searching for a sign QUESTION from evangelos on July 28, 2002 Hi i dont mean to ask you stupid questions and I apologize for my poor grammar. I kind of came up on your website by accident and just started to read your Q and A section you have a couple of posts where ive had similar things happen like the paralysis thing and seeing shadows and hearing laughter except i ususally here a white noise or what almost sounds like wooden panels rattling. and feeling like someone was actually physically on top of me holding me down. or trying to shake me i do beleive in god but i am really looking for some direction spiritually my dad is catholic and my mom is jewish and my wife is baptist, but iam kind of stuck in the middle and hoping that ill get a sign like hey stupid! pick this denomination. Or do you think that it is even important. I apologize for taking up so much of your time but any guidance would be appreciated.
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius, OLSM on August 13, 2002 Dear Evangelos,
There is no need to apologize for anything. You are of infinite worth to God and therefore very important to us. We are happy to help you in any way that God allows us to, which includes attempting to answer your very important question. Please know that you will be in our prayers and that we are here to help you in any way that we can.
I am always amazed when God leads people like yourself to search for truth - and that is what you are doing. His promptings and leadings have encouraged you to ask your questions. One of the most often overlooked miracles is this one that you are experiencing right now in your life - that secret place in our hearts where the Divine Creator calls His beloved creatures to Him; always knocking, always asking to come into our hearts, always prompting us to seek truth and a closer relationship with Him. All we need to do is answer the door and let Him in. Listen to that voice and follow. Open the door and let Him in. What follows is the most beautiful thing that we can ever hope to experience on this earth - a personal relationship with our Risen Lord. What a wonderful God we serve; we who are nothing are treated by the Infinite God as though we are everything. Do you want that for yourself? He is eager - no, he desires with the utmost desire - to give you that gift!
As far as your search for a denomination is concerned, yes, which denomination you choose is very important. I use to be a Baptist preacher myself. My study of the Bible and the facts of history brought me to the Catholic church. I had no choice but to become Catholic since the Bible and History prove without a doubt that the Catholic Church is the Church that Jesus founded.
In terms of the experiences that you have had or are currently having, my heart goes out to you. I know how frightening they can be. We have to be careful, however, in always ascribing a demonic source to the problem. I constantly look for natural explanations to phenomenon that occasionally happens to me and am more inclined to attribute them to the explainable. Stress, fear, anxiousness, semi-conscious states and various other conditions, both medical and psychological, can cause the types of experiences that you've described. For instance, the feeling of being held down as if someone is on top of you is actually a fairly well studied phenomenon called cataleptic somnambulism. True, the demonic can also cause this to happen - but by and large, this is not a demonic problem. Rather, it is within the realm of psychology and semi-conscious phenomenon.
If you are unsure, you can proceed as if and pray some spiritual warfare prayers (see link below).
Please know this, Evangelos: God loves you. He loves you more than you can possibly know. Again, remember that we will be praying for you.

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