As a Catholic myself, I’m always amazed at how people dismiss Harry Potter due to claims of it promoting satanic teachings or something along those lines. I read some of the books and watched the movies as a child, and they instilled in me many important messages like how good will always triumph over evil and the importance of forgiveness, friendship, and love.
I feel like such moral panic over Satanism is more of an evangelical or LDS thing, and seeing Catholics fall into this is a real shame. I mean, in the first place, it's a fundamental misunderstanding about Satanism. No one actually worships Satan. The entire point is that they're edgy atheists who pretend to do so to get a rise out of religious people, and the satanic panic people fall right into that. They make religious people look absolutely ridiculous when they say things like "Harry Potter is satanic."
@@MrFairbanksak1 i would say though theistic satanism exists, where people take it 100% seriously and do believe in/worship satan, but their worship is never the blood human sacrifice moonlight goat slaughter rituals the evangelicals cry about, and is generally a pretty extreme minority among satanism. most satanists are just edgy athiests lol
It’s a shame that Harry Potter and this interpretation of it has been missed out due to many radicals, I remember when I was in Elementary school (Catholic), I had heard of it being banned and discouraged in Catholic/Christian circles. Such lovely meanings.
As a Canadian who speaks French, I'd say that the translation of "vol de mort" : flight from death. 😆. Anyway, brilliant talk Casey, I've never thought about it like that. What an inspiring talk as I slowly digest your responses to the last few questions. Thank you.
Harry Potter brought me closer to God. Seriously. I never understood why the Evangelicals were so adamant that the books were Satanic, because to me they were full of Christian imagery. Harry's journey, the hero's journey in literature, is also the savior's journey, and there's so many parallels between Harry and Jesus it's wild. Ms. Rowling, from what I understand, is a Christian, of the Anglican church. I was an adult when I started reading the books, maybe around 2003, so I had a different perspective, and I got the Christian theme in the books instantly. I'm 55 now, and a Potterhead for life. 😂 You're a Ravenclaw because you're really smart, I know how much school you went through to become a priest, lol! Welcome to Team Ravenclaw Father! 😁 All is well.
Thank you Father Casey, this was wonderful and helpful. it would be sad that young catholic people would be denied the wisdom that can be drawn from Harry Potter stories. This has been a much needed discussion. Explaining these stories instead of rejecting them. Bringing clarity within a Catholic Christian context. life and love of Jesus,God Bless.
Thank you very much Fr. Casey for giving us a vivid perspective about death in correlation to Harry Potter novel. It was an enlightenment esp.on my part that up to now, am still in pain over the demise of my mom. A lot of questions bothers me that in one way or another, unconsciously, it changes the way I should look to the goodness of life after death. Am an avid supporter of yours here'n the Philippines. God bless you more and may St. Francis always guide you. Praying for ministry. BUTCH ☺
If love is so fundamental to Catholicism, then why it does it become a sin to love & marry a non- Catholic person? Love is a natural feeling, so why the person who married/ loved a non - Catholic is made to feel GUILTY & a sinner by Church authorities & Catholics? Your Talk had wisdom but what about practicality of love? Are we supposed to love & marry a non- Catholic or not? What if Voldemort was Catholic?
@@Sonu-tz2js I don’t know if in ten months you changed your mind, but you can’t just apply your own experience to all the Catholic Faith. My father was a Muslim and my mom is a catholic. They did not encounter any problems. Both of them lived their faith as they wanted without any members of my Church telling them they have sinned.
Thanks for this awesome message. God bless you for enlightening us more on death and Christianity by picking out the good attitudes and qualities you read in Harry Potter. Though some "newbies" in Christ would condemn the book as demonic but I would also want to remind to the read the book of Acts 17:23 which says for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. Paul saw their good will in worshipping God but they don't know how to channel it to the right source hence he reminded them that it is the same God he wants to talk to them about. Same goes with the 3 Magi who were apparently Astrologers and magicians that offered Christ the gift of Gold, frankincense and myrrh. Despite them being non believers, God used them to work. So my dear brothers and sisters let's seek the Good in every situation and channel them back to Christ who is author and finisher of our faith.
I Love Harry Potter because its fiction and just literary...there is nothing wrong about being fan the thing is you should always believe in God Jesus Christ!...Harry Potter gives moral support about friendship, family and etc. While Jesus is everything!
Oh gosh the first time I read the Harry Potter books I literally read all 7 books in 10 days. I could barely sleep until I finished them. If I was awake i was reading. But otherwise I'm a hufflepuff thru and thru.
I wanted to mention that being quite abused by my mother, I could never love her. However, when I grew up and went my own way, I helped her as much as I could, because she was a human being and, as my mother, I could not ignore her and do what I felt was right up until the day before she died. At that time, she disowned me, told me she wished I would drop dead, and had an evil grin expression on her face, like she was possessed by Satan! I left her then and flew home. The next day she was gone.
I have wondered how books like Harry Potter and other fantasy novels fit within a Catholic life. The whole 'messing with the occult' thing is after all a sin. I have to admit that I love the Harry Potter story, and Lord of the Rings, and Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, and many other fantasy novels and as I am progressing through the RCIA and learning more about Catholicism I have been finding it difficult to work out what is and what is not ''acceptible'. Your video has been a big help to me today. In books where goodness, kindness, selflessness, morality and humility are promoted as desirable traits, and where evil, cruelty, selfishness, immorality and arrogance are shown to be signs of weakness, surely there can be no harm to the reader? Harry Potter certainly doesn't promote magic as a solution to all the ills in the world - it's actually shown as more of a weakness in those who seek power through magic, while those who will give up everything for the sake of others find that being a loving human being is actually a far more powerful way to live. There's no pagan religion involved in the story - Christmas is celebrated in most of the Harry Potter books in fact. As far as I can see it now, Harry Potter is a great story with good moral and Christian values throughout, so thank you for your help in clarifying it.
Exactly. I had never thought of that, but I think you're absolutely right: those who rely on magic for things are actually quite flawed while those who act through their humanity and weakness are the ones with virtue. Touche!
Voldemort took away Harry’s parents for his selfishness, but the love of his parents never disappeared, it just remained buried deep in Harry’s heart. The love and longing for his parents also became Harry’s faith, a spiritual belief and reliance, a reason for him to be strong and uplifting. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry stumbled into a secret room where he first saw the magic mirror of Erised, which means desire in reverse, so that people can see what they long for most through this mirror. It is the mirror that people can see what they most desire. Professor Dumbledore saw the picture which he was made blood pact with Grindelwald, one of the most powerful dark wizard of the last century, while eleven-year-old Harry Potter saw his parents, whom he has not seen for a long time. “The Potters smiled and waved at Harry and he stared hungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach them (Rowling, 1997) .” Love is a two-way street. Parents have love for their children and children have love for their parents, and the overpowering spiritual power of love, on either side, can give a person the determination to overcome anything and the courage to escape from death. Beyond his parents, Harry has the love of Sirius and his aunt. Sirius was a close friend of Harry’s parents who was falsely accused and imprisoned in Azkaban which is the wizarding World’s prison, and saved by Harry and his friends, who have been on the run ever since. He is the most important family member to Harry besides his parents, and he conveys the love of his family to Harry. Compared to Sirius’ simple love for Harry, his aunt’s love is very complex. Lily was found to have magical talent and was highly valued by her family and was sent to Hogwarts to study, while her aunt had no magical talent and had to stay in the Muggle world as a mediocre housewife, so she was jealous and resented her sister, and in Professor Snape’s recollection, she even called her sister a freak out loud. In Professor McGonagall’s eyes, the Vernons were “so unreliable that Harry could never be entrusted to this family”, but when the Vernons opened their door early on the morning and saw Harry in his infancy, they chose to keep him, despite the fact that they had not seen each other for years. Despite treating Harry very differently to their own son Dudley, the Vernons did their best to keep him safe from Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Aunt’s feelings towards Harry are extremely complex, she insists on destroying every invitation letter sent by the owls for admission, in essence fearing that she will lose Harry like she lost her sister many years ago. It is only in this installment of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that Dumbledore reveals to Harry the reason why he must remain with his aunt: “‘She doesn’t love me,’ said Harry at once. ‘She doesn’t give a damn-’ ‘But she took you,’ Dumbledore cut across him. ‘She may have taken you grudgingly, furiously, unwillingly, bitterly, yet still she took you, and in doing so, she sealed the charm I placed upon you. Your mother’s sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you.’ ‘I still don’t-’ ‘While you can still call home the place where your mother’s blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, whilst you are there he cannot hurt you. Your aunt knows this. I explained what I had done in the letter I left, with you, on her doorstep. She knows that allowing you houseroom may well have kept you alive for the past fifteen years’ Please, comment.
This made me cry happy tears. Being Catholic, HP was always frowned upon and being a chicken kid it did scare me to watch it. But as I got older I watched it again and understood its true meaning!. Its like the way we view people. Regardless of the bad people do we're called to love them. By looking at Harry Potter only from the surface, we think of it as a book, about the world of black magic, but when you look at it deeper beyond the surface you see its true meaning! Thank you for this message. Thank you for showing me a new point of view.
Yes, but why does black magic have to be used to portray our faith? God talks against witchcraft and magic multiple times in the bible? How can you use a man who sins to represent Christ's sinless nature?
@@rebeccaloggs457 To answer your question : I don't really know the answer. But I'm pretty sure J.K Rowling did not use the saddest period of her life to write a series dedicated to a witchcraft. That's the beauty of the series: Seems so dark from the surface but once you really read the stories its way more than that. At the end of the day the world of hogwarts and wizardry is a fantasy make believe not real figment of the imagination world. You can choose to see it as this and go about your day or really really make this world so alive that you take every bit of it so literally, you lose your sanity.
