“The Devil’s Wile”
(Erico Joseph T. Canete)
LEON CRISTIANI in his book, “Evidence of Satan in the Modern World”, professed that “Satan’s greatest wile is to persuade us that he does not exist.” This devil’s shenanigan is played obviously for devious purpose; to gain more souls to hell. Subscribing to the belief of his non existence loosens up man’s moral or spiritual life, hence a defeat.
The devil exists and no one escapes from his attacks. According to exorcist Fr. Francesco Bamonte, “it is far more interesting to demons to keep people enslaved to sin and to bring them ultimately to the greatest misfortune — eternal damnation — than it is to provoke a series of misfortunes.”
Yet, on top of temptation or invitation to commit sin, it is also interesting to look unto Satan’sextraordinary maneuversnamely; infestation, malefice, and demonic possession.
“The devils betray their presence by vexing or distressing manifestations. They make noises, shake or move certain objects, upset and sometimes break them” (Leon Cristiani). These creepy phenomena are manifestations of infestation; a phenomenon which is more alarming than dangerous.
Authors claim that the originof diabolical infestation may be traced from places cursed like; where mediumistic communication of the dead or evil sprits, magic (producing evil effects by resenting to prayer as in sorcery or witchcraft), black mass, or places where abortion, suicides and heinous crimes happened. In our Filipino culture, infestations also occur in places where huge trees like balete, acacia etc are cut with no reverence to the supernatural beings dwelling on those trees.
On the other hand, malefice or sortilege (spell) is one of the most frequent causes of demonic persecution.Saudreau, writer on the ascetical and mystical life, is quite definite on malefice claiming thatit is the devil’s sacrament. The damage inflicted to the victim is exactly the diabolic effects of sorcery and witchcraft.
Finally, the most dangerous of all is demonic possession. It is an invasion of the body by an evil spirit or devil that gains control of the mind or soul, producing mental disorder, physical illness, or criminal behavior. Many forms of physical and psychological illness were formerly attributed to such possession, notably epilepsy, schizophrenia, and Tourette’s disorder. The traditional remedy for possession is exorcism. (Source: American Psychology Association)
Now, the incident at San Jose National High School in Talibon, Bohol wherestudents claimed that they saw a large black man causing them to faint, chest pain and difficulty in breathing, was it a demonic persecution or a mass hysteria or a simple case of hyperventilation?
Authors say that epidemic hysteria or mass hysteria refers to apparently contagious dissociative phenomena that take place in large groups of people or institutions under conditions of anxiety. Typically, they are described as taking place in schools, where episodes of illness or fainting appear to spread rapidly throughout the school.
Related reports by medical professionals claimed that it could be a case of hyperventilation where a patient breathes too fast causing an imbalance in the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in blood.
Both reports by science may be possible.
It takes a lot of reason – science, and faith – belief to assess the matter. But this I could say again. The devil exists and roams like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Be spiritually guarded!