How Do You Know If Thoughts Are From The Devil Or Just From Your Own Mind ?

Below is a question to Dan Burke. Dan Burke is the Founder of Catholic Spiritual Direction, the most widely read blog on the topic of authentic Catholic spirituality. Dan is also the Executive Director of and writer for EWTN’s National Catholic Register, a regular co-host on Register Radio, an author and speaker who regularly provides webinars and travels to speak about his conversion and the great riches that the Church provides us through authentic Catholic spirituality.

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Q: Dear Dan, my thought life is sometimes out of control. When I get angry or disturbed it seems like these feelings press a “replay” button on the scenes of my struggle to the point where I want to scream to make it stop. Sometimes I lose lots of sleep. The tapes in my head replay what I should have said or could have said - what will I do in response etc.

I guess my main question is how do I know the source of these thoughts and then how do I battle them or manage them effectively if it is even possible or important to know?

A: Dear Friend, the great thing about this question is that you realize that you are being influenced or burdened in a way that is not in keeping with what God desires of you. As you probably well know, the unmanaged musings of an injured soul can easily lead us away from the peace that Christ has for us and into further sin or destructive behavior. Your self-awareness is a very important first step in the right direction.

Let’s start with the first part of your question, knowing the source of our thoughts. It is both possible, and important, to learn the discernment skills necessary to understand if our thoughts come from our self, the devil, or God. Your mention of an automatic ‘replay button’, and the struggle and unrest that come with it are good indicators that these thoughts are not from God. That leaves us two final options, the self, or the devil.

Thoughts Rooted in our Own Minds

On a natural level, our memories are trained by years of repeated behavior. There are automatic negative thoughts that some of us experience when, for instance, we make a mistake. “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” We can go on forever beating ourselves up to no good end. This is not of God. (St. Therese of Lisieux has a lot of good advice in regard to being kind to ourselves.) We need to retrain our memory so that we break the tapes. A good way to do this is by simply adopting any short prayer that we commit to repeat every time these thoughts surface. This prayer can be as simple as “Lord Jesus I trust in you” or a hail Mary.

Discernment About Thoughts from God and the Enemy

Although the devil cannot read our thoughts, he watches us carefully for our entire lives and he knows just how we will react to certain things. As well, he will supply all the rationalization and arguments we need in those “shoulda, coulda, woulda ”conversations , and even when our thoughts start out on a positive note, he will seek to lead us off track and right back to the old familiar patterns. In The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, (Rules four and five for the second week.), he tells us in to watch the scope of our thoughts from beginning to end. They must be good in the beginning, middle, and end, to be of the good spirit (from God). If they fail to be good in any part, then we have likely been influenced by something that is not of God.

Learning to tell the difference between thoughts that come from our self or from the devil takes a lot of practice and discernment, and is best done with the help of a spiritual director. But a good starting point is to begin by learning what is of God, and what is not of God. When thoughts are from God they are gentle and peaceful. If He chastises, He does so in a way that does not condemn but seeks to restore. A good example of this is when we see with complete honestly, and often humor (“Oh man! I knew better than to do that!”), that we’ve done something wrong, and we simply do what’s necessary to make it right and not dwell on it.

Some people are always thinking. Yet God makes them this way, and He provides all the grace needed to keep some sort of order in our thought processes. It will often happen that while musing on an issue like giving advice to a friend, we will suddenly understand that a particular thought is the perfect solution to a dilemma of our own. You can be sure that the Holy Spirit is behind these redemptive insights.

Knowing one’s ‘root sin’ is also helpful in determining some of the reasons why our thoughts drift in certain patterns. Once we do understand them, then we can work on changing them. It’s also good to remember to look for the fruit of our thoughts. Are they productive or did I just waste a bunch of time? If we are wasting time, it is not likely that the source is good.

These are just a few tips. You might find a book on Saint Ignatius Discernment of Spirits to be helpful. The best one I am aware of is by Fr. Timothy Gallagher. You can learn more about that book here.

Source: Catholic Spiritual Direction

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How To Listen When God Is Speaking

Book by Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ - How to Listen when God is Speaking: a Guide for Modern-Day Catholics.

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The Power Of The Sacraments

Book by Sr Briege McKenna, O.S.C. - The Power of the Sacraments

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Of Rosaries And Wars

On October 7th 1571 the Catholic Holy League of Europe met the invading naval power of the Ottoman Empire, and over 400 ships and 100,000 men fought on seas of western Greece. In what some historians describe as the most significant naval battle since the birth of Christ, a politically fractured Europe – led by the illegitimate son of Emperor Charles V, Don John of Austria – stood as the last line of hope against a full-scale Ottoman invasion of southern Europe.

The great British rhetorician and apologist G.K. Chesterton penned the poem of Lepanto in honor of the decisive victory. In part:

Strong gongs groaning as the guns boom far,
Don John of Austria is going to the war,
Stiff flags straining in the night-blasts cold
In the gloom black-purple, in the glint old-gold,
Torchlight crimson on the copper kettle-drums,
Then the tuckets, then the trumpets, then the cannon, and he comes.
Don John laughing in the brave beard curled,
Spurning of his stirrups like the thrones of all the world,
Holding his head up for a flag of all the free.
Love-light of Spain–hurrah!
Death-light of Africa!
Don John of Austria
Is riding to the sea.

Victory won and Europe preserved, the Crusaders lost 7,500 men and 17 ships. The Ottomans suffered their greatest naval loss in over a century with 17-50 ships sunk, 137-177 ships captured, and over 20,000 either wounded or captured. Don John of Austria was able to free an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Christian slaves.

Though the rosary finds its origin in St. Dominic’s struggles against the Albigensians and is even credited with the victory against them at the Battle of Muret – it was not until the victory at Lepanto that Pope Pius V instituted the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. As Don John fought upon the seas of Greece, Pope Pius V had called the Church together to recite the rosary in hopes that Europe would be saved from an Islamic invasion.

The feast was localized primarily to Spain until two military victories in the 18th century convinced Pope Clement XI to declare a universal celebration. The Church saw something undeniable when Catholics were willing to both stand for what was good and just, and humble themselves in prayer and meditation to the mysteries of Christ through the eyes of Mary.

We are all aware of the beauty and grace the Rosary can bring to our personal lives, but often we forget about its power to change human society. As Catholics, our liturgical rythym is shaped by holy days that call us to remember events that memorialize God’s love and action in human history. Remembering these events has a profound effect not only on our own spiritual formation, but also upon our vocation to shape society.

We – like our brave and holy forefathers – must be people of bravery and of the rosary. Financial hardships, global uncertainties, and military conflicts have presented us with a world in constant need of the spiritual and corporeal acts of mercy. And on the defensive, many are aware that the USCCB has created an ad hoc committee for Religious Freedom to combat the deterioration as observed in new HHS mandate and abandonment of DOMA.

To dig deeper into the treasury of the Church’s light on Mary Fr. Peter Cameron’s Mysteries of the Virgin Mary: Living Our Lady’s Graces is an excellent resource. Fr. Cameron’s book is not a theological or historical treatise, but rather a devotional guide that the Catholic reader can turn to throughout the year to understand and meditate on Marian events. Meditating upon Our Lady’s life and saying her rosary,can produce significant change extending far beyond individual hearts and even into the events of nations.

Fr. Cameron will be appearing on EWTN’s literary program Bookmark
on October 16th to discuss the implications of the mysteries of Mary’s life.

Catholics are people of action and prayer. Looking back over the history of the Church we see our fellow brothers and sisters who have acted bravely and prayed piously. Their actions shaped our world. Now we must shape ours.

