The Paranormal and The Church

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Yshua02 said:
Also is it a sin to simply document supposed paranormal events in order to better understand the unknown without any direct contact with demons or malevolent spirits? Does it go against reason and faith?
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I think these are good questions for a priest. Maybe even an occasion for confession. I honestly don’t know.

If I were to walk into a house & notice some weird stuff going on, it would make sense to investigate if only to identify what is going on. It to determine if I am in danger.

I can’t imagine it would be a sin to ask someone else to do it for me. I can’t imagine it would be a sin to do it for someone else. I can’t imagine it would be a sin if I watched someone do it for a friend.

I mean, I can’t go to the Bishop & say I need an exorcism. I’m sure there would be a bunch of questions I would have to answer before they would send someone to investigate.

& if this were a hobby of mine, could it be part of a calling to be an exorcist?
 
On the last “Body and Blood of Christ” Holy day mass I attended, our pastor said something I found quite interesting that is relevant here.

:There are people everywhere looking for the supernatural. Bring them here any day of the week and they will see it in the Consecration."

Good point I thought.

As for the rest, I believe personally that we are best served and likely serve others best by using our time for … not what this post is about. There are plenty of spiritual combat books out there written by Catholic authors. I also think there’s one titled 'Angels and Demons" by Peter Kreeft that was quite good.

I would avoid the things you speak of here and invest my time in something different.
Of course that doesn’t answer your Church Teaching questions, but I am not qualified for that. It simply seems logical to respond as I did.

Blessings,
 
hopeful3542 said:
The only people who may validly perform solemn exorcisms are Roman Catholic priests who have the permission of their Bishop or a Bishop himself. It is extremely dangerous as well as pointless for anyone else to attempt this.
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I am not suggesting anyone other than a priest to perform an exorcism. I’m saying intrest in this sort of thing (which I have none) may be a calling to the priesthood, more specifically to be an Exorcist.
 
With all the things that I have seen discussed on CAF, I hardly think the OP needs to be questioned as to why they wish to discuss the paranormal. I personally would think that coming here would be a wise choice in seeking answers, especially as the OP wanted to know the Church’s standing on it.

OP, I’m sorry that I don’t have any awesome answers to your questions!
 
No, a call to the priesthood does not come through interest in the paranormal, and to specifically become an exorcist.

You sound like you are starting at exorcist and working backwards to get there. That is not a reason to become a priest.
 
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The Bible admits there is a such thing; but we are not to talk to them, because they lie and deceive. Your specific question about the use of EVP tends to fall under trying to communicate with spirits - which God doesn’t take kindly to. So yes, I’d say documenting and using EVP to communicate would be a sin.

Leviticus 19:31
"Do not have recourse to the spirits of the dead or to magicians; they will defile you. I, Yahweh, am your God.

Deuteronomy 18:10-13
"There must never be anyone among you who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire of sacrifice, who practises divination, who is soothsayer, augur or sorcerer, weaver of spells, consulter of ghosts or mediums, or necromancer.

For anyone who does these things is detestable to Yahweh your God; it is because of these detestable practices that Yahweh your God is driving out these nations before you.

'You must be faultless in your relationship with Yahweh your God. For these nations whom you are going to dispossess have listened to soothsayers and mediums, but Yahweh your God does not permit you to do this."
 
Irishmom2 said:
No, a call to the priest does not come through interest in the paranormal, and to specifically become an exorcist.

You sound like you are starting at exorcist and working backwards to get there. That is not a reason to become a priest.
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I’d like to talk to a couple of Exorcist & get their opinions.
 
This thread is funny because I am a EE and design electronics. My co workers and I sit around and joke about starting a side business making ‘ghost detector hardware’ and quitting our day jobs. Seriously, if I didn’t absolutely despise the stupidity of these shows so much, it’d probably be a sustainable business. Let me cut to the chase: you’re a mark.
 
