fictitious characters do magical, eerie, and extraordinary feats. As for me, I prefer to write about spiritual events, just as these events miraculously unfolded before my eyes.

I never thought that I would witness or experience a miracle unless I went to a religious place or shrine where these things were said to sometimes occur. The miracles in my surroundings were preceded by a long period of deep repentance and sorrow on my part for having offended God.

At a particular time in my life, I made a general confession to a priest. One could say that this was the defining moment when I truly surrendered to God. How I wished then that I could have lived my life over again without ever having offended God. This overcoming sensation of regret can happen to anyone.

I later told another priest, who was just a visitor, about my feeling of deep regret. What he told me surprised me. He candidly told me that I would be deeply blessed in the future. I pondered periodically about his unexpected words to me. While his remark sounded rather prophetic to me, it seemed doubtful at the same time.

Many people believe that heaven is real. We would all like to believe that there really is such a place of eternal happiness. But many people today do not believe that there is a devil (Satan) or a hell or anything to fear. Their main line of reasoning for saying this is to profess that God is all merciful.

Yes, God is merciful, but in this book, you will learn that hell and Satan are also real. Just as I thought that I would never witness a miracle, I never imagined that I would also witness satanic incidents around me.

Thus, the testimony that follows includes spiritual warfare—a struggle between good and evil. Such an account of opposing forces, however, is not a cause for apprehension. The reader can be assured that such an exposure would not make one susceptible to satanic influences or activities. I truly believe that the incidents were meant to impart knowledge of the reality of evil and how to protect oneself against it.

Although God is loving and merciful, God is also a just God. There exists a matter of atonement and justification. And all we need to do is to look around us to see that evil, in fact, does exist. The pain that results from harmful actions is evidence of the existence of evil.

We are living in an age that increasingly focuses on actions that are contrary to God’s natural laws of love and life. The secular world promotes materialism, inordinate pleasure, self-gratification, pornography, abortion, and other abuses that are so prevalent today. The breakdown of the family unit is rampant. And in all our distractions and in leading very busy lives, there is less time to pay our dues to God—many times even missing an hour of worship per week.

This reality of both good and evil is not reason to give up hope or to submit to a loss of faith. The good news is that God is, and can be, a real presence in our lives. After seeing the miracles that happened in my own surroundings, I have deep faith in the existence of God.

I trust that the readers of this testimony will be blessed, as I myself have been blessed by having witnessed these miracles. In sharing this account, my hope is that God may shower you with His choicest blessings.

Several years ago, when my husband, Vince, and I gave this testimony at the retreat house in San Juan, Texas, I was told that three people in the audience had been healed. It was not us, though, who did the healing. It was the dear Lord, the divine physician, who did the healing.

I realize that the account may be rather hard to believe or to accept. After all, the testimony itself is somewhat involved and concerns several people—mainly loved ones, in addition to the miraculous events themselves. Yet, how could anyone as simple as I have a story come together in the way that it did?

To help you in this regard, I invite you to read on, hoping that the miracles that God deemed to send to our family will continue to impart the graces that He intended.

I grew up in a family where a spiritual struggle existed. With my own eyes, I saw two opposing forces married to each other, in the name of being a family. One spouse believed in God; the other did not.

My mother believed both in God and Satan. My father was an atheist who admitted he did not have the gift of faith. This is the story of my observation and experience of living within such a family struggle, where God and Satan made their presence known in various ways throughout the years.

If you have either a fear of God or of Satan, it is perfectly all right to have a holy fear of God. If we are afraid of Satan, that is understandable too. We should be afraid of Satan, and we can confidently move to do something within our power to counterattack the Evil One, especially through prayer and holy water. Prayer is a definite part of the power of God.

I share this story as a testament to the power of good over evil. I loved both of my parents dearly. I had much for which to be thankful, but I also loved God and I knew that something was wrong. My father was not a religious person and was eventually a hostage of Satan.

Any reference to Satan in this book is true and real, as it played out in my father’s life. This book, however, is not a satanic book. On the contrary, it is about the power of good over evil. All facts are related as true as humanly possible. I surely would not deceive my readers. Lord, help me in this important endeavor!

My parents’ lives were intertwined with mine, and so I give accounts of my own life story in relation to my parents’ lives. We begin with their reason for coming together in the first place.

In His merciful love,

Rita M. Kelly

As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

—Joshua 12:15

All biblical quotes in this text are taken from The New American Bible, copyright 1987 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

In the Beginning

One would think that with a succession of romantic love over the centuries, people would have learned from experience to marry others of like minds and values.

While we do hear that opposites attract each other, we also hear that marriages of unlike minds and values tend to end up, sometimes quickly, in irreconcilable differences. But as fate or luck would have it—whichever you happen to believe—such is not always the case. While a person can be firmly rooted in a set of personal beliefs or values, they