The Spiritual Toll of Pervasive Occultism

Spesunica ^ | April, 2010 | Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer

[mlizzy]

The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer is president of Virginia-based Human Life International, which has affiliates and partners in 87 countries around the world. A trained exorcist, Fr. Euteneuer has been authorized to perform the ancient rite in several dioceses in the U.S.

Vampires, witches, Ouija boards, Satanic rock music and video games — innocent fun? I don't think so. The proliferation of these dark forces is creating a subculture of youth who are suffering the effects of occult involvement. The sheer magnitude of these demonic influences has already left us with a wounded generation of youth, many of whom will receive liberation and healing only through the priestly ministry of exorcism. The problem of demonic infestation has already become, shall we say, "legion" in our culture, and priests need respond to it with the love of Christ and the authority of the Church militant.

I learned this firsthand in 1995 when I was assigned to a large urban parish in Florida. One day, a young man walked into the parish office and sat down. He did not even ask to speak to a priest. I happened to be on duty at the time, so the nervous secretary asked me to meet with him right away. He said he did not know why he was there, but that "something" had led him there. That "something" might have been a demon, but more likely it was the Spirit of God leading him to the Church for deliverance from the demon.

Matt (not his real name) was obviously seriously disturbed. We talked, and he told me a tale of woe that was hard to believe. He seemed to have no father or mother and had never been baptized. He was living a life of rampant chaos in the house of his uncle and immersed himself almost constantly in Satanic music. The only social contacts he had were some really, really bad "friends," so-called Goth types, devotees of the hideous rock star Marilyn Manson. He admitted to doing drugs with them and experimenting with all kinds of occult matter that glorified Satan in both overt and indirect ways. He was fond of violent movies and video games — or more likely they were fond of him, a basically soulless cyber-addict.

One day he was with his "friends," and he overdosed. He ended up in the hospital and had an experience he could not forget. In a coma on the hospital bed, he felt like he was descending down a long, cold, and dark corridor. Fear began to grip him as he clearly understood just where it was he was descending to.

So he put his hand out to touch a wall or something, thinking that he could stop his descent, and as he did that, he felt something grab his arm and enter into his chest.

He was never the same after that. From that point on he was demonized. Sadly, I was transferred from the parish soon after that and was not able to help him further, but I often pray that he met another priest who gave him the spiritual care he needed.

Priests in pastoral ministry — that is, those on the front lines of the Church — will have to deal with this growing problem of occultism sooner or later, most especially among our youth, who are the prime target of Satan's wiles. Every manner of dark seduction now pervades our culture. In its soft form we see the proliferation of filth and blasphemy cleverly packaged and sold to spiritually stunted souls as entertainment or self-help services. St. Paul tells us that the Devil and his servitors come dressed as "angels of light," and there are thousands of kids being seduced by them as we sit in our rectories pondering the flower arrangements for Advent. Nothing is new under the sun except the titles. Old heresies and insidious evils are now marketed as various New Age practices: Reiki, transcendental meditation, energy healing, Ouija, Wicca, and psychic divinization.

Of note, television shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, and their popular spawn especially target the younger generation and are followed with fanatical fervor. A whole generation of teenage girls is absolutely swooning about the new vampire flick, Twilight, and its sequel, New Moon. Some are going to this movie in prom dresses, fantasizing about what it would be like to fall in love with a vampire! This is anything but a fantasy. It is a potential gateway to grave spiritual danger for lonely, isolated kids who are "spiritually hungry" enough to explore the occult. The book Generation Hex notes that this generation of American kids is the first ever to grow up in a society in which Christianity has been stigmatized and the occult normalized. The authors also note that Wicca is the fastest growing "religion" in the U.S., and it's not hard to figure out why — there are no fewer than 700,000 Internet sites for "teenage witches." Meanwhile, the Pew Forum's "U.S. Religious Landscape Survey" found that "former Catholics" outnumber converts four to one. Ten percent of the U.S. population now consists of "ex-Catholics."

What needs to be recognized from a pastoral perspective is that a tidal wave of spiritual degradation is heading our way. "The wages of sin is death," said St. Paul (Rom. 6:23), and increasingly virulent forms of death are celebrated and institutionalized all around us. Even if the pervasive occultism were not bad enough, what kind of spiritual toll will we see from the pernicious sins that are both commonplace and celebrated in our culture: abortion, militant homosexuality, the ubiquitous plague of pornography, and the worship of any number of modern idols?

This deluge of sin and occultism should force the Church to give us more exorcists. But if priests don't respond to the need, we will have a severe accounting to the Lord for our vocations as pastors of souls. The number of lost sheep is increasing. In one exorcism I performed, the demon screamed out from the mouth of the young woman it had possessed,

"Lost! Lost! Lost soul!"

Ah, I countered, she was lost, but Christ found her and sent her to His Church.  [emphasis; mine]   (Read full article here).

[mlizzy]

Please pray for Fr. Euteneuer and the end of evil in the world today ...

