Invoking “Grandmother of the West”….? What is THAT all about?

SERIOUS PREAMBLE

No demon has a real name.  That’s part of their punishment.  They really want a name and identity.   Invocation of a false god or spirit allows demons to step up and be recognized, take the name and get to work.

Remember that forcing demons to reveal their name is part of the rite of exorcism.

Exorcists will wind up – by Christ’s power and authority – forcing demons to cough up their names like, “Ares” or something.  Not that “Ares”, the Greek god, ever existed as a Greek god, but as a demon who got the name “Ares” because they invoked “Ares”.

Invoking spirits, powers, gods, etc. is to invoke a demon.  Period.  It is a grievous sin against the FIRST COMMANDMENT.

“But Father! But Father!”, some of you mewling softies and synchretists are objecting. “You are being judgmental about the sincere faiths of indigenous peoples whom Catholics oppressed with diseases and subjugation to a foreign culture.  They have their wisdoms and we can embrace and learn from their sophisticated faith patterns and nature-sourced images of cosmic power flows… and … and… Vatican II says we have to do this, because it is the new lens through which everything in the past has to be reinterpreted.  But you don’t get that and you are mean and disrespectful of their .. faiths, which are every bit as good as… as… YOU HATE VATICAN II!”

I respond, saying, Ps 95/96: 5:  For all the gods of the peoples are idols.

It doesn’t make a difference of a people made up their sky gods and water gods or tree gods or lizard gods 3000 years ago or 30 years ago.  It doesn’t make a difference if they left their faith expressions and invocations on cave walls or in stone carvings or on the pages of some 1990’s “new age” publisher.  Invoke a spirit or power, especially with a name or a title (which, duh, is a name) and you have invoked a demon.  Some demon now has a name and targets.

One exorcist told me, “they line up” for invocations in false religions, pagan ceremonies, etc. to GET an identity even if it is made up, like in Wicca.  It doesn’t make any difference if it was something historic like Aztec stuff from a thousand years ago, or the wacko scribbling of a new age crank trying a make a few bucks off of the stupidly naïve.

HENCE: If you sit as a willing participant, witness, while some person – it makes zero difference if that person is sincere, a believer in some strain of spirituality – invokes the “Grandmother of the West”, you have just participated in the invocation of a demon.

It doesn’t make any difference if the title “Grandmother of the West” sounds sort of hokey.   After all, couldn’t they have come up with a cooler name for the demon, like Cthulhu or Thqbnhj of Ykqxg Muncher of Souls?  No, it could be that or, “Daisy the Flower Petal” spirit or “Bob’s unknown animal spirit guide”.   Demons don’t have to have cool sounding names.  What do they care?  It’s a NAME.  To invoke them, even in a fake new age thing 10 minutes old or an pagan ancient pagan cult from 1500 BC, it is a violation of the 1st Commandment if done in earnest.

I saw an image of cardinals and bishops, and another guy, in Canada do as instructed – put their hands on their hearts, the “seat” of who they are, symbolic place of the their love and identity, and watch and listen as a demon was invoked.

They didn’t this in Rome, with Pachamama.

They did this in Canada with the “Grandmother of the West”.

But by all means… crush the Vetus Ordo which includes, by the way, the Rite of Exorcism and all the effect constitutive blessings and sacramentals meant specifically to provide protection from demons.

Moreover, the pagan ritual involving the invocation of “the Grandmother of the West” was done so as to be admitted to the “circle of spirits”.

The circle of WHAT SPIRITS?  And WHY?

Somewhere I saw a video, but I can’t find it.  Anyone?  [UPDATE: At Rorate there is a still photo, which is a capture from a video.]

This type of ceremony is either made up B as in B, S as in S, or it has some historic rooting in an indigenous belief.

So… I searched the interwebs and found this, pretty much right away, which is what any functionary of the pre-trip preparatory group could have found out when they looked over, ahead of time, what was going to be done.

