A reliable friend told me this story about a lady that he knows. She was leaving her home in the care of her teenage son for the first time and was fearful that her son would hold a party and that there might be damage and sinful activity even though he had promised not to do so. She was a good Catholic and the house was full of statues and pictures of Jesus, Our Lady and various saints. Near the door there was a picture of Padre Pio and, before leaving home, she entrusted the house to his care in her absence but still felt very uneasy. She arrived home two days later to find that the front door was open and there was no-one at home. The house was in a mess with statues smashed, pictures of saints scattered about, broken glass and general chaos. She stood there wondering where her son was and what had happened when a neighbour arrived and said that her son and a large group of friends had left the house the night before last in a great hurry and that the following morning she had called at the house and that a monk was standing near the door and said that he was looking after the house and that there had been some damage but it was not serious and he would ensure that no-one entered until the owner returned. The neighbour looked at the image of Padre Pio and said 'Oh, that was him'. Apparently the boy and his friends had used a 'Ouija' board and something horrible had manifested itself and at the same time the holy statues and pictures had been flying around the room. The whole party ran out of the house and the terrified son had been taken home by a friend without stopping even to lock the door.
So I will tell you of another story that had happened to my father many years ago. He had organized a pilgrimage bus trip to where I cannot remember. Everything was running smoothly until they had gotten to the hotel. He made sure everyone on the bus had checked in and that their luggage was brought to each of their rooms. Once here was sure everyone was settled in at the hotel, he went up to the reception desk to check himself in. The front desk person said to him that he did not have a room for him. My father was distraught and very tired from a long trip. He could not understand how this could have happened. He had the confirmation of all the rooms, but somehow there was a mix up and there was no room for him. So they had made some other arrangement for him that night. That night while he was lying in bed he said that he had heard a voice. A very gentle and beautiful voice. She had said to him, "John, I wanted you to know how I felt when there was no room for me at any of the inns when I was in need and was ready to give birth." My father was dumbstruck.
I got a surprise one time when I learnt that in bringing the Eucharist to the sick it is good that we bring a host straight from the altar. One that had been consecrated fresh , so to speak. I used to think all hosts were the same, but, apparently they say there is a mystical link between the host and the mass that was said. Similiarly I used to think that all Catholic Churches are the same with the same degree of , 'Holiness'. But I don;t think so anymore. For instance I would expect in the normal course of events that a Cathedral would have a higher degree of holiness. Or aa Basilica for instance related to a Marian Shrine and so on. But sometimes even a small out of the way Chapel in the middle of nowhere can knock you out. Why is this? Who knows really , so many mysteries. But it may well be that a certain Church may have had a hidden Catholic saint in it for many years. Or who knows? Maybe a saint in heaven or particular angels take a shine to the place. Or perhaps since Our Lady is a great traveller she visited this little Church at one time. I notice in Rome again and again visiting the Churches and Basillica's again and again and again this great feeling of holiness. But in Rome it is easy to see why this should be; after all the Faith has been flowering there for 2,000 years now and it is very common for even the smallest Church to have the body of a saint of martyr. But it not only in Churches you can get hit with a great sense of the awe of the Holy. Ireland has been known as the island of saints and scholars. It was common for men and women for many centuries to go out to hidden places in the woods and mountains and little islands I have noticed sometimes walking in the middle of nowhere and suddenly to get hit with this huge sense of the Holy. Well known places were I and others have obeseverved this are St Brendan;s Kitchen, CLonmacnoise, the Island of Iona, but there are many more. I tis the same thing if you go into a strange building or house especially a very old one. If you pay attention you will notice that the place has a certain character or aura given by those who have lived there before, sometimes of great goodness, sometimes of great evil I am afraid modern people are fo busy and lacking in prayer that there mystical senses are blind or very dim to these things. One of the reasons why people moving into a new home should always, always , always get it blessed. Even to a lesser extent other thing s like automobiles that have been preowned I ftfne laugh in Hollywood horror films , like Rosemary;s baby people go into these bad places and totally don;t see danger even when it pretty well whacks them over the head. But I think Catholics of prayer will naturally be alerted to danger. Even if they don;t pick up on it themselves their Guardian Angles will not be too long telling them On the other hand if we are in a place of great holiness what a huge pity not to realise this and revel in it. The goes of course when we are meeting people. Hopefully very holy or very evil people at least should stand out.
I think its so good to be aware of these things. I worry more about people who never have such things. I would worry that they happening and people just do not know it.
Churches are great gateways to the other side. We know as Catholics for instance that the Holy Souls often go their before their release. We know they are filled with angles around the Blessed Sacrament. We know that Our visits as she is present at the Sacrifice of every mass and so. I makes me sad that they are so often empty. If people only realise how special they are. They would never want to leave them. They are treasure hoses.
