Michael H. Brown's Talk: Spiritual Warfare and Family Healing

Prayer for Deliverance from Father Gabriele Amorth's book, An Exorcist Tells His Story and Michael H. Brown's
book, Prayer of the Warrior.

Today's post is the second in a series of posts on the recent talks given by Michael H. Brown during the Marian Day Retreat here in Toronto on May 20, that was hosted by Canada Christian College and organized by Ave Maria Centre of Peace.

It was a grace-filled day that proved to be time well spent with Brown's four well-delivered, intriguing talks: Heaven, Hell and Purgatory; Spiritual Warfare and Family Healing; The Current Prophetic Pulse; and Reclaiming North America's Christianity.

I attended these talks with great anticipation having known about them for many years—Brown gives many retreat talks throughout the year mostly in the United States and some in Canada—and being fully aware of how qualitative and beneficial they would be. This was no doubt a shared feeling by many in attendance that day, especially by those who knew of Michael H. Brown from his web site Spirit Daily.com, where since 2000, he has published numerous articles and provided many books on: the truth, knowledge, and understanding of the Catholic faith journey; current, real, and relevant news; information on the events and signs of our times; and resources on spiritual warfare, healing, and the afterlife.

In typical fashion at the Marian Day Retreats, each talk was preceded a by a group recitation of the Rosary, except for the last talk which was preceded by the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Brown added to those prayers with his own selection that implored God's mercy, blessings, healing, and the deliverance and protection from the Evil One.

I found Brown's talk on Spiritual Warfare and Family Healing particularly interesting and it certainly put the spiritual battle, that we are all in, into perspective. Much of what he talked about that day was "familiar territory," as I have been reading about spiritual warfare for almost twenty years.

That is not to say that there wasn't something new to discover or learn anew. Brown certainly did not disappoint in this regard as his talk included: deliverance and healing prayers; his own personal experiences with the demonic; how to recognize the presence of the Evil One and his demons; the importance of casting out evil spirits from our lives; warnings on how the demonic can enter into our lives; the importance of faith, the Holy Mass, the recitation of the Rosary, and fasting for the cleansing and protection from all evil spirits; and the use of sacramentals (water, oil, and salt) to effectively protect ourselves and our our homes, cars, places of work, and other locations from the Evil One and his demons.

Spiritual Warfare and Family Healing

Brown began this talk with a set of deliverance and healing prayers: Prayer Against Malefice, Anima Christi, Prayer Against Every Evil, Prayer For Inner Healing, and a Prayer for Deliverance.

These prayers were recited in that order which coincidentally happen to be the exact prayers provided in Father Gabriele Amorth's book, An Exorcist Tells His Story, a book that I purchased almost two decades ago from SpiritDaily.com, and blogged about in a post titled, The Expulsion of The Devils From Arezzo: The Spiritual Battle.

Giotto di Bondone's fresco, The Expulsion
of the Devils From Arezzo, the front cover
image of Fr. Gabriele Amorth's book, An
Exorcist Tells His Story.

Referring to the last prayer he recited, the Prayer for Deliverance, Brown made particular mention of how important it is to specifically recognize when the Evil One is present, trying to negatively influence us in a variety of ways. This prayer (see the first photo) implores God the Father, through the intercession of the archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel, and invokes the aid of all the saints in heaven, to deliver those enslaved by evil from: anxiety, depression, sadness, hatred, fornication, jealousy, rage, suicide, abortion, sinful sexuality, division in our families, harmful friendships, spells, malefice, witchcraft and every form of the occult. The prayer concludes with a plea to be liberated from such influences through the added intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the granting of peace in the name of Christ, our Lord.

Brown explained that by specifically recognizing the many ways in which the Evil One can influence us, it renders the Evil One ineffective and ensures that he doesn't expand his power by operating in the dark, which is exactly what he likes to do.

