Narcissism and the Dynamics of Evil

Narcissism and the Dynamics of Evil

     I found this article via a link on Facebook. I was deeply impressed by the expansiveness of its detail on the subject matter. Narcissism and evil are two words commonly tossed around, without any real discussion occurring regarding the substantial meaning of such terminology. Years ago I read something that explained the difference between acquired discernment and infused discernment. Similarly, one could employ the same distinction between acquired knowledge and experiential knowledge. There is a lot of value to the wisdom that evolves from cutthroat heartache and experience.
     Evil often is no further away than the proximity of family. Good can give birth to evil, and evil can give birth to good. God has privileged my journey to expose me to facets of evil I could have never anticipated, much less created in my experience. Significant to myself, is that the realization and recognition of evil leads one to the awesome identification with God. God becomes even more real, more apparent, and more evidenced against the backdrop of evil, whether it be human or supernatural. Applying such insight and knowledge to real life situations and relationships is the challenge.
     Years ago there was a possessed individual being exorcised in our diocese. This is not public or common knowledge, but merely known to those who assisted in praying for the individual. He was hostaged by Lucifer. It was a scene out of an inexplicable, paranormal movie. There is no substitute for the real thing. Frighteningly real is satanic power and presence. Yes, it demonstrates all of those bizarre manifestations most only read about. Frighteningly real for sure. Yet the fear passes. The phenomena dances only in that moment of prayerful confrontation, and it is agonizing and would seem eternal, but it does pass. The only reason I am sharing this tale is because it is a backdrop so to speak, a frame of reference or measure, for a bigger, more insidious facet of evil.
     To me, the worst cases of obsession (common) and possession(rare), are not always the most severe diabolical conditions. The condition itself of course is unpleasant and undesirable by standards of sanity and common sense. However, it is often our relationship to the person in the condition of bondage that is most frightening. A person who we have no personal relationship to, no invested interest, even in such grave spiritual condition poses no threat to our person. Like I mentioned above, sometimes the worst of evils is too close to home, so close in proximity, we are blind to see it. It would be to painful to expose its existence to our psyche.
     We first must contend with our own sinfulness and personal evil inclinations, in my opinion, before we can even become spiritually qualified to discern it in others. Frequenting the sacraments, particularly confession, and much time in sacrifice and prayer accomplishes this initial obligation. We do not have to be spiritually perfect to discern, but at least spiritually fit. We have our good days and bad days, our successes and our failures, but we keep on in our pursuit of remedy to our fallen nature. Once this has become a regular practice, we can now look beyond ourselves and learn from the world we exist within, and in the immediate sense, that includes those personal relationships of family and intimate friends.
      In the Our Father prayer, we petition God to "deliver us from evil." Early on in conversion, it never occurs to us that it will be from those family and friends that God's removes us from the source of evil. Satan likes to hide, to masquerade, to present himself as good and ideal. We only need to look at the fruit, and not only the fruit of human condition and concupiscence. That is a predictable and to be expected variable. We all have it. The rotten fruit of evil cannot remain hidden or masked. Love is transparent always. Evil tends to opacity. Our senses sharpen over time with prayer and sacramental frequency because we begin to share deeply and intimately in Divine life and nature. It requires a degree of mental preparation and spiritual reinforcement to prepare us for the unpleasant reality of what needs to be pruned.
     Soul ties are powerful, yet bondages must be broken when exposed to the light of Christ. If someone in our close circle lives in evil, they must be pruned, even if it is a spouse, parent, or a child. Tough love as the psychologists feed us, is easy love, because it is boundary motivated and so selfish, and self-interested. It exalts the self at the expense of a weaker human being. Tough love has absolutely nothing to do with authentic love. The Cross. Now that is tough love. The Cross is the ultimate and consummate act of love. True charity. The annihilation of self.
     Somewhere in scripture, it says, 'purge the evil in your midst.' It took me twelve years to realize the greatest evidence of evil in my life was my own mother. Who wants to admit they are borne of such? God was speaking to me for years on this matter, and through other people. One priest said stay away from her, she is abusive. Another priest said she fit the profile of a psychopath. A lay person with a tremendous gift of prayer said I was dealing with the jezebel spirit, and to read the book, People of the Lie, by Dr. Scott Peck. She said this book is about your mother. Social workers told me to stay away from her. Yet, the bondage I was in to the maternal relationship, blinded my judgement and closed my ears to what highly qualified people were telling me. Aren't we supposed to honor thy mother and father?
     Nope. Honor the fact that God enabled them to bring you into this world. We do not honor the dishonorable. We do not honor lies. We do not honor spiritual abortion. We do not honor disobedience. And we surely do not honor the devil as he sometimes inhabits a soul. When people grow cold and seek no type of help whatsoever, and as a catholic, they absolutely refuse to go to confession, yet continue to wreak havoc and destruction in the lives of others; yes you are dealing with a demon without question. The humbling opportunity for me was despite my education, and experiential knowledge, I was so deeply deceived. Some parents do not love their offspring. They abuse them, scapegoat them, and make every attempt to destroy their lives and reputation because they cannot look at the evil within. That typifies a narcissist to me. When Peter stated, "Resist the devil, and he will flee!", you cannot successfully do that when you have a wide open door through a relationship.
     I knew God was calling me out on the carpet for years, to vanquish this deadly spiritual poison from my life. He kept whispering to me, how much unnecessary suffering and torment do you want? In faith, I made the decision. More importantly I acted on that decision. And I have peace now. I didn't cause it, I couldn't change it, and without cooperation even God cannot fix it. So put down the snake that keeps biting you. It wasn't the external evils of the world that was tormenting me, but the flawed thinking and emotional sentimentality,  that kept a wide open door into my soul. Blood is thicker than water, but not biological blood. The Blood of Christ is what IS thicker than water. The only nail that was sufficient to lock that open door once it was closed, kept the bloody palm of Christ nailed to the cross. Praise you Jesus for your freedom from imprisonment.
     

