Good and Bad Places or Spiritual Mapping
Do you have any recommendations on understanding the concept of
I am aware that in the old days that pagan sites, mountains, temples, springs, etc. were often rededicated and consecrated, and churches were built upon them. It seems many places have a holy or unholy feeling to them. I stayed in a motel room once in which I felt terrible and could not sleep, and then found evidence the next morning that some sort of ritual was done in that room. I have had many such expereince of good or bad places in my life.
There seems to be evidence in the Bible, such as in Daniel, that angels or spirits are often given charge over districts and places, some good and some bad. The early saints such as Benedict often seemed to battle demons based in certain locales. Also some Protestant churches are involved with "Spiritual Mapping" which is determining the influence of place on moral and spiritual conditions (pagan sites, areas of drug use
As a faithful Catholic, I am very interested in understanding the idea of place as it relates to Spiritual Warfare (demonic infestation of place, cleansing of place, etc.) from a Catholic point of view. Father Amorth mentions such things but says they are generally outside the sphere of Catholic interest or teaching, though he would like to see that change.
Hengruh
QUESTION from Hengruh on July 23, 2003
place or site in Spiritual Warfare, from a Catholic perspective?
or crimes, graveyards, areas of tragedy, etc.)
Do you have any thoughts on this? I would very much be interested in researching this as my graduate degrees are in anthropology, archaeology, and landscape history.
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius, OLSM on July 28, 2003
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Dear Hengruh: Certainly there can demonic attachment to a place as you pointed out from biblical example. We also know that demons are most likely organized in a similar manner as the nine Angelic choirs, each with a different sphere of responsibility. Just as there are guardian angels over people, cities, and nations, there are also "guardian" demons over people, cities, and nations. St. Paul refers to some of these hierarchies such as Dominions and Principalities. I have personally come up against a Principality demon in a case I had many years ago. I knew that the client had a bondage that was linked to a principality demon of the areas she grew up. Myself and a colleague actually went to that locality and prayed spiritual warfare prayers to break the bond of this territorial demon from our client. Interestingly, this was done in secret. We did NOT tell the client what we were doing, yet as soon as we came back in town she KNEW what we had done. From an anthropological point-of-view I doubt if you could write a thesis that deals with this from a true spiritual stand-point of literal demons and such; but the university may allow you to write a thesis on the religious beliefs of various peoples as it relates to their understanding of "evil places." It is true that places can be "imprinted", I believe, with evil. Demons certainly strongly desire to be attached to something as we see in the Bible with the demons, Legion, asking Jesus to send then to the pigs instead of to the abyss. Often missionaries will report demonic problem when they come home bringing with them artifacts and artwork from the peoples they lived amongst. Shaman and witchdoctors routinely curse objects like that because they know the missionaries like the artwork. These objects can then have demons attached to them who then harass the missionary and his family, or even a priest missionary. If you need a resource from a specialist who counsels with missionaries who have come under demonization I would recommend contacting, Dr. Ed Murphy. He is a protestant, but has extensive experience in these matters. The last time I looked, you can contact him through:
OC International
Actually, I am not sure he is still living. The last time I talked to him was in about 1990 or so. He was close to retirement then.
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