At the same time, Brown warned that it is also important to avoid the extremes of obsession and ignorance. Here is what he had to say about it:

And so we need to recognize where evil is, not to become paranoid, not to go in the extreme of seeing him constantly, becoming obsessed with him, but the other extreme is being ignorant. We have to find a balance that the Blessed Mother will help us gain during the Rosary and that we gain also during the Liturgy, during the Mass, especially when that chalice with the wine is raised, the Precious Blood that brakes the hold of the Evil One. When that chalice is raised, elevated during Mass, that's the time we can break things that may be holding us in bondage. That is the time when we can cast out darkness because often we cannot make the break through, we cannot get our prayers answered, we can't be cleansed until we cast out inner darkness, until we cast out darkness that may have attached to us through curses of other people...We can't get where we want to go because first we have to cast out these things that are holding us back, and we have to make sure we are not giving the devil a foothold by being obsessed, or oppressed, or depressed...or regressed, because what is the eventuality of all this? All this obsession, all this oppression can lead to possession.

Another benefit of casting out darkness from our lives is the healing of our physical maladies. Brown made an important point with respect to the source of our sufferings: God sends us physical suffering for the purpose of sanctification of ourselves or others, but a lot of sufferings may also be caused by the Evil One. So what we want to do is command it out. Here is how Brown put it:

We cast out darkness from our lives and often not only does this help purify our spirits, but when the spirit around us and in us is purified, a lot of times we are healed of physical malady. Yes, a lot of physical illnesses are given to us by God as sufferings for sanctification for ourselves or others. Yes a lot of that is sent by the Lord, but also a lot of it is caused by the Evil One. Jesus said he is a killer from the beginning and so we want to command it out because a lot times darkness in the robe, in the spirit, translates into physical illnesses.

Drawing from the life of Jesus, Brown reinforced how demons can cause us physical illness, referring to when Jesus healed people, he first cast out demons, which points to the reality that the demonic can be the source of major illnesses.

Further highlighting the connection of illnesses to the demonic, Brown asked a series of questions for the audience to ponder, "If he [Jesus] did it, if he was showing us that, why are we not doing it? Why are we not following him? Why are we not doing what he said to do, which is to lay hands on people and cast out demons in his name, only in his name? Until we do we will not be the full Church we want to be, we will not be the clean spirits we want to be."

Brown singled out another important aspect of the Prayer for Deliverance; that is, the specific mention of the Evil One, which is located in the first few lines of the prayer (see the first photo). It actually compliments old translations of the Lord's prayer which specifically stated, "Evil One," as opposed to the generic "evil." The relevance of which points to what Brown had mentioned earlier in the talk, the need for specificity. Here is what Brown had to say about that, "...When we are specific, when we specifically cite Satan as a personal, destructive, dark force, we gain power over that."

Elaborating on the "gaining of power," Brown mentioned a few examples of prayer that are effective when we specifically mention the type of demons that are afflicting us, "Same thing in our lives, if we have depression, 'I command you out spirit of depression or anxiety, I command you out spirit of anxiety in Jesus's name, and in the name of Jesus, I command you to the foot of the Cross to be disposed according to the will of the Father, in Jesus's name and never to return', sealed against its return. Amen. "

Brown reinforced how important it is to cast all types of demons from us, including jealousy which as he went on to further point out is very powerful. He warned that if we are jealous of others, we need to "work" on that. Jealousy is synonymous to a curse; not wanting the best for someone to put it mildly. Like all other darkness in our lives, we need to cast it out.

During the next segment of the talk, Brown emphasized the many different ways that evil spirits can enter into our lives: through our transgressions; the movies and television shows we watch; pictures posters in our homes; heavy metal and other types of music that we listen to; and what we are looking at on the internet.

If you are asking yourself how is this possible, Brown answered that question with the example of what we watch on television or the computer. Here is what he had to say, "Spirits can come right through a computer, no problem! Come right through a television set! All they need is the opening. All they need is to see that you allowed it through your free will and boom, they're there."

Citing the "ghost hunter" shows on television—individuals who have no idea that they are dealing with the demonic—Brown made what was in my view, one of the most salient points of the talk; that is, we need to avoid reading or watching such shows or reading about such things. He also referred to Stephen King novels and the Harry Potter series.

It was interesting that Brown mentioned the Harry Potter series because not only am I completely familiar with the dangers of it from my own readings—that spawned an extensive blog post in October 2013, titled, The Dangers of Harry Potter: The Occult Controversy—but it was through Spirit Daily that I first read Father Gabriele Amorth's warning about it in 2002; a warning that Brown referred to.

