Posted on 09/27/2016 12:00:35 PM PDT by heterosupremacist
Full title : Demand for exorcisms rises while Christian faith in the US declines - Exorcists cite spiritual void, failure of mental healthcare system and rise in pagan and demonic activities as causes
After the recent news of Father Gabriele Amorth’s death and the recent unveiling of Fox’s new “Exorcist” miniseries, the Catholic rite of exorcism is once again in the news. Often looked at as a prayer service seen only in the movies, the rite of exorcism is something more and more people in the US are looking to priests to perform, believing that evil has infiltrated their lives and they need to be delivered.
According to a recent article in the Telegraph, “the number of official priest exorcists [in the US] has more than quadrupled from 12 to 50” in the past 10 years. Father Gary Thomas and Father Vincent Lampert, both exorcists in the US, believe there are many factors that have influenced the rise in requests for exorcisms.
They explained to the Telegraph that some of the factors included “an expanding spiritual void in the lives of Americans, the diminishing authority of the Church, and the failure of the mental healthcare system.” Also, a rise in pagan and demonic activities has greatly contributed to the increase in requests.
Father Thomas too has a full plate of exorcisms even though he is a full-time pastor.
“I could conduct one or two exorcisms a week for demonic attachment (as opposed to full possession). People could be quite functional but once they get into a sacred arena, such as a church, or participate in some element of parish life, they’ll begin to manifest or they’ll begin to get sick or they’ll begin to show other kinds of signs that something is amiss. And it’s my role and my team’s to discern what it is. Is it something psychological?”
The process to discern whether or not a demon is afflicting a person is often a long road, sometimes taking months of personal meetings. A priest is never alone in this discernment and typically seeks the assistance of a licensed professional who can rule out various mental illnesses. What becomes tricky is that the devil can also influence a person’s health, making them ill especially when they are seeking the help of a priest. Whatever the case may be the solution is hardly ever reached instantaneously. As Father Thomas says, “I don’t do exorcisms on demand.”
After much prayer and discernment, an exorcist will determine what course of action should be taken and will advise the person being afflicted to remain steadfast in prayer and have recourse to the sacraments of the Church.
Father Thomas and Father Lampert both admitted that they are never afraid when conducting exorcisms as God called them to that ministry and firmly believe in God’s grace. The devil, while he may appear to be strong, cannot force himself into a person’s life. They must freely choose to open a doorway and so exorcists are confident that the devil has no power over them. Before performing the rite, priests must go to confession and have a clean soul to combat the wiles of the devil. Although the power of exorcism is part of priestly ordination, most dioceses require that a priest be authorized by the bishop to undertake this ministry.
Recent popes have supported this ministry of the Church and Pope Francis has not been afraid to say, “But look out because the devil is present! The devil is here…even in the 21st century! And we mustn’t be naive, right? We must learn from the Gospel how to fight against Satan.”
I did an exorcism this past Saturday that kicked my butt.
It was the spirit of a guy who died of a very painful cancer earlier in the week. I never knew him while he was alive. He was very angry, nasty and in a lot of pain when he died. I felt all of the extreme physical and emotional pain as soon as he was in my presence.
While I was able to get rid of him, it took a lot of focus and prayer. People have no idea how many of these spirits are around us, especially in hospital environments.
Anyone who thinks a Ouija board is magical and channels spirits is a gullible moron. And Parker Brothers snickers at you.
But tell ya what. If spirits take over your house after a board game, gimme a call. I’ll remove them for the small fee of $499.99.
It really isn’t so much when you consider the good nights sleep you’ll finally get.
Link?
Um... okay...
So what causes it to move on its own? I’ve never played.
I’m not aware of a single instance where Jesus drove out a human ghost, and it would make no sense here either because, being physically dead and having no body, no more bodily pain would be possible.
But, human cases such as this could attract demons who would want to play upon the rage and pain of people who have either refused, or still need to learn how, to embrace Jesus in faith to bear their burdens. When the human either dies or repents, the demon finds itself with nowhere to be. It’s a one-trick pony and wishes its game on whoever else happens to be available and vulnerable.
A Lutheran minister I knew spoke of sensing spirits that had been around an American Indian burial ground.
“being physically dead and having no body, no more bodily pain would be possible.”
While that is very true, when the spirit of the deceased gets close or attaches to someone with a physical body, the memory of the physical pain prior to death is stored in the spirit and manifests in the host. It’s the reason why Jesus stated “Don’t touch me as I have not gone to my Father yet.”
I don’t remember where the scripture is located, but it is exactly how it works.
I agree. A Ouija board is cardboard with weird alpha-numeric characters printed on it and a cheap plastic “pointer” that moves because it’s players/users/whatever are subconsciously maneuvering it according to their own predelections. If that is supposed to be an attraction for the forces of darkness, I’d like to know how. There IS evil in this world, and a lot of it is beyond our mortal understanding. But that it imbues a party gimmick? I doubt it.
I not only sense them, but feel and usually hear them. Years ago I used to help the State Police homicide detectives on unsolved murder cases, but it beat me up too much.
It is horrible connecting to the spirit of a person who was murdered. Often all the crying and hysterics makes it very difficult to communicate with them. Used to freak out the detectives. Took me a while to prove that I was not involved in the murders as the information was often unknown to the public and accurate.
I’m a Christian and Jesus is my Savior... There is just much more to the Bible than most understand. It is however.. very very accurate, just not understood.
I hope you are not insinuating that priests charge for exorcisms, confessions and blessings. They absolutely do not.
“when the spirit of the deceased gets close or attaches to someone with a physical body, the memory of the physical pain prior to death is stored in the spirit and manifests in the host.”
This is exactly how Jesus healed people by driving the demon out of them.
Link?
http://aleteia.org/2016/09/27/demand-for-exorcisms-rises-while-christian-faith-in-the-us-declines/
Sorry, I thought I had posted the link...
“I’ll remove them for the small fee of $499.99”
Ironically, people who charge for this service have an attachment to earthly material things that leaves them vulnerable to have the demonic spirit move into them.
Ouija boards- “Oui” in French, and “Ja” in German. The movie “The Exorcist” was based on an exorcism performed on a boy who with a family member had played with the Ouija board. The first power of Satan is the general disbelief in his existence and in hell.
bfl
The particular "party gimmick" is nearly irrelevant. What is relevant is the attitude of the occult dabbler or would-be medium, who is foolishly trying to manipulate unseen entities.
I believe it was Nietzsche who said, "When you look long into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you."
`
The word for touch is in the present tense; modern translations render it “cling.” Jesus is saying not “don’t touch Me because it hurts” but “don’t hang on to Me in the body because I have a very important job to do for you yet, which requires Me to be free.”
You are using the phrase “spirit of a person.”
Again that would be a human ghost, were it to exist.
I believe demons (not human spirits) are playing games on you, and/or you are being imprecise and unbiblical.
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