Exorcism - Rev Vincent Lampert, Exorcist, Archdiocese of Indianapolis

good evening ara welcome to st. Patrick's Church were very excited this evening come last year when we had intimate the pastor here we had a talk on angels and some humor enthralled with that topic but they wanted to hear more about the other side of the coin as it were so knowing that we were wanting to get demons involved I knew there was someone that was way more knowledgeable than I was on this so I gave both ins Lambert's to the Exorcist for the archdiocese in Annapolis a call and he most graciously accepted to come out here he's the pastor down in Roseville at Saint Peters and st. Michael's I believe he gave a talk here years ago in Terre Haute's at Saint Ben's yeah years ago so so if you've been to that one this will be a nice refreshing if you haven't been this is father Vince neighbor so ground applause and welcome [Music] [Applause] [Music] good evening everyone does anyone just a little bit creeped out about the topic for tonight somebody over here - over the city by the door that would take it run out if they have to they're close to the accident so my goal has seen me will be to give you an insight into the church's ministry of exorcism if perhaps the topic that's not talked about publicly very often so I want to give you a glimpse into that give you some information and then there'll be an opportunity if you want to ask some questions towards the end so hopefully we're going to sit back and have a good time this evening if anybody wants to some of there's a group up here that's going to the component horn field right after the topic so matching that he will it's Sunday morning in just about every city and small town across the United States Sunday morning a sound begins to ring throughout the air and what sound do we hear ring bells it's church bells the ringing of church bells that was meant to remind us that were called to wake up with the church and to be about the things of God but the truth is the main people today are spiritually asleep religion and belief in God would becoming less relevant in the lives of many people and at a time when people lost touch with their Christian heritage there is a great risk for falling for ideas that sound appealing but which can be misleading and st. Paul in writing to the Corinthians says that Satan transforms himself into an angel of light and he deceives many people as people turn the deaf ear to the things of God there has been a resurgence in the practice of magic and thinks it's Center on the occult the danger that we are facing is that when a person no longer believes in God they will believe in just about everything what people need to realize is that our ultimate identity comes from our relationship with God and not apart from him with God we have everything without God we have nothing many people today live with the distorted view of freedom that was the fall of humanity as mentioned in the book of Genesis the guiding principles of this distorted view of freedom are this you may do whatever you wish no one has the right to command you and you are the god of yourself this viewpoint leaves no room for God and the result is a greater presence of evil both in the world and in the lives of individuals saint john paul ii has stated the freedom in the true sense of the word needs to live in the manner that god created us to live so when we live according to the way the god intended that's freedom in the true sense of the word when we start to believe that freedom means that we can do whatever we want then Saint John Paul says we end up humming slaves to our own passions and desires the devil's purpose is to destroy religion and to dismantle civilization he wants to pull us away from God and He desires our ruin one of my favorite definitions of the church is that the church is the Guardian to the Tree of Life because it is the vehicle that Christ gave us that one day we may enter into the presence of the Father the devil believes that if he could destroy the church that humanity will be permanently trapped in sin as are the devil and the other fallen angels it's a sad reality that many people that have become bored with their relationship with God have turned to an increased in fascination with the devil with the likes of divination fortune-telling witchcraft black magic curses spells Ouija boards and so on the truth is that when people get caught up in these things they may not have a full grasp of what they're getting themselves into they may think that it's just all fun and entertainment but in reality through opening themselves up to the forces of evil to combat these forces the church utilizes the sacraments of reconciliation and the anointing of the sick and ultimately if needed the ministry of exorcism I always like to say that exorcism may be like into a nuclear weapon it's in our arsenal but it's not our first line of defence father Gabriel anymore the former chief Exorcist of Rome who passed away back in 2016 always like to state that the place to begin with anyone to believe against the forces of evil is for that person to make a good confession he believed this to be true because when we confess our sins we place them in the hands of God and once we place them in the hands of God the devil can no longer use them against us so I was appointed to be the Exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis back in 2005 so the former Exorcist of Indianapolis had passed away in July of that year Monsignor John Ryan he was passed as st. Anthony's in Indianapolis ironically where I graduated from great school so I never one day dreamed that I was going to get a job that he had but after he passed away all the priests were trying to lie low because they figured Archbishop decline was looking for a replacement somebody asked me before we begin how did I get the job and I said that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time I was on some committee we were meeting at the Archbishop's residence as I was walking in the archbishop says to me you're going on sabbatical next February in 2006 so he goes while you're there I want you to study an exorcism too I'm appointing you to be the Exorcist for the archdiocese I did look around to see if there was anybody else can so I arrived in Rome in a February of 2006 I was there for three months and I was trained by a Franciscan priest who's now been doing this ministry for more than 40 years so he allowed me to participate in 40 exorcisms that he performed while I was there and then I was able to learn firsthand the church's ministry to those who believe they were up against the forces of evil when I was appointed in Oh five I became one of 12 officially appointed Exorcist in United States today that number is about 125 I've attended the Vatican chorus of exorcism and I'm also a member of the International Association of exorcists which is made up of 750 priests and their helpers from throughout the world and we have a meeting in Rome every other year as an opportunity to come together for further education and collegiality now it's always important when talking about the topic of exorcism to define what is meant by the term many people may have some notion to what the word means based on their own research or a definition that has been shaped by modern culture for example by doing them such movies as The Exorcist who's seen it who's going to watch it tonight The Exorcism of Emily Rose the right watching various programs about paranormal activity there's a good show now on CBS what's it called evil so lots and lots of things paranormal activity go study and if you really want to know something what do you do you do go in now I have to tell you this I don't want to burst your bubble but just because you read something on the internet doesn't make it true believe it or not especially when it comes to the topic of exorcism a lot that you'll find on the Internet has to do with sensationalism rather than really talking about what exorcism actually is so the word itself comes from the Greek word expertise most and it's a term that signifies an insisting request manifested before God or directed against demons to exorcise literally means to bind with an oath and it's very for an exorcism is a prayer it's a prayer that brings healing and peace to those afflicted by the evil one allowing that person to be reconciled to God it's a Ministry of compassion it's a ministry of charity it's a ministry that must be done well because it's not a hobby and it's not a game when God is being requested to expel a demon we call that a supplicating exorcism again supplicating asking God God see how your servant is suffering please come to their aid and damage from that the power of the enemy that would be a supplicating exorcism prayer an imperative exorcism is a command given to a demon demanding that he depart based on the power and the authority of gum that the Killeen Falls that anyone they say a supplicating prayer of exorcism since it is a prayer directed to God and we know that anyone could pray however an imperative exorcism as a liturgical Rite of the church is reserved to the priest who's been authorized to do that ministry by his vision every Catholic bishop is an exorcist by virtue of his Episcopal ordination at his discretion a bishop may be bestowed this terrorism on one or more of his priests he can appoint any priest in his diocese to do an exorcism on an individual basis or he may choose to appoint one more priest on the stable basis so the Archdiocese of Indianapolis is one of the very few diocese in the United States that has always had an officially appointed Exorcist so when I took on the role there wasn't really too many in the United States to train under which is why Arthur she declined and had me studied while I was in Rome it's interesting that I work at the discretion of archbishop Thompson so I had only functioned within the 39 counties