Source: Catholic Spiritual Direction

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70 Metal Books Found In Cave In Jordan

British archaeologists are seeking to authenticate what could be a landmark discovery in the documentation of early Christianity: a trove of 70 lead codices that appear to date from the 1st century CE, which may include key clues to the last days of Jesus' life. As UK Daily Mail reporter Fiona Macrae writes, some researchers are suggesting this could be the most significant find in Christian archeology since the Dead Sea scrolls in 1947.

The codices turned up five years ago in a remote cave in eastern Jordan—a region where early Christian believers may have fled after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. The codices are made up of wirebound individual pages, each roughly the size of a credit card. They contain a number of images and textual allusions to the Messiah, as well as some possible references to the crucifixion and resurrection. Some of the codices were sealed, prompting yet more breathless speculation that they could include the sealed book, shown only to the Messiah, mentioned in the Book of Revelation. One of the few sentences translated thus far from the texts, according to the BBC, reads, "I shall walk uprightly"--a phrase that also appears in Revelation. "While it could be simply a sentiment common in Judaism," BBC writer Robert Pigott notes, "it could here be designed to refer to the resurrection."

But the field of biblical archaeology is also prey to plenty of hoaxes and enterprising fraudsters, so investigators are proceeding with due empirical caution. Initial metallurgical research indicates that the codices are about 2,000 years old--based on the manner of corrosion they have undergone, which, as Macrae writes, "experts believe would be impossible to achieve artificially."

Source: Yahoo News

The cave in Jordan where the artifacts were discovered

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A Course In Miracles

The text of the book "A Course in Miracles" is the product of seven years of trance spirit channeling of a Mrs. Helen Schucman. The spirit that channeled a "new gospel" to Mrs. Schucman claimed to be Jesus Christ. The "spirit" made contact with her to correct errors in Sacred Scripture, and the teachings of the Church. The "spirit" that channeled through Mrs. Schucman wrote that Sacred Scripture was in error in teaching us that sin separates us from God, and that Jesus Christ did not die on the cross for our sins. The book "A Course in Miracles" contains a Text (the dictation's of Mrs. Schucman), a Student Workbook, and an Instructors Manual (1).

Mrs. Schucman, a Columbia University professor and psychologist, was an acquaintance of Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R. (seen on EWTN). Fr. Groeschel gave a eulogy at her funeral. Fr. Groeschel wrote (2), "This woman who had written so eloquently that suffering really did not exist spent the last two years of her life in the blackest psychotic depression I have ever witnessed." Fr. Groeschel is a holy, practical, wise, no nonsense priest, and psychologist. During an October 1994 lecture on "Discernment" given at Holy Cross Church, Rumson, N.J., Fr. Groeschel stated that he believed that Helen Shucman's experience with the channeled "spirit" was possibly a true diabolic manifestation. Fr. Groeschel's experience as a psychologist and priest included being called upon by his Bishop to investigate reported diabolic manifestations in his New York City diocese. In the lecture Fr. Groeschel described one experience — called as an exorcist — where he witnessed objects unexplainably being thrown about a room. At the end of a lengthy discussion he attributed that particular experience to paranormal manifestations — but not diabolic in nature (3). Fr. Groeschel is not easily inclined to attribute any experience to the diabolic. The possible diabolic origin in the spirit channeling of Helen Schucman was one exception given by Fr. Groeschel. Fr. Groeschel's suspicions find support in Sacred Scripture. Helen Schucman's "channeled spirit" denies that our Lord Jesus Christ came to the earth in the flesh. An abstract of "the Course" can be written based solely on two lines of the "spirit" channeled writings. Chapter 8, Section VII, paragraph 7, page 152 states:

"The Bible says, "The Word (or thought) was made flesh." Strictly speaking this is impossible, since it seems to involve the translation of one order or reality into another."

Contrast the "spirits" channeled words to the inspired words of St. John (1 John 4:1-3):

" Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of anti-christ, of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already."

To further stress the assertion to a "student" of "the Course" that Jesus Christ was but an illusion the accompanying Manual For Teachers, page 87, Clarification of Terms, Section 5, "Jesus-Christ", paragraph 2 states: " The name of Jesus is the name of one who was a man but saw the face of Christ in all his brothers and remembered God. So he became identified with Christ, a man no longer, but one with God. The man was an illusion, for he seemed to be a separate being, walking by himself, within a body that appeared to hold his self from Self, as illusions do."

The "channeled spirit" was not from God.

On page 186 of the Text the "spirit" writes, "I do not bring God's message with deception, and you will learn that you always receive as much as you accept."

One does find truth in the writings of "the Course." The following quote would be humorous if it were not for the sad ending of Mrs. Schucman's life, and the influence "the Course" has had on thousands of individuals. Chapter 9, Section IV, paragraph 8, of the Text, page 170 states: "Anyone who elects a totally insane guide must be totally insane himself." Chapter 25, Section VII, paragraph 8, of the Text, page 533, again states: "It would be madness to entrust salvation to the insane."

The writing style of "the Course" is very confusing — but at the same time in some way intellectual and emotionally seductive. The writings may start with a beautiful, seemingly inspired truth and than will slowly drift to confusion — logically ending up with conclusions that are contrary to Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church.

The course is "Gnostic" in teaching and practice. The writings deny the reality of physical creation (4). The course acknowledges the need for a novice student to receive training in "the Course" by a teacher that has already received some enlightenment by studying "the Course." A separate teacher's guide forms part of "the Course." As with all "New Age" teachings, seminars are provided — for a fee — to help the individual advance in spirituality.

Some of the beliefs, as written in "the Course" are:

a. REALITY: Reality is illusory.

(1.) From Manual, page 85, "The world you see is an illusion of a world. God did not create it, for what He creates must be eternal as Himself" (Manual, p85).

(2.) "And therefore all your sins have been forgiven because they carried no effects at all. And so they were but dreams" (Manual, p87).

(3.) "Forgiveness through the Holy Spirit lies in looking beyond error from the beginning, and thus keeping it unreal for you" (Text, p169).

b. CREATION/TRINITY: The writings teach that God and His creation are one.

(1.) "There is no separation of God and His creation." (Text, p147)

(2.) "If you are part of one you must be part of the other, because they are one. The Holy Trinity is holy because It is One. If you exclude yourself from this union, you are perceiving the Holy Trinity as separated" (Text, p146).

(3.) "Creation is your will because it is His" (Text, p196).

c. JESUS CHRIST'S ORIGIN: The writings state that Jesus Christ was created (made not begotten).

(1.)"God would not have us be alone because He does not will to be alone. That is why He created His Son, and gave him the power to create with Him" (Text, p150).

d. SALVATION: We do not need a savior. Salvation is nothing more than right mindedness. We are the source of our own salvation.

(1.) "Never forget that the Sonship is your salvation, for the Sonship is your Self. As God's creation It is yours, and belonging to you It is His. Your Self does not need salvation, but your mind needs to learn what salvation is." (Text, p200).

(2.) "My holiness is my salvation." (Workbook, Lesson 58, p97)

(3.) "My salvation comes from me. It cannot come from anywhere else." ..."My salvation cannot come from any of these things. My salvation comes from me and only me."....."My salvation comes from me. Nothing outside of me can hold me back. Within me is the world's salvation and my own." (Workbook, Lesson 70, p120)

(4.) "Whenever two Sons of God meet, they are given another chance at salvation." (Text, P142)

(5.) "We cannot be separated. Whom God has joined cannot be separated, and God has joined all His Sons with Himself." (Text, p150)

(6.) "Yet all loss comes only from misunderstanding. Loss of any kind is impossible." (Text, p152)

(7.) "He will teach you how to see yourself without condemnation, by learning how to look on everything without it. Condemnation will then not be real to you, and all your errors will be forgiven." (Text, p168)

e. GOD: God is your identity, you will be like God.

