Some time ago, I was walking down the street in downtown Savannah in my priestly clothes with a friend, and a gentleman approached us.\u00a0 I thought he may ask for money, but he simply wanted to chat with a priest.\u00a0 As the pleasant yet brief conversation was drawing to a close, he asked, \u201cFather, could you give a blessing to my girlfriend who is Catholic and is over on the other side of the street?\u201d\u00a0 I agreed and followed him.\u00a0 I was stunned when the lady he led me to was sitting in front of a sign offering tarot card readings.\u00a0 As I greeted her, the man explained to her that I was a priest and that I would give her a blessing.\u00a0 As I processed the scene however, I decided to ask a few questions.\u00a0 \u201cShe has received this gift from God, Father,\u201d the boyfriend explained.\u00a0 \u201cShe does it for the good of others.\u00a0 It has become a heavy burden for her.\u201d\u00a0 I responded that these practices were never compatible with our faith, even if she perceived it as a gift from God.\u00a0 She did not protest, and I closed our time together with a blessing asking for a conversion of heart and clarity in doing God\u2019s will.<\/p>\n
I have experienced an overall increased interest in the occult in society.\u00a0 Many television shows are dedicated to chasing ghosts, movies retell stories of demonic activity, and individuals through social media easily advertise quick and supernatural solutions to life problems.\u00a0 More and more people are exposed to evil, oftentimes innocently.\u00a0 The devil works in a hidden manner, better yet, pretending to be doing good such as in the woman I met in downtown Savannah.\u00a0 He truly is a wolf in sheep\u2019s clothing who prefers to remain unnoticed.<\/p>\n
Consulting mediums, tarot cards, curanderas, brujas, chamans, ouija boards, or self-professed spiritual healers are always an opening to a darkness that can quickly consume one\u2019s spirit and attention.\u00a0 Not only will these consume money from the bank account, but will demand more and more time and energy.\u00a0 These offer quick or impossible fixes, but in the end, they entangle the soul with realities that distance one from God.\u00a0 The devil is quite transactional \u2013 he may be able to deliver, but he always returns to extract what he perceives as his due.<\/p>\n
The Italian Blessed Bartolo Longo (1841-1926) fully embraced the occult as a young man, rejecting his Catholic upbringing and even being ordained a satanic priest.\u00a0 Despite the lure of evil and his willing participation in it, he eventually experienced a profound conversion which led him to state, \u201cI renounced spiritism because it was nothing but a maze of error and falsehood.\u201d\u00a0 He realized his involvement with the occult was only causing anxiety and turbulence in his heart.\u00a0 He spent the rest of his life spreading devotion to the Rosary.\u00a0 His life story reminds us that God always triumphs over evil because there is really no competition between the two.\u00a0 The light conquers all darkness in Jesus Christ who has defeated our oldest enemy, the lying serpent in the garden.\u00a0 The serpent continues to fool and confuse many even today, slyly offering fruits that appear attractive, but only lead away from God.\u00a0 The path of the occult leads to turbulence and dependence, the path of God leads to peace and true freedom as children of God.<\/p>\n
Written for the Southern Cross<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some time ago, I was walking down the street in downtown Savannah in my priestly clothes with a friend, and a gentleman approached us.\u00a0 I thought he may ask for money, but he simply wanted to chat with a priest.\u00a0 As the pleasant yet brief conversation was drawing to a close, he asked, \u201cFather, could […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":7512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[217],"tags":[30,2304,2301,1116],"class_list":["post-7509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-catholic","tag-devil","tag-occult","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\n