Posted on 07/25/2012 4:36:32 PM PDT by stfassisi
The late Father John Hardon was an expert on demonology wrote the following....
The evil spirit tries to seduce not only the human mind but also the human will. He entices our wills by releasing our passions. He wants to arouse the passions of the flesh and, what is less obvious, the passions of the soul. Why should he want to do this? What connection is there between passion and sin? The connection is that of cause and effect. Sin always leaves its mark on the sinner. It is like throwing a bottle of nitric acid into a person’s face and burning out his eyes. Every sin we commit weakens our powers of reason and intelligent perception. The more serious the sin and the more often committed, the greater is this induced darkening of man’s most precious possession, which makes him most like God, his ability to think. Sinners do not think, they emote, and then write learned volumes defending their irrationality.
How otherwise explain the crimes of a Stalin or a Hitler, who sent millions to their death in the cold deserts of Siberia and the gas chambers and hot ovens of Germany? How otherwise explain the mania of abortion?
No human beings, unless inspired by the devil, could be so cruel as to murder millions of innocent children. Only demonic hatred or lust for power and pleasure could explain what we are now witnessing in one once civilized country after another.- Father John Hardon
The RC folks are not the only people who have rituals that can drive out demons, but are probably the most famous for it.
Got to remember that, even the Church now is working to bring back in a big way, the practice of exorcism by training more priests to do this practice.More exorcists, good! Fewer gossipy priests, even better. :)
The call for more exorcists is likely based on a combination of things that the church thinks need a serious response.
Many Catholics feel deeply troubled by the evil at work in the world, much of which, perhaps even most of which, is caused by men, who do not deserve the excuse that they are inspired by demons. They are just naturally evil, or have learned to be evil. Often they truly desire to be evil.
Such evil can be overwhelming to a person of faith, and just visiting church and praying is not enough for some. They take it upon themselves to think that they are the reason that evil is visited on them. That they are being punished for their sins, real or imagined, or that they are being tormented by demons.
Truthfully, they need spiritual “house calls”, for a priest to call on them in their home, to drive out that which is in them or their environment that attracts, brings in and sustains evil. Someone with greater spiritual strength than they can muster, an expert of the pure and the impure, who can recognize and expel that which torments them, within and without.
For a priest to attempt such a thing is not easy, because in such a case there are *never* false alarms.
(As an aside, acupuncturists have an axiom that if someone complains of a problem, they have a problem, and if one is not evident, they have not looked hard enough. And when they do find it, it will likely be very serious, as it is strong enough to conceal its true nature. A very fitting analogy in this case.)
For an exorcist, while their emphasis is on the spiritual, they must also contend with the physical, both within and outside the afflicted. Bodily disease and mental illness are not exclusive to spiritual suffering, and a person may look healthy and happy, or horrible, depressed and distraught, and still need deep spiritual healing and protection.
The truth of exorcism is based in its demand, and the Pope is right in enlarging the ranks of exorcists. Even without demons they are essential. With demons, they are at war.
“I’m inclined to think that this is possession. I’m also inclined to think that we’ll be seeing more of this.”
I agree with you on both counts. There is a spiritual battle raging and the dark side is winning (temporarily, of course, the Gates of Hell will not prevail in the end). Just within my own daughters’ (4) circles of friends many of them were never even baptized - in other the words the ranks of the unbaptized are increasing, original sin in the collective is gaining power - not necessarily manifesting in the individual per se(although possibly), but as a collective negative force.
Salvation is a totally separate issue from suffering the earthly consequence of one’s actions.
If Satan is currently bound ... what are these priests doing?
I think you're right that this is called amillennialism. I don't know much more about it than that.
The Catholic Church teaches that things will get a whole heck of a lot worse toward the end, when Satan exhibits great power and deceives a great multitude of people.
You could say that compared to what's coming, Satan is "relatively" inactive now, his power is "to some extent" bound. Why do I say that? Because the Gospel can still be preached in most countries, and the total number of Christians in the world has not stopped growing, despite struggle and persecution.
But at some point it's going to get horrendous, and everywhere. God help us.
Exactly, good accurate post
First of all, good posting.
Second, I do believe, although the good news of the gospel is spreading and that more and more people have been coming to faith in Christ, the troubling incidents are also increasing so the pace is begining to ramp up again.
There is an article of a priest who is well known for this practice on exorcisms, Father Gabriele Amorth, and I have found and article on him:
http://www.catholicsontheedge.com/2011/12/06/father-candido-and-the-demon/
Will get back later in posting form. Got to get going for the day.
“Salvation is a totally separate issue from suffering the earthly consequence of one’s actions.”
Nothing is separate from Salvation. Growing toward, or moving away from salvation is a direct consequence of one’s actions. Remember, the individual’s fruit is an indication of the status of their soul.
Tis far better to Love thy enemy. Allowing a soul to torture itself by facing its contradictions and working toward salvation is a far better path than terminating one’s opportunity for soul growth. Life is precious on both ends. Prayerful thoughts to an evil person are more uncomfortable than a bullet.
Excellent quotes. Thank you for sharing.
It really is simple... We are good seeds, placed in this field to grow. Our enemy has planted “weeds” among us who are now sprouting as we approach the harvest. The more we resemble weeds, the easier it is for them to hide and not be seen.
Life is about finding and removing the obstacles to “Love” that exist within us as “Perfect Love” casts out fear. The weeds try to create fear to caste out Love in order that they may hide amongst us.
A light that shines from within casts no shadow, nor does it allow a place for the weeds to hide.
“Just speaking from my Christian faith tradition.”
Same here.
You are conflating Psychology, especially “Pop Psychology” with Psychiatry. Unlike Psychologists, Psychiatrists are medical doctors, and while both treat people afflicted with mental illness, only a Psychiatrist is qualified to diagnose and treat and medicate for organic metal illnesses like bi-polar disorders and schizophrenia or refer them to a Neurologist to rule out things like brain tumors or other brain abnormalities or diseases that might cause someone to suddenly and uncharacteristically start behaving irrationally or violently.
Are there good Psychologists and Psychiatrists and are there quacks? – sure there are, just as there are in any profession. My point is that jumping to the conclusion that someone who commits such an “Evil” act is doing so because they are possessed by the “Devil” is ignoring the possibility that the person is medically and or psychiatrically ill. Even the Catholic Church, as being a Catholic you must surely know, will refer people exhibiting signs of a psychiatric illness to a qualified psychiatrist and or refer them to an MD to rule out a medical or a true psychiatric illness before even beginning to consider some sort of a “spiritual cause”. But that was not always the case. In a bygone era, people suffering from diseases like Epilepsy and Cerebral Palsy were once considered to be “Demon Possessed” and despite all efforts to “Exorcise” them; it was in vein because they had a very real medical illness and not a “spiritual” one.
This is for you
Thanks! I have nothing against prayer and having been raised Catholic, I am already familiar with this prayer. But while prayer is not a bad thing as far as it goes, if I were to suffer from a gunshot wound, while I might pray to for the intersession of St. Michael , I’d also be praying pretty hard for some EMT’s and medical doctors – just saying.
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