(1.) " The recognition of God is the recognition of yourself. There is no separation of God and his creation." (Text, p147)

(2.) "God's Name is holy, but no holier than yours. To call upon his Name is but to call upon your own." (Workbook, p342)

(3.) "My decision cannot overcome yours, because yours is as powerful as mine. If it were not so the Sons of God would be unequal." (Text, p145)

(4.) "Our creations are as holy as we are, and we are the Sons of God Himself, as holy as He is." (Text, p150)

(5.) "God Himself is incomplete without me." (Text, p177)

(6.) "God is not jealous of the gods you make, but you are." (Text,p186)

f. SELF: We are sinless and are like God.

(1.) "My true Identity is so secure, so lofty, sinless, glorious, and great, wholly beneficent and free from guilt, that Heaven looks to It to give it light." (Workbook, Lesson 225, p403)

(2.) "You do not know yourself, because you do not know your Creator. You do not know your creations because you do not know your brothers, who created them with you.... He is the co-creator with God and you." (Text, p137)

(3.) "Glory to God in the highest, and to you because He has so willed it." (Text, p141)

(4.) "What God and His Sons create is eternal, and this only is their joy." (Text, p148)

(5.) "God does not contradict Himself, and His Sons, who are like Him, cannot contradict themselves or Him. Yet their thought is so powerful that they can even imprison the mind of God's Son." (Text, p149)

(6.) "God gave you the function to create in eternity." (Text, p168)

g. LAST JUDGMENT: Have no fear of God's Judgment

(1.) "Do not fear the Last Judgment, but welcome it and do not wait, for the ego's time is "borrowed" from your eternity."..... "The Second Coming is the awareness of reality, not its return." (Text, p170)

In dealing with individuals who teach and follow "the Course" one must realize that they probably believe they are truly seeking God in their studies of "the Course." Those trying to follow the teachings would consciously reject all evil. Unfortunately, their beliefs are "Gnostic" and they probably consider a Catholic's devotion to the Faith , given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ, as unenlightened medieval superstition to be rejected by all in this enlightened "new age." The teaching's in "the Course" are particularly attractive to individuals who have fallen away from the faith and find themselves seeking something to fill their spiritual void.

Reading Sacred Scripture is nourishment for the soul, since the words have been inspired by the Holy Spirit. Taking the words of "the Course" into one's heart will lead to a slow spiritual death. It is a book to be avoided at all costs. Unfortunately celebrities such has John Denver have been taken in by the book and have spread its influence.

Source: Catholic Culture


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Your Best Life Now

Joel Osteen and his book Your Best Life Now preaches prosperity gospel, teaching how Christians can attain good health and prosperity are promised in the bible.

Your Best Life Now, is the highly acclaimed book by Joel Osteen, pastor of America's largest church. It is written to help you fulfill the potential for your life. Whatever your God given dreams are, whether you desire to be a better parent, do your best at your vocation, or build a stronger marriage, through scripture and Joel's personal experiences, this book will help you to live Your Best Life Now. The good news contained in Your Best Life Now is that your dreams, goals, and aspirations do not have to stay on "tomorrow's to do list," rather, through applying seven steps you can begin to live at your full potential.

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The Pope And Angels

Fr. Marcello Stanzione, an Italian priest, is dedicating his life to promote the proper devotion to angels. He has written several books on these heavenly beings. His most recent work, “The Pope and the Angels”, describes how angels have helped popes throughout history. The book begins by saying how guardian angels are a special help to anyone.

“Angels help us on a physical level. A lot of incidents have been avoided due to the help of angels. But above all, they are our companions against demonic temptations and they also give advice on how we can live in a more saintly way. They also teach us how to pray.”

“The Pope and the Angels” talks about the history of angelic intervention in the lives of past pontiffs. Obviously, it discusses the excerpt from the Book of Acts, in which an angel frees Saint Peter from prison.

“Saint Peter was freed from prison by an angel and when he arrived to the house of the Christians, the interesting thing is that nobody believed him and they said: 'It's not him, it's his angel!' This shows the great devotion Christians had towards angels, in the first years of Christianity.”

The book also tells the story of an episode in the life of Gregory the Great. It was in 590 AD, a plague spread throughout the Empire. The Pope asked for help from Heaven in a procession that ended at the Mausoleum of Hadrian. On their march, they met the archangel Saint Michel cleaning a blood-stained sword, indicating the plague had been defeated.

Since then this place is called Castel Sant'Angelo and is guarded by a statue of the archangel.

“During Pope John XXIII's five-year papacy, he spoke about angels about 40 times, and he always said that he convoked the Second Vatican council after being inspired by his own guardian angel.”

From then on, John XXIII said that every pope has about twelve guardian angels. A devotion which he cultivated, but was never declared as a truth of the Catholic faith.

Source: Rome Reports

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The Rite: The Making Of A Modern Exorcist

An American priest travels to Italy to study at an exorcism school. This movie is based on a true story of an American priest who travelled to Italy to study at an exorcism school.

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Matt Baglio’s curiosity was piqued.

An exorcism course at a Vatican-affiliated university in Rome? It was an unusual topic. As an American journalist living in the Eternal City, he thought it might make for an interesting article; as a non-practicing Catholic at the time, he approached it with some skepticism.

Taught by exorcists and experts in theology, satanic cults, criminology and psychology, the course he took challenged many of his assumptions. But what really intrigued him was the openness and honesty of a fellow student, Father Gary Thomas, a priest from the Diocese of San Jose, Calif., whose bishop, Patrick McGrath, had asked him to undergo training as an exorcist.

As the two got to know each other, a friendship — and a book — were born. The book, in turn, gave rise to a major film starring Anthony Hopkins, The Rite, to be released in theaters Jan. 28.

Baglio’s book, The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist , follows Father Thomas through his hands-on training with an experienced exorcist in Rome and accompanies him on his first exorcisms. At the same time, Baglio’s research provides a more detailed understanding of the history, rites and rituals of exorcism according to Catholic teaching.

Baglio spoke about some of the insights he gained from researching and writing The Rite.

It’s unusual for a layperson to write about a topic such as exorcism. What were you hoping to achieve with this book?

I wanted the book to be as real as possible. Too often in the past, most books on the topic have fallen into two categories — either they were written by priests who believe 100% or they are written by skeptics who don’t want to believe. I fell right in the middle. I didn’t discount the possibility that it was real, but there were some aspects that didn’t convince me.

Even exorcists admit that 90% of the people who come to see them don’t need an exorcism. I tried to focus my research on that remaining 10% and came to the conclusion that even though some of these cases could be explained, there were still a few that remained outside the scientifically explainable.

Being naturally curious, I wanted to understand what was going on. I wanted to shine a light on this phenomenon so that believers and skeptics could look at this topic and say, “I’ve never seen it talked about like this before.”

In addition, while I had read books on the theology of exorcism before, I’d never read a book about what it was like to actually be an exorcist, and the book was really an attempt to present the topic through the eyes of this journey.

What did you learn that changed your previous assumptions about exorcism?

One was that the exorcist has to be the ultimate skeptic. At first, the skepticism surprised me, but then it made sense — because the last thing you want is a priest who sees the demon behind every corner.

