(continued from above)
“Evil” isn’t a thing that exists. Therefore it is unable to persist anywhere. However, some thing that is evil (ie, a demon) may infest an area.
I was referring to “an atomosphere of evil”, meaning one that is pervaded by an evil presence: i.e. demonic.
The short answer is yes. Basically they can probably understood as items upon which people have invited evil. People who do such a thing might not understand exactly what it is that they’re doing or the effect (as they aren’t actually making an item evil, as matter is just matter and can’t be evil), but as a result of a “curse” evil may infest the item and the surrounding area where the item is present. One reason that I enjoyed Fr. Amorth’s books (among others) is that they delve deeply into an area not generaly covered or explained elsewhere, which is unfortunate, because the unknown always leads to speculation.’’
Hmmm… Do Fr. Amorth’s books bear the Imprimatur, or are they in some other way affirmed by Church authority as being entirely in accord with Church teaching? I still find this idea of cursed items a bit difficult to accept. Can you refer me to the part of the CCC or other authoritative Church document which asserts that such things are real?
I do not mean to detract from what this priest has said, but you must also realize that even priests can make mistakes. In fact, even saints have been known to make some mistakes in their understanding of truth. So I would like to see some authoritative reference about “cursed items”. Further…I would then like to know if the Church also believes that
persons can also be cursed. (I wonder because my mom once told me that a distant, angry ancestor put a curse on her (mom’s) family as she lay dying! Could this be a reality that has affected our family, I now wonder?)
On a side note, such an event as the one of which I speak is termed “preternatural”, as it deals with demonic activity. The activity of God is called “supernatural”.
I will keep the distinction in mind. Thanks for the explanation.
This is a perfect indication that the activity was demonic.
That may well be. However, why would God allow my two-year old to be troubled by demons? Isn’t it far more logical to think that the couple he saw were at one time a man and wife who lived on the grounds where our house was built? As I said, our son quoted them as saying, “What is that boy doing here?” What point would there be in a demon asking such a question - with only a toddler as a witness? My “gut feeling” is that these were souls in purgatory who were prevented, through the house blessing, from piercing the “veil” between purgatory and earth.
Again, you are free to believe anything that you choose, but… You are right in this belief. The Church has approved many supernatural apparitions (Fatima, for instance), and the saints write about other experiences.
Again, I will have to do some research of my own to clarify my understanding of just what the Church officially teaches. However, I cannot see how anyone living on earth - theologian or otherwise - could clearly define all these apparitions (unless, of course, God Himself were to reveal it to one of his living saints).
There is no such thing as an “energy field”, especially not one that can be “left behind” by events or persons. This idea is part of the New Age movement and (I apologize for being blunt) heretical according to Catholic teaching.
Again…hmmmm…where is this “heresy” stated? If this is so, then how does the Church explain those apparitions which have been witnessed to repeatedly go through the same activities - as if they were still living human beings? (Many witnesses have testified that this is what they appear to be doing in certain cases of “haunting”.) When I say “energy field” I mean apparitions that appear to have repetitive activities. I would certainly like to know what investigations the Church has performed in order to accurately define these particular types of apparition!
In order to clear confusion, there is an area of speculation for which there hasn’t been clear and definitive teaching (to my knowledge). This is in relation to the possibility of God allowing the souls of the dead to appear for a certain purpose. Examples are found in the writings of the saints of holy souls in heaven appearing to offer some consolation and souls in purgatory appearing to certain saints to ask for prayers. There also seems to be disagreement (I’ve read from multiple exorcists about this topic) about whether it is possible for a damned soul to possess or be part of the possession of a person.
Aha! My point is acknowledged, then. I am interested to read whatever the Church has discovered or pronounced officially on this topic, but it seems obvious that no one on earth can really understand exactly what constitutes most of these apparitions or “happenings” - short of direct divine revelation, of course.
Following the first link above that Fish90 posted might take you to Jimmy Akin’s blog post on ghosts (
jimmyakin.org/2005/07/ghosts.html) in which he talks a little bit more about the subject. But rather than speculating, it’s better to ask the experts (or not think about it), taking advantage of such sources as the books that I mentioned above.
I will certainly read what Jimmy has written - and search the CCC too. If you have any other credible source of Catholic teaching on this subject (ie. other than anecdotal accounts and personal opinion), please do provide it to us as well. I always assent to official Church teaching - i.e. Vatican “experts”. However, I do not think that God meant for us to stop thinking for ourselves either. It is only through the questioning of our minds that the Church advances in her investigation, understanding and interpretation of every spiritual aspect of human life. Thank you for your patient and helpful (name removed by moderator)ut!
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) with the occult than bore myself to death putting up with the increasing rise of materialistic atheism that’s plaguing this world nowadays. 