Encounter with the Devil?

[TimeEntrance]

Do you think I really encountered the devil, or were my emotions playing tricks on me? What are your thoughts?

Yes.

'Ol Diablo still up to his tricks.

I had a dream - but I knew it was not a dream - of him many, many, years ago. Before I made my great fall. But he appeared as the Grim Reaper.

Years later I had a dream - but I knew it was not a dream - of Jesus. But I did not see him, and only heard his voice. Pure light moved all the darkness out and a peace of total tranquility. No fear of Jesus or the light. Even though I always thought I would fear Jesus.

The devil is the great enemy. I suspect you are a worthy foe or of some goodness he particularly wishes to tarnish or trip or terrify and lose faith in God or something.

But I don’t think this will be the last he’ll be around you - and those around you (whispering in their ears, putting thoughts in their minds, perhaps against you) - so beware. I wish I had known.

I also used to have repeating dreams (with no identities I knew) that a person I least suspected would betray me and a different person I least suspected would come to me rescue. In real life now I think I know who the person was that would betray me.

 

[BluesPicker]

I would adopt an attitude of holy indifference and report this to my confessor or spiritual director
Remember that it is not so much whether or not we belong to the Catholic Church, but whether or not we love God with all our hearts and our neighbor like ourselves. Besides, Presbyterian Baptism is - as far as I know - a valid baptism that incorporates the faithful into the Church, which is the mystical body of Christ, though not in full communion with the Catholic Church.

If you, who saw her only a limited amount of times and had imperfect knowledge of her, could see that she was an amazing woman, imagine how much more does Christ know this, He who loves to dwell in the heart of the rightful

I’d pray for her soul (in case she is in Purgatory) and for her intercession (in case she already made it to Heaven).

RC gives great advice here, and advice in line with the Teachings of the Catholic Church according to VC II. The Council teaches that those Christians & indeed all peoples, who love God but through no fault of their own are not Catholics are our brother and sister Catholics by desire and may gain Salvation.

It seems that this may have been an apparition of  the Devil.   They have no consistent form and can appear as anything; but something should have  alerted the OP in the form.  It was there to get you to engage in a two-way conversation.  If  it were an angel he would have alerted you and identified himself.

 It used the controversy or worry about this poor woman as an opportunity to promote despair and to attempt you to engage in a  two-way conversation using the despair or worry about this women who died.  That is the wound on the Soul.  This is where the OP needs to direct their prayers to faith, trust, and charity in Jesus Christ.

  No Holy Angel would deliver such a message that assails the spirit or brings worry or despair.  Not on this particular issue: Judgement.   We are supposed to pray for our loved ones who have died.

Vatican Council II addressed issue of Salvation of Non-Catholics in the “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium),” “Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do His will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience – those too may achieve eternal salvation” (no. 16). In short, those who are truly unaware of what God requires of them are not held responsible; rather they are judged by what they did with the truth they had.

This is teaching reflects St Paul’s Epistle to the Corinthians:

“Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

This teaching is again reflects Romans 2:13-16:

He expands on this in Romans 2:13-16, “For it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law who will be justified. When Gentiles who have not the Law do by nature what the Law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the Law. They show that what the Law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.”

This is again restated in VC II: “Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity (Ad Gentes Divinitus),” “Hence, those cannot be saved, who knowing that the Catholic Church was founded through Jesus Christ, by God, as something necessary, still refuse to enter it or remain in it” (no. 7).

Back in the 1800’s the encyclical “On Promotion of False Doctrines (Quanto Conficiamur Moerore)” by Pope Pius IX by stated:

   " We all know that those who suffer from invincible ignorance with regard to our holy religion, if they carefully keep the precepts of the natural law which have been written by God in the hearts of all men, if they are prepared to obey God, and if they lead a virtuous and dutiful life, can, by the power of divine light and grace, attain eternal life. For God, who knows completely the minds and souls, the thoughts and habits of all men, will not permit, in accord with His infinite goodness and mercy, anyone who is not guilty of a voluntary fault to suffer eternal punishment (no. 7)."

Finally, Fr. Leonard Feeney dissented against this teaching of the Church received a letter from the Holy See that stated:

“But this dogma [No Salvation outside the Church] is to be understood as the Church itself understands it. For our Savior did not leave it to private judgment to explain what is contained in the deposit of faith, but to the doctrinal authority of the Church.”