@@rebeccaloggs457 Also the book was not meant to portray our faith in any form. But there's beauty in being able to find God in everything which is what Fr. Casey has done.
@@gwynziee Hi, sorry for the late reply. I read the series so I understand that the only theme isn't witchcraft and I enjoyed reading it when I was younger. Even so, the books main theme is magic and contains examples of how magic can have positive outcomes when used "right." While I have an idea as to what you're trying to explain, but it comes off strongly like a yin and yang type of philosophy. The way that you apply this philosophy is almost like suggesting that evil (sin) can have a good outcome, contradicting the nature of God who is wholly good. The point is that the book can imply to those whose understanding of God quite limited (not to say mine is great) or are immature to believe that good can come from sin/evil and God is in agreement with that. But that narrative is false as it is sin that has caused the fall of man and our separation from God. We further know that no good comes from evil/sin as Jesus Christ was a perfect sacrifice, and what made him that perfect sacrifice was that he was wholly good in nature and never sinned (which is evil in nature).
@@rebeccaloggs457 While no good can come from evil, God can make something beautiful from a terrible situation. At the end of the day only God can make the impossible, possible. Also if I were to give anyone advice on reading the HP series I'd tell them to just enjoy it and take it lightly. 💁🏽♀
"But I should say, if asked, the tale is not really about Power and Dominion: that only sets the wheels going; it is about Death and the desire for deathlessness. Which is hardly more than to say it is a tale written by a Man!" -J.R.R. Tolkien, on Lord of the Rings.
I also want to say that although I was baptized Catholic in 1981 (I was born Jewish), when I moved from the East Coast, Connecticut, to the West Coast, Washington State, I found that every Catholic Church I attended had so much hate and hypocrisy and fear and prejudice within its walls and its people, that I could not handle it! I try and respect and help everyone I can, regardless of race, religion, gender, etc. I could no longer remain Catholic where I live. The closest I could find was the Episcopal church, in dogma and respect for All People. I became Episcopalian because of this. I will, however, always feel Catholic in my soul and my belief in the power of the Trinity. My love for this tradition grows daily. If I had the money, I would move back to the East Coast where I felt most at home. But, as this is not the case, being a senior, I stay where I am. While I was never fortunate enough to experience true and unconditional love from any human in my life, I have found love through my pets and am grateful for that. I never had any siblings or children when I was married. I do, however, feel grateful for my pet cat and other dogs and cats I have had as pets. I know you don’t agree, but I do feel that the pets I have known and loved do have souls, somehow.
"Vol de mort" can be better translated as "flight of death" which kind of means that it's a flight which is either somehow characterised by death or leading to death. Which is also equally interesting to me! Love how you used Harry Potter here btw.
Waittt!!! We actually find out that he's the Horcrux through a memory from Snape and that's how he decided to give himself up for the rest of the Wizarding World.
I need to start doing what will happen and stop fearing what might happen. Well put. I’ve been overtaken by very mysterious circumstances. I have to let them play out with less trepidation. I fear suffering but even more I fear my wife and son not having me around to help them get through life. Thankfully my wife is coming to have faith in God. I want her to find strength in God no matter what happens to me.
LOTR is a beautiful book, it’s prose elevates the story to another level beyond the movies. The death of boromir is one of the most wonderfully tragic stories you can read.
Oh my! Yes! This was great! I agree! You are brilliant! Thank you father Casey! I have one thing to add. If Harry didn’t resurrect, he couldn’t have defeated Voldemort and the elder wand would have been his. So Harry is like Jesus! You where right about that all along! 😃😃😃
Quite remarkable! I always knew these parallels existed but I never understood them nearly well enough to articulate them and vindicate myself of the persecution I received at the hands of these books. I was guilty as charged. Thank you for what you do dear brother.
In that same year on Hallowe'en, James' love for his wife and son caused him to stand face to face with the darkest wizard in a century (Lord Voldemort) on his own in an effort to give them time to escape. Also in the same night, Lily's love for her son Harry protected him from Lord Voldemort. He became the only known person in history to survive the Killing Curse, because of the power of Lily's loving sacrifice.[16][17] However, it could be that while love was the motive, the cause of Harry's protection was that Lily had lured Voldemort into a binding magical contract so that having killed her, he would be unable to kill Harry, because he had already promised to spare Lily, and only her offer allowed him to kill her.
"The Pagans understood the heart of God." As a Pagan (Wiccan) myself, I found that quite moving and really appreciate that you're able to see the beauty in other faiths. Love and light to you. + )O(
2.1. Christian’s Love in Harry Potter The core values of Christ are embodied in the Bible, the canonical classic of Christianity (McGrath, 2016) . The Bible is not only intensely religious in nature, it is also an extremely great work of literature, and many writers have drawn inspiration from reading the Bible. While the Old Testament is mainly an account of the history and cultural development of the Jews and the myths and legends of the origins of the world, the New Testament is a description of what happened after the birth of Jesus, with justification by faith at the heart of the faith. Justification means to be justified by faith, and to be justified means to be judged by God as innocent. The Christian doctrine of original sin states that man’s original sin prevents him from attaining righteousness and that he must be saved from sin by the grace of God and of the Son, Jesus. In the Middle Ages, the Roman Church emphasized justification through good works and holy merit, but the atonement movement led by the willed theologian and Catholic priest Martin Luther became the spark for the Reformation. The Reformation was sparked by the justification by faith slogan, it means to be justification by faith rather than by good works, just as what is said in the Bible Roman: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood-to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith (Riches, 2000) .” As mentioned above, the core belief of the New Testament is justification by faith, so the core value of Christianity is brotherly love. The love of the family and the love of the little family are blended together in a way that is both fraternal and private. The Bible says that “he that loveth not his brother abideth in death”. Thus, Christianity emphasizes love for others. The theme of love is emphasized throughout the Harry Potter, echoing perfectly the core values of Christianity. During his seven years of growing up, Harry Potter has received or spread many kinds of love. The love from Family. The love of Harry’s mother, Lily Potter, for her child is the most obvious love expressed in the entire book. When Harry was one year old, Voldemort’s magic grew stronger so he began to purge himself of dissent. When Voldemort laid his clutches on the Potter family, Lily set up a protection spell for Harry at the expense of herself. The powerful force of love conjured up by this ancient magic actually saved the one-year-old baby from death, and Voldemort’s evil spell failed on Harry, leaving only a permanent scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead, instead almost killing himself.
As exected you are always great and intelligent. Death indeed differs on what perspective a person is coming from. You are an effective and efficient missionary. I listened to many of your UA-cam topics and so loaded with information and faith strengthening. How I wish I can be a priest like you.
Demitri is Not "David Blagg's son" as one Stafford School /District put online; he is my oldest Son's only Child & his Mom in Northern Virginia is the Cheerleader :D 🎐
I enjoyed this video very much. But I am curious if/when you will discuss the elephant in the Harry Potter Room for Christians: The Occult, witchcraft and wizardry. These elements need to be discussed as the other side of the same coin i.e the virtues and lessons to be learned from JK Rowling's writing.
Good point. I get the feeling fast in the HP universe they are more like mutants in the xmen universe. That their is some genetic component that allows this amazing talent to appear.
Fr Casey, just watched this and it's made me face my thoughts of death which is I am not exactly afraid of death but painful death. Death that comes after too much suffering be it short or longer time before death. How do I still be afraid?
Fundamentalists: "REEEEEEEE! WITCHCRAFT! THE OCCULT! HERESY!!!!!! REEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Some Franciscan Friar: "Apparently someone didn't read the Harry Potter novels - or else they would know the underlying message. But no! They are afraid of summoning demons by reading them..."
I certainly never considered the Harry books this way. Of course, I admit, I was hung up on Dumblededumb. He was supposedly so strong, but in the end chose euthanasia, and made Snape do the heavy lifting.
What do you mean? He was already dying. In trying to break the ring horcrux he was curse and it was slowly killing him, so like a terminal illness. On the other hand, he was also aware that Malfoy was commanded by Voldemort to kill him. Asking Snape to kill him instead, saved Malfoy from becoming a murderer and thus, saving his soul. It also made Snape become trusted in Voldermort's camp, making him the perfect double (triple) agent. He didn't escape, he created the perfect way to help both Harry and Malfoy.
@@SaffariRose As bad as I think euthanasia is for the dying, it would be even to use on someone who wasn't already dying. In fact, it would probably just be called murder! In other words, it couldn't be ethanasia if he weren't already dying. Moving on, the whole series plays interesting game of saving souls and appointing God parents, while trying very hard to leave God out of everything. Nonetheless, since they are worried about souls, I fail to see how wanting and planning to kill someone but not being able to because the person is dead saves the soul. Granted I'm attributing traits of the real God to a made up and absent entity, but surely the judge of souls will not be so easily mislead. Also, why is Malfoy's soul of more concern than Snape's? Why is nobody concerned about the murder on his soul? If it doesn't matter because Dumblededumb is cursed, than it shouldn't matter for Malfoy's soul either. If you find yourself wanting to answer with anything including intent (Malfoy didn't know he was sick etc.), than I refer you back to my earlier argument. We simply can't have it both ways. Either intent matters or it doesn't. If it does than Malfoy is in trouble either way. If it doesn't than Snape is doomed. (Fortunately, God is forgiving, and may even forgive this atrocious fallacy.)
