Catholic - Asked my priest for advice but I think I offended him

[cheekycee]

I asked my priest today about a lady I follow on social media who I used to follow and practice witchcraft to her spells etc (I had no idea how frowned upon it was I'd lost my way to god years ago if I ever followed him at all) and I just was intrigued by magic. She then turned to Jesus and said drop all witchcraft because Jesus is real and this is an absolute NO in the bible. I followed her without even questioning and since found God again. I now go to church I pray all the time and repent my sins also. I am no where near witchcraft or even entertain thinking about it and I pray the demonic spirits that may have come to me while dabbling are rebuked in the name of 🙏🏻Jesus🙏🏻.
I asked could this be a pose and she is posing as a catholic and I don't know why I get this feeling. He got quite blunt (not rude at all) but like as soon as o asked about the witch stuff he closed off and said draw back from her pray for her and do you both a favour... I hope I didn't offend him...

I'm so confused because I feel close to God thru this lady and I found god again because of her. Any advice pls?

IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT.

I believe in God first off but you seem very easily led. Why are you so open to suggestions from outside.

Your belief needs to come from within. Not from outside sources

Unfollow her and concentrate on your own beliefs.

It's hardly surprising a Catholic priest wouldn't like the idea of witchcraft. He could have been more explainitory but I agree with his sentiment.

I can't reply to your message above but yes you're right I am easily led.
Thank you for your advice

I doubt you offended him, priests hear all sorts of stuff.

I'd avoid the 'friend' and ask about becoming more involved in the church if you need to fill your time. If you need to stay with SM you should be able to find more suitable Christian sites.

I have a hunch I know of the person you have been following on social media.
TBH what they do is more about them, their sm following and what they gain from it for themselves rather than the Kingdom. They fed people what they WANT rather than what they need.

Most catholic priests spend six year training. They are also fairly bombproof and very aware of what it means to be frail humanity in a hurting world. They tend to be better at working out what people NEED as opposed to want if they are serious about following God. Your priests advice to step back from said person on social media comes from pastoral care and God given wisdom. Why eat UHP fast food when God offers the sustaining bread and water of life?

I second your priests advice and recommend giving it a try and maybe asking if the priest could recommend an alternative daily option you could try and follow instead. There are options such as those compiled by the jesuits that are suitable for those newly discovering or rediscovering a better way of living their lives. My concern is this, if you continue to follow that persons SM you risk being sucked down into that persons ‘look at me’ bottomless rabbit hole.

Be wary and wise for not everything online that claims to be Christian truly is.

If you are catholic then your religious guidance should be coming from your parish priest, not anyone on social media. That’s the way it works.
Your priest won’t know or care what this woman thinks or does.
They don’t tend to be focused on things like witchcraft or demons either. If you want to, just go to confession and confess anything sinful you think you might have done. If they think you’ve committed a sin, they’ll absolve you and that’s that.

Oh okay I see. Thank you. I've never been to confession before. As I say I am starting again. I've never been a big religious person until now. Thank you

Instead of worrying about the online woman, I would try to reflect on what has brought you to the church and what you get out of it. Are you a lapsed Catholic that has returned to the faith or is this a new discovery for you? Our church does the RCIA for both those new to Catholicism and looking to get baptised and those who are already part of the church but who want to explore their faith more deeply. Would you find something like this useful?

Try not to worry about how you’ve ended up seeking God (ie by following this woman’s lead) but rather what you’re going to do now you’re there. I agree with a PP that you might get a lot out of trying to get involved with church life by volunteering to help.

Ok so you state you don’t want anyone commenting who doesn’t believe in god. For a start you do not have that control, secondly belief or lack of it does jot mean people do or do not have a valuable opinion. I suggest you open your ears and listen, rather than get in an echo chamber where you are only listening to a select group- like on social media.

anyway- you sound uniformed about the Catholic Church. if you’ve never been to confession, you can’t have taken communion. Were you baptised catholic?

what happens when you go to church? Have you spoken to your priest about confession/communion/confirmation? I suggest you start there as these are key points in catholic education.

but I agree with pp, come away from social media and be guided by your priest and others in your congregation.

See her as a bridge to a new place. She was useful in that place, but you are going somewhere else now.

Focus on your parish priests advice. Honestly I see people led so far astray by charismatic influencers. The people near us, the old fashioned ways, have value and are much easier to assess for integrity than shiny internet people.

Get your food closer to home.

You didn't offend him.

His advice to you was to drop this internet person like a hit potato.

Please follow his advice.

Are you baptized as a Christian?

How rude.
The poster asked a lot of pertinent questions and reflecting on those might help you in your journey.

I doubt you offended the priest. I don't know why you would think that you had. He gave very sensible advice. Following people like that woman on social media is not going to help you. A lot of them have all kinds of issues which end up playing out on their social media feeds eg. in her case, all the witchcraft and then the change towards God and who knows what will be her next fad. These people are only interested in getting followers and likes.
Perhaps the priest is worried that you'll be following her and her "teachings" rather than focussing on Jesus and his teachings.

