possible demonic influence?
In these past few months, I have accepted Christ as my saviour, but have struggled trying to find a church for me. I have no religious background, but my mother is a lapsed Catholic. I have been praying and it seems like I am getting all these "signs" to become Catholic. Every aspect of Catholicism makes so much sense to me and I respect it very much. i'm thinking of joining the RCIA, but I am held back for one reason.
I am terrified of religious artwork, particulary (but not exclusively) Crucifixes, Icons, and Religious things painted on the walls. I was in a Catholic Museum, and I could only handle it for a few minutes before I got so "freaked out" I had to leave. I can't even sit in decorated churches, I start sweating, and become really anxious, am overcome by an intense fear.
My mother's spirit guide (I know that's a bad thing) said that I feel uncomfortable because I don't belong in the Catholic Church. I am not sure if it's just because my mother (and her family) think that the church is "evil", and she just doesn't want me to join or not. But I am worried it might be that I am afraid of religious artwork because i'm evil or influenced by the demonic or something. I used to be very involved with various parts of the occult, but I have since accepted Christ into my heart and have done away with my occult ways. I pray to God every night for wisdom and to ask Him to protect my family and myself. I thought that by accepting Christ, I was free of all the evils of my past.
Do you think that my great fear of religious artwork is demonic in origin, or is it just something uninmportant that will pass over time?
QUESTION from katie on April 19, 2004
ANSWER by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM on April 24, 2004
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Dear Katie: I praise God that you have come to Christ and are considered formally joining the Church that Jesus personally founded. I encourage you to attend RCIA. There is no obligation to actual join when you attend RCIA. Rather, this is a time for you ro discern and to decide whether or not you go forward to be confirmed in the Church. We will be in prayer for you. As for your fear of religious artwork, unless there is a psychiatric explanation for this, the problem may well be a demonic strategy to scare you away from the Church. Accepting Jesus does not necessary solve all these problems. The devil would love to keep you away from the Catholic Church. From the devil's point-of-view if he could not prevent you from accepting Jesus, then maybe he can prevent you from joining Jesus' Church -- the Catholic Church. The fact that you were into the occult means that the devil will not let go of you easily. The Cross of Jesus has paid the penalty of your sins, but the "consequence of sin" still remains. If a throw a rock through your window, I can be forgiven and the penalty of my sin paid for by Jesus by virtue of the Cross, but the "consequence" of my sin, the broken window, is still broken. Because you were into the occult, the sin is forgiven and laid at the Cross when we repent and ask God for forgiveness, but the "consequences" of our sin can continue on. Thus, you need to ask God to cast away from you the spirit of fear. There are prayers in the Spiritual Warfare Catalog linked below that you can use. Pray to regain the ground that Satan stole from you; pray to be released from the bondage to the spirit of fear; pray a hedge prayer of protection around you. If these prayers do not relieve your fear, then you may need help from a Deliverance Counselor. Our Counseling services should be taking new clients around June 1. We will be praying for you.
God Bless, For Assistance with Spiritual Warfare problems please go to our How We Can Help You page. For a direct link to sample Spiritual Warfare prayers see our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog |