Knowing things before they happen - Worried

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intothinair

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I shall provide some examples:
  1. Losing contact with a friend in Scotland and then knowing that she would text me that same day (text rather than email or phone) and then she does.
  2. Knowing who is phoning me at the time my phone is ringing…
  3. Feeling that something bad was going to happen to a male member of my family that day, then receiving a call that evening to say my brother had been killed in a road accident (this happened eight years ago).
    And other such things… it mostly happens around contact issues, but the same thing happened this evening. I have never paid it much mind in the past but this evening
    I went shopping to buy some groceries and whilst in the supermarket (not before I had arrived), I had this very, strong and overwhelming sense that I would see the priest at my local parish. I have never seen him before outside of church, but the feeling was overwhelming, then there he was next to me saying my name.
    I was startled and in all honesty it unnerved me, because despite this happening before with other people, the fact that it happened with my priest was peculiar and only now has it left me wondering what is going on.
I need to say that I do not read horoscopes, or cards, or have any involvement with such things. I just go to Mass and my RCIA classes and try to live my life for the better, but I do not understand what is going on or why. I felt so unsettled by this latest “happening” that I do not want to face this priest now, even though what happened was beyond my control at the time. I did not consciously say I wanted to see him, I just felt it was going to happen (like other events in the past) and it did. There are far too many “coincidences” that have happened for me to feel that it is simply nothing.
I am not an unhappy person and neither do I have mental health issues, and I do not see things, or hear spirits or anything like that.
But, I am worried, so any advice would be appreciated as I thought that I should stop going to Mass…because I feel as if I have done something wrong… but not consciously…
 
God knows past present and future.
If God happens to share a little of that with you, just ask God to help you use it as He wishes. It does provided you with an opportunity to pray ahead for persons and events.
You wouldn’t look for chances to see ahead though? That could lead a person astray.
However you seem sincere and so the best thing is to trust in God.
Every gift can be used for His purposes if we consecrate them to God.

Welcome to CAF
 
I don’t see particular cause for alarm.

Still, it would be prudent to discuss these events with your priest. Since he knows you personally, he should be able to provide sound spiritual direction.
 
Trishie said:
You wouldn’t look for chances to see ahead though? That could lead a person astray.
Welcome to CAF
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No I never have tried to look for chances in terms of anything. In fact, whenever the feeling that I am going to meet someone, or that something will happen occurs, I tend to doubt that it will (and then of course it does happen)
Today was unsettling but thank you for your response.
 
Maybe you should go and meet with the priest you saw at the grocer’s. Perhaps there is a reason you saw him there. It could be God’s way of telling you to speak to him about these coincidences.
Sincerely,
Debbie
 
I think some people are given “gifts” that can’t be explained. I’ve had some things happen to me not to your extent. An example: I was having lunch with a group of women and we were discussing abortion. During the conversation, I happened to look at the woman across from me whom I had not met before, and I knew she had had an abortion. Never said a word, and years later I was told her story by someone else.
Worked with a lady who preceived things too. She had no idea how or why.
Mothers get feelings. My kids use to ask me how I knew they had done something they hadn’t wanted me to know about. I remember once they confessed but wanted to concentrate on how I could have known. Don’t know, just did.
Or the guy or gal who sees a person and announces to a friend or himself, “That’s the man/woman I’m going to marry.” And they do.
MESSAGES, VISIONS, SIGNS, and PREMONITIONS from loved ones lost on 9/11 by Bonnie Mc Eneaney. Her husband, a victim, had premonitions of the attack. She reports on others who experienced same. You might want to read it.
 
If I was you I would assume that this is simply a matter of esp, which is simply a natural thing. I don’t see the things you mention have anything particularly religious about them, so I doubt these things are from God or the devil. If these things happened to me, I would think it interesting, and not feel any further particular concern about it.
Feel free to talk to a priest if you desire, of course, but natural, psychological events would be outside his field of expertise.
 
