www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Ouija boards

Thank you for speaking up, Father Anthony and Incongnitus. As you can see from my posts, I couldn't agree with you more.

Alex--stand your ground with the kids!

In Christ,
Alice

P.S. Incognitus--regarding those mushrooms...I get this feeling that you are a gourmet when it comes to food!

I think we are all pretty much in agreement on the occult. But I have seen televangelists have what they call "words of knowledge" which reveal to them things about people that they couldn't possibly know. Now where is that stuff coming from? I remember mentioning to a friend that God might answer my prayers if He were not so busy telling trivia to Pat Robertson.

There won't be ouija boards in my home. Never have been never will. I must admit, I have tried them a time or two when younger, but nothing big. I don't believe in astrology, palm readings, tarrot cards and ouija boards.
I was watching American Idol the past two nights and every contestant had to explain how they fit their "sign." I would have declined even trying to make something up about that if I were on that show. I don't believe in it.
People actually believe that stuff, but ignore the real deal, Jesus Christ and Mary and the Saints.

I knew a girl who used to play with one.

I thought it was the subconsious mind manifesting itself.

Nothing that she "predicted" has any bearing in reality

"Every evil screams only one message: 'I am good.'"

- From Father Alexander Schmemann


In His peace,
+Fr. Gregory

Dear Friends,

Has anyone seen the series, "Most Haunted?" It is a British series where a group goes into a "haunted" house or castle and stays the night.

They had one episode that was most disturbing . . . the "spirit" attacked one of the camera-men, apparently striking him with full force in the chest and stomach. As he fell, screaming, he was, as he said, kicked continually.

A psychologist and parapsychologist, who usually debunks what they see and record, was so amazed by the incident that he said he didn't know, off-hand, how to explain it, as he was right there when it happened.

This does indicate, and to this misguided crew especially, that the "spirits" are not all "good."

We have another such show in Toronto, the "Girly Ghostbusters" and they likewise are off the deep end.

When we moved into our new home, we had loud knocking at night.

I did not try to "communicate" with whatever, but took some holy water and anointed all the rooms - then later a priest blessed our home.

Alex

My father had heard a scary ghost story as a kid and was doing the little kid stay up all night with the lights on routine. He related this to his grandfather (who was Irish), and whose advice on being afraid of ghosts, as he related it, was as follows: "Now, Johnny, don't ye be worrying about the dead ones. It's the living ones you've got to watch out for."

I don't discount that there might be ghosts and the like, nor did my dad. Evidence of evil influence, evil choices, evil acts, evil incarnate, and evil spirits abound.

The problem with pseudo-occult games comes in when people trust in them. One of the Fathers who posted above is correct that some children and teenagers are particularly vulnerable. What is a creative outlet or fun to one kid, may be a fantasy window into real evil for another, especially the kid who is in some way maladjusted, unpopular, geeky and/or vulnerable and who retreats into such fantasy.

Retreating into fantasy is attractive to people for whom reality isn't cutting it and sometimes that fantasy leads them down very bad paths. We recently had a murder case in this area - I guess it was a couple years ago now - where a couple kids who pursued such interests decided to kill one of girl's fathers in most grisly fashion. They hacked him up with a sword. They certainly seemed to have totally retreated into an evil world of fantasy-come-reality. Although the "Devil made me do it" is not a legal defense, one has to wonder at times...

Honestly, parents need to encourage their kids into more wholesome pursuits. If you see a kid paying attention to "other" worldy things, maybe it's time to see what's lacking in this world for them and work on that, together.

Btw, I never watch those reality shows. Ugh.

But I did live in a dormitory ("staircase") at Oxford that was allegedly haunted. Our chapel was allegedly haunted, too, by a monk of all odd visitors. The monk allegedly was seen praying at the altar rail several times in history, according to our historian - okay, maybe a sighting every 50 years, I think the last one had been during WW2. I never saw anything, nor did it affect my ability to sleep like a rock, cozy in my bed. However, not all was well across town - my friend lived at a neighboring college where the room across the hall from him had to be visited by a Catholic priest. I don't know what happened over there, but my friend is a level guy and he said the two fellows living there were sane fellows who were totally sleep-deprived and scared before the priest came over.

Well, I had a "word of knowledge" that said, "eat more dark chocolate for Lent." Of course, I always follow good spiritual advice, and dark chocolate is an other-worldly experience.

Dear Charles,

I agree that dark chocolate can be a positively "wicked" experience!

The darker, the better . . .

Alex

All the more reason to become Byzantine - you guys have a fully developed understanding of chocolate.

I gave up chocolate for Lent you guys and gal!

Just kidding. Actually I can't eat it anymore at all cause of a blood sugar problem, but I did love it. Only milk chocolate, however. :p

Mary Jo...whose mouth is watering.

Well, it's like this...I am vegetarian, so giving up meat is meaningless to me. So I am having dark chocolate - the antioxidants are good for me, etc. Is my logic making any sense? I love dark chocolate. On the meat issue, I do have to find alternative penances since the mandated ones have no significance.

RE: ouija boards.

I would caution any one who plays with them and encourage them to stop. They seem harmless like some of the games sold in video stores, but can be a beginning of opening the door to the occult. Once that happens it can easily lead to a deeper curiosity with the occult and desire to seek further. I would interest them in something else.

I agree with Fr. Gregory that evil can say, "I am good." and even look and feel good--especially at first. The game definitely has drawing power and some kind of spirit can be behind it. That doesn't make it good as not all spirits are good.

We have to pray for wisdom though in what we say and how we say it, cause making it sound like forbidden fruit can give it even more appeal to some.

In His Name,

Mary Jo

I don't know! Sometimes these things can be ghosts, and sometimes 'other' things. What bothers me, is that they say that ghosts are people that died in a state of anxiety, and continue to be in that state.

Now I know the Orthodox, in Greece at least, have a priest bless the spot where someone has died a tragic death. My mother once told me a story about a boy that fell from a great height. The people could hear his screams until the place was blessed. Of course I could go into the many times I heard talking or eery things in my mothers island, usually at midnight, (they had sufferred a massacre), but I'd be going on forever.

A grand-aunt of mine, that was known to be quite devout, lived in a house where the commotion at night was unbearable. She heard rocks being thrown on the roof, and whispers through the key hole that 'they'll take her'. In the morning there was not a scar to be found on the house. (Very similar to the experiences of the Cure of Ars.)

This grand-aunt kept begging my grandmother to stay with her at night, but as fearless as my grandmother was, she only suffered one night of it.

Zenovia

The rock throwing eventually stopped, but oddly enough started again during WWII. I guess it was an evil era when the 'devils' reigned.

Zenovia