The Rise of the Exorcists

There has been a lot of talk in news circles lately about the astonishing rise in the number of exorcism requests around the globe. In Italy alone last year, there were 500,000 such requests. While the pleas for help cross all belief systems, it is, of course, the Catholic Church that is in the forefront of the melee. After all, when you think exorcist, you think Catholic priest, not Presbyterian minister. Thankfully, more priests are being appointed to this special ministry, in large part to Pope John Paul II’s 2003 exhortation to bishops to make it so. In the United States, the number of official Church-approved exorcists has risen from 12 to 50 in the last 20 years.

Father Gary Thomas of the Diocese of San Jose, and Father Vincent Lambert of the Diocese of Indianapolis, are two such priests who have answered the call of their bishops. Many exorcists like to stay anonymous even within their own parishes, but Fathers Thomas and Lambert are known for their accessibility and their willingness to talk about what many people don’t want to hear: that personified evil is a real thing. Satan and his demons are active in our world and they’re making many people’s lives miserable. Full-blown possession still remains a fairly rare occurrence, but the incidence of demonic attachment, infestation, and oppression is staggering.

Why the uptick? Father Lambert believes that the increase in demonic activity is not merely because the Devil has “upped his game,” but also because more people are willing to play his game today through activities that are opening up doorways to evil in their lives. These activities include things like drugs and pornography, falling away from traditional faiths, and persisting in a life of sin.

And then there is the occult. Whether it’s labeled New Age studies, metaphysics, or the dark arts, interest and participation in these activities is booming. When asked in an interview if the occult is satanic, Fr. Thomas answered:

“Not in and of itself, but it’s opening a doorway. It’s tampering in the spirit world, and you do not know who’s going to show up. So when someone gets into Wicca, black magic or white magic, psychics, séances, Tarot cards, spells, or all that other idolatrous stuff, they don’t know what’s going to happen. They’re tapping into a realm they know nothing about, most of the time.”

In the light of all these warnings, statistics, and stories of evil spirits running amok, you might wonder how safe you are from satanic influences. Fr. Thomas leaves us with this hopeful message: “If you have a strong faith life, a strong prayer life, and a strong sacramental life, then you have nothing to worry about.”

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The Ouija Board: Just Say No

It seems that every October Hollywood releases at least one new horror movie, capitalizing, of course, on the spirit of Halloween, which in this country has gotten way out of control. (But that's another blog post.) Two years ago the movie Ouija  made quite a splash at the box office, so much so that this year a prequel to that movie is coming out, Ouija: Origin of Evil. While interest in the movie itself isn’t necessarily of great concern (I happen to love horror movies myself), it’s the real-life obsession in the movie’s subject matter that is unsettling: the Ouija board.

Tens of millions of these “games” have been sold since their inception in the late 1800s. Modernized by Parker Brothers in the 1960s (and now sold under the Hasbro label), the board has been marketed as a harmless toy and party game. In fact, in 2008 Toys R Us even began selling a special pink edition just for little girls. How cute! Maybe the demons will wear tutus and ribbons when they come to the sleepover! (The board has since been removed from the store, but a glow-in-the-dark one is still available.)

Make no mistake: the Ouija board is not a toy. It’s not a game. It’s not harmless.

Fr. Thomas Euteneurer, exorcist and author of Exorcism and the Church Militant, is on record as saying that as many as ninety percent of the possession cases he encounters began with a Ouija board.

The late Catholic demonologist Ed Warren once called the Ouija board a “notorious passkey to terror.”

And the late Jesuit author Malachi Martin, who wrote extensively about demonic possession, once explained that the individual does not even have to intentionally engage the demonic. Simply dabbling in the occult, he believed, whether it was playing with a Ouija board or attending a séance or practicing transcendental meditation, the enneagram, etc., can dispose a person to possession because he has made himself an "aspiring vacuum" to whatever happens along.

Something “happened along” one night many, many years ago in my own life, when a young female relative who was babysitting me thought it would be fun to show me her Ouija board. She was going to try to contact a long-dead family member known only to me as “Aunt Karen.” She started moving the pointer around the board until the word “H E R E” was spelled out. My babysitter was visibly shaken, I remember that, but whether or not she was faking, I don’t know. Nothing else dramatic happened right then. But later that night after I had gone to bed, I remember waking up and seeing a very scary-looking woman coming in my room through my window. She was smiling at me maniacally and I just knew–I could feel–that her intent toward me was evil. I screamed for my parents and the vision vanished. Maybe it was just a bad dream. Nevertheless, I never saw that Ouija board again.

