Strange behavior at Adoration

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michaeljason

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There is a young man (early to mid 20s) at my parish who appears at times to be very disturbed. He got banned from the local library last year for throwing a fit - yelling, screaming, knocking things over. Police had to be called. That is fact. Allegedly, he was looking up demonology on the internet. I’m not sure how accurate that is.

A few months ago, before daily Mass, he stood up and screamed at other parishioners as he stood up and screamed at them as they started saying the rosary (a group meets and says it before daily Mass every day), then stormed out. Our pastor spoke to him about this, and has been trying to counsel him. Again, this is fact. Allegedly, he’s on medication now. Again, that part is hearsay, and I can’t verify it.

Last night, I was at Adoration, and this young man came in, and sat a few rows in front of me, and to the left. He seemed to be acting like any other adorers do - showing proper reverence, praying quietly, all the typical stuff. But after about 15 minutes, I heard him murmuring to himself. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but it sounded like chanting almost. He was making strange gestures, drawing circles in the air, making crosses with his fingers, and gesturing toward the Eucharist. I got a really uneasy feeling from this. I was midway through the rosary when this began - I looked over at a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe and asked her for help.

This went on for a few minutes. At one point he pointed directly at Our Lord and I’m fairly certain I heard him say the word “destruction” among other things. I seriously thought he was going to stand up and rush toward the altar at one point. I felt called to stay and protect the Eucharist, since most of the scheduled adorers are older ladies. Finally, as I finished my rosary, he stopped. Again, he displayed what would be normal behavior, genuflecting toward the Eucharist as he got up, and then left.

Does anyone have any idea how I should handle this? I want to talk to our pastor about it, but even replaying it in my mind, it almost seems too sensationalistic to believe. Some parishioners say this young man needs an exorcism, which I always took lightly, but after last night, I’m inclined to agree. I seriously got a bad vibe from him, and I’m worried about his soul.

Does anyone have any ideas about the behavior I described above? Is it possible there’s some significance to it that I’m not aware of?
 
I don’t know if this would work or if it would be right, but I think he should be barred from the Mass in case he comes in and attempts to steal the Eucharist. Does your Adoration chapel have a locking door? Mine is constantly locked from the outside and can only be opened by a 4-digit code on a keypad.
I think an exorcism and a meeting with a psychologist might help. If you see this guy at your church again, be on your toes and keep your eyes peeled.
 
Uhm, at the worst, I foresee an armed psychotic at Mass.

If your priest does not take immediate protective action for all the people attending, then take this man’s condition to the parish board.

And, I’d go to the local police and report his mental state. If your parish has a Catholic psychiatrist or psychologist, they should be notified so they can access this man.

Your parish is treading in dangerous waters.

A couple of weeks ago, I watched Dr. G (the forensic pathologists) and this man had a psychotic break from an overdose of medication. He repeatedly stabbed himself to death, in his kitchen, as his son watched.

Bizzare!
 
He’s mentally ill and it is poorly controlled. You should pray for him.
 
His behavior is very indicative of Tourettes syndrome, but of course I couldn’t say for sure.

Talk to your Pastor - it sounds like he is already aware of the problem.

Possession is rare and so many more logical reasons could explain this behavior. Mental illness (schizophrenia) and Tourettes Syndrome are much more common and should be considered first. Banning a person with a mental illness (schizophrenia) or medical condition (Tourettes) from church or the sacrament would be a graver sin than what this young man is (most likely) unwillingly uttering/shouting.

And a person who is possessed usually avoids going into the church or near the blessed sacrament. The fact that this young man feels drawn to the Church is a good case for it NOT being possession.
 
Barbkw said:
Uhm, at the worst, I foresee an armed psychotic at Mass.

If your priest does not take immediate protective action for all the people attending, then take this man’s condition to the parish board.

And, I’d go to the local police and report his mental state.!
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Woah. Why? What has this man done that has broken the law? From what I’ve read hes troubled, angry and a bit odd. Doesn’t mean that you should call the police.
 
LemonAndLime said:
Woah. Why? What has this man done that has broken the law? From what I’ve read hes troubled, angry and a bit odd. Doesn’t mean that you should call the police.
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Since when is vandalism and potential assault okay? This poor man obviously is troubled, but if he was breaking stuff in the library, you know what he is capable of. Not really something you want to gamble on.
 
JackVk said:
Since when is vandalism and potential assault okay? If you were in a restaurant and a guy started throwing and breaking things, wouldn’t you want to call the cops?
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In the original post, the poster stated that these were things that they heard.

Secondly, it was his behaviour at the adoration which seemed to concern him the most. Muttering and making wierd gestures is not a reason to call the police. Shouting angryily at other parishoners is indictive of a mental disorder, not a criminal.

Also, to the poster who responded to my post simply by saying “B.S.” - I am sorry that you lack words to make a more mature reply/response, I shall pray for you.

Thirdly, I think that the reason so many people are screaming for the cops is beacuse it involves Church. If this person exhibited the same behaviour at a supermarket I don’t think it would get the same reaction. Hence my rather more reserved approach, because I think I’m looking at the facts rather than what “could” be, or what I “heard, apparently”.
 
LemonAndLime said:
In the original post, the poster stated that these were things that they heard.

Secondly, it was his behaviour at the adoration which seemed to concern him the most. Muttering and making wierd gestures is not a reason to call the police. Shouting angryily at other parishoners is indictive of a mental disorder, not a criminal.