@@mandyv8524 There isn't a 'God' in the Harry Potter series. So there wasn't one to leave out. There's just good and evil and the set of rules that bind them. AND, the total embodiments of each, i.e, Voldemort as evil impersonified, Harry's acts of kindness, bravery etc, as good. People often mistake Dumbledore as the 'God' character, but he isn't, he is just as flawed as everyone else but aims to make the right choices when he can. By saying this, what I meant by Malfoy's soul being 'saved' was lifted directly from the book and the words of Dumbledore himself. In their world, killing strips/splits and taints/damages the soul; In our world, murder is a violation of the 6th commandment. Since there is no God in the Potter world, the punishments of evil acts is directly upon the self, whereas, for us Christians, it is a violation against humanity and our pact with God in addition to our souls' condemnation. Therefore, the ways in which we teach about the consequences of murder is different. Because we have a God, we have a way of penance and forgiveness, while in the Potter world, this act, becomes a matter of intent. In Potter world, when good people kill evil people, why does nobody talk of soul splitting? Again, Intent. In the Potter world, Good is greater than Evil therefore Good people are Greater than Evil people. But for us, all people are equal, God judges Good and Evil. We have no authority to place judgment. As for your comment on Snape's soul, permit me to use your own response to answer and explain why; Euthanisia vs Murder, Intent vs Consent. Is the euthanizer a murderer, when consent was given for the act? Isn't it why it's called a mercy killing? Snape himself asked the exact question to Dumbledore, "What about my soul?" As I'm sure you're aware, there's a big debate on mercy killings; what does the Bible say about it? Are we not commanded not to kill? (Infact, there are arguments about the discrepancies of the translated Hebrew words, stating there is a difference between 'Thou shalt not *Kill*' and 'Thou shalt not *murder*', but that is discussion for another time). So what about authority? Are euthanizers playing God? But in the face of impending death, should it matter if you took your end into your own hands? There is no answer for this, why, because we have no authority/ownership over our lives. However in Potter world, (since there is no God figure) these rules don't seem to be at stake. Remember the story of the last brother and the invisibility cloak? When he had gotten to a ripe old age, he gladly took off the cloak and embraced death. By Choice. When Harry went into the forest to Voldemort, he went to offer himself as a sacrifice. By Choice. Therefore, concerning death, killings and murder, one superior rule seems to be the act Choice, AND the act of self sacrifice regardless of consequence - Harry, Dumbledore and Snape, Body and Soul willingly given away for the Intent for the greater Good. Malfoy doesn't fall into this category. He made no choices of his own, his intents where forced upon him, he was acting on fear and command, he was no martyr, his act would have been a vile condemnation of his soul with no hope of retribution. Therefore, his soul deserved to be considered above Snapes'. His soul deserved to be saved.
@@SaffariRose @Yellow* Sage * I know there isn't a god in the Potter world. That's why it was so annoying to have a godfather. As a Catholic, I am against Euthanasia in all its forms. Despite all the violence and deaths, most of it was obvious fantasy and not to be emulated. Somehow the part about D asking to be killed seemed more realistic to my daughters when they read the books. I had to show them how it would have been braver for D to have carried on despite the curse. It was well written making it very real, but in this case too real. I was already against D almost "sacrificing" Harry rather than telling him the whole truth earlier. I wasn't pleased with the character when he chose what he believed to be the easier death. Yes, he wanted to be seen as a sacrifice, but IMHO it was coward's way out. Just my thoughts.
@@mandyv8524 OK! I understand where you are coming from. I'm not a parent so I can assume it difficult to have to explain these concepts to children when a written work is so compelling. I began the books when I was in elementary and the last one came out when I was in high school, but I too was also brought up Catholic, so at no point did I draw out parallels to Christianity or Christian values early on, at least not until the last book (Harry's sacrifice in comparison to Jesus's sacrifice), but by then, my faith was already established so I could also tell all the contradictions. Which is also why I pointed out the lack of a true God in the books because it's a notion I come across so often, (placing Dumbledore as this God figure, Harry as Jesus, Voldemort as the devil) which is all wrong, but which also means new generations of kids who will read these books will look at it from these kinds of perspectives instead of in isolation, to form their own perspectives and opinions like my generation did. The books did well to raise alot of questions in accordance to goodness and even in challenges and discussions to our faith, but somehow, I still think it dangerous to give it a full Christian perspective because that wasn't the author's intent, meaning there are many contradictions and fallacies if we are to bring them up against doctrines/preachings. Anyways, Dumbledore's decision I take purely in isolation to plot as well as in accordance to their own world views and sense of morality. To ours, it's a red flag.
But whay if you're emotional and as much as you try, as simple human being, you can't stop feeling deep inside that it hurts the way some people takes advantage of you almost every time you give yourself...is it ok to allow others to hurt you intendely?
You can read both. I have done so myself. However, I did it in the correct order, Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and Then Harry Potter. You've read the Harry Potter books multiple times thru and yet never read Tolken... This is the cause of my vehemence.
If love is so fundamental to Catholicism, then why it does it become a sin to love & marry a non- Catholic person? Love is a natural feeling, so why the person who married/ loved a non - Catholic is made to feel GUILTY & a sinner by Church authorities & Catholics? Your Talk had wisdom but what about practicality of love? Are we supposed to love & marry a non- Catholic or not? What if Voldemort was Catholic?
@@Sonu-tz2js I don't think the church says it's a sin to love someone from outside your faith..All the Bible says is that when you are completely filled with faith, you and your actions will be heavily influenced by our faith ( this is true in regards to many things other than faith also ,like political ideologies) and when your partner isn't filled with faith ,there will be practical issues in marriage,one person will have to kind of surrender...LOVE IS NOT SIN..LOVE IS WHAT CHRIST PREACHED...
If love is so fundamental to Catholicism, then why it does it become a sin to love & marry a non- Catholic person? Love is a natural feeling, so why the person who married/ loved a non - Catholic is made to feel GUILTY & a sinner by Church authorities & Catholics? Your Talk had wisdom but what about practicality of love? Are we supposed to love & marry a non- Catholic or not? What if Voldemort was Catholic?
I think the reason people refrain from marrying non Catholics is because it’d be difficult to have a separate set of values and ideals than your spouse. If you want to raise your kids in Christ, and your wife or husband is a different strand of Christianity or another religion entirely, it could cause many problems in the home.
I don't think the church says it's a sin to love someone from outside your faith..All the Bible says is that when you are completely filled with faith, you and your actions will be heavily influenced by our faith ,so it might cause practical difficulties in marriage where one partner will have to surrender their views...
Lust is a "natural feeling". If you are a Catholic, then you believe that the church and the Eucharist are needed for salvation. So... If you are a Catholic who married a non-catholic (outside of communion with the salvific church), you did not marry for love of that person, you married for lust of them. If you are a Catholic and are married to someone who the church says may not attain eternal life... How could you possibly say you love them, if you do not convert them?
My Grandson's UA-cam Demitri Funnell; +, J Blagg _only for his 16 Music Videos: Now a Senior on Scholarship at Jacobs School of Music, indiana University Class of 2021 (Symphonic Band mostly^^ )
Fr. Casey, this thesis is excellent. You must read The Lord of the Rings--your useless trivia video suggested you still haven't. I imagine every friary has a copy. You can have mine. It's only a thousand-page novel!
Wh en you take something made in the world as a tool to reach people for jesus, you have officially understood "Live in the world But Do not be conformed"
The Catholic Church denounced Harry Potter and endorsed LOTR They felt LOTR was a clear conflict of Light vs Dark Harry Potter uses both dark n good magic
Very interesting and inspiring account of JK Rowling's work. Not having read her books I had no idea they had such depth in them. I'd thought they were just children's adventures about witchcraft.
As with many other things in our secular culture we should take what is good and reject what isn't. The Church has been doing this since it's inception.
It's a very wise book, the subtle nuggets of wisdom of true friendship & love, are found in the entire series. I don't remember any details now. But when I read it, it was a wonderful experience!
Very very questionable. Holy crap. Harry very much so knew that he had all 3 deathly hallows. He goes to the clearing with no intention of fighting, he turns the stone over to resurrect all of the people he cares about. He watched Snape die because voldemort thought he was the one who controlled the wand. The Cloak was the only thing he wasn't absolutely positive on. The stone was literally a part of a horcrux
Personally I never feared my own death. First of all because of IHVH Elohim's promise and Christ's sacrifice where I put my complete faith in. Also (the secondary reason) I do not consider Total Death, as in destruction of our being, as an possible occurrence by natural laws¹. For example, let us take a chair. If you throw it into a fire, is it lost? Sure it's form is destroyed and it's function is lost. But is it truly lost? It isn't, as the chair transforms into heath (energy), gasses, smokes and ashes. It only transformed. Is the cloud dead because it rained? Of course it's not, it turned from a vapor state into a fluid state. - If this is true, then why should we consider the mind or soul to be different? Then why should we (as humans) deny the possibility of bodily resurrection, which in it's most basal form is a reversal of the process? I personally believe Death to be a lie and lies shouldn't be feared². I'm curious how Fr. Casey thinks about this. - I'd like to end this opinion/statement with two quotes. The first I don't remember whom it's from, the second is from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King. 1. "We should not fear death, because were we are, death isn't and when death comes, we are gone." 2. “For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.” - Notes: ¹. Of course IHVH Elohim created the laws, as such he can abolish them. ². That death is a lie, does not mean it doesn't exist. Lies while being what they are, still exist.