On This Rock: The Lioness Roars

 From the blog of Fr. John Hollowell



On This Rock: The Lioness Roars

A great article with valuable insight.

Picking the Low-hanging Fruit

From Spirit Daily

The Gift of Miracles,  Fr. Robert DeGrandis (with Linda Schubert), a book that finally addresses the miracles available to us, that have happened to others, with testimonies and pointers on unleashing the power of God. What are miracles? What are their characteristics? What are the "action steps"? Have miracles occurred in places like Medjugorje? How do we pray for them? CLICK HERE

 __________________________________________________

THERE ARE MANY LAYERS TO THOSE WHO RISE WITH THE 'YEAST' OF OTHERS INSTEAD OF THAT FROM GOD

There are many layers to the "you" that is you and it is not until you peal the false layers and get to the essence of the you who God created that you have a clear path to completing your purpose in life.

These layers are placed on you by others and also by yourself and they pile up if we focus or fret about the expectations of other people instead of focusing on the perspective of God.

When we are "who" others want us to be, we usually are not who God had in mind. It's like yeast. There's good yeast and there is bad yeast. Good yeast builds us up. Bad yeast puffs us up. Good yeast is what helps us grow in a way that feeds those we encounter while false yeast or too much of it from too many "cooks" causes a product that's more air than substance. Perhaps that is why the holiest Bread we know is unleaven (it is where God resides.)

Seek bread not for its height but for how it multiplies.

The giant sins of materialism, sensuality, and pride (grossly underestimated in our time) afflict so many who seek religion but not the spirit thereof. It is Styrofoam.

There is falsity.

Styrofoam is 98 percent air and two percent plastic.

Neither does the plastic dissipate (it lasts a hundred years; and for us, perhaps eternity).

When we have pain, it is time to step back and evaluate the pain because there are many times when God uses pain to call us back to who we really are.

Pain is a sign.