Check this out HERE

A couple of screen shots from “Celebrate! Ceremonies and Blessings for Individuals, Families, and Spiritual Communities.” by an writer on … I don’t know what the hell it is, frankly.   She writes about “Huna” which is a New Age thing from, I think, Hawaii.  In other words it is a made up in 1945 and HERE.  Think of the word “kahuna”.   Once you start reading that wiki article, your skin should start to crawl and alarm bells will ring.

Yep.  This was another way – wittingly or unwittingly – to invoke demons.

Screen shots from the “ceremony” book.  Just a taste.  But, Grandmother of the West is here.

It is cringeworthy, isn’t it.

Get a load of that crap.   But, silly as it is, it is dangerous.   Anyone invoking these “spirits”, made up yesterday, 30 years ago, or 3000 years ago, is invoking demons.

And all those prelates, cardinals, etc., Francis… sat there during that… thing they did.

It’s called idolatry and it is against the 1st Commandment of the Decalogue and it is very dangerous.

UPDATE:

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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29 Comments

  1. Ipsitilla says:

    Something tells me that the best defense against the Wicked Witch Grandmother of the West is ad orientem worship.

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  3. TheCavalierHatherly says:

    There is a circle of “spirits” I keep in a cabinet in my dining room that help me deal with this pontificate.

    But seriously, there is a bit of a comparison going on here with the book of Kings: Saul decided it would be prudent to abandon the cultic laws, and was punished for it by losing his prophetic office, and ultimately his crown: whereupon he decided to consult a Punic witch. Similarly, there are those in the heirarchy who started by abandoning the cultic laws handed down to them, and, being spiritually unsatisfied, roam the earth looking for shreds of the spiritual among the idols of the nations. It’s very tragic, because like Saul, they thought that they were doing the right thing.

  4. DeeEmm says:

    I have a genuine non-snarky question. In the history of the pre-Vatican II church have the laity ever witnessed the hierarchy participate in ceremonies of this kind? Where they attended or organized non-Catholic events, joined the summoning of deities (demons), and doing so as though they were setting a virtuous example. I’m just trying to gauge whether this is the worst time in the Church, the second worst time or maybe further down on the list.

  5. “No demon has a real name.  That’s part of their punishment.  They really want a name and identity.   Invocation of a false god or spirit allows demons to step up and be recognized, take the name and get to work.”

    Wow. Just made the connection with the demonic nature of the gender/pronouns movement, in which people effectively name themselves.

  6. Fr. Reader says:

    Very interesting preamble. We can learn something new everyday.

    I live in a country in which many gods are invoked daily in every corner and every street, and every house.

  7. MaterDeicolumbae says:

    Father Z,
    Should Catholics avoid attending and/or participating in Native American pow wows?
    I couldn’t find much on the web.
    I remember going to 2-3 pow wows several years ago as a spectator in California.

    [Really? Don’t go to pow wows. Do you know what they are doing?]

  8. daughteroflight says:

    Genuine question – what do we do with this information (besides obviously praying that, among other things, God not smite us)?

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  10. James C says:

    It’s becoming harder and harder for me to pray this in the Roman Canon on Sundays:


    una cum fámulo tuo Papa nostro Francisco et Antístite nostro et ómnibus orthodóxis, atque cathólicæ et apostólicæ fídei cultóribus.

    together with Thy servant Francis our Pope, and [] our Bishop, and all orthodox believers and professors of the Catholic and Apostolic Faith.

    We are holding on for dear life, but our grip is slipping.

  11. bookworm says:

    So I guess we the faithful should brace ourselves for more divine punishment because of an action that we had no say in and nothing to do with. Got it.

  12. APX says:

    So, what do we make of the missionaries who came int Canada and the indult “Indian Mass” with vernacular ordinaries and hymns in ancient Native American languages that were used up until Vatican II?

    This is a complicated problem. We’re being accused of committing genocide, murdering children in residential schools, and throwing them into unmarked mass graves. I’m so tired of being expected to act and think I am guilty of genocide because I’m Catholic. No one speaks of the good the Church did. Natives abandoned baby girls in the woods to die because they were regarded as a burden to travel with who didn’t offer as much value as boys, who could fight and hunt. Catholic sisters took these girls in, raised them, gave them a good education. I’m so tired of this “road to reconciliation” crap. They wanted the Pope to come Canada and apologize. He did, and now they’re complaining that it wasn’t good enough. Nothing is ever good enough for them. This will never end.

