Beware the Night

Rating:
Summary: The Occult is a Dangerous Game, Don't Play It...
Review: The position of the Catholic Church is quite clear concerning the possibility of diabolical possession and exorcism. In the explicit words of the late Fr. Malachi Martin, "Possession is real and real prices are paid...Not to believe in evil is not to be armed against it. To disbelieve is to be disarmed. If your will does not accept the existence of evil, you are rendered incapable of resisting evil. Those with no capacity of resistance become prime targets for possession. To combine known, valid possession with hopelessness must surely cause the worst kind of insanity, if not death. It is a terrible condemnation. But at least as terrible is that those very men whose vocation is to believe and carry out all that the Church has held since its beginning, have abandoned those they still profess to serve in the name of Christ."

Enter Ralph Sarchie and Joe Forrester...

In BEWARE THE NIGHT, Sgt. Ralph Sarchie and his daring partner in preternatural combat, Joe Forrester, swing some pretty heavy-duty spiritual bats against the "Principalities and Powers" of darkness and despair. In the courageous manner of other spiritual warriors like Fr. Martin, Fr. Gabriel Amorth, and Bishop McKenna, they offer themselves in fierce struggles to free others from the bondage to the demonic. For this is not a game, but a deadly-serious, winner-take-all contest for the bodies, minds, and souls of the devil's unfortunate prey.

Gripping in its presentation of the devil's ability to wreak havoc in the lives of its victims, the book explores several high-voltage encounters with evil in action: from a shocking, high-level exorcism that threatens the welfare of everyone in attendance, to the electrifying clash of good versus evil as Ralph and Joe fight to free a home from the sinister spirits tormenting a family past the threshold of sanity.

Ralph's recollections of his friendship with Malachi Martin were fascinating, and his humorous quips about life as a New York City street cop were entertaining, since they lightened things up a bit.

The cases that Ralph presents forcefully demonstrate that, in addition to degrading acts of personal possession, the demonic can torment mere mortals with other mordant preternatural punishments, such as the diabolical oppression and infestation of one's house, as endured by several unfortunate families. However, the reader is not fecklessly abandoned to the devil's devious devices, but is left with enought tools of spiritual warfare to do battle with hell itself, since the book includes an important list of powerful prayers from Joe Forrester's CATHOLIC LAYPERSON'S EXORCISM MANUAL in Appendix I. One need only supply courage and faith to get the job done.

Make no mistake about it, Ralph Sarchie's cautionary tale is dark and the moral of his story is stark: If you play around with the occult, the occult will play around with you. And if you do, BEWARE THE NIGHT!



Rating:
Summary: Beware the Night
Review: This book is positively gripping. I must disagree with the other Catholic reviewer listed here. Yes, both Frs. McKenna and Martin went against the Vatican's grain in speaking out about evil in our midst. But if you look at the history of our church, it's people like them who planted the seeds of changed. Padre Pio never said the Novus Ordo, and is now Saint Pio. God Bless Them! As for relics of the True Cross, Amazon.com has a number of excellent books on the subject! Check them out...

As something of a square peg myself, much more comfortable with the writings of Jane Austin, I found I very much enjoyed Officer Sarchie's New York style of "speech." His writing is very much like a discussion with a friend. He takes you through his cases at high speed while still bringing you face to face with real evil. He explains the difference between demonic evil and the evil that men do. Yes, we humans can get down right nasty.

Excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: Stay Away!
Review: This book was extremely disappointing. Very conceited, pretentious writer who writes very badly. And way too much self-righteous proselytizing, mumbo jumbo, and flinging of holy water. He believes that every ghost, friendly or otherwise, is a demon in disguise just waiting to possess you. Sorry I wasted my money on this garbage. Don't waste yours.

Rating:
Summary: Beware The Night by Ralph Sarchie
Review: Whether you believe in them or not, demons are at work in this world and they are all around you. The evidence is everywhere, and I knew that before I read this book. Ralph Sarchie is not trying to convert anyone to christianity through his book, but merely explain to you that you need to consider your sprirtial side because anyone and everyone will face encounters with evil at some time or other. Although I question some of the people in this book (not Mr. Sarchie himself, who is obviously credible), this book deserves a note a tremendous praise! It will definitely make you think twice about the forces of evil and how they can work against you in your life, and what you can do to battle them... I personally found this book to be well written and highly informative. I appreciate Sarchie's strength to make these cases of the demonic public, but most of all his courage to reveal his own beliefs and faith despite the fact that when a book like this is written there will inevitably be public criticism. It's unavoidable. Nevertheless, this book is great and I hope he writes more of them pertaining to this subject matter in the future. Five stars absolutley!