Somehow made friends with a satanist

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jen1971

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hi everyone.

first off i know i’m new to this forum, but please don’t think my question is a joke. i seriously don’t know what to do.

i haven’t had a chance to talk to my priest about this yet but here goes…

i moved to a town where i didn’t really know anyone and it has been hard making friends my age. i finally met a woman that i really liked and got along with well. i overheard someone make a joke about her being a satanist and i thought he was kidding, but he meant it. so of course i asked her and she said she was, but that it “probably wasn’t what i thought it was”. she has pets that she loves and seems like a kind, sane person so i’m not sure what to do. i want to talk to her to see if there is some way of getting her to change, but at the same time my family and older friends say to stay away from her. unfortunately, this is a small town (asheville, nc) and i will keep running into her. in fact, i’m finding that there are many, many people into witchcraft, paganism, druidism, and satanism around here and it’s really upsetting me. yes there are many christians, but they are mostly baptist.

what should i do besides pray for her? hopefully a priest will respond to this.

-thanks.
thanks.
 
I also hope a priest will be able to answer your question. My human wisdom, though, would be to ask you how strong you are in your faith. If this girl isn’t proselytizing you, I see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to be her friend and live your witness in front of her. But, if you’re new to Christianity or not very strong, I wouldn’t suggest getting into religious discussions with her on your own.
 
I agree with KristinaP. I would think a friendship would be OK depending on the strength of your own faith. If you are a new Catholic, then maybe you should be extra careful. I’m sure that Satanism isn’t what most of us think it is, but if it’s root is Satan, then how can it possibly be good?

I know I have many friends that are not Catholic, probably most of us do. The Bible warns against being “unequally yoked” with unbelievers, and we tend to view that as a warning against marrying outside of your faith, but I think it can also apply to friendship in a way. Not that we shouldn’t make friends with non-Catholics or non-Christians, but we should be careful about who we are “best” friends with. If your only friend is a Satanist, then my advice is to try, try, try and branch out.
 
Jen,

Have you ever spent time in front of the Blessed Sacrament? I’d like to recommend that you take an hour and spend it with Christ. Ask him how you should proceed with regards to this friend of yours. Also, give the time that you are there to make reparation for the sin of her satanism. We know that he will forgive her, as she obviously doesn’t know what she’s doing.

As for whether or not you are meant to be the one to help her know the truth of what she’s doing is something you will determine through discussions with your priest, but also through prayer and listening to Christ directly in the Eucharist.

God Bless you as you find additional friends in your new community. I will keep you, your friend and your parish in my prayers,

CARose
 
I never thought of Asheville as a “small town” LOL. I live not far from there, and you are right, Asheville is a hotbed for pagans and earth centered spirtual type folks. I am guessing your friend is a Leveyan satanist, they don’t worship satan, but follow a philosophy of life that focuses on self. self responsibility, putting self first.

It is quite contradictory to CAtholicism. Not sure whay you “should” do. If you are really uncomfortable with this, then just don’t persue the friendship any further. No need to be mean, just let it slide.

Pray for her if you feel she needs it. you will meet lots of interesting folk in Asheville. No need to fear. If you are secure in your beliefs. It will be an eye opening experience, but most pagan types do not evangelize, they tend to be live and let live types.

cheddar
 
Greetings Jen!

A good friend of mine was friends with several neo-pagans (I’m not sure what kind exactly, they weren’t satanists though). I haven’t known many neo-pagans (only his friends and a few others), but in his case, they were really into drugs and free sex. While they weren’t really interested in converting him to neo-paganism, they were interesting in changing his moral views (getting him to smoke drugs and engage in pre-marital sex). In many ways, those friendships have been a real burden to him, though he keeps them going because he really does love his friends.

I think the advice to pray is right on, and to let the friendship slide if it seems bad.

On a final note, I should say that seeming to be nice and loving pets, while good if sincere, can also mask other things. For example, some people seem to love pets because pets allow them be in a relationship of control that isn’t possible with a human. Being nice can also just hide a lack of a moral backbone. Sometimes its the curmudgeons that seem like jerks and who aren’t nice who are actually our best friends. The friend I described above has a list of faults and on first meeting may not seem like a nice guy, but in the end, he is very moral and loyal. So it’s difficult to know someone, and even positive signs can hide other issues.

God bless!
 
depends on how committed you are to her conversion.

the above info is all very relevant but what you could also do is make little (or not so little) sacrifices for her conversion…fasting, sleeping on the floor etc. “prayer and fasting” is what drives the worst demons out according to Jesus so that’s always a good route to take.

