Fr. Vincent Lampert - Peace & Joy, Christ is Victor! - Necessity of Exorcists #5 of 5

[Music] so we've come to our last conference conference five is comes from Luke 12:32 fear not little flock it is please your father to give you a kingdom I just want to take a little pulse of the all of you at this time and really to ask with all the conversation on the topic of exorcism and evil what kind of feelings or emotions does that bring up in you what's been going through your mind after hearing these presentations and talking about exorcism I gotta say it works me for the grandkids that they're in high school because there's so many kids in the city so you're stealing would be one of worry and concern maybe for the younger generation that you're not worried for you but the younger generation where do they find themselves in their own relationship with God and maybe how they're opening themselves up to the forces of evil I feel less afraid and I feel stronger from what you said you feel less afraid and stronger yeah and your guardian angels got your front - not just your back yes so stronger more at ease you feel like you have the power to break any forces of evil that are trying to get a hold of you such as a curse I think the challenge for all of us is how do we make faith in God relevant to young people today they have to see that it's relevant and the best way I think they see that it's relevant is how we choose to live out our own lives so years ago she you're saying you were exposed to a white witch going through some hidden hypnosis and then after that experience your life began to fall apart so you're concerned about children maybe following into the same trap children are 50 you can still worry about them I think for a parent you're worried never stops because again they're sure you're making the comments she says handing a spiritual warfare book to perhaps other folks they might laugh at that again that's the people who are rejecting the reality of the devil you know that gives people a sense of comfort because if you don't believe in evil if you don't believe in the devil then you can kind of justify any action or behavior that you want there's no consequences but to believe in evil and to believe in the devil means that there are consequences to our actions so just because people discount the devil doesn't mean that those consequences won't come you know that's exactly the word I was hoping to hear joyful joyful joy I said a good question about maybe evangelizing people that are the cultures that a good job or bad people just taking the church out of the picture and so popular can you use the same words if you normally there any plots about how you can entice people I know you can't really I'm sorry to the church and Jesus I gather exactly but I think that goes but I think I would tie the to answer questions and the answer together is it's to radiate joy to evangelize other people to radiate joy if we have a relationship with Christ we believe in the reality of the devil and evil and even the midst of all of that were radiating joy I think that becomes something attractive to people because I do think young people today are searching for something more they're searching for something more and we need to let them know what that something more is the birthday boy is what thank you for confirming what I and also you have this yes you know like you said yesterday you don't see no no you know but also see see behind every blade of grass but it's aim time is up it's about you know redirecting our focus from what people find a lot of intrigue about about the demonic and about the influence of all that I understand the nature understand why there's a tree because there's this kind of like gap that's bridged between the nature in between the spirit and matter with me are so people are like like he's actually seen concretely and probably the other side so there's a lot of intrigue with that but at the same time you know you kind of make light of it because you know that you're guarding angel as you pointed out God is far more powerful than old hairy legs so even if you kind of maybe kind of like you let me level the playing field in a day I think it was all of us depends so I'm just very grateful for 19 timeout Jeffrey shares so I thought you've learned a lot I don't have any of like a mixed emotions about anything about filled with anxiety you know the power around last night and then I don't know and if the doorbell rang it was built for you and far Roderick and I cut up in our arm or habit jammies [Applause] [Laughter] you know it's really interesting you talking about children you hand them a spiritual warfare book and they kind of rejected 50 year old children but it's it does it's curious to me that this same generation they are so intrigued by all these programs on television that have to do with evil so on one hand they say they reject it all but some of the most popular programs on TV today there's you know the show evil all these shows on ghost hunting and Paranormal Activity all of those things intrigue people you know one of the things that no one asked me is about when it comes to demonic infestation is that when there is a entity in a location is it always a demon or is the possibility of a restless spirit that's in the location the soul of one who has died that's still manifesting exorcists will tell you that 99% of the time what people encounter is a demon but perhaps 1% of the time it could be a restless soul for one who has died to manifest in this life God has to permit it to happen God is permitting it to happen to bring about a greater good I can give an example one of my colleagues out in New York told me that he was contacted by a women's religious community who said that their convent was haunted and they said you know it's not scary it's just kind of annoying you know lights will go on and off at different times you'll hear footsteps pictures and things will be crooked on the wall and he and they go we need to get rid of this and he goes well how long has it been going on and they said 100 years and they said we're not afraid of it it's almost like a friend or a pet but we're selling the convent now because of declining numbers and we don't want to leave this behind so they did some research and investigation and determine you ashlee the spirit of a nun who had died hundred years previously and usually when one manifest that's the restless spirit they're seeking prayers they need intercessory prayer because they're in purgatory and they need those prayers to move on to where they need to be so he the priest said this is what we're going to do we're going to celebrate Mass once a week for four weeks for the repose of the soul of the sister and he said they gathered together and they're celebrating Mass in the chapel and during the Lord's Prayer when they say deliver us from evil he said the lights went out in the chapel and the candles blew out at