I was also surprised by the sophistication of many of the exorcists; they had doctorates, spoke many languages, and they didn’t have the fundamentalist approach I had expected. Every exorcist I talked to was also incredibly humble. They weren’t these action-hero types you’d expect. Some of them were very old, frail, shy and timid. During an exorcism, they pray the ritual very calmly and quietly. Hollywood wants the dramatic elements; they want the holy water to hit the person, the scream, the cross, etc., but it’s usually not like that.

Another was that exorcism is not a one-shot deal. People think that once the exorcist begins praying the ritual, he doesn’t stop until it’s over, and if the demon isn’t cast out, the exorcism was a failure. But it’s really a journey, a process.

Many people think that exorcism is on the fringe. I was surprised to learn that the theology behind exorcism isn’t. Exorcism was central to what Jesus was trying to do in his public ministry. There was spiritual warfare in the early Church, and it has been passed on to priests today who are now exorcists.

It’s important to note that exorcism works in tandem with the sacraments, especially reconciliation. The goal is to weaken the power of the demon so that the person can return to practicing their faith, praying and receiving the sacraments.

How does an exorcist distinguish between cases of psychological illness and cases of demonic possession?

Exorcists have to work with mental-health experts, because there is a fine line between mental illness and demonic possession, and it can be difficult to discern. Someone who says he hears voices or demons talking to him could be suffering from schizophrenia, for example.

The priest has to be cautious, and there has to be a process. To discern the presence of an evil spirit, they look for various signs: First, they have an interview with the person, then they send the person to see a mental-health specialist, and then the person comes back and the exorcist begins to pray blessings over them.

Exorcism is not an exact science. There’s a lot of mystery to it. In the end, everything depends on the will of God and on the person’s free cooperation.

How do people become victims of demonic possession in the first place?

It’s said there are various ways a person can open a doorway and become possessed. Exorcists told me that it’s mainly people who take their focus away from God, who don’t practice their faith, go to church or receive the sacraments.

According to exorcists, the No. 1 reason is an involvement in the occult. There could be other factors at work, such as a curse or being part of a Satanic cult.

Every case is different, but the one common factor seems to be that it’s about personal choice, personal responsibility. I had one exorcist tell me that demonic possession isn’t a disease; there are no predisposed qualities that a person has that can cause them to become attacked by a demon. A person needs to open up a doorway, and so in this way, we must be aware of our actions and try to avoid grave sins.

This also means that in order for a person to become liberated they have to be proactive and correct the behaviors or actions that may have led them into becoming a victim in the first place.

How faithful is the movie to the spirit of the book? We know that the character of Father Gary Thomas was changed from a priest to a young seminarian having doubts about his faith; that’s one major departure from the book. Does the movie present the priesthood and the theology of exorcism accurately?

The movie is slightly different from the book, but there’s nothing in the movie that isn’t theologically posited in the book, so they’re not pulling things out of left field. The filmmakers have tried to be very faithful to the theology of the Church on the dynamics of demonic possession.

The message is very similar to my book, which is this idea that evil likes to stay hidden, but it’s through belief, through faith, that you’re able to overcome it.

I helped on the set of the film, and Father Gary Thomas was also on the set. He said the exorcisms they were filming were “very believable.” They were very careful to make this film as real as possible. When you’re dealing with this topic, you don’t have to sensationalize it too much. The topic is dramatic enough.

Source: National Catholic Register

Free ebook download for The Rite here.

Read the interview with Matt Baglio in Time Magazine - here.

If you're interested to lean more about evil and demonic possession, listen to prominent Catholic theologian and exorcist Fr. Malachi Martin on The Nature Of Evil, Exorcism & Possession and watch a real video on an exorcism in America. Watch also this documentary showing a real exorcism in the Philippines.

Fr. Gabriele Amorth, Rome's chief exorcist's book is definitely worth a read. This milestone book is a great resource on demonology and diabolic possession. Read about how one can get possessed and how to protect yourself and your family - here.

Additionally, for a further understanding of this ancient rite, you can also watch this video about the Catholic Rite Of Exorcism.

If you need help pertaining to cases of demonic possession or oppression, please contact a deliverance prayer group in your area listed in this worldwide directory.

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Jesus Among Other Gods

The author, Frederick Antony Ravi Kumar Zacharias, is an Indian-born, Canadian-American Christian apologist and evangelist. Ravi Zacharias is the author of numerous Christian books, including Gold Medallion Book Award winner Can Man Live Without God ?




Don't all religions teach the same thing ?




Many religions claiming to be the true path



When Pope John Paul II called for a massive "new evangelisation" of Asia during a November 1999 visit to India, his comments sparked protest from Hindus for whom proselytising is a form of oppression. The debate underscored the sharp difference between Western creeds such as Christianity and Islam, which tend to be exclusive, and Eastern religions that stress pluralism.

The reality is that if religion is to be treated with intellectual respect, then it must stand the test of truth, regardless of the mood of the day. This book is a defense of the uniqueness of the Christian message.

In this book Ravi Zacharias explains how the blueprint for life and death itself is found in a true understanding of Jesus. With a simple yet penetrating style, Ravi Zacharias uses rich illustrations to celebrate the power of Jesus Christ to transform lives. This book contrasts the truth of Jesus with founders of Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, strengthening believers and compelling them to share their faith with our post-modern world.

In Jesus Among Other Gods, Ravi Zacharias examines the truly unique message of Jesus in distinction to other major religions of the world. Is Jesus Christ really that different from other religious teachers ? Aren't all the major religions basically the same ? Ravi Zacharias looks at 6 vital questions that Jesus answered in a way that no other claimant to divine or prophetic status would have answered. Some may resist Jesus' answers, but antagonists will not be able to challenge his uniqueness.

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Novels To Keep Satan At Bay

Flourishing fully in the 19th century, with Darwin and Marx ascendant and Freud in the wings, the novel matured as a very worldly art form. A kind of heightened journalism, the art of Dickens, James, Balzac and others chronicled society while examining class, romance, war, and politics.

The great Russians -- Tolstoy and Dostoevksy, the latter the novel's sharpest psychologist and strongest spiritual force -- grappled hotly with God, but they were exceptions. As the century turned, so did the novel, toward experiment, abstraction, self-reference. Catholic truth celebrates creation but abhors materialism, and its timelessness scorns novelty. It's not surprising then, that Catholics make uneasy novelists.

That unease, however, can prompt greatness. Catholics bring to the form the spirit that completes the flesh: attentive to the Word beyond the world, they make fictional life fully-dimensional. Originally the province of the French visionaries Mauriac and Bernanos, the Catholic novel has found exponents as various as are the many roads to Rome. What unites them, though, is their insistence that the novel ultimately be realistic: that it heed, that is, the whisper of the soul above the clamor of the streets.

Here follows a sampling of great Catholic novels, listed solely in the order of my preference. Try them all; each is life-changing.

♦ ♦ ♦

Graham Greene, The Power and the Glory. Action-packed, violent, their settings fascinatingly seedy, Greene's existential thrillers are philosophical brain-teasers you can't put down. Anticipating postmodernism's blurring of high art and pop culture, the English convert juxtaposes politics and age-old faith, the primal skill of storytelling with a technique that mimics the jump-cut editing of film noir. In this 1940 wonder, thugs have seized Mexico and, as all totalitarians must, outlawed the Church. Resisting alone is Fr. Montez, the most pathetic of Christ figures, a whiskey priest, a bastard's father. He's a broken vessel, to be sure, but through him flows divine love, antidote to the revolution's monstrously misguided humanism. At the end, Montez wears the martyr's crown; that the crown is, metaphorically, barbed and fly-specked underscores Greene's incarnational message: the Jesus in us is broken, disgraced, and triumphant.