I don't have a problem with Harry as an entertaining movie franchise, but the targeting of kids wishing there were witches is disturbing..... it has a far-reaching influence away from the Christ. I think fr Casey has some nostalgia with this, unfortunately the JK Rowlings used ACTUAL spells in her writings, probably on purpose. I have seen the caution list for things that open doors to the demonic.... HARRY POTTER is indeed in the list.
CAREFUL HERE: I love your work and videos all through the years except for this one. Simply because this whole approach to the Christian experience was based on a pagan series of movies and books. Magic, sorcery and fantasy play a big part of it as we all know. I think is important to keep focus on transferring faith to our youth in Jesus Christ's rather than on a pagan sensationalist culture. There is danger here. Watch out, the devil gets in easily through this.
I saw a few videos of his some were really good then a few warning lights went off so I decided to check his previous videos to discern and this video pretty much has me convinced to stay away from this guy. Fr Chad Ripperger has a talk somewhere on youtube where he says that he was performing an exorcism where the demons possessing the person claimed to be the same seven demons that inspired JK Rowling to write Harry Potter, He then goes on to give the best case for rejecting Harry Potter as a Catholic (and I used to be a Huge Harry Potter fan having grown up reading all the books multiple times, even I could see the Christian Parallels in the stories, till I heard Fr Ripperger's case against it). He says that JK Rowling Collects unusual Names, which is True, she has referred to this many times in the past, she has used many of these unusual names in the books as well, some of these names are names of Demons, and demons get special power over anyone using their names frivolously even reading them. So calling JK Rowling an "Inspiration" and basically begging for validation from a woman who is basically a pro choice, anti-catholic feminist has pretty much made up my mind for me. Coming back to this Friar here, Almost all the content on his channel panders to the emotion and not the will and that is just plain asking for trouble, there are other things too that have had me disturbed about this channel for quite some time now but a youtube comment section is not the place to discuss them.
@@rd8987-- Not trying to be flippant, but then... what is the place to discuss them? Most people who read your comment, and are interested in what you are saying (myself included) are unlikely to encounter you in ANY other place to hear the rest of the story.
@@drewga403 well we can discuss about Harry potter anywhere, what I am hesitant to discuss in public is my criticisms of a priest who is in apparent good standing with the church. I refuse to criticise him publicly, in a comment section for the whole world to see, I would prefer to discuss what I find wrong about what he's says with him first. And then privately with anyone else interested in why he is wrong on certain things. In the meanwhile I would exhort anyone who is genuinely seeking meaningful relationship with Christ within the church to be very careful about what they take in from this priests videos.
@@rd8987 Okay, I see what you mean by proper place. And I respect that. I have my own reservations about the whole Harry Potter thing - especially it's targeting of children, and indoctrinating them into a familiarity with any -- muchless many -- concepts of ceremonial magic and paganism. So I was very surprised to see a Franciscan priest praising the series. But given the particular elements he highlighted, I think he makes as strong an argument as anyone could. But I still have my misgivings. Yet he strikes me as highly sincere, well intended, extremely intelligent and educated, and most importantly fervently seeking to extend the message of Christ to those who have been largely unfamiliar with or rejecting of it in the past. So maybe his "willingness to go there" is a case of meeting people where they are at approach more than anything else. I commend his efforts, and immensely respect his vocation. But...I'm still going to disagree about encouraging children to dive into Harry Potter.
Sorry, not sure I fully agree here and ill explain. Whether it has Christian values or not, all of these types of fantasy films always have elements of the occult. So much so they try (and succeed) to make Magic, Demons, Occultism super 'cool' and appealing to children. Thus warping there minds and drifting them further away from God. I know as I was and still am a science fiction fan, although i tread carefully understanding that a lot of the underlining tone is to lead souls away from our faith. Remember all, the devil has 100,000 different paths of confusion, lies, etc. The Lord has just one, the straight and narrow. The point of this? Whilst attractive and a good viewing pleasure, keep your children and selves on guard to what some of the undertones in these films do. Dont be surprised in the future if the next batch of fantasy films have androgynous characters promoting modernism. Christ be with you all.
My Friend once went for a retreat, and during the prophetic session.. i.e., when children came running towards the altar inspired by Holy Spirit, One Girl came and said (she was almost unconscious) that you must not watch Harry Potter, and you must confess that etc., My friend said they it was Jesus who talked through her... I Have also gone for this retreat but it was before she went so I know how authentic that is. Since then I stopped supporting Harry Potter.
Wow, Harry Potter... really? Are you going to link Christianity to Star Wars too? George Lucas did put Christian themes in there. Just because these authors and movie makers borrowed from Christianity, it does not mean their work is "Christian". I expected better from you than this Casey.
Not really. If you are to talk to a group of teenagers who have no interest in stuff about faith whatsoever it definitely is a good way to really grab their attention and deliver the main point with full potential.
@@maureennetto7799 Yeah and the second Vatican council thought the same thing too with the Novus Ordo mass, turns out it had the opposite effect. Young people need re-interest in the traditional Catholic church, not make Christianity more "interesting" by giving it lightsabers and magic wands. Church attendance has been dropping for a reason when it worked fine for centuries before. The Protestants think they can make it interesting to the young by giving it rock music and sensationalism. And then its barely even Christian worship anymore. There is no substitute for Orthodoxy.
Well if you think about it, talking to kids who live in metro cities about pruning vineyards, sowing fields and catching fish from deep ocean wont have much effect and by saying that the younger generation need reinterest in so and so what if they just dont want to?
The brown girl on the 3rd row in pony tail wearing a vest is sitting sideways, chewing, talking, does not seem to be listening, is very distractful. Someone should call her attention and tell her that she's being disrespectful in an atmosphere that needs presence in a proper and refine way. In order to mature respectful and be respected, someone please let her know.
@@JackGleason543 Yes, the brown girl with black hair in front of the bnrunette pony-tailed girl. I notice the demeanor, not the colour! I'm glad I got your attention!
@@JackGleason543 But of course, that's why the more I want the brown girl with black pony-tailed hair to listen and behave accordingly like the rest of the white and pale attentive girls! Kibitz her for me to stop chewing!
Sorry but I dont agree with this. I had an experience with Harry Potter and all the witchcraft in those books is real. They had to do prayer for me to liberate me from all the spells and curses. There was a day where I turned the blind eye with all the witchcraft in these books just told myself it was fiction. But no wayyy jose will i ever read or watch these books disguised as friendliness!.
So what, you picked up a book or watched a movie and starting shooting spells from a wooden stick? Cause as a kid I wanted nothing more than for magick to be real and be a wizard and yeah know what? Nothing ever happened. Haha
I know right I mean its not like the greatest apologist of the 20th century used fiction to relay scriptural messages and it's certainly not like Jesus ever used allegory in his sermons.... oh wait. That so many have forgotten the power of story is why so much modern Christian art falls flat.
As a Catholic myself, I’m always amazed at how people dismiss Harry Potter due to claims of it promoting satanic teachings or something along those lines. I read some of the books and watched the movies as a child, and they instilled in me many important messages like how good will always triumph over evil and the importance of forgiveness, friendship, and love.
JK Rowling is a christian, and was most certainly drawing more moral inspiration from Christ than from the mystical occult
I feel like such moral panic over Satanism is more of an evangelical or LDS thing, and seeing Catholics fall into this is a real shame. I mean, in the first place, it's a fundamental misunderstanding about Satanism. No one actually worships Satan. The entire point is that they're edgy atheists who pretend to do so to get a rise out of religious people, and the satanic panic people fall right into that. They make religious people look absolutely ridiculous when they say things like "Harry Potter is satanic."
@@MrFairbanksak1 i would say though theistic satanism exists, where people take it 100% seriously and do believe in/worship satan, but their worship is never the blood human sacrifice moonlight goat slaughter rituals the evangelicals cry about, and is generally a pretty extreme minority among satanism. most satanists are just edgy athiests lol
Darn. This man makes it hard to be an atheist.
Haha!
Catholic, try it! You'll love it!
Should i say "welcome home" 🤭🤭
Welcome brother! 🙏
I know something of what you mean, Barry. He's making it hard for me to remain a Protestant.
By dying Our Lord destroyed death and by rising he restored our life.
I never thought of the Harry Potter series in this way. Thank you Father Casey, for such an interesting talk.
It’s a shame that Harry Potter and this interpretation of it has been missed out due to many radicals, I remember when I was in Elementary school (Catholic), I had heard of it being banned and discouraged in Catholic/Christian circles. Such lovely meanings.
As a Canadian who speaks French, I'd say that the translation of "vol de mort" : flight from death. 😆. Anyway, brilliant talk Casey, I've never thought about it like that. What an inspiring talk as I slowly digest your responses to the last few questions. Thank you.
Harry Potter brought me closer to God. Seriously. I never understood why the Evangelicals were so adamant that the books were Satanic, because to me they were full of Christian imagery. Harry's journey, the hero's journey in literature, is also the savior's journey, and there's so many parallels between Harry and Jesus it's wild. Ms. Rowling, from what I understand, is a Christian, of the Anglican church. I was an adult when I started reading the books, maybe around 2003, so I had a different perspective, and I got the Christian theme in the books instantly. I'm 55 now, and a Potterhead for life. 😂
You're a Ravenclaw because you're really smart, I know how much school you went through to become a priest, lol! Welcome to Team Ravenclaw Father! 😁
All is well.
Thank you Father Casey, this was wonderful and helpful. it would be sad that young catholic people would be denied the wisdom that can be drawn from Harry Potter stories. This has been a much needed discussion. Explaining these stories instead of rejecting them. Bringing clarity within a Catholic Christian context. life and love of Jesus,God Bless.