Fr. Gabriele Amorth's warning about the dangers of Harry Potter from January 3, 2002.
Image: Spirit Daily.com/Rome's Chief Exorcist Warns Parents Against Harry Potter

Elaborating on his experiences in dealing with skeptics about the dangers of Harry Potter, Brown mentioned how some simply dismissed it as a children's story, claiming that "It is just a book." But as Brown aptly pointed out, it is much more than "just a book," as the Harry Potter series contain actual witchcraft spells. In response to the claim that it is just a book, Brown asked the audience, "Is it? Then why does it have real spells, actual spells of witchcraft? Do you think it is healthy for young people to be reading actual witchcraft spells?"

More to the point about such novels, Brown stated that, "Things can attach to us when we allow them in, and never mind something like the ouija board. Once they are around, they are really hard to get rid of sometimes, especially if we don't recognize their presence."

Expanding on that point, Brown pointed out that a lot times, we don't recognize the presence of the demonic or earth-bound spirits, even though they may be negatively affecting us consistently. To illustrate this point, Brown provided the example of how when you are having a great day, everything is going well, but all of a sudden, when you enter someone's home, office, or some other location, tensions arise, there may even be a certain flash-point with someone, a spontaneous eruption; often this is due to the presence of the Evil One.

As to what we can do about it, Brown stressed that we should discipline ourselves so that every time we feel that tension we should begin to pray, especially to the Blessed Virgin Mary for her help and to Jesus in a personal way. Here is how Brown explained it:

You know in life when this happens, if we would only discipline ourselves. Discipline is a key to happiness. If we would only discipline ourselves to step back every time we feel that tension, every time we start to succumb to that energy, step back and pray, especially to the Blessed Mother for her help, and of course to Jesus in a personal way. If we would just step back, we would avoid so much strife, we would avoid so much divorce, we would avoid so much pressure and stress and tension in our lives. Just step back, just step back, and nothing, insults don't matter. Somebody insults you, step back, step back. You will be real happy during your life review [see Brown's first talk, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory] in eternity that you did, and you will be happier here on earth.

Brown also spoke of earthbound spirits, which are not demonic, but spirits (deceased souls) for one reason or another, that remain on earth. As to why they remain on earth, Brown provided a few examples: souls that are overly attached to a house, to someone, and even to an addiction in which they refuse to go on because they keep on wanting to experiencing that addiction.

Certain earthbound spirits remain because they are doing their Purgatory on earth. Brown cited an example from Saint Pio of Petrelcina (Padre Pio) and the Capuchins, the Franciscan Order that he belonged to. Here is how Brown unfolded this incident:

Padre Pio once encountered the "ghost" of a monk. One night he was praying in a choir, and he looked down and saw this young monk who was cleaning the altar...who made a lot of noise. Padre Pio went down, didn't recognize him. Padre Pio lived there for twenty or thirty months...Padre Pio said, 'Who are you, I haven't seen you hear before?' The young monk turned to him and said, 'I was hear before you came, I died here and the Lord is letting me do my Purgatory here. When I was a noviciate here, I failed to fulfill my duties, clearing the altar'...obeying his superior, and so he was doing his Purgatory.

Brown offered his thoughts for the audience's discernment, that these earthbound spirits, bound here for negative reasons, can be extremely negative and can cause us negativity and illness, similar to the demonic.

Earthbound spirits have been written about from bishops in England as far back as the 1700s, but as Brown pointed out, they are not discussed anymore these days.

Michael H. Brown during the Marian Day Retreat at Canada Christian College

Coming back to the subject of the demonic, Brown pointed out that we can identify the presence of an evil spirit when we experience anxiety and confusion, "The evil spirit, one of the first thing he does, very consistently, is cause confusion. So any time we see confusion, all of sudden something doesn't make sense, we need to sit back and ask the Holy Spirit for His help."

