Confronting the occult
Laura DeMaria
I read two things this week that complimented each other: one, a post at Word on Fire called Know Thine Enemy: Demonic Interest on the Rise which begins noting the increasing interest of the American public in entertainment focused on the subject of demons and evil. At the same time, and as I just discussed earlier this week on the Morning Air show, there is an continued decline in belief in God, religiosity, and religious service attendance. Not a great pair of facts!
The other thing I came across is a set of notes taken by someone who attended a talk given during Lent by exorcist Fr. Vincent Lampert. You can see the notes here.
There are a lot of interesting things in that talk. One I will draw out immediately is Fr. Lampert’s directive to be fascinated by the things of God, not those of the devil. Don’t even go there.
For example: The Word on Fire article mentions a recently-released, well-performing podcast about a particular exorcist’s experiences. I started to listen to it recently, and turned it off before the first episode was even halfway over. Why expose myself to that, horror? What good does it do me? What on earth am I learning? So I will instead be fascinated by the things of God: the generosity of neighbors, the well-made meal enjoyed with loved ones, the serendipity of meetings, the examples of virtue and beauty of people I know. Just leave it at that.
Otherwise from the talk I was struck by a few things:
It is in ordinary observance of the faith that ones keeps the enemy of our human nature away. Not through great, big gestures; just going to church, praying, and receiving confession are enough. That makes sense.
To become possessed, you have to open up an entry point for a demon to enter your life. (see above why I am not even listening to a podcast about exorcisms)
Demons believe in God, as well as recognize the hierarchy of the Church, which is why a priest performing an exorcism works.
Community defeats isolation which would allow the devil to enter in
So that’s just a few things. It’s good to know what you’re spiritually up against, yes. But it’s even better to believe that God wins in the end , and that he is at work in your life right now, and that His triumph is real.