Enduring Spiritual Warfare

[Young1970]

Hello! I am new to this forum and sufferring because of some recent activity that I have been enduring here in Lincoln NE. I am a Roman Catholic but was heavily involved with the Islamic religion off and on since 2001 due to a marriage to a Sunni Lebanese Muslim. I reconciled with the Church fully about a month ago and was hopeful about once again becoming active in my Catholic faith. That idea has now been replaced by my strong desire to leave the Catholic Church once and for all and go where I will have peace; possibly back to the Islamic community. I am remarried to a wonderful Christian Protestant man, who is going to be meeting with a local Lincoln Catholic priest who has been somewhat active off and on in assisting me with the situation I was presently in. My husband and I relocated gto Lincoln NE from Indiana where I was doing volunteer work as a translator in Spanish for the "MIssion". I not only taught Spanish to two social workers so they could better assist their Hispanic clients but also worked closely with two single HIspanic mothers, Diana and Elvira with appointments, filling out paperwork, going to Bible studies and translating, and being there as a friend. The Mission was a former funeral home two years ago and I began to hear from some of the women of strange occurrences in the women's section including, shadow people, noises, ect. The family unit storage was located in the basement of the building. I became close friends with the house "mom" Gwynn whol told me that there were entities down in the basement talkingt o her and giving her messages. I dismissed this but in mid November I went into the basement to assist Elvira and her four children with their belongings. We were the last ones up the stairs and watched as the carpet holding the door open pulled out by itself and the door closed. Elvira, a very religious woman, noted that she felt a demonic presence in the basement. I made the mistake of going down the steps a week later and challenging the entity if there to manifest itself. Nothing happened THEN. My husband and I then relocated to Lincoln NE and moved into an apartment in late March of this year. Almost upon moving the occurrences began. We would hear strange noises coming from the kitchen, wrestling of papers, ect. NO ONE was in the kitchen. The cat would look up at the corner of the ceiling in the middle of the night for no reason. THree scratch marks appeared on my husband's leg from no apparent reason. I have been plagued by very negative and dark dreams since moving to this apartment. The women downstairs had noticed the swarm, of flies which are at the front door from no apparent reason and also at the back of building door which houses the laundry room. We would hear footsteps in our hallway and no one was there. A Lincoln priest came and blessed the apartment and encouraged me to move which I did last Thursday, June 9th. There has been NO ACTIVITY AT ALL in the present apartment. The priest wanted me to talk with the expert of the diocease on this matter but has been putting off my meeting this priest for the past THREE WEEKS. I am still suffering from very dark and negative dreams. I have not even been to mass since I was reconciled with the Church and frankly don't have a desire now to go. I am considering seriously of reaffiliating myself with the Islamic community because I know at least they would be there for me to get me through this present situation. I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH and how to negate it. It appears I will NEVER HAVE SUCH AN ANSWER FROM my Catholic priest contact here and will never get to meet with the expert here on these matters. I am really burnt out right now with all of this. I thought returning to the Church was a gift frrom God; apparently I made a mistake.

Thanks

Laurie

[Scoobyshme]

Laurie,

Be not afraid. God has called you back to His Church, which is His Mystical Body.

Strengthen yourself through the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion. Learn your Catholic faith as thoroughly as you can.

As Jesus told Peter, "Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers."

We want to be included in the prayer that Jesus prayed for Peter, because that is where unity exists. If we are not in that prayer, then Satan will "sift us as wheat." What does that mean? It means he will continually divide us and divide us and divide us, making us weak and vulnerable like a sheep that gets separated from the flock. Those are the ones the wolves (Satan and his minions) look for first! It makes them easy prey.

[beth40n2]

A young man in Perugia promised the devil, that if he would enable him to attain a sinful object he had in view, he would give him his soul; and he gave him a written contract to this effect, signed in his own blood.

When the crime had been committed, the devil demanded the performance of the promise; and for this purpose led him to the brink of a well, at the same time threatening, that if he did not throw himself in, he would drag him, body and soul, to hell.

The wretched youth, thinking that it would be impossible to escape from his hands, got on the little parapet to cast himself in; but terrified at the idea of death, he told the devil that he had not courage to take the leap, but that if he was determined on his death, he must push him in.

The young man wore a scapular of the Dolors of Mary; the devil therefore said, "Take off that scapular, and then I will push thee in."

But the youth, discovering in the scapular the protection still vouchsafed to him by the Divine Mother, refused to do so, and at length, after much altercation, the devil, filled with confusion, departed; and the sinner, grateful to the sorrowful Mother, went to thank her, and, penitent for his sins, presented as a votive offering to her altar, in the church of Santa Maria la Nuova in Perugia, a picture of what had taken place.

(Source: The Glories of Mary, by Saint Alphonsus de Ligouri)

[TimSeeker]

Hello Laurie
I am also new to this group and also have had strange experiences.
It does sound like your having problems with a spirit. The Charismatic groups in several areas offer deliverence prayer meetings which are helpfull. You would need to contact the head of Charismatic renewal in your area to see what is available. These prayers can be very helpfull. I was prayed over in 1987 by a group with a lady who did a thing on exorcisms in the Catholic Church on 20-20. Long story.

A deliverence can happen in a secound or it can take time as described by Jesus. (This kind does not come forth except by prayer and fasting). I used () instead of " " as i may have one word out of place.


Tim
God bless

[Young1970]

Thanks for the suggestions! I already met with the Official Exorcist of Lincoln along with my parish priest two weeks ago this past Friday. I was finally freed from MOST of the manifestations after the meeting. The expert told me that I would endure two difficult days as whatever it was would try to come back in. This was a completly factual statement; I endured the two long days ALONE as my parish priest Father Doug was of little if no support at all. THe dark and diabolical dreams I was experiencing before the meeting have continued and even intensified. Everything around me in the apartment has gone awray; first major plumbing problems the day after the meeting; other things; now the AC has been out since Wednesday with temperatures in the upper 90's to 100's and will not be fixed until tommorow. Is this coincidence or something else; I cannot say. The expert said if I need to get in contact with him to contact Father Doug and he would get in touch for me. I left a voicemail for Father Doug on Wednesday to tell him of my concerns of the continued disturbing dreams and what I can do about them. Father Doug sent a very indifferent response back, saying "I will talk to Father when I see him which is not very often":. I now know where my situation and where I stand in reference to this. I talked to a good Islamic friend yesterday who said that the "Catholic God has rejected me and did so along time ago and that I needed to return back to what I knew." I am considering returning to the Islamic community as I am very very ALONE here in Lincoln and it doesn't seem to matter anymore. I cannot deal with this alone and will go where there is some understanding and solace.

[TimSeeker]

Hello
Glad to hear that. Try not to blame the parish priests. Very few priests are trained in these things. They are trained to think in terms of mental illness not spirit activity.
It has been my experience that the lines between what was once called spirit activity in the Bible and mental illness may not always be 100% clear. Spirit activity can sometimes effect our menatl health and visa versa. Spiritual Warfare can involve all types of struggles with evil or sickness. At a certain point in time the person suffereing may not care to define the source of the oppressions. Being free is sometimes more important then defining what to blame


Tim
God bless