to make up the Archdiocese of Indianapolis for me to function outside of the archdiocese I would have to have an official request from the bishop of that and then have permission of Archbishop Thompson so being appointed an exorcist doesn't mean that I'm appointed for the universal Church I'm really appointed for the local Church of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis again every mission is the Exorcist in this diocese but sometimes people will call me from all over I currently receive about 1800 emails and calls and letters each and every year so I average about 35 enquiries every week from people all over the United States in even other parts of the world who are looking for help because they believe you're up against the forces of the evil one why do I get so many contacts some exorcists are publicly known and there are those who choose to remain anonymous and because my name is publicly known then I probably get a higher volume of calls the role of the International Association of exorcists allows me to network with other exorcists throughout the world so someone contacts me from another state that if I could try to figure out who's the Exorcist in their local area and then to try to help make that connection because it's not possible for me to literally travel all over and to see how people are afflicted and how I might help them so really a my act is a clearinghouse for a many people for many people who contact me I currently will travel outside of the diocese if I've been asked to do so by another bishop the most recent exorcism that I performed was in the state of Alaska at the request of additional astaire banks so again if I'm requested and I get mission of myeloma Bishop Archbishop Thompson then I can travel outside of the diocese so the role of the Exorcist is to investigate cases of alleged demonic activity and to make the determination if the official right of the church needs to be called into play so this little red book is the official right of the church it was the very last liturgical right to be updated after the Second Vatican Council so the council ended in one year 1965 so this was updated and promulgated in 1998 it was released in 1999 you can't go on Amazon and buy this book so the only ones who that who had access to this book are bishops and they have to request a copy here the United States they would request a copy to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington DC so this book was given to me by archbishop Daniel decline the right was tweaked again in 2004 in 2005 the English translation came out in 2016 so when this write appeared in 1998 it replaced the right that had been in place since the Year 1614 so from 1614 until 1998 the right remained virtually unchanged what's the key difference in the new right it has supplicating prayers that are now included it remembers supplicating prayers are those directed to God now the best place to begin if anyone believes they're up against the forces of evil is for that person to go and see their parish priest or the minister of Church more than half of the people I see are not Catholic they come from other Christian faith traditions even some other world religions or no religious background what's the weather but if you're feeling sick who's the first person that you contact your family doctor you don't call a specialist by the way and say I got a cough I think I have throat cancer do you don't make that big jump you know there's something not right so you go and see your family doctor so anyone who perhaps is suffering spiritually made for house think that there's something demonic or evil and work in their life you go and see the parish priest and then he could recommend that you would make contact with the exorcist so again it's always important because exorcism should always be seen in the wider scope of overall pastoral care and where do people receive their pastoral care it's within their parish community or in their church community there's no way that I could take under my wing all the people that I have worked with over the past 14 years I can meet with people and I can pray with them but ultimately their ongoing care needs to be with their local minister or their parish priest now demonic activity is classified under three main categories demonic activity can be ordinary or extraordinary ordinary activity of the devil would have to do with temptation something that we all struggle with on a daily basis when it comes to extraordinary demonic activity the Church recognizes four different types I'll say what they are and then I'll say a little bit about them there can be demonic infestation demonic vexation demonic obsession and then demonic possession so demonic infestation think of a haunted house is the presence of evil in a location associated with an object think of like a voodoo doll it could even be an animal that would have some type of demonic presence in so the presence of evil in a location so the demon or demons in torment humans indirectly when there's demonic infestation people would hear noises this could include footsteps the clattering of chains mysterious voices shouts laughter the ringing of bells the disappearance of objects in one location in the house and then it reappears in another there can be pictures falling off the walls furniture moving sheets and clothing rising up cherries levitating in the air so just think of your worst case scenario haunted house and that would be demonic infestation when it comes to demonic infestation the location just needs to be blessed a few years ago I was on vacation with some of my family I have eight brothers and sisters so some of us were down in Savannah Georgia kind of on a vacation we are walking in the evening and other people were getting into the the buses to go on the ghost tours and I told my sister I was going to go on one they take my holy water in just she said if I did that I put him out of business they with me have a sense of humor is important by the way so I do have a warped sense of humor I like Hans and corny jokes but when you deal with people that are on French's sense of humor gives me a good grounding demonic vexation vexation so the accident by the devil and demons aimed at attacking and Baratheon humans fiscally so that station think of physical attacks to be cuts burn and scrapes steam bites Bruce was that are left on the body swelling bleeding sores fracture of bones letters that appear on a person's body for a period of time and then they subside demonic obsession would be the absolute by the devil and demons aimed at attacking humans mentally by influencing a person's external and internal senses external senses a demon will impact a person's vision with aberrations intended to terrify it I see visions intended to distract someone from the practice of virtue could impact a person's hearing whereby someone hears noises to disturb them they could hear chants and words that are obscene and even blasphemous the internal senses the devil can attack the person's memories and their imagination they can be filled with thoughts and ideas that are actually of but such that the victim is unable to reject them despite the emphatic warning that they are foreign to the person and the person believes that they're actually their own obsessions can be of different forms and of different degrees and intensity they can reach the point of fully dominating the mind of a person they can often cause a person to feel as if they're losing their mind the person becomes more and more depressed sad desperate and drained and I have to say that in the field of exorcism demonic obsession is more difficult to deal with than even demonic possession itself and then we have demonic possession whereby the devil or some other evil spirit will take control of a person's body treating that person's body as if it were its own using the person's mouth to speak their hands to give gestures their feet to walk so demonic possession it's real it does happen but the most common types of extraordinary demonic activity with the infestation vexation and obsession so any priest should be able to deal with infestation vexation and obsession by prank with that person or in the location and they can also if they feel like it's more than they can deal with then they could contact me and ask me to delve into it deeper I get lots of calls about people who want me to come and bless your house but Brookville Indiana is 11 miles from the Ohio Stateline I'm not really inclined to want to drive all the way to Tel City just to bless the house when any priest can do that sometimes people will say oh the father you are more powerful and I'm like no absolutely not I have no powers and no abilities if you're relying on me we're all in trouble but if we're relying on the power of God that is they work through this minister that's a good place to be so I have there is an archdiocese in protocol so Archbishop Thompson promulgated the protocol for priests to use that they believe someone is dealing with extraordinary demonic activity and that protocol also includes a prayer that I have sent that priest could go into any location and offer this prayer of exorcism now when it comes to trying to determine it is something demonic or not especially when it comes to demonic possession the church looks for fourth anus it's even included in the introduction to the right if it truly is a demonic presence some of the things that I could see would be the person exhibiting strength beyond the normal capacity of you know one of the exorcisms in Rome there's a little old lady about 88 years old and when the demon manifested she reached down and picked up this metal swivel chair that she was sitting in as she was laughing hysterically and then she picked it up with one hand and raised it above her head and then she went to throw it towards me and the other priest from California it was also sitting