D writes: “I had a question about objects given to people by a psychic. My good friend was in contact with a psychic for 10 years but is free from her control now. She believed that this psychic was doing the Lord’s work and was a Christian. The psychic gave her statue of Our Lady and told her to keep it in the same spot in her room. It has been in that spot for a while and my friend wants to know what to do with that statue. Any advice?”
There is no such thing as a Christian psychic. The Lord specifically condemns all forms of psychic activity in various places in the Bible. (See Leviticus 19:30, 20:6; Deuteronomy 18:9-14; 1 Samuel 28:7; 2 Kings 17:16-17; 2 Chronicles 33:1-6; Isaiah 8:19-20; Jeremiah 8:2; Acts 16:16-19, 19:18-19).
It’s difficult to know how problematic the statue might be without knowing more about the psychic and what “arts” he/she was practicing at the time. Psychic activity involves the occult, which means this person was in regular contact with dark powers and there’s no telling how they may have influenced her and her work. The mere fact that she told your friend to keep the statue in the same spot all the time tells me the woman is definitely using religious objects in a superstitious rather than a devotional way.
However, your friend should be aware that it’s possible for an object to be cursed. In his book An Exorcist: More Stories, Rome exorcist Gabriele Amorth says that objects can indeed be infested (see page 159-160).
“In theory, every object can be cursed through a satanic rite performed by a witch doctor or anyone who has tied himself to Satan in any way,” Fr. Amorth writes.
“When I say that an object is infested, I do not mean that the devil is in it! I simply mean that it was exposed to an evil rite, generally with the intent to harm a particular person, and with the intention of achieving a determinate goal; therefore, it was made particularly harmful.”
These infestations are very rare, however, and a person should be wary of giving way to “useless fears, groundless suspicions, and insinuations,” he advises.
From what I can see, your friend has a few options:
First, keep the statue but get it blessed by a priest – and be sure to tell him where it came from.
Second, get rid of the statue altogether.
Remember, the statue in itself is nothing – it’s the figure represented by the statue that is most important – in this case, the Mother of God.
