All our children are in this: Angelic Warfare Confraternity

While the chastity of our children is under intense attack from the world outside our homes, can you imagine a young man’s own family intentionally aiming to destroy his chastity as a way to pull him away from God?

Yes, this actually occurred. But the outcome was quite the opposite of the intention when this boy’s response called down angels from heaven to protect his chastity for the rest of his life. It also resulted in a powerful association which can safeguard your sons (and daughters) today.

He was the youngest son of an affluent family. His parents wanted him to become a Benedictine monk, and although in his teen years their son shared this interest in religious life of chastity and obedience, he wanted to join a different order. His parents were enraged when they discovered that he had pursued this interest and actually joined this other order. The disagreement escalated until they had him forcibly jailed by his own brothers in one of the family homes. They would not release him until he relented and attempted many times to persuade him to change his mind. For a full year he refused to relent. Finally, tired of waiting, the brothers conceived one last plan: break his vow of chastity, which they hoped would drive him to abandon all plans for a religious vocation.

So one night, the brothers introduced a scantily clad prostitute into the room where the youngest was being held. Immediately, however, the prisoner snatched a burning log from the hearth, drove the woman out of the room, slammed the door behind her, and emblazoned the sign of the cross on the door with the red-hot brand. He then fell to his knees with tears of thanksgiving and prayed to be preserved in his chastity, purity, and intention to live the religious life.

According to the records of his canonization, he fell at once into a mystical sleep and had a vision. Two angels came to him from heaven and bound a cord around his waist, saying, “On God’s behalf, we gird you with the girdle of chastity, a girdle which no attack will ever destroy.” The angels’ gift preserved him from sexual temptation and bestowed upon him an enduring purity that ennobled all his thoughts and actions thereafter. His family relented and released him from their makeshift prison. He remained in the Dominican Order Pope Pius XI wrote: “If St. Thomas had not been victorious when his chastity was in peril, it is very probable that the Church would never have had her Angelic Doctor.”

Over his lifetime, St. Thomas’s conduct revealed that he had indeed received a special grace of chastity and purity – a grace that he is now ready to share with others through the communion of saints.

When was the Confraternity founded?

After the death of St. Thomas Aquinas the cord of purity which he had worn was preserved by the brethren and made available for public veneration in the italian city of Vercelli (though today it resides in the Dominican Church in the town of Chieri, outside of Turin, Italy). Long before the confraternity was officially established, it seems that people began to visit the cord of St. Thomas and to pray for purity. It seems that many would have cords touched to the relic and would wear them, hoping that the prayers of this most pure saint would aid them in the struggle for chastity.

Most people consider Fr. Francis Duerwerders, OP, to be the first one to organize the devotion as it comes to us today. He established it as a confraternity at the Catholic University in Louvain, Belgium, in the middle of the 17^th century.

The Confraternity began to grow in different parts of Europe and was officially founded for the whole Church in AD 1727 by Pope Benedict XII. It is one of the three ancient Confraternities of the Dominican Order.

Have any Saints or Blesseds belonged to this Confraternity?

Various Saints and Blesseds, such as St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Blessed Columba Rieti and Blessed Stephana Quinzan (who actively promoted the Confraternity among women), have belonged to this Confraternity.

A Confraternity is a supernatural brotherhood or fellowship of men and women who make a sacred pact to pursue some good together in the Church. A Confraternity is a bond of love serving some good and holy purpose, and reflecting the communion of the Holy Trinity.

Because some goods are easier to pursue together rather than alone.

Yes, a Confraternity is an organization officially recognized by the Church.

Both heaven and earth are in on it. The Church has the authority to establish special, supernatural bonds between people on earth and Saints in heaven (traditionally known as “patronage”).

Our eldest daughter learned of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity while at college, and we all enrolled in it as children came of age. Click here to learn about it and how to enroll.

What else can you do to prepare your children for the dangers of the world?

Two things, actually.

First, get this book. And we will enclose a free card with the prayers of the Confraternity when you do. (If you need more than one card, tell us in a “note” with your order and we’ll give you more).

How do we teach our sons to be chaste when a sex-obsessed culture is ready to drag our boys into the pit at every turn? All we want to do is protect the innocence of our little ones and the honor of our teens, yet the snares of ubiquitous porn, hook-up sex, the LGBTQ juggernaut, and the devaluing of true manhood appear unavoidable.

In this little heart-to-heart between moms, Leila Miller will take your hand and calm your fears by giving you practical advice in simple terms, based on her 25 years of experience in raising eight children, six of them sons. Some of the serious topics addressed with good humor and no fear include:

• Three basic rules for parenting
• What to do when boys are little
• Answering the culture’s TWO BIG ACCUSATIONS (this is HUGE for your kids!)
• Fear has a place (chapter 9!)
• Navigating pop culture
• What to do when things go wrong
• Advice from chaste young men (over 2 dozen young men speak up)

…and much more, all of it designed to bring your worried heart some peace by giving you a plan of action and the power tools to pull it off.

Second, here’s a natural and comfortable way to talk to your kids about pornography. This newly revised edition of the original bestseller makes that daunting discussion easy! Good Pictures Bad Pictures is a read-aloud story about a mom and dad who explain what pornography is, why it’s dangerous, and how to reject it.

Featuring easy-to-understand science and simple analogies, this internationally-acclaimed book engages young kids to porn-proof their own brains.

There is also a Good Pictures, Bad Pictures JR for kids 3-6. Excellent book for the littler kids and completely age-appropriate and won’t destroy their innocence.

Here’s what makes these both so good: Kids are so shocked, embarrassed, guilty when something happens, that they don’t know what to do. That makes the problem worse with delay and more guilt. These books give them a simple and immediate plan so they can act right away.

The 5-point CAN DO Plan™ in Good Pictures, Bad Pictures teaches kids exactly what to do to protect their young minds when they see pornography. And “Turn, Run & Tell” is just what littler kids needs to know–and they will focus on their actions instead of what they are running from.

PS There is one thing we also have done on ALL our family’s internet capable devices (PCs, laptops, tablets, and PHONES). Even for the kids going away to college. We have installed Covenant Eyes on them so that we not only filter out harmful screens, but we also have accountability because weekly reports are sent regarding internet pages viewed–and everyone knows it.

That’s right: I get my kids’ reports and my wife gets my reports (and vice versa). No one is anonymous. So everyone thinks twice whether they really need to do this search. Or whether it’s best to get off a website. Or just plain time to get off the computer (yep–reports show time on the internet by time of day). The price is $15.99, flat, for all the devices, all in your family. Click here for the link to get a 30-day free trial by using HolyHeroes as the “promo code.”