The Exorcist Files - Spiritual Authority, Purgatory and Praying Against The Demonic

Episode Date: August 19, 2026

"Don't try to be an on the spot exorcist". In a new interview of Vault questions, Father Martins shines some light on the role of spiritual authority, how to trust in God with our finances, and whether entire locations could experience genrational cursing.Thank you to our sponsors for today's episodeExodus90- Men, if you want to grow closer to God, then sign up for their St. Michael's Lent Challenge today. It's not too late! https://exodus90.com/exfilesCowboy Colostrum- Get 25% Off Cowboy Colostrum with code EXFILES at https://www.cowboycolostrum.com/EXFILES.Magnesium, multiplied. 10 forms for total support. Go to https://qualialife.com/EXFILES to get 50% off and save an extra 15% with the code EXFILES.Forkful- Head to https://forkfulmeals.com/exfiles for 50% off your first order today!Chapters00:00 Cold Open: Demons Are Liars00:58 A Video Episode from San Diego01:29 When the Mother Is the Spiritual Head03:41 Retirement, Grain Bins, and Trust06:02 Do Souls Choose Their Parents?07:49 Can a Parish or a Diocese Be Cursed?09:55 Fr. Martins' Book Club14:25 Sponsor16:58 Shackleton's Scotch, Continued17:17 If Someone Manifests in Front of You21:56 Correcting the Record on Authority24:21 The Relic of Mary Magdalene26:56 Sponsor31:02 The Family Spiritualist32:13 Obsession, Vexation, and Evangelization35:48 Why He Won't Catalog Demons39:04 Free Will in Heaven, and the Seven Levels42:28 Three Places Where Heaven Touched Down46:14 Do the Saints Hear Silent Prayers?47:53 Immediate Judgment52:04 The Compulsion and the Rosary54:50 CloseSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome back to The Exorcist Files. We are doing a special video episode today. The genesis of this episode is the father's visiting in beautiful San Diego for a week. And we thought, you know what, why not get some questions from our vault members? And they put out there so everyone can listen. But vault members, we have placed your questions. We got so many of them. So we're going to get to as many as we can.

So apologies, we couldn't get to all of them. But this is the first of hopefully a couple of these. So, Father, should we get to some questions? Absolutely. Okay. I will be paraphrasing for brevity, something I don't usually do as Father knows. All right, father, when a mother becomes the primary spiritual leader of a family, does her prayer and spiritual authority provide the same protection against evil as a father's leadership?

From your experience as an exorcist, what do you've observed in these situations? And maybe to add a little more color to this one is in situations where various parents might be out of the picture for whatever reason, does the biblical patriarchy come into effect there, or is it sort of whoever's in charge and tasked with raising the family? It's a very good question, and God honors those who are in charge. And sometimes those who are in charge, it's not an ideal situation. You know, a member of the family,

the father of the family is incapacitated, or is, you know, heavens he's passed on. And so, look, you do the best with what you can, and the Lord knows that. And because your need is greater in that moment, our Lord is going to be more generous to you just as a result of that. Right.

And always remember that you're part of a greater body. You're grafted onto this mystical body of the saints. And they are responding. right and and and as a member of that body that you are you you are receiving the grace you need for that moment and and if your need becomes greater right just like when you when you when your physical body is bruised the rest of the body responds and gives extra attention to that spot and that's no different then in in in your in your other needs as as a in your needs as a member of christ's greater body right that the body of which Jesus Christ is the head.

There's greater attention poured out to you, greater grace with which you're infused and your situation is infused. So I don't think you need to worry about that. You just move forward with your Christian dignity and God is going to give you everything you need in order to fulfill what you need to fulfill. Father, we have a question about retirement.

Question writes, my husband and I say for retirement, we want to be responsible and comfortable. In the Bible, Jesus talks about not saving up for this earthly life with huge bins of grain. Where is the balance between being responsible and not trusting God to take care of us? This is in the context of health care costs keep going up and seem to be bankrupting a lot of people, especially if we moved to socialized medicine.

That would present some other challenges as well. So how can we save a retirement and think through also living and fake? Yeah, sure. So I think the elements were already included in the question. So the questioner, she asked about, you know, how are, can we save for what we need? And there it is. Right. So put aside for your needs, not for your luxuries.

And what's the difference? Well, you know, one of the old Christian principles that came from the church fathers is, is if you possess more than what you need, then you're robbing for the poor. So I don't know what the questioner's financial situation is, and nor do I really want to know. I think these are just decisions that can be made by an individual. But certainly, God rewards those who are generous to others, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with storing up for your own needs. And that, we all need to do that. We can't give away so much that we ourselves become poor. So there's no magic formula, but use your, you know, your Christian good sense, which the questioner already has.

