Reiki Opens Doors to Evil Spirits
Fr. Salvador Ramon Hernandez is the official exorcist of the Diocese of
Cartagena-Murcia in Spain. Four consecutive Bishops have trusted him
with this office. He has decided to talk about his fight against
devils, evil spells and darkness in a recent book-interview with
journalist José María Zavala titled This Is How the Devil Is Conquered:
The Possessed and the Exorcists Speak (Así se vence al demonio. Hablan los Poseidos. Hablan los exorcistas, Libros Libres, 2012).
Fr. Hernandez’ work has the same aim as his teacher, the
official exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, Fr, Gabriele Amorth, who in
1990 published “An Exorcist Tells His Story,’
that is, “to evangelize, to help persons oppressed by evil, to prevent
others from taking risks with dangerous practices (witchcraft, “new age”
esotericism, divination, charms ...) and to encourage the habit of
frequenting the Sacraments and closeness to God.”
Q: How did you come to serve the Church as an exorcist?
Fr. Hernandez: I had 27 years of pastoral work in the prison system. From the beginning I found men there who had played with spiritualism, Ouija boards, etc., or made satanic pacts. They told me they could not change, that everything was going wrong because they belonged to the Devil, that they were hooked…
Q: Hooked as drug addicts?
Fr. Hernandez: I’ve been working with drug addicts for years. I founded an association to help them break their habit. Many do not admit their problem: They tell you: “Nah, I’m just a pothead [hashish smoker] on weekends,” or “I’m not hooked, I’m in control.” But, they are not in control nor are those addicted to drugs or magic.
Q: Is there a white magic? Is there magic without demonic intervention?
‘Good’ wizard Dumbledore makes children familiar with magic & the occult
Fr. Hernandez: There is no good magic, no white magic; everything is
black magic. All magic is the action of devils. When spells or hexes
are cast, there is always a witch behind it. A witch or sorcerer is a
person who seeks power and is willing to do harm. He or she makes a pact
with the Devil, but the Devil always ends up dominating the wizard.
Some magicians, when they see things are out of control and they are
being destroyed, come to me and ask me for help. To free them, many
years of exorcism and a change of life, a strong Catholic life, are
necessary.
Q: How much of the New Age is really diabolic, with the demonic presence?
Fr. Hernandez: Many of the New Age practices, such as Reiki, have someone who lays hands on another. What guarantee do you have about that person? It can be a witch or warlock in disguise. I have treated many who come from Reiki, from receiving this laying on of hands, who have opened themselves to spirit guides and beings. It is like Spiritualism, it is opening a door to evil spirits!
Transcendental meditation spread by the media, above; promoted in the prison system, below
Q: How did you come to serve the Church as an exorcist?
Fr. Hernandez: I had 27 years of pastoral work in the prison system. From the beginning I found men there who had played with spiritualism, Ouija boards, etc., or made satanic pacts. They told me they could not change, that everything was going wrong because they belonged to the Devil, that they were hooked…
Q: Hooked as drug addicts?
Fr. Hernandez: I’ve been working with drug addicts for years. I founded an association to help them break their habit. Many do not admit their problem: They tell you: “Nah, I’m just a pothead [hashish smoker] on weekends,” or “I’m not hooked, I’m in control.” But, they are not in control nor are those addicted to drugs or magic.
Q: Is there a white magic? Is there magic without demonic intervention?
‘Good’ wizard Dumbledore makes children familiar with magic & the occult
Q: How much of the New Age is really diabolic, with the demonic presence?
Fr. Hernandez: Many of the New Age practices, such as Reiki, have someone who lays hands on another. What guarantee do you have about that person? It can be a witch or warlock in disguise. I have treated many who come from Reiki, from receiving this laying on of hands, who have opened themselves to spirit guides and beings. It is like Spiritualism, it is opening a door to evil spirits!
Transcendental meditation spread by the media, above; promoted in the prison system, below
This can also occur in transcendental meditation. The U.S. Bishops
Conference explained that Reiki and other New Age techniques are not
effective according to the scientific community. They belong to the
world of superstition. But, I have seen various cases of devils entering
persons through Reiki or invocations.
Q. What if a person oppressed by the Devil tells you, “Well, Father, I don’t need you anymore. I already pray on my own and go to Mass occasionally, I don’t need your exorcisms”?
Fr. Hernandez: Just words, and not true. A New Age teacher who came to me for exorcisms did not want to practice a full Christian life. I told her, “No one has a hotline straight to God.” You have to go to Him through the Sacraments and prayer ... The other path is New Age and deception.