the altar the next week they're celebrating Mass again same thing happens to deliver us from evil the lights went out in the chapel and the candles blew out on the altar third week the same thing happened fourth week they say deliver us from evil the lights went out in the chapel he said the candles blew out on the altar a few moments later the candles relit on their own and the lights came back on and then every manifestation of that spirit was completely gone and he said it was an indication that the soul finally received the prayers that it needed in order to move on when people tell me that they encounter a presence in a home I think we know whether or not it's something evil we just have that sense about us but if it is a restless soul people will tell me well you know it's annoying but it's not terrifying and then that's usually when I encourage people to try to find out maybe what has happened in that area maybe do some research without family dynamics if someone died or whatever and then the best thing to do is to have a mass said you talked about the mass fee and the most powerful prayer then to have a mass said for the repose of the soul of that person so that is something very powerful the same priest told me that another example of that was a priest had died and his in the rectory in his office strange things were happening drawers would open and clothes and all kinds of noise and they went in and they found out that the priest had never full filled the mass in tension requested people had given him he had just stuffed him in a drawer in his desk and just left them there and so cardinal Dolan came in and he took all those and he had them sent out throughout the world to all the missions and to have all the masses fulfilled once they were all the manifestations of in that office ceased but he said it was an indication that the priest was in torment because he had not fulfilled his priestly responsibilities and then once everything was put right that all of that came to an end so again it is possible for the soul of one who has died to to act in a location but remember it's always what God is permitting God is permitting that to bring about a greater good we cannot choose to act in this reality once we die we can't choose that on our own but God can permitted to bring about a break a greater good or because we need intercessory prayers [Music] [Music] so the question is the wrestle so could it be someone for hell there is a big debate that's being discussed now is it possible that the souls of the Damned show up during an exorcism to Satan drag these souls out of hell and force them to be present during an exorcism it is a there's no definitive answer to that but it is a question that is now being debated within the world of exorcism again does Satan drag the souls of the Damned from hell and force them to common to be present I've had some exorcists tell me that they've seen souls of those who have died that are being tormented that are dragged to be present during an exorcism one example would that be one of them told me that during an exorcism there was the the vision of seeing Hitler off during the actor during the exorcism in the room goose-stepping in the background so again that is there's no definitive answer to that but the question is can the souls of the Damned be dragged out of Hell by Satan as a way to bring them to an exorcism to be a form of distraction so the key word that somebody mentioned was joy joy do you think the world needs joy today guess who has to bring it you can't say I wish somebody would do something about it because if you're asking the question we all need to look in the mirror because the person that needs to do that is each and every one of us I think the number one priority for every Christian today is to live in a permanent connection with Jesus Christ last Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the baptism of the Lord when we celebrate Mass later today the Gospel reading is a continuation of the story of Jesus baptism baptism sends us out on mission so baptism doesn't mark the end it marks the beginning of putting our faith into action so Jesus is entire mission because remember he's baptized he goes out immediately he's driven into the desert to combat the devil and I think combating the devil is a key component of the Christian life again there's people are gonna laugh at that and and not agree with that but again remember the name Jesus means God saves and what is God saving us from something demonic so Jesus goes out into the desert he can bats the devil going through Sacred Scripture we can read again into the first letter of John the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work in the Acts of the Apostles again we are told God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit in power and how he went about doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil because God was with him if this was Jesus's mission that it now falls to us and I believe that helping those who are afflicted by evil reconfirms our Christian identity one of the things that I wanted to do this morning is to read a few passages from Mark's Gospel and as I read the passages I want you to listen very closely with everything we've talked about about the Ministry of exercies exorcism and for you to tell me what do you see in these passages that touch on what we have discussed during this weekend retreat so the first passage comes from mark chapter 1 verses 21 through 27 notice again chapter 1 so the very beginning of Mark's Gospel there's an exorcism this is the passage then they came to Capernaum and on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught the people they were astonished at his teaching for he taught them as one having Authority and not as the scribes in their synagogue was a man with an clean spirit he cried out what have you to do with us Jesus of Nazareth have you come to destroy us I know who you are the Holy One of God Jesus rebuked him and said quiet come out of him the unclean spirit convulsed him and what the loud cry came out of him all were amazed and asked one another what is this a new teaching with authority he commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him two things that stand out what day of the week was it the Sabbath the Sabbath is the day of rest it's the Lord's Day so it's the time of God not the time of Satan other interesting thing where does Jesus go on the Sabbath he went into the synagogue the house of God who was in the synagogue a man who was possessed isn't it interesting the one who was possessed came to the house of God and he came on the day of the Lord the unclean spirit cries out this is always interesting what have you to do with us that sense of plurality again it reinforces the notion that when people are possessed it's not a question of one demon but of many demons if then what follows what have you to do with us I know who you are we go from