Cardinal Burke says demonic attacks end only at death

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, former prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's highest court, spoke about Christian spirituality and demonic attacks on The Shawn Ryan Show. The conversation with Shawn Ryan, a former Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, focused on Ryan's own experiences of supernatural influence. Ryan was visibly affected during the interview, which aired recently.

Ryan described an episode about a month earlier. For roughly an hour and a half, he said, he felt no divine presence at all: "I didn't feel the presence of God or anything good, only an emptiness," which left him with intense fear and anxiety. He called the experience "psychedelic" and said that two days earlier he had had an encounter with demonic entities. After returning home, he said, he received a clear message from God. Since then he has experienced repeated disturbances in his house.

A house under spiritual siege

Ryan said picture frames have fallen off the walls for no apparent reason and that he has had abnormal physical manifestations on his body. He also said voices have come through white noise machines and that he has had severe allergic reactions after receiving Holy Communion. The night before the interview, he said, every smoke alarm in his house went off at once at 12:45 a.m. He also described recurring nightmares in which something tries to "tear my family apart." "I think this is happening because something doesn't want me to do what we're about to do today," he said.

Ryan said the experiences had strengthened his faith. "These have enormously strengthened my confidence in Christ and confirmed to me that I'm on the right path," he said.

The devil's strategy against the truth

Burke said "the devil absolutely hates anyone who brings the truth to others." Quoting the Gospel of John, he described the adversary as "a murderer from the beginning, a liar and the father of lies." The more a person seeks the truth in Jesus Christ, Burke said, the stronger the spiritual opposition he will meet.

Burke described specific patterns of attack. The family is a preferred target of the enemy, he said, as are electronic devices, which are "used to frustrate and distract people" from their spiritual purpose. The devil works above all through discouragement, Burke said, calling it his "principal temptation": convincing Christians that their work is impossible or will only do harm.

Burke urged Ryan to keep his courage and to reject the adversary's "little traps," saying that spiritual resistance is both a calling and a privilege.

Fatima and the vision of hell

Burke drew a parallel with the 1917 Marian apparitions at Fatima, in Portugal, where Mary showed the three child visionaries a vision of hell so that they would fully grasp the importance of conversion and penance. Ryan's description of hell as "a place empty of anything lasting, beautiful or true" matches Catholic theological understanding, Burke said.

"It is a terrible thing to have such a vision, but it can also be a real grace, because we never forget it," Burke said.

Perseverance as the only response

Asked when such attacks stop, Burke said: "They don't, except with death." The only response is perseverance. Quoting St. Paul, he summed up the Christian call as "to stand firm, to fight the good fight and to keep the faith." Christ told his followers to "take up the cross daily," Burke said, and that struggle includes resisting inclinations to evil and influences that draw a person away from life in Christ.

The fight is not temporary but part of Christian existence, Burke said. Spiritual opposition, he added, is a sign that a Christian is acting in accordance with God's will.

The sacraments as spiritual weapons

Burke offered practical and sacramental guidance. "As long as we strive with all our heart to love him and serve him, we will remain at peace even in the midst of great challenges and difficulties," he said. The main source of that peace is the Eucharist, which he called "the principal source of peace," because "it is Christ himself who comes to nourish his life in us."

Confession also has a central role, Burke said. He called it "a powerful help" and "an encounter with Christ through his minister," a sacrament that restores the soul and prepares the Christian for continued combat.

Suffering offered and the Passion of Christ

Asked why God permits such attacks, Burke pointed to the Passion. The Father allowed the unjust condemnation and cruel death of his divine Son "for the purification of sin and total surrender to God," he said. Accepting suffering and offering it in union with Christ purifies the soul and enlarges the heart to become more like Christ, he said.

Such suffering is not futile or random, Burke said, but shares in Christ's redemptive work when it is offered in faith and love.

A call to the Christian community

Burke closed by addressing all those who share Ryan's mission of "bringing the truths of Sacred Scripture" to others. "Expect the same combat" that Ryan is experiencing, he said, adding: "Encourage one another to remain faithful to Christ."

"The cross is our only hope," Burke said. "Our Lord is with us. He has promised us that. He does not lie."