When I was in the First Grade, our class was subjected to something so blatantly perverse that the memory of it has stayed with me all these years.
This is what happened:
I was sitting at my desk in some classroom, surrounded by other First Graders. There were two or three teachers in the room with us, and one of them announced that we were going to watch a movie. The children and I turned our seats so that were were facing the movie screen, and some of the kids sat on the desktops. I can still see the boy on the desktop in front of me, his big afro blocking my view. I wondered why his hair was so out of control, comparing it to my father’s hair that was always short and tamed. I hated long hair on boys and bell-bottom jeans. I hated lots of things about the 1970s, probably because my own neighborhood was infested with gloom. (You’ll read a little bit about that a few paragraphs down.)
Someone turned the lights off and started the projector, and the black and white movie began playing. I have no memory of what the film was about and why we were even watching it. All I remember is this one scene that probably lasted all of five minutes at the most. But those five minutes have stayed with me all these years.
A woman with a long dark-colored dress and long, greasy black hair was standing in front of a group of boys who were looking at her in admiration. The boys were around my age—maybe some as old as eight or nine or ten. At first she just stood there smiling at them, and they smiled back at her. But then suddenly she started waving her arms and wildly spinning about. She gestured toward the boys, who, one by one, fell off the railing where they were sitting and into a huge mud pit on the ground below that looked like a pigsty. After a minute or two, all the boys were covered in mud, and as they rolled around in the dirt, appearing to be trapped there and unable to get up, the woman stood over them, howling with laughter.
I sat frozen to my seat, horrified at the ugliness of the imagery, and wondering why our teachers would allow us to see something so disturbing. None of the other kids seemed fazed, and some of them were even snickering, thoroughly enjoying the presentation. But what was there to enjoy? I was so disgusted by what we had seen that it put me in a bad mood for the rest of the day. And for whatever reason, I never told my mother about the movie. Either I was concerned that I would come across as overreacting, or I just buried the miserable experience and pretended to move on, as if it hadn’t happened.
My question today is: Why did those teachers allow a bunch of six-year-olds to see a movie with such obvious undertones of perversity? Why? What was so wrong with those people that they lost their ability to discern right from wrong, especially in the presence of small children? I call it diabolical disorientation, and I will explain what I mean in a bit.
The Devil in Disguise
The 1970s was an ugly time. At least it was for me. But when I try to talk about it to people they seem to think I’m making stuff up. They say that I was way too young to be adversely affected by an era filled with hedonistic tendencies, or that I must’ve drawn my conclusions and negative impressions from things some adult may have shared with me at the time. But for me, in a very personal sense, the 1970s was a dark and depressing era. I shared something in a previous post that is part of a book outline that I’ve been working on. It’s just a small example of the stuff I remember from the glorious 1970s. I wrote:
My neighborhood in the 1970s is infested with gloom. The woman down the street loses her husband to carbon monoxide poisoning. He and another woman are found naked and dead in his car one cold winter night. Another neighbor hangs himself in his garage after coming home to his wife making out with a man in their front yard. A few streets away the neighbors have parties where they swap husbands and wives. The drug-addicted teenage boy across the street shoots himself in the head after a failed attempt at gassing himself in his garage. Drug dealers and jewelry thieves frequent the house next door, and the owner of the house threatens to shoot our dog for wandering onto his property. A street away lives our paperboy who, years later, turned out to be one of the victims at the Waco siege.
It’s hard for some people to come to grips with the reality of Satan and his role in the world today. And I’m not just referring to non-believers. Even the most faithful Christians struggle with the existence of the devil. It would be preferable to either pretend he doesn’t exist or convince ourselves that his influence over humanity is limited to Halloween or medieval myths and reserved for movies, books, and fantasy games. It’s just easier that way—we can keep him on the back burner, so to speak, without allowing his presence to saturate our lives. And that’s just as he likes it—convincing people that he simply does not exist. But in reality, his disguise is everywhere. I could write a whole chapter on the 1970s and how that decade fell under a demonic influence that probably started with the moral and social turbulence of the 1960s. The Saint Michael Prayer was removed from the Mass, and we all know the course of events that followed and continue to plague us to this day. Michael H. Brown wrote an article titled “Removal of St. Michael Prayer Came as Church Encountered ‘Smoke’ of Satan,” and in it he states:
Our youth strayed. The choir was replaced by rock bands. Priests were made to feel like outcasts. There were even songs dedicated to the devil. Television replaced the majesty of religion. Free sex. Drugs. Abortion. Instead of public prayer there was now public profanity. In the same chronological window that saw elimination of the Michael prayer, the first Church of Satan rose (1966) in the U.S. and the satanic Bible three years later.
It is truly frightening when we realize the extent to which so much of the planet has been deceived.
Sister Lucy of Fatima Speaks of Diabolical Disorientation
The first time I came across the term “diabolical disorientation” was when I was reading about Our Lady of Fatima. I became very interested in Sister Lucia (Sister Lucy) and her life as an adult. In her writing, especially between 1969 and 1971, Sister Lucy would use the phrase “diabolical disorientation” when referring to the devil’s influence in the Church. She talked about the urgency of praying the Rosary every day and explained how the devil sows seeds of confusion, causing people to stray from the truth, and she said it is necessary to stand up to it (to defend the truth, and dismiss the lies.)
As we all know, the Internet is full of myths and misquotes, and when doing research, it is always wise to use a reputable source as the point of reference. I have gleaned my information about Sister Lucy’s messages from various sources, always cross-referencing to be sure of accuracy and credibility. You can never be too careful when searching for information online, and even some of the more reputable websites can contain inaccuracies. For this reason I have decided not to include any quoted passages from Sister Lucy here, and instead urge you to do the research on your own and/or purchase her memoirs for an even better understanding of the materials. However, I do encourage you to read my posts about Jacinta Marto’s private visions. Those quotes were thoroughly researched, and I can assure you of their accuracy.
Remember to always pray the Rosary for peace in your lives and for peace in the world. Saint Padre Pio said it’s the greatest weapon for these times. He passed away in 1968. If it was the greatest weapon against evil back then, how much more so must it be today?
God bless you, and goodbye for now.
2 thoughts on “Diabolical Disorientation”
Excellent post. We are warned in the book of Ephesians as to the reality of spiritual warfare. After years of alcohol addiction I became born again and read the New Testament for the first time and when I got to the book of Ephesians and read this scripture, the Holy Spirit made it perfectly clear as to the reality of the devil and his demons we will encounter in this present darkness.
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.
This scripture was a major epiphany to me and I immediately committed it to memory. Behind my addiction was a demonic force the Lord delivered me from and I have come to believe all addictions and destructive patterns of human behavior people struggle with are demonically driven. Until people believe and listen to the Word of God they are susceptible to the wiles of the devil in this present darkness.
Come Lord Jesus, bless His holy Name.
Thank you for your ministry, be blessed.
Hi Patrick. Thank you for sharing your testimonial. Your story is very inspiring and encouraging, and it’s an excellent example of overcoming the darkness through the power of God’s love. I pray that your message reaches every person who is struggling with the same or similar afflictions.