They can also cause physical illness or make illnesses worse, he said.
Lemay led a workshop Feb. 10-11 to train people to help others become free of bitterness, self-hatred, jealousy, resentment and other toxic emotions.
Sponsored by the Holy Spirit Healing Clinic, an outreach of Ottawa’s charismatic Catholic community Lift Jesus Higher, the workshop attracted about 30 people from parishes across the diocese.
There are three components that keep people stuck in a toxic emotion, he explained. “One is the emotion itself, the second is sin and the third is the possibility an evil spirit is involved.”
“If you deal with the sin and the evil spirit, all that’s left is the emotion,” Lemay said. “The emotion, without the sin and the evil spirit component, is like a deflated balloon.
“When you get rid of the sin and the evil spirit, you can receive the fruit of the Holy Spirit in you,” he said.
Lemay, who has more than 30 years experience in charismatic renewal, zeroed in on the toxic emotion of bitterness.
“Many people have not forgiven others,” he said. “They harbour resentment against them. They would like to take revenge.”
A spirit of bitterness often has other spirits connected to it that act like armour, protecting it, he said.
“The spirit of bitterness enters us through unforgiveness,” he said. “He encourages us to never forgive, neither ourselves nor others.
“If I listen to this spirit and do not forgive, I grant him a place in me,” Lemay said. “I become his place, his house, for him and the spirit of unforgiveness. Once inside, the principality of bitterness settles in by bringing in each of his demons one at a time. First, he ensures unforgiveness is firmly in place.”
Other related spirits are resentment, vengeance, anger and rage, hatred, violence and murder, he said.
Similarly, self-hatred is a principality with many other evil spirits associated with it, including self-pity, attention-seeking, fear, idolatry and perfectionism, he said.
“This spirit of self-hatred uses his armour to keep me from discovering who I am,” Lemay said. “He uses these weapons: self-pity, self-rejection, self-hatred, competition, pride or vanity, and false piety.”
Lemay gave practical suggestions on how to prayerfully guide people seeking ministry to identify their toxic emotions, lead them to repentance and to renounce the sin and the spirit in question. Ministry involves welcoming in the Holy Spirit to bless and to heal.
“All of this can be totally removed from a person’s life,” he said. “Once the self-hatred is gone, you don’t have to feel that way about yourself anymore. You’re completely free to love yourself as God loves you.”
Everything the Father gave the Son, He also gives us through His Son Jesus, he explained.
“The Son’s inheritance is ours for the asking,” Lemay said. “To receive it, you have to repent of sin. If you ask Him to free you of sin, He will.”
Lemay suggested those ministering not go on “fishing expeditions” that bog them down in long stories and details. Try to get to the root of the problem as quickly as possible to begin praying and inviting the Holy Spirit to work.
Bless the person by praying, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” and then wait, watching for about 30 seconds, he said. “Then ask how the person is feeling. Is he feeling peace? Are there more negative emotions? Did he see a vision? Sometimes the Holy Spirit shows up as a white light. Did he hear a small voice?”
How the person responds can indicate where the Holy Spirit is moving, perhaps revealing more areas that need repentance and healing, he said.
“The Holy Spirit gives life. Don’t try to give yourself life,” he said. “Don’t try to make yourself holy. Let the Holy Spirit do it.”
Lemay encouraged those present to ask for the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit that include healing, and words of knowledge and words of wisdom.
“The best way to get charismatic gifts is to pray for people and then the gifts show up,” Lemay said. “The worst way is to sit at home and say, ‘I am waiting for the charismatic gifts.’ ”