in on those exorcisms so again extraordinary strength for the assign of demonic presence the ability to speak and understand which is otherwise unknown to the individual having elevated perception knowledge about things that a person should not otherwise know and then the fourth thing perhaps the one that's most commonly known is an aversion to anything of a sacred nature such as being shown crucifix a Bible will be unless the holy water so for a relic again if there's a violent reaction this could be a sign of a demonic presence it's also possible to know that an evil spirit is present when the symptoms of the demonic are observed these include bodily contortions a change in the voice of the person a change in visible appearance such as foaming at the mouth eyes rolling the back of the head or the eyeballs turning completely black you see no white you see no pupils is be nothing but pure blackness there can be unpleasant odors the change of the temperature of the room it will get colder uncontrollable laughter hissing the resemblance of the movement of a snake and even levitation again the manifestations are men to instill fear because that one gives in to fear they are not relying on the power of God so all of these things are meant to distract I saw the person levitate when I was in Rome I think when I saw the person started to levitate I think I was like but public harmony the priests to training a watch to me it was very interesting he's praying the right and it's that lady is possessed her husband myself as priests in California he's praying he looks over the person was sitting in the chair when the demon manifested the chair started to rattle and rock and then their eyes rolled in the back of the head the person began foaming at the mouth and then laughing uncontrollably and then I looked over and the person was rising up out of the chair and fatherhood harmony was framed he looked over he looked over again and he took his hand and pushed the person back down into the chair without ever stopping his prayer so he wasn't impressed he wasn't impressed so it taught me still be impressed with what the devil is trying to do those are all just parlor tricks focus on the power of God that is that work through this liturgical Rite of the church so all of these can be indications of demonic possession but before proceeding within this rewrite of the church there is an American protocol that's used here in the United States so the protocol requires the person to have a physical examination by their medical doctor the church wants a medical doctor to say is there something about this person's condition that you can't explain and then the second part of the protocol would be for the person to have a psychological evaluation again the church wants someone in the mental health field to weigh in on this case basically to answer the question is there anything about this person's condition that you can't otherwise explain now it's important to note that the church is only asking these experts to give their opinion the church is not asking them do you think this person is possessed only the church herself will make that determination but again this first one sees experts to weigh in because an exorcist is trained to be a skeptic I should be the last person to believe that someone truly is up against the forces of evil and I often like to say that if the church declares someone to be possessed and after that diagnosis prevents the person from getting the true help that they need rather than perhaps from their medical doctor or from the mental health expert then the church has done greatest harm rather than greater good so the way that I'd like to look at it is the priests the medical doctor and a mental health expert need to work together to come to some conclusion as to whether what the person is going through is accessible is it spiritual or is it mental because even some of these signs of demonic possession are also seen in people who have a diagnosed mental health issue you know such this foaming at the mouth you know auditory outburst speaking in a strange voice again all of these could be explained by the mental health expert so the church wants these experts to weigh in the third thing would be for me to meet with the person and then to do a intake questionnaire because if it truly is something evil that I need to try to determine where the entry point was the Vatican has created a series of questions that the exorcists could ask the person in order to help me get to moral certitude the fourth thing I would look for any signs of that demonic presence again speaking in languages otherwise I've known the individual superhuman strength elevated perception and inversion to anything of a sacred nature the fifth step is very important it's the one that people don't like is to help normalize the person's spiritual life so it isn't just a matter of casting the demon out it's also a matter of inviting God and in Chapter 11 of Luke's Gospel it talks about once the demon has been cast out it goes and wanders to the arid wasteland and then coming back and finding the house swept clean it goes and finds seven other demons worse than itself and they come and take up residence in the person so their condition is worse than it was before why do people not like that there's a growing trend today for people to view the Exorcist as some type of magician in other words I've got a problem father make it go away phaidor's and decline of the lives of many people you know there's recent studies that suggest the Catholics between the ages of 18 and 35 79 percent of that age group no longer practices or Catholic faith faith is in decline drastically but as Phaedrus in decline people's belief and all these other things is on the rise and that could be a way that people are opening themselves up to the forces of evil how do young man in the state of Illinois who called me one time and he told me that his girlfriend was possessed he said that he tried to get rid of the demon but he didn't work I said well what were you supposed to do if they've I've been burning sage in the house because I understand the demons don't like the smell of sage and I said what are you listening to yourself your faith is insane sage can't help you Jesus Christ can help you but certainly not that sage even the things that the church uses in the ritual of exorcism can be a end in another nacelles so we should rely on the crucifix or the holy water base point to something greater the holy water points to our baptism Christ whereby we become a new creation we die to ourselves and we put on Christ the crucifix reminds the demon that it has been defeated before and it will be defeated again because when Jesus was being crucified on the cross the deli believed that he had won but the moment of his perceived victory became the moment of his defeat so again those things have to claim to something greater and the reason I say that you can buy extra system kits on the internet now so have a crucifix in it because a bottle to put holy water there's some holy oil maybe some salt but again thes just stuff the key ingredient that has to be there is hey if there isn't any faith that not much is going to happen now according to church teaching the devil cannot act directly on a person's intellect and will since these are spiritual faculties there can be no actual union between a human soul and an evil spirit the soul always remains free no matter what and taste the devil they put the body through it is this part that remains free they can ask for the help of the church because sometimes people will say if somebody's possessed how can they ask for help get something of the person always remain free and again an exorcism cannot be performed on anyone against their free will we all have free will we can use that to draw closer to God but we can use that to draw further and further away from God so the devil's goal is to objectify evil because he wants evil to be perceived as nothing good because when we begin to see evil something good then we stay trapped in sin and the devil's cleverest rule is according to the famous remark by the 19th century French poet Charles Kerr Valda led a cycle by st. John Paul and even Pope Francis is to convince us that he does not exist I also like to find out that evil spirits cannot read your thoughts so the devil does not know what you're thinking who's the only one who knows God themselves but as you probably learned from the great explanation on angels and the nature of angels being very intellectual so demons even after the fall retain their high intellect and so they can deduce what we might be thinking or how we might react so they use that knowledge to try to trip us up evil spirits Kenny's excite feelings and out such as lust or anger or despair and again they can also deduce what we might be thinking by watching us closely and noting the effects they're producing in us not every evil spirit has the power to suggest every passion how many evil spirits are there by the way does anyone know how many there are how many angels are there periods and areas and thousands and thousands they can't even be counted so how many of those angels fell from grace one third so the book of Revelation it talks about how Satan his decision to against God his tail swept 1/3 of the stars out of the sky so one-third of the angelic choir failed so the demons are countless remember the story of the garrison demoniac in chapter 5 the man possessed by Legion where did the demons go they're cast into the swine how many swine were in the herd does anyone remember 5,000 there were 5000 Swami and the demons went into them so how many could how many demons were in this man we don't even know countless Legion so their power over us will increase or decrease according to the effectiveness of the resistance they need in us how do we build up our resistance against the devil is when we grow