  13. Eoin OBolguidhir says:

    The first time I read about this, I thought (sincerely) that they were referring to Francis as a the Grandmother of the West. It made sense in “Great White Father across the sea” meets Livia from “I Claudius” kind of way.

    Of course it’s even worse than that.

  14. Lurker 59 says:

    @bookworm

    The human person is not an independent organism. The harm that we cause has ripple effects to those around us. More so in the Body of Christ. As St. Paul teaches, the glory of one glorifies all, and the sins of one harms all.

    Pope Benedict XVI once asked that we pray that he might not flee the wolves. Did we? I know that I personally did not pray enough for him.

    We must also understand that divine punishment this side of heaven is always purgative — it is not strictly punitive but a means for repentance and sanctification. Are you being punished? If so, are you using it as a time to grow in holiness? If so, then bless the Name of the Lord for His Mercies.

    @James C — That is part of the celebrant priest’s prayer so, unless that is you, you shouldn’t be praying it anyway. Unite yourself to the liturgical action by praying for your priest. Let your priest be concerned about being united with the local bishop and, through the local bishop, to the Pontiff. Don’t borrow stressors that are not properly yours. Be easy on yourself!

  15. Suburbanbanshee says:

    Re: powwows, it depends on the powwow. Most Native Americans are passionate Christians, either Catholic or Protestant. But of course there are lots of stupid stuff that gets injected, as well as some people who actually engage in some kind of older pagan worship. (Usually the latter would not be happening in public with outsiders, though.) [People who are sincere Christians can do bad things and invoke demons without meaning to. Pow pows are no nos.]

    I suspect this is one of those things where you have to ask around, these days, although in the past you were probably okay just to go.

    Re: “grandmother of the west,” of course there are directional things in various Native American tribal traditions. But Huron-Wendat (ie, Wyandot) mythology didn’t have such things. This is basically European occult/Wicca mapped onto “we are generic First Nations” stuff. Bleh.

    The only grandmother that the Hurons and Wendat were concerned about was Ataentsic (aka Sky Woman) who fell through a hole in the clouds into the sea, and was given a place to land when the turtle and various animals created an island. She was already pregnant when she fell; and she gave birth to twin brothers who were opposites, and fought all the time. The evil brother was killed while trying to murder the good one, and became the god of the dead. Ataentsic also died and became the Moon (at least according to some stories).

    So yeah, that would also have been wrong and idolatrous to play with, but at least it would have had something First Nations about it. Bleh.

  16. Suburbanbanshee says:

    I’ve been thinking about why otherwise sensible people go along with pagan stuff, or occult stuff, or stuff from other religions.

    I think a lot of people just don’t believe in other people’s beliefs and philosophies being real and having an impact on their thoughts, much less going into spiritual warfare territory.

    This kind of person thinks that non-Christian beliefs are cute and exotic, just like they tend to treat people not of their own culture as cute little pets that should be indulged, or naughty pets to be punished. (“Purse puppies,” as the Comics Matter guy says.)

    Only their own personal thoughts on life are real, and matter.

    That’s why a lot of people like this are sure that other people can change everything about their lives in a moment, for their own convenience. Other people don’t have thoughts and feelings like a real person, and are too stupid to have any grip on the truth of things.

  17. Ave Maria says:

    This pagan worship by the reputed leaders in the “Catholic Church” will bring fresh punishments just as the pagan worship at the Vatican did in October 2019 did. When the leaders go so far astray, God’s protecting hand is removed and the people are punished. (read the Old Testament)

  18. Eoin Suibhne says:

    “It seems, then,” said the Unicorn, “That there is a real Tash, after all.”

    “Yes,” said the Dwarf. “And this fool of an Ape, who didn’t believe in Tash, will get more than he bargained for! He called for Tash: Tash has come.”

    “Where has it—he—the Thing—gone to?” said Jill.

