Could the devil attack a monstrance?

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Amylisa

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Hello,

A Christian woman I am acquainted with shared something with me that has caused me some confusion and worry.

She told me about a close friend of hers who was a fervent Catholic. However, this friend had some kind of vision that drove her away from the Church.
She was at Eucharistic Adoration one day. I don’t know if she was there alone or not. She was seated near a statue of Mary. This statue began to blink its eyes, which frightened this woman a lot. She moved to another seat in the church to get away from the statue.

Then she said as she looked towards the monstrance that it began to move. And then a moment or two later, she saw the devil behind it…maybe she saw him holding the monstrance and moving it around…I don’t know exactly.

The woman ran out of the church and never went to Mass again.
My friend who told me this story says it showed that the eucharist and Mass and all of this is of the devil.

I believe that the woman did actually see something…however the meaning could be much different than what she assumed. I asked my priest about it and he said this woman should have talked to a priest instead of just leaving the church.

I have been reading recently about how Padre Pio was so attacked by the devil. Could a Monstrance containing The Eucharist actually be attacked like this?
 
It is quite possible that a devil caused her to see something. I have had similar experiences in the past. People often say, “God would never allow ____.” To be sure there are limits on evil, but we forget sometimes that God permits a lot. He allowed his only Son to be crucified! Even today he allows great sacrilege to take place, while of course abhorring it.

That said, I would also point out that if there was an attack (and not a hallucination, delusion, or lie), then the real object of the attack was the woman, not the monstrance. Okay, in a sense it was an attack on the Church, on the faith, on the Eucharist, etc.; but this should come no more as a surprise than attacks on the faith by heretics.

Perhaps you think that God would not allow the devils to do such things, because with their great power, they might dissuade people from the faith. But even in the face of powerful deceptions, God never takes away free will, and always supplies sufficient grace to do the good. Whatever hallucinations the devils may use on some people, God’s grace will always be more than enough to overcome them.
 
I agree with Ad Orientem. I’m no expert in such things, but I’ve heard of a similar story myself. Nonetheless, we don’t know with certainty what the woman saw, if anything. It is just heresay. Perhaps she was schizophrenic.
 
Assuming everyone was telling the truth, then I think it is far more likely that she was having a psychotic episode, brought about medication or something in the environment. While boring and mundane, I think this is a far more likely explanation than Satan attacking objects associated with Adoration in a Catholic Church.
 
People often genuinely believe that they have seen something terrifying, usually when, as another poster wrote, they are adversely affected by mental illness or medication.
Similar hallucinations occur with D.T, when withdrawing from alcohol or substance abuse.
It does however concern me that people who are not ill believe ‘demons’ can touch the Monstrance containing the Living Body of Christ. I had always believed that to hold up a Crucifix would repel any manifestations of evil.

God bless you
 
Amylisa said:
Hello,

A Christian woman I am acquainted with shared something with me that has caused me some confusion and worry.

She told me about a close friend of hers who was a fervent Catholic. However, this friend had some kind of vision that drove her away from the Church.
She was at Eucharistic Adoration one day. I don’t know if she was there alone or not. She was seated near a statue of Mary. This statue began to blink its eyes, which frightened this woman a lot. She moved to another seat in the church to get away from the statue.

Then she said as she looked towards the monstrance that it began to move. And then a moment or two later, she saw the devil behind it…maybe she saw him holding the monstrance and moving it around…I don’t know exactly.

The woman ran out of the church and never went to Mass again.
My friend who told me this story says it showed that the eucharist and Mass and all of this is of the devil.

I believe that the woman did actually see something…however the meaning could be much different than what she assumed. I asked my priest about it and he said this woman should have talked to a priest instead of just leaving the church.

I have been reading recently about how Padre Pio was so attacked by the devil. Could a Monstrance containing The Eucharist actually be attacked like this?
Click to expand...
Your priest was right she should have talked to a priest
 
Too much coffee or Red Bull before adoration is my guess.

-Tim-
 
It sounds like a made-up story by this non-Catholic Christian ‘acquaintance’. If the woman in the story had truly been a fervent Catholic she indeed would have gone to her priest.
 
I don’t think a “fervent” Catholic would allow something like this to drive them away from the Church. Of course, when I think of fervent, I think of someone grounded in their faith and someone who frequents the sacraments. Someone like this I don’t believe would be so quick to leave unless they already had serious doubts or something about the Church, and this little incident was all that was needed as an excuse to depart. If not this, I’m sure it would have been something else to have caused the woman to depart.

Anyway, as for the devil being able to “move” a monstrance, I certainly think it’s theoretically possible, but in the OP’s scenario, I kinda doubt the devil actually moved it, and that the woman either just thought she saw that, or the devil was playing with her mind and making her think she was seeing certain things happening; the latter can easily happen especially if the person had committed a particular sin of grave matter or mortal sin which can lead them open to demonic attack and influences.
 
