Do Catholics Believe in Ghosts?

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[raysheppard]

I'm a protestant (Baptist) but I like the way you approached this subject and I agree with your conclusions. Great work.

[judithshorthouse]

When we expressed fear at going through the cemetery, as children, our Mother would always say "The dead cannot hurt you, just be afraid of the living".

[HighKingTurgon]

Father Casey, you have spoken against magic in coherent and cogent language a few times over the years. It might be worthwhile to devote an entire short video to WHY magic and attempts to use it are bad news—and also the difference between a ouija board, a grimoire, and Harry Potter.

[Joybearer]

In Asia, we have lots of Catholics sharing ghost stories during slumber parties. The military ones were exceptionally scary for those of us who are unfortunate enough to be born in places where we needed to be mandatorily conscripted. More so when we were separated from our families and stationed in some offshore camp.

Edit to include a vivid personal experience:

I have also experienced three demonic nuns pressing me down and chanting something while stopping my breathing during a sleep paralysis event decades before the movie came out so I couldn't have been influenced by that. Wasn't able to open my mouth and had to recite The Our Father in my mind and my breath slowly came back and they flew up to the ceiling and disappeared. Might be a dream and sleep apnea, but I remembered being fully awake through it all. The sequence passed and I caught my breath and sat up. Only then did I start perspiring.

[ginbejury]

The Catholic faith and others have such a beautiful robust history and understanding of wisdom. Thank you!

[maik]

I have a few athiest friends, once in a while they pick on religion....when they do this I at some point tell them " go sleep in a haunted house" . They cant cause they are afraid of ghosts ! This perplexs me.

[michaelkaminski]

TL;DR: Some do, some don’t, but either way, we ain’t scared of no ghosts.

[margiethessin]

Jesus apparently believed in ghosts. When he appeared to his disciples after the Resurrection, he said, “Why do you look at me like you’re seeing a ghost? See I am flesh and bones and eat real food.” Paraphrasing but you get the drift.

[samuelanders]

my comment here isn't really relevant to this specific video but the channel as a whole. having been raised catholic i have spent a lifetime dealing with peoples misconceptions about the church, what it teaches, what Catholics do and do not believe, etc etc etc. i really appreciate that this channel exists and is taking a very open and friendly approach to teaching the realities of the church.

[imperishablestars]

My mother was Irish Catholic, and she saw ghosts. My grandfather died when she was 15, and she knew he had died before they got the call. Then a long while later, she felt somebody sitting on the end of her bed, thinking it was her dog, she opened her eyes and her dad was sitting there, she blinked and he was gone. I always asked her what did he look like? Did he look see-through like we imagine ghosts, she said no, he looked normal. So anyway, a lot of ghostly things happened, other people saw his figure and doors opened for people. Years later, when I was born my mum had a dream about him and he said he was sorry for how he treated everybody. And my mother woke up crying, she cried for the whole weekend she even went to the doctor about it, why she couldn't stop crying lol. I always think he lingered as a ghost because he knew he behaved badly to the family in life, and then was brave enough to face what he did and received spiritual cleansing when apologising in the dream. That is only one story, I have so many others of my mum experiencing dreams, ghostly things. When her sister died, she told my mum a week before that she had a dream three very very tall people were at the end of her bed, and she said 'are you my guardian angels' and they nodded, and then she asked them if she was going to die and they nodded. She died of a brain hemmorage. And before that, years before, the same aunty was in a coma and my mum dreamed she was goign to wake up, even though the priest had come by then. She did wake up and the preist said 'i never thought i'd live to see the living dead' lol, and my mums vision of her sister walking down the steps in her dream came true, even the wig and walking stick... and my aunty told my mum she was in desert place, loads of people lining up in white shawls, and my aunty pushed forward asking to be let in the gates, and a man said, 'not you it's not your time' and pushed her back, then she woke up, is that weird or what? my mum didnt ask for any of these gifts, and she became very sad when her other sister died and she experienced nothing ghostly other than two dreams...

one time 2008, my mum was sick in hospital and dreamed of her two deceased sisters and they pushed a cake towards her in the dream. the next day the woman sharing the hospital room came in with the exact same cake. my mum didnt tell me this because she thought it would freak me out, but she told my older cousin because my mum was worried her sisters were coming to get her aka she was dying lol. luckily for me it wasnt her time yet, she passed in 2014.

so what would the church make of those stories. my mum passed in 2014

I heard through the years that when somebody dies suddenly they can linger as they are still connected to the earthly realm. i think that could make sense.

