The New York Daily News informs us that …
[Fake] Witches of the world will cast a mass spell on President Trump on Friday night
The next four years could spell double, double, toil and trouble for President Trump.
[Fraudulent] Witches of the world will [pretend to] cast a “mass spell” on the commander-in-chief Friday night in a ritual that calls for an unflattering photo of Trump, a tower tarot card, salt, a candle, a feather and either the stub of an orange candle or a baby carrot. [They might be stupid, but they deserve some pity. They are dealing with satanic stuff.]
The stroke-of-midnight rite is a “binding spell” to deter the President from doing harm — not a hex or curse meant to harm him, writer and magical thinker Michael M. Hughes, 50, explained to the Daily News.
“This I consider to be primarily a self-defense measure,” Hughes said. “So many of us are just overwhelmed with the assaults on civil liberties, immigrants, the environment … this felt like a way to reclaim our power and say, ‘We have power over you. You don’t have power over us.'”
Hughes, who says he has also protested through traditional outlets like marching, letter-writing and calling Congress, helped finesse the ritual instructions crafted by some private magic groups.
[…]
These nut cases are toying with evil… with Evil. Evil isn’t a toy. Toy with Evil and, eventually, Evil toys with you.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
I suggest that you all pray the mighty Loríca of St. Patrick for and against these fools.
[display_podcast]
I also bring to the attention of the readership a jolly old custom on the Vigil of St. John the Baptist (23 June). In some countries it was – and is – customary to burn witches…
…
… in effigy, of course: burn witches in effigy. Real witches are, happily, in short supply.
“Witches” were made from straw (or whatever flammable stuff is around) and they were festively burned. Keep in mind that on the Vigil of St. John the Baptist there is the traditional blessing of bonfires. More HERE (photo!)
Here is the text in English for blessing the fire:
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.Let us pray.
Lord God, almighty Father, the light that never fails and the source of all light, sanctifythis new fire, and grant that after the darkness of this life we may come unsullied to you who are light eternal; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
The fire is sprinkled with holy water; after which the clergy and the people sing the following hymn (for the music see the music supplement):
Hymn: Ut queant laxis
[after the hymn]
P: There was a man sent from God.
All Whose name was John.Let us pray.
God, who by reason of the birth of blessed John have made this day praiseworthy, give your people the grace of spiritual joy, and keep the hearts of your faithful fixed on the way that leads to everlasting salvation; through Christ our Lord.All: Amen.
this new fire, and grant that after the darkness of this life we may come unsullied to you who are light eternal; through Christ our Lord.Perhaps we will get this going for the parish this year. If could be instructive. We buried the Alleluia. Why shouldn’t we burn the witches?
The moderation queue is ON in anticipation of the spittle-flecked nutty that is sure to follow.
Loading ...
Is that midnight GMT ?
[You assume that they are that well organized?]
I feel badly for people like this. At least when you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, when things get overwhelming, you can leave matters in His hands, knowing that all will work out the way it’s supposed to.
Having no anchor leaves you like this – casting spells. It’s not only loony, it’s sad – and dangerous too, as Fr. stated. Tip toeing through the tulips with Satan is a fast ride down that slippery slope.
Somethings you don’t play with: poisonous snakes, fire, lightning, radionuclides and spent nuclear fuel. Witchcraft is right up there with plutonium in my book.
I’ll donate the effigy. Provided I can design and dress it. Certain “Pink hat ” baggy , black sweatshirt with (eeek) rainbow TIGHT LEGGINGS… , purple hair streaks with horned rimmed glasses etc etc. I call it the menopausal feminist witch chic! Oh and I am a woman… Burn, baby, burn! ????
[“You are cordially invited to attend….”]
“There ARE ways of telling whether she’s a witch.”
More seriously, though, this is the key: ‘We have power over you. You don’t have power over us.’”
It is all about their will to power.
While most people doing this are indeed doing it for the laughs (hehe, I put a curse on Trump), I know of at least one of my colleagues who considers herself a practicing witch, and was probably going to do this in all earnestness.
Is it wrong to burn witches? I’m assuming the 6th commandment comes into this, but is there a strict canon law forbidding it?
[… ? … o{]:¬/ …]
The incomparable Fr. Heilman was Drew Mariani’s guest on Relevant Radio this afternoon, and prayed a prayer of protection for the President and the country on-air. Much of the prayer I recognized from the Lorica, and I’m glad to see it recommended here as a spiritual defense! With regard to Mr. Hughes’ statement, I can only think that dabbling in the occult as a way to express our “power” over another person is positively diabolical–no pun intended. St. Michael, defend us in the battle!
[I hope he mentioned where he got the Lorica idea! o{]:¬) ]
The worst aspects of this are that there are actual demons that might be empowered by these rituals, and worse, the horrid damage that these people are doing to their own immortal souls.
As part of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity, which primarily prays for chastity and purity in the world, we also were given this pray, which I pray every day:
Prayer for Deliverance:
My Lord, you are all powerful, you are God, you are Father. I beg you through the intercession and help of the archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel for the deliverance of my brothers and sisters who are enslaved by the evil one. All saints of heaven , come to our aid.
From anxiety, sadness, and obsessions. We beg you. Free us, O Lord.
