The Passions, and a Cry for Help

In the hermit blog, the thoughts dealt with stilling the passions, control over the passions, as St. Silouan's teachings deal with pure prayer.

This morning found a comment left here, full of passion. Someone says he or she is under a curse, being spiritually assaulted. The words used reflected the vulgarity and horror, the confusion and chaos of one demonically oppressed, or more likely possessed. The person begged for help to be freed from the torments of being acursed.

Of course, in our externally invisible world of internet, even down to the bloggerhood, one does not typically know the persons from seeing with the outer eyes. But, we try to see with inner sight.


The distortion by evil is as has been considered, quite a suffering. I can note the times that my passions are not as controlled, when evil has tried to infiltrate or when physical pain level is high. Even being frustrated with trying to communicate one view as opposed to another can jostle the passions, inflame them. We humans are passionate beings.

Temperance, the virtue, teaches us to moderate the passions. Meekness comes into play as a subset of temperance and often mentioned as a kind of younger sibling to the virtue of humility.

The comment and plea for help--somebody help me!--ranted in a kind of ungrammatica, desperate, disjointed and crude expression of torment that seemed inappropriate to publish. It could be a hoax comment/plea, or not. I tend to think it worth much prayer, actually. Either way, prayer is needed for the soul who left the comment. With what was written and explained, of 26 years of being spiritually assaulted by the devil and those who hate this person, and won't leave the person in peace, one must simply take it at face value for the plea repeated: somebody out there, help me!

This is the type of work for victim souls of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. There is no harm done if one prays and offers sufferings, even if the request is not genuine. Who are we to doubt? It seems the disciples sometimes questioned why Jesus would be spending time or effort on some souls, such as the woman at the well, but Jesus did not turn people away. Maybe by what He said, he turned some people off! Well, He didn't turn them off, of course; they turned themselves off. But, the point is, that this morning I awoke early, and then chills began from either the pain or some other ailment settling in, and then came this horrendous plea for help, and it seems fitting to ask Jesus to please utilize the bodily suffering for this soul out there.

If anyone is reading this, please pray much for this soul who says it is demonically assaulted--"raped" was the word used. A name was given, but yet a different name was on the actual comment. Perhaps the soul is split in two or more fragments. In my past life out in the world, part of my advanced studies were in clinical psych, and so these illnesses are very real and very horrible to those who suffer. And, in the spiritual experiences and non-credentialed studies of mystical and ascetical theology, the assaults of the devil are very real and horrible.

It is no surprise that the Lord would set this message in motion, for I have been pondering my own passionate nature, and considering how we all are rather impassioned with what we find good in our lives. We want to share it, and sometimes the passions become too intense. Then they become disordered.

So here is a soul leaving a comment that is so impassioned as to reflect disorder; and disorder and chaos are not from God. Yet, the soul begs for help, and Jesus will help this soul even if the comment is not genuine.

Last evening at the Cathedral, the Mass was a vigil for life Mass. After, we had an hour of Eucharistic Adoration. In prayer, I reflected (besides on the fact that it is hard to still the thoughts!), that the unborn babies who have been killed, are being killed and will be killed, are souls with whom I am to be in oneness. It matters not that they never walk this earth. In fact, I considered how foolish I've been lately, in allowing my passion for the path God has me on, to react to the passion that another fellow soul has for the path God has it on!

Then I realized that I must, as St. Silouan wisely expresses, be willing to accept the guilt and responsibility for the women and men who abort these babies. I thought back of any time in which I did something awful, and didn't have to go back far, and realized that these babies' souls are suffering for my sins. Other souls suffer for my lack of controlling the passions, even passion about something good.

It seemed, then, ridiculous to have reacted. We souls who are blessed to not have been aborted, who have been blessed with intelligence, education, comforts of life, and especially with the Catholic faith--should be living each moment in such goodness and virtue--and especially love--that we ought not give way to even the slightest of disordered passion.

Another person e-mailed, and gave such a reasoned view of a situation, that it brought great peace and even more contrition. The Lord does not spurn a contrite and humbled heart. This other person's rational view calmed the sea; for once one steps out of the boat in the midst of a storm at sea, and begins to walk on the rough waters, it is easy enough to see how St. Peter started to sink!

But he cried out: Lord, save me! And Jesus calmly reached out and pulled him up.

It is like the soul who left the impassioned, frightully distressed comment/plea: Somebody out there save me!

Jesus is the Somebody, but we victim souls of the Sacred Heart of Jesus nest within His Heart, and nest with Mary whose Immaculate Heart nests within her Son's Sacred Heart. Together we can love this soul and souls like it who are demonically under siege. In some aspects, souls that are given over to evil, as this one said it had dealt in the occult--might risk being aborted from a chance to live.

We were told last night, as we prayed the Rosary and then had silent reflection, to be willing to do all we could, within ourselves, to respect the life of ALL human beings, and of all life.

There are some prayers that the laity are allowed to pray without stepping into the very specialized area belonging to exorcist priests. The Church is very specific about such prayers, as exorcist priests are highly trained and experienced to deal with such matters. Somewhere in my library room, I have a copy of the prayers that are "safe" for laity. These are also printed in the appendicese of Fr. Gabriel Amorth's two published books: An Exorcist Tells His Story and More Stories.....

I can and will pray these prayers for the soul who begged help and for all souls who have the parasites of the devil latched onto their God-created souls.