in holiness according to God's plan for us anyone who's extremely experienced in any type of demonic or spiritual attack should do the following if you're a Catholic you regularly attend Mass and go to Holy Communion because having the support of a brain community is very important because God does not intend for anyone of us to walk alone community is important I like to watch Animal Planet shows when does the animal on the African plain get itself into trouble when it wanders away from the safety of the person when did the serpent tempt Adam and Eve while they weren't together no when they were apart the Spinoza there is strength in numbers so the importance of community cannot be stressed about because the danger today I think is that the communal experience is not valued by many people today we're all growing up in isolation many of us have our little gadgets that we're always around and technology has its place but again we have to make sure that it doesn't take the place of community I always point out that this phone that I have has a picture of an apple on my back with a bite taken out of it heard that story of somewhere before coincidence another thing that you should do is speak out the regular confessor for the Sacrament of Penance spend time before the Blessed Sacrament incorporate Marian devotions into your daily routine especially praying the rosary I always like to say that the Blessed Mother is powerful ally for anyone who believes they're up against the forces of evil use Scripture and prayer for reflection especially the prologue and John's Gospel include other devotions such as Divine Mercy chaplet litany is the st. Michael prayer prayers to patron saints use sacraments such as holy water less salt blessed objects sacred images but ultimately the person is encouraged to remain focused on the person of Jesus Christ not on a devil or evil despite the evil ones attempt to distract the experience there is no big fit - correct anyone who believes they're dealing with the demonic so there's no such thing as an emergency exorcism when a priest moves to the hastily is when things don't work out well it's a very methodical process and in there the key word is pastoral care so there are those who laugh at the topic of evil and who believed that exorcism and demon possession come out of a primitive superstitious worldview as a relic from the time of Christ or throwback to the Middle Ages to a time when mental health issues were not well understood for some people even talk about the devil or demon possession is an embarrassment no doubt there are those who do not believe in in the existence of things that cannot be seen measured or proven through human reasons yet a major theme running throughout the New Testament as the clouds get to make the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan and just think for a moment as a Catholic you go to Mass on Sunday when you recite the creek we say the God is the creator of all things visible and invisible and in that statement we're saying that we believe in spiritual realities whether angelic creatures or demonic so the traditional title of Jesus the Stadio Redeemer reminds us that God stays and rescues us from a real danger from something evil st. Paul is writing to the Ephesians says for our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms because evil is something powerful and beyond our ability to overcome on our own we need a Savior to rescue us one of the major reasons that Jesus became human was to reach to help free all of us from demonic influence we read in the first letter the job the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work in the Acts of the Apostles we are told God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit in power and how he went about doing good and healing all over and with the power of the devil because God was with him so the Bible presents us with very specific instructions on how to gain victory over the Delmon st. Peter says be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walks about seeking Him whom he may devour Saint James says resisted and he will flee from you state hall says do not give the devil a foothold the truth however is that many people today are giving the devil a foothold in their lives they're not being sober and vigilant in their faith and they're certainly not resisting him I always like to say that I don't believe that the devil has upped his game in the world today but there are many more people who are willing to play the devil skin again faith leads us in one direction and a lot of faith in another so there is an increase in demonic presence in the world today that I would attribute that to the decrease in faith and so what would be the way to put things back in the right order would be for all of us to grow in faith so how do people play the devil's game when it comes to the extraordinary activity of the devil in the 14 years I've done this ministry I'm going to share with you eight main ways that I see people open up an entry point to evil in their lives there are many many different ways these are just the eight main ways that I have seen and then after I share these with you then we'll have the opportunity for some questions and these are not in any particular order so number one would be ties to be a cult the word occult comes from the Latin word occultists it means hidden or secret it focuses on knowledge of the paranormal it's basic root is that people want a glimpse into the future it's associated with such things as palm reading going to see a median or psychic the use of the Ouija board tarot cards pendulums crystals horoscopes witchcraft and I even mentioned knocking on wood anybody ever done that by the way if knocking on his head over there he's ever knocked on wood I don't think they're possessed but I give that as an example of how certain practices have become mainstream and perhaps we're doing something when we don't know its origin so knocking on wood comes from the druid practice it's the belief that spirits live in the trees so knocking on wood you're asking the spirit that lives in the tree to come and grant your wish now that would be a violation of which commandment I am the Lord your God you shall have strange gods so again if you've not thought would the digits probably as we've been knocking on you know plastic and before my head particleboard but maybe not wood so these practices are all condemned you're a form of idolatry it's mentioned in the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament chapter 18 where it says you must never practice black magic the absorption teller witch or sorcerer pass spells as ghosts or spirits for help or consulted in Leviticus 19 31 says do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who sold the spirits of the dead people need to realize that we cannot use the devil for our benefit the devil will always use us even if I have to begin it seems like we're in control ultimately when people dance with the devil eventually it will come time to pay the devil will always use us when the church works with somebody who's dealing with the demonic it's the ministry of charity so I don't send anybody a bill and say now you have to pay this one time in the state of Virginia that I was working with he believed that he was possessed I worked with him he was not possessed he was dealing with a mental health issue he kept contacting me because I know it's demonic I know it's demonic is that I found a professional Exorcist so one not tied to any faith who told them that he was possessed by five demons and it would be $1500 per demon to cast them out so taking advantage of people that are broken the church would never do that now with that said remember I had my jokes and a sense of humor the joke always is that if you don't pay your Exorcist you might get repossessed but that's the only a joke you won't get a bill you won't get a deal but I do think that's funny number two mentoring point is through the entertainment industry movies TV shows literature games computer IT gadgets children today are growing up in front of a screen that's leaving them in isolation and not community people when it comes to literature what series of books do people always mention Harry Potter the movies are all on television right now as Halloween is two days away so people always ask what's the danger of Harry Potter the nature of Harry Potter is that is kind of chemical in nature is cata chemical in nature what is it teaching children it's teaching that it's promoting being a witch or a wizard as a position of power evil is being presented as something good the dumpee diabolic is not presented as something bad Chrissa spells alchemy necromancy representative saints which are good and what's interesting is you can find these books in most schools but what book won't you find in those schools Leviathan so parents will always say well father is around for my children to read Harry Potter and my response is it could be a teachable moment if your children are reading these books or watching the movies and you help filter all of that through our Catholic faith but how many of our children are picking up a Bible or the Catechism of the Catholic Church so they'll know Harry Potter but they don't know Scripture and they don't know the Catechism there has to be a better balance a third a three-point would be a curse which is the opposite of a blessing so curse is doing harm to someone else with the help of the devil if you bless something is commended to God something or someone is cursed is commended to an evil spirit curses are only affected if we are weak in our faith we cannot control what somebody else does but we can make sure that we are spiritually strong so again you going back to that notion if you're a Catholic and you're going to mass celebrating the sacraments that you're praying the devil is already on the run so it's the ordinary things