We want to be fully protected from the Evil One and his demons, which we have been warned about throughout the history of the Church from mystics to saints to the accounts of near-death experiences. How do we go about doing this? Brown answered this question in a most passionate way:

We want to be fully protected. We want to realize like these saints, and mystics tell us, and other people that have had experiences on the other side. They tell us we are surrounded by spiritual entities, we want to be protected every single day, so the very first thing in the morning...we need to pray the Rosary. We need to pray, if we can get to Mass, get to Mass. It is the most powerful prayer, it is so powerful against the enemy. It is so cleansing, so healing if we put our hearts into it and don't just sit there. With real prayers; we need to feel the prayers; we need to pray sincerely; we need to pray from the heart. We need to talk to Jesus in a very personal way...we need to have faith.

Brown added his own warning that the Evil One can do many things, and part of his goal is to take life from us, to remove its spiritual abundance and bring us down to Hell.

This part of the talk can be viewed at my YouTube channel: Spiritual Warfare and Family Healing.

Reinforcing the need to have strong faith in our lives, Brown mentioned how important this is especially when experiencing an assault by the Evil One. To illustrate the point further, Brown provided his own testimonial of an incident with the demonic that was remedied through his faith and the power of the Rosary.

The incident with the demonic (infestation) occurred at a Catholic convent in Chicago; the location where Brown slept one night after having given a talk to a local Catholic church. At the time of Brown's talk, the entire convent was uninhabited due to the fact that the nuns that previously lived there were involved in occult practices. Brown was made aware of this fact and it not only led him to suspect a demonic presence, but it prompted him to inquire about it with one of the sisters who had helped him with his talk. That sister informed Brown that he was sleeping there that night, all by himself.

Brown settled for bed, he heard noises that led him to wonder if mice or rats had taken up residence at the second floor, but as time went on the noises took on a different sound: footsteps of "someone" ascending the staircase.

At first he thought about opening the window, jumping out and finding some other location to sleep at, but it dawned on him that he should practice what he just preached that night at a local Chicago church, "...Never fear the Devil, never fear the Devil because as soon as you fear the Devil, that is showing you have faith in his power, and when you have faith in his power, he is allowed to exercise more. Just like when we have faith in Jesus, Heaven responds."

From that inspiration, Brown took his Rosary and began to recite it faithfully and wholeheartedly; it proved to be exactly what he needed to do, as not only were there no more incidences of demonic infestation, but Brown had a wonderful sleep.

Elaborating a little further, Brown talked about how evil spirits can exist within entire neighbourhoods and cities, and he even provided a few examples of entire locations, that by his estimation, have "dark clouds" over them: Greenich Village, New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans.

Adding to this, Brown stated that evil spirits are also attracted to places where there is prostitution, tattoo parlours, strip clubs and so forth.

Brown then went on to highlight how blessed salt is an effective sacramental in cleansing and protecting cars, homes, neighbourhoods and entire cities, any area from the demonic. He encouraged the audience to purchase salt and obtain the prayer of blessing, that any priest can recite.

This is entirely consistent with what Fr. Gabriele Amorth states in his book, An Exorcist Tells His Story, at the chapter on Water, Oil, Salt, where he states:

Exorcising salt too is beneficial for expelling demons and for healing soul and body. The specific function of this salt is to protect places from an evil presence or influence. Where there is suspicion of evil infestation, I usually advise people to place exorcised salt across the threshold and in the four corners of the room or rooms that are affected.

...It is certain that sacramentals are most efficacious when they are used in faith; without faith, they are ineffective...(119) 

At the next segment of the talk, Brown highlighted how powerful and important fasting is against the Evil One and his demons. To further reinforce this point, Brown referred to the following message from Our Lady in Medjugorje on fasting, "The best fast is on bread and water. Through fasting and prayer one can stop wars, one can suspend the natural laws of nature. Works of charity cannot replace fasting. Everyone except the sick, has to fast." (July 21, 1982) Brown asked the audience to think about how powerful that message is, in particular the part about "suspending the laws of nature." Elaborating a little further on fasting, Brown stated that:

When we fast, we are far more powerful against the Evil One. I don't come and do these retreats without several days of fasting because you are too exposed to the Evil One. When we fast, we are beyond his reach because we are indicating that we are not bound to just physical appetite, we are not just bound to the material things of this world, we are not bound to his domain because like Jesus said, 'He is the prince of the power of air, he is the prince of this world.' And while we are in this world, we are always going to have spiritual conflict.

