Do you believe in ghosts? C.S.Lewis said he only met one woman who had ever seen a ghost and she said afterwards she didn't believe. It illustrates that perceiving is not believing. This article tells us that sightings of ghosts, demons, werewolves, black beasts and monsters of all kinds are higher than ever in modern day Britain.
When I worked as an Anglican priest in England I received regular requests to cleanse houses of spooky stuff. The article in question is rather ignorant of the different types of paranormal activity.Ghosts and demons are not the same thing, although the journalist sort of lumps them together.
A 'ghost' might be any number of things. It could be the unquiet spirit of a dead person who is still roaming this physical world. If this is so it is theorized that this might be because the person was too attached to this physical world and can't let it go. Others think that there is no objective reality to the ghost. In other words, it's not really a departed soul, but a kind of psychic 'memory' of the departed person which is imprinted on a particular place--maybe through a violent or unprepared death.
A 'ghost' might be any number of things. It could be the unquiet spirit of a dead person who is still roaming this physical world. If this is so it is theorized that this might be because the person was too attached to this physical world and can't let it go. Others think that there is no objective reality to the ghost. In other words, it's not really a departed soul, but a kind of psychic 'memory' of the departed person which is imprinted on a particular place--maybe through a violent or unprepared death.
Other ghostly manifestations seem to be slips in time--where a particular event is replayed over and over again. Whether this slip in time is real or simply perceived as real by persons who are sensitive to it is an arguable point. The fact that only certain people can see it may indicate that it is only in the person's mind, or it may simply be the case that it is there, but only some people have the receptivity to see it.
Poltergeist activity should be distinguished from ghostly manifestations. Poltergeists may be a physical projection of energy from a vulnerable person--often an adolescent. Others think the young person may be a kind of psychic channel for mischievous spirits--not possessing the child, but acting through them in a way to frighten and disturb.
Other manifestations like black beasts, dragons, sea serpents, aliens, werewolves, incubus and succubus etc are unlikely to be physical. Instead they are more likely to be demonic impressions on the receptor's mind. Others think the collective unconscious produces monsters which become quasi physical...so that the receptor can 'see' them but they are not so physical that they will ever be captured or killed.
However, demonic temptation, oppression, obsession, infestation and possession are real enough and are a much more objective phenomenon than the other paranormal experiences. Many of them have more to do with disturbed psyche and peculiar realms of perception than anything objective.
When I lived in England I went to a seminar by the famous psychiatrist Kenneth McCall, who wrote the book Healing the Family Tree. He was a very experienced exorcist and was very involved in the healing and deliverance ministry. He said that all that was required in most cases of paranormal activity was for two or three baptized Christians to pray the Lord's Prayer with a focus on 'deliver us from evil.'
This is my experience too. There are cases of profound demonic activity, but most cases of paranormal activity are low level. The name of Jesus is also very powerful. A priest friend of mine named Roger, who is now gone home told me that he was once walking down the corridor of a psychiatric ward where he had gone to visit a parishioner when a madman ran up to him brandishing a knife.
My friend was only just over 5'. His attacker was over 6' and heavy. Roger pointed to him and said, "In the name of Jesus, drop the knife!" The man dropped the knife, burst into tears and hugged Roger and asked forgiveness.
29 comments:
The name of Jesus is also very powerful.
A Jesuit priest and exocist, Fr Malachi Martin once said that over the years, he came to learn that one particular prayer was especially powerful...
Lord Jesus, Lord precious Jesus, Please Hide Me Inside of Your Wounds...
Just sayin..
Fr. Gabriele Amorth, an exorcist in Rome, wrote a book, "An Exorcist Tells His Story." It is an excellent explanation of demonic activity and how a faithful prayer and sacramental life is the best defense.
http://www.ignatius.com/Products/ETHS-P/an-exorcist-tells-his-story.aspx?src=iinsight
In my pre-Catholic days I was a bit too intrigued by stories of the paranormal. Yet at the same time, the sensationalized exorcist stories on TV made me give the Catholic Church some credit. After all, where does everyone turn when there's a demon in the house? Even if it's not an actual priest performing it, they still use the Church's prayers.
Hey! I think I must have the 'gift'. I can see a figure of a man or woman on the staircase in the picture accompanying this post!!!!
Hmmm... a recent book "The Rite" by Matt Baglio is also very good.
Ah heck...why not just send in Sam and Dean Winchester from "Supernatural" ????
I live in a house with spirits. Until I built this place and experienced this first hand I didn't really give the existence of "ghosts" much credence. Boy, has my mind been changed.
My priest has blessed the house numerous times. He is sensitive to the spirit world and tells me that I'm not losing my mind; the things I've seen are real. The area I live in seems to be highly active, according to him, and my house, especially because of the blessings and holy objects in and around it, has become a bit of a beacon to them; a way home.