that we can do to safeguard ourselves I've shared before with some groups somebody comes to me and they tell me they're dealing with the devil I say great go to Matt's receive the sacraments and pray and they're like no no no what do you really want me to do and I jokingly say that if I told them to go out at the next school at midnight and swing a dead cat around their head and hop on one leg and power the moon they would say where do I get attacked so people are always willing to do the extraordinary when in reality it's the ordinary aspects of our Christian faith that will keep evil at bay we're back on the African plain the lion is stalking its prey eventually the line will give up if it's chases the prey and it moves on because the lion says I don't want to expend any more energy than I because there's easier prey out there so when the spiritual life don't be that easy print make yourself spiritually strong by growing in virtue and holiness by doing the things that Jesus calls us to do a fourth entry point is being dedicated to a demon sounds strange doesn't it being dedicated to a demon so one of the exorcisms in Rome was a young lady who told me that her mother had dedicated her to safety which she was born so she said Chris she learned as she grew up that her mother didn't want her when she was pregnant with her the mother attempted to her board her that didn't work out she was born so her mother blamed God for giving her a child which she did not want and said that she would get even with God by dedicating forgotten to say so she shared that for the first twelve years of her life she went through all kinds of satanic practices and rituals which she was 12 she ran away she ended up on the streets of Rome she was on the streets for about six years before she found her way to father's harmony who then began praying the prayers of exorcism she was one of the people I was I don't understand they knew is relevant st. Lawrence parish outside the walls it's where the Deacon Lawrence was harder there's a huge cemetery right next to this church so here's the church a courtyard and some office buildings so the first time I arrived in the courtyard were about fifty people some of them had appointments to see public harmony some didn't they were hoping to get a few minutes of this time this young lady was always over there talking to herself just acting very now the good news about this young lady is that public harmony works of her and cast out all the presence of evil and that she went on to become a nun so she knew what it's like to live on the streets of Rome so she dedicated her life to God and now ministers to street children in the city of Rome the reason why that's a great story is because it demonstrates that no one is ever lost to God if you want to be found God will find you and all we have to do is give God just a little something and he will make great things come from it you went to Mass today the mustard seed smallest of all seeds becomes the big bush you know the yeast something small creates something good give God just a little bit and they'll make great things happen a fifth entry point abuse which creates emotional wounds that may cause the person to seek help from the wrong sources so I hear terrific stories in this ministry that I do so I was working with a lady from Mexico could been away from the church for many years for over 40 years sober neighbor lady was bringing her back to church and introduced her to the associate pastor in this parish who told me that he went over and to meet her with the neighbor lady and have a conversation and he told me that as they were talking all of a sudden she started acting strange he said she started speaking in a strange voice was growling at him it was fitted him and he came the stomach at one time so he asked me if I would come and only speak with them this lady told me that went to a seven years old her father began raping her for over a five year period it caused her to diffraction so obviously there would be some mental health issues at play too but she said she also began turning to the occult people involved and those practices trying to put the pieces of her life back together but she said everything that she did just left her fracture so the first time I meeting her I'm sitting here she's sitting there her friend is there this associate pastor ever mattress is there if she starts to cry as she's telling me the story and she says can you help me and I looked at her and said Jesus is going to help you before the words even got out of my mouth there was a demonic manifestation from her horizon rolled in the back of her head her voice changed her face became very agitated and the voice that came out of her mouth said welcomes he she has no power over us so then I got up so I went over and laid my hand on the head and just was praying and cuss words and everything is coming out towards me and then the voice says to me you can't get rid of us we didn't hear - mama you're not strong enough by this time the lady sitting next to her leaps over the table to get away the associate pastor he's already on his knees rattling off Hail Marys like a we can be rather confiscated so I ended that session and then planned to do an exorcism to do an exorcism you need the permission of the local bishop the Archbishop of Indianapolis whether it was archbishop decline Cardinal Tobin and now archbishop Thompson have all told me in the device if they believe that I need if I believe it needs to be done I don't need their permission I can go ahead and do the exorcism but just keep them informed Cardinal Tobin always said if you're going to do one just text me so I can pray for you I said well Cardinal for average bishop at the time you didn't tell me you're going to come and help it said I'll be praying in the distance so two weeks later we're back exorcisms are always done in a sacred space so they're never done in an abandoned house at midnight on a dead-end street you know during an electrical storm that's a great movie but it's not reality the devil doesn't get to decide where he will be defeated the church will make that determination so we are in Chapel want to find the location that's not public you don't want to be doing an exorcism in the church and somebody just walks in you know they have a quiet moment of prayer they walk in you know peace business flying or something nobody wants to see that so we're praying and the the prayers of the church are meant to cause the demon to manifest because only wants to be in a manifest willed attack the attack against it begin so the demon was manifesting same voice from the two weeks prior to was interesting when they did emic manifested even the first time the person's eyes turned green and their tools became splendid like the serpents so where they're praying there's the same entity if you will pray the prayers of the church one of the prayers of the church is the installation prayer it's the breathing on and calling on the Holy Spirit so as Jesus breathed on the holy if freed on his disciples and said receive the Holy Spirit so the installation prayer The Exorcist will breathe on the face of the person spoke in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit because wherever the Holy Spirit is an unclean spirit can not remain and when I went you'd have thought this person they were sitting in the chair was hit by a hurricane force when the chair flew back and hit the wall the person flew up out of it landed on the floor and then I went over and I their name out there was a big shriek as a person was going through the air and landed on the floor there was a scream and I went over and called her name and got up she's smiling and beaming and bright she tells me how she's worthy of God's love and everything else so every presence of the demonic was gone and then the pastoral care would be then to put her under the care so the associate pastor at that parish the danger and all of these things is that sometimes people don't maintain the spiritual life you know when you're desperate is easy to want to find out but when things start to go good then maybe people abandon that pursuit a sixth sense a point is the life of habitual sin we've all lost the sense of sin in our world think of addictive behavior alcohol drugs what's one of the most horrific addictions out in the world today it is pornography on the internet so again these are ways that people can open up an entry point into evil a seventh entry point would be inviting a demon end I worked with somebody who was trained outside of an abortion clinic they believe that somebody going in was possessed by a demon they ran up to the person who said was ever in you I freely invited to come in to me and dare related the words come out of the person's mouth that they felt something from over and then for 12 years experience demonic attacks and manifestations and that only that did turn to the church for help an exorcism you know this demon would have been manifested told me it didn't have to leave because he had been invited in and since it had been invited in and was making a claim on the life of his person in the 1614 ritual of the church one of the parts of the ritual not included in the new right is for the demon to name itself so using the older right if your stabili appointed as the exorcist then Pope Benedict gave permission to use any of the rights that have been promulgated by the church I have the old right I commanded the demon to name itself it told me that his name was Leviathan which is a demon mentioned an angel of Revelation but then told the demon that it could not make a claim on a person created in the image and likeness of God who now wanted to be set free so one of the ways of looking at an exorcism is commanding the demon to return that which it has stolen namely a person created in the image and likeness of God again as long as we are breathing we can always