Illness is a sign.

Accidents are no accident.

Imbalance in the spirit translates to the natural.

There is purification through pain because it brings us to this realization.

Much pain we can avoid by praying with fervor to be pure and to be who we really are, which pokes a hole in the falsity that is like a balloon and barrier around us.

There are layers put on us at school, at play, at work, at home, at the club, and we must peel them off like the layers of an onion and sometimes with the same tears.

You curl your hair and uncurl it and tint it and color it and change the color and make it long and make it short and switch the brands for your clothes and it is a mirage.

The real "you" has nothing to do with the material and has to exert little effort to exude attractiveness.

The real "you" is beautiful because it is the truth. It is the Truth of the One Who formed you. It is your destiny (and you won't reach your destiny without it).

It needs no costume.

It needs no makeover (or facade).

You are most beautiful or handsome when you love.

No one who loves is unattractive (despite physical features, which love overcomes).

Others will see that (if subconsciously).

In Heaven, the purity of your soul will form your identity.

It is radiant.

When you are who you really are, there is peace, and no tranquility without that. The soul will not rest until it expresses its authentic self. "There is no greater wealth than a pure heart," said Our Lady of Kibeho, while a seer from the approved site added, "If we are in revolt, it is because of the world's riches. At present many people are rich, to such a degree that they can no longer taste the things of God."

The real "you" has little to do with the clothes you wear or car you drive or house in which you live.

There may be indications there. There may be signs of humility (if your home is humble). There may be signs of cleanliness (if your home is clean). There may be orderliness (which is good).

But most everything else is a mirage.

--Michael H. Brown

[resources: A Life of Blessings and Michael Brown retreats: September 29: Chicago, October 13: Northern New Jersey-New York; and November 3, Minneapolis]

[Print article]

  E-mail this link directly  

Return to home page www.spiritdaily.com  

ShareThis

 

 

 

Absolutely brilliant and absolutely true.

The Sins of the Pious and How the Devil Can Hijack Holy Practices.

By Msgr. Charles Pope

The real Mark Shea and how he feels about authority.

Top Tips for the Faithful!

THE TENTH CRUSADE: Mark Shea Orders Code Red on Fr. Peter West and Hu...

THE TENTH CRUSADE: Mark Shea Orders Code Red on Fr. Peter West and Human Life International.

The Eponymous Flower: Professional Lay Catholics Accuse Catholic Priest ...

The Eponymous Flower: Professional Lay Catholics Accuse Catholic Priest ...: Edit: over the past few days, a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, who is a Vice President of Missions for the organization Human...

Hypocrisy

     Something captured my attention when I was quickly glancing over facebook today. The name Mark Shea and the name Fr. Peter West. It made mention of controversy. I did not give it another thought until this evening. I found this interesting article on a blog.
     I know very little of Fr. Peter West. However, I have experienced a taste of Mr. Shea. In reflection, it is interesting that the message of this previous Sunday's mass comes to mind. A homily teaching about hypocrisy. Instructing about the man behind the mask. As I write this now, Mr. Shea comes to mind.
    I have never read any of his books and clearly do not intend to. I do know he recently came out with a book about mercy, and in my opinion, he is clearly the least qualified to write on such a subject. I encountered him during the Corapi scandal on facebook. He actually addressed me personally and with great malediction. The atrocious things he spoke about Fr. Corapi, a priest of Jesus Christ, were pure scandal. Demonic. Free of any element of brotherly love, charity, and mercy. It truly opened my eyes to the hypocrisy of what could only be deemed a catholic celebrity.
     Mr. Shea has a provocative personality, and it gains him great attention in the catholic blogosphere. It is all about fame, notoriety, and making money in the end. His postings on facebook forced me to block him, in that such reprehensible comments should never be repeated or proliferated to others. So many catholics are deceived by this man. He does not serve Jesus, but himself. Shameful.
    

 Mark Shea: Worst. Person. Ever.

Cardinal Dolan responds to Al Smith Dinner Attacks…

Cardinal Dolan responds to Al Smith Dinner Attacks…

The Pharisees are back at it again.

     In the past year or so we lost two priests, both of whom were dearly loved by too many catholics to number, Fr. Euteneuer and Fr. Corapi, from the public and spiritual arena. Both men suffered severe accusations and yet to be substantiated allegations from two separate women, who interestingly enough, were employed by the priests. Remember, there are two sides to every story, and then there is the truth. We may never get the full scope of truth regarding either scandal. The mainstream, liberal and secular media is clearly not interested in anything catholic, therefore the titillating stories of Corapi and Euteneuer must play and replay themselves withing the realm of catholic commentary. Very few catholic public figures run to the defense of either of these men. Suffering servants of Christ. It is clearly not personally profitable to defend or write in a positive, uplifting light about either of these priests. Money and reputation is preferred over charity.
     Like I said, there are two sides to every story, and the catholic media and all of its bloodthirsty denizens spiritually lust for the down and dirty, spiritual pornography and abortion of a neighbor and brother's good name; for it promotes its own agenda of selling books, soliciting speaking engagements, feeds the blogosphere, and takes the focus off of one's own personal need to examine conscience and repent. We are all of one body, with Christ at the head. What can the world at large possibly do to us, if we as Christians and catholics devour one another? Satan ultimately has the last laugh.
     The tragedy is the overlooked contributions to the church, on the part of both Fr. Corapi and Fr. Euteneuer, evangelization calling many home and converting others. Both these shepherds have done more than most of us will ever do in a lifetime, to round up 'the lost sheep of the house of Israel.' The reproach placed upon these two chosen and called servants of Christ has literally been rammed down our throats, with a satanic intensity fueled by mass malevolence. The activity of the devil is underscored by the behavior and words in the reaction to the scandals, far more so than the alleged actions of either of these priests. And what about the victims?
     If one victim was a legitimate candidate of the exorcism ministry and rite, clearly she is no innocent bystander. For an individual to merit exorcism, one must have committed grievous sins against the Holy Spirit, and that is in most cases. What are her sins? Should we not barrage the blogosphere with details of  her fall from grace, with juicy nuggets of her sins, justifying why she became possessed or obsessed in the first place? She did not qualify for much less have an exorcism sanctioned on her behalf, due to purity and innocence. Get real.
     Likewise, in regards to the other scandal, once again the victim is not completely innocent. She had a well documented history of alcohol and drug abuse, prostitution, domestic violence an arrest record, and many different husbands. Her sins have been made public, yet the standard of moral substance is somehow higher or more authentic, because she is a convenient, alleged 'victim'? Where is her culpability? Or is she blindly forgiven while the priest is crucified? In that situation, absolutely nothing has been admitted to or proven against on the part of the priest.
     Unfortunately, public scandal of any form, feeds our own hidden appetite  for evil, due to our own spiritual disease and condition. We love to devour one another with violence, if the truth be told. The reality of who we ALL are arises when such scandals unfold. We love to destroy the good name of a neighbor, as long as our own reputation fails to be compromised. We build up our own gravely disordered egos, and self-love, by sacrificing other imperfect Christians. If popular catholic writers and public figures spent a minute fraction of the time praying, as they do proliferating gossip, the church would be a different place. However, choosing charity does not fill bank accounts.
    And now Fr. Euteneuer is in the news again. The 'victim' is suing for millions of dollars. She is so damaged she needs millions of dollars to heal. If money were necessary for truth to prevail and healing to occur, we should all be billionaires. We must forgive, or our soul dies. We have forgotten the Our Father. I must close with mention of a wonderful article I read, written by Jenn Giroux. I love sharing the wisdom of a woman wearing God's common sense and charitable fairness. Please do read it.

Allegations and lawsuit about Fr. Tom Euteneuer: Can we believe anything this woman says?


    
  

We should desire mercy before justice.