Years ago, a person and I were in a meeting about healing and deliverance ministries. It was clear to me that most people on this team were out of order, not pursuing holiness, and some were involved in heterodoxy and heresies. She and I left and never returned. We had been asked to come by a famous priest. The entire situation was not only not in order according to Catholic tradition, but heretical in practice.
Someone mentioned that it was more important to serve people than to be perfect, as we had no right to let people suffer.
I contradicted this strongly. Not only do we have a right to let people suffer, but a duty.
It is not the duty of the laity to decide on necessary ministries and set these up.
And, yes, many people suffer for many reasons, including obsession, oppression and possession.
It is not the business of the laity to tackle these problems unless one is trained and on a diocesan team under a priest exorcist, who is in turn, under a bishop.
Years ago, I met a woman whose husband had been a famous Protestant exorcist. He ended up divorcing his wife and running off with someone else. People were surprised. I was not.
The evil one deceives Protestant and Catholics about working in ministries without dealing with personal sin, the predominant faults, and venial sin.
Another person I know kept going back to a faith healer for years. I asked them to stop and think why they were not being healed by this Catholic. They were paying for spiritual direction and for healing sessions. It was fake, and someone was getting money for not healing.
No one except a professional, certified counselor in psychology or psychiatry can charge.
It is an evil thing to charge for such ministries.
I had to learn a long time ago to let some people suffer in my life. Some students who did not work failed my classes. Some who were lazy earned "Ds". Some had to take the class over again out of sloth. They suffered.
Catholic moderns do not want anyone to suffer, and step in to fix spiritual problems they have no business fixing.
Hubris. If a person is not working on holiness, that person is not only deluded but doing much damage.
The Church is suffering from a lack of priests, a lack of exorcists. This is a sign of the times.
Yes, thousands, if not millions of people are now plagued with obsession, oppression and even possession.
The occult is big business.
Sometimes, we have to let people suffer, and not step into a situation in conflict with the long tradition of the Church.
The Church is always our safety net. But, even some priests are acting out of order. I was shocked at a Mass where the priest walked around with the Monstrance and was letting people touch it for healing.
This is wrong. This is an incorrect usage of Adoration. It may even be a sacrilege.
We are healed spiritually through confession, the anointing of the sick if we are really in danger of dying, and through daily Mass, frequent Adoration and mortification.
I am totally against healing Masses.
to be continued....