Padre Pio has been a very important presence in my life. After the very difficult birth of my first child I dreamt that he came through the door of the hospital ward, sat at the end of my bed and told me to pray and offer everything up for the salvation of our souls. He always answers. Last year my grandson was born with a very serious heart condition. Nothing could be done but wait and medicate. If he survived long enough maybe a heart transplant. I gave Padre Pio leaflets to all the family members and asked them to pray to Padre Pio. At his 3 month check up the heart problem had disappeared. He is now starting to walk thank God. I notice the presence of God very strong in my parish church on Monday's when we have adoration. Also we have an order of traditional priests in our city. I go there for First Saturday devotions. It is almost impossible to leave the church after Mass the presence of God is so overpowering.
Wow!! When you think about it, Padre Pio probably could have stopped the ouija board stuff from happening in the first place but maybe he allowed it in order to teach those boys a lesson about the dangers of what they were messing with. I'll bet none of them ever went near a ouija board again.
We are all different, some see things with the eyes of the heart , some with the head. The Holy Spirit works with who we are. I tend to see with the eyes of the heart. To intuit if you like.
I am liking this thread.... Coming home from Canterbury we stopped at an old church in which the head of Thomas More is said to be kept in the underground vault. It is now an Anglican church but of great age. I became aware of a strong smell of delicious perfume, which was strange as there wasn't anyone there. To this day I don't understand this - a person drenched in scent wouldn't leave behind more than a slight perfume, surely, and it wouldn't linger long. My husband couldn't smell anything. I've had a number of experiences in my life - I think that most serious Christians have - including demonic attack during childhood. My family wasn't devout and so I just ignored the evil voices that sounded as if they were angry at me, until they went away. Two of my daughters have had similar experiences and I was able to explain to them what was behind them. A very close friend of mine was on holiday with her young family. They were visiting the ruins of Rievaulx Abbey, once a huge Benedictine monastery in Yorkshire, then destroyed and pillaged by Henry VIII. Not only was it very peaceful but my friend said that she was enchanted by the sound of monastic chant. Her husband couldn't hear it (and thought she was crazy), neither could her two sons. Determined to prove herself right she asked at the entrance kiosk to be told that no, English Heritage did not have a hidden sound system in the ruins and did not play music. She knows what she heard. Later a priest told me that hearing monks chanting in these old places isn't unknown, and that people have heard it most in Westminster Abbey, which had a monastic foundation. I believe that after Pluscarden Abbey was rebuilt on the old ruins, before it was reoccupied by today's monks, the bishop, who was passing saw lights in the chapel and was surprised as he didn't think the monks would be there just yet. Could this be the original monks showing their joy?
Yes to everything you say. I forget in what context this was said or the saint to whom it was revealed but it referred to the fact that even a very bad priest can still. Elebrate a valid Mass but the graces that are called Dow upon the people are not the same so perhaps some churches have had continuous Holy Masses said by Holy priests while others---not so much. Sadly. Would that account for it? My friend and I were discussing the atmosphere in different places just today. She said when she was on a visit to Rome some years ago she was investigating a site where Mithras was worshipped. It lies deep beneath the Church of St. Clemente. My friend is a classicist and was there on a study tour. She said as soon as she entered the Mithraim she was overcome with horror and began to be sick. She had to leave. I have been places that just felt wrong and the longer I stayed the more I wanted to get out. Definitely a spiritual clash.
Something that I have always pondered, why is it some people hear voices or see things, and then some only experience it in a dream whether it be holy or demonic.. For instance the Blessed Mother sees and speaks to an angel with the annunciation and yet Joseph has a dream that he should stay betrothed to Mary.
Great question. I have wondered this too. I have only had one very brief "apparition" of Our Lady many years ago in an empty Catholic Church where I went early to prepare for confession. I saw her but I thought it was a statue albeit in an odd place. When I looked back she was gone. She had been standing to the right of the Blessed Sacrament. Our Lady of Grace life size like the old statues I remembered from my childhood. I thought it was wonderful to see her statue but that it was oddly placed. Never occurred to me what was really going on. Amazing experience. Never happened again but sometimes in dreams Like others here I have spiritual experiences very profound. I know others who seem to have incredible spiritual senses. They can see and hear heavenly beings. Not me and perhaps I would be frightened if I did. I guess Our Lord just does what He does for His own reasons.