The relative of whom I spoke I loved dearly. When she was around 30 years old, she disappeared under mysterious circumstances and has never been heard from again. She battled many demons during the short period of her life that I knew her, the addictive, destructive kinds that are on the natural plane. I’m sure, however, that her unfortunate interest in the occult only made things worse. I hope and pray I see her again one day.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes it clear how we are to approach the occult:

2116: All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf offers this no-nonsense advice: “Avoid, avoid, avoid things that might open you up to oppression by the Enemy, such as Tarot cards and Ouija boards and other things that might be taken to be ‘games’.  If you have those things destroy them NOW, not later.”

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Need more proof that the Ouija board is a channel for evil? These two books have plenty of stories from people in all walks of life who have dabbled with the boards and have regretted it. There are good quotes from Catholic professionals in the books as well.

Ouija Board Nightmares

Ouija Board Nightmares 2

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,

and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts,

by the power of God, 

thrust into hell Satan,

and all the evil spirits,

who prowl about the world 

seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Gentle Advice from St. Francis de Sales

"Never be hurried in anything. Do all things calmly and in a spirit of repose. Do not lose your inward peace, even if everything seems to be going wrong. What is anything in life compared to peace of soul?"

-St. Francis de Sales

Lenten Book Sale

Now and for the next 40 days, my angels and saints ebooks will be on sale for 0.99 cents each.

These pictures link to Amazon, but the books are also available at most other online book retailers.

Wishing you all a blessed and holy Lent!

St. Dymphna and Blue Monday

If you’re feeling particularly depressed today, there’s a reason for that. It’s Blue Monday. Yes indeed, there is actually a name for this annual event, courtesy of clever travel marketeers who want to convince people they need a mid-winter vacation to escape the gloom and melancholy of January. The concept was first heralded about a decade ago after careful calculations determined that the third Monday of the year is the most depressing due to the triple whammy of cold weather, Christmas debts, and broken New Year’s resolutions. So what’s a person to do given all that gloom and doom? Book a plane to Hawaii, of course!

The Catholic Church has another option if sun-soaked tropical beaches aren’t in your budget. (And given whammy number two, chances are they aren’t.) Instead of reaching for the sunscreen, trying reaching out to St. Dymphna, the patron saint of mental and nervous disorders. Dymphna was a 7th century Irish Christian princess who was forced to flee from her own father, a pagan king, when he ordered her to “marry” him. It seems the king was in the throes of a severe mental breakdown following the death of his wife when he made this outlandish request. Horrified, Dymphna fled to Belgium, but her escape was short-lived. The king followed her there, and when once again Dymphna refused his demand, in a rage of fury he cut off his daughter’s head with his sword.

The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, recognizing the need for raised awareness of mental illnesses, and acknowledging that January is a tough month for many of us, troubled or not, have therefore designated St. Dymphna as the unofficial patron of Blue Monday and have issued a special prayer for her intercession, which of course can be said on any day of the week.


Prayer to Saint Dymphna for Help 

Good Saint Dymphna, great wonder-worker in every affliction of mind and body, I humbly implore your powerful intercession with Jesus through Mary, the Health of the Sick, in my present need. (Mention it.) 

Saint Dymphna, martyr of purity, patroness of those who suffer with nervous and mental afflictions, beloved child of Jesus and Mary, pray to Them for me and obtain my request. 

(Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be.)

St. Francis's Christmas Miracle

Living nativities–those church-produced (predominantly Protestant) programs that recreate the birth of Jesus with live actors, animals and elaborate props–are wildly popular during the Christmas season, often moving audiences to tears as the birth of the God-Man plays forth in a reverent, tender, and visually-satisfying 3D manner.

We Catholics, however, can take credit for the first living nativity (excluding, of course, the Actual Event), and we owe it all to St. Francis of Assisi.

In 1223, a generous and spiritual landowner by the name of John Vellita donated a piece of land to Francis and his followers. Located on a rocky and windswept mountainside on the outskirts of the town of Greccio, the land afforded Francis and his brothers a grand view of the town below.

Inspired in part by his new surroundings, Francis made an unusual request of John Vellita that December. He wished to recreate the original Nativity scene of Bethlehem for the townspeople. What better way, Francis felt, to welcome the Christ Child than to actually see, hear, and feel the harsh and poor conditions that He was born into. Sentimental stories and artists' renditions were fine, but this "reenactment" would help people understand how God used the ordinary to bring about the most extraordinary happening in human history.

John Vellita eagerly agreed, and soon a manger was set up in a cave on the hill, fresh hay was scattered around, and a donkey and ox were brought up to complete the scene. A simple altar was erected, beneath which lay a wax figure of the Holy Infant.

