{"id":6216,"date":"2020-02-15T06:13:36","date_gmt":"2020-02-15T11:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/?p=6216"},"modified":"2020-02-15T06:35:46","modified_gmt":"2020-02-15T11:35:46","slug":"are-there-spirits-out-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/are-there-spirits-out-there\/","title":{"rendered":"Are There Spirits Out There?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Are<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This will be a different bulletin article and not one I\u2019m\ncrazy about writing. It\u2019s about \u201cThe Spirit World\u201d\nand what we as Catholics believe about it.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over my years as a priest I\u2019ve had several people approach me (young and old) about an experience they\u2019ve had with a spirit. They heard a voice or saw a shadow or silhouette in the room. Some have played with a Ouija Board and gotten \u201ca message\u201d. Some have gone to s\u00e9ances to connect with the spirit of someone now dead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are we to believe about such things and how are\nwe to treat them?\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First off the Bible and our Faith tell us that yes, there are intelligent spirits in the universe. They go by various names: angels, powers, principalities, demons. Both the Old and New Testaments testify to the existence of these \u201ccreated\u201d spirits in a realm beyond our human way of existing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A familiar example would be the Angel Gabriel, who served in the classic capacity of an angel . . . \u201cGod\u2019s Messenger\u201d to Mary. We believe in the Guardian Angels given to each of us to watch over and protect. (Mt. 4:11<\/a>, Mt. 18:10<\/a>) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also hear, of course, of \u201cevil spirits\u201d who, Catholic doctrine teaches are created spirits who failed the test of freedom to serve God prior to the Fall of Adam and Eve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okay . . . so the question for many is, \u201cCan I get in touch with the spirit world?\u201d Various reasons are given why someone would want this. 1. I want to know if my deceased loved one is at peace. 2. I\u2019d like someone to tell me if I should make a change in my life or not. What is my future? 3. It\u2019s fun in a spooky kind of way to entertain at a part. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Our Faith teaches us to be careful here. There is a danger for some well intentioned person to turn to the spirit world as a source of power separate from God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A person begins to rely on incantations, s\u00e9ances, horoscopes, tea leaves and crystal balls to show them the future or answer life\u2019s questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what\u2019s wrong with that? Simply put, it goes against\nour trust in God\u2019s providence. God loves us and seeks\na personal relationship with us as Our Father. Turning\nto a Ouija board to show us our future is telling God\n\u201che\u2019s not enough\u201d or \u201cTrust in God but consult your\nTarot Cards just to be sure.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some things we aren\u2019t supposed to know.\nGod has chosen to keep some things hidden from us.\nFor example – – when God will call each of us home.\nThere is wisdom in this, knowing some things would\nkeep us from living our everyday lives. \u201cNot knowing\u201d\nhelps us turn to God in Faith and trust.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 131<\/a> tells us, \u201cI have not gone after things too great for me. Like a weaned child on its mother\u2019s breast so my soul lies within me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So trust in God. Be content in knowing what you know. Pray for those things about which you are concerned and know that God who \u201cknit you in your mother\u2019s womb\u201d, Ps. 139<\/a>, \u201cknows what you need even before you ask\u201d. Mt. 6:8<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Lastly. Are there spirits? Yes. Do they mess with us\nsometimes? Very seldom. (I think a rectory I lived in\nsometime ago had a very timid spirit living in the attic.\nReally I do. He stayed in the attic and didn\u2019t bother me\nat all.)\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You need to know, however, that any spirit owes its existence from God. God is not rivaled or challenged by spirits. God has complete charge of the freedom He gives to all his creatures and sets limits for them according to His good will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end there is only one spirit to\nwhich our knees must bend – the Holy\nSpirit.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See you at the Snow Ball. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fr. Tim <\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This will be a different bulletin article and not one I\u2019m crazy about writing. It\u2019s about \u201cThe Spirit World\u201d and what we as Catholics believe about it. Over my years as a priest I\u2019ve had several people approach me (young and old) about an experience they\u2019ve had with a spirit. They heard a voice or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-column"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6216"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6223,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6216\/revisions\/6223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}