I find this ironic, considering I am so against these things and was a little bit involved in getting the word out about the boards being sold at Toys-R-Us, but the following incident just happened with my family.
Yesterday evening, young teen Daughter went with a group to a friend’s house for a few hours. Dad was on his way to pick her up when she called me to ask when we were coming to get her. I immediately knew something was wrong but she wouldn’t tell me on the phone what was going on, so I simply told her that Dad would be there in a few minutes. She was crying in the car on the way home, very upset, told Dad that one of the girls had searched for an online ouija board. When she got home, Daughter calmed down enough to give me more details. Apparently, the friend decided to do an online search for OBs so they could experiment with one. Daughter and several other friends objected to the search, said not to do it, but all the friends stayed in the room. Daughter left the room when she realized the friend at the computer wasn’t listening to objections, told a parent there, then immediately called me to come get her.
After she got home and told me what had happened, I hugged her and tried to soothe her as best I could and tried to get Daughter to tell me as best she could exactly what had happened. She doesn’t think the friend actually used the board, but that Daughter was still scared for her friend and her family since her friend apparently did not know that the Church strictly forbids the use of OBs, or was unconcerned about that, and apparently was unconcerned about the possible dangers of using a board. Daughter indicated the friend is aware of the dangers but doesn’t believe danger really exists because they’ve talked about it before. I asked what friend’s Mom’s reaction was when she found out what had happened. Friend’s Mom was visibly angry, told the girl that she knew how she felt about that and that she was in trouble. So, I reassured Daughter that friend’s Mom seemed aware of the danger, would take care of friend, that that was what Moms and Dads do, that I thought her friend would be okay. I told her that Daughter had done things correctly and that I was proud of her for doing the right thing, especially since I was sure it was difficult to speak up and act. I asked again if they had actually used the board, and she said she didn’t think so, but she had left the room.
To reassure her (and myself) about her own safety, I got some holy water and had her bless herself. I told her she had just blessed herself and that was a sign that she was the Lord’s and she was safe. I prayed the Prayer to St. Michael and told her to pray to her guardian angel. I told her that she was marked at her Baptism as belonging to Christ and that she had all the grace that she receives in the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist as her defense against evil. I reminded her that we had just been to Mass and that she had received Our Lord in the Eucharist, she had just gone to confession in preparation for Easter. I told her that all these things safeguarded her against evil. I told her that the people who are in most danger when they use the boards are those who are open and actively seeking to receive evil into their lives. I also told her that those also in more danger are those who do not have God in their lives and are seeking something, just seeking, and they find something awful instead of something good, that those who may not be actively seeking evil can get in trouble too because they do not have God with them either. I told her she didn’t fall into either of those categories and it didn’t sound like things went far enough that the board was even used. I also told her that I didn’t think an online board was quite the same thing as an actual OB, but that she should still stay away from the online ones too and she did the right thing in warning her friends and then getting herself away. I told her that having a physical board, even just a homemade one, seemed much more dangerous to me than online ones because physical boards are physically present on the premises and tools to invite, but that staying away from boards in general was a good policy. I told her that she was marked as belonging to God and that I thought she was safe as long as she did not turn away from Him. Since she did not do that, I told her to try not to worry and to be assured that God would keep her from harm. I contacted our priest by e-mail (he was saying Mass at the time) to seek his advice and I think I will read Psalm 23 later today with Daughter too.
I e-mailed our priest: “Do I need to do anything else? Is Daughter safe? Is there anything else I should do as her Mom to keep Daughter safe and protect her spiritually? Should she go to confession?” (I think I’ll take her just to be safe.) I plan to also talk to the friend’s Mom today too just to get a better feel for what happened and to make sure all the girls are okay. I don’t think they actually used the board, and so have less reason to fear, but I want to safeguard all as much as possible.
I know the Church forbids the use of such boards and that is good enough reason for me to stay away from them. I’ve read scary stuff about them and it is good enough for me that the Church says to avoid them, so I avoid them. I’ve never had an actual experience with them until now. And, I don’t know that this is an actual experience, but it is closer than I would like. I will do all I can to keep my family safe from spiritual attack and avoiding them completely is the most prudent course.
Please pray for my Daughter, her friends that were there, and all our families.
