Demonic Influence QUESTION from Don Claunch SFO March 25, 2000 Brother John-Paul,
This is more of a suggestion than a question and I thought it may help some of your forum participants. You seem to get many questions of the type, Can a person come under demonic influence (attack, opression, etc.) even if they are baptized, prayerful, practicing Catholics, etc. As an answer to these type questions I would encourage everyone to read Padre Pio, the True Story by C. Bernard Ruffin. This excellent book provides pages of examples, stories, reports and the like of how demons tormented this saintly priest continuously. But, it also shows how guardian angels were active in the Padre's life and came to his aid often and how the Lord answers prayer in times of attack from Satan and his followers. (The book covers much more on the Saint than this and is well worth spending time reading.)
Keep up the good work on your forums and may the Lord bless your ministry.
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius, O.L.S.M. on March 25, 2000 Dear Mr. Claunch:
Thanks, yes, Padre Pio is a EXCELLENT source for understanding Spiritual Warfare.
However, the demonic troubles Padre Pio experience were for completely different reasons than the sorts of things we were talking about. If this is understandable, Padre Pio's experience were positive. The types of demonic influences that we had been talking about informed negative experiences.
That is, there can occur demonic attacks as a result of sin, ancestral sin, or arbitrary evil. Padre Pio experience most of his troubles from attacks related to his being who he was. That is the devil did not like the work that he was doing and attacked him as a result.
The reason I make this distinction, is that many people will accept that Satan can and will attack us when we do God's work, but will reject the idea of a more personal demonization or possession.
Nevertheless, regardless of which type of demonic botherings one is experiencing, Padre Pio's life is a superb example of fortitude, perseverance, and faith in God in the midst of terrible spiritual warfare.
Not all that unlike Padre Pio in many ways, this ministry, and I personally, receive blows and attacks from the evil one every single day. Satan does not like what we are doing here in this website and in our ministry. As a result there is not a single day that goes by that I am not attacked by seen or unseen forces.
Your prayers are always appreciated.
By the way, I have a third class relic of Padre Pio (with is portrait), tape the monitor of my computer (and another relic of him on our prayer altar).
God Bless.
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