Thursday, October 30, 2014

Deliverance Ministries are Not for the Untrained and Need Proper Counsel and Guidance in Ireland

The whole area of Deliverance is quite popular in some circles within the Church in Ireland.  Quite a number of lay people are being taught how to deliver themselves or others from evil spirits.  This is a very dangerous ministry to dabble in without training.  It is not for any ordinary lay person to confront demons and if anyone says you can, they are wrong.  And to be quite honest I don't care who they are or what credentials they have or think they have.

You may disagree but please tell me where the Saints advised people to bind spirits and to speak to spirits and tell them to go or whatever.  I don't see this anywhere in the Saints writings.  What they did when confronted by evil was, make the Sign of the Cross, Pray the Rosary or Chaplet of Divine Mercy, blessed themselves and their surroundings with holy water.  Never, never have I heard one of them command evil spirits to leave (except in the case of Priests).  St. Teresa of Avila used holy water and the Sign of the Cross often.  St. Faustina likewise and many other Saints.

Please do not enter into deliverance ministry without proper training, you must be trained both psychologically and spiritually over a number of years for this ministry.   This is not a game.   The evil one knows the power of the Sacraments that we have in our Church and he seeks to undermine the valuable treasure that we Catholics have.  We can see this everywhere today. I have seen people who are regular Mass goers who fly out of the Church after Mass and are off to the latest deliverance talk or conference or to read the latest book on the subject. There is a very unhealthy fascination with this stuff and it is not being addressed properly here in Ireland.  It would be far better if the person had stayed after Mass to give thanksgiving to Christ who he had just received.   Many of these deliverance ministries have come from the evangelical Protestant background and we Catholics need to watch that we don't undermine the Sacraments of our Church, which Jesus has given us and which the evil one hates with venom.

My advice would be if you are feeling disturbed or your house or property is disturbed by the presence of a spirit, go to a good Priest first and ask his advice.  Live a good, honest and virtuous life, frequent the Sacraments, read the Scriptures and pray with them, go to Adoration, Pray the Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy and perhaps also the Divine Office.  Read the Lives and Writings of the Saints and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.. Have holy water in your house and bless yourselves and your family and your house and property daily.  Don't seek out evil spirits and don't see evil spirits behind every bad thing that happens.  Remember the Cross of Jesus Christ and unite your sufferings with His making them redemptive for yourself and other souls. Also you could join a good Catholic lay apostolate which does the corporal and spiritual works of Mercy and you will grow not just spiritually but in many other ways.

Leave Deliverance to the well trained experts in this area no matter who tells you otherwise. Because you have no idea what harm you may cause to yourself, your family or community if you dabble in this kind of thing. 

In the Diary of St. Faustina at No. 1760 Jesus teaches her about real spiritual warfare.  The Diary of St. Faustina is full of great teaching and guidance on the interior life and is highly recommended reading. 

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