Flannery O'Connor, Wise Blood. Even today, O'Connor's native Georgia remains, for Rome, missionary turf. And from the tension between her environment (Baptist, poor in spirit, rich in character) and essence (Catholic, complex, mystical) her vitality springs. Suffering from lupus erythematosus, she identified with the lame and halt and shunned: her characters are hurled, hurt, toward heaven. Hazel Motes, prickly star of this 1952 tragicomedy, may be the misfit who haunts us longest. Fanatically fundamentalist, ultimately he acts on the biblical injunction that he who has a mote in his eye must cast it out: he blinds himself. Such a shocking finish befits a yarn whose cast includes racketeering preachers, a mummy, and a rascal in a gorilla suit. Finally, however, it's Motes's grabbing for God that startles most: like Kierkegaard, O'Connor's target is the complacent Christian. And, by any means necessary, she insists that we remember: Faith is a matter of life and death.

Jose Maria Gironella, The Cypresses Believe in God. In the Spanish Civil War, Hemingway and Malraux joined the Republican ranks, Gironella didn't. While it's hard to countenance his Fascist sympathies, it's harder to deny the power of his 1952 rendering of the brutal, baffling rehearsal for World War II. The first of five books about Spain's conflict, this thousand-page epic recalls Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago, that other 20th century masterwork that renders the pathos of tradition besieged. As it surges toward the outbreak of fighting, it tells the tragedy of a priest felled by a firing squad while mobs torch churches, and of his brother, anguished over the abuses of the old order of Church and State, but terrified of anarchy's approach.

Georges Bernanos, The Diary of a Country Priest. Neglected nowadays even by his compatriots, Bernanos deserves a revival, if only for this uncommonly lovely 1937 gem. An encomium to communion and sanctity gained through commonplace struggle-a kind of Zen Catholicism, a realization of Thérèse of Lisieux's "Little Way" -- it achieves sad, simple beauty by conveying in vernacular, an ordinary cleric's transcendence. Brilliant for realizing that ennui may lend Satan his easiest entry, the tale depicts a pastor's exhaustion. Warily regarded by spiteful parishioners he hopes only to help redeem, he's insomniac, forgetful, sick, and not above complaining. But, heartbroken, he endures their suspicion and his own insufficiency -- and in so doing wins God.

J. F. Powers, Wheat That Springeth Green. Satirizing American clergy -- the bull necks squeezed by stiffened collars, the all-too-human saints -- Powers flashes wit and scalpel. But his surgery on the Church's body politic is loving: he knows how priests dress, talk, err, joke -- and pray and serve. This 1938 high comedy gives us a Father Joe Hackett, a lapsed idealist, green and oily, now "a good hard worker fond of the sauce." An all-pro suburban pastor, guardian angel of the collection basket, he renders easily to Caesar. Arriving none too soon is a younger, Sixties-happy assistant. For all his naiveté, Father Bill is the tender mystic Joe once had been. From the pair's enforced fraternity arises compassionate compromise that revitalizes their very real-world parish. It's a measured grace and completely convincing.

Shusaku Endo, Silence. In 1966, Endo scored popular and critical success with this story of the persecution of Jesuit missionaries to 17th-century Japan. In a land nominally Buddhist but overwhelmingly secular, this was no mean feat. Endo went on to become one of Japan's literary titans, but Silence remains his finest work. It's a rendering, ultimately, of kenosis, the Christian giving up of power for love. Forced to witness the torture of converts, Father Rodriguez, the young protagonist, is told that their agonies will cease -- if he renounces our Lord. Refusal, and his own martyrdom, appears inevitable, but he realizes that even such hard heroism would be self-seeking.

Sigrid Undset, Kristin Lavransdatter. Undset, a Norwegian of genius, won a Nobel for this trilogy, its last volume published in 1922. Fourteenth-century Norway, Christian but bloodied by its pagan past, provides her background; this is historical fiction grounded in period detail but supercharged with passionate immediacy. A celebration of woman's strength, it portrays the life-passages of its hero: love, motherhood, hard rural work, retirement to convent prayer, and death from the Black Plague. Kristin herself is more of a flesh and blood (and soul) character than most modern protagonists; like all of us, she spars with heaven and with earth. The world Undset recreates very nearly throbs on the page.

Francois Mauriac, A Viper's Tangle. Catholicism of the severity Mauriac prized is a relic today -- and his readers are almost as rare. It's not hard to see why; few writers are less ingratiating. But Mauriac, a 1952 Nobel recipient, rewards us with pitiless insight, with clear, dry judgment. French village life, in Mauriac's eyes, is seen through a glass darkly: flinty peasants squint, smug bourgeoisie preen. Ensnared among them, Louis, an ailing miser, undergoes domestic hell, his family the very vipers of the novel's title. Creeping deathward, he at last forgives them, but his journey toward love is a long walk, hard, on shattered glass.

Julian Green, Moira. His life at least as darkly tumultuous as his fiction, Julian Green was born in 1900 to American parents. But the language he commands with such panache is Moliere's. Even while chronicling the American South, his sensibility is European, and very Catholic. But his faith is leagues removed from conventional pieties; in his best work, the action takes place in an invariable time-frame -- the dark night of the soul. In this strange, overheated work of 1950, a student strangles the girl who tempted him down from the cross of his moral arrogance. He gives himself up, but not before Green subjects him -- and us -- to the full terrors both of lust and guilt.

Source: Inside Catholic

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An Exorcist Tells His Story

This is a milestone book on demonology and diabolic possession by Fr. Gabriele Amorth, Rome's chief exorcist. He is also the honorary life president of the International Association of Exorcists, which he founded.

Fr Benedict J. Groeschel, who wrote the forward to this book said: "He [Fr. Amorth] has been very successful in helping a wide range of persons with acute disturbances quite beyond the scope of clinical diagnosis...As a priest rather than a clinician, I recognise in this book the account of an intelligent and dedicated pastor of souls who has had the courage to go where most of us fear to tread"

In this book, Fr. Gabriele Amorth discusses the following issues:

What is possession ?

Possession is when Satan enters and takes over the physical and mental capabilities of a victim, however, the soul and will remains free. Satan acts through the victim without the victim's consent, thus the victim is morally blameless. Satan does not act alone when he possesses an individual. He works side by side with many evil spirits such as spirits of lust, hate, destruction, suicide, revenge, anger, anxiety, desperation, death, torment, etc. Such an example is found in Luke 8:30 the case of the possessed man in the territory of the Gerasenes: "Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "Legion," because many demons had entered him ".

Satan's army of evil, torment many unknowing lost souls to the point of destruction of others and of themselves. Today a more favorable climate exists for cases of possession and obsession then ever before. Our world has become a playground of pornography, sex, money, material possessions, drugs, and alcohol. There are so many instruments to spread these Satanic messages such as television, Internet, radio, music, and even the clothing we wear; thus our children are exposed to a multitude of temptations and are wide open to evil. The "predominant" Gods of of this age we live in include money, television, music, and sex. Unfortunately, the "cure"-exorcism, is considered an "ancient" ritual and is snubbed by most religious leaving many victims to suffer indescribable torments, and in some instances, even suicide.

Signs of possession (from the Roman Ritual of Exorcism)

The following are symptoms of possession as represented in the Roman Ritual of Exorcism. In most cases, a victim will have one or more of the traits listed.

