Demons are everywhere
Because Pinoys enjoy reading about ghost stories as much as
they enjoy looking at car accidents, this is the second part of my interview
with Father Jocis Syquia, the director of the Archdiocese of Manila Office of
Exorcism and author of Exorcism, Encounters with the Paranormal and the Occult.
Father Jocis shares with us how to protect yourself from
extra-demonic possession, the true nature of ghosts and how that friendly,
neighborhood dwende might not be so friendly after all.
RJ LEDESMA: Father Jocis, please tell us what goes on during
an exorcism. Is it just how Hollywood depicts it, with spinning heads and
projectile vomiting? Just so I will know how much extra underwear I need to
bring if I’m ever involved in one.
FATHER JOCIS SYQUIA: Remember that (an exorcism) is actually
the power of God’s love destroying the demonic obstacles in a person’s life
that block his relationship with God. Maybe when this person was younger, he
was engaged in occult practices or made a pact with Satan that gave him certain
“powers” that are not of God. What happens is that this person falls under the
bondage of this evil spirit. So if he tries to live a good life, he will
experience a lot of negative experience that seemingly come from nowhere. He
will feel that his life is “cursed” because the evil spirits have attached (to
him). These spirits not only block the relational dimension but also the
temporal blessings of God. Exorcism is breaking down this barrier so that a
person can experience the blessings and protection he should have as a child of
God.
In the beginning (of an exorcism), there are a lot of
prayers of supplication calling upon God and Bible readings to build up the
faith of the person who is about to be exorcised. Once the person is ready,
when there is a faith environment, the person knows that he is loved by God and
the presence of God is tangible in that place, then we confront the evil spirit
and draw it out of the person.
At this point, we command the spirit to manifest itself.
Once it manifests itself and takes control of the body, then it can (experience
all of the) senses, it can also experience the full sacramental rites. When you
put holy water on the forehead of the (possessed) person, the evil spirit can
feel the holy water. And since the holy water is sacred, it will burn him.
Once we have drawn it
out, we used to command it to tell us how it entered the person — whether it
was a curse or the person made a pact with the devil. We get as much information
as we can as to the cause so we can address it later on. Then we command the
spirit to go in the name of Christ. (The
exorcism) can take a long time depending on the person’s faith, how deeply the
person was involved in the occult, and how sincere the person is to get back
into a relationship with God.
People think that
exorcism is (like) magic, but it’s not.
If a person has a deep relationship with God, (it will not take long to exorcise him).
When we tell a person who is under grave oppression by an evil spirit that we
are going to pray over them and they pray along with us with all sincerity,
then God will answer their prayers.
How long does an
exorcism session last?
Before, it would take days. But nowadays it takes three
hours at the most as we draw the spirit out and expel it. However, there are
some cases that are brought to the (San Carlos) Seminary if the person cannot
control him or herself. This usually means the spirit is not ready for a
confrontation. In those cases, the exorcism lasts for about 15 minutes. But we
know that (evil spirits) will return because the “doorways” that opened up to
these spirits remain open. That is why when the person is back to their senses,
I interview them: “What happened? How is your spiritual life? Were you
contaminated with the occult? Is there unforgiveness in your heart?” Then I
look at how the spirits entered, so that we may close those “doors” and use
proper protection so that the spirits will never return.
When you expel these
evil spirits, where do they go?
Usually, we send these fallen angels to hell in the name of
Christ. But these (evil spirits) can really fight hard, so we send them to the
Lord Jesus so it will be up to Him where He will send them. So I pray, “In the
name of Jesus Christ, I command you to go to the foot of the cross.” That means
(for them) to go to the Lord Jesus and he will send you (where you belong).
(This is just like in the Gospel) when (the evil spirits) pleaded to Jesus to
send them to the pigs instead of back to hell. And then the (possessed) pigs
killed themselves because they preferred human souls. When the pigs died, the
(evil spirits) were let loose into the atmosphere to look for other souls. That is why the people were scared and got
rid of Jesus. Because the legion (of evil spirits) was in that one person, but
now the legion was out there in the atmosphere. And if these people become
vulnerable, the evil spirits could enter them as well.