Also, expect to be tempted. First it’ll be all seductive, when that doesn’t work things will go wrong all around you and you will wonder whether you should have got involved with this or not (stick with it) and then it’ll get all seductive again, just when it seems temptation has passed (the most difficult to beat), then variations of the same until your prayers are answered.

Not for everyone, that.
 
PS don’t underestimate the Rosary, either. Most effective (and it’ll help your spiritual life anyway so do say it)

God bless!
 
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jen1971:
hi everyone.

first off i know i’m new to this forum, but please don’t think my question is a joke. i seriously don’t know what to do.

i haven’t had a chance to talk to my priest about this yet but here goes…

i moved to a town where i didn’t really know anyone and it has been hard making friends my age. i finally met a woman that i really liked and got along with well. i overheard someone make a joke about her being a satanist and i thought he was kidding, but he meant it. so of course i asked her and she said she was, but that it “probably wasn’t what i thought it was”. she has pets that she loves and seems like a kind, sane person so i’m not sure what to do. i want to talk to her to see if there is some way of getting her to change, but at the same time my family and older friends say to stay away from her. unfortunately, this is a small town (asheville, nc) and i will keep running into her. in fact, i’m finding that there are many, many people into witchcraft, paganism, druidism, and satanism around here and it’s really upsetting me. yes there are many christians, but they are mostly baptist.

what should i do besides pray for her? hopefully a priest will respond to this.

-thanks.
thanks.
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AN ex-girlfriend of mine was a massive new ager. I prayed for her and it didn’t last and I am now happily married to a Catholic spouse…BUT I guided her to some good reading material and we prayed the Rosary together. Last thing I heard she was considering Baptism. Don’t give up… Jesus ate with sinners.
 
Hello Jen,

I recently visited Asheville on vacation. It’s such a beautiful part of the country, and there are so many neat places and interesting shops, but you’re absolutely right that there is a very weird side to the place as well.

Have you been to the Basilica of St. Lawrence downtown? I went to a weekday mass there and was blown away by the beauty and reverence. One visit may not be enough to judge, but it sure seemed like a great community with a very faithful priest. His homily was a pretty up front talk about the sanctity of marriage. I was very impressed.

The Basilica is right in the hear of Asheville, very close to some of the “strangeness” that you’re talking about. I’m sure they’re used to counciling people who are having to deal with the sort of “culture-shock” you’re experiencing. Please check it out.

–Bill
 
…well, this is interesting… you gotta wonder about the big picture here… did fate put you with her to facilitate her possible conversion to Christ, or did the powers of the neatherworld put her with you to snatch a christian… can’t help but wonder… be careful… pray ernestly, and pray often… for the both of you…

Peace!👍

http://mediasoftware.free.fr/index.1.jpg
 
Hmm don’t know what to to tell you but I’ve been in that same situtation some years ago. But i branched out of it. It was something i had to do cuz there were alot of people telling me to stay away from that person and as for me being Catholic that was a very difficult situation. So I just kept going to church which helped me out alot.
 
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jen1971:
hi everyone.

first off i know i’m new to this forum, but please don’t think my question is a joke. i seriously don’t know what to do.

i haven’t had a chance to talk to my priest about this yet but here goes…

i moved to a town where i didn’t really know anyone and it has been hard making friends my age. i finally met a woman that i really liked and got along with well. i overheard someone make a joke about her being a satanist and i thought he was kidding, but he meant it. so of course i asked her and she said she was, but that it “probably wasn’t what i thought it was”. she has pets that she loves and seems like a kind, sane person so i’m not sure what to do. i want to talk to her to see if there is some way of getting her to change, but at the same time my family and older friends say to stay away from her. unfortunately, this is a small town (asheville, nc) and i will keep running into her. in fact, i’m finding that there are many, many people into witchcraft, paganism, druidism, and satanism around here and it’s really upsetting me. yes there are many christians, but they are mostly baptist.

what should i do besides pray for her? hopefully a priest will respond to this.

-thanks.
thanks.
Click to expand...
I’d rather be friends with fundamental Baptists than easy-going Satanists. You must stop! Break away from her!