Fasting is one of Our Lady's "Little Stones," one of five stones or spiritual weapons that she has given to us in Medjugorje. The reference to fasting as a "stone," stems from the biblical story of David and Goliath. As God gave David stones to hurl at Goliath, Our Lady has done likewise for our spiritual battle against the Goliath of our times, the Evil One.

You can read more about the importance of fasting and Our Lady's message from Medjugorje from my post, Our Lady's Little Stone: Fasting on Bread and Water. 

Brown went on to provide two other personal experiences: his brief time with a mafia hitman, researching for a book on the mafia in New Jersey, and the dream he had many years ago while living in New York City of seeing St. Michael and other angels, and how he was shown that the Evil One was after him, literally at his front door.

You can watch Brown explain these experiences and the second half of this blog post at my YouTube channel, Spiritual Warfare and Family Healing Part 2. 

For those who want to read more about such experiences and further details about Brown's faith journey, insights, and life, you may want to consider purchasing, Prayer of The Warrior.

Brown's talk concluded with what proved to be a standard fixture throughout all four talks, a couple of jokes that helped lighten up the mood from all the serious details.

The Dangers of Harry Potter: The Occult Controversy

Fr. Gabriele Amorth, Pope Benedict XVI, and Harry Potter

Although much of the spotlight and hype has been far removed from the Harry Potter book and movie series, a recent occurrence during my visit to a local Catholic parish had prompted me to revisit the occult controversy surrounding it, and subsequently publish today's post on the dangers of Harry Potter.

In addition, J.K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, has sought opportunities to parlay the book and movie series into new projects. You might already be familiar with some of them, the various Harry Potter theme parks throughout the world, the video games and more.

Rowling's most recent effort has been her screenwriting debut in a Harry Potter spin-off for a new film titled, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. The film's movie title was inspired by a textbook of the same name, given to pupils at the Hogwarts School, a school for learning witchcraft in Harry Potter.

Let me first explain what happened at a parish, here in my local community of Woodbridge, Ontario. It was during a recent visit to St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church that I was in conversation with two women in the parish office. We had briefly talked about the topic of children's readings and Harry Potter, and I had mentioned how some parents were pleased with the Harry Potter series because they found their children were reading books, as opposed to playing video games and other things. Before I had the opportunity to expand on this, one of women replied, "Oh, all my children were raised with Harry Potter, they have read all the books, seen all the movies." Her enthusiastic tone and disposition indicated to me, that she was not aware of the occult controversy surrounding Harry Potter. I did not reply to her comment, but kept quiet pondering what if anything, I should say or do about it.

In thinking and praying about it, it became clear to me that the best thing I could do was to share this experience on my blog. By doing so, not only can I fully reply to her comment, but help others who have confronted similar scenarios. At the very minimum, today's post seeks to spread awareness on the truth about Harry Potter.

The fundamental danger of Harry Potter is that it propagates and glorifies the occult. This is due to the fact that contained within the story lines are high levels of occult material. Add to this the target audience, primarily children and teenagers, and the danger becomes even more alarming.

The truth is that the Harry Potter stories, both print and film versions, seduce and corrupt souls that have just begun to develop. Children and teenagers due to their age and inexperience, lack the knowledge and understanding to determine what is evil and what is good. As such, when the youth read the books and see the movies, they do not reject them for their occult content, but on the contrary, they find the story lines exciting and entertaining. The added danger to this is that children and teenagers become desensitized to the occult, and indifferent to suggestions that such things are evil and wrong.

Whether you are new to Harry Potter controversy or you have little knowledge of the occult, I hope the following resources will clarify and strengthen your understanding of the dangers of Harry Potter. For your immediate reference, I have prepared a list of what the remainder of my post includes:

1. Warnings from Father Gabriele Amorth, Rome's former Chief Exorcist and co-founder of the International Association of Exorcists
2. Warnings from Bishop Julian Porteous, Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, Australia 
3. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's Opposition to Harry Potter
4. Quote from the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians 
5. References to the Catechism of the Catholic Church
6. J.K. Rowling's admission of Harry Potter's occult content
7. Father Lazare de la Mere de Dieu's insights
8. Michael D. O'Brien's extensive writings on the dangers of Harry Potter
9. LifeSiteNews.com's dedicated location, Harry Potter - A Whirlwind of Controversy

Warnings From Father Gabriele Amorth

Father Gabriele Amorth's first major public warning came in early December 2001, and was reported in LifeSiteNews article, Rome's Chief Exorcist Warns Parents Against Harry Potter. The article states, "Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil...that J.K. Rowling’s books contain innumerable positive references to magic, the satanic art. He noted that the books attempt to make a false distinction between black and white magic, when in fact, the distinction does not exist, because magic is always a turn to the devil."