When a person is released and lets down his guard, he exposes himself to the Devil. In these cases one cannot be inconstant; you can’t be exorcised with water and salt and, then, say, “Okay I’m done.” No, a person needs conversion and the Sacraments. There are people who are freed from the Devil who then return to the places where they used to get drunk or engage in debauchery. This breaks their life of faith and exposes them to the danger of a new possession.
Q. Does it make sense for an exorcist to interrogate the Devil? I mean to when he is under ‘attack’ and is very weak ...
Fr. Hernandez: St. John called the Devil the father of the lie. Of the 20 things he tells you, most of them are false. When the Devil is already weakened and exhausted, he may tell you the day he will finally leave [the possessed person], but there is only a feeble possibility he is telling the truth. Usually I never believe him. Jesus did not parley with devils, He expelled them. It is useless to try to get information from the Devil on dogmatic subjects, exegesis, etc ... A waste of time. The devils all try to lead the person to his destruction.
Q. What are the symptoms that indicate a demonic presence in a person?
Fr. Hernandez: They all have an aversion to the sacred, crosses, holy images, the Bible ... Then, there are other signs, different according to the person: uncommon strength, dilated pupils, unnatural things, speaking unknown languages, etc ...
Q What are the causes for this diabolical presence?
Fr. Hernandez: Today there are less “defenses” because there is more disbelief and hedonism and turning one’s back to God. We are returning to the pre-Christian epoch, as in the Roman Empire. That void is being filled with false substitutes: New Age, cults, Satanism ...
Q. And how does one combat the evil diabolical action?
Fr. Hernandez: One has to fight it with prayer, the Sacraments, a good confession, praying the Rosary, meditating on the Word of God, devotion to St. Michael the Archangel. ... I also see that many Catholic homes today do not have any statues or pictures.
The laying on of hands in Reiki opens doors to demonic spirits in a person
Also, it is important to baptize children as soon as possible ... A
nurse or a doctor – perhaps one is a member of a Satanic sect – could
put a spell on the baby before his baptism! In one case that I record in
my book, the Devil said: “I came before,” that is to say, the child was
consecrated to the Devil before he was baptized.
Q. This subject of warlocks/witches is a complex one. How do you find out if a person is making evil spells? How can it be proved? Africa has a problem with thousands of people who are stigmatized as alleged sorcerers, when they are really only children or the elderly, scapegoats ... But in Central African Republic, for example, one of the crimes is for “causing harm by witchcraft,” inherited from the law code of the French colonial era ...
Fr. Hernandez: Of course there are many charlatans, hustlers and profiteers who are not real Satanists and are false magicians, con artists who take money from the ignorant. But, if it is really proven - with evidence and witnesses - that someone is a satanic priest, someone who is truly effective and repeatedly causes evil, shouldn’t there be a punishment for a person like that? There should be laws to forbid this. We, the exorcists, pray for mercy and ask for the conversion of all..
Q. How is a 21st century exorcist formed?
A possessed person has a strong aversion to sacramentals like the Rosary
Fr. Hernandez: The theoretical courses given at the Regina Apostolurum
in Rome on laws, the topic of sects, psychology ... The exorcists and
persons working on issues related to sects or Satanism go to these
courses. I was in a course like this.
But also, you need the life experience. I became a friend of Fr.
Gabriele Amorth, the exorcist of the Diocese of Rome. I had read his
book on exorcism and witchcraft. He had learned from his teacher, Fr.
Candido Passionist Amantini. I was with Fr. Amorth for a year, learning
from him in Rome. My four Bishops saw the need for specialization; hence
my experience with Amorth. It’s good to specialize, know the theory and
accumulate cases.
Q. What did you learn?
Fr. Hernandez: Well, we have both seen that the ancient exorcism ritual of 1614, synthesized by Paul V, is more effective than the new modern revision. The liturgists who made that modern revision did not consult the exorcists: The new version has very beautiful psalms, but it is decaffeinated, smooth. I used to use the modern ritual from the ‘90s. But today I see that the 1614 exorcism is more effective.
Q. Does it have to do with it being in Latin?
Fr. Hernandez: I don’t know if it has anything to do with Latin. What is clear is that it has more “commands,” more expulsion orders, it is stronger.
Q. How many exorcists are there in Spain?
The Devil is behind all magic & occult practices
Fr. Hernandez: One statistic says there are 18 dioceses with an
official exorcist, which is only 1/3 of the country. Those who work in
this field consult one another, share experiences, etc ... Fr. Lorenzo
Alzina in Mallorca, who has been doing this since 1976, consults me on
cases, and I send him some ... We also talk to Fr. Juan José Gallego in
Barcelona and Fr. Enrique here in Madrid ... “I have such and such a
case, what would you do?” For example, cases that are at a standstill.