From hatred, fornication, and envy. We beg you. Free us, O Lord,
From thoughts of jealousy, rage, and death. We beg you. Free us, O Lord.
From every thought of suicide and abortion. We beg you. Free us, O Lord.
From every form of sinful sexuality. We beg you. Free us, O Lord.
From every division in our family, and every harmful friendship. We beg you. Free us, O Lord.
From every sort of spell, malefice, witchcraft, and every form of the occult. We beg you. Free us, O Lord.
Lord, you who said, “I leave you peace, my peace I give you”, grant that, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, we may be liberated from every evil spell and enjoy your peace always. In the name of Christ, our Lord. Amen.
So let me get this straight. Last week we had a Christian (Nazarene?) clergyman saying that he felt a “demonic” presence at Trump’s most recent rally, thereby strongly implying that Trump was in league with the devil or possibly possessed. Now we have self-proclaimed witches trying to cast “spells” AGAINST him? “How can Satan cast out Satan?”
In the end I think all these spells and curses will land on those who are casting them. My Jesus, Mercy!
That the powers of evil are served by real people among us, even some who call themselves Catholic, should come as no surprise to the faithful. Neither should the remedies:
Pray always. Make aspirations often. Pray the Prayer to St. Michael. (Even if you must attend a Novus Ordo, pray it after Mass.)
Fast. Do the works of mercy, corporal and spiritual.
Have continual recourse to the protection of your Guardian Angel.
Frequent the Sacraments. Hurry to Confession when you fall.
Let the hounds of Hell howl. Adopt these practices as a rule of life and get yourself and your neighbor to Heaven.
The news media, as always, stinks in its reporting. I looked around online at some pagan news sites, and found some interesting points. (I probably should look at Get Religion, because I bet they covered this.)
1. Articles about this don’t mention all the Wiccans and neopagans who like Trump. “American Pagans for Trump,” for instance, is a thing. You don’t usually hear about the pagan groups that like guns, conservative money policy, a strong military, pro-life, and small government, but they are out there. Also, Trump has a lot of goodwill built up among ordinary people who are sick of all the government annoyance, and apparently that includes ordinary pagans.
2. The article doesn’t mention all the pagans who have been arguing against this as an intrinsically unethical action. Basically, even some of the craziest radical pagans who love the occult were against this.
3. The upshot was that very few people seem to have actually participated. It was ginned up as a lot bigger thing than it turned out to be.
Father Z- I also heard Fr Heilman on RR and he did credit you for the prayer!!! I also love that he mentioned never to receive Communion in the state of mortal sin, as that just adds to problem, though he misspoke and said “confession” instead on communion…. I totally knew what he meant.
Anyway, you two are an awesome team and I am so grateful to be blessed by your wisdom from a whole state away….one of the fruits of technology:-)
THANK YOU.
Is there a traditional blessing for ‘ordinary’ fires, or bonfires not made on the Vigil of the Feast of St. John the Baptist? There must be.
[Yes, indeed there is!
BLESSING OF FIRE
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.
Let us pray.
Lord God, almighty Father, maker of all light, and the light that never fails; hallow + this new fire, and grant that after the darkness of this world we may come with pure hearts to you, our perpetual light; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
It is sprinkled with holy water.]
“While most people doing this are indeed doing it for the laughs…”
I’m not so sure that most intend a joke. Given the degree of shock and venom expressed by many since the election, I think most may be quite serious. …As the rest of your comment suggests.
Sadly, media bias appears to be willingly aiding and abetting this idiocy. I’ve been listening to NPR, heard a story about a fictional book written some 10 years ago. The story presents an alternate history in which a more anti-semitic “America first” mentality dominates the US during the 1940’s, so the US doesn’t fight Japan and Germany. Listening to this, I thought I caught subtle hints of barbs being thrown against Trump; sure enough, they comment that the author has been consulted and insists he wasn’t making a charge against Trump of America really.
…And yet they still carried the story.
Hmmm…..
Lots of recordings of Ut queant laxis on YouTube to get an impression of it!
I somehow don’t suppose that they have such confidence in their efficacy that anything Mr. Trump does hereafter must be exempt from any criticism, as clearly not among the harm he has been deterred from doing.
Suburbanbanshee,
Nothing at Get Religion (yet). Are your observations indicating another area for comparison between Mr. Trump and St. Constantine – appeal to pagans and Christians, alike?
@Fr. Z: “[Yes, indeed there is!
BLESSING OF FIRE
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you. [Rev. Fr., is it not ‘AND WITH YOUR SPIRIT’, what does the Latin original state??]
Let us pray.
Lord God, almighty Father, maker of all light, and the light that never fails; hallow + this new fire, and grant that after the darkness of this world we may come with pure hearts to you, our perpetual light; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
It is sprinkled with holy water.]”
Not worried. The guy got a blessing from Fr. Rutler.
I think we are called to preach the good news of Jesus Christ (“bearer of the water of life”) to “neo-pagans” not burn them in effigy. “Let he who is without sin…”
In a past life I had contacts/friendships with neo-pagan “witch” type people and enough to have no illusions that this runs the spectrum from silly and frivolous to satanic. These are real live humans and need to be invited to the wisdom of reliance on God rather than delusions of their own potency.