Because you can see that there's this tension already. And that tension is a common tension for Christians because we're gauging, we're processing, and we're including Christ in all these different equations that we're faced with in life. So it's just a good place to be. And plus you can add from Proverbs, right, a righteous person stores up inheritance for their children's children, right? So being a good steward, obviously the parable of the 10-10. have the talents. God also rewards, like there's nothing wrong, maybe to add on to that, right? There's nothing wrong with also being successful. And, you know, it's just like gifts of the

spirit. It depends on what the goal is with your wealth and means, right? If you've been given much, a lot's expected, right? Yeah, absolutely. Okay. Next question. I heard on a Christian show that souls choose their parents. I think I would say the Catholic faith says otherwise. To me, that it would be giving souls authority that belongs to God. Father, any thoughts on this? The whole notion is absurd. So we only begin to exist when we begin to exist. And that is when at the moment of creation, when biologically a new life begins with the meeting

of the biological matter from our mother and father. And at that same moment, when those conditions are perfect, there's the infusion of the soul by God. So the infusion of the soul means the soul is created in that moment. it doesn't pre-exist. So our souls and bodies do become separated at death. That's a result of the fall.

That was never God's plan. It was never in his original plan to have that happen. Neither was it in his original plan to have souls that are without a body hanging around and they're waiting for the body to be created. So that's not a Christian concept there. That smacks of Hinduism and of reincarnation, in fact. But it is true, Father, that at a great seafood restaurant, you and I might pick soul, right? Oh, I would, I, I, I, I, my soul sings for soul. Oh, at a seafood restaurant. And, and, and actually, mostly all fish, too. I absolutely love fish. Love seafood. Love shellfish. I mean, if you ever want to work you way into my heart, a wonderful shellfish meal. I love it. My favorite.

Hmm. All right. Well, Christ descended into hell and you descended into, apparently, shell fish. I recently heard from a renowned exorcist, the generational curses can also afflict religious orders, diocese, and parishes through their founders, specifically regarding parishes or diocese. How might we identify and engage the fight against them, especially when the parish seems not to be able to break any harmful cycles? So, yeah, interesting, Father, we've talked about generational curses, obviously, with people

on this, and we've even talked about places that demons can inhabit it over time. But yeah, interesting. How about groups, organizations, you know, religious orders, diocese? Yeah, I think any entity can become oppressed and could be subject to a generational curse. So nations can. You know, I think it's possible for cities, regions, even whole nations to be affected in this way, to be to be under a generational curse. And so what do we do with that? our approach for a body that is injured in a religious community or a parish or a nation or so forth is to imitate Christ. What did he do? He suffered for him. He made supplication. He petitioned his father to free it. He found any and every means that he could to have grace poured out on that

situation. And the Lord responds to that. God, the father, responds to that. So are you, you know, if you really want these places freed, engage in the long game. Pray, pray daily, pray hard, fast. Give up. Give up from your pleasures in your life, from your food and other comforts for that intention, for that purpose. Recruit others for the same. And but make it, you know, everybody wants it over right now. We want it over yesterday. in fact. But enter into that long game and you are accomplishing a great work. I mean, you are really imitating the salvific character of Jesus Christ. Father Martin said one of his favorite novels was The Grandmother and the Priest by Taylor Caldwell, which I'm almost finished reading

and I have so much enjoyed. What is another one or two of Father Martin's favorite novels? Father Martin's book club. Sure. No. Well, I really like the classics. Taylor, Caldwell was a great author. Not all of her books are of that caliber of grandmother and the priest, but that one certainly, gosh, it's my favorite novel. What she does in there is really magical. But I'll tell you, gosh, crime and punishment is amazing. Oh, you like crime and punishment. It's amazing books. See, I thought that's what you've described working with me as. Well, it is. That's why I find so much meaning in it. Was that crime punishment is Raskolnikov, right? Raskolnikov.

So, so, um, that story of redemption there, of kind of human logic being transformed by a goodness that is produced and obtained by Christ is just, it's beautiful. And, and the, and that just the many different subplots that are going on in there. What a, what a brilliant author. What just a, I ask you, Dostoevsky is just amazing. What else? You know, there's a novel that I read in high school that just affected me. And it's called The Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

It's a beautiful novel about a young girl growing up in Brooklyn. And this is, you know, a kind of, you know, certainly pre-Second World War America. So it's just a different time and it's kind of magical. and there's a lot of poverty around. But kind of hearing about the immigrant families trying to make it, trying to scratch out a living in America. Betty Smith was just magical in how she could weave together and tell a story that was just gripping.