I would not call someone who simply had esp a psychic, since this word could be misleading. It is possible that the people the preceding poster knows who have esp are perfectly worthy. Still, though, some of those who call themselves psychic get their power from the devil. Many people who say they are psychic claim to communicate with the dead and are involved in such things fortune telling and ouiji boards. I thought it significant that the foreknowledge of the opening poster had no religious or occult dimensions, and so I did not think the person should feel any concern for himself if he is able to know such things.
 
intothinair said:
…]But, I am worried, so any advice would be appreciated as I thought that I should stop going to Mass…because I feel as if I have done something wrong… but not consciously…
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There is nothing that you could ever do that would make God want you to stop going to Mass. If anything, He would want you to go more!

If these premonitions bother you, when they occur, just say:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall ever be, world without end. Amen.

Our Lord wants you near Him all the time, until the end of time.
 
Bring your concern to a priest, in confession. Bring it under the Lordship of Christ.
I want to repeat that there is nothing you could do for God to want you to stop going to Mass. Mass is His gift to us as long as we’re able to go. Especially in our struggles, we should go more often.
 
Even people associated with Christ had premonitions.
There are episodes of people having revelations in both the Old and New Testaments. St. Joseph was told to flee with his family to Egypt in a dream. These things happen to “normal” people too. We have to discern. What bears good fruit is from God, what doesn’t is from the devil.
However, consider the revelations of Simeon and the widow when both told Mary and Joseph that Jesus was the Messiah when they met them at the presentation in the temple. Simeon said a sword would pierce Mary’s heart. What mother wants to hear that? Yet we know that these premontions were from God.
 
Thank you all very much for your responses. Unfortunately, I have not managed to speak with a Priest as they are busy. I spoke with my local Deacon and he said that he did not know anything about “psychiatric matters”. That terms did surprise me given that I have **no ** psychiatric problems… I wondered whether he meant “psychic matters”, or are such things regarded as mental health issues by the Church?
 
intothinair said:
Thank you all very much for your responses. Unfortunately, I have not managed to speak with a Priest as they are busy. I spoke with my local Deacon and he said that he did not know anything about “psychiatric matters”. That terms did surprise me given that I have **no ** psychiatric problems… I wondered whether he meant “psychic matters”, or are such things regarded as mental health issues by the Church?
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I’m sure he misspoke and meant psychic.

I looked up a list of saints who told things to people like St. Anthony etc. Considering the billions of people that have been on this earth and the few that are known as saints, the odds are there are many more who get premonitions. Relax. 👍
 
intothinair said:
I need to say that I do not read horoscopes, or cards, or have any involvement with such things. I just go to Mass and my RCIA classes and try to live my life for the better, but I do not understand what is going on or why…
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Well, if you don’t know much about cultural psychism, you probably aren’t familiar with the science, either. It’s just a trait. It’s sort of like singing, almost everyone can do it and some people can do it more easily than others. There is a strong possibility of genetic links. I found my own increased greatly during and after RCIA when my prayer life became very active and regular. It also kind of freaked me out at first. Then I researched it and came to terms.

Try this page for info: anson.ucdavis.edu/~utts/air2.html

from the abstract:
Using the standards applied to any other area of science, it is concluded that psychic functioning has been well established. The statistical results of the studies examined are far beyond what is expected by chance. Arguments that these results could be due to methodological flaws in the experiments are soundly refuted. Effects of similar magnitude to those found in government-sponsored research at SRI and SAIC have been replicated at a number of laboratories across the world. Such consistency cannot be readily explained by claims of flaws or fraud.
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and maybe this one: princeton.edu/~pear/experiments.html

Heads-up: People with a high degree of psychism and an active prayer life are often subject to visions. (Here’s an example.) Don’t freak out about that either, if it happens. Feel free to PM me if you get weirded out by this too much. Stay close to the Church and try to avoid the “devil” talk.
 
intothinair said:
Thank you all very much for your responses. Unfortunately, I have not managed to speak with a Priest as they are busy. I spoke with my local Deacon and he said that he did not know anything about “psychiatric matters”. That terms did surprise me given that I have **no ** psychiatric problems… I wondered whether he meant “psychic matters”, or are such things regarded as mental health issues by the Church?
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The deacon may have misspoke or not (if not, he certainly lacks either tact or understanding for what may be a mystical experience). There have been many mystics in the Church over the centuries who have experienced God in ways the rest of us cannot imagine. I’m sure not a few were suspected of mental illness.