return to God and then the final example I will give is broken relationships there's a lot of brokenness in the world today but how we deal with broke seem to matter people get angry and mad and bitter they want to get revenge all of these things is what the devil feeds on Jesus aim to create community to help us put the bits and pieces of our lives back together the devil wants to continue the fracturing go back to the story of the garrison demoniac in chapter 5 of Mark's Gospel so there's a man living in the tombs shackles won't even hold him he's possessed by Legion Jesus commands the demons to come out they go into the swine they race over the hillside and the swine ground most people stop reading the story then but something very profound takes place the man is now free of Legion wants to follow Jesus the Jesus says to him no now how often does Jesus tell somebody not to follow him so belly should be ringing this is a very significant moment Jesus says no go home to your family a man has been living amongst the dead Jesus now wants to put back amongst the living so again how we do with brokenness does seem to matter so working with somebody if I determine that there truly is a demonic presence the question is is there a way out of this and the answer is absolutely demons have power they can only be defeated by power the power that defeats sin is the power of God and then the ritual and ministry of exorcism is amiss for calling upon that power and with that said now you have time for questions that way you I can answer what you really want to know so if you have a question you'd raise your hand you tell me the question I'll repeat it so we can all hear and then to be able comment so you listen to a gentleman named Malachi Martin who wrote the book hostage to the devil exorcism are being possessed is rare my experience is that is about one out of every five thousand cases that it's demonic possession most of the time it's the infestation it's the vexation or obsession here's your other chance yes so 45 years ago there was an experience how to categorize it the movie The Omen who else has seen it who wants to watch it together later tonight so after watching the movie just felt like there was a heaviness on you despair but then when you said you're going to deal with it it was kind of gone and that's the danger of I call that and again the entertainment industry you watch all of this stuff it's not just entertaining but when it's focusing on people it can have an impact on us yes let me say something more about the ordinary activity of the devil because I think that's what the majority of us deal with when it comes to the ordinary activity of the devil I think he has a four-step plan of attack against us and they're all d worms it's deception diversion division discouragement when it comes to deception and we'll think of a story about of the name so Adam and Eve bought into the lie they were deceived by the evil one when they bought into the deception where did that leave them diversion they're no longer on the path of God what did they do they went and hid so the deception led to diversion which led to division they were broken the brokenness and in the midst of their brokenness had led to discouragement I believe that there are more people discouraged today then are people who are depressed when I think of discouraged people left the sense of meaning and purpose and direction in their lives because they were apart from God san agustin says our hearts were restless the Lord until they rest in you the human person has the innate desire for God and then when we don't foster evaluation should ultimately it leads us discouraged when people are you spirit so you the deception is led to the diversion which has led to the division which has led to the discouragement we're at a crossroads the question is what will we do now will we go towards the discipleship john paul ii nila van will we recommit ourselves to Christ or the pathway that leads to death always spiritual death sometimes physical death look at the rise of the number of suicides today I when I was in Alaska in July I went in February of this year did a workshop with the priests and bishops of the state of Alaska and went back in July to train the newly appointed Exorcist in Anchorage and then to do an exorcism for the bishop of Fairbanks and an Eskimo village but when I was in the village just before I arrived there's a religious sister who's the terrified Cortina there Franciscan from Philadelphia there was a young boy of 15 the committed suicide and she said that you arrived would you be willing to pray over the body and with the family because she goes we don't have a priest she goes we have mass every other month in the village so then we get mass six times a year so while I was there the other priests from Anchorage he traveled with me we the body was shipped to Anchorage for an autopsy and then back to the village so there at the village at the little building at the airport and we gathered around the casket and prayed but the sister told me that two years ago there was a fifty year old boy who committed suicide the same week five of his friends took their lives to six suicides and a village of 500 people discouragement is really really random and I think your experience in these movies that's where the devil wants to drag a lot of people down is this being a discourage what about you just want to give up because I think another sign of is is addictive behavior people are looking for something more but ultimately the emptiness in us can only be filled by God yes the mass shootings so again she's asking about the question of the mass shootings that we see across the country and I wouldn't tribute that to that sense of discouragement and then she pointed out that oftentimes the people that commit these crimes end up taking their own life as well yes [Music] so she asked the question when a demon has passed out where does it go Jesus sent it into the swine and that story so when somebody has possessed the ritual of exorcism breaks the possession but they're not sent to hell because the notion from Scripture is that the demons will wander the earth until the final judgment takes place at the end of time so they're still around sometimes in some deliverance prayers you'll hear people say I command you to leave and go to the foot of the cross and Jesus will deal with you as he will [Music] so the question is majority of people I've seen do they come on their own volition or they being referred as I would say that the majority of people are being referred by someone else and again I can talk to that person if they're willing to to meet with me but then ultimately they have to decide there was a young boy I met at the jabal school for boys many years ago I came to business with the priests from his parish he told me that ever since he has dedicated his life to safe and declared Satan to be this father that he found such power and strength that he never knew before he said he would never give that up so he said I know my family is concerned about me but he goes I don't need God the Father because Satan is now my father so it's not enough for the family and friends to want him to be free from this gets to wanted for himself certainly the family can continue to pray he'll come to his senses and then ask for help as a gentleman called blessed barthelona which you've never heard of bless apart go alone though anybody here ever been to Italy on pilgrimage all the times people end up in Pompeii the city of Pompeii there's a church dedicated to the Blessed Mother that was erected by Blessed barthelona so as a young man growing up in Naples very developed Catholic family when he went off to the universe he abandoned his faith gave up on the church gave up on God he got involved in the occult he became a satanic high priest his family never gave up on him they continued to pray that he would come to his senses eventually he left all of that behind he returned to the church dedicated his life to working with college students to help them realize the importance of staying connected with God developed a motion to the Blessed Mother saw the construction of Our Lady of Pompeii there in the city and now he's on his way to becoming the canonized saint of the church a sip a former satanic high priest well one day be a saint of the church no one has ever lost to God if they want to be found so that she asked the difference between mental illness and demonic possession sometimes it's hard to say that it's 100% 1 or 100 percent of the other my experiences sometimes both are in play the former Exorcist at Indianapolis Monsignor Ryan st. Anthony parish in Indianapolis right across the street is the former central state mental hospital so Monsignor Ryan used to say that he would go and visit the residents to take communion and he would say he would walk in the main entrance said there would be residents there and they would curse instead of him when he came in he would make his rounds in this to be Communion and as he was leaving he would they would say have a good day father thanks for stopping in and nice to see you come anytime and come back what was the difference he no longer had the Blessed Sacrament oh he said he believed that some of the people that were there actually we're dealing with the demonic and the presence of the demonic was reacting to the Eucharist on his person and as he was leaving he no longer had communion because he had this rapidity so it is very difficult and the last time I was in Rome for the International gathering there was a psychologist in the priest and we're presenting and the topic was is it possible that somebody has a demonic episode in her life which the brain then fractions as a way to try to deal with that reality so that's why that demonic obsession is so difficult to deal with as look that mental attacks that people have tonight tastes the best