Argentine psychologist abandons the occult after a vision of the Virgin of Luján

After being trapped by New Age and Reiki

After years of practicing Buddhism, astrology, and Reiki, a mystical experience with the Virgin of Luján stirred Pablo Caruso. Although he didn't understand its meaning at first, God gradually guided him. His story is a testament to liberation.

Pablo Caruso, a 38-year-old Argentinian clinical psychologist, was baptized and received First Communion in his childhood, at the request of his family. Although he enjoyed attending catechism classes, he admits that the best part was the soccer games that followed. But his faith didn't have deep roots in him or in his home.

When his father was diagnosed with a brain tumor, his inner world collapsed. The anguish led him to suffer intense panic attacks that lasted for years. During one of his visits to the emergency room, he met a New Age psychologist, whose influence would prove decisive.

"In his office, he had a very large Buddha, and he spoke in a captivating language. So I started talking to him, and one thing led to another... He invited me, I joined those groups, and I began to educate myself extensively on Buddhism, esotericism, and shamanism... God didn't exist for me at that time... But whenever I passed by a church, I would cross myself; that had stuck with me, I don't know if it was a habit, or if God was interfering there."

During that time, he fully immersed herself in the esoteric world. He practiced Reiki, bioenergetics, and began studying astrology, all while completing her university degree. Although her consultations were thriving, the anxiety and panic attacks didn't go away.

An unusual experience marked a turning point. While a Reiki master was laying her hands on his seventh chakra, he had a vision.

"So, when they're laying hands on me, I have a vision of the Virgin of Luján... The image of the Virgin appears to me, and all those rays begin to... manifest... I hear a noise on the floor... it was the stone that had been cut in half... I shared this with the group, and they said, "Oh, how wonderful, yes, the Virgin is protecting you..." Lie, lie! Obviously, the Virgin was protecting me from all of that and was telling me, "Hey, kid, get out of here because this isn't from God, this is from the other side."

Despite the warning, Pablo continued with these practices for a while longer. His office was successful, decorated with esoteric symbols and alternative therapies. But his conversion began to take shape when he met the woman who is now his wife, a practicing Catholic who invited him to Mass.

"I experienced psychological and spiritual movements, manifested in tears at the beginning of the homily; or a very strong sensitivity in the moment before the consecration... The culmination was when I attended an Easter retreat and there God made it his mission to pierce me completely... it was a unique experience."

Moved, he tried to combine his new life of faith with his esoteric past. He soon realized it was a mistake.

"I tried to make the two worlds coexist, that of God and that of the devil, but it was impossible for that to happen."

This inner conflict brought with it specific spiritual suffering. Pablo began to experience nocturnal vexations.

"I repeatedly had nocturnal actions on my body, especially hangings or very gloomy dreams."

On the advice of his wife, he attended healing masses, but it wasn't enough. A priest referred him to an exorcist, who accompanied him for a year and a half in a process of liberation. He asked him to cut all ties with the occult.

"It was quite difficult to do, since for me it was part of my identity as a person and as a professional... During all that time, the evil one made sure to leave me almost without work... As we know, the prince of this world attacks from those sides."

When he completely surrendered his life to God, he found peace and freedom. Today, Pablo not only lives his faith, but also feels called to help others emerge from deception.

"It is vitally important in this time, where apostasy, the New Age, and anti-Christianity are on the rise, that there are people fighting these fronts from different places."

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Our Lady of Luján (Spanish: Nuestra Señora de Luján) is a celebrated 16th-century statue of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The image, also known as the Virgin of Luján (Spanish: Virgen de Luján), is on display in the Basilica of Luján in Argentina. The feast day of Our Lady of Luján is May 8.

History

Miraculous Origin of Our Lady of Luján in the Year 1630, by Augusto Ballerini (1895).

The Luján image was made in Brazil and sent to Argentina. Tradition holds that a settler ordered the terracotta image of the Immaculate Conception in 1630 because he intended to create a shrine in her honor to help reinvigorate the Catholic faith in Santiago del Estero, his region.After embarking from the port of Buenos Aires, the caravan carrying the image stopped at the residence of Don Rosendo Oramas, located in the present town of Zelaya.

When the caravan wanted to resume the journey, the oxen refused to move. Once the crate containing the image was removed, the animals started to move again. Given the evidence of a miracle, people believed the Virgin wished to remain there.

Hermitage

Upon learning of the event in Buenos Aires, many residents came to venerate the image and, as the attendance grew, Rosendo de Trigueros had a hermitage built for it where it remained from 1630 to 1674. In fact, today there exists on that site, known as the Place of the Miracle, a convent and a small chapel made of adobe and a dirt floor - which can be visited - that is reminiscent of that hermitage that was built as the first sanctuary.

She was called the Virgin Estanciera and the Patroncita Morena. A young enslaved person, Manuel Costa de los Ríos ("El Negro Manuel"), came with the caravan and witnessed what happened; seeing his master's love for the Virgin, he assigned him to the exclusive care of the image, which he did until his death. He was in charge of the order in the hermitage and the clothing of the Virgin, directing the prayers of the pilgrims. When Rosendo de Trigueros died, his ranch was abandoned, but Manuel continued, with constancy, the service that he had imposed on himself.

Transfer to Luján

Very concerned about the "loneliness of the Virgin" in that place that is now Zelaya, Mrs. Ana de Matos, widow of the Spanish captain Marcos de Sequeira and owner of a very well defended ranch located on the right bank of the Luján River, seeing no interest on the part of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, asked the administrator of the ranch of the deceased Rosendo de Trigueros for the transfer of the image of the Virgin of Luján. She assured him of the care and construction of a "dignified and comfortable" chapel, facilitating the stay of the pilgrims. Juan de Oramas, the agent, accepted the offer and Mrs. Ana de Matos paid him for the transfer of the image.

Happy to have achieved his goal, he installed her in his oratory, but the next morning, when he went there to pray, he discovered with astonishment and anguish that the Virgin was not on her altar. When he looked for her, he found her in the "Place of the Miracle."

It was initially believed that it was Manuel himself, who had not been allowed to accompany the Virgin at first, who was taking the "Patroncita Morena" to her former home. He was even staked to the ground so that he would not steal the image. However, the image kept "returning" to its original place.

This happened several times until, upon learning of the event, considered miraculous by Catholics, the Bishop of Buenos Aires, Friar Cristóbal de Mancha y Velazco, and the governor of the Río de la Plata, Don José Martínez de Salazar, organized the transfer of the image, accompanied by Doña Ana and Manuel, who is now on the path to sainthood.

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