Aren’t you worried
that these evil spirits will follow you around after the exorcism or perhaps
even take revenge on you?
Before I used to experience that they would take revenge on
me and when I was protected, they would take revenge on my family. My father
was always sent to the hospital after I performed an exorcism. When my family
was being harassed and I experienced depression, sickness and freak accidents
to the point that I could have died, I placed myself under Mama Mary’s
protection. I went to the blessed sacrament at the chapel, I prostrated myself
(before the altar) and I said “Mama Mary, I will not leave this chapel until
you answer me that you will be my protectress.” Then, deep in my heart, I felt
Mama Mary answering: “Yes, I will protect you!” After that, I no longer
experienced harassment.
Of course, I can
still experience manual harassment. For example, the night before a big
(possession) case, I will have an uneasy sleep as spirits try to appear in my
dreams. When we sleep, we are very open to the spirit world. Or sometimes I
will experience a nightmare or a very vivid dream of a demon trying to attack
me, then the next day an unannounced (possession) case arrives (at the
Seminary). So depending upon the gravity of the case, the more I can experience
a negative reaction from the evil spirit. The spirit knows we are going to have
an encounter, and he is going (to make a preemptive attack). The Lord allows
these minor harassments to remind me to always be on my toes and not become
complacent.
Are there people or situations that are more susceptible to
extra-demonic possession than others?
Actually, most of our cases are children and women. For
children, the right side of their brains are very active — since the rational
side of their brain is not fully developed, they are very intuitive. Children
are very open to the spirit world. Women are more right-brained, so they are
more intuitive and (are inclined toward) psychic abilities: they can sense when
something is wrong.
(Those who are
susceptible to extra-demonic possession are)
persons who are very psychic or sensitive to the spirit world or who are
not psychic but develop these powers through the occult and opens the “third
eye” as they call it in occult terms; secondly, if this person is not close to
God, has no religious life whatsoever and especially is not close to Mama Mary;
thirdly, the person has a lot of occult dealings (i.e. going to occult
activities, playing with Ouija boards or tarot cards). If all three are present
— your psychic ability is open to them, your occult dealings “call” upon them
and make use of their “powers” and lastly you are not protected by God — after
some time you can get possessed.
Is there a way that you can protect yourself from
extra-demonic possession?
The St. Benedict’s Medal has been known in Church tradition
to be very effective protection against curses. For example, gagayumahin ka or
may barang na pinadala sa iyo. (Together with that), there is having a good
relationship with God, having a good sacramental life, using the sacraments properly,
knowing how to pray deliverance prayers, having a devotion to our guardian
angels (which we have forgotten), and especially to Mama Mary and living a good
Christian life.
Also using the sacrament of confession (is very important)
because, according to Fr. Gabriel Amorth, the chief exorcist of the Vatican, “a
good confession is more powerful than exorcism.” Confession is a sacrament,
while exorcism is merely a sacramental.
We must know what is occult or pagan or superstitious and avoid these
activities. Sometimes we mix these (occult) things up (with our Catholic
beliefs) without our knowledge, like placing other (non-Catholic) images other
than Jesus Christ on our altars or carrying around a “magic” bullet or
anting-anting or an amulet to “protect” you from evil spirits.
So these
anting-antings provide you with no protection whatsoever?
Yes, because where does it get its power? The power of
protection can only come from the kingdom of God or the kingdom of Satan. There
is no middle (ground) or third form of kingdom from where you can gain
spiritual power. If there is a “spiritual” power in an amulet or talisman or
charms or anting-anting and it is against the teaching of the Church, then we
know that the power comes from the other side. So, if I use an anting-anting,
I’m protected from other evil spirits using the evil spirit that is in that
anting-anting, because evil spirits hate one another. So the other evil spirits
won’t bother you. However, let’s say a very powerful mangkukulam gets angry
with you and he sends a more powerful (evil) spirit than your evil spirit; then
your anting-anting is useless as his will break through and the curse will hit
you.
But if you use the sacramental and the power of God, than
even if the most powerful mangukukulam or fallen angels or even Satan himself
is sent (your way), it will have no effect because it is God who protects you.
As a Christian, remember that pagans used these (amulets or charms) because
they did not yet have the power of God. Christ had not yet come to establish
His kingdom.
