THE SOUTHERN NEBRASKA REGISTER

Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

10 October 1952

(page 3)

LISTENING IN

In Contact With The Spirit World

A fall book deals with the life of a faker who was a so-called poet, an exhibitionist, a drug addict, a devil-worshipper, and who mixed the so-called Black-Mass (worship of the devil) with sex orgies. It seems impossible that a man could openly exalt Satan and get a following, but Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) did. Like a great deal of his life, his Black Masses were a fake. A fallen priest is supposed to celebrate the rite, but Crowley did it himself, under the pretense that he had been ordained in a previous existence.

In our day, the devil is not anxious to have people believe in him as a person, but only to be evil. I was told, however, in Mexico City a few months ago by the pastor of thousands of souls that he occasionally comes across a man or woman who prays to the devil, in return for favors. Mexicans, however low they may fall, do not quit believing in a life to come. Hence the medieval belief in evil spirits is still strong, as well as faith in God, His saints, and the good angels.

A convert to the church who was once a medium wrote to me some weeks ago that, as a Spiritualist, he was simply an outright fake, but occasionally an unseen power came into play and nearly scared the guts out of him. He admitted that he became an alcoholic in worry over the role he was living; then came divine grace, and he became a Catholic.

Holy Scripture warns us that we have three great enemies—the world, the flesh, and the devil, From what I read about Aleister Crowley in newspapers years ago, I am convinced that he was in actual touch with the powers of darkness. Most of the witchcraft in history has been imagined, but there is some genuine communication with evil spirits and it leaves an awful trail of sin and misery behind it.

People should not play those games, or use such instruments as Ouija boards, that give an implicit invitation to evil spirits to prowl around or break through. Even a passive invitation to these foul spirits is sometimes enough to bring them on. Possession by devils, which is very rare in our age but still happens, means that they take over the human body and speak or act through it, in ways not possible to human beings, such as through the fluent use of hitherto unknown tongues. Obsession means that evil spirits are allowed to torment people, though not actually to possess them. Occasionally saints have been tried by obsessions, as a test from God, but they soon find out that holy water is a potent weapon, for its power of exorcism is beyond all question. St. Teresa of Avila said it is more powerful than even the crucifix in this regard. There is certainly nothing superstitious about its use, for it is blessed by a priest in the name of the Church, with a prayer that its heaven-given powers will be available when it is used. It is not simple water but the prayer that acts.