thing is to continue to rage with the person and then I always like to use this fact may the anointing of the sick a lot it's a Saturnalia Church the grace is the flow from the sacraments you know an exorcism is a sacramental so a sacrament is of a weightier nature so always err on the side of the sacraments of the Church but again hearing voices yes so there's always part of the process is to determine where the entry point might have been so they've added in questionnaire would ask questions like have you ever been diagnosed with a mental health issue have you been taking any drugs prescribed by a psychiatrist are you still taking those drugs if not did you take yourself off of them did you go off of them under the guy who said you're a doctor what kind of programs do you watch have you ever been involved in an occult the 10-minute ISA tennis practice or ritual what kind of movies do you watch do you take drugs do you name that there's a whole series of questions trying to determine if this is divine where could the entry point have come from because again knowing the entry point then the Exorcist will work to close that but again it isn't just enough to close the entry point we have to bring God into the picture but knowing the entry point is extremely important so the question is if you go to church every week is that enough to keep you from becoming the possess my response would be going to church has to mean something remember last Sunday's gospel reading two people went up to the temple to pray the Pharisee and the tax collector so the Pharisee is going to church certainly but we can't just go through the motions Archbishop's should feel in Philadelphia one of his comments was that there's a lot of the people today that wear the label would be in the Christian but they do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ they're just going through the motions but there is no relationship so going to church isn't enough it's about fostering that relationship with Christ one that is both personal and communal we need it on both levels a haunted house was Halloween so other faith traditions I worked with a Muslim man from Saudi Arabia who was living in Indianapolis attending IUPUI I asked him why because there is exorcism within Islam but he said that the reason that he turned to the Catholic Church was his family back in Saudi Arabia knew a priest in Egypt that they considered to be a holy man and he said their understanding was that if you are in the spiritual trouble you can turn to anyone who is a spiritual person regardless of their church synagogue or mosque because what's that way he said is the power of God I've dealt with other Christian faith traditions some who say yes you're dealing with the demonic that we don't have any practice or ritual of exorcism sometimes people will say the Catholics seem to know more about this area than we do so go and talk to them I don't know they're just trying to pass the buck but they don't want to deal so yeah forth it up I worked with an Orthodox person here in terrible so there's who told me that the Orthodox Church has a ritual of exorcism but no one's authorised to use it there's a lot of taboos that surrounds the Ministry of exorcism which is why I like to talk about it to bring it into the light so people better understand what it is because anything you kind of shroud in secrecy tends to take on a life of its own because exorcism really is about how it God it's not what the devil is it's what God is doing and that's where our focus needs to be yes the youngest person I would say probably 17 no one under the age of reason can bring evil upon himself so what's the age of reason 7 swype children in the Catholic tradition make the first reconciliation in the first communion about that age they have been understanding of right or wrong by that age so no one under the age of reason could bring evil upon themselves if somebody under the age of reason remember the woman that was dedicated to save someone else there is the responsibility for that but they could not bring it on yes can you be possessed against your will [Music] again people can invite the demonic either directly or indirectly directly when you know that you're doing something that's contrary to what God says and you know directly you know that it's wrong when you do it anyway get directly again it's fun it's entertaining you know people that give an example play with the Ouija boards and things like that over and over again we've done it once again it's like knocking on wood don't worry about it but if the danger with a lot of these things is maybe people having curiosity it's like staying a psychic you go out of curiosity you hear something that takes your interest so that curiosity leads to reliance and then you start going to see that person over and over again psychics sometimes can lured people in giving you a false sense of security you go into their office and there's a crucifix on the wall it takes her the Sacred Heart you know but a lot of that is meant to give a false sense of security the Archdiocese of Louisville two years ago asked me to write an article for their Catholic newspaper because down in Bardstown Kentucky the old cathedral there was a Catholic lady that opened upon trading shop right across the street from the cathedral so she claims she said she was Catholic the people would go to Mass on Sunday and after Nancy walked across the street and they would all have a comrade has the terrible part talking about the inconsistency of that in our face so when I was in Rome during my training again I can read a lot I can learn a lot of book knowledge the purpose of Rome was think of a doctor doing residency your it's on the job training so it really was being present in that room and watching and observing and then the actress is the one who's leading the prayer in church no one should interject her he is in the way so during that we would pray he could even use the ritual book and follow a lot but again not to become a burden to the process how long does an exorcism take how the Harmony would only be with people in 30 minutes and after 30 minutes either scheduled another appointment with them where they were done but he knew that he had 50 people outside the door that were trying to get so he couldn't spend the whole day some people may have calluses pile in some northern Italy took the train down this host that they could get to see him the interesting thing about public carbonation people said it was a bit very holy land first time I bought the first exorcism my dog to eat walks into the room and I'm talking to this lady and her husband crazy Californian is there I learned enough Italian to order lunch but had a good day just of what was being said this harmony walks into the room but they're all paper towels on the table and he walks backed out it comes back in again and ties a plastic grocery bag onto the wall radiator he walks back out it comes back in have this purple stole on he has all water and they got the ritual in the pan takes the holy water all of a sudden she starts foaming at the mouth and growling and snarling cries no little back of her head so the department reaches over grabs a paper towel wipes her mouth off throws it in the plastic bag and just continues on and I was thinking artificial what have you got man but again just watching and observing this was the most important thing on the training I went about three day three times a week would catch the local bus and take it out with the city go out there and spend three or four hours he did them every day we go about three days a week yes every mission is an exorcist no they're The Exorcist by virtue of their office the moment their did they become a bishop during the exercise so there are many bishops even though they're the actresses they don't have the training but they have the authority and that's really what's most important my colleague in Chicago told me that one of the auxiliary bishops of Chicago went with him when he was doing an exorcism and when the demon manifested the demon said AHA his successor the Apostles and the bishop didn't introduce himself take anybody but the demon knows that's an elevated perception yes so one of the entry points the diction for not a fee so the question is right so what it's here the connection between addictive behavior and the demonic so the question is if it's demonic activity is it possession is it some type of demonic but weird you using it infestation yes I would say that in the field of addiction when it comes to the demonic presence it's more this infestation where people are being afflicted by the evil it isn't necessarily third they're possessed but you look at them and there's that sense of irritability and people believe the distance themselves and kind of go off into seclusion on their own and that makes people more vulnerable to the attacks of the devil so the devil could begin by using ordinary attacks against us that could ultimately end up in extraordinary intense and I think in the world of addiction it would begin with the ordinary attacks you lose that sense of sin there's nothing wrong with that that never will go back to those three things I said there's the three principles that people live by you may do whatever you wish nobody has the right to command you you're the Gandhi himself you ever heard somebody say well who are you to tell me what to do you're not my boss there's that sense and what was the template what did the serpent say to you surely will not die become like gods and the notion is we don't mean God and then people have lost the sense of sentence we justify on every penny in every level and I think that's the danger when it comes to addictive behavior people begin justifying that just again if you can call sin a sin there's hope but if you're trying to justify then we lose a sense of hope but I love risky I got a trained psychologist