Ghosts? Spirits? Demons

By LANCE PATRICK ENAD*
October 31, 2017

Amidst the prevailing existentialist view of life and the moral-therapeutic deist views of religion, which even those who go to church every Sunday are guilty of, it is good to note that there are those who experience phenomena that are seemingly unexplainable by science.

These experiences could be beautiful, indifferent, and several times fearsome. This write-up does not intend to scientifically disprove the existence of what we call “demonic forces” (for he would most likely flunk science subjects) or to philosophically prove the existence of these forces (as the author has not yet attained sufficient philosophical awesomeness to do so). This write-up intends to spill some useful knowledge about such fearsome phenomena and perhaps to give practical guidelines on how to deal with them, well, if you must know, some catholic guidelines on how to deal with these.

Whether we believe it or neglect it, evil does exist. This could be interpreted to morally evil things, figurative evil, or the existence of demonic forces that influence our world (I hope I don’t sound like a character from the Harry Potter franchise) in the most discreet to the most unexplainable ways. I would limit myself to the topic of demonic forces.

It is important to distinguish that unexplainable occurrences can be classified into two: supernatural, those things or happenings that are beyond the laws of nature, and preternatural, those that are beyond what is normal (not necessarily the laws of nature). Supernatural would be those things we consider as miracles and are coming from forces that are not within the bracket of natural law and preternatural would be those things that are seemingly not normal but are not necessarily outside natural law.

Filipino tradition would tell us that there are spirits that reside in nature or in houses or in regular things. These spirits, could be good, could be evil, or could be temperamental. There are also beliefs that these spirits are the souls of our loved ones or are “earth-bound spirits.”

While the author does not wish to impose catholic doctrine, as a reference, the Catholic Church teaches that the souls of the dead, after death, proceed immediately to judgment and to heaven or hell (or purgatory for those who have a little bit of prelude before heaven) and cannot remain here on earth. The spirits, therefore, that are considered “earthbound souls” or the spirits of the dead are not what we believe them to be.

Furthermore, there are spirits that are invisible to us, namely, the angels. These Angels, like us have free will, however, they have no physical bodies. These heavenly spirits have greater knowledge and intelligence compared to us. They were created to minister to God and to carry out the orders of God.

On account of their great knowledge and intelligence, they cannot afford repentance after they have committed even a single sin. If they have committed a sin, they are expelled from heaven and are therefore fallen angels, angels that are eternally damned. Fallen Angels, although, good in their former state, because of their incapability of repentance after sin, are no longer capable of doing good. Hence, those seemingly good or temperamental spirits that reside in nature or in our homes or in our neighbors are not what they are believed to be. To put it bluntly, are fallen angels, demons.

It could be asked why is it that demons are in our world when they are in hell. Well, heaven and hell are states and supernatural places not physical places. It is a state of the being. The demons then are carrying hell with themselves as the turtle carries its shell.

In this sense, the spirits then that could be residing in our neighbor’s house, in our backyard tree, or in our basements, the “nuno sa punso”, or the “white lady” next door, are no other than the demonic spirits that are hostile and are bent on harming us, whether spiritually, mentally, or even physically.

These demonic spirits influence men from the smallest temptation to the most fearsome manifestation. These at first could appear indifferent or even good but in truth, these spirits are really laboring to make men share in the sufferings they share in hell and they cannot withstand, out of selfishness, the thought that man is capable of enjoying the beatific vision of heaven, the heaven that they once enjoyed.

These thoughts should not contribute to the greater fear of demons, shrieking at the slightest sound we hear at night, but should exhort us to love God more solidly. The only way to battle with these evil spirits is by building a solid relationship with God, who loves us infinitely. Practical ways of building a relationship with God is by spending times of prayer each day, reading the word of God, devotion to our guardian angels and to the Mother of God, making sacrifices.

In conclusion, in our efforts to Love God and to build a solid spiritual life, it is important to remember that the Devil does not appear in a red cape with a pitchfork; he appears, many times, in the smallest of our selfish desires. This should lead us to follow our Lord Jesus Christ more genuinely by denying ourselves and taking up our crosses everyday.