Well, Ryan, what about you? What are some of your favorite novels? Are you conceding that I can read? I also like the classics. big Berenstein Bears guy. Where's Waldo? But I found Waldo a lot. And so I've kind of run out of places.

And of course, Clifford, the big red dog. As someone who was 6'5 when he was like 14, I really connected with an oversized dog in the Pierce. But as I matured in my faith, et cetera, I have a thing called the $50 book club, which is that there are a couple books that I will recommend to people. and if they don't like them, I will give them $50.

And no one has ever taken me up on any of the books in that goal. It's a very small list, very short list. But they're so good that people say, now the caveat is you have to read, you know, at least a few chapters and you've got to give it a minute, but no one's ever taking me up on that. And they're so good. So very high up on that list is a book. Actually, Rob Lowe, the actor, wrote a book called Stories I Tell My Friends.

it is the wildest collection of stories. He grew up in Malibu. I probably started in Ohio, but he moved to Malibu, and he grew up with Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen and Martin Schnemann. And the stories of them getting into trouble and meeting Tom Cruise and Patrick's. It's just, it just fat. And he's connected to so many things. It's kind of like Kevin Bacon, the whole 60-degree separation.

The other one that is amazing is a book called Endurance by Alfred Lansing about Shackleton, the Arctic Explorer. It is perhaps the most insane survival store I've ever heard. It is, have you read it? I haven't read it, but I know the Shackleton's story, and they found some scotch that was frozen under the floorboards of Shackleton's cabin. And so they collected them,

and they withdrew some of it, and they comprised, they developed the recipe that was used to make that scotch. And so they've replicated it. So you can get Shackleton. Shackleton Scotch at the liquor store. And I've, I've had, I've had a couple bottles given to me. And they kind of disappeared. I don't, I don't know where they went. But friends come over and, and they just kind of go. But, you know, thank God they didn't dive without a priest.

Amen. Do you want to go deeper with God and see spiritual breakthrough in your life? Look, there's no guarantee we can't make God do anything. But you know what? When we seek him, as the scripture says, with a whole heart, he often shows up in profound and unexpected ways. And it's not too late. If you're looking to get in the game, go to Exodus 90.com and sign up to join them for the rest of the St. Michael's Lent Challenge. Father Martens recommends it. I mean, if an exorcist is saying go for it, that's a pretty good sign you should do it, right? So head to Exodus90.com slash X files or download the Exodus 90 app and join them for the St. Michael's Lent challenge happening now.

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That's 25% off when you use our code X-Files at cowboy colostrum.com slash X-Files. Wow, that's true. Man, I didn't know it's Shackleton. Well, you know what? If you were trapped on the ice flows for several years and running out of rations and forced to eat seals, I think you deserve a scotch. So yeah, we'll post the link to Father's Book Club selections and get you on there. All right, hello, Father and Ryan.

Weird question, but something I've thought a lot about since starting to listen to show. What should I as a Catholic do if I'm ever in the very unlikely situation of being around someone who's demonically manifesting, whether a friend or just someone I bump into? I've heard that all Christians are given the authority to cast out demons, but I also don't want to assume that I can just rebuke a demon and I end up getting myself into an even worse situation. Prudence. For context, I'm a female and I know priests and the exorcists since they act in the person of Christ, but what does it mean for me as a woman, especially a single laywoman like myself?

I've heard how St. Catherine of Siena had a special charism of exorcism, and that's always intrigued me, though I don't think that would give me necessarily a right to act, especially since her circumstances seem to be a lot different than many of my friends today. Also, as a follow-up, could you speak on what exactly means for us lay folk, given the charge to cast out demons that does seem to contradict how only exorcists or bishops have the authority to cast them, them out. So I love some catechises on this if you don't mind. Thank you for all the work on the show. And I personally can't wait for the next case to drop. So why don't we break this into two parts here. So first part, I know, I can already sense what Father wants to say, but a lay person encountering someone demonically manifesting. What do they do? Well, don't, don't get into trouble,

aren't get yourself to safety. Don't, don't take on, don't start learning about the devil when you have somebody, when you have him manifested right in front of you. So the important thing is for you to be safe. Don't become a victim. Look, in terms of your own family, like such as your children, your parents, and people that belong to you, you have the right to cast out. I mean, the right to cast out demons flows from our baptism. So it's bestowed within that sacrament.