"Confused why a Dementor is talking to you" I DIED AHAHAHAHAHA
I legitimately did a spit take
I didn't know Dementors can be this charming though... xDDD
I watched some videos already but this one had the biggest impact on my agnostic heart.
I did too lol 😂
RIP
Thank you very much Fr. Casey for giving us a vivid perspective about death in correlation to Harry Potter novel. It was an enlightenment esp.on my part that up to now, am still in pain over the demise of my mom. A lot of questions bothers me that in one way or another, unconsciously, it changes the way I should look to the goodness of life after death.
Am an avid supporter of yours here'n the Philippines. God bless you more and may St. Francis always guide you. Praying for ministry. BUTCH ☺
Philippines! Mabuhay! kababayan!
Im a simple catholic, i love Harry Potter, there is nothing wrong with it. Love you all ❤
What a speech. Every minute was interesting and the end was something to think about.
Thanks!
If love is so fundamental to Catholicism, then why it does it become a sin to love & marry a non- Catholic person? Love is a natural feeling, so why the person who married/ loved a non - Catholic is made to feel GUILTY & a sinner by Church authorities & Catholics? Your Talk had wisdom but what about practicality of love? Are we supposed to love & marry a non- Catholic or not? What if Voldemort was Catholic?
@@Sonu-tz2js I don’t know if in ten months you changed your mind, but you can’t just apply your own experience to all the Catholic Faith.
My father was a Muslim and my mom is a catholic. They did not encounter any problems.
Both of them lived their faith as they wanted without any members of my Church telling them they have sinned.
Gave me a new appreciation for Harry Potter and reenforced what I have always believed and struggle with .
God bless you Fr.Casey I desperately needed this lesson.
Thank you for setting my heart straight again.
Wonderful speech! Very insightful.
I love Harry Potter & The Narnia. Amazing video. Thanks for sharing, Friar Casey💛🙏
This was great! I remembered when I finished the 7 book I was struck by the parallels with the gospel, but I hadn't heard anyone else talk about it.
I love how some christians put down Harry Potter for having magic, yet they love Star Wars and Lord of the Rings to death.
Thanks for this awesome message. God bless you for enlightening us more on death and Christianity by picking out the good attitudes and qualities you read in Harry Potter. Though some "newbies" in Christ would condemn the book as demonic but I would also want to remind to the read the book of Acts 17:23 which says for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. Paul saw their good will in worshipping God but they don't know how to channel it to the right source hence he reminded them that it is the same God he wants to talk to them about. Same goes with the 3 Magi who were apparently Astrologers and magicians that offered Christ the gift of Gold, frankincense and myrrh. Despite them being non believers, God used them to work.
So my dear brothers and sisters let's seek the Good in every situation and channel them back to Christ who is author and finisher of our faith.
Yes well said!
Amen!
I Love Harry Potter because its fiction and just literary...there is nothing wrong about being fan the thing is you should always believe in God Jesus Christ!...Harry Potter gives moral support about friendship, family and etc. While Jesus is everything!
Bless you Fr Cassey.Amazing video
Oh gosh the first time I read the Harry Potter books I literally read all 7 books in 10 days. I could barely sleep until I finished them. If I was awake i was reading. But otherwise I'm a hufflepuff thru and thru.
They were great books but the later books were too quidditch heavy.
I wanted to mention that being quite abused by my mother, I could never love her. However, when I grew up and went my own way, I helped her as much as I could, because she was a human being and, as my mother, I could not ignore her and do what I felt was right up until the day before she died. At that time, she disowned me, told me she wished I would drop dead, and had an evil grin expression on her face, like she was possessed by Satan! I left her then and flew home. The next day she was gone.
What a hard experience Suzanne💔
Expertly said really brought a smile to my face
I absolutely LOVE the Harry Potter series. Some books I've read probably seven times.
I have wondered how books like Harry Potter and other fantasy novels fit within a Catholic life. The whole 'messing with the occult' thing is after all a sin. I have to admit that I love the Harry Potter story, and Lord of the Rings, and Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, and many other fantasy novels and as I am progressing through the RCIA and learning more about Catholicism I have been finding it difficult to work out what is and what is not ''acceptible'. Your video has been a big help to me today. In books where goodness, kindness, selflessness, morality and humility are promoted as desirable traits, and where evil, cruelty, selfishness, immorality and arrogance are shown to be signs of weakness, surely there can be no harm to the reader? Harry Potter certainly doesn't promote magic as a solution to all the ills in the world - it's actually shown as more of a weakness in those who seek power through magic, while those who will give up everything for the sake of others find that being a loving human being is actually a far more powerful way to live. There's no pagan religion involved in the story - Christmas is celebrated in most of the Harry Potter books in fact. As far as I can see it now, Harry Potter is a great story with good moral and Christian values throughout, so thank you for your help in clarifying it.
Exactly. I had never thought of that, but I think you're absolutely right: those who rely on magic for things are actually quite flawed while those who act through their humanity and weakness are the ones with virtue. Touche!
Voldemort took away Harry’s parents for his selfishness, but the love of his parents never disappeared, it just remained buried deep in Harry’s heart. The love and longing for his parents also became Harry’s faith, a spiritual belief and reliance, a reason for him to be strong and uplifting.
In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry stumbled into a secret room where he first saw the magic mirror of Erised, which means desire in reverse, so that people can see what they long for most through this mirror. It is the mirror that people can see what they most desire. Professor Dumbledore saw the picture which he was made blood pact with Grindelwald, one of the most powerful dark wizard of the last century, while eleven-year-old Harry Potter saw his parents, whom he has not seen for a long time. “The Potters smiled and waved at Harry and he stared hungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach them (Rowling, 1997) .”
Love is a two-way street. Parents have love for their children and children have love for their parents, and the overpowering spiritual power of love, on either side, can give a person the determination to overcome anything and the courage to escape from death.
Beyond his parents, Harry has the love of Sirius and his aunt. Sirius was a close friend of Harry’s parents who was falsely accused and imprisoned in Azkaban which is the wizarding World’s prison, and saved by Harry and his friends, who have been on the run ever since. He is the most important family member to Harry besides his parents, and he conveys the love of his family to Harry. Compared to Sirius’ simple love for Harry, his aunt’s love is very complex. Lily was found to have magical talent and was highly valued by her family and was sent to Hogwarts to study, while her aunt had no magical talent and had to stay in the Muggle world as a mediocre housewife, so she was jealous and resented her sister, and in Professor Snape’s recollection, she even called her sister a freak out loud. In Professor McGonagall’s eyes, the Vernons were “so unreliable that Harry could never be entrusted to this family”, but when the Vernons opened their door early on the morning and saw Harry in his infancy, they chose to keep him, despite the fact that they had not seen each other for years. Despite treating Harry very differently to their own son Dudley, the Vernons did their best to keep him safe from Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Aunt’s feelings towards Harry are extremely complex, she insists on destroying every invitation letter sent by the owls for admission, in essence fearing that she will lose Harry like she lost her sister many years ago. It is only in this installment of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that Dumbledore reveals to Harry the reason why he must remain with his aunt: “‘She doesn’t love me,’ said Harry at once. ‘She doesn’t give a damn-’ ‘But she took you,’ Dumbledore cut across him. ‘She may have taken you grudgingly, furiously, unwillingly, bitterly, yet still she took you, and in doing so, she sealed the charm I placed upon you. Your mother’s sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you.’ ‘I still don’t-’ ‘While you can still call home the place where your mother’s blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, whilst you are there he cannot hurt you. Your aunt knows this. I explained what I had done in the letter I left, with you, on her doorstep. She knows that allowing you houseroom may well have kept you alive for the past fifteen years’
Please, comment.
This made me cry happy tears. Being Catholic, HP was always frowned upon and being a chicken kid it did scare me to watch it. But as I got older I watched it again and understood its true meaning!. Its like the way we view people. Regardless of the bad people do we're called to love them. By looking at Harry Potter only from the surface, we think of it as a book, about the world of black magic, but when you look at it deeper beyond the surface you see its true meaning! Thank you for this message. Thank you for showing me a new point of view.
Yes, but why does black magic have to be used to portray our faith? God talks against witchcraft and magic multiple times in the bible? How can you use a man who sins to represent Christ's sinless nature?
@@rebeccaloggs457 To answer your question : I don't really know the answer. But I'm pretty sure J.K Rowling did not use the saddest period of her life to write a series dedicated to a witchcraft. That's the beauty of the series: Seems so dark from the surface but once you really read the stories its way more than that. At the end of the day the world of hogwarts and wizardry is a fantasy make believe not real figment of the imagination world. You can choose to see it as this and go about your day or really really make this world so alive that you take every bit of it so literally, you lose your sanity.
@@rebeccaloggs457 Also the book was not meant to portray our faith in any form. But there's beauty in being able to find God in everything which is what Fr. Casey has done.
@@gwynziee Hi, sorry for the late reply. I read the series so I understand that the only theme isn't witchcraft and I enjoyed reading it when I was younger. Even so, the books main theme is magic and contains examples of how magic can have positive outcomes when used "right."
While I have an idea as to what you're trying to explain, but it comes off strongly like a yin and yang type of philosophy. The way that you apply this philosophy is almost like suggesting that evil (sin) can have a good outcome, contradicting the nature of God who is wholly good.
The point is that the book can imply to those whose understanding of God quite limited (not to say mine is great) or are immature to believe that good can come from sin/evil and God is in agreement with that. But that narrative is false as it is sin that has caused the fall of man and our separation from God. We further know that no good comes from evil/sin as Jesus Christ was a perfect sacrifice, and what made him that perfect sacrifice was that he was wholly good in nature and never sinned (which is evil in nature).
