|
|
|
You write about evil,
demons, and deliverance prayer on your website, so how can it be determined if someone is
actually possessed? Also, if someone is possessed, is that person morally culpable for sins
committed?
 irst of all, “possession” can be of two
natures. In one case, a demon possessing a person can control the person like a robot;
an extreme example of this was dramatically depicted in the movie The Exorcist.
Alternatively, a demon can possess a person by living in the person as a parasite but
not controlling the person’s behavior.
|
A demon living in a
person but not controlling the person’s behavior is actually an inverted reflection
of Saint Paul’s experience. In Galatians 2:20, Saint Paul said, “I live, yet not I, but
Christ lives in me.” That is, when we choose to live a holy lifestyle and welcome Christ,
He lives in us. But if we choose to live a sinful lifestyle, we welcome demons, and they
can live in us. |
|
Now, the only way to tell conclusively
if someone is possessed is for a priest exorcist to pray over the person. If there are
manifestations, then possession can be certain. These manifestations can range from behaviors
such as glaring hatred in the eyes, coughing, screaming, kicking, and vomiting, and all the
way to extreme behaviors, such as levitations, superhuman strength, or a demon speaking through
the person.
If there are no manifestations in response to the
exorcist’s first prayers, then all that can be said is that the person currently shows no
signs of possession. But, because demons can hide themselves silently
from outward
detection,[1] it
is impossible to say conclusively that a person is not possessed. Consequently, only with
persistent intense exorcism prayers over the course of several sessions will a hidden demon
manifest itself.
Deliverance Prayer
If a person complains of troubling spiritual
symptoms, such as repeated sins despite repeated confessions,
several options should be considered.
• |
A Catholic psychologist
can be consulted to find and resolve any unconscious psychological conflicts behind
the symptoms. |
|
• |
A priest exorcist can be consulted while the
person seeks psychological treatment, or even directly if no Catholic psychologist is
immediately available. In either case, if the priest exorcist finds that no signs of
possession are apparent, then
deliverance prayer should be pursued
relentlessly. |
|
• |
Even if a priest exorcist is not available for
consultation, any priest can pursue deliverance prayer in an attempt to help alleviate the
troubling symptoms. |
|
• |
If a priest exorcist is not available, and if
deliverance prayer alone does not provide relief, and if consultation with a Catholic
psychologist has not been possible or has not been able to provide relief, then it will be
necessary for the troubled person to take up a lifestyle of heartfelt remorse, persistent
prayer, constant monitoring and rejection of disordered thoughts and fantasies, and avoidance
of all behaviors that are openings to demonic influence: anger,
lust, immodesty,
entertainment, sports,
alcohol intoxication,
recreational drugs,
tobacco, and
gluttony. When a person lives such a “boring” life,
the demons will be starved of the disorders they feed upon and will leave the person of their
own will. |
|
Moral Culpability
When a person commits a sin because a possessing
demon controls him or her, then he or she is not morally culpable for the sin.
But a demon can “possess” (i.e., “live in”) a
person as an internal parasite that only tempts, but does not control that person;
furthermore, demons can also oppress a person externally without actually possessing
that person internally. In either of these cases, such a person would be morally culpable for
any sins committed as a result of not resisting the demonic influence.
Granted, resisting demonic influence can be very
difficult, and that is why deliverance prayer is a necessary recourse for every afflicted
person. Still, all the sins committed under moral culpability must be repented and
confessed, sincere penance
must be undertaken, and the person must endeavor to live a
holy lifestyle to close openings to spiritual doom.
Notes
1. These are called abditi or “hidden demons.”
See Interview With An Exorcist, p. 78.
Healing
|
Though
Demons
Gloat
|
Anger
&
Forgiveness
|
Falling
Families,
Fallen Children
|
Disasters
and
trauma
|
Psychology
from the
Heart
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Psychological Healing
in the Catholic Mystic tradition |
True Christian
Identity
In Confronting
Evil |
How to Turn the
Emotional Wounds
of Daily Life Into
Psychological Growth. |
The Psychological
and
Spiritual Remedy
For Our Cultural
Disintegration |
The Struggle For
Psychological
and Spiritual
Growth |
Collected Texts
About the Spiritual Depth of
Clinical Psychology |
More information |
More information |
More information |
More information |
More information |
More information |
Desire
and
Distraction
|
Fear
|
Stopping
Smoking
|
Borderline
Personality
Disorder
|
Catholic
Compassion
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
A Catholic Perspective
On Behavioral Change
and Its Subversion |
A Catholic Explanation
Of a Universal
Problem |
Through
Faith
and
Prayer |
Healing
the
Rage |
When They Tell You
That the Moral Teachings
of the Catholic Church
Are Wrong |
More information |
More information |
More information |
More information |
More information |
|