You should talk to the priest about what opportunities there are in your parish to learn more and to deepen your understanding. He might recommend a RCIA course for people who want to be received into the church as adults.

You seem incredibly rude and combative for someone who doesn’t appear to even have a basic understanding of a religion you say you are following.

What makes you sure you are catholic as opposed to say Quaker ?

What a load of bollocks.

I'm neither Catholic nor particularly religious but this message does not exactly resonate with Christian sentiments

@Elektra1 I am Catholic and thought similar to you. @Whycanineverthinkofone's comment wasn't rude and made some very reasonable points.
As Catholics we know it is not our place to judge anyone else, that's not for us to do. Hopefully OP can reflect on that and maybe reconsider the response they gave to @Whycanineverthinkofone.

OP I agree with others on here that you would benefit from going through RCIA with your parish, it is a wonderful course and answers so many questions along the way with no pressure. I really enjoyed my RCIA classes when I joined the Catholic Church several years ago. I'd recommend the classes to anyone who wants to learn more about the faith whether they want to join or not. I am sure you have not offended your priest, he is correct in guiding you away from someone who doesn't sound very good for you. I wish you the very best going forward in your own faith journey, God bless ♥️

She wasn't rude at all and she made a good point.

You, on the other hand, are lashing out. You don't get to police who comments I'm afraid - so I'd try to be a bit more gracious to people who are taking the time to read and reply.

FWIW Christianity invented satanism and demons. It's all part of the same pile of woo.

Are you talking about Kat Von D? If so, she isn't Catholic and has never claimed to be. She's a born-again Christian and was baptised as an adult in Baptist church.

You sound really confused about Catholicism, to be honest. The whole point of Confession is to confess your sins for the priest to offer absolution; they're not offended by the sin.

It’s a public forum, I don’t believe in god and I’ll comment if I want to.

Sorry to break it to you but you’re in a cult. All religions are cults. And you seem vulnerable to being easily led, as with all those who believe in organised religion.

If we’re talking about witchcraft you have to consider that pre-christian beliefs were bastardised by christian evangelists during the early Middle Ages. Do you notice how every historic church has been plonked on pre-christian sacred sites? You’ll find a litany of churches on hills which would have been where the Celts / Anglo Saxons etc would have gone to worship their gods. Yew trees, holly, ivy, christmas trees among many other symbols of nature all have pre-christian roots. Some church sites still have ancient monoliths. They can’t easily be erased. It’s how the christian’s got pre-christian’s to convert.

I recommend you read Ronald Hutton’s Witchcraft to get an academic overview on the interesting historic origins of what we call witchcraft. It’s also something that is embedded in sexism too, you know the witch hunts and all, were really just the persecution of women by the christian church.

I think you are failing a few of the Christian values. That is an aggressive, rude and uncalled for response to a perfectly reasonable post. If you reacted to your priest the same way, I may have an inkling why he seemed offended,

@HeadacheEarthquake FWIW Christianity invented satanism and demons. It's all part of the same pile of woo.
Interestingly untrue. You don't have to believe in "woo" but at least be accurate about it. Satan originated in Persia around 550BCE and was adopted into Judaism by Jewish communities living under the Persian ruling empire. Mythology about demons long predates even that and arises from Mesopotamia, although it is thought to predate even that.

What would Jesus think about this comment, I wonder?

Indeed, yes. Whycanineverthinkofone's post was perfectly reasonable, as other posters have also pointed out.

Hi @cheekycee if your gut tells you to be weary of her true intentions then this could be the spirit prompting you - listen to it. Matthew 12:31 highlights the importance of not ignoring the spirit for our salvation. Just because someone has charisma and speaks eloquently, it does not mean they have wisdom. One of the roles of the spirit is to guide us. In addition the priest has told you to separate yourself from her so it would be wise - it is part of his role to shepherd his flock!

Do not be disheartened by this thread. Perhaps joining an online bible study group in your spare time rather that watching the SM woman would be useful to increase your knowledge of the Word in additional to groups at your local church. I am currently enjoying the 2023 series by Heart Dive with Kanoe on Youtube. She also has a facebook group where people asks others questions. Perhaps start on day 275 for New Testament of the 2023 series before starting the Old Testament to help you focus on Jesus if you decide to explore this study group.

If you've found faith, then follow your faith - and don't concern yourself about what or why she's doing something; you'd have changed denominations twice and wandered back for an album that really doesn't sound particularly compatible with any of them.

I doubt that your Priest was offended, more practical - your concern is you, you've found your place; stop following somebody who isn't a leader. Best case is that she's somebody perpetually searching for something that gives her meaning and comfort (and support to abstain from addiction). Sling a prayer her way and move along your own path.

She's got a point .... what she said wasn't rude and was very much to the point.