@@rebeccaloggs457 While no good can come from evil, God can make something beautiful from a terrible situation. At the end of the day only God can make the impossible, possible.
Also if I were to give anyone advice on reading the HP series I'd tell them to just enjoy it and take it lightly. 💁🏽♀
Father Casey's videos are what you need to watch during quarantine
"But I should say, if asked, the tale is not really about Power and Dominion: that only sets the wheels going; it is about Death and the desire for deathlessness. Which is hardly more than to say it is a tale written by a Man!" -J.R.R. Tolkien, on Lord of the Rings.
It just started and im nervous. Harry potter helped me so much.
Hope you like it!
@@BreakingInTheHabit it actually made me look at the story in an even better way. Thank for the time you take posting these videos.
Thank you. Well done. Keep up the good work. I know your busy, but can we have more videos please.
Such a huge contrast to Father Ripperger's take on Harry Potter.
@Michelle Michelle yes, although both in representation of Catholicism & it's teachings.
The big question is who should I listen to? And what does God want me to do with them?
I also want to say that although I was baptized Catholic in 1981 (I was born Jewish), when I moved from the East Coast, Connecticut, to the West Coast, Washington State, I found that every Catholic Church I attended had so much hate and hypocrisy and fear and prejudice within its walls and its people, that I could not handle it! I try and respect and help everyone I can, regardless of race, religion, gender, etc. I could no longer remain Catholic where I live. The closest I could find was the Episcopal church, in dogma and respect for All People. I became Episcopalian because of this. I will, however, always feel Catholic in my soul and my belief in the power of the Trinity. My love for this tradition grows daily. If I had the money, I would move back to the East Coast where I felt most at home. But, as this is not the case, being a senior, I stay where I am. While I was never fortunate enough to experience true and unconditional love from any human in my life, I have found love through my pets and am grateful for that. I never had any siblings or children when I was married. I do, however, feel grateful for my pet cat and other dogs and cats I have had as pets. I know you don’t agree, but I do feel that the pets I have known and loved do have souls, somehow.
How prescient. A speech about death that is more relevant now more than ever. During a horrible pandemic.
"Vol de mort" can be better translated as "flight of death" which kind of means that it's a flight which is either somehow characterised by death or leading to death. Which is also equally interesting to me!
Love how you used Harry Potter here btw.
Waittt!!! We actually find out that he's the Horcrux through a memory from Snape and that's how he decided to give himself up for the rest of the Wizarding World.
I need to start doing what will happen and stop fearing what might happen. Well put. I’ve been overtaken by very mysterious circumstances. I have to let them play out with less trepidation. I fear suffering but even more I fear my wife and son not having me around to help them get through life. Thankfully my wife is coming to have faith in God. I want her to find strength in God no matter what happens to me.
LOTR is a beautiful book, it’s prose elevates the story to another level beyond the movies. The death of boromir is one of the most wonderfully tragic stories you can read.
Great talk!
I hope one day you will read Tolkien. ❤️
Oh my! Yes! This was great! I agree! You are brilliant! Thank you father Casey!
I have one thing to add. If Harry didn’t resurrect, he couldn’t have defeated Voldemort and the elder wand would have been his. So Harry is like Jesus! You where right about that all along! 😃😃😃
Hey, It's my Father Casey !!! I love you Father. God bless you. Amen.
Wow, amazing video 👏👏👏
Quite remarkable! I always knew these parallels existed but I never understood them nearly well enough to articulate them and vindicate myself of the persecution I received at the hands of these books. I was guilty as charged. Thank you for what you do dear brother.
You're welcome!
In that same year on Hallowe'en, James' love for his wife and son caused him to stand face to face with the darkest wizard in a century (Lord Voldemort) on his own in an effort to give them time to escape. Also in the same night, Lily's love for her son Harry protected him from Lord Voldemort. He became the only known person in history to survive the Killing Curse, because of the power of Lily's loving sacrifice.[16][17] However, it could be that while love was the motive, the cause of Harry's protection was that Lily had lured Voldemort into a binding magical contract so that having killed her, he would be unable to kill Harry, because he had already promised to spare Lily, and only her offer allowed him to kill her.
My great grandmother would write in her address book whenever someone would die wold write DEAD!
GREAT JOB MANG!!!!
"The Pagans understood the heart of God."
As a Pagan (Wiccan) myself, I found that quite moving and really appreciate that you're able to see the beauty in other faiths. Love and light to you. + )O(
@Michelle Michelle Thanks for the recommendations!
2.1. Christian’s Love in Harry Potter
The core values of Christ are embodied in the Bible, the canonical classic of Christianity (McGrath, 2016) . The Bible is not only intensely religious in nature, it is also an extremely great work of literature, and many writers have drawn inspiration from reading the Bible. While the Old Testament is mainly an account of the history and cultural development of the Jews and the myths and legends of the origins of the world, the New Testament is a description of what happened after the birth of Jesus, with justification by faith at the heart of the faith. Justification means to be justified by faith, and to be justified means to be judged by God as innocent. The Christian doctrine of original sin states that man’s original sin prevents him from attaining righteousness and that he must be saved from sin by the grace of God and of the Son, Jesus. In the Middle Ages, the Roman Church emphasized justification through good works and holy merit, but the atonement movement led by the willed theologian and Catholic priest Martin Luther became the spark for the Reformation. The Reformation was sparked by the justification by faith slogan, it means to be justification by faith rather than by good works, just as what is said in the Bible Roman: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood-to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith (Riches, 2000) .”
As mentioned above, the core belief of the New Testament is justification by faith, so the core value of Christianity is brotherly love. The love of the family and the love of the little family are blended together in a way that is both fraternal and private. The Bible says that “he that loveth not his brother abideth in death”. Thus, Christianity emphasizes love for others.
The theme of love is emphasized throughout the Harry Potter, echoing perfectly the core values of Christianity. During his seven years of growing up, Harry Potter has received or spread many kinds of love.
The love from Family. The love of Harry’s mother, Lily Potter, for her child is the most obvious love expressed in the entire book. When Harry was one year old, Voldemort’s magic grew stronger so he began to purge himself of dissent. When Voldemort laid his clutches on the Potter family, Lily set up a protection spell for Harry at the expense of herself. The powerful force of love conjured up by this ancient magic actually saved the one-year-old baby from death, and Voldemort’s evil spell failed on Harry, leaving only a permanent scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead, instead almost killing himself.
Fabulous talk!
Yes, Thank You! Xoxo
As exected you are always great and intelligent. Death indeed differs on what perspective a person is coming from. You are an effective and efficient missionary. I listened to many of your UA-cam topics and so loaded with information and faith strengthening. How I wish I can be a priest like you.
Demitri is Not "David Blagg's son" as one Stafford School /District put online; he is my oldest Son's only Child & his Mom in Northern Virginia is the Cheerleader :D 🎐
Wonderful speech.Bro.you hv done a good job. God bless you.
4:14: Try reading Astrid Lindgren books! SHE dealt with issues like that in kids ' already in the 1960es and 1970es!
You mean Pippi Longstocking series?
I enjoyed this video very much. But I am curious if/when you will discuss the elephant in the Harry Potter Room for Christians: The Occult, witchcraft and wizardry. These elements need to be discussed as the other side of the same coin i.e the virtues and lessons to be learned from JK Rowling's writing.
Good point. I get the feeling fast in the HP universe they are more like mutants in the xmen universe. That their is some genetic component that allows this amazing talent to appear.
V good talk, tqvm!
Jean Vanier was a Canadian layman, not a priest.
Coincidentally watching this as I am making my assignment on Eschatology XD
I recommend you to read Preparation for death by Saint Alphonsus Liguori
Main theme is LOVE.
Fr Casey, just watched this and it's made me face my thoughts of death which is I am not exactly afraid of death but painful death. Death that comes after too much suffering be it short or longer time before death. How do I still be afraid?
Hi father .. i recomend you to read The Chronicals of Thomas Covenant
Fundamentalists: "REEEEEEEE! WITCHCRAFT! THE OCCULT! HERESY!!!!!! REEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Some Franciscan Friar: "Apparently someone didn't read the Harry Potter novels - or else they would know the underlying message. But no! They are afraid of summoning demons by reading them..."
Sirius was godfather of Harry.
HUFFLEPUFF!!!! Hufflepuffs are particularly good finders
TFW you realize Voldemort is basically Xehanort.
I certainly never considered the Harry books this way. Of course, I admit, I was hung up on Dumblededumb. He was supposedly so strong, but in the end chose euthanasia, and made Snape do the heavy lifting.
What do you mean? He was already dying. In trying to break the ring horcrux he was curse and it was slowly killing him, so like a terminal illness. On the other hand, he was also aware that Malfoy was commanded by Voldemort to kill him. Asking Snape to kill him instead, saved Malfoy from becoming a murderer and thus, saving his soul. It also made Snape become trusted in Voldermort's camp, making him the perfect double (triple) agent. He didn't escape, he created the perfect way to help both Harry and Malfoy.
@@SaffariRose As bad as I think euthanasia is for the dying, it would be even to use on someone who wasn't already dying. In fact, it would probably just be called murder! In other words, it couldn't be ethanasia if he weren't already dying.
Moving on, the whole series plays interesting game of saving souls and appointing God parents, while trying very hard to leave God out of everything. Nonetheless, since they are worried about souls, I fail to see how wanting and planning to kill someone but not being able to because the person is dead saves the soul. Granted I'm attributing traits of the real God to a made up and absent entity, but surely the judge of souls will not be so easily mislead.