My family and I have become used to the things that go on around here but the reactions of those that don't know about it, and are confronted with the sounds and sites for the first time, can be somewhat amusing.
The strange thing is that as I've learned to accept the existence of this other world my acceptance of God and my prayer life have grown much deeper. I don't know why. I've just, for some reason, learned to quit fighting and go with what I've been given. I think that somewhere deep inside me this exposure to the spirits has shown me just how devastating an attachment to this world can be. They're here mostly because they can't give it up.
Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium tell us about angels and demons, so we know those are real enough. As for ghosts, we know that saints occasionally appear to people (though someone, I think it was C.S. Lewis, noted that no one ever confused "I have just seen a ghost!" with "I have just seen a saint!"). There are also plausible accounts of souls from Purgatory appearing to ask for prayers, and sometimes the possessed claim to be possessed by souls from Hell. Based on this, and based on a few passages of Scripture, it appears ghosts may be real, too.
However, I also believe in the KGB (or whatever they call themselves today), but that doesn't mean I should suspect every odd person of being from the KGB. Even if ghosts are as real as the KGB, most putative identifications can be expected to be wrong, whether due to misidentification, psychological problems, or outright fraud.
It's also important to note that many "theories" about ghostly manifestations are at least in tension with Catholic teaching. Other theories, such as the idea that places or objects can "record" and "play back" events that took place there, are given as quasi-physical (as opposed to spiritual) explanations, but they have no legitimate basis in physics or the physical sciences.
For a very interesting book of fiction related to this, I recommend A MIRROR OF SHALOTT by Robert Hugh Benson.
Father, is it not also possible that phenomena described as ghosts may be due to demonic activity so that it is not always easy to distinguish between the two? It does at least seem a little imprudent to discount this as a possibility. It seems that alleged ghostly apparitions often appear to tempt people to go against the command not to attempt to contact the dead, and as such represent a strong temptation to get involved with the occult, which may suggest a demonic involvement in some of these alleged apparitions. Of course, not everything that presents a temptation to occult activity is in itself demonic, should one entirely discount it as a possibility?
"Other ghostly manifestations seem to be slips in time--where a particular event is replayed over and over again. Whether this slip in time is real or simply perceived as real by persons who are sensitive to it is an arguable point."
I have experienced something like this twice...I've never known what exactly to make of either occurence. It wasn't so much the event replaying as being still present in some fashion - as though the historical/spiritual significance (considerable, in both cases) was such that it became a part of the place. There was nothing visible, just a very strong sense of the place as it was at the time.
Or, yeah, it could have been my imagination at work.
It's funny that so many 'see ghost' in such an anti-religious (Dawkins, Hitchens....), or at least very anti-catholic, place like the UK...
Or maybe it's not funny... maybe they run away from God and find the devil..
I agree Father, the Name of Jesus is very powerful. His Name is so mighty that, at just the utterance of it, every saint and angel of Heaven bows down, every saint and angel of Purgatory bows down, every soul and demon of Hell bows down, and every angel and demon on Earth bows down. We, too, ought to bow down.
Demons I can accept, but with all the technology being focused on the paranormal, and so little if anything to show for it, I am left being skeptical of ghosts. Surely some video somewhere would have the proof. But it seems to remain in the realm of bigfoot, UFOs, and Yeti.
Mark 6:48-50
48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said,"Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
Jesus never corrected them and said there are no such things as ghosts...although I do have trouble reconciling Purgatory and Hell with ghosts roaming the earth frightening people (sinful behaviour committed by a dead person?)
as a convert, i am still in touch with many friends who are active in the psychic/occult world. while we no longer agree on some things, we all agree on these:
1. Ouija Boards are NOT toys. you may as well publish your name and address on the internet and say " i am home alone". If you get any response it wont be good.
2. Some places are "etched in time" the very stones and earth having a record of some event. there may be no "spirits" there, but there is a record playing that the human spirit can "hear".
3. some places are indeed the domain of some spirit or another. Often several. Usually these are harmless, neither "angels or devils" as i would say.. just "something" but all too often they are negative entities (or as i call them, evil spirits) attracted by prior wickedness/tragedy the way sharks are attracted to blood in the water.
4. rarely there is a spirit of the dead. rarely. more often there is a RECORD of the dead (they wont respond to you, its a recording) and all too often it is a wicked spirit PRETENDING to be a ghost. but there appear to be some few actual human spirits. Given the saints who spoke to the souls in purgatory, i have always wondered.. purgatory may be "visible" from earth more than we realize.
I grew up in a haunted house. While I don't believe all paranormal stories, I must admit it had a profound affect on me growing up. I can relate to biblical incidences without being skeptical.