So that's a dignity that every Christian has. And it is at our baptism that we become Christians. That is the moment where the salvation of Christ hits us. And that's the Catholic and the Orthodox view. That moment, you're empowered with the power of Christ. But that power, it has to be used prudently. So somebody starts manifesting, step back, start praying. but don't, don't, and don't try to be hero.

Don't try to be an on-the-spot priest. Don't try to imitate stuff that you see on the movies, but pray, pray, but make sure you're at a safe distance. And if you're alone with that person, your safety, your safety has to be the number one, say. Don't provoke a demon to start attacking you. So with regard to your domain or your jurisdiction, where you can use that safely and really effectively is in regard to your family members.

So you have a right to a clean home. You have a right to your children and your parents and your loved ones to be free of the enemy. Even if they are choosing to have the enemy come in, you always have as a member of your family. You have a certain primordial right. And that right extends to every single person, at least in part. So you can use that. You can use that. I command you by my authority as a member of this family and as a daughter of God, the father,

and as someone saved and redeemed by Jesus Christ, you are not welcome here. You are not welcomed in my family line, in my bloodline. You are not welcome at all. You or anything like you, I command you to leave now. So just to drill down on this little bit, I mean, because I appreciate the questioner's desire for prudence. If you saw someone, like say this is maybe a potentially, despite how rare, this is, but say you're in a small group setting, right? And someone, and we have cases that have dealt with something like this. And someone just starts to, the show starts, right? And you don't

know if it's legitimately demonic. People also can have psychotic episode, et cetera. If you are just a confident, you know, you don't have an experience in deliverance, but you see someone in that, should your first, I think my first inclination would be, I'm going to start praying for them, right? As long as I'm not in physical danger, et cetera, I would just start praying for them. Any issue with that? No, that's fine. that's fine. Yep. But if you're alone and it's a genuine bona fide manifestation,

or even if it's not a genuine bona fide manifestation, maybe it's a mental illness thing, you're in danger also, nonetheless, potentially. So I think number one is protect yourself. Number two is respond with the tools that you have with your safety already being secured, right? So you start praying. And then, of course, the last part of the question,

We've talked a lot about this over the years, but they said this contradicts how only exorcists or bishops have the authority to cast them out. So can we correct the record on that a little bit? Yeah, so it's not only the priests and exorcists and bishops that have the authority to cast out, right? So Christ bestowed that upon the 72. He bestowed that upon his disciples.

There we go, that's a decision of Jesus Christ. Sure. However, just to in all fairness, then what they probably mean is that, you have said there have been stories, I think you've correct me if I'm wrong here, but you have gone into exorcisms, and as a Protestant, I'll say this one was hard for me to wrap my mind around, but you have

had demons say, like, you can't do this until you've done the formal clearance, right, with the bishop. So there is an authority in that sense. There is, because I'm part of a structure that the Catholic Church has set up. And so the Catholic Church has set up

this structure internally. So by my being a member of the clergy, I'm bound to follow that structure. So an Orthodox priest wouldn't. Not in that situation. And a Protestant minister wouldn't. And you wouldn't necessarily. So but I am.

So as a member of the organization, I got to follow the organization's rules. And they are both set up to protect me and to empower me. And so, gosh, you, why does the church do this? Well, it doesn't want a priest going in when he's not prepared and start taking on the devil, right? You need some training. You need some wisdom bestowed upon you before you take on the ancient serpent. You really do need that. So you can have all the zeal, all the gusts in the world, and you can feel like you have the necessary faith for it.

All that is is a machismo at this point. It's a machismo. And you've got to get battle-hardened, battle-ready by somebody who's willing, who is able to be stole upon you some of the wisdom of what you're going to encounter and how you handle it. And the thing, if you're anxious for the fight without that training, there's something wrong with you

and you're going to get hurt. And I've seen it countless times. Father Martins, we have a relic question here. Do you have a relic of St. Mary Magdalene? And if so, have you ever used it in any exorcist sessions? Thank you, and God bless you and your work. I am so grateful for your catechesis. I have.

I do. I do have a relic of hers. I have used it. It always, always to great effect. That relic is really very special, and she's a very special saint. One to whom I have a personal devotion and I've had during my, well, since my conversion. And, you know, Magdalene is somebody who, what a consummately beautiful soul who is, is, has, has the singular title of Apostle to the Apostles. There's a title for you, right?