Also, why is Malfoy's soul of more concern than Snape's? Why is nobody concerned about the murder on his soul? If it doesn't matter because Dumblededumb is cursed, than it shouldn't matter for Malfoy's soul either. If you find yourself wanting to answer with anything including intent (Malfoy didn't know he was sick etc.), than I refer you back to my earlier argument. We simply can't have it both ways. Either intent matters or it doesn't. If it does than Malfoy is in trouble either way. If it doesn't than Snape is doomed.
(Fortunately, God is forgiving, and may even forgive this atrocious fallacy.)
@@mandyv8524 There isn't a 'God' in the Harry Potter series. So there wasn't one to leave out. There's just good and evil and the set of rules that bind them. AND, the total embodiments of each, i.e, Voldemort as evil impersonified, Harry's acts of kindness, bravery etc, as good. People often mistake Dumbledore as the 'God' character, but he isn't, he is just as flawed as everyone else but aims to make the right choices when he can. By saying this, what I meant by Malfoy's soul being 'saved' was lifted directly from the book and the words of Dumbledore himself. In their world, killing strips/splits and taints/damages the soul; In our world, murder is a violation of the 6th commandment. Since there is no God in the Potter world, the punishments of evil acts is directly upon the self, whereas, for us Christians, it is a violation against humanity and our pact with God in addition to our souls' condemnation. Therefore, the ways in which we teach about the consequences of murder is different. Because we have a God, we have a way of penance and forgiveness, while in the Potter world, this act, becomes a matter of intent. In Potter world, when good people kill evil people, why does nobody talk of soul splitting? Again, Intent. In the Potter world, Good is greater than Evil therefore Good people are Greater than Evil people. But for us, all people are equal, God judges Good and Evil. We have no authority to place judgment.
As for your comment on Snape's soul, permit me to use your own response to answer and explain why; Euthanisia vs Murder, Intent vs Consent. Is the euthanizer a murderer, when consent was given for the act? Isn't it why it's called a mercy killing? Snape himself asked the exact question to Dumbledore, "What about my soul?" As I'm sure you're aware, there's a big debate on mercy killings; what does the Bible say about it? Are we not commanded not to kill? (Infact, there are arguments about the discrepancies of the translated Hebrew words, stating there is a difference between 'Thou shalt not *Kill*' and 'Thou shalt not *murder*', but that is discussion for another time). So what about authority? Are euthanizers playing God? But in the face of impending death, should it matter if you took your end into your own hands? There is no answer for this, why, because we have no authority/ownership over our lives. However in Potter world, (since there is no God figure) these rules don't seem to be at stake. Remember the story of the last brother and the invisibility cloak? When he had gotten to a ripe old age, he gladly took off the cloak and embraced death. By Choice. When Harry went into the forest to Voldemort, he went to offer himself as a sacrifice. By Choice. Therefore, concerning death, killings and murder, one superior rule seems to be the act Choice, AND the act of self sacrifice regardless of consequence - Harry, Dumbledore and Snape, Body and Soul willingly given away for the Intent for the greater Good. Malfoy doesn't fall into this category. He made no choices of his own, his intents where forced upon him, he was acting on fear and command, he was no martyr, his act would have been a vile condemnation of his soul with no hope of retribution. Therefore, his soul deserved to be considered above Snapes'. His soul deserved to be saved.
@@SaffariRose @Yellow* Sage * I know there isn't a god in the Potter world. That's why it was so annoying to have a godfather. As a Catholic, I am against Euthanasia in all its forms. Despite all the violence and deaths, most of it was obvious fantasy and not to be emulated. Somehow the part about D asking to be killed seemed more realistic to my daughters when they read the books. I had to show them how it would have been braver for D to have carried on despite the curse. It was well written making it very real, but in this case too real. I was already against D almost "sacrificing" Harry rather than telling him the whole truth earlier. I wasn't pleased with the character when he chose what he believed to be the easier death. Yes, he wanted to be seen as a sacrifice, but IMHO it was coward's way out. Just my thoughts.
@@mandyv8524 OK! I understand where you are coming from. I'm not a parent so I can assume it difficult to have to explain these concepts to children when a written work is so compelling. I began the books when I was in elementary and the last one came out when I was in high school, but I too was also brought up Catholic, so at no point did I draw out parallels to Christianity or Christian values early on, at least not until the last book (Harry's sacrifice in comparison to Jesus's sacrifice), but by then, my faith was already established so I could also tell all the contradictions. Which is also why I pointed out the lack of a true God in the books because it's a notion I come across so often, (placing Dumbledore as this God figure, Harry as Jesus, Voldemort as the devil) which is all wrong, but which also means new generations of kids who will read these books will look at it from these kinds of perspectives instead of in isolation, to form their own perspectives and opinions like my generation did.
The books did well to raise alot of questions in accordance to goodness and even in challenges and discussions to our faith, but somehow, I still think it dangerous to give it a full Christian perspective because that wasn't the author's intent, meaning there are many contradictions and fallacies if we are to bring them up against doctrines/preachings.
Anyways, Dumbledore's decision I take purely in isolation to plot as well as in accordance to their own world views and sense of morality. To ours, it's a red flag.
But whay if you're emotional and as much as you try, as simple human being, you can't stop feeling deep inside that it hurts the way some people takes advantage of you almost every time you give yourself...is it ok to allow others to hurt you intendely?
Actually, the Harry Potter books were much more entertaining than the bible.
Does eternity scare u?
YES
@@spiritsofnatureonbreak7850 more than death?
Eternity in salvation? No.
Eternity in death? Yes.
Would you have any information about vocational discernment in California I live in California.
Stop reading Harry Potter and read LoTR and the Hobbit RIGHT NOW!
Aaron Williams why can’t someone read both...?
You can read both. I have done so myself. However, I did it in the correct order, Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and Then Harry Potter. You've read the Harry Potter books multiple times thru and yet never read Tolken... This is the cause of my vehemence.
That's great advice
If love is so fundamental to Catholicism, then why it does it become a sin to love & marry a non- Catholic person? Love is a natural feeling, so why the person who married/ loved a non - Catholic is made to feel GUILTY & a sinner by Church authorities & Catholics? Your Talk had wisdom but what about practicality of love? Are we supposed to love & marry a non- Catholic or not? What if Voldemort was Catholic?
@@Sonu-tz2js I don't think the church says it's a sin to love someone from outside your faith..All the Bible says is that when you are completely filled with faith, you and your actions will be heavily influenced by our faith ( this is true in regards to many things other than faith also ,like political ideologies) and when your partner isn't filled with faith ,there will be practical issues in marriage,one person will have to kind of surrender...LOVE IS NOT SIN..LOVE IS WHAT CHRIST PREACHED...
If love is so fundamental to Catholicism, then why it does it become a sin to love & marry a non- Catholic person? Love is a natural feeling, so why the person who married/ loved a non - Catholic is made to feel GUILTY & a sinner by Church authorities & Catholics? Your Talk had wisdom but what about practicality of love? Are we supposed to love & marry a non- Catholic or not? What if Voldemort was Catholic?
I think the reason people refrain from marrying non Catholics is because it’d be difficult to have a separate set of values and ideals than your spouse. If you want to raise your kids in Christ, and your wife or husband is a different strand of Christianity or another religion entirely, it could cause many problems in the home.
I don't think the church says it's a sin to love someone from outside your faith..All the Bible says is that when you are completely filled with faith, you and your actions will be heavily influenced by our faith ,so it might cause practical difficulties in marriage where one partner will have to surrender their views...
Love is not a "natural feeling". It's a choice.
Lust is a "natural feeling".
If you are a Catholic, then you believe that the church and the Eucharist are needed for salvation. So... If you are a Catholic who married a non-catholic (outside of communion with the salvific church), you did not marry for love of that person, you married for lust of them.
If you are a Catholic and are married to someone who the church says may not attain eternal life... How could you possibly say you love them, if you do not convert them?
My Grandson's UA-cam Demitri Funnell; +, J Blagg _only for his 16 Music Videos: Now a Senior on Scholarship at Jacobs School of Music, indiana University Class of 2021 (Symphonic Band mostly^^ )
Harry is best archetype of Jesus.
Lesson of the story is it's easy to make a far superior wall book in the Bible
Fr. Casey, this thesis is excellent. You must read The Lord of the Rings--your useless trivia video suggested you still haven't. I imagine every friary has a copy. You can have mine. It's only a thousand-page novel!
Wh
en you take something made in the world as a tool to reach people for jesus, you have officially understood "Live in the world But Do not be conformed"
Some of your details on Harry Potter are a little off but the gist is okay.
At least he has the costume down.
What do you think.
The Catholic Church denounced Harry Potter and endorsed LOTR They felt LOTR was a clear conflict of Light vs Dark Harry Potter uses both dark n good magic
There is no official Catholic denouncement of Harry Potter or endorsement of The Lord of the Rings by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.
Very interesting and inspiring account of JK Rowling's work. Not having read her books I had no idea they had such depth in them. I'd thought they were just children's adventures about witchcraft.
As with many other things in our secular culture we should take what is good and reject what isn't. The Church has been doing this since it's inception.
It's a very wise book, the subtle nuggets of wisdom of true friendship & love, are found in the entire series. I don't remember any details now. But when I read it, it was a wonderful experience!
God's inside Harry.
Ravenpuff
Mmmmm, some of your Harry Potter lore is questionable....
