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Dear Friends,

It would seem that whenever we have a renovation at home - poltergeists and other things that go "bump in the night" make their presence felt.

This has happened twice before and each time I have anointed the areas with Holy Water saying: This house is blessed with the Sign of the Cross in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

That has put an end to the disturbances (the first time it was loud knocking, ten times, every hour on the hour; the second time, what sounded like the dragging of a bucket of cement over the garage floor directly below our bedroom).

We are now staying with my in-laws owing to the mess etc. but are at our home to see how things are going, to let people in, and to do cleanups.

When I arrived home last evening, I saw that the contractor's wife had joined him in the hallway. The contractor looked a bit pale when he told me that when he was working, he heard several voices and it seemed to him that a crew of workers were in the house. As he thought that we forgot to tell him about this - it didn't seem out of the ordinary.

But he quickly realized that there was no one in the house except him and there were no workers outside anywhere - he quickly called his wife.

Happily, he is returning today and I will anoint the house with Holy Water this evening.

Any further advice on how to deal with this sort of thing?

It would be greatly appreciated!

Thanking you in advance.

Alex

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Have you had a priest do a blessing?

Even more powerful is the longer service which is called 'evhalaio' or the blessing of the holy oil for chrism.

A powerful prayer, translated from Greek, is: Christ is victorious--let all evil be scattered in HIS Name!

Finally, have you considered moving instead of renovating?!? *wink* smile *wink*

Regards,
Alice

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Have you tried investigating the source of these noises to find the cause? There are no such things as " poltergeists" or ghosts. I'll bet if you do some digging you'll find a perfectley reasonable explanation.


Last edited by DAVIDinVA; 11/29/08 02:51 AM.
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Dear David,

Not to give more attention to the source of evil, but the Church and countless saints and monastics, (not to mention those who have dabbled in the occult) would differ with your assertion about evil occurences, noises, apparitions, etc., existing...however, we know that:

+Jesus Christ is victorious!

Alice


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In Ireland people are likely to ask to have Mass in the house as a means of casting out the poltergeists.

Then there is that Olde Englysshye prayer: "from ghosties, ghoulies, goblins, and long-legged beasties, and things that go "bump" in the night, Good Lord deliver us"!

In our own tradition, we recommend the annual blessing of homes at Theophany.

Fr. Serge

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I agree to the point of exhausting possible rational explanations before looking for supernatural ones.

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Dear Friends,

Thank you!

I anointed the house with Holy Water and the occurrences have stopped.

This is the third time that we've had such goings-on - each time following a renovation in the house.

The first time (beginning November 7, 2002) there was loud knocking, in a series of ten, throughout the night, every night, until my wife told me to just go ahead and anoint the home with Holy Water. The second time occurred two years ago, December 16th, with a pail of cement being dragged, scraped, over the garage floor beneath the bedroom. My wife suffered greatly with this and when I inspected the garage there truly was a pail of cement but it did not move from its location, yet every hour on the hour the loud sound of it being dragged over the cement floor was heard, back and forth. I can assure everyone that there was no one in the garage and that no one could have gotten in. When I tried to life or pull that bucket of cement, even with all my gym exercise and weightlifting, I could not move it.

When our contractor left on Thursday, in the company of his wife and visibly shaken, I waited for him to drive away. Then I went back into the house just to see what would happen, if anything. He said there were "voices."

And there were indeed. There was no one in the house nor anywhere around the house. It did indeed sound as if there were workers busying themselves and calling out to one another.

I again anointed the house and this has stopped. The contractor has reported no further noises, just a warm, benevolent feeling in the place that, he says, relaxes him to the point of wanting to have a nap.

This is the fourth time I've encountered this in my life - the very first time required a minor exorcism to put pay to it.

I'm sure there are rational explanations for all of it! smile

Alex

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"Anointing" a house with water sounds a bit thin.

Fr. Serge

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Originally Posted by Serge Keleher
"Anointing" a house with water sounds a bit thin.

Fr. Serge

confused ? confused

Sorry, I don't understand...dear Father Serge, can you please explain what your post to Alex meant.

Thanks!

In Christ,
Alice

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I think he was making a joke...holy water is thinner than oil.

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Alex,

Do you have teenagers in your house?

It is not uncommon for these phenomena to be caused by adolescents in emotional distress (then again, find me one who isn't).

Shalom,
Memo

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Sure: anointing can only be done with oil or a similar substance. The word is sometimes used metaphorically (as in the name "Christ", which means "the Anointed One", but there is no implication that some other substance was used. The closest we can come to water is the healing in the Gospels when the Lord anointed by mixing saliva with clay.

Fr. Serge

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To state that the phenomena called poltergeists and ghosts do
not exist is unscientific. There is much credible evidence
that they do. WHAT they are is another question. In fact, these
two terms may be catch-alls for different kinds of realities that
we do not understand. Some, indeed, may be
demonic. Others may be simply natural. Since "official" science
is allergic to anything that smacks of the "supernatural", we
are not likely to learn anything about them any time soon.

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This is the third time that we've had such goings-on - each time following a renovation in the house.


So stop renovating the house! wink

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Alex,

I read a book about an elderly German lady from Austria who receives visits from souls in Purgatory seeking prayers. I think her name is Maria Simma. it was simply amazing!

As I recall, they never spoke to her unless she first spoke to them. You may ask them their names and if they would like you to pray for them.

I can't hurt.

Fr Deacon Paul


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