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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Re: What is	Linda	Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Question: Dear Brother; Just a comment on your answer to me about "resting or slain in the spirit". I accept your answer but find it amazing that my mind could do this to me. I do remember that this priest was a favorite with the people who came to the vigils. He was well liked but not flambouyant. My fiance and I were just learning about the Catholic faith in its fullness and we were full of zeal and easily led into excesses. (sort of like a new convert). I can see in this reguard what you meant by group expectation. I felt this was a holy thing happening and I wanted to be part of it as if that would make me more holy! My fiance also went up to be prayed over but fearing that drugs might be being used to make people react like that he was very distrustful and I think he even held his breath so as not to breath in any drugs! Nothing happened to him and he was worried when he saw me on the floor, so maybe what you say about group expection is right. I know this must sound funny to you but that is how we were then. In reguards to your comment about this experience happening in private, it brought to mind another time it happened. I was at a friend's house and the same priest was there. He prayer over me and I did start to sway back and forth but didn't fall back. I can't remember if I felt myself sway back and forth. Only the priest, myself, my fiance and the owner of the home were there. Not exactly private but a smaller group. Do you think I committed the sin of pride or some other sin in trying to do what everyone else did with the hopes of becoming more holy?
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM+ Dear Linda: We all can be amazed at what we can find ourselves doing when the circumstances are right. Any of us can get caught up in the moment. I am a very "heady" kind of person, yet I found myself responding emotionally and "following the crowd" once in a religious service. The power of the group dynamics cannot be underestimated. There have been many people who have joined lynch mobs or riots by getting caught up in the ferver of the moment. MANY people "come forward" in evangelistic services to accept Christ that are doing so because of being emotionally caught-up in the moment. That is why there must be followup with such converts to help them maintain their new faith after the emotion has calmed. You have not committed any sin. Your experience may be one in which you got caught up in the moment, or maybe it was the Holy Spirit. Even if caught up in the moment, all it means is that you are human. Now if you regularly sought out this experience then there could be issues of pride and the like, but not from your experience as you relate it to me. I find it interesting that the private experience was different than the public experience. This is consistent with the notion that this phenomenon is mostly psychological. You would have had a personal expectation that may have caused you to sway, but did not fall because the added "umph" of the group dynamics was missing. I do not think you have sinned. What you need to do, however, is read the Saints to discover the REAL ways to become Holy. Here are some suggested books: Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales 12 Steps to Holiness by St. Alphonsus Ligouri Easy Way to Become a Saint by Fr. Paul O'Sullivan God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Re: What is

Linda

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Question:

Dear Brother;

Just a comment on your answer to me about "resting or slain in the spirit". I accept your answer but find it amazing that my mind could do this to me.

I do remember that this priest was a favorite with the people who came to the vigils. He was well liked but not flambouyant. My fiance and I were just learning about the Catholic faith in its fullness and we were full of zeal and easily led into excesses. (sort of like a new convert). I can see in this reguard what you meant by group expectation. I felt this was a holy thing happening and I wanted to be part of it as if that would make me more holy!

My fiance also went up to be prayed over but fearing that drugs might be being used to make people react like that he was very distrustful and I think he even held his breath so as not to breath in any drugs! Nothing happened to him and he was worried when he saw me on the floor, so maybe what you say about group expection is right. I know this must sound funny to you but that is how we were then.

In reguards to your comment about this experience happening in private, it brought to mind another time it happened. I was at a friend's house and the same priest was there. He prayer over me and I did start to sway back and forth but didn't fall back. I can't remember if I felt myself sway back and forth. Only the priest, myself, my fiance and the owner of the home were there. Not exactly private but a smaller group.

Do you think I committed the sin of pride or some other sin in trying to do what everyone else did with the hopes of becoming more holy?

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM+

Dear Linda:

We all can be amazed at what we can find ourselves doing when the circumstances are right. Any of us can get caught up in the moment. I am a very "heady" kind of person, yet I found myself responding emotionally and "following the crowd" once in a religious service.

The power of the group dynamics cannot be underestimated. There have been many people who have joined lynch mobs or riots by getting caught up in the ferver of the moment. MANY people "come forward" in evangelistic services to accept Christ that are doing so because of being emotionally caught-up in the moment. That is why there must be followup with such converts to help them maintain their new faith after the emotion has calmed.

You have not committed any sin. Your experience may be one in which you got caught up in the moment, or maybe it was the Holy Spirit. Even if caught up in the moment, all it means is that you are human.

Now if you regularly sought out this experience then there could be issues of pride and the like, but not from your experience as you relate it to me.

I find it interesting that the private experience was different than the public experience. This is consistent with the notion that this phenomenon is mostly psychological. You would have had a personal expectation that may have caused you to sway, but did not fall because the added "umph" of the group dynamics was missing.

I do not think you have sinned. What you need to do, however, is read the Saints to discover the REAL ways to become Holy.

Here are some suggested books:

Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales

12 Steps to Holiness by St. Alphonsus Ligouri

Easy Way to Become a Saint by Fr. Paul O'Sullivan

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.