Amidst the prevailing
existentialist view of life and the moral-therapeutic deist views of religion,
which even those who go to church every Sunday are guilty of, it is good to
note that there are those who experience phenomena that are seemingly
unexplainable by science. These experiences could be beautiful, indifferent,
and several times fearsome. This write-up does not intend to scientifically
disprove the existence of what we call “demonic forces” (for he would most
likely flunk science subjects) or to philosophically prove the existence of
these forces (as the author has not yet attained sufficient philosophical
awesomeness to do so). This write-up intends to spill some useful knowledge
about such fearsome phenomena and perhaps to give practical guidelines on how
to deal with them, well, if you must know, some catholic guidelines on how to
deal with these.
Whether we believe it or
neglect it, evil does exist. This could be interpreted to morally evil things,
figurative evil, or the existence of demonic forces that influence our world (I
hope I don’t sound like a character from the Harry Potter franchise) in the
most discreet to the most unexplainable ways. I would limit myself to the topic
of demonic forces.
It is important to
distinguish that unexplainable occurrences can be classified into two:
supernatural, those things or happenings that are beyond the laws of nature,
and preternatural, those that are beyond what is normal (not necessarily the
laws of nature). Supernatural would be those things we consider as miracles and
are coming from forces that are not within the bracket of natural law and
preternatural would be those things that are seemingly not normal but are not
necessarily outside natural law.
Filipino tradition would
tell us that there are spirits that reside in nature or in houses or in regular
things. These spirits could be good, could be evil, or could be temperamental.
There are also beliefs that these spirits are the souls of our loved ones or
are “earth-bound spirits.” While the author does not wish to impose catholic
doctrine, as a reference, the Catholic Church teaches that the souls of the
dead, after death, proceed immediately to judgment and to heaven or hell (or
purgatory for those who have a little bit of prelude before heaven) and cannot
remain here on earth. The spirits, therefore, that are considered “earthbound
souls” or the spirits of the dead are not what we believe them to be.
Furthermore, there are
spirits that are invisible to us, namely, the angels. These Angels, like us,
have free will, however, they have no physical bodies. These heavenly spirits
have greater knowledge and intelligence compared to us. They were created to
minister to God and to carry out the orders of God. On account of their great
knowledge and intelligence, they cannot afford repentance after they have
committed even a single sin. If they have committed a sin, they are expelled
from heaven and are therefore fallen angels, angels that are eternally damned.
Fallen Angels, although, good in their former state, because of their
incapability of repentance after sin, are no longer capable of doing good.
Hence, those seemingly good or temperamental spirits that reside in nature or
in our homes or in our neighbors are not what they are believed to be. To put
it bluntly, are fallen angels, demons.
It could be asked why is
it that demons are in our world when they are in hell. Well, heaven and hell
are states and supernatural places not physical places. It is a state of the
being. The demons then are carrying hell with themselves as the turtle carries
its shell.
In this sense, the
spirits then that could be residing in our neighbor’s house, in our backyard
tree, or in our basements, the “nuno sa punso”, or the “white lady” next door,
are no other than the demonic spirits that are hostile and are bent on harming us,
whether spiritually, mentally, or even physically. These demonic spirits
influence men from the smallest temptation to the most fearsome manifestation.
These at first could appear indifferent or even good but in truth, these
spirits are really laboring to make men share in the sufferings they share in
hell and they cannot withstand, out of selfishness, the thought that man is
capable of enjoying the beatific vision of heaven, the heaven that they once
enjoyed.
These thoughts should not
contribute to the greater fear of demons, shrieking at the slightest sound we
hear at night, but should exhort us to love God more solidly. The only way to
battle with these evil spirits is by building a solid relationship with God,
who loves us infinitely. Practical ways of building a relationship with God is
by spending times of prayer each day, reading the word of God, devotion to our
guardian angels and to the Mother of God, making sacrifices.
In conclusion, in our
efforts to Love God and to build a solid spiritual life, it is important to
remember that the Devil does not appear in a red cape with a pitchfork; he
appears, many times, in the smallest of our selfish desires. This should lead
us to follow our Lord Jesus Christ more genuinely by denying ourselves and
taking up our crosses everyday.
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