Be Not Afraid of the Devil

From http://catholicexchange.com/2011/01/26/146529/print/

By Patti Maguire Armstrong On January 26, 2011

Back in the days that I was working on being the bravest person on the planet, there was not much I was afraid to try. I even parachuted out of an airplane the week before I was scheduled to leave for the Peace Corps in Micronesia. One of my favorite things to do with like-minded friends was to backpack through mountains where we had to tie our food up in trees at night so the bears wouldn’t get it (only lost food once). But there was one thing I would NOT do. I refused to see the movie The Exorcist or anything of its ilk. No, jumping out of a plane alone at 3,000 feet was a piece of cake compared to sitting on the ground watching anything that had to do with the devil.
Then, last month, I accepted an invitation to go to Los Angeles to participate in a press junket in January for the movie The Rite starring Anthony Hopkins and also to interview the actors at a press conference afterwards. “Sure, I’ll go!” I responded, remembering how much fun the last junket was. But after getting off the phone, I began also to remember that I had never actually become the bravest person on the planet. I was still afraid of scary movies, particularly anything connected to the devil. That evening, my son, Luke warned, “Mom, you aren’t going to like it.” My husband agreed, “It’s a psycho/drama. You hate those kinds of movies.” When I told my siblings, my brother Brian emailed me. “Have you looked at the trailer? Good luck with that.”
What was I thinking? But then, I did something that took away my fear. I interviewed three exorcists. My intent was to write a series of articles on exorcism to go along with the movie review. After talking with them, my fear evaporated. The bottom line is staying close to God and His sacraments protects us from evil and fills us with grace. What especially uplifted me and drove away the fear was to hear each exorcist and also a bishop state that the sacrament of confession is more powerful than the rite of exorcism. The sacraments confer grace on us while the rite of exorcism is a blessing that moves a person towards grace. Yes, I decided, I could go see this movie after all.
The movie, The Rite (in theaters Jan. 28) starring Anthony Hopkins, follows the training of an exorcist in Rome. It was inspired by the book The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist, in which journalist Matt Baglio followed Fr. Gary Thomas of the United States. Fr. Gary’s bishop asked for someone to volunteer as an exorcist for the diocese and Fr. Gary accepted. He took a class about exorcism at the Pontifical University in Rome, but his real training was under the tutelage of an experienced Italian exorcist. It was there that Fr. Gary assisted during eighty exorcisms.
An increased practice of the occult in Europe is believed to be responsible for an increase in possessions. The Pope John XXIII Community Association puts that number at fourteen million or twenty-five percent of Italians involved in the occult.
Fr. Gary was initially startled by the reality of the possessed: demonic voices, speaking languages they don’t know, taking on a reptilian appearance, vomiting bizarre things, and other extreme manifestations. Although it was more extreme than anything he had expected, Fr. Gary stated, “I am not afraid to confront someone with a demonic attachment. Without Christ, they are more powerful than me but, with Christ — he [Christ] is more powerful. In reality, God is the ultimate power. It is important to say that. They are not equal adversaries.”
When Fr. Gary Thomas returned from Rome, he started a new assignment as a parish pastor. “I didn’t tell anyone, ‘By the way your new pastor is an exorcist’, but my second day on the job, the secretary came in and told me, ‘There’s someone here about an exorcism!’”
In short order Fr. Gary had to assemble quickly his “healing” team. This is something new among modern day exorcists: the use of a deliverance team for support. It typically includes people willing to pray, and a physician, clinical psychologist and psychiatrist. It is a help and support for the exorcist to rely on members of his team for prayers and to screen people for possible mental illness.
Fr. Gary stated that the common signs of possessions are behaviors that have no logical explanation such as fluency in a language a person never studied, ability to know secrets they had no way of knowing, extraordinary strength, and an aversion to sacred objects such as the crucifix. “The exorcist is the ultimate skeptic,” Fr. Gary explained. “An exorcism only happens after everything else has failed. Most of the time, we are dealing with mental health issues.”
Msgr. John Esseff has been an exorcist in this country for 53 years of his 57-year priesthood. According to him, abortion, and the fact that many people no longer believe in the devil, is increasing the power of evil. He also pointed to the growth in occult and New Age practices as likewise increasing the amount of demonic activity in this country.