In 2006, Father Gabriele repeated his warnings on Harry Potter. LifeSiteNews once again reported the major warning in the article, Vatican's Chief Exorcist Repeats Condemnation of Harry Potter Novels. In the article, Father Gabriele is quoted as saying, "You start off with Harry Potter, who comes across as a likeable wizard, but you end up with the Devil. There is no doubt that the signature of the Prince of Darkness is clearly within these books. By reading Harry Potter a young child will be drawn into magic and from there it is a simple step to Satanism and the Devil." The warnings are clear, magic should always be avoided as it is evil and can lead to greater evils.

Warnings From Bishop Julian Porteous

In 2010, Father Jeremy Davies, co-founder of the International Association of Exorcists, led a discreet forum on the ancient rite of exorcism in Sydney, Australia at the Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney. At the forum was Bishop Julian Porteous, Exorcist and Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney. The forum was in response to the increased need for exorcists in Australia.

The need for increased amount of exorcisms has been a result of, as Bishop Porteous points out, an increased involvement with a variety of New Age and occult practices.  In an article from The Australian, Deliver Us From Evil, Bishop Porteous states:

What starts off seeming innocuous and not creating any difficulties at some stage turns dark. They start to experience quite frightening personal phenomena and it is at this stage that they turn for help. Bishop Porteous sees a link between the growing demand for exorcisms and the spiritual adventurism of young Australians. He says the growth of non-Christian alternative relaxation techniques such as yoga and reiki, as well as forms of divination such as tarot cards, fortune-telling and seances, pose temptations that could invite demonic trouble. He also points his finger at popular culture, saying the Harry Potter books and films, and the vampire-themed Twilight series, have revived curiosity with the supernatural. “While Twilight and Harry Potter are not in themselves demonic, they can lead to a fascination in this world and young people can be drawn and become more attracted to these things.

Clearly, the message from Bishop Porteous is to completely stay away from these deceptive instruments of evil. Why any one would willing even consider doing the opposite would have to be, in some cases, simply a matter of being uninformed and unaware of the dangers.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's Opposition to Harry Potter

In 2003, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Ratzinger, entered into the debate and provided clarity on the Roman Catholic Church's position on Harry Potter, with his support for German writer, Gabriele Kuby.

Gabriele Kuby had raised objections about Harry Potter. The thrust of her objections was that Harry Potter corrupts the hearts of the young, preventing them from developing a properly ordered sense of good and evil; thus, harming their relationship with God while that relationship is still in its infancy.

Kuby was interviewed by Zenit, during which she quoted Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's support for her efforts, "It is good that you shed light and inform us on the Harry Potter matter, for these are subtle seductions that are barely noticeable and precisely because of that deeply affect (children) and corrupt the Christian faith in souls even before it (the Faith) could properly grow.” This quote and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's opposition to Harry Potter can be read at LifeSIteNews article, Pope Benedict Opposes Harry Potter Novels.

Saint Paul's Letter to the Galatians

In Saint Paul's Letter to the Galatians, he states, "Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Gal 5:19-21) The key word is this passage is "sorcery," as it is rampant throughout the Harry Potter story line, with the casting of spells, creation of potions etc.

Catechism of The Catholic Church

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part Three: Life in Christ, under Section Two The Ten Commandments: III "You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me," no. 2117 states: 

All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity.

At the same location, in Section IV "You Shall Not Make For Yourself a  Graven Image" . . ."no. 2138 states, "Superstition is a departure from the worship that we give to the true God. It is manifested in idolatry, as well as in various forms of divination and magic."