* Victim speaks or understands unknown languages without ever studying the language being spoken or heard
* Victim clearly knows things that are distant or hidden
* Victim can predict future events (sometimes through dreams)
* Victim has an intense hatred for holy things
* Victim shows a physical strength far above his age or normal condition

The Extraordinary Activities of Satan Defined - The following is taken from Fr. Gabriele Amorth's second book "An Exorcist More Stories." Fr. Amorth's book is published by IGNATIUS released in 2002. The boundaries between one category and another are not clear-cut, because there is a lot of mingling and compounding of symptoms.

External Pain - deals strictly with physical suffering. This includes the beatings, scourging, and injuries caused by inexplicable pushing, falling objects, and so on, that we read about in the lives of many saints, such as the Curé of Ars. Saint Paul of the Cross, and Padre Pio. These occurrences are not as rare as we may think, and the demon's activity is usually confined to external activity; internal activity, if any, is only temporary and limited to the duration of a particular disturbance.

Diabolic Possession - is the gravest form of demonic activity, which allows a continuing presence of a demon in a human body. The evil symptoms do not have to be continuous but can alternate between periods of crisis and periods of rest. Possession implies intervals of temporary suspension of mental, intellectual, affective, and volitive faculties. Symptoms can include the knowledge of languages unknown to the victim, superhuman strength, and the ability to know the occult or someone else's thoughts. Typically, there is an aversion to anything sacred, often in conjunction with blasphemy. There are also frauds who pose as demoniac; therefore, we need to be extremely wary.

Diabolic Oppression - is a ransom discomfort. We must remember that symptoms and gravity differ greatly case by case. This oppression can strike health, job, affections, relationship with others, and so on. Its symptoms include unexplainable rages and a tendency to complete isolation. Oppression can affect both individual and groups (even very large groups).

Diabolic Obsession- causes an almost split personality. Our will remains free, but it is oppressed by obsessive thoughts. The victim experiences thoughts that may be rationally absurd but of such a nature that he is unable to free himself. The obsessed person lives in a perpetual state of prostration, with persistent temptations to suicide. We must be aware that the temptation to commit suicide is also present in diabolic possession and diabolic oppression.

Diabolic Infestation - In this case, the malefic activity is directed toward places (houses, offices, stores, fields), objects (cars, pillows, mattresses, dolls) and animals, therefore it only indirectly affects man. Origen tells us that the early Christians resorted to exorcisms in these situations.

Diabolic Subjugation - The term indicates a voluntary pact--implicit or explicit---with Satan, by which we submit to the lordship of the demon. There are also involuntary times with the evil one; these cases fall into the preceding categories, especially the most severe: possession.

How does one become possessed ?

Below, Fr. Amorth explains that there are four principal causes that may cause one to fall victim to these evils.

Pure Divine Permission
Clearly, nothing happens without divine permission, but God never wills evil, suffering, or temptation. He gave us freedom and allows the existence of evil, but knows how to turn it into good. When he gives the demon his permission to torment us, he does so to strengthen us in virtue, as in the biblical example of Job, as well as of many blesseds and saints. We must keep in mind that diabolical harassment in itself has nothing to do with the state of grace of its victims.

Subject to a Curse
Here, too, the victim is innocent, but there is culpability on the part of whoever casts and/or commissions the curse. By the word curse, I mean the intention of harming others through demonic intervention. This can be achieved in many ways: malefice (or spell), binding, evil eye, malediction, and so on. The matter is serious, but we need to be on guard against misconceptions. By their nature, curses lend themselves to all sorts of abuses, especially when we consider the current escalation in the number of frauds, suggestions, manias, and more.

Grave Hardening of Sin
Judas Iscariot is the classical Gospel example. The many individuals who abandon themselves to sexual perversions, violence, and drugs fall into this group. The heinous crime of abortion aggravates this situation; its terrible repercussions are clearly seen during exorcisms, because to liberate a victim who is guilty of abortion usually requires a very long period of time. Due to the current devastation of the family and the laxity of morals, the repercussions that stem from the scourge of abortion are much more common than in the past. When we take all these factors into account, we can understand why the number of individuals stricken by evil ailments has multiplied.

Proximity to Evil Places or Persons
This includes attending spiritualistic session, dabbling in magic, or consulting magicians, witch doctors, and some card readers; also, practicing the occult, belonging to satanic sects, or practicing in rites that climax with black masses, and so on, put us at great risk.

To this category we can add the influence of mass media, such as pornographic shows and violent horror movies broadcast by many TV stations. We witness the effects of the widespread presence of rock music, culminating in satanic rock performed in what we could easily refer to as "churches or rock", such as stadiums, parks, and discothèques. We should not be surprised that, today, there is an explosion of these activities: a decline in faith life is directly connected to an increase in superstitions. I will not tire or repeating that members of the clergy have done nothing to oppose, or at least warn against, all these evils, because they are completely ignorant even of what the Bible explicitly says on the subject. This forth category has greatly contributed to the increase in evil ailments in the last decades, especially among the young.

[This is taken from An Exorcist More Stories, also by Fr. Gabriele Amorth, published by IGNATIUS PRESS]

Who can perform and exorcism ?

In the early church (according the Early Church Fathers) the casting out of demons was widely accepted and exorcism could be performed by anyone. Why then has this practice changed? It has been found that in severe cases if the one who is casting out the demons is not experienced or grounded in faith and does not have sufficient spiritual protection it can be harmful for both the victim and the so called exorcist. We find in Matthew 17:20-21 a case in which the apostles could not cast out a demon from the epileptic demoniac. Jesus rebuked them for not being prepared and told them only through prayer and fasting could this demon be cast out.

Before Vatican II the exorcism prayer was part of the Baptismal rite. Why? In the days of the early church there were many pagans coming into the church. Part of the long preparation for these pagans coming into the church was exorcism on Holy Saturday before Easter.

Around the third century, Pope Cornelius was the first to make the exorcist a minor order (See on Internet about this). He announced that an exorcist could be a priest, deacon or in the subdiaconate. The minor order of exorcism has since been dropped by Pope Paul VI in 1972. He did not believe there was a need and it was obsolete.

From the Commentary of the Code of Canon Law

Canon 1172 - (1) No one can perform exorcisms legitimately upon the possessed unless he has obtained special express permission from the local ordinary. (2) The local ordinary is to give this permission only to a presbyter who has piety, knowledge, prudence, and integrity of life.

An exorcism is a sacramental by which "the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion. The canon pertains to solemn exorcisms observing the Rite of Exorcism of the Roman Ritual, not to the simply exorcism that are part of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults or the baptism of infants.

One of the praenotanda to the 1998 Rite of Exorcism (n13) has completely reordered this canon. There are significant differences between the new law and the canon.

An exorcist is to be a priest (sacerdos) not a presbyter (presbyterus) as in the canon, which means bishops as well as presbyters may be appointed exorcists.

The priest must have specific preparation for this office.

"For the most part" (plerumque), the local ordinary who appoints the exorcist should be the diocesan bishop, which implies that the vicar general and episcopal vicar should not do it without a special mandate, except in a case of need when the bishop cannot be reached.

The exorcist, whether appointed to the stable office of exorcist or ad actum, is to fulfill this ministry under the direction of the diocesan bishop.

Source: The Church and Exorcism.

In pages 32-35 Fr. Gabriele Amorth teaches us how to protect ourselves from any of the above:

• Prayer
• Sacraments
• Alms giving and Charity
• Leading a Christian Life
• Forgiving offences
• Fidelity to God
• Fear of sin - "the basis of our strength"
• Intercession of Saints, especially the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Intercession of Angels, especially our guardian angel.