    “North into the heart of Narnia,” said Tirian. “It has come to dwell among us. They have called it and it has come.”

    “Ho, ho, ho!” chuckled the Dwarf, rubbing its hairy hands together. “It will be a surprise for the Ape. People shouldn’t call for demons unless they really mean what they say.”

  19. APX says:

    Meanwhile there are complaints that the Pope’s visit didn’t involve him participating in more Native Ceremonies and a lack of women involvement suggesting that “Catholics traditions are more important”.

    https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6533798

    See, there won’t be reconciliation because at the end of the day, the Catholic Church is the one True Church through which all salvation comes. This is what we believe; it’s what we profess; it’s the truth. The only way true reconciliation can happen is for the Natives to embrace the Truth, forgive for their own healing trusting in the Just Judge who will make all things right in the end. Unless they do that, there can be no reconciliation.

  20. The Vicar says:

    It’s proper to object to others participating in this nonsense.

    I don’t think it wise to go into detail.

    We should all follow your advice and not name these things nor speak of them.

    The simple utterance of these names is offensive to God and may summon the precise thing you are warning about.

  21. kagey45 says:

    Reading this post, I recalled the program (Renew 2000) that was being promoted in my parish. From ourladyswarriors.org:

    RENEW 2000 materials (Called to Lead, Book 2) require participants to stand in a circle, arms outstretched, and pray to the “Great Spirits of the Four Directions, North, South, East, and West” and “to the Great Spirit of All that is Below,”

  22. Akita says:

    St Abraham, 0ur father in faith, would not have the Plains of Abraham darkened with this banality, thus the extreme low turnout to view the hierarchical contingency schmoozing with the smudgers.

  23. Akita says:

    St Abraham, pray for us, that we be kept safe from the demons who prowl the earth from east to west, south to north. There is only One God, our Triune God, who as you know, loves us infinitely and will not deceive us.

    St Abraham, pray for the Native Americans, that they abandon their demon worship for Christ

    St Abraham, pray for the Jews, that they accept Christ.

    St Abraham, pray for the Muslims, that they reject their irrational god, and accept and love the Holy Trinity. Amen.

  24. Cy says:

    Pope Francis Undoer of Nots

  25. Irish Timothy says:

    Like the world has to pay for the Pacamomma garbage, here in Canada we will pay for this Mother Earth, wind, direction BS. God will not be mocked.

  26. I came across this “mystical grandmother” stuff before. A member of our extended family got into the circle of someone who claimed to be a “wise woman” She had a strict protocol about who could speak to her and when; she had to be addressed by a title of her own invention at all times, and generally deferred to as a wise old grandmother etc. etc.

    Another family member was reluctantly dragged along to a meeting which this woman was to address. This younger family member brought and used blessed salt; she also sat in the corner, reciting the St Michael prayer, over and over. She had heard this woman speak before, and she was always very much in control, very fluent and persuasive. On this occasion, the “wise woman” stumbled, got lost in her remarks, and ended up just petering out. Almost everyone was very puzzled at this.

    Oddly enough I looked up this “wise woman” years later, only to find she still had her website which now promoted the Rosary and devotion to Our Blessed Lady. She found, by the grace of God, a really wise woman.

  27. Sol says:

    @ APX

    “So, what do we make of the missionaries who came int Canada and the indult “Indian Mass” with vernacular ordinaries and hymns in ancient Native American languages that were used up until Vatican II?

    This is a complicated problem. We’re being accused of committing genocide, murdering children in residential schools, and throwing them into unmarked mass graves. I’m so tired of being expected to act and think I am guilty of genocide because I’m Catholic. No one speaks of the good the Church did. Natives abandoned baby girls in the woods to die because they were regarded as a burden to travel with who didn’t offer as much value as boys, who could fight and hunt. Catholic sisters took these girls in, raised them, gave them a good education. I’m so tired of this “road to reconciliation” crap. They wanted the Pope to come Canada and apologize. He did, and now they’re complaining that it wasn’t good enough. Nothing is ever good enough for them. This will never end.”

