A demonic Presence. Betty, John, Francis, Mark,

Transcription

1 A demonic Presence By Peter Salcido Betty, John, Francis, Mark, and you are having a slumber party at your house. The moon shines through your navy blue window. Stars twinkle in the night sky, contributing to the light glaze on the concrete in your front yard. Pillows, blankets, and zip up sleeping bags: scattered all over the floor of the room. John has a surprise to share with everyone else. Hidden behind his wrinkled clothes in his bag, he pulls out a square with letters printed on its design. Shortly after he pulls out a weird triangle tool and places it atop of the square, John suggests you play with the Ouija Board. Everyone is super excited and thinking that it s going to be a really fun night. The question pops out as John places his hands on the triangle tool: Is anyone here with us? John says with a curious tone. The triangle moves slowly to the y, then e, then s. Playing this game may sound fun and may be the highlight of your night but not knowing or even understanding what you are actually doing may be the worst decision of your life. You see, playing a spiritual game puts yourself in a state where you are inviting other spirits into you. These kind of spirits aren t happy spirits like the Tooth Fairy. These spirits are malicious, due to their rejection of the goodness and light: God. They are in the state between the Natural and the supernatural, called the preternatural. They are higher than us, travel faster, and they are pure spirits (Fr. Thomas). Don t think you can outsmart them, and don t let yourself slip into the mindset of, oh that won t happen to me Think again because possession can happen to anyone at any time, if that person lets the demon in. As long as you don t open any doors, you re fine. It doesn t mean you have to go to church and it doesn t mean that you have to read the Bible. It also doesn t mean that you should just not believe in the Devil or God because that won t save you either. By staying away from games like the Ouija board you will be better off. "Encourage people not to be afraid, be respectful because there is an intelligent being to we prefer to as satan. Satan is an intelligent all consuming creature of evil and he is the real deal. Satan is the prime reason Jesus Christ came to Earth to live, suffer and be crucified all to defeat Satan. Be close to god because we are in a cosmic battle with Satan. And give evil a kind of discerning effect and know that God s power is great and Satan has already been defeated by Jesus Christ when he died. Know that God is deveined and Satan is a fallen angel."

2 DDealing with evil isn t something you think about on a regular basis, but there are people in this world that do and that is Father Gary Thomas, an Exorcist Priest. Being in his profession can be scary, but by keeping God in his life he manages to do his job very well. He has been a pastor and a chaplain at many other Parishes around the South Bay. To learn to be an Exorcist Priest he had to go to Rome in Italy to take classes there and start to be comfortable with the idea of devil creatures. Father Thomas has a book based off of him. It is called The Rite by Matt Biglio where the movie The Rite is based off of. What is in the movie is not entirely like the book. There are some non factual events in the movie that did not happen to Father Thomas in real life, for instance his Dad was not portrayed the correct and factual way. Father Thomas had to travel and meet with the star of the movie, The Rite. He had to train Colin O Donoghue on how to be his Character and portray him the correct way. Father Thomas has a very interesting and busy life. He is a full time pastor at Sacred Heart, which happens to be a school, and travels around the country to spread the word of God. Father Gary Thomas decided to be a Priest to help others and spread the word of God. When he was only a Priest and pastored for a church in Los Altos known as St. Nicholas Parish, he met other Priests who opened up the opportunity to be an Exorcist Priest. In 2004 The Late Pope John the 2nd mandated through the congregation for the doctrine of the Faith, which is the vatican department that deals with the matters of faith, The Pope said that every diocese around the World should select and train an Exorcist. The reason is the growing cult activity in Europe. Bishop Patrick Mcgraw approached a Priest in the Diocese of San Jose who is close to me. The other Priest declined to be the Exorcist Priest to which he asked me to do it. The other Priest told the bishop that he had another Priest that could fill his shoes, who was me, Father Thomas. I was already going to a sabbatical in Rome anyways and with the time available I went to this class after locating an exorcist priest already trained. It was for three and a half months, three days a week at a church The Exorcist Priest who put on the class was a pastor at, St. Laurence Inside the Walls. When

