Spirit Daily

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Objects Linked With A Dark Force Can Be The Source Of Real But Hidden Problems

By Michael H. Brown

One of the great needs in the modern Church is a return to the practice of deliverance. Around the world, thousands suffer from demonic problems that are ignored,  misdiagnosed, or discarded as "superstitious." In many dioceses, there isn't even an exorcist.

This is incredible when we remember how frequently Christ had to cast out demons (especially before He healed) -- and how He instructed His followers to do the same. Satan is an angel of dark, and operates with stealth. Most of the time, we don't even realize he is affecting us.

Yet affect us he does, often in hidden ways, and sometimes, according to experts, even through objects. This idea dates back at least to the great scholar Origen. "He tells us that, in the Name of Jesus, we can cast out demons not only from people but from things," notes Father Gabriel Amorth -- Rome's official exorcist.

Those who think this is superstition are those who have not been involved in the ministry of deliverance. The idea is simple: good objects bring down forces that are good (statues, sacramentals) and bad ones raise a negative energy. "God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out," notes Acts 19:12.

If blessed objects carry holy power, the reverse is also true.

Strange as it may seem -- especially to Catholics who have not been schooled in this -- demons have certain legal rights, and one is to hover over "dedicated" territory. When evil is done in a place, it is "dedicated" to the dark spirit until that spirit is broken or purged. This is why we find phenomena occurring in certain parts of the country where there were pagan rites.

The same is true in our homes. Books can carry an actual spiritual attachment, as can pictures, computer files, magazines, photographs, or anything that may have a nefarious aura. It doesn't have to be occult. It can also be a connection to drugs, violence, pornography, or other dark behavior. If you have such items in your homes, it is wise to purge them. If you have books about the occult -- witchcraft, satanism, astrology, New Age, psychics, mediums, vampires, horror thrillers -- or books by or about evil people, these can bring an energy into your home because you (in reading it) or the author (in writing it) had a connection to that dark force.

It is well-documented in the literature of exorcists: when we have something that connects with a source that is demonic, an evil energy may well hover around that object, even drawing unwelcome spirits into a home.

This can cause everything from anxiety, oppression, and other emotional upsets to actual physical discomfort (for example headaches, insomnia, and digestive disorders) -- or so exorcists tell us.

Is this to say that all such ailments are caused by evil? Of course not. It is only to say that our society has gone to such an extreme that we have forgotten the source of many problems. The curse is removed, says Father Amorth, by burning such objects or otherwise destroying them. "You cannot cast out demons if they have a right to be present," adds a deliverance expert named Jonas Clark. "Having possession of their property gives them the right to be present."

The same is true of false seers: if they have been receiving their revelations from a demonic source, their books can be a source of hidden problems.

Prayer, fasting, and Communion are highly effective means of purging such evil -- and protection. "Blessings not only attract the grace of God, but also dispel the evil influence of a malediction," noted German stigmatic Anne Catherine Emmerich. "How sad that the priests of our day are so neglectful of their power, we might even say ignorant of what the sacerdotal benediction is! Many of them hardly believe in it. They blush at a blessing as if it were a superstitious and antiquated ceremony, whilst some never reflect upon the power given them by Jesus Christ. The whole Church is but one body. All must be deprived of what one member refuses to bestow."

March 2004

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