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October 7, 2008

Galatians: 1:13-24; Luke 10: 38-42

My brothers in Christ,

I received a letter yesterday from a man named John.  He wanted to talk to me about demon possession.  He said demons ran his life for twenty years.  I said sure why not.  So I talked to him for about an hour and a half last night and about the same today.  He told me a very sincere story of a man who lost his faith and in doing so did some horrible things.  I am not sure if I would call it possession.  I would have to talk to a priest about this case.    I do know the man was sincere and spoke from his heart.  He basically told me that dark voices made him commit his adulterous acts and all his acts of depravity.  The bottom line is he retuned to the faith of his childhood which was Catholicism, when he had no where to go. He returned to his faith and now the voices have gone.  He receives all the sacraments of the church.  He refuses to marry again and he lives a life of charity.  He gives freely to his church his time.

As Christians in a modern world we tend to believe the doctors first and then the supernatural.  I had a marvelous conversation with a man who says evil took over his life and God saved him.  Who am I to say he did not do this.   I am not going to say this man was possessed or not.  The point is he believed that he was and he returned to his faith because he believed that he would be saved if he did.  So who am I to say that he was not.  I am going out on the limb to say this, I believe the Holy Spirit drove him back to his faith.  You all are free think that perhaps this was the power of positive thinking.  I will take the road of the Lord.  I found his story to be compelling and most inspirational especially about his prayer and the fact he started praying the rosary.  The rosary is said to keep people away from sin.  This is what John says about his sin:

I think at the age 19 I let something in the door and it did not go away.  It stayed with me like disease festering until I was over 40 years old.  I think it would have killed me.  Thank you for letting me tell my story.  God Bless.(see the entire interview on Catholic America Today.  Catholicamericatoday.net  It is still free.)

 

As Catholics we believe God forgives our sins there is never a point of no return while you are still living and breathing.  We need to hear stories of hope to inspire us to do better with our faith.  Carol wrote a remarkable story too about a friend of ours named Leann.  Her story tells about the gift of a remarkable boy that strengthened her faith in God.  That too can be seen in Catholic America Today.  I am drained from talking to John so I am going to call it today.  I urge u to read it today.  To register is free.

God gives us special children. The following is the story of Nicholas (Nick), a special child, a gift from God to his mother, LeaAnn. What you will read was written by LeaAnn with just some minor editing by Carol (Serenity).  See it in Catholic America Today.  Get inspired, Catch the fever, Read the Bible and Pray!

 

An Interview John David, who claims he was possessed by a demon:  (Caution:  Extreme Adult Content Warning )

 

I met John David on a Catholic dating site that will go name less.  Actually he said he got my name from the site.  I never met him on the site.  He got my email from a friend of his who gets my letter everyday.  He said he talked to a few people on the site about me and he then contacted me.  His email told me that he wanted to talk to me about demon possession and I emailed him back and he said he would talk to me on yahoo chat.  I then got on chat with him and the following exchange took place.

(John David Is not his real name it is just a user name that he uses)

 

 

John David:  I know you are thinking that I am crazy, I read your profile and I know that you and I will get along.

 

Vern Paul:  Why do you say that?

 

John David:  I noticed that you served some time in the Navy. 

 

Vern Paul:  Yes I did, I served on the USS Pyro from 1985 to 1989.  When did you serve?

 

John David:  I was on the USS Point Defiance as a snipe.  I served from 1979 to 1987.  I got out as an E -6. 

 

Vern Paul:  So you said in your email that you were possessed?  You are serious, none of my friends put you up to this?  And what were you possessed by?

 

John David:  Well let me tell you the story as I remember it….

  That is when I think my whole ordeal started.  I was 19 at the time and it was my first time away from home.  I was all alone.  I did not talk to the other people in my division which was B division.  I was a loner, and I was homesick.  I come from a small town in Michigan which will remain nameless.  I wrote home everyday. I was on my first deployment it was a Westpac.  Our destination was Australia where we were to conduct operations with the Australian military.  I was on LSD the ship not the drug.  The year was 1982.  The Point Defiance was on its way to the Philippines for some much needed liberty.  The favorite port at the time was Subic Bay.  Subic Bay was known for its hookers they there were about 21,000 hookers to 7000 sailors.  Now here is where my thing for sex started.  I was not possessed in Subic. At least I do not think so. 

 

Vern Paul:  I know my readers are going to ask but what exactly attracted you to subic.

 

John David:  Well lets just say for 20 dollars you can have any woman you wanted. I was lonely.  Also they these shows and women would pick up things with their….well I will leave that out…

Vern Paul:  So what exactly happened to you in subic?

 

John David:  Well I went out with a buddy of mine.  Call him Dan.  Dan and I spent three days in this bar in Subic City.  While we were there we drank all the beer we could drink and this stuff called mojo punch or something like that. Let’s just say by the end of the three days I could not remember how many women I slept with.  It was quite a lot though.  It was there something got inside me and it was not the clap.