BP

 

[Sara_Balzano]

If anyone is curious, I have done some stuff to protect myself. I sprinkle my entire room with holy water; I burn incense; I pray the Rosary every day; and I read the Bible daily. Even before this event, I would empty out my heart in prayer before sleeping; now I say the prayer to Saint Michael three times. So far, I have not experienced anything evil, but I still feel fear. Just the thought that I likely saw the devil makes my nape tingle with fear. I also now find myself being afraid to sleep in total darkness, so I leave a lamp on. I also play my radio as I sleep, since the absolute silence makes my blood run cold.

 

[mommyof4]

If anyone is curious, I have done some stuff to protect myself. I sprinkle my entire room with holy water; I burn incense; I pray the Rosary every day; and I read the Bible daily. Even before this event, I would empty out my heart in prayer before sleeping; now I say the prayer to Saint Michael three times. So far, I have not experienced anything evil, but I still feel fear. Just the thought that I likely saw the devil makes my nape tingle with fear. I also now find myself being afraid to sleep in total darkness, so I leave a lamp on. I also play my radio as I sleep, since the absolute silence makes my blood run cold.

Remember, the devil has no power over you if you are in a state of grace. And good job with the sacramentals, too, they are helpful in lessening his powers.

 

[Lady_Love]

One thing we know about Satan is “He was a liar from the beginning.” So, if he is saying she is in Hell…that means she probably is in heaven!

 

[joshvanrad]

I have had similar visions before.

I just take it as Satan trying to weaken my resolve. At one point last year I had demonic dreams for the better part of a week. While it is frightening, you must keep in mind that God is watching over you and he has infinite amounts of power over Satan and his legions.

Pray about it and if it continues bring it up to your pastor. Don’t let the deceiver get to you- he will use lies and manipulation to try and shake you.

Ite in pace,
Joshua C.

 

[Lady_Love]

I am sorry if I offended you, but every catholic is bound to believe that “outside of the Church there is no salvation”. And every single Holy Father will agree with me. It is not negotiable.

I recently have been attending a class on the Vatican II documents. I don’t have the reference handy but it did say that salvation will not be denied to those who do not believe, “through no fault of their own.” For example: a person who was part of a tribe in rural Africa who has never heard of Jesus. I’m sure it also encompasses those who have not learned about Catholicism, etc.

 

[Samson01]

OP, get your house blessed if it hasn’t been yet.

 

[joshvanrad]

OP, get your house blessed if it hasn’t been yet.

This is a great bit of advice!

 

[Samson01]

Six years of demonic dreams, encounters and just plain angry household environment until my own house was blessed this year. Things have been going well since.

 

[OraLabora]

I am sorry if I offended you, but every catholic is bound to believe that “outside of the Church there is no salvation”. And every single Holy Father will agree with me. It is not negotiable.

I think, with all due respect, you misunderstand the Church’s teaching on “outside the Church there is no salvation”. The Church does not teach that only Catholics can be saved. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains it far better than I can:

“Outside the Church there is no salvation”

846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:

Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.

847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:

Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.

Specifically with respect to non-Catholic Christians, the Church teaches the following in the CCC:

Who belongs to the Catholic Church?

836 "All men are called to this catholic unity of the People of God… and to it, in different ways, belong or are ordered: the Catholic faithful, others who believe in Christ, and finally all mankind, called by God’s grace to salvation."320

837 “Fully incorporated into the society of the Church are those who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of salvation given to the Church together with her entire organization, and who - by the bonds constituted by the profession of faith, the sacraments, ecclesiastical government, and communion - are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ, who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops. Even though incorporated into the Church, one who does not however persevere in charity is not saved. He remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but ‘in body’ not ‘in heart.’”

838 “The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter.” ** Those “who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church.**” With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound “that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord’s Eucharist.”

And:

Wounds to unity

817 In fact, "in this one and only Church of God from its very beginnings there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly censures as damnable. But in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions appeared and large communities became separated from full communion with the Catholic Church - for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame."269 The ruptures that wound the unity of Christ’s Body - here we must distinguish heresy, apostasy, and schism - do not occur without human sin:

Where there are sins, there are also divisions, schisms, heresies, and disputes. Where there is virtue, however, there also are harmony and unity, from which arise the one heart and one soul of all believers.