Thank you for your interesting and informative comments, fabricdragon. I'm just wondering under point number 3 how a spirit can be neither good nor bad. I don't quite understand that. We know that that may be true of living people, because they have not yet made their ultimate choice. However, I was under the impression that the spiritual beings called angels, who are not a race, but complete each individual angel unto himself and making the choice for himself only, had in fact all made that choice for good or evil. Are you suggesting that God may have created spirits other than angels, whom we know have either chosen good (those we refer to as angels) or evil (demons)?
Catholicofthule, the 'other' beings that Fabricdragon may be referring to might be fairies, elves, goblins and the like. There are various theories about their origin--some say they are the fallen angels, some say they are the personification of plants (like dryads) and animals. Some of them are 'good' some of them are 'bad', but none of them are saved. The British Isles and all of Europe, as you know, have many stories of these little spirits or sprites (as well as worldwide stories from every culture).
In fact, most people who know of them tend to avoid even talking about them, not so much because of embarrassment, but because these little beings could be anywhere. It is advisable to cross oneself when speaking about them, for they are, as all things in heaven and earth (and under the earth) are subject to Christ Jesus, and their ability to do harm is mitigated.
Not sayin' I believe in 'em. Just telling you in a nutshell what I know from research. I used to be ga-ga for fairies when I was a kid.
But how does belief in spiritual beings who may neither be fallen or having made a choice for God fit into the structure of the Faith? Is it a possibility at all?
I'm pretty sure that personification of the non-spiritual material world is not a possibility, but rather a heathen belief with no basis whatsoever in reality or based on demons masquerading as such. A plant, for instance, does not have a spiritual soul and is not a person, so how could it have a spirit hovering about unfettered by the chains of its material boundaries as a personification of its non-personal, non-spiritual being? There may, of course, be something I've misunderstood along the way as concerns Catholic teachings, and would be happy to learn if that is the case.
Catholicofthule, your questions are quite good. That is why I would tend to believe that fairies and the like are fallen angels, if they do exist.
In the celtic countries, they were originally believed to have been the ancient gods of those lands, who, after retreating at the advance of Christianity, were 'culturally' shrunk into the little beings we think of as fairies and such.
I have trouble with the idea that our forefathers were so incredibly ignorant that all such manifestations were superstition and fear-based. I rather think that, especially with the Celts, there is a mystical bent to the celtic mind that we of the Greek understanding tend to downplay and ignore.
So again, if I had to make a choice, based on my Catholic theology, I would say that these beings are fallen angels, who often paraded as gods. Satan, after all, wanted to ascend to God's throne, so here he and his cohorts would naturally desire to be known as 'god(s)' and behave accordingly.
Just my puny ideas of things.
Are you asking questions here? As an RC, you have access to a profound amount of tradition and experience in this topic. Too bad most clergy are no longer trained in this area.
If you want to learn more, start with asking your Bishop to put you in touch with the diocesan exorcism. Canonically, he has to have one. After that, read Frs. Fortea and Amorth.
Just be careful, because you don't know how deep the hole goes.
George, are you referring to me? Yes, I have many places to ask my questions and to discover the Catholic answers. However, my questions were specifically to what the posters I addressed intended in their posts. Sometimes such questions can help not only me as a reader, but the initial poster if there is something in their theories that does not immediately appear to fit into the structure of our Faith as real possibilities. In a conversation inspired by a post, it seems quite natural to ask questions as simply make comments. :-)
George, are you referring to me? Yes, I have many places to ask my questions and to discover the Catholic answers. However, my questions were specifically to what the posters I addressed intended in their posts. Sometimes such questions can help not only me as a reader, but the initial poster if there is something in their theories that does not immediately appear to fit into the structure of our Faith as real possibilities. In a conversation inspired by a post, it seems quite natural to ask questions as simply make comments. :-)
I don't know how that double post happened. Sorry about that. Well, here's a third one.
I am a Catholic woman, with a very strong love and faith in God. I live in an area people have always said was haunted, but didn't pay much attention. I have been out of work for 2 years and took up photography in my time off. I had always felt creepy feelings in these woods alone and was glad to finally get a dog from the shelter to accompany me. I noticed right off her strange reactions to many things in the woods, until I began to catch these things on film. Not a few...many. In my yard! and around the area. This was confusing to me as a Christian. I do not think humans stay on earth when they die, though many of these pics looked like ordinary people....and some are downright terrifying, though I live alone and they do not scare me as I know I have authority over them through my Holy loving Spirit of God. But, I needed an answer as to who they are and why they are hanging around. I believe I found my answer in this attached article. Maybe it will help others. All I know, I know now why God says to pray without ceasing!
God bless.
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/religion/article_934.shtml
linked.
I've run into such things on three continents, although I have never witnessed them myself.
God loves us and he will protect us if we ask him to. Demons are real, but so is God's love for us.
http://godloveandbows.blogspot.com/
God's love is real. Demons are real, too. But with God in your heart, no evil spirit can harm you.
http://godloveandbows.blogspot.com/
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