 

Vern Paul:  ok…but how does this lead to possession?

 

John David:  I am no expert but I am getting to that… I was in the Navy for close to eight years and when I went on liberty it never really mattered where we were, I would go to the girlie bars  I thought nothing of this until I got out of the Navy.  I think the voices started then.  They just had me hooked on sex.

 

Vern Paul:  Yes so far you just described the all American sailor, I see no demons yet. Tell me about your religious background.  Were you going to church at the time? You started to hear voices.  What were they like?

 

John David:  Oh yea.  I am a cradle Catholic.  I attended mass every Sunday.  Even while in the service, but I never really paid attention to it nor did I pray very much.  The voices started to consume me.  They would drive me to have sex even when I did not want to.  I would go by a pretty lady and I would hear a voice say to try to have sex with her.

 

Vern Paul:  Well you know it is a sin to have sex outside of Marriage….The voices could be just your hormones talking…

 

John David:  Yes I know that…It was definitely more then hormones.  My hormones I could control.  No, weird ideas would pop into my head.

 

Vern Paul:  What sort of ideas? And can you explain what happened after the service.

 

John David:  Ok, I got a government Job managing boilers in a government building, I was making good money so I got Married.  We were married in her home town of Detroit and then we moved to California where I worked for in a federal building in downtown LA.  We lived in a small town called Santa Anna.  I would get weird ideas of where to masturbate and what to look at….like weird pornographic movies…I went to Adult video stores to look for weird sex.  All along I heard voices telling me what to buy.

 

Vern Paul:  So what happened.

 

John David: Ok, I am getting there.  Our honey moon was in Hawaii and on our first night I could not have sex with my wife.  Something told me to go down stairs.

 

Vern Paul:  What told you to go down stairs?  An actual voice?

 

John David:  It was not really a voice, it was more of a force. Sometimes I would hear a voice and other times I would be driven. But you have to understand, I would just follow it blindly.  I had no control.  I was like a robot.  It was an unseen force like I was being driven.

 

Vern Paul:  Sounds like you are a migratory whale….What was down stairs?

 

John David:  At the time I did not know…I only knew once I got there. Our hotel was on Waikiki.  When I walked out I was greeted by a very busty prostitute.  I was on fire and I wanted her not my wife.  I was in trouble.  I did not sleep with the prostitute but I then slept with my wife and thought about the other woman.  The prostitute haunted my honeymoon.  I was like an animal in heat.

 

Vern Paul:  Wow how did that make you feel.

 

John David:  I felt like crap.  My insides were all out.  I was full of guilt.  After our honey moon I got involved with Aol chat rooms.  I would get online and just chat with anyone.  I began to have relations on line.

 

Vern Paul:  What?  Explain that.

 

John David:  I did not think anything of it but at the time I was thinking about sex constantly.  I would just get on line to see if anyone wanted to talk about it.  I was addicted.  This is kind of hard for me to talk about.  I have never told anyone about this.

 

Vern Paul:  I understand, but what made you think that this was the cause of demons and not just a sickness.

 

John David:  I guess you think I am a nut.

 

Vern Paul:  No, but I need to take a break and look something up.  No, by no means do I think you are a whack job.  I am very interested in contacting you tomorrow.  Perhaps by phone?

 

At this point John and I decided to take a much needed break.  I had to gather my thoughts.  In my mind this was not a case of demon possession so I had to look it up.  I also had some questions for him.  I was curious if he had gone to any therapy for his problem which sounded like a severe case of sex addiction.

 

I looked up the following in the Catholic encyclopedia:  Possession:

He may attack man’s body from without (obsession), or assume control of it from within (possession). As we gather from the Fathers and the theologians, the soul itself can never be “possessed” nor deprived of liberty, though its ordinary control over the members of the body may be hindered by theobsessing spirit (cf. St. Aug., “De sp. et an.”, 27; St. Thomas, “In II Sent.”, d. VIII, Q. i; Ribet, “La mystique divine”, Paris, 1883, pp. 190 sqq.).

 

I noticed a person can be controlled by obsession.  I had forgotten about that term.  This case just did not seem to be a case of possession.  In possession the human seems to get lost in the personality of the demon and that was not happening here.  John David just seemed like he was continuing on his merry way.

 

The following day I contacted him via the internet.  We spoke on Yahoo chat.  Then he gave me his number and I called him.  John David seemed very sincere.  This whole thing at first sounded like a prank from one of my friends, but the more I chatted with him the more this sounded like the real thing.

 

Vern Paul:  Good morning John, nice to see you again.  Are you ready to continue, I have a few questions for you.

 

John David:  Good morning Paul, I am fine. Go right ahead.

 

Vern Paul:  Well you were talking about your experiences on line.  Did this take up a lot of your time, and what exactly were you doing.

John David:  Well, this is embarrassing, but I would come home from work…and I would get on line after dinner.  My wife would be watching her TV.  She hates computers.  Anyways I would start chatting.  I had my own office and I would tell her not to disturb me, and I would shut the door.  I would tell my wife I was working.  I would chat until 1:00 am. 

