Dear Ann:

Under no circumstance should Christians be playing games like Dungeons and Dragons or Magic the Gathering and similar games.

Back in 2010 another Ann asked the same question. My answer to her is also my answer to you:

I am sorry to hear this about your son. Since he is 18 years old, there is little you can do directly except to explain to him that this activity is not consistent with being a Catholic. You might give him copies of articles such as Is Harry Potter Good for our Kids? and How POKEMON and Magic Cards Affect the Minds and Values of Children.

The Bible instructs us to make the most of our time and to watch carefully how we walk:

Ephesians 5:15-18:

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit.

We are also to fill our minds with things that are true, pure, and good. Philippians 4:8-9  says:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.

And, not only are we to avoid doing evil, we are to avoid even the "appearance" of evil as St. Paul warns in 1 Thessalonians 5:22: "Abstain from all appearance of evil."

All of these games fail the test of St. Paul's warnings and advice.

As a Catholic he needs to meditate upon these passages and if he loves  God follow St. Paul's advice.

Beyond this about all you can do is to commit him to prayer. Our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog, linked below, has at least two prayers that are useful for you in this situation: Prayer for our Children, and especially, Hedge Prayer for a Wayward Person. He is straying from the faith by his involvement in these games. The Hedge prayer is the prayer of Hosea and his designed to lead a person back to the arms of God.

We will certainly be in prayer for your son, and for you.

In your case, since your son is 13, you need to do your best to explain to him the danger of these games. That will be hard since teenagers seem to have a fascination with the occult and similar material. It will be doubly hard for you as your son is getting conflicting messages between you and his father.

You have discussed with your ex-husband your opposition to these books and games. There is little more you can do concerning your ex-husband's behavior. Thus, you need to focus on two things: 1) teaching your son the truth; 2) praying for your son, for his protection, and for his understanding of the dangers.

You will need to persevere in your teaching and in your prayers. In terms of the teaching, do not nag or lecture as that will likely turn off the boy. But, gently inform him of your views, the views of those who have studied these matters, and the views of the Bible and the Church.

I am utterly flabbergasted when I checked out several conservative Catholic discussion boards. In every single one that I checked the members were touting how these games are no big deal, they are just fun, they are just games. Despite the orthodoxy of the discussion boards I did not find a single moderator or the owner of the board correcting these opinions that such games are okay to play.

"It's justa (game, book, movie, TV show, music, etc.)" is a common obfuscation that people will use as an excuse to participate in something imprudent or even evil. They seem to think that "It's justa ..." excuses anything, even excuses the culture of death, or the culture of evil, or the appearance of evil — all things that we are to avoid as Christians.

St. Paul did not warn us to "Abstain from all appearance of evil" to hear himself talk. What part of this do people not understand? It seems rather straight-forward to me, and I think, it would be to anyone with an I.Q. above 25.

Anything that takes us away for God harms us. All games, books, music, TV, movies, clothing we wear, etc. has a message. The question is "what is the message?" Any message that takes us away from that which is excellent in God will harm us. That which harms us leads us closer to Satan who wants to destroy us. The closer we get to Satan the harder it will be to get away from him and to return to God.

Some of the prayers that I recommend from our Spiritual Warfare Catalog linked below, include Hedge Prayer for Return of Wayward Catholics (for your ex-husband), Rebuking Particular Spirits Affecting the Household and Hedge Prayer for Protection of Household and Resisting Satan’s Attack Against Our Household (your son is part of your household and your household is under attack), plus any other prayers in the Catalog that you find useful.

You are in a spiritual battle for your son. You prepare for battle by keeping yourself as close to God as you can, and use the weapons of this war, which is the Bible, the Church, sacramentals (that you can give your son to wear, for example), and primarily prayer. 

We will be praying for the protection of your son, for his spiritual understanding, and for you. We will also pray for your ex-husband that perhaps he will get over himself and his pride and come home to God.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary



P.S. Also see the 2001 article by Andrew Walther, of the National Catholic Register entitled, Magic: The Gathering’ Cards Spook the Experts.