[johngrace]

Thank you for posting. Now with Harry Potter world Park in Florida, what an explosion of occultic interest. I used to read fantasy novels there is some kind of spell on those books. I would always have a morbid interest to do something I never before thought. When I was a teenager I had spiritual manifestation from a Led Zeppelin album that stopped playing on the stereo. You know how I got out of it? I crumbled up my leg to my chest just saying the Our Father thinking of Jesus. I asked a reverend how that pray worked. He said its an exorcism pray at the end. “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”. Oh Boy was he right. A simply spoken pray but powerful with a simple trust in our Lord. Praise Jesus!

[Sisku Hanne]

"this generation of American kids is the first ever to grow up in a society in which Christianity has been stigmatized and the occult normalized."

It really is unbelievable to think of how things have changed in one or two generations. It was so common to express you faith...no matter what faith it was, when I was a teenager. Nobody made any comments or thought twice about it. Our high school even had BJ Thomas come one time for an assembly and talk about turning his life around and finding faith.
Nowadays you are made to feel uncomfortable with any public expression of Christian faith. My niece had a teacher come over and tell her to stop praying grace (silently to herself) in the lunchroom! The mere sight of a child bowing her head and folding her hands is somehow "offensive"?! It boggles the mind.

[mlizzy]

Nowadays you are made to feel uncomfortable with any public expression of Christian faith. My niece had a teacher come over and tell her to stop praying grace (silently to herself) in the lunchroom! The mere sight of a child bowing her head and folding her hands is somehow "offensive"?! It boggles the mind.

Fr. Euteneuer is making a great effort in alerting folks with his writings/talks (not to mention his exorcisms!) that there is, in fact, a Satan that is on full-attack mode, and, of course, that's exactly why your sweet niece cannot even say a quiet prayer before lunch. We must hang tough and fight through prayer!

[mlizzy]

John, thanks for the comment and the good advice. The Our Father is a perfect prayer to dismantle the devil with. (I had a Led Zeppelin tape that I played over and over and over in my car -- no wonder I did some "shouting out" myself.:))

I've suggested to my kids to pray the Hail Mary (the devil really hates that prayer) whenever they are feeling despondent, anxious, or fearful. Be gone with that beast!! May he disappear into hell forever! St. Michael, the Archangel ...

[Salvation]

**The only social contacts he had were some really, really bad “friends,” so-called Goth types, devotees of the hideous rock star Marilyn Manson. He admitted to doing drugs with them and experimenting with all kinds of occult matter that glorified Satan in both overt and indirect ways. He was fond of violent movies and video games — or more likely they were fond of him, a basically soulless cyber-addict.**

This was one of my biggest fears with my last two children in high school. So scary.

[J Edgar]

Satan is real. Satanism is real. Read “The Franklin Coverup” and you will see just how far up it has reach into the Corporate and Government worlds!
Pray, Pray, Pray is all I can say.

[johngrace]

The St Michael Pray is Very Very Powerful pray! But we have to be more bold in these days. I see this occult thing everywhere today. You ever hear Father Corapi talk about his days in Hollywood.

[mlizzy]

The St Michael Pray is Very Very Powerful pray! But we have to be more bold in these days. I see this occult thing everywhere today. You ever hear Father Corapi talk about his days in Hollywood.

Yes, I have (my past sins have been just as grievous, no doubt, yet maybe not so adventuresome), and I agree with you. In addition to participating in the sacraments frequently, we carry with us the sacramentals; the miraculous medal (of which we hand out to others or place in the yards of those who are having difficulties with their health, or marriage, etc.) and the brown scapular. We also try to keep our holy water fonts filled, and chalk the 20+C+M+B+10 over our doors, and so on ...

P.S. Someone in our area has the license plate "CHOICE" (it's a bit unnerving to see) so, while parked and in a restaurant, we gave her the MM treatment. We put one on top of her car.:)

[mlizzy]

This was one of my biggest fears with my last two children in high school. So scary.

I hear ya Salvation. I wanted so much to homeschool our kids, but my health wasn't anywhere near the level to do so. They seem to be doing okay, but I sure wish my prayers could get our sons back in the pews with frequence. I must remain patient, pray and trust (so says my confessor).

[mlizzy]

Satan is real. Satanism is real. Read “The Franklin Coverup” and you will see just how far up it has reach into the Corporate and Government worlds! Pray, Pray, Pray is all I can say.

Yes, I've read a little about that. Pure evil! I read a line in a book a long time ago that said if you knew all the evils going on in the world at any particular moment, you would perish on the spot. A priest we know changed that to knowing all the evils just on your own block ... Gotta keep praying as you say ...

[johngrace]

I wear a scapulur and St Benedict Medal myself.

[Judith Anne]

The most wonderful line, to me, in the Our Father, is “Thy Will Be Done.”

As far as I’ve learned over the decades, sin is about “my will” — in opposition to God’s Will. Instant gratification, feelgood temptations, the lure of power, just about any sin I can think of involves setting up our own desires, wishes, wants, impulses, whims, greed, yearnings, against what we know is right, prudent, honest, healthy, honorable, kind.