[michaelevans]

Thank you for this message at this time of year. In my hometown I am a tour guide for a ghost and graveyard tour. Every once in a while we will be confronted on the streets by well meaning Christians who say we are supporting Satan or the Occult. I point out that we are merely entertainment and it is up to the listener to determine if the stories are real or make-believe.

When I have someone ask if I believe in ghosts I tell them that I am smart enough to know that I don’t know everything and I have seen evidence both ways.

In the end, I enjoy telling the stories and it usually puts a smile on people’s faces, so I hope I have made the world a better place for those people for at least the hour I have them.

[chadwicks_guitar]

Don’t consult Whoopi?!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Bless you Father, your message and your humor
❤

[mjbaz]

I am Catholic all my life (59yrs). I have experienced the paranormal in my parent's house, and definitely human spirits in my present house. I went to Catholic school in the 1970's, and we were not taught the faith very well at all. I cautiously confided in lady from the Legion of Mary what was going on, and she taught me the prayer of St. Michael. All the paranormal events stopped immediately. When I moved into my late Victorian house, after about 6 months, I began to be invaded. A visitor saw the apparitions of 3 or 4 children in the back bedroom. I heard a male voice call my name. I heard people and loud crashes in other parts of the house. I saw several ghosts (they looked like 3 dimensional shadows). Much more happened. My parish priest did not know how to deal with it, and he never visited my house. My Oma gave me blessed salt, and I did my own ad hoc blessing, or cleansing. Nothing happened downstairs. When I went up the stairs and reached the top, I felt strong energy. It was emotional and you could feel it. I continued with the blessing, and thankfully, 'it' or 'they' left and I had peace. About 3 years later, it started up again. My little chihuahua seemed to see it all the time and was very frightened and hid all the time. I decided to have a talk with it when I heard it in the corner of my bedroom. I said that it cannot stay in my house, told it to go to the light and not come back. I said my house belonged to Jesus. It worked and thank God very little has happened since then. I am a bit disappointed that I had to figure this out myself. BTW, my house was blessed by Fr. Joe R. when I moved in. And unlike ghost stories you read, I have no idea who they were or why they were here. Also, ghostly events would happen in broad daylight, to me, to visitors, even the neighbors were aware (Do you know you have ghosts?) They did too, i was told.

[GranMaese]

"From Whoopie Goldberg" LMAO!! Thanks for the laugh, father Casey!!

[admiralvibe]

Hi Father Casey! Thanks for coming to Raleigh this past weekend, I saw a poster with your face on it and got really excited that you were gonna be here! I was really bummed when I found out I couldn’t make it to the event. I wanted to thank you for the big role you’ve played in coming back to Jesus and the Church. Peace be with you!

[Shenanirats]

As a kid, maybe about 8, I saw a ghost, such as it was. A boy dressed in 1930s garb, carrying a box of apples. I saw him three days in a row, around 2 - 3am. I told my mum about him. Her very simple response was one of yours as listed. A soul from Purgatory whom God allowed to cross over just for a moment. My mum said to pray for him. I think it was a way of shutting down any child's wild imagination.

As a very Catholic kid, pondering the religious life believe it or not, I accepted it without any further thought. As an adult who has studied theology, I think it's rather sad, that there are folks in purgatory whose names are no longer recalled on Earth enough to pray for them.

Plus, whatever these things are, demons, imaginations, or real souls seeking prayer, maybe giving warning, praying for them will bring no harm.

[sophiadc]

"For many non-Franciscans the greatest theologian in history" 😂 This is appreciated by a lay Dominican ;)

[mrs.g.]

I knew for years that Ouija boards are bad news! My mom bought an Ouija board just for fun when I and my brothers and sisters were children, but none of us took it seriously, assuming that it's just a game. It was given to me when I moved into my first apartment, but I threw it out while housecleaning. That's because I learned people actually try to communicate with spirits with it, and I learned that they could attract demons by trying to reach dead loved ones. If you miss deceased loved ones and try to reach them, don't do it, people! Just pray for their souls, and tell God you miss them.

[vampiregirl]

I grew up in a haunted house and i saw ghosts has a child. I believe in ghost im open minded i am not scared of ghosts or demons. I learn don't use the board. I know their is evil ghosts abd demons but i also know their are good ghosts. Yes good ghosts i believe that.

[spiritsuit]

I've always considered Matthew Chap 14:26 "When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost, ” they said, and they cried out in fear."