Has anyone ever just sensed evil but not heard or seen evil. There are times in the middle of the night wear I swear I just feel the evil. I am half awake so I find I am always doubting myself. But I find that I just say the name of Jesus and Mary over and over it will dissipate. I have had this happen to me for a very long time,since I can remember.It doesn't happen a lot, but it is very nerve racking when it does and that uneasy feeling will stay with me the whole next day, kinda like a very bad dream you can't forget. Its very hard not being able to talk with anyone about it, they all would thinks I am nuts. Its comforting to be able to discuss things like this on this forum. I am very grateful to all here.
Yes, I love this forum. Thanks to Mother Mary, padraig and all who work behind the scenes to keep the forum running
I have had some strange occurances happen to me over the years. Some of these occurances were witnessed by my children; below are 2 such events. Around 1993, My husband and I, with our small children, went on a one week holiday to a small beach place. We rented a house and the first thing I used to do on our holidays was remove any TV to a cupboard before my children came into the house, because I wanted us to only experience the holiday with each other, that is go fishing, swim and just spend time together. I then set up an altar with holy pictures, a small stature of Mary and candles and each evening we gather around the altar to say the rosary. About the third night of our wonderful holiday an amazing thing happened. As we prayed on this particular night a beam of light formed a large image of a chalice or ciborium with a host above it and an inscription in writing under this, which was all displayed on the wall behind the altar, as we prayed. It happened around the third mystery of the rosary and it did not stay for long; I tried to read the inscription but was unable to, as it didn't stay for long and I believe it was in Latin, I was mesmerised, as the image was beautiful and sacred. I didn't know whether anyone else had seen this. After the rosary was completed, my eldest son who was 9 years old at the time, excitedly stated that he had seen a chalice and a host with writing under it while we said the rosary and all the other older children including the 3 year old started to describe what they had seen, which was the same, yet my husband did not see this. I told the children that I had seen it too. The older ones asked 'what was that writing that was underneath the chalice and host'. I said I didn't know because it didn't stay long enough for me to memorise it. To this day they all remember that experience but we do not know what was written. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Again in Janurary 1996 we stayed in a house, at a different beach place for a two week holiday. I was so happy, as the house was unusually cheap for that time of year [in Australia, its our summer] it was also close to the Church, the beach, the river and other amenities and it was large, and even though it was old it had enough bedrooms for all of us and my mother who came with us. I walked in and removed the TV to a cupboard, I then placed the large picture of the Immaculate Heart on the wall near the kitchen and dinning room and made an altar, before we brought in the luggage and before the children entered. That first night we said the Rosary and the children went to their respective bedrooms, about 10 minutes after we said their night prayers, mum and I were sitting at the dinning room table, when the most horrible deep, unearthly low, gutteral scream came from the inner bedroom, I looked at mum in shear horror and said did you hear that, mum looked stunned and didn't say anything, the next thing my two older daughters came running to the table and my boys who were in the sleepout also came running; Mum they cried...' what was that horrible scream'! I checked the inner bedroom, where the noise had come from and it felt eerie and strange. The girls would not now sleep in this room. So one then bunked in another room near mum and the younger one bunked in with me and Michael and the baby. The boys were all shook up as well. I sprinkled Holy water around and Mum, the children and I prayed to St Michael and to Our Lady; that our holiday would be good even though it had started off with this frightful scream. Low and behold, we had one of our best holidays there after that inital night and those initial prayers,and we prayed the rosary each night, no more screams or any other frightful thing happened and we caught lots of fish, the children had a great time and it was a beautiful two weeks. When we were leaving we found out from locals that the house we stayed in, was difficult to rent out and no local would dare stay there, as it was deemed haunted by the locals, and many tenants over many years had experienced frightful events in the house. I think that what was ever in that house, could not stand the prayers or the innocence of the chldren and had to leave while we were there. Anyway we all have fond memories of the rest of that holiday!
I am glad you found this out after your holiday and not during, I don't know as if I could have stayed. But it does give great witness to the power of prayer and faith.
Yes S o C, I have felt an evil presence during the wee hours on occasion. It's a very common phenomenon I'm told. On a few occasions I would swear that something jumped on my bed and was walking around .... like a Cat or small Dog. Any small pet owner knows what that feels like. Any time I awake in the night .... often these old age days ... I say my prayers and ask The Lord to "look-out" for me and all that are sleepless-n-troubled in the O-Dark Thirty hours. GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
They say the devil is most active at three am in the morning. Why might this be so? Well maybe in part because as St John says partly because those who do dark acts like to act under cover of the dark and it is at nighttime most evil things are done. Most people seem when they are awakened to pray during the night at around 3am, you see this over and over, I think this is because Christ died at 3 in the afternoon. It may also be because that is the perhaps the hour when they arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. I think that there is a mystical relationship in this hour as shown in the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