The Church would not normally consider the possibility of mental illness unless the issue was causing harm to yourself or others.
 
The explanation for your premonitions is probably far more mundane then what most of the posters here seem to think. We remember the ones that come true and forget the rest.

Make a habit of carrying a pen and notebook with you at all times. Whenever you experience a premonition, write it down. Be absolutely honest and don’t overlook any. Check the ones that come true. The results will speak for themselves.
 
I realize I am commenting a little late here. I don’t know if this is still timely. I have had ongoing experiences like this. When I was younger I avoided them and like “intothinair” found them very frightening because you feel helplessly caught in an unfolding series of events and it is very scary to know what is going to happen and then have it happen. I am a practicing Catholic and have no interest in dabbling outside of my faith, and have had trouble getting spiritual advice on this so I can relate to your struggle. Regarding being afraid - while I still experience some fear too, I have observed this…all the things you see can be prayed about. Certain frightening things that I have seen have not, thank God, come to pass after much prayer. Others, like an earthquake I kept being “bothered” with a sense of doom about, did happen, but I prayed that my family not be harmed or even frightened - that particular day we took a nap in the afternoon and slept through the whole thing. Normaly I jump up and round around freaking out at the tiniest earthquake…but I completely missed it! Once I knew my niece was in terrible trouble - she was due at our house to pick up her car after a flight. I bolted out of bed terribly afraid for her. My husband looked at me like I was crazy. I prayed and prayed because there was nothing else I could do. I heard in my mind that she would be “delivered to my doorstep” and sure enough, after escaping from an abusive cabbie who held her and her boyfriend captive in his cab refusing to let them out and driving them around aimlessly while yelling at them, they finaly were let go and WALKED to our house in the middle of the night…so she literally did appear on my doorstep! I know in my heart that situation may have turned out much worse. Needless to say after this and numerous other things, my husband listens to me now. Don’t feel helpless and fail to act, implore God for mercy, or whatever seems appropriate, and see if that helps things. I wish I could offer more info, because I know you must have many more questions about this experience, as do I. One person suggested to me that the source of this information might not be Godly. I don’t know…but I do know that the right answer is always to take it to God in prayer. That will always bring the best result.
 
I know this was posted a while ago, but I am just now reading it. I am responding to the first poster. I have had the same things happen to me. Like you I am not in any way involved with New Age, witchcraft, card reading, etc. I don’t do any of that. I was in a support group several years ago. I had been going to this group for months. One woman in the group called herself by a certain name, and for months I never doubted that that was her name. Then one evening in the group it just came to me that she was not using her real name and another name was given to me in my mind. The very next week she revealed to the group that the name she was using wasn’t her real name, she then told us her real name and it was the exact name I had been given in my mind the week before. It freaked me out. I once just knew that a friend of mine was sick and as it turns out he was. I saw his wife in the store and she asked me if I knew my friend had a stroke two weeks before. I had the feeling he was sick exactly two weeks before I saw his wife in the store. Twice I have been driving and had the strong feeling that a police car was near, but I couldn’t see any police car. Then a minute later after getting this feeling the police car appeared. I also don’t know where this comes from or what I am supposed to do with it.

jacataqua
 
the most likely explanation for this and similar phenomena is still natural, that some of us have more highly developed senses and receive more sensory (name removed by moderator)ut and process it better, for reasons science cannot yet explain. Just because science cannot explain it does not make it supernatural or paranormal.
 
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