But as Christians, we already have all that is necessary.
(Jesus) teaches us all the tools needed to attain supernatural power: grace and
also supernatural protection. You cannot combine (Catholic faith and the
occult). For example, you go to church but you always visit a fortune-teller; or if you are a pagan and practicing a pagan
religion, there will be minimal reactions from the evil spirits because you are
worshipping and pleasing them. But if you are Catholic and you are baptized and
you try to merge both (Catholic faith and the occult), there will be a (negative)
reaction.
So what are ghosts in the scheme of things? Are they really
spirits of the dead? And should we be scared of them?
Some parapsychology theories about ghosts are that they are
“psychic imprints” of a strong emotional event that keeps on replaying itself.
But yes, there are really ghosts. Even in the Gospel, the Apostles were scared
of the (resurrected) Jesus when they saw him. That’s why Jesus said “I’m not a
ghost, you can feel me, I’m flesh and blood!” The Church teaching with regard
to ghosts is that they can be souls of the dead whom the Lord can allow to
appear to a loved one for prayers or for consolation. For example, your family
can be together in the cemetery on Nov. 1 and playing pusoy dos. Then suddenly
somebody will see an apparition or smell the perfume of the deceased to remind
the family that this is a time for prayers.
But we need to be careful because these (so-called) ghosts
could be evil spirits that don’t appear as a demon. They can appear as an
“angel of light” or as a “soul” so you will start to communicate with it, it
will show itself to you and then eventually befriend you. We had a case (with a
woman) where the “soul” (who came in contact with her) claimed that it was a
Japanese soldier who asked if he could make friends with her, then later asked
if he could “marry her,” and as the bondage grew deeper and deeper, the woman
could even feel the spirit “physically,” and before she knew it, she was
already possessed. When she wanted to get rid of this “soul,” she would
suddenly hear voices and there were times when she would blank out and the
“soul” took over. That is an evil spirit. A demon will never say that it is a
demon or else no one will interact with them.
In the first part of our interview, you said there were only
two beings created by God: angels and humans. The evil spirits are the fallen
angels.” So what category do all these elementals and tikbalangs and kapres and
aswangs fall under?
Actually, this phenomenon is worldwide. They call them
“fairies”: they appear like small little people like leprechauns, dwarves,
elves, etc. What has been taught to us by the early Church fathers and what we
have learned from the Bible and from Church tradition and from the magisterium
is that these “fairies” or what we call “elementals” — engkanto in the
vernacular — is that these “fairies” are
fallen angels.
That’s why they use
sacramentals to exorcise all these trees and mounds and rivers because that is
precisely the teachings of the Church. They say that these “elementals” are
beings with intelligence and free will and that they are here to take care of
nature. Why would God create a being with intelligence and free will to take
care of nature? They are above nature when nature is passing away? What is
God’s plan for them? Are they saved by Christ or not? What is the reason of their being and why
they are with us on this earth? If you say that all the spirits around us are
merely this third kind of being, engkanto, then where are the demons that the
Church has always warned us about?
Are there literally millions of fallen angels out there?
Padre Pio (a recently canonized Catholic saint who was
well-known for bearing the stigmata — bodily marks corresponding to the
crucifixion wounds of Jesus) said that if you could see them these (fallen
angels), they could blacken the sky. Recall that after the fall from heaven,
the (fallen angels) where thrown to earth first and that’s why they are here. That
is why Satan was at the garden of Eden. And when we sinned, we were also thrown
to this place. That is why the (fallen angels) are all around us. So when Jesus
came, he was exorcising thousands of people left and right. You cannot say
those dwendes are benign beings as (Church teachings) only spoke about the good
angels and the fallen angels. I always tell people I’ve never “met” a dwende
that didn’t react negatively to holy water. An evil spirit can appear in any
form. As St. Thomas tells us, these (fallen angels) can make direct use of the
atmosphere in order to manifest themselves. They can use the heat of the place
(that is why a specific area can feel cold) or they can use electrical energies
(that is why the lights suddenly go out).
That’s it. I’m sleeping with all of the lights on tonight
with my wife on one side and my yaya on the other side.
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