I Need help! QUESTION from Hains March 1, 2000 Dear Sir,
I wrote you last week because my daughter Elisa was doing something that I didn't know of.
I have talked to her about it but she refuses to give up what she is doing. She still prays every night.
I tried to rub of the name she had written on the wall of her bedroom, but when she noticed what I had done, she raged! She just went berserk.
Now I think that I did something wrong.
She is praying every night, the same words, it's something like:
Leviathan, my lord... and then something in Greek or Latin...
I don't know what to do, I have tried to send her to church with us to talk to God, but she refused, she says she is 'misplaced' there!!!
Please help!!
Me and my wife are terrified!
Yours Sincerely, Marcus Hains
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius, O.L.S.M. on March 6, 2000 Dear Mr. Hains:
You have done NOTHING wrong. You have a right, morally and legally, to protect your household. You have a right to paint over any markings on the wall, to remove any property from your premises that is offensive to Christianity. You have the right and the obligation to protect your house from the devil and anything that might attract the enemy.
You have done nothing wrong.
As I mentioned in my last answer, you, not only have these rights and obligations over your property, but your have parental authority you can apply over your daughter spiritually.
There is a plan of action that is needed in your case. I cannot give that in an open Forum, but I may be able to help you if you contact me personally and make arrangements to call me on the phone.
In addition to the spiritual warfare prayers that are available to you, you may have to consider the tough love approach of kicking her out of the house. I know this is hard, but that is an option.
Depending on her mental state, another possibility is civil commitment to a hospital. But that is difficult to do without her consent unless there is proof that she will harm herself or others.
In any event, you must remember that YOU are the head of your house, not your daughter. You are the paterfamilias, you are the king, you are the priest of your house. You do not have to tolerate or allow behavior under your roof that is contrary to your faith and an affront to God.
Thus YOU must take responsibility as the head of the house to do what is necessary and needed.
If you want help in making a plan of action that includes prayers and various other things to try to deal with this (before doing something like kicking her out of the house) then email me at: porter@saint-mike.org to arrange an appointment for you to call me on the phone.
These sorts of things are very complicated and cannot be dealt with in a forum like this in any way, nor even in email form. We need to talk on the phone to explore the problem and the possibilities for solution.
We are praying for you and your daughter and the whole family.
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