Comments on: Seeing into Hell

By: Gemma Riordan

Gemma Riordan — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:37:21 +0000

Regarding the black dogs and St. John Bosco- the dreams of St. John also report visions of black dogs and demons attacking the boys, hiding in the church when they’re going to confession, etc. This is very interesting but reassuring that the protection and graces of the daily rosary provide. Evil is tangible and so is hell. We recall Fatimas as well where the children are shown a vision of hell.
I recommend anyone and everyone to turn to EWTN whenever the opportunity arises. There’s something for everyone there.

By: Catherine

Catherine — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:07:10 +0000

PS: Father Gabriele Amorth is the chief Vatican exorcist

By: Catherine

Catherine — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:54:59 +0000

Hello! …it is since last April that I have not been able to log in or even re-register–there was some glitch and only now have I been able to get back here. This topic is real interesting (obviously, looking at all the replies!) and I just wanted to share what I came across while working on a translation for a web site. It is a translation of an interview with Vicka, one of the Medjugorje seers. The interviewer is Father Livio Fanzaga (whose popular “Radio Maria” has the open support of the Pope)
PADRE LIVIO: In fact the Madonna said, “Confront satan and defeat him with the Rosary in your hand” (August 8th, 1985).
VICKA: That’s right, this is the only way to keep satan away. [...] The evil one knows where we are weakest and he finds all the weakest places in us where he can gain entrance: in young people’s free time and in the divisions in families. The Madonna said that when we feel peace and tranquility in our hearts that this comes from God. If instead there is fear in our hearts and we feel anxious, we can be sure that this does not come from God and we should be very careful. We must be able to distinguish that which comes from God and that which does not, because that way we can effect a real change in our lives and be more committed in our praying so as to keep the evil one at a distance.
PADRE LIVIO
This means that if we stay close to the Madonna we will feel joy in our hearts and we will not feel this anxious fear about our future. In fact, the Madonna once said that he who prays has no fear about the the future.
VICKA
Certainly: he who prays has no fear about the future and he who fasts has no fear of the evil one. The Madonna never comunicates fear but hope and joy. You really can see how the Madonna and her Son Jesus defeat all evil that exists. We shouldn’t have any fear but we should follow the Madonna and her Son.

Speaking of the Rosary, I’m sure most of you know how much Padre Pio relied on the Rosary, “the weapon” as he called it. But anyone who prays the Rosary assiduously knows how powerful it is against satan, and against every kind of temptation and affliction.
About ouija boards, Father Gabriele Amorth has his own program on this radio station and he has often exhorted the faithful (with an urgency that is almost shouting) not to try anything at all on a ouija board, not even for the purpose of converting someone. He likes to remind the radio listeners often that satan is smarter than we are–and especially if we are on his own playing field (ouija boards, tarot cards, etc.).
And lastly, the Italian Bishops Conference (i.e.,the Church) came out most vigorously against the practice and use of Reiki. This was about 3 or 4 years ago. It’s worth remembering that one of the bishops of that Conference is the Bishop of Rome–the Pope.

By: bkeebler

bkeebler — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:17:54 +0000

Hell is for eternity. I too always thought the movie Pinocchio was a very good lesson for children on taking the wrong path into the trap of evil. But we don’t see that movie anymore, unfortunately children are now being fed a daily ration of Harry Potter and other such lures into the occult and into the arms of the devil. Some can see the OUIJA board is a step towards evil, but why are so many (millions) blind to spells, chants, and worse that are not even so subtle but oh so real draws of the devil on our children. Satan is not always a fierce black dog or a hideous demon, he comes to deceive and sometimes he does it very well, as an enchanting story, an irresistible person or persons. Satan is the inventor of lies and he uses other people who follow him, who too are deceived, to do his dirty work. The closer we are to Christ, in prayer and scripture and Church and obedience, and the further we pull ourselves away from the world and all its traps, the more clearly we can hear God’s voice and the better we can discern good from evil. Many times the devil can blur the lines so well that we are blinded to the Truth, that is why God tells us so clearly in scripture to be on guard. We must be on guard, and we must tell others the Truth, because if we Love them truly as Christ tells us to, we will not want to see them go to hell.

By: starfish

starfish — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:25:33 +0000

I’ll tell you what movie completely scared me and made me think of hell. It was Silent Hill. From beginning to the horrible end, it creeped me out, and I like a good scare. But there was something about this movie that got to me. Maybe it was because I felt an absence of goodness and light throughout the movie. It gave me the shivers.