 

Vern Paul:  Can you give me an example of who you were chatting to and what about?

 

John David:  Well, I would talk to friends and I would try to meet other women.  For example, I met this one gal in Tennessee.  Her name was Doris.  She said her husband had been ignoring her and she needed attention.  So she got on line with me and we would have cybersex and we would exchange basic sexual fantasies on line.  At that time I would look at a lot of porn on line.

 

Vern Paul: Meaning you masturbated?

 

John David:  Yes about 5 times a night.  I then would spend 50.00 a week on porn.

 

Vern Paul:  Now were there voices telling you what to do and was it just confined to the computer?

 

John David:  Of course I heard voices, and no my behavior was not confined to the computer.  On the way home these voices would make me drive passe the hooker district.  I would drive up and down looking for sex.  Any kind of sex, sometimes I would pay 100.00 sometimes only 40.00.

 

Vern Paul:  Wow, did you ever go to counseling or seek any help for this problem?

 

John David:  At the time I knew I had a problem and yes I wanted help.  By nature, I loved my wife.  She was the greatest thing since sliced bread.  I did not want to cheat on my wife.  I wanted to stop this behavior.  I was a member of Kaiser so I sought out counseling.  The lady put me on a drug called …I forget…oh it was Paxil.  She said I was mildly depressed and sought to feel better through sex.

 

Vern Paul:  Is there more, did you get better?

 

John David:  No, it got worse if you can believe that.  I started seeing a lady on the side.  I stopped going to counseling and the voices told me not to take the medicine.  I had an affair and my wife caught us having sex.  We had been married for about 1. 5 years.  We got divorced.  I then cheated on my girl friend and we broke up. I was ok as long as I was not married.  I still saw the hookers, I still did the porn.  I felt empty.  I thought if I went back to church things would be better.  So I started going back to mass but felt restless.  I then met someone.  We dated for a year.  The voices subsided .

 

Vern Paul:  Geez, how long did this last?  I am not really seeing any evidence that you were possessed.  I mean you continue living your life.  This sounds more like a case of obsession.  Do you know what that is?  Not that I am an expert or anything.

 

John David:  Obsession or possession, what ever you call it the voices were there.  They were evil and they controlled my life.  Anyways my wife and I got involved in the swinger crowd and we started wife swapping and going to orgies.  The voices told me to do every depraved thing I could get my hands on.  I slept with men, half men, animals and geez everything.  I finally got caught by the police having sex with a prostitute.  That ended my short marriage of 2 years. 

 

Vern Paul:  wow, can you describe these voices?

 

John David:  They would come in my sleep and while I was working.  They would get me to do things, like masturbate in my car or while at work.  They made me think of nothing else but sex.

 

 

Vern Paul:  Were you going to church at the time?

 

John David:  (he was crying at this point)  No, They made me do things I would never do.

 

Vern Paul:  What finally made you stop or have you?

 

John David:  After my divorce, I took a long drive.  My second divorce was my eye opener.  I started driving. I had to clear my head. I stopped in Albuquerque New Mexico from LA.  I stopped in a small church. I still remember the name of the church to this day. It was in Spanish, called Sangre de Christo.   I told the receptionist that I was in need of confession.  She told me that the priest was not available.  I started crying.  I would not stop.  She got me a priest.  My confession lasted an hour and half.  A huge weight was lifted. I started going back to mass.  Then communion, I went back to mass and started praying everyday.  I made friends with the priest.  The voices went away. Another voice told me to pray the rosary.  I started praying the rosary everyday.  I pray the rosary twice a day and pray up to five hours a day now.  The voices, the dark voices have not returned.  Ge, I remember days that the voices would talk to me all day long.  Jesus has saved me.   They have not returned.  I know they left because I have gone back to church.  I am positive this is the reason that I am healed.  I wanted you to know this story.  I wanted others to hear this.  I could save others form going through this.  I think I went through this so that I could talk to others.  God wanted me to experience this so that I may help others to see the light.  You can go dark and return because God forgives our sins.   He wants us to come back.  I am sure of this now.  There is a reason for everything.

 

I think at the age 19 I let something in the door and it did not go away.  It stayed with me like disease festering until I was over 40 years old.  I think it would have killed me.  Thank you for letting me tell my story.  God Bless.

 

We stopped at that point. I was stunned.  My energy was drained.

I have heard of things like this before.  Who is to say this was not evil making itself known.  What is a sickness or disease?  In the past people use to blame afflictions on demons and evil spirits.  We have since become modernized.  As a society we know better now.  Those demons and evil spirits were all just superstitions and old wise tales.  After this conversation with John David, I wonder now.  You be the judge. John David was afflicted with this sickness of his for over 20 years.  He told me he has been clean now for a year with no relapses.  He cured himself with prayer, confession and mass.  I am not saying all people can do this.  I am not saying that at all.  Let me know what you think.

 

 

 

 

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