The above references are unambiguous, and clearly expose how far the Harry Potter story lines take the reader from the true worship that should be only given to God. No matter how well J.K Rowling packages a departure of worship from God, and simultaneously makes the worship of demons seem exciting in the adventurous tales of a young boy's life, the truth is, that under no circumstances should God be replaced with the worship of demons. For an adult reader, it does not take much to understand this. For children and teenagers, one can only wonder if there is any understanding of this truth. 

J.K. Rowling's Admission of Harry Potter's Occult Content

Back in 1999 in an interview on American radio, the Diane Rehm Show, J.K. Rowling the author of Harry Potter, had admitted and revealed that not only had she studied witchcraft and mythology in order to write the books more accurately, but one third of the Harry Potter content is actual occultism. One individual, Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D. wrote an article titled, The Problem With Harry Potter, in which he details the occult elements in the story line. To illustrate how extensive the occult content is, below is a listing of just some of the occult elements:

• Charms and Casting Spells: Accio (the summoning charm), Alohomora (a spell to unlock doors), Adava Kedavra (the killing curse), Mobiliarbus (magic spell to move objects) and several more.
• Divination (Fortune Telling): arithmancy (divination through numbers), rememberballs (marble sized balls used by the holder to tell if anything has been forgotten), parseltongue (snake language) and the mirror of erised (divination mirror).
• Sorcery: thujone (dangerous drug), mandrake (narcotic with magical powers), monkshood (deadly poison), wormwood (used for sleeping potion), elixer of life (potion to make a witch/wizard live forever), unicorn & blood drinking, Nicholas Flamel (an actual occult figure from France) and more.

Father Lazare de la Mere de Dieu, FJ Insights

Although Fr. Lazare's critique of Harry Potter was directed at the first book, his insights puts the entire book and movie series into perspective. In LifeSiteNews article, Harrycane: a sign of the times under the subheading, "Is Harry a Christian?" one of the key points that Fr. Lazare makes is with respect to the omission of God in Harry Potter. Catholic teaching tells us that we should never return evil for evil, but good for evil. Harry Potter and his friends throughout the story line return evil for evil. The fact that Harry Potter breaks rules and lies is no example of how children should behave. The underlying theme of Harry Potter is "the end justifies the means." This is not the message we want our children to learn.

Christians need to have their children raised with Christian values, which begins with an understanding in the existence of God, a fact never mentioned by Rowling. As Lazare states in his conclusion, "...For Christians, Jesus Christ is "the way, the truth and the life," and no matter what life situations they find themselves in or how difficult the journey, how they cope with it all will be determined by the presence of Jesus in their lives, and His faithful mercy."

The Writings of Michael D. O'Brien

Michael D. O'Brien is a Canadian author and artist, who seeks to contribute to the restoration of Christian culture in Canada. O'Brien has written extensively on the Harry Potter controversy beginning with his article, Harry Potter and the Paganization of Children's Culture. The article contains a wealth of information exposing the truth about Harry Potter's occult content as O'Brien states, "...[T]he series presents the world of witchcraft and sorcery in a positive light." He goes on to further expose the first four books. Here's a short list of just some of the occult content he has commented on:

• the reader is introduced into the world of sorcery
• the main character, Harry, enters Hogwarts, a school for witchcraft and wizardry, where student witches/wizards are taught to cast hexes and spells, and there are different classes for divination, potions, spells, herbology and other occult knowledge
• there is a false notion throughout that "the end justifies the means"
• there is no reference to a system or moral absolutes against which actions can be measured
• he quotes and refers to Fr. Gabriele Amorth, who has stated that sorcery is the growing cause of diabolic possession, and other forms of bondage to evil

O'Brien has also written a book, A Landscape With Dragons: The Battle For Your Children's Mind. O'Brien's analysis of the degeneration of books, films and videos for the youth is described as "incisive and detailed." O"Brien's most recent book is, Harry Potter and the Paganization of Culture, which includes: an analysis of each Harry Potter book; parental strategies for a healthy family culture; information on Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's opposition to Harry Potter; insights into the war of disinformation and opinion; other occult material such as Twilight of The West, and the Golden Compass. O'Brien presents a list of questions, and seeks to answer those questions, addressing the concern as to why the dangers of the Harry Potter have not been taken seriously:

• Have people developed a misinformed opinion based on first impressions?
• Is it due to a lack of knowledge of the occult and demonic activity?
• Is there a presumption on the part of some, that children's books are automatically innocent in their content?
• Is there incomplete knowledge of the Catholic faith, and as such, a lack of ability to identify sinful material?