But, the ritual needs to be made frequently. There are persons who have
travel every week to another region to receive exorcisms. There should
be more priests dedicated to this ministry.
Q. How does the exorcist avoid imagining he is divine? In some countries there are cases of exorcists who, because of their fame, fall into disobedience. How does one prevent this?
Fr. Hernandez: Our reference must always be Christ and His humility. Humility is the antidote against all the deceits of the Devil. “Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart,” says Our Lord. Furthermore, it is not the exorcist who releases anyone, we have no merit. It is Our Lord who frees.
Q. What if a person oppressed by the Devil tells you, “Well, Father, I don’t need you anymore. I already pray on my own and go to Mass occasionally, I don’t need your exorcisms”?
Fr. Hernandez: Just words, and not true. A New Age teacher who came to me for exorcisms did not want to practice a full Christian life. I told her, “No one has a hotline straight to God.” You have to go to Him through the Sacraments and prayer ... The other path is New Age and deception.
When a person is released and lets down his guard, he exposes himself to the Devil. In these cases one cannot be inconstant; you can’t be exorcised with water and salt and, then, say, “Okay I’m done.” No, a person needs conversion and the Sacraments. There are people who are freed from the Devil who then return to the places where they used to get drunk or engage in debauchery. This breaks their life of faith and exposes them to the danger of a new possession.
Q. Does it make sense for an exorcist to interrogate the Devil? I mean to when he is under ‘attack’ and is very weak ...
Fr. Hernandez: St. John called the Devil the father of the lie. Of the 20 things he tells you, most of them are false. When the Devil is already weakened and exhausted, he may tell you the day he will finally leave [the possessed person], but there is only a feeble possibility he is telling the truth. Usually I never believe him. Jesus did not parley with devils, He expelled them. It is useless to try to get information from the Devil on dogmatic subjects, exegesis, etc ... A waste of time. The devils all try to lead the person to his destruction.
Q. What are the symptoms that indicate a demonic presence in a person?
Fr. Hernandez: They all have an aversion to the sacred, crosses, holy images, the Bible ... Then, there are other signs, different according to the person: uncommon strength, dilated pupils, unnatural things, speaking unknown languages, etc ...
Q What are the causes for this diabolical presence?
Fr. Hernandez: Today there are less “defenses” because there is more disbelief and hedonism and turning one’s back to God. We are returning to the pre-Christian epoch, as in the Roman Empire. That void is being filled with false substitutes: New Age, cults, Satanism ...
Q. And how does one combat the evil diabolical action?
Fr. Hernandez: One has to fight it with prayer, the Sacraments, a good confession, praying the Rosary, meditating on the Word of God, devotion to St. Michael the Archangel. ... I also see that many Catholic homes today do not have any statues or pictures.
The laying on of hands in Reiki opens doors to demonic spirits in a person
Q. This subject of warlocks/witches is a complex one. How do you find out if a person is making evil spells? How can it be proved? Africa has a problem with thousands of people who are stigmatized as alleged sorcerers, when they are really only children or the elderly, scapegoats ... But in Central African Republic, for example, one of the crimes is for “causing harm by witchcraft,” inherited from the law code of the French colonial era ...
Fr. Hernandez: Of course there are many charlatans, hustlers and profiteers who are not real Satanists and are false magicians, con artists who take money from the ignorant. But, if it is really proven - with evidence and witnesses - that someone is a satanic priest, someone who is truly effective and repeatedly causes evil, shouldn’t there be a punishment for a person like that? There should be laws to forbid this. We, the exorcists, pray for mercy and ask for the conversion of all..
Q. How is a 21st century exorcist formed?
A possessed person has a strong aversion to sacramentals like the Rosary
Q. What did you learn?
Fr. Hernandez: Well, we have both seen that the ancient exorcism ritual of 1614, synthesized by Paul V, is more effective than the new modern revision. The liturgists who made that modern revision did not consult the exorcists: The new version has very beautiful psalms, but it is decaffeinated, smooth. I used to use the modern ritual from the ‘90s. But today I see that the 1614 exorcism is more effective.
Q. Does it have to do with it being in Latin?
Fr. Hernandez: I don’t know if it has anything to do with Latin. What is clear is that it has more “commands,” more expulsion orders, it is stronger.
Q. How many exorcists are there in Spain?
The Devil is behind all magic & occult practices
Q. How does the exorcist avoid imagining he is divine? In some countries there are cases of exorcists who, because of their fame, fall into disobedience. How does one prevent this?
Fr. Hernandez: Our reference must always be Christ and His humility. Humility is the antidote against all the deceits of the Devil. “Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart,” says Our Lord. Furthermore, it is not the exorcist who releases anyone, we have no merit. It is Our Lord who frees.