Like, there's an honor. She, she alone is the Apostle to the Apostles. She is the one who proclaimed the good news of the resurrection to them. Right? Like that, that's just beautiful. And he gave it to somebody who, in that society, as a woman, but also as a woman, you know, there's indication, there's a tradition that there was, that she had some baggage in her past, right? And we know that there were seven demons inside her from whom she was delivered. And yet, this person who was obviously very, very broken, has the honor.

of being the mouthpiece that proclaimed that that was the first to witness and behold the resurrection and the first to proclaim it wow and it's also he chose a murderer and saul to write a good chunk of in testament absolutely absolutely and he chose peter who was so insecure about power to be the leader of of the apostles right and he who time and time again we learn in the new testament we see in the New Testament, he's definitely afraid of the devil. And yet, the Lord makes him and promises him that the church that he's building upon Peter, that the gates of hell will never prevail against that church. So should I look too much into the fact that he chose me to work with you? This had a reflection. Heavens, he blessed you immensely. So he took a dad-joking Protestant and said,

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Father, how do we fend off influence in our family from an active family spiritualist who is being very influential and getting people experiences that are turning them away from Christian faith and the gospel? Wonderful show. Thank you so much. It's a listener from Australia. So yeah, we all have that crazy relative. But in this case, it seems like the relative is a bit more active in their problems.

So the first thing I would do is send him a link to this podcast, send all the family members, and especially the links pertaining to occult episodes, because your family members, they need to learn about this. Secondly, you know, proclaim constantly the teachings of the Christian faith, that such a thing is incompatible with Christianity. And the fact, say if they believe for one moment that they are compatible, they are dead wrong, you need to make them aware of that. And so don't be afraid. Don't be shy about proclaiming that because you're really, you're saving lives in that action. And you're performing a work that can keep people from paying an enormously high price for something stupid. Father Martins, you've said that full possession is very rare.

and to be fair, not just you, many people say that. How common is obsession and vexation, though? Interesting, given the timing of all this, I feel like these are much more common and any special recommendations besides living a holy life, which of course the answer to everything, to combating obsession and vexation. Yeah, so they are much more common than full-blown possession.

That absolutely is correct, because it's a lesser demonic hold, right? and the demon is often stopped on that scale, right? He wants to go right up to the top, but he's often prevented because of evasive strategies. And what are some of those evasive strategies? Well, you pray, you fast. And in particular, one thing too,

one work that is very exorcistic is evangelization. And people don't often think about that. And I, you know, when I was chaplain at York University in Toronto, the first year I was there, I was kind of, you know, taking a scope of the land, very large campus. The ministry had really receded into a very small footprint on that campus. And so we assembled together myself, the priest I was working with, my assistant, and the students that were frequenting the chaplaincy, we developed a model. for evangelizing that campus. We spent that first year developing it. Boom.

Second year, we launched it. And you could tell, even after the first day that we did this, the first day that where students were trained on spreading the word had done this, and then at the end of the day would come back and we're trading stories, the entire campus felt different. There was an exorcistic value that had been achieved. I felt it. but it was my assistant who vocalized.

He said, there's just, there's a darkness, a depression that was on the campus that is just not there. And he verbalized exactly what I was feeling. And others remarked the same thing. So there are many ways to get grace. You know, you get grace through prayer. You get grace through receiving the sacraments. You get grace by works of charity. You get grace by acts of service.

But there's one particular grace that has only achieved. through evangelizing, that act of spreading the word, which is the greatest word, the proclamation of Christ and his victory. There's nothing greater than that. So it makes sense that not only that there's a grace that you get, but the very act itself is exorcistic. I had a minister tell me one time that if you are sad

or in a state of despondency, perhaps about a lack of healing or another deficit in your life in particular was I was going through a really bad injury with something. He said, one of the best things you can do is go pray for someone to get healed. And it says, you'd be weird. It's like, you'll be strange, but you'll feel better. And you wouldn't think so. It seems counter like intuitive, but it actually did. I remember I started doing that. I was, while I was contending for healing and something, I started praying for others. And I saw some others get yield. And instead of being frustrating for me, it was more like, oh, it was just a good reminder. Yes, you can do that. And it actually,

and also you found you had a deep empathy for that person too. So it doesn't surprise me that when in doubt, you know, evangelize it out actually works. Father, in Dynasty of Death, Season 2 opener with the famous demon number 4, the episode commentary mentioned the name of the demon could have also been anything like Fred. In this particular case, though, I find four interesting because in many Asian cultures, the number 4 is associated with death and there is superstition around this number, similar, I think, to 13 here in the United States. Do you think it's plausible that this demon could be tied to any issues in countries over in Asia throughout the centuries?