so I would rely on the expert you know I guess and said the psychologist is not an expert in the world of exorcism that's why it is important to have the sense of collegiality and teamwork and working together I will say that it is hard to find people in the mental health field that my guess as the majority of them would not readily accept that what somebody is experiencing is of a spiritual nature we live in the Western world we would tend to want to say this is all mental health issue but other parts of the world they readily accept the spiritual realities as a possibility two years ago I traveled to South Africa spent 14 days in Cape Town Johannesburg in Vitoria talking about exorcism training Exorcist and South Africa has no location we appointed Exorcist exorcisms are done kind and whatever manner you know that there really isn't his instruction so there's an American from the hall but ultimately each country would need to develop their own little protocol based on their own cultural identity Poland has 300 exorcist Italy has 300 but they readily would accept that something of a spiritual nature could be in play where in the United States we think that you take this pill you'll be fine but that might be that we've lost that sense of spiritual but again it needs to be very methodical as I mentioned earlier the church doesn't just want to say oh you're possessed if that diagnosis prevents a person from getting the true help they need I worked with a man one time in Indianapolis he went to this priest he was already diagnosed with schizophrenia he had a psychiatrist and a caseworker he said he believed he was the best so I met with him and I said you're not possessed that's all and his psychiatrist Facebook agreed to meet with me so all four was set down together and I told the man you're not possessed the psychiatrist says to the man publish does not possess what is your response and what he responded was interesting he said I'm disappointed but what he says next is really significant he says I'm disappointed because he says to the psychiatrist you can tell me that I'm schizophrenic but you can't tell me why because I have my wife something to think about we have time for a few more questions yes so how do I prepare myself so I decide that I'm going to do an exorcism I will go to confession celebrate Mass determine the location who's going to be present there's no such thing as exorcism tourism there's always reporters that want to know a can be come to watch or we're back to the fact that one out of every 5,000 I think people think I do extra assistance every day and that's not a reality but again prepare myself the location who's going to be there it's always the inflation person a family member or friend myself could be a religious sister and then priest a deacon would call on people to help pray my turn to religious communities and say I'm gonna be doing an exorcism today would you remember that in her prayer again an exorcism is a it's a prayer in the church it isn't just a prayer that I'm doing on my own because even the exorcism when it begins you bless the person with holy water reminding them of the baptism into Christ if they've never been baptized it expressed some desire for Christ so then bringing the person to faith is important there is the Olivia the Saints calling upon the Saints to convene the Saints to be present in this prayer to church reading reading songs especially Psalm 91 it talks about protecting us I need not hear the tarragon I am indeed nor the arrow that flies by day gospel readings to talk about Jesus casting out demons Kadeem then doing the the crazy before the renewal of baptismal promises and then there's the insolation prayer and then there is the there's always a supplicating printer directed to God and then the imperative community to the demon and the priest would go through the entire original completely each time watching and observing what impact certain parts of the right have on the demonic presence and then I could take a pause if I wanted to and during the pause maybe recite the Our Father the calvaria just watching and observing and then once I go through the ritual once I could go back and repeat certain parts that seem to have a profound impact on the demonic presence once the demon is cast out there's prayers of Thanksgiving public harmony would always offer the person to go to confession afterwards but that was on the tank separate from the official right [Music] so do people remember different some people weren't possessed tell me that they're aware when the demon takes over their body but they still have to trapped in their own body and they're prevented and stopping any of it others say they have no recollection of anything once the demon takes over so it just it really just depends we have time for two more questions and I have a two hour and 20 minute drive to Brookville Indiana yes how often do I experience levitation or chairs flying something crazy always happens but one of the things I learned over the years is to discipline myself not to pay attention one of the major exorcisms I did in Indiana the one where the demon made yourself is Leviathan there were seven demons that made themself in this person and when I commanded the demons to name themselves seven different voices came out of the person's mouths at the same time the weaker demons were the first to go and then Leviathan was the demon that was the last to go sometimes when someone's possessed it isn't a matter of just one demon it's always multiple demons that's why it's you know us we there's that sense of portal there's no sense of fraternity or collegiality the demons but in just as much as we talk about hierarchy you know the nine choirs of angels will these statements when they fell they fell out of all the different choirs so some have a higher rank than others so there is a demonic ranking as well my experience is that the weakest demons are always first to flee but those who are more dominant are the ones that are more defiant so strange things but I haven't in a chapter 12 in Cincinnati did an interview with me on three weeks ago about the new show evil that came on they came out the brookdale there do you think he asked me that question about what something strange in Spain and I talked about the Seven voices and because well how did you respond I said I wasn't good press again focus on what God was doing not what the devil is doing time for one more question in the back yes Chicago check out the golden ticket no that was an error strategy for the woman that manifested I waited two weeks because I didn't say why anything up accordingly they also wanted to verify her mental status just because the doesn't mean that they're manifesting that wasn't going on for two weeks non-stop so again with somebody's possessed there's the connection with evil certain things will trigger the the demon that's present or demons to manifest but somebody is possessed could be going through a normal life but then something will trigger that we can get very heavy you know if somebody's possessed is that literally that the demon is inside of it no because a purely spiritual entity st. Thomas Aquinas would say does not he is not contained by space the spirit contains the space so we're in this church this space is containing us a spirit would be containing the space so when one is possessed it's literally that a demon is containing them and the Ekman the original of exorcism is meant to break that connection and to take the person from the realm of evil and to bring them into the realm of God so that God is contained that's the notion of invoking the holy spirit so again it isn't that you know they're floating around levitating it for two weeks the person that was possessed by the seven demons I worked at that person over the course of one year would meet like every three to five weeks just based on scheduling the sad part is I mean it's you know I have two parishes st. Michael's st. Peters I also have a third parish it closed in 2013 holy guardian angels but I'm responsible for that campus as well st. Michael's is undergoing major renovation pain teachers head renovation holy guardian angels head renovation so all of this has been taking place and I didn't grill fill to the last 15 months so trying to to juggle everything just takes time the final comment I'll make it so I think it's healthy for a priest to as the appointment exorcist not to do this ministry full time there's something healthy about being engaged in the everyday life of the parish daily Mass baptizing weddings and funerals confessions it helps maintain balance just to do exorcism ministry full-time I think would not be healthy I have known for Exorcist who left the priesthood and a lot of them did it more on a full-time basis and had just reached the point where it just became too consuming there's something healthy about being engaged in parish life and there's something help they don't have an award sense of humor but I blamed that on Clinton these people are from Clinton Indiana and when I was in the seminary I went to st. miners college in southern Indiana then I went to the University of steak Mary the lake Mundelein seminary in Chicago so in 1989 I spent 7 months and days of our parish in Clinton Indiana so the big fittings Ferelden going to the funny Creek Mall and the MCO cafeteria is it still there no just down the street all right the working with you may Almighty God bless you the Father Son and Holy Spirit everybody have a good night [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] who's gonna sleep with their nightlight house who's going out to the haunted cornfield now some of those are gonna watch the movie The Omen

Channel: St. Margaret Mary and St. Patrick Parishes

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Id: NNacRgqxMf4

Length: 107min 48sec (6468 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 02 2019