There are accounts in Catholic circles of the living encountering souls undergoing purgation . This can be very similar to accounts of encountering ghosts. Not every “ghostly” encounter is demonic. I recall reading an account of St Padre Pio encountering the soul of a priest polishing the altar… he neglected caring for the altar in life and this was part of his purgatory. I’ve also read accounts of ghostly encounters at the place individuals died, and, once Mass was said for the souls who died in that place, the encounters ceased.

No doctrine here… just the experiences of some Catholics.
 
twf said:
There are accounts in Catholic circles of the living encountering souls undergoing purgation . This can be very similar to accounts of encountering ghosts. Not every “ghostly” encounter is demonic. I recall reading an account of St Padre Pio encountering the soul of a priest polishing the altar… he neglected caring for the altar in life and this was part of his purgatory. I’ve also read accounts of ghostly encounters at the place individuals died, and, once Mass was said for the souls who died in that place, the encounters ceased.

No doctrine here… just the experiences of some Catholics.
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Unless we are St Padre Pio or St Faustina, or another great saint, I go with demonic. Even then, those great saints tested every apparition that came their way.
 
OP, you might like the Things that Go Bump in the Night threads on here.
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Things That Go Bump In The Night II The Revenge Spirituality
TTGBITN had a good run, three years, plus the short lived versions on the Old CAF. Here’s the original CAF 2.0 thread I have unearthed the beast from the grave, for a thrilling revenge of strange tales, and macabre legends… TTGBITN is a thread where we explain the Unknown from a Catholic perspective.
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Yshua02 said:
Does it go against reason and faith?
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Sacred Scriptures often refer to the spiritual world - including bad/evil spirits…
BEST TO avoid them ,
RATHER, become more interested in - THE HOLY SPIRIT
 
I have heard of EVPs. Many investigators use this. Many times what they hear is “Get Out!” Not much information. I have recently had a few strange things happen, and the only way I can think of what is was is the process of elimination. I had heard a sharp tapping sound in my room as I either woke up or was about to fall asleep. I had no idea what it was and still don’t. We checked the house for anything that could have caused it but could find nothing unusual. So, I sprinkled the room with holy water and said a prayer that God would help me.

It went away and I haven’t heard it lately. Sometimes people are reluctant to accept the possibility of these things taking place, but I think to be forewarned is a good thing. It can give us time to build a kind of protection around us.

Someone told me to knock back when it happens, but no way would I do that. That may not only be wrong, but dangerous.
 
woolycaterpillar said:
It went away and I haven’t heard it lately. Sometimes people are reluctant to accept the possibility of these things taking place, but I think to be forewarned is a good thing. It can give us time to build a kind of protection around us.

Someone told me to knock back when it happens, but no way would I do that. That may not only be wrong, but dangerous.
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Don’t forget this: Calling upon “JESUS!” goes a very long way …
 
In sprinkling holy water, I did ask the Lord to help me. Each night when I have my talk with Him before sleeping, I ask Him to not ever leave me all alone. He puts my mind to rest because normally I would be very much afraid if something weird happened. I just don’t like it. I never did and never will.
 
Whoah friend I can’t believe I just thought of this! But the head apologist of Catholic Answers (Jimmy Akin) has a separate podcast called ‘Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World’ where he loves discussing all sorts of ‘mysterious’ topics in detail (whether you’re talking ghosts, UFOs, alternate dimensions, ancient treasure maps, or true crime).

I know for a fact that at least one of his episodes is on ‘ghosts’. I don’t know if he discusses this EVP thing there… but maybe?

His approach is always to approach each mystery through the lens of ‘faith’ and ‘reason’ (sometimes faith doesn’t have much to do with it, and it ends up mostly a reason-based question). It’s actually a super fun show. Highly recommend. And he’s always super fair-minded to all sides of a question, and examines the different reasons there can be for holding to different positions.

And maybe, just maybe, he’ll have addressed this ‘EVP’ thing in a ghost episode 🙂

EDIT: I really hope you see this now. I am kicking myself for not thinking of it several days ago.
 
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