Mary_Ellen said:
It sounds like a made-up story by this non-Catholic Christian ‘acquaintance’. If the woman in the story had truly been a fervent Catholic she indeed would have gone to her priest./

I know I would have if it had been me.
Click to expand...
 
Mary_Ellen said:
It sounds like a made-up story by this non-Catholic Christian ‘acquaintance’. If the woman in the story had truly been a fervent Catholic she indeed would have gone to her priest.
Click to expand...
I would have made an appointment with my priest as soon as possible after something like this.
 
Thanks to each one of you for your replies. You brought up things I had not thought of.

I have been a Catholic since 2006, and I have had to fight for this faith…I have had several seasons of doubt. But Jesus always brought me back. Things like I mentioned in my OP don’t cause me as much difficulty as they used to, thankfully.

Studying about the history of Eucharistic belief has helped me a lot, especially the book by Brant Pitre, “Jesus And The Jewish Roots of The Eucharist.” I highly recommend it!! He also has a website based on this…I think it is www.theholyeucharist.com

Despite what non catholics tell me, I cannot doubt His Presence. There is so much scriptural basis for this, as well as history. And this acquaintance who told me that story is VERY anti catholic. So I should not have allowed this to shake me as much as it originally did.
Thanks.
 
Amylisa said:
Thanks to each one of you for your replies. You brought up things I had not thought of.

I have been a Catholic since 2006, and I have had to fight for this faith…I have had several seasons of doubt. But Jesus always brought me back. Things like I mentioned in my OP don’t cause me as much difficulty as they used to, thankfully.

Studying about the history of Eucharistic belief has helped me a lot, especially the book by Brant Pitre, “Jesus And The Jewish Roots of The Eucharist.” I highly recommend it!! He also has a website based on this…I think it is www.theholyeucharist.com

Despite what non catholics tell me, I cannot doubt His Presence. There is so much scriptural basis for this, as well as history. And this acquaintance who told me that story is VERY anti catholic. So I should not have allowed this to shake me as much as it originally did.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Glad that you are staying in the faith And believe me I need the Holy Eucharist.
 
Despite what non catholics tell me, I cannot doubt His Presence. There is so much scriptural basis for this, as well as history. And this acquaintance who told me that story is VERY anti catholic. So I should not have allowed this to shake me as much as it originally did.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Have you ever read a book on Eucharistic Miracles by authors like Bob and Penny Lord or Joan Caroll Cruz? If not, these stories would blow your mind! 🙂

Pretty inspiring and amazing stories.

One good one is the miracle of Bolsena-Orvieto, Italy in 1253.

Here is a link:

therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/bolsena.html
 
Amylisa said:
Hello,

A Christian woman I am acquainted with shared something with me that has caused me some confusion and worry.

She told me about a close friend of hers who was a fervent Catholic. However, this friend had some kind of vision that drove her away from the Church.
She was at Eucharistic Adoration one day. I don’t know if she was there alone or not. She was seated near a statue of Mary. This statue began to blink its eyes, which frightened this woman a lot. She moved to another seat in the church to get away from the statue.

Then she said as she looked towards the monstrance that it began to move. And then a moment or two later, she saw the devil behind it…maybe she saw him holding the monstrance and moving it around…I don’t know exactly.

The woman ran out of the church and never went to Mass again.
My friend who told me this story says it showed that the eucharist and Mass and all of this is of the devil.

I believe that the woman did actually see something…however the meaning could be much different than what she assumed. I asked my priest about it and he said this woman should have talked to a priest instead of just leaving the church.

I have been reading recently about how Padre Pio was so attacked by the devil. Could a Monstrance containing The Eucharist actually be attacked like this?
Click to expand...
Sounds like a test of faith that she failed. 😊
 
Emily2014 said:
People often genuinely believe that they have seen something terrifying, usually when, as another poster wrote, they are adversely affected by mental illness or medication.
Similar hallucinations occur with D.T, when withdrawing from alcohol or substance abuse.
It does however concern me that people who are not ill believe ‘demons’ can touch the Monstrance containing the Living Body of Christ. I had always believed that to hold up a Crucifix would repel any manifestations of evil.

God bless you
Click to expand...
I have heard of this before and viewed the after effects
of exorcism. Crucifixes, statues etc are broken.
But you are correct- the Monstrance does repel
manifestations if evil and in this woman’s case
it did again. She left didn’t she? She didn’t resist
the evil- she cooperated with it.
See that’s the key- the Crucifix, Monstrance etc.
repel the “presence” of evil. In this case it was
in the woman’s own thoughts and if she is not
mentally ill then the alternative is she is severely
oppressed by the devil and cooperative with his
suggestions.
Another person a truly fervent Catholic would
not be repelled, frightened, adverse, or hostile to
any statue of Mary or the Monstrance.
Obviously the evil came in and went out with
the lady.
 
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