Strange behavior at Adoration

[Dorothy]

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?

Even though your priest already knows about this person, it would probably help the priest further to hear about what you described at adoration.

 

[James224]

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 what to do but I remember a woman who went to Adoration when I was going at 2am on saturday mornings and I found out that she was homeless and trying to stay warm. She slept a lot and snored. After a couple of months she left. This person probably figured out he could have a place to stay for awhile.

 

[Whitacre_Girl]

Honestly, it sounds like a lot of hearsay and guesswork going on here. He has talked to the priest, and it’s really up to the priest to deal with this situation. Trust him with it, and pray. If you are really worried, ask the priest about it, but since you admit to not knowing everything, it’s better to let the priest handle this. You’d hate to be at the center of a storm of controversy that chased a person struggling with a mental illness out of the church.

 

[EnglishTeacher]

His behavior doesn’t sound like Tourette’s. Serious mental illness, yes, but not Tourette’s.

Is it possible for your church to have someone present in the congregation who is prepared to deal with safety issues, if they arose–say, if this man or someone else were to start assaulting people or breaking things? (Sort of like the air marshal on planes–you don’t know who they are unless the need arises for them to act.) It’s probably a crazy idea, but just a thought that crossed my mind.

 

[asia53]

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.

Absolutely! My city’s police force receive specialized training in dealing with the mentally ill. We, the taxpayers, voted in an extra tax to finance it.

 

[sojo]

His behavior doesn’t sound like Tourette’s. Serious mental illness, yes, but not Tourette’s.

Is it possible for your church to have someone present in the congregation who is prepared to deal with safety issues, if they arose–say, if this man or someone else were to start assaulting people or breaking things? (Sort of like the air marshal on planes–you don’t know who they are unless the need arises for them to act.) It’s probably a crazy idea, but just a thought that crossed my mind.

I respectfully disagree. I have been highly active in developmental disability, and I know many, many people with Tourettes. It sounds exactly like Tourettes to me. I don’t know enough to diagnose, but the behavior is not untypical. The general public has a very distorted understanding of Tourettes. They think ticks and swear words. Those are symptoms to only a small portion of people challenged by Tourettes. Unfortunately, some Tourettes sufferers can be quite violent. It isn’t always manageable by medication, and only a few highly trained therapists specialize in working with T. sufferers on how to best control their disorder. I attended a 2 day workshop on this, and it was amazing.

But most Tourettes patients are not violent. They have already learned to somewhat work around their disability. I know of one person who knows that their “tick” (its what its called), that results in bashing in walls, yelling and being abusive can be pushed back for up to 7 hours. But after that, all hell breaks loose. Once everyone figured that out, he is allowed time off work or from house chores every 5 hours to go alone and be violent and loud. It takes about 3 minutes. Then he can return to normalcy. It also reduced his seizures and he is getting a better night’s sleep.

And it is also important to understand that Tourettes is not a mental illness - it is a physical disorder.

And finally, for those who have posted regarding the mentally ill, yes, it is true that only a small number become violent. Again, the general public has a distorted and often prejudicial reaction to the term, “mentally ill.”

Priests are highly educated men, and they have a lot of experience and share knowledge amongst themselves regarding the various types of humanity that come through their doors. I would trust the Pastor’s knowledge on the safety of the church and his flock with this young man in their midst.