Some time ago, I was walking down the street in downtown Savannah in my priestly clothes with a friend, and a gentleman approached us. I thought he may ask for money, but he simply wanted to chat with a priest. As the pleasant yet brief conversation was drawing to a close, he asked, “Father, could you give a blessing to my girlfriend who is Catholic and is over on the other side of the street?” I agreed and followed him. I was stunned when the lady he led me to was sitting in front of a sign offering tarot card readings. As I greeted her, the man explained to her that I was a priest and that I would give her a blessing. As I processed the scene however, I decided to ask a few questions. “She has received this gift from God, Father,” the boyfriend explained. “She does it for the good of others. It has become a heavy burden for her.” I responded that these practices were never compatible with our faith, even if she perceived it as a gift from God. She did not protest, and I closed our time together with a blessing asking for a conversion of heart and clarity in doing God’s will.
I have experienced an overall increased interest in the occult in society. Many television shows are dedicated to chasing ghosts, movies retell stories of demonic activity, and individuals through social media easily advertise quick and supernatural solutions to life problems. More and more people are exposed to evil, oftentimes innocently. The devil works in a hidden manner, better yet, pretending to be doing good such as in the woman I met in downtown Savannah. He truly is a wolf in sheep’s clothing who prefers to remain unnoticed.
Consulting mediums, tarot cards, curanderas, brujas, chamans, ouija boards, or self-professed spiritual healers are always an opening to a darkness that can quickly consume one’s spirit and attention. Not only will these consume money from the bank account, but will demand more and more time and energy. These offer quick or impossible fixes, but in the end, they entangle the soul with realities that distance one from God. The devil is quite transactional – he may be able to deliver, but he always returns to extract what he perceives as his due.
The Italian Blessed Bartolo Longo (1841-1926) fully embraced the occult as a young man, rejecting his Catholic upbringing and even being ordained a satanic priest. Despite the lure of evil and his willing participation in it, he eventually experienced a profound conversion which led him to state, “I renounced spiritism because it was nothing but a maze of error and falsehood.” He realized his involvement with the occult was only causing anxiety and turbulence in his heart. He spent the rest of his life spreading devotion to the Rosary. His life story reminds us that God always triumphs over evil because there is really no competition between the two. The light conquers all darkness in Jesus Christ who has defeated our oldest enemy, the lying serpent in the garden. The serpent continues to fool and confuse many even today, slyly offering fruits that appear attractive, but only lead away from God. The path of the occult leads to turbulence and dependence, the path of God leads to peace and true freedom as children of God.
Written for the Southern Cross
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