Further in Harry Potter and the Paganization of Culture, O'Brien expands on the use of symbolism and how J.K. Rowling has negatively influenced readers. O'Brien explains, "...Then there is the moral 'values' narrative, which lies beneath the surface, and is still visible but not so easily discerned---the constant dramatization of the end justifying the means. Beneath this layer is the narrative of symbolism, astonishingly rich in details, and equally impressive in the way it references the world of occult ideas and rituals in its many manifestations." (35) Some other important points that O'Brien notes:

• With hundreds of millions of readers of these occult books, the Harry Potter series is playing a significant role in a massive shift of consciousness, a lowering of our spiritual guard.
• No where in the series is there any reference to a system of moral absolutes against which actions can be measured.
• The argument that any type of reading is good, so long as children are reading is a flawed argument because it does not address the issue of the suitability of the reading material. Children should only be exposed to proper literary sources ensuring that the reading is moral and proper for their well being. 

In chapter eight, Where Is It All Going? O'Brien provides some key reflections and insights that are worth noting:

• O'Brien identifies the problem of a reduced of Christian life amongst the population. Due to the fact that so many Christians have not been living a Christian life, they have failed to become a contradiction to what Blessed Pope John Paul II referred to as the "Culture of Death," and what Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI referred to as, "the dictatorship of moral relativism." What has developed is a secular culture. For many who have any amount of faith, it is a faith that is compartmentalized. The consequences of this is that with each succeeding generation, God fades from the consciousness of our minds as the power of the mammon driven culture increases.
• O'Brien highlights the effects of such a reduced Christian culture by pointing to the fact that three generations ago, Harry Potter and other occult content would have never been acceptable or tolerated. For so many Christians who have either abandoned their faith or are ignorant of it, they have failed to discern the immoral content in the media, be it television, the internet, films and books.
• O'Brien also notes that there may be the incorrect presumption that occult material in the mainstream culture will end with Harry Potter. Based on the pattern that has developed in the last fifty years, it is very easy to put forth a compelling argument that there will be a host of new occult content to dazzle and deceive future generations.

Do we want children to be exposed to the pursuit of power, and esoteric knowledge as presented in the occult world of Harry Potter? No, we do not! As O'Brien states, "...In reality, magic is an attempt to bypass the limitations of human nature and the authority of God, in order to obtain power over material creation and the will of others through manipulation of the supernatural. Magic is about taking control. It is a fundamental rejection of the divine order in creation..." If you are a parent, and your children have been exposed to the Harry Potter book and film series, make no mistake, no matter how enjoyable your children how found them to be, the many dangers of Harry Potter are very real. 

One such danger is the very real possibility of exposure to Harry Potter may lead to the desensitization of occultism. For some children, who as they get older, it may lead to other aspects of the occult. As O'Brien states in his article, Harry Potter and The Paganization of Children's Culture, "...If magic is presented as a good, or morally neutral, is there not an increased likelihood that when a young person encounters opportunities to explore the world of real magic he or she will be less able to resist its attractions?" At the end of his book, Harry Potter and The Paganization of Culture, O'Brien has included his, Spiritual Strategies in The Pagan Tsunami. It is the answer to the problem of occult literature and how to protect the family from such evil. The article is available for reading at O'Brien's web site by clicking the above link.

LifeSiteNews.com - Harry Potter Whirlwind of Controversy

For a comprehensive listing of articles and other sources on the Harry Potter controversy, please visit LifeSiteNew's dedicate Harry Potter page, Harry Potter Whirlwind of Controversy.

To conclude, thank you for your patience in reading this exceptionally long post. Knowing how hard pressed some may be to find the time and energy to research the occult controversy surrounding Harry Potter, I intentionally included all the above resources in an effort to make this post a "one stop location" for parents in particular and all concerned individuals.

May God send you the grace to be strengthened and empowered by the information from this post.