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Author Topic: Anyone follow Fr Ripperger here ?  (Read 36742 times)

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Offline Yeti

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Re: Anyone follow Fr Ripperger here ?
« Reply #10 on: September 10, 2022, 08:33:38 PM »
Quote from: DigitalLogos on September 10, 2022, 02:00:02 PM
He's a good Thomist, I learned a lot from his videos. And he's given great conferences on the demonic and exorcism.

I doubt his Orders, and I've really become skeptical about just how much he shares regarding the demonic to the point that it seems like he's divining information from them to share with the public. There's also the weird popularity of him, as exorcists are typically out of the public eye because it paints a target on their back for demons.

Traditionally the Church treated exorcisms as a confidential matter not in order to protect the exorcist from demons (since the demons already know who is doing the exorcisms in any parish anyway), but to avoid the type of popular sensationalism and superstition that Ripperger appeals to in order to get attention. A lot of people in the conservative wing of the new church are highly superstitious and think demons cause every natural event that is a little weird, and think everyone is possessed by demons (I think they have invented the word "oppressed" by demons now, to avoid that accusation I just mentioned). So when people like this hear a priest (invalidly ordained) going on and on about demons all the time and how many people are possessed, they eat it with a big spoon.

Traditionally, the Church is always extremely slow to say anyone is possessed by the devil (and I'm not aware of those terms "demonic obsession" or "demonic oppression" being used before Vatican 2, I don't think they're traditional). In fact, the very ceremony of exorcism in the Roman Ritual, a liturgical book, says as much, and says that priests should be very reluctant to believe anyone possessed, and not unless they can either speak many words in a foreign language, reveal hidden or secret information unknown to them, or do things physically impossible. And it implies people should do more than one of those things, or more than once. Ever hear Ripperger tell people this?

The Catholic idea is to assign natural causes to things. Thus, if you see a devil in your imagination as you pick up a book about devils, that is probably your imagination. If have a nightmare, that is your imagination. That is how people should think, and that is what is taught by the true Catholic mystics and teachers of the spiritual life.
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Offline DigitalLogos

Re: Anyone follow Fr Ripperger here ?
« Reply #11 on: September 10, 2022, 09:32:26 PM »
Quote from: Yeti on September 10, 2022, 08:33:38 PM
Traditionally the Church treated exorcisms as a confidential matter not in order to protect the exorcist from demons (since the demons already know who is doing the exorcisms in any parish anyway), but to avoid the type of popular sensationalism and superstition that Ripperger appeals to in order to get attention. A lot of people in the conservative wing of the new church are highly superstitious and think demons cause every natural event that is a little weird, and think everyone is possessed by demons (I think they have invented the word "oppressed" by demons now, to avoid that accusation I just mentioned). So when people like this hear a priest (invalidly ordained) going on and on about demons all the time and how many people are possessed, they eat it with a big spoon.

Traditionally, the Church is always extremely slow to say anyone is possessed by the devil (and I'm not aware of those terms "demonic obsession" or "demonic oppression" being used before Vatican 2, I don't think they're traditional). In fact, the very ceremony of exorcism in the Roman Ritual, a liturgical book, says as much, and says that priests should be very reluctant to believe anyone possessed, and not unless they can either speak many words in a foreign language, reveal hidden or secret information unknown to them, or do things physically impossible. And it implies people should do more than one of those things, or more than once. Ever hear Ripperger tell people this?

The Catholic idea is to assign natural causes to things. Thus, if you see a devil in your imagination as you pick up a book about devils, that is probably your imagination. If have a nightmare, that is your imagination. That is how people should think, and that is what is taught by the true Catholic mystics and teachers of the spiritual life.
 Well stated. I agree. I will have to look into the usage of "oppression/obsession" to verify that, as it is of definite interest. 

Furthermore, the claim of superstition appears to be true. As I recall Ripperger himself encouraging people to superstitiously utilize brown scapulars, referring to a tale about a house being saved from fire by hanging a scapular on the door know. Yet I digress...superstition takes the place of faith if you do not have supernatural faith, as I suspect many "fans" of Ripperger lack.
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Offline Todd The Trad

Re: Anyone follow Fr Ripperger here ?
« Reply #12 on: September 10, 2022, 11:40:39 PM »
Quote from: HolyAngels on September 10, 2022, 06:41:04 PM
He recommends Ways of Mental Prayer by Dom Vitalis Lehodey
https://tanbooks.com/products/books/discounts-sales/5-books/the-ways-of-mental-prayer/

There are free PDF files of it as well. It's helped my pray life immensely.
Awesome book. Best book on prayer and it's interconnectedness with spiritual advancement I've ever read. It shows how advancement in the spiritual life or sanctity and advancement in your prayer life coincide, how they're inseparable. Also explains to the reader how to practice mental prayer in different ways at different stages and how to recognize God working in the soul. What is mental prayer?  How do you know when to simplify your mental prayer? How does meditation become contemplation? What is God doing? What do you do? How and why is advancing in the spiritual life of union with Christ and advancing in prayer inseparable or interdependent? This book explains all this and more in a lot of detail especially drawing from the writings of St. John if the Cross and St. Theresa of Avila. Book is 3 or 4 hundred pages. Very exhaustive. Worth it. 
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Offline canis

Re: Anyone follow Fr Ripperger here ?
« Reply #13 on: September 11, 2022, 01:19:15 AM »
Obsession is indeed a traditional form of diabolical influence discussed in spiritual theology.

The traditional divisions of diabolical influence in the manuals are: 1) temptations, 2) obsession (interior or exterior), and 3) possession.

Fr. Antonio Royo Marin, OP summarizes the traditional theology well in his manual Teologia de la Perfeccion Cristiana.

Mgr. Ribet discussed these three divisions more extensively in his 1883 work La mystique divine. Fr. Pierre Thyrée, SJ was the classic author of demonology, witchcraft and occult extraordinary phenomena, especially his De daemoniacis, 1594.

The Catholic Encyclopedia article is good: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12315a.htm

St. Thomas discusses diabolical influence generally in various places, e.g. ST Ia, q. 114; In II Sent., dist. 8, q. 1. There are also many other saints who discuss these matters with more or less depth.

The 1917 Code was absolutely clear that laity and even unauthorized clergy were forbidden to attempt an exorcism (c. 1151-53).

There is increasing discussion of "generational spirits" among some exorcists or people interested in this topic. I've never spent time looking into it, and it doesn't seem to be mentioned in the traditional manuals as far as I know (but I don't know much at all in this topic). But what I mentioned above is clearly laid out in the traditional sources.
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Offline Seraphina

Re: Anyone follow Fr Ripperger here ?
« Reply #14 on: September 11, 2022, 07:29:44 AM »
IMO, some of his online sermons are pretty good. As for “following” him, if you mean in the online sense, I don’t follow anyone I do not personally know in real life. Whether others make themselves fans of a priest or not is of little concern to me. Jesus had crowds of followers on Palm Sunday and was cancelled immediately thereafter.  The same can happen to Fr. Ripperger.
 I’d be cautious about getting overly involved in his exorcism prayers.  He wrote and adapted most of them.  I think it’s not good for lay people to be praying other than short spiritual warfare prayers as needed under demonic temptation, or as guided by one’s spiritual advisor.  (One amateur exorcist in the resistance movement is enough!)  
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