Also, to the poster who responded to my post simply by saying “B.S.” - I am sorry that you lack words to make a more mature reply/response, I shall pray for you.

Thirdly, I think that the reason so many people are screaming for the cops is beacuse it involves Church. If this person exhibited the same behaviour at a supermarket I don’t think it would get the same reaction. Hence my rather more reserved approach, because I think I’m looking at the facts rather than what “could” be, or what I “heard, apparently”.
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Sorry, i modfied my post before you saw it. I was talking about the vandalism in the library.
 
JackVk said:
Since when is vandalism and potential assault okay? This poor man obviously is troubled, but if he was breaking stuff in the library, you know what he is capable of. Not really something you want to gamble on.
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No, but he was not exhibiting aggressive behaviour at the adoration. It doesn’t seem to be his aggressive side that triggered the poster’s concerns. And also appears to be frustration-type of aggression, rather than something aimed at hurting someone. These are completely different things. I punch pillows when I’m angry and I could knock my chair over instead - does that mean I am going to hurt someone? No, it means I am venting my anger elsewhere before I lose control of it. Most of the time though I count from 1 to 10.

[No need to apologise by the way :)]
 
You are right about the concern because it happened in a church. To be honest, I sure would be.
 
LemonAndLime said:
In the original post, the poster stated that these were things that they heard.

Secondly, it was his behaviour at the adoration which seemed to concern him the most. Muttering and making wierd gestures is not a reason to call the police. Shouting angryily at other parishoners is indictive of a mental disorder, not a criminal.
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But people with mental disorders can and do do serious and irreparable damage to property - or even worse, people. Of course it might not be his intent to do so, but it is very easily foreseeable as a potential result if this person remains unchecked and his behaviour is allowed to escalate as it is likely to do.

Police aren’t just there for criminals, by the way - IF the man is suffering from some sort of mental illness or other disorder, they can also ensure that he goes to a hospital or doctor and receives appropriate treatment.
Thirdly, I think that the reason so many people are screaming for the cops is beacuse it involves Church. If this person exhibited the same behaviour at a supermarket I don’t think it would get the same reaction. Hence my rather more reserved approach, because I think I’m looking at the facts rather than what “could” be, or what I “heard, apparently”.
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Not a bit of it. If anyone was widely reputed for violent behaviour and I saw them in the supermarket for all the world looking like they were gearing up for a repeat of same, I would definitely call security if the supermarket had it, or the cops. If physical violence is involved no way am I going to take any risks.
 
LilyM said:
But people with mental disorders can and do do serious and irreparable damage to property - or even worse, people. Of course it might not be his intent to do so, but it is very easily foreseeable as a potential result if this person remains unchecked and his behaviour is allowed to escalate as it is likely to do.
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What you have said is part of the problem. People seem to assume that everyone with a mental disorder have the capacity to turn into blood-crazed murderers who run around stabbing random people. SOME people with mental disorders MIGHT to damage to people or property. Not all have the ability. Thank you very much.
Police aren’t just there for criminals, by the way - IF the man is suffering from some sort of mental illness or other disorder, they can also ensure that he goes to a hospital or doctor and receives appropriate treatment.
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I dont think that was the intention behind the other poster’s comments, do you?
Not a bit of it. If anyone was widely reputed for violent behaviour and I saw them in the supermarket for all the world looking like they were gearing up for a repeat of same, I would definitely call security if the supermarket had it, or the cops. If physical violence is involved no way am I going to take any risks.
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Calling the police because you think someone with a past history of aggressive behaviour “might” repeat that just because they’re muttering to themselve will be considored a waste of their time. Bareing in mind that this muttering was taking place in a Church, which could just be an unusual way of prayer.
 
LemonAndLime said:
. Bareing in mind that this muttering was taking place in a Church, which could just be an unusual way of prayer.
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Albeit a very suspicious kind of prayer. If he pointed to the Eucharist and said “destruction”, that may raise a red flag.
 
We have several severely mentally ill parishoners that attend our masses and I’m sure someone would jump to a rather erroneous conclusion if they had never witnessed this type of behavior before at church. BUT, the priest is aware of the situation in the OP’s first post, to the point that he is counseling him as the OP has reported. We should trust that the priest knows what he is doing in this case. And we all should pray for this particular man and any one else that may be suffering from a mental illness or exhibits this kind of behavior. Jesus came to help these people, we should show more charity before we jump to automatically calling the police in such a situation.

OP, if the situation is really bugging you, do talk to the priest, but approach him as a concerned fellow parishoner and not in a condemning sort of manner. There may very well be much, much more to the situation that warrents precaution, but kindness and prayers.
 
LemonAndLime said:
Depends on the context.
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It certainly does. If people heard snippets from my prayers when I pray about “murder” of unborn babies and the “destruction” of society, they very well could think I’m plotting a very serious crime.
 
I wouldn’t say that he is possessed… the fact that he came to church, genuflected before the Blessed Sacrament, and prayed, seems to go against the idea of possession. Generally people who are possessed find it very difficult if not impossible to be around the Blessed Sacrament. It could be that this young man is mentally ill… and maybe that’s just how he prays. You said he was making crosses with his fingers, that doesn’t seem to be demonic. The part about “destruction” - it depends on the context and what he was saying. I think maybe the priest could have a talk with him to clarify things.
 
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