818 “However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers . . . . All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church.”

819 **“Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth” **are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: “the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements.” Christ’s Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to “Catholic unity.”

Bold is mine. This is the document published by the Vatican and approved by the Pope for the teaching of the faith to the faithful.

 

[Sara_Balzano]

This is what Paul was talking about when he was writing to the Corinthians about false teachers and false prophets, and an “angel of light”.

2 Corinthians 11:14 “And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

If he’d turned up in his usual ugly self, you’d have known straight off who he was. But this way he sows confusion in your mind.

But what confuses me is why he would appear in an attractive form only to taunt me? I can see him materialising into something appealing in order to seduce or tempt someone, but not to bring despair. I think it would make since he appeared as a scary devil or perhaps, God forbid, my brother-in-law’s mother soul burning amid flames, not an angelic, if somewhat elvish, apparition.

 

[maxdouglas402]

But what confuses me is why he would appear in an attractive form only to taunt me? I can see him materialising into something appealing in order to seduce or tempt someone, but not to bring despair. I think it would make since he appeared as a scary devil or perhaps, God forbid, my brother-in-law’s mother soul burning amid flames, not an angelic, if somewhat elvish, apparition.

please don’t worry yourself too much ! try not to think of other possible outcomes, or why it happened, or why it happened the way it did. The devil wants to get the best of you, he wants you to worry, he wants you to focus on him. If you get anything from this, get motivation to love Jesus more, and to pray more for those close to you. I know it’s hard to not think about, but be thankful something worse did not happen.

I think Jesus wants you to get closer to him toward the end of the night. Remember Satan is a coward! He’s sly, seductive, and manipulative. There’s no need to be afraid of the dark or anything of the dark. You are a light, you are the salt of the world. Satan cannot take that away. It may be difficult, but when I lay my head down at night I make the sign of the cross and talk to God until I fall asleep. I think this could help you too. Tell him your fears and your worries, and when your silent and ready to fall asleep God will talk you to sleep with comforting words.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

But what confuses me is why he would appear in an attractive form only to taunt me? I can see him materialising into something appealing in order to seduce or tempt someone, but not to bring despair. I think it would make since he appeared as a scary devil or perhaps, God forbid, my brother-in-law’s mother soul burning amid flames, not an angelic, if somewhat elvish, apparition.

You’ve answered the question in your own post.

He’s playing with your mind. It’s as simple as that.

I remember my old Protestant pastor once saying to me, “Your mind is a real battlefield!”

I went through a fair few incidents of spiritual harassment myself, so I’ve got some idea of what you’re talking about.

I’d ignore it if I were you. As I said in my first post, I think the lady in question is in Purgatory, and for the same reason as I gave then. The best thing you can do is pray for her, and perhaps get a mass said for her, as she would presumably never have participated in a Catholic mass while she was alive. And in that sense, never fully partook of the Lord’s body and blood, which is something Protestant apologists seem to forget.

 

[CB_Catholic]

But what confuses me is why he would appear in an attractive form only to taunt me? I can see him materialising into something appealing in order to seduce or tempt someone, but not to bring despair. I think it would make since he appeared as a scary devil or perhaps, God forbid, my brother-in-law’s mother soul burning amid flames, not an angelic, if somewhat elvish, apparition.

You know, Satan is an angel, although fallen, and angels are beautiful beings. He is called Lucifer in the OT translations, and is referred to as “the shining one” and the “morning star” in the Bible. He is not an ugly being. I believe he is referred to in the Bible (I think it is Ezekiel, I might be wrong) as the most beautiful of God’s creations. The scary ugly picture of him with horns, a tail,etc. comes largely from folklore and medieval art–and he is a most intelligent creature who can use all this to his advantage to deceive us, and one of his most persistent deceptions is making evil seem good. He is a liar and the Father of Lies, as Jesus says. The Holy Spirit in you is what protected you and let you know this beautiful creature was malevolent (discernment of spirits is a gift of the Holy Spirit) and alerted you to the fact that something was not quite right, otherwise you might have thought that something so beautiful can only come from God.

Always keep this in mind–Satan can and does appear as anything–beautiful or ugly-whatever suits his purpose-and the Holy Spirit will help you discern the matter. Pray for the gift of discernment, and always stay close to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and you will have nothing to fear.