HAUNTED?

Evil is for real.(Ephesians 6:12) The supernatural world is as real as the real world that surround us, and both interplay and intersect with each others in various ways. We need to accept the possibility that some events in our lives can be caused by the work of the enemy. In saying that, however, we warn people against going to the extreme of blaming all the bad things happening to their lives as coming from the devil. This is preposterous. We glorify the devil if we do this. He doesn't have that much power! Traditional Catholic teaching says that we have three enemies: The World, The Flesh, and the Devil. Evil can therefore be caused not only by spirits, but also by the sinful structures of society (the world) and by our own sinful human nature (the flesh). It is important that we recognize this. If we keep on blaming the devil for everything, we abdicate our personal responsibility. The truth is that many of the bad things happening to our lives are caused by our personal sin. Prayers for deliverance or "casting out evil spirits" is very good, but many times, what is most needed is repentance. This in fact is most important weapon of spiritual warfare-not exorcism or deliverance. Repentance and sanctity are out greatest spiritual weapons! When we think of evil, we automatically think of devils, demons, evil spirits, and whatever we watch in horror movies. But the deadlier evil is the ordinary sins we commit! With the demons, devils, and evil spirits, at least we're afraid to touch them. But we're not afraid to touch a Playboy magazine, a bribe of one hundred thousand pesos, or listen to juicy gossip against our neighbor. But those things are evil as well. KERYGMA wishes to help people who feel that their lives are haunted, oppressed, bothered, pestered by evil influences. Many times, the don't know why this is happening to them. If you feel that there is an evil influence that is haunting or oppresing your life, ask the following questions :

1. IS THERE A SIN IN MY LIFE?

Sin opens up your life to evil more than anything else in the world. We reap what we sow in our lives (Matthew 7:17). Pride breeds conflicts and broken relationships. Lust, pre-marital sex, and adultery destroys our future, our marriages and families. Greed produces discontent and wars. After all, when God gave us the Ten Commandments, He didn't give them just because He was a big killjoy! God gave them to us out of His love, because He doesn't want us to suffer the terrible consequences of sin. We recommend that you go through an examination of conscience. Speak with a spiritual director-a saintly priest or nun-to assist you. Ask for the Holy Spirit to convict you of any sin that you are committing .

2. IS THERE HATRED AND RESENTMENT IN MY HEART?

Scripture is very clear: God will not forgive us if we don't know how to forgive others (Matthew 6:15). And if God cannot forgive us, how can His other blessings flow as well? When we hold on to our anger towards someone, we actually punish ourselves much more that the person we hate. If this is true in your case, we recommend that you go to prayer and seek for the grace of forgiveness. Ask others to pray for you, and release the resentment from your heart.

3. AM I INHERITING THE SINS OF MY FATHERS?

If an obvious sin, such as adultery, has been present in our families, even spanning across many generations (Exodus 20:5), you may need to break the bondage through a prayer of deliverance. First of all, deepen your relationship with the Lord-and invite your family closer to Jesus. This is the most important step. Second, repent of the sin that is present in your family. Cast it out and break the bondage in the name of Jesus. Seek for priests or lay leaders who are familiar with the prayers of healing the family tree.

4. HAS A WITCH INFLICTED A CURSE ON ME?

Don't laugh. This is no longer very common in urban areas like Manila, but we find it quite familiar in the provinces. Especially in far-flung barrios, we have experiences of people falling ill, only to discover that a mangkukulam inflicted a curse on them. The spiritual solution to this spiritual problem is simple: bring the person into a personal relationship with Jesus, covering him with the presence and blood of Christ. Go to the Sacraments and receive the grace that only Sacraments can give. And finally, with the help of the prayers of other people, cast out the evil spirit that is inflicting harm on the person. It works, every time. Because God is greater than the enemy.

5. DID I DABBLE WITH THE OCCULT AND OTHER UNORTHODOX PRACTICES?

Occult practices abound today and we may have opened up our lives in any way to the devil. Check whether your parents or relatives dabbled in them as well. Satan worship, witchcraft, all sorts of anting-anting (amulets), mangkukulam. We do not believe either in feng shui, astrology and horoscope, etc. because we trust God to care for us. We should be very careful with espiritistas (mediums) and faith healers. We strongly recommend that if you are to seek for healing from God, why not do it where Jesus is present in both Body and Spirit-in the Eucharist? Seek also healing in the Catholic Charismatic prayer meetings where prayers for healing are done-or through Marian devotions as approved by the Catholic Church. We also recommend that homes or places where occult activities were done in the past to be blessed and exorcism prayers be done. Have faith that God is greater than the enemy. History will attest that many ancient churches were built upon ancient pagan temples. God overcomes evil!