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Question Title Posted By Question Date
You really think that all Hauntings are demons? Elizabeth Monday, January 5, 2009

Question:

Dear Brother Ignatius Mary,

Thank you for such a quick response! In reading accounts from Father Candido the verdict was out. He wasn't completely sure, nor is Father Garielle Amorth. Father Amorth has commented that the Catholic Church actually needs to do more research on this. There has also been accounts where homes have been haunted and when Gregorian Masses were said in the home for the souls, all paranormal activity disappeared.


Also in our old neighborhood, many other homes were experiencing very similar activity. Of course, these neighbors didn't say anything to us until their homes sold. I do know there are mysteries in our own Catholic faith that are just that, mysteries. Perhaps hauntings is another mystery we don't completely understand. Besides, Satan is being much more distructive and effective through media, entertainment, pornography, and even more benign things that people pay no attention to. The devil doesn't like to show himself and is more clever than hauntings. Just look at the abortion count, how many people felt they could vote for a canidate even though they're pro-abortion, and they call themselves Catholic Christians or other Christians.

Anyway, I appreciate your response, but I'm not convinced all hauntings are completely demonic. Especially after reading accounts from Fr. Candido who was a very experienced Exorcist. If anything I am more convinced than ever to pray, offer sacrifices to God for those in purgatory, and to Trust in Jesus to be merciful to these poor souls. I do believe through these experiences I've come to really understand what it means to have compassion like Jesus did. We could always use more people trying to become saints and pray for those who can't help themselves. In return Our Lord Jesus will show great mercy to us.

By the way we had our home and property blessed and still had activity. Perhaps if you put a monestary in a haunted location, blessed the location, you all will be very busy praying for those souls that Jesus wants all of us to pray for and offer sacrifices for. In this case the cheep property you could get here on earth just might be unaffordable in Heaven.



Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Elizabeth:

Well, I did not say that ALL hauntings were demons. I said MOST hauntings are demonic. There are other possibilities. I refer you to my essay, "Seven Kinds of Ghosts". Hauntings by Purgatorial spirits are relatively rare. Demons can disguise themselves as a dead loved one, or a battlefield ghost, or a graveyard ghost. They have great motivation to play this game since it often inspires people to flirt with the occult or it inspires people to dismiss the demonic presence and write it off as a harmless purgatorial spirit.

The cases you mentioned where paranormal activity stops when Masses are said in the house proves not a thing. Saying a Mass in a house often drives out demons. If these demons were impersonating human souls, then of course the paranormal activity will stop when the demons are driven out.

It is also not unusual for phenomena to take place throughout an entire neighborhood. In fact, there are demons who are in charge of geographic areas. So again, the phenomena taking place in many homes in the area does not automatically imply a non-demonic haunting from a Indian graveyard and such.

While there may be individual purgatorial spirits who occasionally present themselves, this is normally short lived and individual. Mass hauntings of many spirits, such as from a graveyard, is extremely unlikely. Such manifestations are most likely demonic.

The idea of hauntings of human souls caused by building homes over an Indian graveyard is not possible. Purgatorial spirits are not lingering on earth because their graves were defiled. And often the defiling of the graveyard is not for decades or even centuries after the last burial in the graveyard. By that time the souls buried there will be in purgatory, hell, or heaven and will not be returning in this earth to haunt people for defiling their grave. It is theologically inconsistent to suggest hauntings in response to defiling graveyards.

If we were to buy a haunted property, any regularly occuring hauntings would not likely last long because of the property being blessed and sanctified, and the place would be a place of prayer. The chances of purgatorial haunting of souls over time that we need to pray is close to zero.

Any haunting should be presumed a demon unless specific and deliberate evidence suggests otherwise. And that determination can really only be made by a qualified and trained person.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary


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