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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Can catholics be gifted like mediums?	Lisp	Saturday, November 1, 2008
Question: Can catholics be naturally gifted like mediums or must we bury the biblical coin? I have never attempted to contact any spirit and have never used any arts/tools. I can’t see myself as the type to get private revelations and in fact my gifts are non religious in nature. I sometimes deal with ghosts and sometimes people with spirits react involuntary in my presence. I also have a non religious things (i.e., Mary’s face appearing in a stain on a wall), things appear to me. As an example I had lustful images appear to me in various ways, as fog in a mirror, stains on walls/pavement, and as naturally imprinted images (time issues if they reflect me.) At first I considered these images as demonic in origin but now believe that they reflected my lifestyle. In part because once when I was reading the bible on the lake I got crosses in the shy produced by jet exhaust. When I got back to shore and sat down to change shoes, I noticed a little boy mimicking me. I surmised then that my private lifestyle might influence others. I have taken some pictures of these images. Another example was when I picked up a pizza one day and all of a suddenly the pizza girl starts swinging her pen wildly with eyes rolling. I said to myself jokingly, sorry guys I’m catholic I don’t do psychic writing. Some month later I saw a story on TV about a religious community who was founded by a girl doing psychic writing. Yep, that’s where I got the pizza at. Ok, I get it but what do you call Catholics who do that? Again I ignore everything and wouldn’t practice anything occult (the one thing I haven’t messed up), not even if the pope told me to. I do worry about burying my biblical coin. I might add that the fruit of all of this thus far is that I want to be a better catholic.
Question Answered by Mr. Joe Meineke Dear Lisp, I am glad to hear that you are striving to be a better Catholic. No matter what you are experiencing and what you believe the source is, that is the most important thing. I have to admit, I'm a little confused by your question. On the one hand you say that you don't want to "bury your biblical coin," yet on the other you say that your "gifts" are non-religious in nature. Those two statements seem contradictory. Nevertheless, it sounds like the majority of the things that you mention can easily be explained by natural phenomenon. For example, the images that you see are far less likely to be supernatural than they are to be the natural phenomenon termed Pareidolia - namely, our natural tendency toward seeing images in our surroundings because our brains are actually wired to do so: "There is an universal tendency among mankind to conceive all beings like themselves, and to transfer to every object, those qualities, with which they are familiarly acquainted, and of which they are intimately conscious. We find human faces in the moon, armies in the clouds; and by a natural propensity, if not corrected by experience and reflection, ascribe malice or good- will to every thing, that hurts or pleases us." -- David Hume Also, jet trails forming crosses in the sky is rather common (there are thousands of jets flying over the United States at any given moment) and, although it can certainly serve as a reminder of Christ and His sacrifice, we should not attribute it to supernatural causes. We really need to be careful in evaluating our experiences and being too quick to label them as being some sort of supernatural gift or vision. There are simply too many ways that we fragile humans can deceive ourselves or be deceived by the enemy. Additionally, a distinction needs to be made between 'mediumship' and genuine Christian charisms. Genuine charisms are gifts of the Holy Spirit and are given for the purpose of building up the Church. They are freely given by God and are not something that can be learned or purchased. They are never trivial or frivolous. Meduimship, on the other hand, has nothing to do with God-given gifts or abilities. Mediums, as the name implies, are those who act as intermediaries between the physical and the spiritual world. At best, they are hucksters; at worse, their abilities come from demons. In conclusion, It would probably be a good idea to discuss these issues with your parish priest. It sounds as though you could benefit from spiritual direction from a competant spiritual advisor. May God bless you, Joe Meineke 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

Can catholics be gifted like mediums?

Lisp

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Question:

Can catholics be naturally gifted like mediums or must we bury the biblical coin? I have never attempted to contact any spirit and have never used any arts/tools. I can’t see myself as the type to get private revelations and in fact my gifts are non religious in nature. I sometimes deal with ghosts and sometimes people with spirits react involuntary in my presence.

I also have a non religious things (i.e., Mary’s face appearing in a stain on a wall), things appear to me. As an example I had lustful images appear to me in various ways, as fog in a mirror, stains on walls/pavement, and as naturally imprinted images (time issues if they reflect me.) At first I considered these images as demonic in origin but now believe that they reflected my lifestyle. In part because once when I was reading the bible on the lake I got crosses in the shy produced by jet exhaust. When I got back to shore and sat down to change shoes, I noticed a little boy mimicking me. I surmised then that my private lifestyle might influence others. I have taken some pictures of these images.

Another example was when I picked up a pizza one day and all of a suddenly the pizza girl starts swinging her pen wildly with eyes rolling. I said to myself jokingly, sorry guys I’m catholic I don’t do psychic writing. Some month later I saw a story on TV about a religious community who was founded by a girl doing psychic writing. Yep, that’s where I got the pizza at. Ok, I get it but what do you call Catholics who do that?

Again I ignore everything and wouldn’t practice anything occult (the one thing I haven’t messed up), not even if the pope told me to. I do worry about burying my biblical coin.

I might add that the fruit of all of this thus far is that I want to be a better catholic.

Question Answered by Mr. Joe Meineke

Dear Lisp,

I am glad to hear that you are striving to be a better Catholic. No matter what you are experiencing and what you believe the source is, that is the most important thing.

I have to admit, I'm a little confused by your question. On the one hand you say that you don't want to "bury your biblical coin," yet on the other you say that your "gifts" are non-religious in nature. Those two statements seem contradictory.

Nevertheless, it sounds like the majority of the things that you mention can easily be explained by natural phenomenon. For example, the images that you see are far less likely to be supernatural than they are to be the natural phenomenon termed Pareidolia - namely, our natural tendency toward seeing images in our surroundings because our brains are actually wired to do so:

"There is an universal tendency among mankind to conceive all beings like themselves, and to transfer to every object, those qualities, with which they are familiarly acquainted, and of which they are intimately conscious. We find human faces in the moon, armies in the clouds; and by a natural propensity, if not corrected by experience and reflection, ascribe malice or good- will to every thing, that hurts or pleases us." -- David Hume

Also, jet trails forming crosses in the sky is rather common (there are thousands of jets flying over the United States at any given moment) and, although it can certainly serve as a reminder of Christ and His sacrifice, we should not attribute it to supernatural causes.

We really need to be careful in evaluating our experiences and being too quick to label them as being some sort of supernatural gift or vision. There are simply too many ways that we fragile humans can deceive ourselves or be deceived by the enemy.

Additionally, a distinction needs to be made between 'mediumship' and genuine Christian charisms. Genuine charisms are gifts of the Holy Spirit and are given for the purpose of building up the Church. They are freely given by God and are not something that can be learned or purchased. They are never trivial or frivolous. Meduimship, on the other hand, has nothing to do with God-given gifts or abilities. Mediums, as the name implies, are those who act as intermediaries between the physical and the spiritual world. At best, they are hucksters; at worse, their abilities come from demons.

In conclusion, It would probably be a good idea to discuss these issues with your parish priest. It sounds as though you could benefit from spiritual direction from a competant spiritual advisor.

May God bless you,

Joe Meineke

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.