Halloween Special: Do you believe in the paranormal?

Do you believe in ghosts? Do haunted houses exist? Are demonic possessions real?

She was a self-assured woman who just finished medicine from one of the best schools in the country. She was also into the occult, and claimed to be friends with “dwendes.” But overwhelmed with gratitude, she offered a thanksgiving to God. What ensued were paranormal occurrences taking place in her home and terrorizing her family. Worse, she was feeling an unknown entity invading her body. Frightened and scared, she finally decided to see a priest-exorcist despite warnings made by an occultist.

Her glazed and distant eyes were the first thing that the priest noticed. This is not a good sign, he thought to himself. He proceeded to ask the lady doctor and her father, who accompanied her, some questions to further establish if she was a possible case of possession.

mid the interview, the father, who was not sensitive to the paranormal, felt the hair on his body stand. The priest’s sensitive companion also started to sense the same thing and began to “see” huge and dark entities pacing back and forth in the hallway of their office when, in fact, there was no one else on the floor!

As the priest finished the interview, he instructed the lady doctor to get rid of her occult paraphernalia, and to start praying and wearing the sacramentals. The priest then started to pray over her and bless her with holy water. 

“Stop!” growled the young doctor, her voice suddenly strong and unearthly. As the priest’s gaze met the woman’s, he reeled upon seeing that her eyes were looking alien, snake-like and piercing with arrogance. His suspicion was confirmed she was under demonic possession.

Does this seem like a scene from the Exorcist?

Actually, this is one of the many absorbing accounts in the bestselling book of Fr. Jocis Syquia, director of the Office of Exorcism for the Archdiocese of Manila, which is entitled: “Exorcist: Encounters with the Paranormal and the Occult.” It is a significant, pioneering work that addresses a very controversial topic, and it comes with the imprimatur of Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales.

According to Fr. Jocis, he has noticed the surge of interest and fascination in the paranormal going by the number of literature devoted to this subject. Citing Fr. Gabriel Amorth, Rome’s former chief exorcist, the number of people affected by this has also greatly increased. He lamented that many people fall prey to the false ways on how to confront anything paranormal in nature.

I find the book hair-raising, at the same time an enlightening read, as the priest details his work experiences, struggles, and “face-to-face encounters with the devil.”

Interestingly, through the foreword of the chief exorcist of Manila, Capuchin priest Fr. Mateo Goldaraz, I learned that exorcism is a “minor order” given to select priests by bishops.   

“This simple but mysterious assignment is a great grace for me; it has introduced me to a ministry that has been practically lost through the years of ‘normal’ pastoral work in the Church. I discovered that there are few exorcists in the world, and almost none in the Philippines.”

Fr. Jocis also wrote: “The ministry of exorcism is the last ministry in the Church that is still being handed down from a master to a disciple.” And so when Fr. Jocis got interested in it, he was shocked to find out that the former exorcist has long retired, and the church has yet to appoint one.

With that, Fr. Mateo said Fr. Jocis’ book hopes to contribute to the re-establishment of the pastoral practice of exorcism, as “this ministry has been lost and has been taken over by ‘false ministers’: spiritists, witches, occultists, faith healers, New Agers, Satanists, etc.”

The approach of the book is laced with practicality and youthful idealism, yet it is pretty obvious that it is not only written by a young priest, but also one who is both a scholar and a thinker. By way of background, Fr. Jocis, son of the late Ambassador Enrique Syquia, has degrees in Sacred Theology and a Licentiate in Spiritual Theology from the Angelicum in Rome, where he graduated with magna cum laude honors.

Aside from cases of demonic possession, which according to him can be identified through these diagnostic criteria—psychiatric dimension (assaultive behaviors, paranoia, dual personalities); parapsychological phenomena (performing things he never learned or did such as levitation, acrobatic feats, moving objects without touching them, bodily and facial contortions, change of voice, speaking unknown languages); and an aversion to the sacred (he has a strong negative reaction to sacred persons, places, objects and actions)—he also discussed the danger people get themselves into if they practice the occult and New Age. He warned, “The first deadly secret of the New Age is that it never tells you the real identity of these spirits,” because these spirits—elementals, duwende or ghosts—are really fallen angels. “The sad thing is that those who enter into the world of the New Age seeking excitement and meaning in life do not realize that they are actually entering a world of danger.”

He cites as an example, Moira Noonan, an expert on past-life regression, astrology, channeling, crystals, goddess spirituality and clairvoyance, who wrote the book Ransomed from Darkness, that detailed why the New Age Movement is dangerous as it deals with fallen angels in the spiritual realm. Noonan wrote that as her psychic abilities opened, she was “bombarded with demons,” wreaking confusion and anxiety in her life. “Ask almost anyone who has been a psychic, especially a clairvoyant. They will tell you the same thing. They have no peace…” she wrote. Lessons from Noonan, and other spiritual authorities further lend credence and weight to the book, which also contains instructive cases on folk-religiosity, haunted houses and personal spiritual warfare.

Its several appendices provide techniques to deliver oneself or one’s home from malevolent spirits and to fend off spells and curses. Another appendix offers a manual of powerful and beautiful prayers to help in spiritual warfare.

Which reminds me of the latest news on three celebrities being haunted by spirits. Two of them suffered from nearly life-claiming accidents after they shot a TV episode in one of the most known haunted places in Baguio. However, based on news articles, the one who didn’t meet any accident was described by the people involved with the production as the most fearful, yet the one who kept praying out loud. And that’s how Fr. Jocis has stressed it, he’d never win these spiritual battles without the authority of God and his faith.