And that is where the fear of this number. So maybe to take it broadly, when there are cultural views of a number as being unlucky or dark or something, do you think there could be a demonic root of that? Perhaps. Do I have direct knowledge of that? No. you know look my own particular style demons are liars their world is

is is a one of mirages smoke and mirrors I really don't spend any time thinking about a particular demon and deriving kind of you know can I put together a list

of his superpowers and his characteristics because the thing is I could do all of that and the next time that he manifests, he could do so under a different name. And so my work is valueless at that point. He could do so under the same name and exhibit a completely different personality, such that, hey, everything that I wrote about him doesn't apply anymore. There could be another demon with that same name, or maybe it's not his real name, but he chooses

that. So the point is, I don't see any value in this kind of thing, in a trick. the characteristics of one that you found and heard about in one case to another situation. I just think that that it's a futile waste of energy. And in the history of the church, I've never seen it done by other exorcists. I mean, and you would think that if there was some value to that, that we would have a kind of encyclopedia of demons to this point. But that world is one that the only thing that you can understand at least a bit, and I say

a bit because I don't think you're going to ever understand the whole thing. Is this particular demon in this situation right now in this exorcism? And he's, you have the power as an exorcist to compel him to tell the truth about this situation and questions that are relevant about how he came to, to be inside this person, when he's going to leave, what are the rights he's obtained, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Outside of that, you have no rights to the knowledge that he has. you know, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what place did you dwell in in heaven? Tell me about where, on the other side of the world, is there a demon like you in having somebody?

You have no jurisdiction for any of these kinds of questions. And it's dangerous for you to ask them, because it reveals a curiosity and, and a kind of relationship that you're willing to extend to which you have no right. That's a dangerous place. to be. Father Martin's interesting question here. Do you know if there's any tradition that can answer this? Do we have free will in heaven? And a second part is question, I love vault members and the audacity. Ask a question. Insert three others. Question number two, as part of my one question, if there is free will in heaven and we're so lucky enough to make it to the pearly gates, yet only we make it to level one. I've heard there might be seven levels of heaven and hell for that matter. Perhaps you could confirm that as one third question. Would there be any,

Anything we can do to potentially level up in heaven and get to the highest realm, or would level oneers be relegated to all eternity as the knuckle-draggers, which, again, is still far and away better than hell. Don't get me wrong. Do we have free will in heaven? Well, in heaven, we will have the most freedom that we've ever experienced because we'll have a complete freedom true obtain our good. And to live in it, and to delight in it and with no risk that it will ever be taken away. So there will be consummate freedom there, even though there will be no alternative to choose the opposite of the good.

But that's all part of God's plan. That maximum freedom is when there's no possibility for your good to be taken away from you. So that's that. Are there seven levels of heaven there? Yeah, maybe scripture seems to hint about that. What does that look like? Is it literal?

I don't know. I couldn't tell you. And our Lord says, eye is not seen, ear is not heard, nor has it ever even entered into the mind of man what God is prepared for those who love him. So I think what you, your focus shouldn't be on trying to upgrade. I think your focus should be on loving God, maximally doing what he wants. And when you read the lives of the saints, the holiest people, that's what they're focused on. They're not focused on some kind of personal gain. They're focused on the blowed,

Jesus Christ, whom they are madly in love with, and their concern is to do whatever he wants and love him to a maximal degree. And right away, you see, there's a whole different flavor there. There's a whole different, there's a goodness there that doesn't have any admixture of selfishness. There's no way that there's no focus on the self. at all. It's all on the beloved. And so, you know, hey, those are in the candidates for the seventh

level of heaven. So father, will John Calvin, does he have free will in heaven? Yeah, I don't know if he's in heaven. So I guess that question would have to be answered, and then I can take it from there. Okay. So a lot of Calvinists will have free will in heaven, right? The ones that are in heaven? Are they in heaven? I think so. So you have things, okay, so if they're in heaven, then they will have the supreme freedom that they have never had. Might mess with the theology a little bit, though, right? Well, when I'm talking, there'll be no theology in heaven. There'll be persons in heaven.

Okay. So if the persons who are in heaven will be. A perfect theology. They will be living a perfect freedom. Okay. Perfect blessing, perfect the attitude. Appreciate the listener asking you on knuckle dragging. I hope there's no knuckle dragging in heaven.