    It’s not supposed to end – there is a lot of money to be made in this business. I suggest reading Prof. F. Widdowson’s book Disrobing the Aboriginal industry about the whole “Road to reconciliation” process and how it has been used by lawyers (who, of course, benefited handsomely, as always – to basically siphon millions of dollars from the government for actual and imagined wrongs.

    It is a complex issue. I think we can all agree colonial conquest was evil and brought major misery and destruction in its wake. In terms of Indigenous peoples in Canada, there were (often egregious) abuses for sure (nobody is denying that. Children were snatched from their families, ripped out of their cultures and, sometimes, abused or sexually abused) BUT

    1. not all residential schools were like this (and we can’t measure residential schools by today’s standards; they should be compared with schools attended by white children at the time. Otherwise we’re just being anachronistic and our comparison is invalid).

    2. Many of these schools were run by Protestant churches and yet it’s the Catholic Church that gets 90% of the blame

    3.keeping Indigenous peoples in their own severely underdeveloped cultures with no access to Western education, industry and medicine was never an answer. This is evident even today. The truth is that those cultures were inefficient and kept people mired in sickness and poverty. What is also often glossed over is that child mortality in Canada OVERALL was high. For many Indigenous children, attending a residential school was the only chance to learn to read and write, and to be clothed, fed, and in some way looked after – ie to NOT die.

    Regarding what Francis did – I agree it was abominable and I am certainly not a fan of his. In fact, I have serious doubts about the validity of his election (and/or of BXVI’s resignation, for that matter) BUT:

    Realistically, Francis did not have many options once he decided to go. In my view, the whole idea of a “penitential pilgrimage” was an ill-begotten idea right from the get-go because it did not take an Einstein to foresee what situations the pope would be put in once he did go. The current climate in Canada is very emotion and feeling based and Canada is one of the most crazy-liberal “woke” countries on earth. The current political correctness has it that the evil catholic Church murdered poor Indigenous kids at residential schools and anybody who tries to put even the slightest nuance into the argument risks an almost certain “civil death” as in you are done, disgraced for ever. Professor Widdowson was dismissed from her tenured (ie permanent, post-probationary period) professorship last year for voicing these same issues last year, and dismissing a tenured professor in Canada is extremely (!) hard. It almost never happens. Even professors (tenured) who are sexual harassers are usually quietly given retirement packages to avoid scandal. But she got dismissed for trying to reasonably argue her points on the whole reconciliation process. She got dismissed while sexual predators are simply forced to retire, let that sink in.

    So, going back to Francis, I am not a fan to say the least but what else could he – as not only a religious leader but a high profile head of state – have done? Given that this was a “penitential pilgrimage” to acquiesce Indigenous peoples, it was inevitable that he would have to participate in their ceremonies. I mean – the best thing to do would have been NOT TO GO in the first place. Once he decided to go – it was too late and it wasn’t difficult to anticipate what would happen. It’s like drink driving – the accident is just an inevitable consequence of a decision made much earlier.

  28. jflare29 says:

    ” In the history of the pre-Vatican II church have the laity ever witnessed the hierarchy participate in ceremonies of this kind?”

    That’s a thought-provoking question, DeeEmm; I find I’m concerned by the possible answer.
    Officially, the Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts, is an honor society of sorts, an opportunity for further brotherhood with fellow Scouts. I was selected for it and went through Tap-Out within a year after achieving First Class rank. I think most of us knew then that the…story…given as the basis for the brotherhood was not factual. In a sense, I think we could more or less understand it much like we might the Iliad or the Oddyssey. Fabulous tales of generally honorable men, meant to inspire and encourage, not to deceive.
    Even so, …I don’t recall the verbiage used in the ceremony any longer; I DO recall the fire ring had decent-sized totem poles. A Google search indicates how Order of the Arrow began in 1915 and I recall churches used to charter Scout troops a lot. ….it’s conceivable that at least one priest or bishop has been through the ceremony. Maybe even as a teen, prior to discerning a priestly calling.
    Still, an invitation…can still be an invitation, even if meant to be something entirely different.

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