I had a few friends (they were pretty close to me) that were into witchcraft, paganism, and satanism (although not “hardcore”). When I found out, BAM!, I broke it off. I refuse to associate myself with a person who worships Satan, even if Satan gets his…arse…handed to him in the end.
 
wow. thanks for all the responses. nyuck nyuck. i AM laughing though. i suppose i came off as the “wide-eyed innocent” to all the “weirdness” that is asheville. i chuckle because to anyone visiting this town, i certainly would be included in the weirdness that makes this town unique. although now 34 and somewhat calmed down, i had my heyday as a wild spirited punk. my entire family is Catholic and i went to Catholic school K thru 12th grade, but felt i was Catholic in name only. i never had any inclination to join any other religion, but didn’t come back to the Church seriously until this past January. to be honest what really did it was all the super annoying 7th day adventists and baptists telling me that the Pope was the anti-christ. i somehow ended up at the greenspun catholic forum (now defunct) and wa la… i now attend mass at the basilica. yes it is gorgeous and the priests are very welcoming.

i’ve lived in big cities my entire life with plenty of Catholics abound, yet here we are definatley the minority. atheists i was used to, but pagans, satanists and freaky snake handlers…yeesh! i’m not concered with my satanic friend tempting me, but i am concerned about what demons may be congregating around her. i generally see her out when i’m drinking and my main weakness at this point is my hatred towards all these hippie types that seem to love and embrace any religion except Christianity. then amongst the christians i can’t help but want to punch the day lights out of these fundamentalists. so yeah, i have a long way to go towards loving my neighbors.

btw, space ghost, i love that show. my bike is named moltar. cheers! ps. that pic you posted is mega creepy.
 
GKB Protasius:
Greetings Jen!

On a final note, I should say that seeming to be nice and loving pets, while good if sincere, can also mask other things. For example, some people seem to love pets because pets allow them be in a relationship of control that isn’t possible with a human.
God bless!
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:confused: I hate to disagree but as any pet owner will tell you they own you rather than you own them! 🙂
 
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wOoKiE:
PS don’t underestimate the Rosary, either. Most effective (and it’ll help your spiritual life anyway so do say it)

God bless!
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👍 It’s like Padre Pio used to say when asking for his rosary, he said “get me my weapon”. :amen:

Beebs
 
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jen1971:
my entire family is Catholic and i went to Catholic school K thru 12th grade, but felt i was Catholic in name only. i never had any inclination to join any other religion, but didn’t come back to the Church seriously until this past January.
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:clapping: Welcome home from one revert (Sept 11, 2001 interesting how the Lord uses suffering for good) to another revert.

Beebs
 
Dear friend

Birds of a feather flock together.

Be unavailable to this woman, be permenantly unavailable.

The gift of God is you can choose your friends, a satanist does not have your best interests at heart. Be unavailable permenantly to this woman. Evil has a habit of looking ok and seeming normal and alright, sometimes even seeming to be beautiful, no satanism isn’t what it seems, it is much worse.

Stop all contact with this woman, that is your Christian witness to her!

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
I’ve had similar situations that you’re going through; but they weren’t nearly as extreme as your situation.

There were people whom I have met who have turned me off or creeped me out in someway, but they were generally respectable in one way or another. What I do then is give them the respect they (and everyone else) deserve as a human being and as one of God’s precious creations. This means, to be interested in their conversation, being honest with them without being harsh, and all that jazz that Christ would do! Doing this makes will welcome them to converse with you, to trust you, and (usually) give you that same respect back. This is usually as far that relationship goes. It doesn’t give you the automatic obligation to be their best friend and hang out with them 24/7, but at the same time, it leaves the door open for a possible deeper relationship in the future.

Sure, just giving them respect may seem small and insignificant, but it sure can move boulders! People will thank you for not judging them and for treating them with dignity. Keep praying for your friend, and I’ll keep praying for you! 👍
 
thanks again for your responses. well we haven’t gotten into a deep conversation yet, but she says that she doesn’t believe that satan exists, (of course i don’t see how these people can call themselves satanists, but i guess it’s like jehova witnesses calling themselves Christian when they don’t believe that Jesus is Lord). she thinks that evil is just something that man manifests. we’ve talked about other issues and she does seem to be a really kind person. at this point i just think she’s following an incorrect philosophy. my priest seemed to think that if that’s the case then to still be her friend.

i think she’s willing to read up on Catholic “philosphy”, but i’m not sure what’s a good starting point for her. right now i’m reading Theology and Sanity by Frank Sheed, but i think that goes down easier if you’re already Catholic.

can anyone recommend something that deals primarily with the logic of our faith. something easier to grasp than summa of the summa?
 
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