Very very questionable. Holy crap. Harry very much so knew that he had all 3 deathly hallows. He goes to the clearing with no intention of fighting, he turns the stone over to resurrect all of the people he cares about. He watched Snape die because voldemort thought he was the one who controlled the wand. The Cloak was the only thing he wasn't absolutely positive on. The stone was literally a part of a horcrux
Personally I never feared my own death. First of all because of IHVH Elohim's promise and Christ's sacrifice where I put my complete faith in.
Also (the secondary reason) I do not consider Total Death, as in destruction of our being, as an possible occurrence by natural laws¹.
For example, let us take a chair. If you throw it into a fire, is it lost? Sure it's form is destroyed and it's function is lost. But is it truly lost?
It isn't, as the chair transforms into heath (energy), gasses, smokes and ashes. It only transformed. Is the cloud dead because it rained?
Of course it's not, it turned from a vapor state into a fluid state.
-
If this is true, then why should we consider the mind or soul to be different? Then why should we (as humans) deny the possibility of bodily resurrection, which in it's most basal form is a reversal of the process? I personally believe Death to be a lie and lies shouldn't be feared². I'm curious how Fr. Casey thinks about this.
-
I'd like to end this opinion/statement with two quotes. The first I don't remember whom it's from, the second is from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King.
1. "We should not fear death, because were we are, death isn't and when death comes, we are gone."
2. “For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
-
Notes:
¹. Of course IHVH Elohim created the laws, as such he can abolish them.
². That death is a lie, does not mean it doesn't exist. Lies while being what they are, still exist.
Did you survive covid
As far as I know, I've never had Covid-19. Two family members died of it though.
I don't have a problem with Harry as an entertaining movie franchise, but the targeting of kids wishing there were witches is disturbing..... it has a far-reaching influence away from the Christ. I think fr Casey has some nostalgia with this, unfortunately the JK Rowlings used ACTUAL spells in her writings, probably on purpose. I have seen the caution list for things that open doors to the demonic.... HARRY POTTER is indeed in the list.
She did not use actual spells in her books. Most of her alleged "spells" are Latin words.
It's just a book
Catholics love their Harry Potter? i thought this weird witch craft themed franchise was usually frowned upon by catholics...
There is a very vocal minority that has spoken against it. The vast majority find no problem with it.
@@BreakingInTheHabit thanks for the response, I appreciate perspective and other insight.
I think it's more the evangelical protestants. Catholics in my experience are often more broad minded then you might expect.
CAREFUL HERE: I love your work and videos all through the years except for this one. Simply because this whole approach to the Christian experience was based on a pagan series of movies and books. Magic, sorcery and fantasy play a big part of it as we all know. I think is important to keep focus on transferring faith to our youth in Jesus Christ's rather than on a pagan sensationalist culture. There is danger here. Watch out, the devil gets in easily through this.
I saw a few videos of his some were really good then a few warning lights went off so I decided to check his previous videos to discern and this video pretty much has me convinced to stay away from this guy. Fr Chad Ripperger has a talk somewhere on youtube where he says that he was performing an exorcism where the demons possessing the person claimed to be the same seven demons that inspired JK Rowling to write Harry Potter, He then goes on to give the best case for rejecting Harry Potter as a Catholic (and I used to be a Huge Harry Potter fan having grown up reading all the books multiple times, even I could see the Christian Parallels in the stories, till I heard Fr Ripperger's case against it). He says that JK Rowling Collects unusual Names, which is True, she has referred to this many times in the past, she has used many of these unusual names in the books as well, some of these names are names of Demons, and demons get special power over anyone using their names frivolously even reading them. So calling JK Rowling an "Inspiration" and basically begging for validation from a woman who is basically a pro choice, anti-catholic feminist has pretty much made up my mind for me. Coming back to this Friar here, Almost all the content on his channel panders to the emotion and not the will and that is just plain asking for trouble, there are other things too that have had me disturbed about this channel for quite some time now but a youtube comment section is not the place to discuss them.
@@rd8987-- Not trying to be flippant, but then... what is the place to discuss them? Most people who read your comment, and are interested in what you are saying (myself included) are unlikely to encounter you in ANY other place to hear the rest of the story.
@@drewga403 well we can discuss about Harry potter anywhere, what I am hesitant to discuss in public is my criticisms of a priest who is in apparent good standing with the church. I refuse to criticise him publicly, in a comment section for the whole world to see, I would prefer to discuss what I find wrong about what he's says with him first. And then privately with anyone else interested in why he is wrong on certain things. In the meanwhile I would exhort anyone who is genuinely seeking meaningful relationship with Christ within the church to be very careful about what they take in from this priests videos.
@@drewga403 if you are genuinely interested in my viewpoint, we can chat privately over FB messenger or email
@@rd8987 Okay, I see what you mean by proper place. And I respect that.
I have my own reservations about the whole Harry Potter thing - especially it's targeting of children, and indoctrinating them into a familiarity with any -- muchless many -- concepts of ceremonial magic and paganism. So I was very surprised to see a Franciscan priest praising the series.
But given the particular elements he highlighted, I think he makes as strong an argument as anyone could. But I still have my misgivings.
Yet he strikes me as highly sincere, well intended, extremely intelligent and educated, and most importantly fervently seeking to extend the message of Christ to those who have been largely unfamiliar with or rejecting of it in the past. So maybe his "willingness to go there" is a case of meeting people where they are at approach more than anything else. I commend his efforts, and immensely respect his vocation.
But...I'm still going to disagree about encouraging children to dive into Harry Potter.
Ravenclaw for the win
Sorry, not sure I fully agree here and ill explain.
Whether it has Christian values or not, all of these types of fantasy films always have elements of the occult. So much so they try (and succeed) to make Magic, Demons, Occultism super 'cool' and appealing to children. Thus warping there minds and drifting them further away from God. I know as I was and still am a science fiction fan, although i tread carefully understanding that a lot of the underlining tone is to lead souls away from our faith.
Remember all, the devil has 100,000 different paths of confusion, lies, etc. The Lord has just one, the straight and narrow. The point of this? Whilst attractive and a good viewing pleasure, keep your children and selves on guard to what some of the undertones in these films do.
Dont be surprised in the future if the next batch of fantasy films have androgynous characters promoting modernism.
Christ be with you all.
Hmm... St. Potter 🤣
My Friend once went for a retreat, and during the prophetic session.. i.e., when children came running towards the altar inspired by Holy Spirit, One Girl came and said (she was almost unconscious) that you must not watch Harry Potter, and you must confess that etc., My friend said they it was Jesus who talked through her... I Have also gone for this retreat but it was before she went so I know how authentic that is. Since then I stopped supporting Harry Potter.
Wow, Harry Potter... really? Are you going to link Christianity to Star Wars too? George Lucas did put Christian themes in there. Just because these authors and movie makers borrowed from Christianity, it does not mean their work is "Christian". I expected better from you than this Casey.
Not really. If you are to talk to a group of teenagers who have no interest in stuff about faith whatsoever it definitely is a good way to really grab their attention and deliver the main point with full potential.
@@maureennetto7799 Yeah and the second Vatican council thought the same thing too with the Novus Ordo mass, turns out it had the opposite effect. Young people need re-interest in the traditional Catholic church, not make Christianity more "interesting" by giving it lightsabers and magic wands. Church attendance has been dropping for a reason when it worked fine for centuries before. The Protestants think they can make it interesting to the young by giving it rock music and sensationalism. And then its barely even Christian worship anymore. There is no substitute for Orthodoxy.
Well if you think about it, talking to kids who live in metro cities about pruning vineyards, sowing fields and catching fish from deep ocean wont have much effect and by saying that the younger generation need reinterest in so and so what if they just dont want to?
The brown girl on the 3rd row in pony tail wearing a vest is sitting sideways, chewing, talking, does not seem to be listening, is very distractful. Someone should call her attention and tell her that she's being disrespectful in an atmosphere that needs presence in a proper and refine way. In order to mature respectful and be respected, someone please let her know.
The "brown" girl? Lol. Omg
@@JackGleason543 Yes, the brown girl with black hair in front of the bnrunette pony-tailed girl. I notice the demeanor, not the colour! I'm glad I got your attention!
@@ceferinocruz5470 You obviously noticed the color of her skin too. Lol
@@JackGleason543 But of course, that's why the more I want the brown girl with black pony-tailed hair to listen and behave accordingly like the rest of the white and pale attentive girls! Kibitz her for me to stop chewing!
Take the log out of your own eye.
Sorry but I dont agree with this. I had an experience with Harry Potter and all the witchcraft in those books is real. They had to do prayer for me to liberate me from all the spells and curses. There was a day where I turned the blind eye with all the witchcraft in these books just told myself it was fiction. But no wayyy jose will i ever read or watch these books disguised as friendliness!.
So what, you picked up a book or watched a movie and starting shooting spells from a wooden stick? Cause as a kid I wanted nothing more than for magick to be real and be a wizard and yeah know what? Nothing ever happened. Haha
Harry Potter has real witch craft stuff in it, I don't read nor watch it. I don't want my kids watching it.
Wisdom from Harry Potter stories????....... Very strange reaction from someone who pretends to be a Catholic....
What do you mean?
New Age and occultism!!!
The Apostle St. Paul quoted a hymn to Zeus from memory. Was *he* a pretend Catholic involved in occultism?
Lol, a sermon from the Harry Potter books and not the Bible. Gotta love catholics :)
I know right I mean its not like the greatest apologist of the 20th century used fiction to relay scriptural messages and it's certainly not like Jesus ever used allegory in his sermons.... oh wait. That so many have forgotten the power of story is why so much modern Christian art falls flat.
This is not a sermon. It is a lecture.
Father Casey's videos are what you need to watch during quarantine