3 he was done he came back to the Bay Area and began to serve as the Exorcist Priest for the Diocese of San Jose at Sacred Heart in Saratoga. Inside Sacred Heart Parish is a church where not many churches experience the ritual of an Exorcism. Here s a scene taken from the movie The Rite due to Father Thomas not being able to share any personal ones. The demon speaking the original tongue of speech; Latin. Little spider web veins poking through all over his face. The deep colors of the black, grey and red in the eyes of this so called Devil. Swiftly moving to the pile of ropes, seek out a chair and place this human shaped creature and quickly tie him up. Murmuring coming from the evil tongue of the Devil. He slips out of the binds and rushes to the soon to be warrior of God. The Devil inside the man speaks, Feel that digging and screaming around inside you, like God s dirty fingernail, do you believe in me now? Michael replies, Yes I believe, I believe in the Devil, I believe in you, so I believe in God. I accept God, I believe in God the father, the maker of heaven and earth the maker of seen and unseen. I believe. I exorcise you most unclear spirit, creator of agony in the name of Jesus Christ leave this man, in the name of the Virgin Mary, I command you, I who believe in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ be up rooted and expelled from this creature of God. He who commands you is he who commands you to the depths of Hell! Hear there ford feared sake enemy of faith fear him who was crucified as man and who rose from the dead. Eye contact, the most destructing phenomenon, smashing you like a boot to an ant. In this movie The Rite directed by Mikael Hofstrom with Anthony Hopkins, exorcisms are frightening due to the disturbing scenes with heads turning around and climbing on the walls. Speaking with a real Exorcist Priest makes it even more daunting because it is real life rather than just what you see in the movies, as to where you do not expect it to be as real. Father Thomas did say that real Exorcisms are like the movies, where eyes roll back and tone and language changes. Although starting the process in real life is a lot longer than what you would see say in the movie The Rite. The priest has psychologist and a clinical psychiatrist and a medical Doctor, all present to decide whether it is demonic or a mental health issue. These Doctors are people who do practice the Catholic faith and do believe in this event. Once declared they either begin the exorcism process or medication is prescribed. The sun shines peacefully through the cracks of the window. A graceful awakening. Water faucets open and water pops out of the little snake holes. Fresh and clean placing a white robe over his shoulders. Sunday mornings are peaceful. Sunday is the Holy Day, preaching the word of the Lord, seeing the many faces of the surround- ing community. The sign of the cross many times for an hour, to show your grace for Jesus Christ stating the many prayers Catholics say: Our Father who art in Heaven hallowed be thy name Some may think being a Priest is relaxing, that it s fun in many ways, but priests have busy lives and hardly receive any breaks. Not only is Mass on Saturday and Sunday with Reconciliation on Saturday as well, he preaches

4 for other communities. Father Thomas has many events happening throughout the week. Sacred Heart in Saratoga, California is not just a Parish, but a Catholic school as well. So putting in a lot of energy towards the school with preaching to the kids and performing a Mass for the kids everyday. While being an Exorcist Priest for the entire Diocese of San Jose. And agreeing to High Schoolers for doing a school project on him, sharing his time for them to interview and take photos as well. All these things running through Father Thomas s head. On top of the spiritual weight he has to carry and with hold as the Exorcist Priest of the San Jose Diocese. Meeting with about a dozen cases where so called demons have possessed a human being s soul and showing itself through the human s body. To which can be very frightening, But Father Thomas says, I am not scared of anything of which I do. Father Thomas mentioned that being scared is a weakness and demons feed off of our weaknesses. Today, Father Thomas is in Rome once again to fulfill his pilgrimage sightings. A pilgrimage is when you travel around to all the Holy Sites and mingle with other Priests, Bishops, and other holy people. To which you can relate to and or keep building your connection with God. A quote I asked Father Thomas to give was this, Encourage people not to be afraid, be respectful because there is an intelligent being to we prefer to as Satan. Satan is an intelligent Saint Anthony's Demons Anthony, who's parents had died when he was little, had been disturbed by the devil. Satin sent many Demons his way, but Anthony took all the beatings with the mindset that if his flesh is sufering his soul can grow stronger.. He traveled into the desert, meeting many temptations, and found an abandoned fortress. He would get harrassed by many demons and soon many people were his followers. They would camp outside his fortress. Huwawa: Ancient Gardian Demon, was appointed by the Sumerian storm god Enlil to watch over the Ceder Mountain Forest, Located in the coastal mountains of Syria. Hawaw is a creature of colossal size. His massive gorgonlike face is composed of ropy twisted coils of intestine and can strike terror into the heart of the be- holder.

5 God is deveined and Satan is a fallen angel. These words are to give people a sense of hope and inspire people to live with God and to rebuke the Devil.when he died. Know that God is deveined and Satan is a fallen angel. Words to give a sense of hope and inspire people to live with God and to rebuke the Devil. all consuming creature of evil and he is the real deal. Satan is the prime reason Jesus Christ came to Earth to live, suffer and be crucified all to defeat Satan. Be close to God because we are in a cosmic battle with Satan. And give evil a kind of discerning effect and know that God s power is great and Satan has already been defeated by Jesus Christ when he died. Know that