A life free of demonic infestation cannot be guaranteed. Prayers, fasting, sacrifice, with prudent care of the body, the prayers of friends, frequent reception of the sacraments, making use of the appropriate sacramentals — these help us all to focus our attention on “Thy Will Be Done.” There is no peace like prayers softly prayed in love with the beautiful Savior.

[Biggirl]

Plus, this is also a reminder to our Protestant brothers and sisters that when it comes to really bad demonic infestations/possesions, call in the big guns, a Roman Catholic priest who is trained to be able to do that! In other words, simply praying for delieverence is not enough!

[Quix]

SERIOUS STUFF, for sure.

Led Zepplin et al are certainly a root to demonic oppression and possession.

[johngrace]

Also remember Its the belief and trust of our Faith that Christ came in the Flesh meaning the divine became human which I know you or I as Catholics or Any true Christian Protestant which believe The Apostles creed or Nicene creed. Thats In” 1 John chapter 4” christian requirement. But like a Mormon does say the” Our Father or Lord’s Prayer “too in wording but do not acknowledge Christ in the Flesh its a hollow prayer for them. You know I listen to Christian music sometimes or around the Holidays, when the Handels Messiah comes on the radio I can tell if its from The Mormon Tabernacle Choir with out looking for info. The Holy Spirit shows me its hollow. Its like Holy Spirit sense. Sometimes I can sense this with people in the occult without knowing them.

[Little Ray]

I read the Harry Potter books. Their approach to magic is, at best, simple minded. I don’t see how they can do much damage.

The problem is not the “occult material” lying around, but the lack of God and the Church in the early life of children. I like occult fiction. However, none of it challenges my faith. Of course, from my earliest memories, my family always attended Church and I attend it now that I’m adult - and my daughters attend with me.

[mlizzy]

Plus, this is also a reminder to our Protestant brothers and sisters that when it comes to really bad demonic infestations/possesions, call in the big guns, a Roman Catholic priest who is trained to be able to do that! In other words, simply praying for delieverence is not enough!

"Call in the big guns" indeed. According to this article, it looks like we have one of the 17 official Church exorcists right here in Chicago. Maybe he can work on ... well, er, never mind ...

Have you ever read about Bobby Jindal's involvement in an exorcism? Although a Catholic priest was not in attendance and Jindal was quite young, but still concerned about that issue, I wonder how strong his faith is currently, because we sure could use someone of the following mindset to help our battle today ...

I could not pray to God. I tried as hard as I could, but I couldn't. Out of desperation, I called upon the saints to articulate my prayers and rescue me from this living nightmare. Though I had never prayed with the saints before, I began to understand the Church's teaching of the unity within the One Body. I pleaded with the saints in Heaven to offer God the prayers I was unable to formulate.

Even I felt confident enough to approach God once again; Susan's lunge for the door awakened and invigorated me. Strangely, I found myself repeating the Hail Mary until it became a chant. Being a recent convert to Catholicism, I had yet to accept the Catholic doctrines concerning Mary and considered any form of Marian devotion to be idolatry. Though I had never before prayed a Hail Mary in my life, I suddenly found myself incapable of any other form of prayer. Somehow, Mary's intercessions allowed me to find peace during that long night; I knew that I had survived the worst and that I would exit with my faith intact. It terrified me to recall how close I came to turning away from Christ out of fear.

I left that classroom with a powerful belief in Mary's intercessions and with many questions about spiritual warfare; I also learned a lasting lesson in humility and the limits of human understanding. Was the purpose of that night served when so many individuals were inducted into the Church? Did I witness spiritual warfare? I do not have the answers, but I do believe in the reality of spirits, angels, and other related phenomena that I can neither touch nor see. -- Physical Dimensions of Spiritual Warfare, December 1994, By Bobby Jindal/New Oxford Review

[johngrace]

I think if we have spiritual discernment someone can say what you just commented. Maybe but what about the children. You do know the books are highly favored by the Children. They could pretend their way to the powers of hell. What so good about this risk. Why do it. The Vatican exorcist is against it. He knows the enemy better than most. There is now a pink ouji board does that make it kosher. The Devil is on the prowl. To DECEIVE. I mean you should have a healthy spiritual balance. Everything from the enemy comes with a half truth GENESIS 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You [1] shall not eat of any tree in the garden? and the rest is history to our detriment.

[Little Ray]

Ouji boards are a different animal. Pink or not, when you use it, you’re inviting something in... Not a good thing to do. We had one when I was a kid. I never played with it and I think it quickly disappeared. There is not one in my house and never will be.

Otherwise, kids can pretend all they want. Waving wands and spouting nonsense is as harmless as pointing a toy gun (or a finger) and going “bang!” (And doesn’t get you in trouble with hoplophobic school administrations...)

Get the kids baptized, get them in Church early, do your best teach them right and wrong (and good marksmanship), and things will generally go well.