But we'll see, hopefully. Father, among the Catholic pilgrimage sites you visited, is there one you've had a particularly memorable spiritual experience or witnessed something that left a lasting impression on you? Yeah, sure there is. So I can think of three in particular. So the first, the Marian one was Lourdes. I really didn't have any desire to go to Lourdes.

Not for any particular reason. It just never spoke to me until, I arrived there. And just it is just a magical and enchanted place where you can just feel that grace. You can feel the heaven touched here. And there's a grace that is overflowed. You see it in the immense line of the pilgrims. And, you know, in lords, the sick, those who are handicapped, those who are physically and mentally wounded,

those are the VIPs. So every single line parts for them. Those are the ones that they have people doting on them, volunteers doting on them to take care of them. So that is just absolutely beautiful, magical. The other one in terms of a particular saint is St. Maria Greta's house, the house where she was murdered.

And I tell you, I have never experienced peace on this earth, like in that place. can visit that house today? You can. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I've spent nights there just praying alone in the house. It's wonderful. I've taken pilgrimage groups there. I have never, I've been all over this planet. I have never experienced peace like in that kitchen where without a brutal attack happened. But, but, you know, I, I, none of that, there's just a pure radiance of Christ in there. There, There is a touch, something so profound, and that is constantly effusing itself there. And everybody that I've ever taken there says the same thing.

I remember, for example, I took one college student there. We were a group from the university where I was chaplain. She started speaking in tongues randomly. She had never had that before. Just started as we walked out drunk in the spirit. She looked like she was completely inibrated and just was and was impervious to the fact that she was doing that. And everybody could see that. Like the Holy Spirit just swooped down on her and just did something wonderful.

And the third place that I would say is Copernum along Galilee in the Holy Land. So Copernum specifically, because it is so primitive, it is so rustic, it's so well preserved. and to think that he can go there and observe Peter's house, the house where the Lord stayed. In that particular house, we know which one is Peter's because of the graffiti that is on the inside of the house. And the words that pilgrims through the centuries have scrawled across,

of course, that's not permitted anymore. The house is sectioned off, thankfully. So there are no sharpies, no sharpie scrolls. along the stones. But you have three rooms inside this house. And two of the rooms, the graffiti is everywhere. And you can tell that they were used for a liturgy. You could tell that Mass was celebrated.

But one room has one single graffiti on it. Yeshua, Jesus. Father, when praying to marry the saints and the guardian angels, Do you need to say those prayers out loud says they are not omnipotent like God? Well, I don't know that you even need to say prayers to God out loud. You can if you wish. I mean, most of the time, I don't. If I'm celebrating Mass, I do, even if I'm alone.

Because mass is, by definition, a public liturgical act. And even if you're by yourself, it is a public act. And you never really by yourself. The entire heavenly court is all around you. you are participating in the heavenly mass when you're celebrating Mass here and down below. But you are free,

whatever is comfortable for you, sure. But you can pray silently. You can pray out loud, whatever you wish. So you were praying silently, though. Do you think, so I'll make this super meta. Is there a world where they're not omnipotent so they can't read your thoughts? But the Holy Spirit inside?

Oh, they can. They can read you thoughts. You're saying the saints in heaven can read your thoughts? Yes, because they're members of the body of Christ. They participate in his omnipotence. They share in Christ's being. They are incarnate within Christ.

So his grace is moving through them. So absolutely, Christ bestows that power on his saints. And even theoretically, if that really bothered you, you can make a case that the Holy Spirit inside me could be broadcasting my thoughts to the heavenly court, right? You can and sure. I've seen nothing wrong with that. Okay.

Next question. I was raised Baptist, Father. Every Baptist preacher I know talks about those who have died currently being either in heaven or hell. I believe this is very common belief. But First Thessalonians, 413th or 18, talks about those who have died being asleep in Christ

until Jesus comes back. This really bothers me because if preachers could teach something that is so foundational to our religion and get it wrong, what else are they teaching incorrectly? I would like to get Father Carlos' interpretation. Where are our souls upon death? And are they still with our earthly bodies? Also, as an add-on, if you could have Ryan stop saying, et cetera, at the end of every other sentence, I would be immensely grateful. I cringe every single time he utters those words, but I love you, Ryan and your dad jokes, but please, pretty please, no more, et cetera. Okay. I don't even

even remember you saying that. I don't, yeah. I, sometimes we see dimly, obviously. But, no, but if only you've done a meditation on this, right? But, yeah, so, Father, in the context of First Thessalonians, saying that we are asleep until Christ comes back. What is the current, at least from your perspective, what is the Catholic teaching on what happens right when we die? Immediate judgment. And so that means heaven or hell as an eternal destiny. That's a given. So those who are saved, the question then is, are you in a state of perfection? And so far as Catholics are concerned and even Orthodox. I mean, we're united on this in the fact that there is a purgation needed for those who are not in that state of perfection.