At midnight that Christmas, Francis celebrated Mass surrounded by the curious townspeople, who had made the trek up the dark mountain with lit torches and faith-filled hearts. As Francis spoke the words of the Mass, emotion overtook him to the point that tears rolled down his face. The onlookers were awestruck at the love and joy and piety that engulfed the humble man at the altar.

Then the miracle happened.

Francis picked up the wax figure of the Baby Jesus, and to the spectators' wondrous delight, the Infant appeared to come to life. He smiled at Francis and stroked his wet cheeks. Francis sighed deeply and was manifestly overcome with joy.

St. Bonaventure, in his biography of St. Francis, reports that the hay used in that "living nativity" cured all sorts of diseases and pestilence in the cattle that ate it over the ensuing months.

Today there is a church on the site where the "Miracle of Greccio" took place. It continues to be a popular place of pilgrimage, especially during the Christmas season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

"I am the Immaculate Conception."

Spoken by Our Lady to St. Bernadette at Lourdes in 1858.

Chesterton Talks Turkey

"A turkey is more occult and awful than all the angels and archangels. In so far as God has partly revealed to us an angelic world, he has partly told us what an angel means. But God has never told us what a turkey means. And if you go and stare at a live turkey for an hour or two, you will find by the end of it that the enigma has rather increased than diminished."  

All Things Considered (1908)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Angels and the Holy Souls

Catholic tradition has given us some fascinating teachings and thoughts on the role of our guardian angels after we leave this life for the soul-cleansing confines of purgatory. (Assuming, of course, that we make it there and not any lower.) 

According to early Church Fathers, the guardian angel leads the soul to purgatory and thereafter visits and consoles that soul until its release. The angel also helps the soul by inspiring friends and relatives left on earth to pray and offer Masses for their departed loved one.

Moreover, some spiritual writers believe that the angels reveal to the poor souls the identities of those who are praying for them on earth so that, in reciprocal fashion, the holy souls can pray for them. 

As St. Augustine tells us: “The departed may be informed by the angels of things happening in the world, insofar as this is permitted by Him to Whose judgment everything is subject.”

Some saints have even "visited" purgatory (via mystical experiences or spiritual bilocation) and witnessed for themselves the close relationship between the poor souls and their angels. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque wrote that during her experience she saw:

" . . . an immense space filled with flames and glowing coals and, amid these, a great number of poor souls in human form, raising their hands to Heaven and imploring mercy. But all the while their Guardian Angels were at their side, inspiring them with courage and comforting them in the most tender manner."  (The Guardian Angels, Our Heavenly Companions, 1956)

St. Lydwine was also shown purgatory, having "flown" there on several occasions in the accompaniment of her own guardian angel. On one of her visits she saw a sad-looking angel keeping company the soul of a man who had been languishing there for twelve years. When Lydwine "returned" to her earthly surroundings, she immediately offered her physical sufferings for the soul of that man. Several days later, the man's angel appeared to her. No longer sad-looking, the angel joyously declared that the man had been freed from purgatory, thanks to Lydwine's sacrificial acts.

And what about that last part? The "get out of jail" part? Well, the language in this passage is a little old-fashioned, but it gets the point across nicely:

"As soon as the hour of release has struck for one of the suffering souls, the Guardian Angel of that happy soul is commissioned by God to descend into Purgatory, to open the doors of its prison and to lead the delivered soul without delay into the eternal habitations of Paradise. The good Angel descends with the rapidity of lightning into the dismal prison of pain to carry out the work of release because his love for his cherished ward urges him to liberate the Poor Soul and to lead it to the sight and possession of God. The Guardian Angel is often accompanied by other Angels or by a whole multitude of Angels, and then the entrance of the released soul is truly a triumphant one."  (ibid)

It is worth remembering that our Tradition also teaches that those of us who had the most devotion to our guardian angels on earth will have the most assistance from them in purgatory.

St. Luke

St. Luke's gospel is my favorite among the four. I think it goes back to my childhood when my family converted to Catholicism and I remember being enchanted with stories about the Blessed Mother. Luke truly brings Mary to life in his gospel. In fact, he alone describes the Annunciation, Mary's visit to Elizabeth, Mary's Magnificat, the Presentation in the temple, and the story of Jesus' disappearance in Jerusalem. It is in Luke that we read the angel's words of greeting to Mary: "Hail Mary full of grace." And it is also only in Luke that we have the story of the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. Lest we forget, St. Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles.

Spending a few minutes reading some of St. Luke's accounts in Scripture would be a prodigious way to honor his feast day today. Believed to be a physician by training (St. Paul refers to him as "Luke, the beloved physician" in Colossians 4:14), St. Luke is the patron saint of physicians and surgeons, as well as artists, butchers and students. In art he is often depicted with an ox, symbolizing the sacrifice Jesus made for all the world.