---------------

These are what other Christians believe about dealing with demons:

Demons: evil spirits, angelic beings who joined with Satan in his rebellion against God in the kingdom of heaven (Rev. 12:4)

Demon oppression: mild to severe harassment by evil spirit(s) resulting from the opening of some door(s) to Satan's influence.

Demon possession: the condition in which one or more evil spirits inhabit the body of a human being, taking complete control of it at will and expressing his (or their) personality through that body.

Symptoms of demon oppression (caution: some of these may simply be the result of unconfessed sin or unconquered sin habits in the life of the believer)

1. abnormal, irrational fear

2. abnormal, irrational anxiety

3. abnormal, irrational loneliness

4. severe and/or persistent depression that is not physiologically induced

5. lack of self-control

6. aimlessness; the feeling that life is void of any purpose or meaning

7. conflicts with authority figures

8. violent, reckless behavior

9. loss of the fear of God

10. outbursts of hatred

11. selfish ambition, especially an appetite for power

12. irrationality; inability to detect or correct contradictions or other fallacious reasoning

Open doors to demon oppression:

1. indulgence in occult music, literature, art, dancing, etc.

2. possession ( known or unknown) of occult records, tapes, books, pictures, charms, tools, games, etc.

3. grudges against God and others

4. poor self-image

5. rebellion against authority

6. dating relationships or close friendships with demon oppressed or possessed people

7. sexual immorality with demon oppressed or possessed people

8. authority figures acceptance of Satanic influence

9. seeking or giving consent to occult power or occult revelation

10. fascination with occult power, occult revelation, or psychic phenomena, in general

11. rejection of what is know and understood to be true

12. participation in false religions or cults

13. wrong use of drugs and/or alcohol

14. wrong use of herbs

15. escapism through thrill- seeking ,science fiction, soap operas, or some other addicting hobby/activity

16. hedonism; an absorbing pursuit of entertainment and/or body pleasure

17. fascination with violence, especially violence devoid of justice; sadism and/or masochism

18. prolonged or persistent jealousy

19. bad temper or stubbornness

20. pornography

21. fascination with UFO phenomena; attempts to contact extraterrestrial beings

22. prolonged sleeplessness

23. meditation on anything other than God's revealed truth

24. chanting or other cultic/occult forms of worship

25. any contact with demon oppressed or possessed people that threatens the demon(s)

Symptoms of demon possession:

1. intense, maniacal delight in wielding power

2. total incapability of submitting to any but demonic authority

3. filthy, uncontrolled swearing without provocation, even toward total strangers*

4. irreverent, vile, lewd comments about members of the Godhead; comments attributing gross sexual immorality to Jesus*

5. sustained supernatural strength or intelligence beyond that which might come from adrenalin or some other physiological source*

6. irrationality to the degree that even the simplest spiritual truths are beyond comprehension

7. intense, highly disturbed reaction to the mentions of Jesus' name and Jesus' blood shed on the cross for man's sin*

8. possession of supernatural, occult power(s) e.g. ability to foretell future events, to levitate tables or other objects, or to travel outside the body, etc.

9. wild, unnatural facial contortions

10. presence of two or more distinguishable, coherent personalities, personalities capable of expressing themselves simultaneously (may include emergence of strange voices, dual or multiple voices, and/or unnatural conversations)*

11. unexplainable, uncontrollable terror especially in the presence of Christians whose faith is strong* (this terror arises either from the demon's fear of being cast out or from the possessed person's fear upon being cruelly threatened by the demon(s)

12. extreme violent, reckless behavior, e.g. throwing knives, playing with poisonous snakes, etc.**

13. severe, persistent depression, despondency and/or temptations to commit suicide**

14. total lack of self- restraint, especially in sexual behavior; uncontrolled sexual advances

15. extreme disregard for physical appearance and/or physical well-being**

16. intense loneliness, even in the midst of warm, compassionate fellowship* conclusive evidence of possession **

The demon's goal is to get the possessed person to kill himself and/or others before he or they act on the opportunity to be saved and become Christ's.

Open doors to demon possession by:

1. holding on to deep-seated grudges against God and others

2. giving consent to occult power or revelation, e.g. going to a fortune teller, having an astrological chart or forecast made, etc.

3. craving and seeking after occult power or revelation, e.g. taking e.s.p. tests or other psychic aptitude tests

4. possessing and/or using occult tools, charms, books, music, souvenirs, etc.

5. having parents or other close authority figures open doors to Satan's influence

6. blaspheming the Holy Spirit; i.e .repeatedly and consistently rejecting the work of the Holy Spirit as He reveals truth and convicts of sin

7. grossly and habitually rebelling against authority

8. habitually participating in gross sexual immorality

Closing doors to demon oppression and possession by:

1. Examine your life for any and all open doors.

2. Repenting of opening those doors (except in the case of #25), and confess as sin the opening of doors by your authority figures.

3. Taking action to demonstrate repentance and to purify your life, including the following:

a.) Release resentment/grudges against God and others, and seek forgiveness of those you have offended by your resentment.
b.) Repudiate and renounce any and all occult involvement; seek forgiveness of those you have offended by it; totally destroy all books and other objects connected with it.
c.) Get back under the authority of your parents, husband, pastor, elders, boss, teachers, and/or others against whom you rebelled; again, seek forgiveness wherever necessary.

4. Ask Jesus Christ to take complete control of your life with His will supreme, not your own. Dedicate your heart, soul, mind, and strength to be used for His glory, for the fulfillment of His purposes.

How to be set free from possession: With an intense effort of your will, seek the help of God and of strong, mature Christians. Attempt to communicate your desire to be set free.

Casting out demons

1. Make sure the possessed person encountered truly is possessed. Seek confirmation.

2. Exercise empathic repentance first, closing any open doors to demon influence in your own life.

3. Get not only the consent of the possessed person, but also that of his/her key authority figures, to cast the demon(s) out (Luke 11:24-26).

4. Enlist the help of five or more physically and spiritually strong Christians.

5. Do NOT lay hands on the possessed person, except as necessary to prevent bodily harm.

6. Identify the demon (or each demon, in cases where there are more than one) by asking him to give his name.

7. In the name of Jesus and by the power of His shed blood, command the demon(s) to leave.

8. Watch for deception--Remember: there may be more than just one or two.

9. In cases where a demon is particularly stubborn, engage in group fasting and prayer (Mark 9:25-29).

10. Carefully and diligently lead the person through each step of closing doors to demon oppression/possession (given above). Remember that bringing the person to salvation, to the indwelling of God's Spirit, is the only prevention for further demon possession (Mark 9:25-29).

11. Stay close to the new convert and help him get involved in a solid program of discipleship in fellowship with other believers.

If you need help pertaining to cases of demonic possession or oppression, please contact a deliverance prayer group in your area listed in this worldwide directory.

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The Spiritual Exercises Of St. Ignatius Of Loyola

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, (composed from 1522-1524) are a brief set of Christian meditations, prayers and mental exercises, divided in four thematic 'weeks' of variable length, designed to be carried out over a period of 28 to 30 days. They were composed with the intention of helping the retreatant to discern Jesus in his life, leading then to a personal commitment to follow it.

You can read the book for free here or you can download the free ebook here.