We are also agreed that purgatory, and that's a Catholic word, that's not a word used by the Orthodox. So I am not stating that they attribute that word, that it's a part of theology. But what is a part of a theology that is identical with the Catholics is a purgation, a process of being readied to enter into heaven. We are both agreed that that process is exactly that. Process, not place. There's not a realm that, you know, somewhere in the cosmos,

somewhere in created reality that is called purgatory. And I think in the cases that I've shared where we've encountered disembodied spirits, living out there purgatory. And I believe I've spoken to them within exorcism sessions. And we hear that from other exorcists throughout the ages, that they've encountered that, that souls identify themselves as,

being in purgatory and in the state of purgatory, undergoing their pregation. And these are not demons because they don't respond. The prayers against the demonic have no effect on them, and they accomplish virtuous acts. You know, they can recite, for example, the Hail Mary, which the devil would never do. They will praise the mercy of God.

And so right away, you know you're not dealing with either a demon or a damn soul. You're dealing with something else. And yet it's disembodied. and yet it's it's not the individual himself or herself the the possessed individual and it it is a person who is in fear of god and and and who is saying nothing evil nothing insulting nothing belligerent and so forth and yet they are exhibiting all the characteristics that the that the churches the catholic and the Orthodox churches have stated that such a soul in such a place would exhibit a request for prayers, for example, request for mercy. Okay. So upon death, there's instant the polls close right away.

There's no on, there's no two weeks of voting. The ballots are counted. You betcha. You got same day voting like Florida does upon death. Let California take notice. Okay. All right. Well, I think purgatory in California go hand in hand. That's for another time. Last question. Father, what can I do if I involuntarily spout out unholy words. I've asked in the confessional and also in therapy all I get is that it's a compulsion. I don't like to shout out horrible things

about Jesus. Yeah. So yes, the question here is is it a compulsion based on some condition that you have of the mind or the body as opposed to just a bad habit? So I think if

it fits the former then you need to do with what your medical professionals tell you to do. And if you can't beat it, if you if you if you if you're unable to affect it, this is part of your cross. This is part until you get to heaven. This, this, this, this is part of the suffering that you're called to to endure. And it is a humiliating thing. And it's a distressing thing. And and I will pray for you in that. I hope you become free of it. I really do. But this is part of your sharing the cross. If it is a habit, then you just have to undergo the work of breaking a habit.

Now, I'll tell you this, you really want to break it, then every time you do it, you take an inventory of that, and you offer up a rosary every time you do it. So you did it three times in a date, guess what you're good for? Three rosaries. That's a lot of hellmeres.

And that's a lot. And I'll tell you this, at a certain point, I promise you, you're going to say the word and you're going to say, heck no. I am not going to sacrifice 25 minutes. it's a by time for our rosary. You'll catch yourself in your language. You'll catch yourself before you overstep that bounds

and say that ugly word. I met a guy who was sharing his testimony and he had struggled with looking at inappropriate content. And he was sharing with a group of guys or he was sharing in this group that he was like, yeah, I was like, how did you, you know, what's your testimony? He said, I became a Christian

because God rescued me from this. And they said, oh, was it a miraculous? rescue and he said no um he said but i wanted to marry this girl and her dad asked me straight up do you wrestle with this issue and he said he's like i didn't lie to him i said yes he's like okay i'm going to set up a program right and any time you you uh fall it's going to send that content notice to me and my wife and we will know and he goes i never looked at it again and it solved it so no hell marries but uh was an interesting interesting solve right there's old ralph nathan used to say, too, that if you want to solve, I forget it was texting and driving.

I think it was somebody who said, if you put a spike coming out of the steering wheel in every car, you wouldn't have texting and driving issues. Well, I think you would have greater issues. Dip of this beer, huh? All right. Well, Father, that is all the time we have for questions today. Thank you to our vault members for just helping make the show possible. We have so many questions.

We'll get to the next batch next time. But, Father, thanks for answering these questions. and hopefully see you tomorrow or in at least the fourth level of heaven, right? Oh, gosh. I hope I at least get the fourth level. I know. All right. Thanks for listening, folks.

We'll talk to you soon. At least the fourth level, I think it'll have coffee. Can't be without coffee. Oh, yeah. No, there's good. There is coffee in heaven. Amen. Amen.

Amen.