By: gdallaire1

gdallaire1 — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:43:39 +0000

Thanks Doris for the post on St. Faustina’s experiences. It is very interesting.
Contrawise, you may have read that St. John Bosco was miraculously protected on several occasions by a huge grey colored dog. In fact the dog (who came out of nowhere) protected him against 2 men who attacked him in an alleyway. This dog repeatedly would show up out of nowhere and accompany him sometimes at night when he was walking through the city backstreets making his sick calls, only to disappear again for months at a time.

May God bless you,
Glenn Dalaire

By: Doris Rodriguez

Doris Rodriguez — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:28:04 +0000

Glenn, while I was reading St. Faustina’s diary several years ago, I came across her mention of black dogs in Entry #320. I have re-printed it here for you to read because I thought you might find it interesting. The text that follows her entry was my response and reaction at the time at hearing of something so similar to my own experiences.

[Entry #320 from St. Faustina's diary: “After the adoration, halfway to my cell, I was surrounded by a pack of huge black dogs who were jumping and howling and trying to tear me to pieces. I realized that they were not dogs, but demons. One of them spoke up in a rage, ‘Because you have snatched so many souls away from us this night, we will tear you to pieces.’ I answered, ‘If that is the will of the most merciful God, tear me to pieces, for I have justly deserved it, because I am the most miserable of all sinners, and God is ever holy and infinitely merciful.’

To these words all the demons answered, ‘Let us flee, for she is not alone; the Almighty is with her!’ And they vanished like dust, like the noise of the road, while I continued on my way to my cell undisturbed, finishing my Te Deum and pondering the infinite and unfathomable mercy of God.”]

From Doris, Apr 24, 2006: I am surprised at the parallel between St. Faustina’s faith journey and my own. I, too, experienced mysterious encounters with “black dogs” and “black demons” in my early twenties as I searched relentlessly for God. Looking back, I can see that my soul was in a perilous position and that I was teetering on the edge of a great abyss … where one false step would have sent me plummeting into its eternal blackness. I praise and magnify my Heavenly Father for keeping me safe and ordering my steps. I thank my Guardian Angel for protecting me and guiding me through that terrible and dangerous obstacle course of worldly disobedience. I praise and thank the Holy Spirit for never giving up on me, and for constantly calling me to True North.

It is difficult to read my journals during that period because they are so full of the world and all its empty promises! It is clear to me there in black and white that I was trying to walk in both worlds – the physical and the spiritual – and I was failing miserably at the latter. O how patient our Lord must be with His creation! How we must test His patience every moment of every day!

It is difficult to watch my own twenty-something children walk through the same obstacle course that I traversed some thirty years ago. I have tried to guide them through it myself, but they will not listen to wisdom or age or even experience. It is with great hope and faith that I relinquish each one of them into the loving care of our Father in heaven Who loves them even more than I do, as hard as that is to fathom. My prayers and tears on their behalf are all that I can truly offer at this time of their life, and I have to believe that this, along with my willful suffering, is enough.

By: murf

murf — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:17:12 +0000

This may or may not be news to some people but it’s not just ouija boards,seances, and tarot cards that can lead one into demons but check out your local hospital. I work in one and can tell you that “complementary therapies” are nothing more than the occult. Reiki is NOT about just another form of healing. It is about channeling spirits and the Reiki “attuned masters” (yes, that’s what they are called), channel the “universal life force”. It is nothing short of luring gullible people into the occult. Unfortunately, it is the Catholic nuns who are leading this in many hospitals and retreat centers.

By: T.L.

T.L. — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:09:13 +0000

Actually, the “eternal” was purposeful as that is the temptation that sin and demons offer. If we did not believe that sin could offer “eternal” and immediate happiness, we certainly would not be tempted by it. Thanks for the comment and the compliment!

By: gdallaire1

gdallaire1 — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:19:04 +0000

Hi Doris
I am not surprised about the demonic “black dogs” that you were seeing. In fact, St Gemma Galgani describes a demonic black dog that pysically attacked her and dislocated her shoulder.
In a letter to her spiritual director she (Saint Gemma) writes:
“Today I thought I was to be entirely free from that nauseous animal, and instead he has knocked me about greatly. I had gone to bed with the fyull intention of sleeping, but it turned out otherwise. He began to beat me with such blows that I feared I would die. Hee was in the shape of a big black dog, and he put his “paws” on my shoulders, hurting me greatly. I felt it so much in all my bones that I thought that they were broken. Alo, when I was taking holy water he wrenched my arm so violently that I fell to the floor from the pain. The bone was dislocated, but went back into place because Jesus touched it for me, and all was remedied”.

This and other attacks of the Devil against St Gemma are descibed in a recent post on my blog entitled “St Gemma versus the Devil” located here:
http://stgemmagalgani.blogspot.com/
I have posted there many of her writings in her battles against the demonic.
Glenn Dallaire