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Exorcism And The Church Militant

In this book Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer explains in detail the origin of exorcism, its place in the Church, the working of Satan and his demons, discernment, how an exorcism is conducted, the aspects of healing, deliverance, and much more. He also addresses how spirits interact, can one evil spirit enhance the power of another and how do we tell if they are there and how to expel them.

Fr. John Corapi who wrote the foreword of this book says "The phenomenon of demonic possession is one of the most frightening realities of the fallen human condition—and one of the most misunderstood. For those who seek insight into this serious aspect of the Christian faith, Fr. Euteneuer, an exorcist who has performed numerous exorcisms as well as dozens of deliverances on afflicted persons, has compiled an in-depth compendium of the basic teachings about exorcism, which will give the reader an insider’s perspective on the Church’s warfare against the enemy of our souls."

Father Thomas J. Euteneuer is president of the pro-life organization Human Life International (HLI), a position he has held since December 2000 and an exorcist priest.

Watch his interview below on EWTN's "The World Over Live".

Part 1



Part 2



Read an interesting interview with Fr. Euteneuer about exorcism and demons here - Part 1 and Part 2

If you need help pertaining to cases of demonic possession or oppression, please contact a deliverance prayer group in your area listed in this worldwide directory.

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Life With God

Richard Foster, the best selling Christian author, encourages us not only to read the bible but to be transformed by it and live it.

The Bible is all about human life “with God”. It is about how God has made this “with” life possible and will bring it to pass. In fact, the name Immanuel, meaning “God is with us”, is the title given to the one and only Redeemer because it refers to God’s everlasting intent for human life – namely, that we should be in every aspect a dwelling place of God. Indeed, the unity of the Bible is discovered in the development of life with God as a reality on earth, centred in the person of Jesus. We might call this The Immanuel Principle of life.

This dynamic, pulsating, with-God life is on nearly every page of the Bible. To the point of redundancy we hear that God is with people: with Abraham, with Moses, with Esther, with David, with Isaiah and Jeremiah and Amos and Micah and Haggai and Malachi, with Mary, with Peter, with James and John, with Paul and Barnabas, with Priscilla and Aquila, with Lydia, Timothy, Epaphroditus, Phoebe, and a host of others too numerous to name. These varied stories form a mosaic illustrating how the “with” life works in all circumstances of human existence, both in specific historical periods and through all times. This mosaic suggests a beautiful design for the way in which we view the Scriptures. From Genesis to Revelation we learn that “The Immanuel Principle, is after all, a cosmic principle that God has used all along in creation and redemption. It alone serves to guide human life aright on earth now and even illuminates the future of the universe. It is the wellspring of the river of life flowing through the Bible, surging with the gracious word of God to all humankind – “I am with you”. This river pours into the thirsty wastelands of the human soul, inviting us to enter with its insistent call “Will you be with Me?” Now, once we decide to surrender freely to this river of life, we must learn how to see into the Divine life within the bible, and increasingly receive that Life as our own, not just for us but for the sake of the world God so loves.

Nurturing the Intention

God not only originated the Bible through human authorship; God remains with it always. It is God’s book. No one owns it but God. It is the loving heart of God made visible and plain. And receiving this message of exquisite love is the great privilege of all who long for life with God. Reading and studying and memorising and meditating upon Scripture have always been the foundation of the Christian Disciplines. All of the Disciplines are built upon Scripture. Our practice of the Spiritual Disciplines is kept on course by our immersion in Scripture. And so it is, we come to see, that this reading and studying and memorising and meditating is totally in the service of “the life that really is life” (1 Tim 6:19).

We long with all our hearts to know for ourselves this with-God kind of life that Jesus brings in all its fullness. And the Bible has been given to help us. God has so superintended the writing of Scripture that it serves as a most reliable guide for our own spiritual formation. But as in its authorship, so in its presentation to the world, God uses human action. So we must consider how we can ourselves come to the Bible and also how we can present it to all peoples in a way that does not destroy the soul but inducts it into the eternal kind of life.

We begin by opening our lives in Christian community to the influx of God’s life, and by experientially finding, day-to-day, how to let Jesus Christ live in every dimension of our being. We can gather regularly in little groups of two or more to encourage one another to discover the footprints of God in our daily existence and to venture out with God into areas where we have previously walked alone or not at all.

But the aim is not external conformity, whether to doctrine or deed, but the re-formation of the inner self – of the spiritual core, the place of thought and feeling, of will and character. “Behold” cries the psalmist, “you desire truth in the inward being, therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart… create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” (Ps. 51:6, 10) It is the “inner person” that “is being renewed (renovare) day by day.” (2 Cor. 4.16)

While the many Christian traditions have differed over the details of spiritual formation, they all come out at the same place: the transformation of the person into Christlikeness. “spiritual formation” is the process of transforming the inner reality of the self (the inward being of the psalmist) in such a way that the overall life with God seen in the Bible naturally and freely comes to pass in us. Our inner world (the secret heart) becomes the home of Jesus, by his initiative and our response. As a result, our interior world becomes increasingly like the inner self of Jesus, and, therefore, the natural source of the words and deeds that are characteristic of him. By his enabling presence we come to “let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2.5)

Reading with Understanding

In seeking to discover this with God life it is helpful to read the bible in four distinct ways.
First, we read the Bible literally. Reading from cover to cover, internalizing its life-giving message. By reading the whole of Scripture, we begin to apprehend its force and power. We enter into the original dynamics and drama of Scripture; struggling with Abraham over the offering up of the son of promise; puzzling with Job at the tragedies of life; rejoicing with Moses at Israel’s release from the house of bondage; weeping with Jeremiah “for the slain of my poor people” (Jer 9.11); bowing in awe with Mary at the messianic promise.

Second, we read the bible in context. This means allowing the way in which the author originally depicted life with God to establish the standard for understanding our life with God today. We read with a firm determination to discover the intent of the original author, and then allow that intent to control our comprehension of the passage. All this helps us grasp the way God continues to shape human life today.

Third, we read the Bible in conversation with itself. In other words, we seek to understand how the whole of Scripture gives structure and meaning to each of its parts. The unfolding drama of Scripture often raises puzzling questions that are resolved only when more obscure and difficult passages are held under the light of clearer more straightforward passages. In biblical interpretation, systematic passages interpret incidental passages, universal passages interpret local ones, didactic passages interpret symbolic ones. In this way the whole Bible guides us into a better understanding of its particular parts.

Fourth, Christians read the Bible in conversation with the historic witness of the People of God. The Church learned from the Synagogue that it is the community that reads the Bible. This, in part, is what we mean when we speak of “the communion of saints”. Christians throughout the centuries help us understand the nature of life with God and provide insight and discernment that enrich our own spiritual life. So we read the Bible in conversation with Origen and Jerome, Augustine of Hippo and Hildegard of Bingen, John Chrysostom and John Calvin, Martin Luther and Richard Baxter, Watchman Nee and Sundar Singh – and many others, including wise and mature interpreters of Scripture today. This corporate reading of the Bible illuminates for us the multifaceted way The Immanuel Principle is experienced in ordinary life. (Ed. note: for Roman Catholics, the Magisterium of the Church and Tradition would be part of our interpretation and understanding of the Scriptures.)

(extract from “Life with God” by Richard Foster, with Kathryn Helmers published by Hodders and Stoughton price £10.99 – available from Good News Books, 15 Barking Close, Luton, Beds LU4 9HG tel 01582 571011 or email toni(at)goodnewsbooks.net )


RECOMMENDED READING

“The Word Made Flesh” by Eugene H Peterson (author of the Message) price £11.99 published by Hodder & Stoughton (available from October 2008)

Source: Good News