Fr. Gary agrees with that assessment. “Usually, the ones that come to me realize they opened the door to the occult and something came in that they did not expect.”
In response to the need for more exorcists in this country, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) held a two-day gathering on the exorcism ministry this past November in Baltimore. More than fifty bishops and over sixty priests attended. Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield, IL, chairman of the bishop’s Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance spearheaded the event that addressed that fact that there are too few exorcists and they are feeling overburdened. “The conference was to help educate and motivate bishops and priests to provide this ministry in their own diocese,” he said. “There was an overwhelming expression of gratitude and desire for follow up,” Bishop Paprocki reported. “Some priests exchanged telephone numbers and made connections for support and training.”
The training of an exorcist is an elusive term for there is no specific course or book that transforms a priest into an exorcist. Most learn from others in an apprentice-like fashion. Exorcism was established as a rite with specific prayers in 1614 and revised by the Vatican in 1998. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines it as the “liberation from demonic possession through the authority which Jesus entrusted to his Church.” Canon law requires a priest to have the permission of his bishop to perform it. This puts the full weight of the Church behind him. But in cases where an exorcism is not warranted because there is not full possession but rather obsession or oppression, there can be a deliverance from demonic harassment through prayers, the sacraments, and sacramentals.
The good news according to Msgr. Esseff is that possessions are very rare. “The ordinary activity of Satan is temptation; that is his M.O. (mode of operation). In the last two petitions of the Our Father, Jesus teaches us to pray, ‘lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.’ It refers to Satan himself and his activity.”
Fr. Patrick (not his real name) was mentored by Msgr. Esseff and works as a parish priest. Like most exorcists in this country, the fact that he is an exorcist is not advertised. There is a risk it would detract from his daily responsibilities as a priest.
According to Fr. Patrick, exorcism is not magic. “People need to be ready to accept those graces. They have to renounce the occult or the evil in their lives. I can pray over someone but if they are still in tune with the occult, they are still going to be influenced with it.”
Bishop Paprocki explained, “The devil is something people need to be aware of, but his usual activity is temptation. The remedy that the Church offers from her treasures is the sacraments, devotions, blessings, prayers, and holy water; that is the normal work of the priest.”
He contends that we need not fear the devil, but we need to steer clear of him and remain close to God. Bishop Paprocki said that people should also be aware of the consequences of their choices, particularly with the occult. “Possession is a relationship between a human being and a fallen angel. That is something that people enter into freely. They open a door and enter into a relationship. After a while the relationship goes sour and it is not always that easy to get out of. Sometimes, it can take awhile for that relationship to be broken,” he said. “But if you live a sacramental life, you don’t need to worry about the devil.” Bishop Paprocki stated that the sacrament of confession is more powerful than an exorcism. “An exorcism is a help toward grace but the sacraments offer grace.”
I had never heard it put that way before, that the sacraments are more powerful than an exorcism because they confer grace on us. As Catholics in the United States, most of us have easy access to the Mass where we can receive Jesus in Holy Communion and we can readily receive forgiveness and grace through the sacrament of Confession.
After talking to these dedicated and courageous servants of God, their trust in His almighty protection rubbed off on me. I am still not a huge fan of scary movies, but I am not afraid to watch this one now. (At least it beats jumping out of a plane these days.) If you are wondering whether I will recommend The Rite for others to see, stay tuned for the movie review later this week.

Patti Maguire Armstrong is the mother of ten children including two Kenyan AIDS orphans. She is a speaker and the author of Catholic Truths for Our Children: A Parent's Guide (Scepter) Stories for the Homeschool Heart and also the children's book, Dear God, I Don't Get It!" (Bezalel). She was the managing editor and co-author of Ascension Press's Amazing Gracebook series. Her website is RaisingCatholicKids.com.