Abbey-Roads2

Ghost stories are very popular. 

I loved ghost stories as a kid, although the really scary ones seemed more like devil stories than ghost stories.  A blogger friend posted a kind of cool story about strange things happening in her house, which got me thinking about this stuff. 

My crazy mother claimed to have heard  our dead neighbor lady calling her name outside our back door one Saturday night about midnight.  She sent my dad out to have a  look, and sure enough - they claimed - Mary Raiola’s slipper prints were in the snow, walking to the door but not leaving any tracks of walking away.

You have to realize what was going on there.  My parents were still drinking at that time of night, dad was watching TV at the kitchen table, mom sat across from him with the Police radio plugged into her one good ear - she was deaf in the other - while reading a Harlequin romance novel.  And she heard  Mary at the door.  Maybe Mary was just stopping in on her layover in purgatory to tell Betty and Kenny they should consider giving up drinking?  Could be.

I’ve never really experienced anything - at least anything that left evidence of a spirit visiting.  Visitations from souls in purgatory have happened to the saints of course - these troubled souls were asking for prayers.  I believe that.  Yet it seems to me scary visitations are more demonic in nature.  After all, why should we be afraid of a dead relative or friend?

What to do? 

So what do you do if you are bothered by ghosts?  I’m no expert, but first I would go to confession, make frequent Holy Communion, and pray - especially the prayers of the Rosary.  I use holy water all of the time - holy water is a powerful sacramental - Teresa of Avila sent the demons fleeing with it.  Of course, having Masses said, along with prayers and suffrages for the souls in purgatory is also very good.

Perhaps one of the best things to do is ask a priest to bless your house - if you can find one who will do it that is.  (Although, I think most priests believe in the after life and that spirits could haunt - that’s kind of sarcastic.)  Nevertheless, some ’exorcism prayers’  should only be performed by a priest.  Lay people should only use prayers that are approved for the laity, such as the prayers to St. Michael.  There is a long exorcism prayer to St. Michael (referenced above)  which Vatican officials, and I believe exorcists such as Fr. Amorth,  warned lay people not to use, since it could arouse the demons to attack mode.  (I can’t find documentation on this however.)

Prayers.

Holy images and the St. Benedict medal are efficacious as well.  Yet I am convinced devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus  is very  efficacious, especially if an image is exposed and venerated in the house.  One of the prayers associated with this devotion is actually a sort of exorcism prayer used by the Israelites when they moved camp:

“Arise O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before your Holy Face.”  - Numbers 10: 35

Another good prayer is the final blessing used after Compline:

“Visit this house, we beg you O Lord, and drive far from it all the snares of the enemy.  May your holy angels dwell here and keep us in peace, and may your blessing be always upon us.”

Trust in God.

We ought to remember however, that the normal way for the devil to act upon us is through temptation to sin, which is why I think frequent recourse to prayer and the sacraments is our best defense.  And we need to trust in God who will not allow us to be tempted beyond our strength.  Remember Teresa of Avila’s counsel concerning the devil.  As regards fears of the devil, she said:

“I pay no more attention to them (fears and vexations) than flies.” - Life 25, 20.  (Which is another good way to deal with evil and impure thoughts BTW.)

Then on how useless the fears concerning him, St. Teresa wrote:

“I don’t understand these fears, ‘The devil!  The devil!’, when we can say ‘God!  God!’, and make the devil tremble.” - Life 25, 22

While the saints sometimes experienced  apparitions of the demons, even they were mostly harassed by the devil’s  temptation and vexations.  The wonderful paintings depicting St. Anthony of Egypt and his temptations illustrate that for us.  The devil tempts us so that we may reject Christ and the Gospel, and choose to join him in  hell.  Prayer, mortification, avoiding sin, and frequent reception of the sacraments is the best  antidote to his temptations and vexations.  In one of the epistles we are told, “Resist the devil and he will flee.”  - James 4

And, “Perfect love casts out all fear.” - 1 John 4

Nevertheless, if you are bothered by ghosts or spirits  in some way, always  consult a priest.

[Header art: Temptation of St. Anthony.]