the plural to the singular what have you to do with us I know who you are there's that sense of brokenness and fracture and going back and forth Jesus rebuked him and said quiet why would Jesus tell the demon to be quiet he had authority and demons would only speak lies it's the house of God were only the truth may be spoken quiet come out of him the unclean spirit convulsed him remember signs of demonic possession people moving bodily contortions so he is convulsed and what the loud cry came out of him again there's always that grew outcry or that shriek just the final moment when the demon is expelled all were amazed and asked one another what is is a new teaching with authority he commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him so Jesus has the authority that's why when the church performs exorcisms she always does so in the name of Jesus Christ and in the power and the authority of his name because these demons now know exactly who Jesus is what had you to do with us Jesus of Nazareth you are the Holy One of God so the demon in that sense is speaking the truth but Jesus will not accept his identity coming from an unclean spirit which is why he always tells them to be quiet and he rebukes them because remember evil only speaks normally lies they might give a truth but a truth is only given eventually to insert even more lies to create confusion we can look at another account that I will read to you and it's the fate it's the story the Serie Phoenician woman in mark chapter 7 verses 24 through 30 from that place he went off to the district of Tyre he entered the house and wanted no one to know about it but he could not escape notice soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him she came and fell at his feet the woman was a Greek assira Phoenician by birth and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter he said to her let the children be fed first for it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs she replied and said Lord even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps then he said to her for saying this you may go the demon has gone out of your daughter when the woman went home she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone sometimes Jesus moves around in secrecy the passage says he wanted no one to know about it but he could not escape notice why was Jesus attracting attention pretty obvious he's performing miracles he's healing people he's casting out demons if you're one who's also afflicted what are you hoping I hope that he can help me so the Sarah Phoenician woman believes that Jesus can help him sometimes people are always taken aback by the response that Jesus gives this woman we know that she's agreed what does Jesus say to her let the children be fed first the children is a reference to who Israel the chosen people of God and then he says it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs some people are they think that that's a very offensive statement but what is Jesus trying to do he wants to pull out her faith he's giving her an opportunity to demonstrate what she truly believes let the Lord even the dogs under the table eat the children scraps so Jesus pulls out his greater sense of faith and because of her faith where does he say to her you may go the demon has gone out of your daughter Jesus didn't even have to be present the girl who was possessed was at home lying in bed but because of the woman's faith the demon was cast out faith is a key ingredient so she said she heard another commentary on this passage and dog seems harsh but in another translation it was like puppies who do you think of a puppy it's not yet full of grown it's it's kind of in the growing stages and learning that's a good way to look at it were there more possessions in Jesus's time than there are now there were no exorcism existed before the coming of Christ because exorcism was practiced within the Jewish tradition remember when Jesus was accused of casting out demons by Beelzebul the Prince of demons and Jesus says well by what authority do your people cast them out but exorcisms became truly efficacious with the coming of Christ so they existed before but Jesus coming on the scene now they are truly applications are there more were there more than than today I think we go back to that question of faith again faith in God leads us in one direction the lack of faith and another my experience would be I think there's many people that are possessed in the world today but some may not even realize it there is such a thing known as perfect possession perfect possession and what does that mean it means that the person realizes they're possessed but they choose to live in a harmonious relationship with the demon they never want to fight it or they combat it and so there's that connection with the demonic but they can lead a very normal life perfect possession kind of a scary thing and you looking in today's world where people doubt the existence of God they reject the church and so many things the question might be are there people today I think the answer is yes who are perfectly possessed because when your combatant it you're going to seek help when you finally decide just to say I choose to live this way to have the demon with me then you get yourself in a relationship that's pretty crazy I believe yes he asked the question do exorcisms happen today with no one really present Jesus yeah I've not had that experience again the key ingredient the question is about performing exorcisms at a distance but the key thing in this passage was the woman's faith and she demonstrated a very deep faith I've had people come to me that are concerned about family members and friends wondering whether or not those folks are dealing with the demonic in their life but the thing is these people who have come to me don't have that level of faith many of them are going to church they're not connected with Christ and that has to be the key ingredient faith is always the key ingredient it was this woman's faith that helped to bring about their release from the demon you know and oftentimes people aren't willing to do what needs to be done you know when people come to me and they say that a family member they believe is possessed and I say well okay are you going to church are you praying for them tell me something about your own spiritual life and usually they're disconnected as well I think it can happen because Jesus can do all things but remember faith is the key ingredient when Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth we're told that he with wasn't able to do much because of the people's lack of faith so faith is a key ingredient that the world needs today yes Saint Gemma Gaga nee from Lucca in northern Italy right next to Pisa so next time you're in Italy don't just go see the leading Tower of Pisa but you have to drive through Lucca so you can stop there and see the Church of st. Gemma Gani a very powerful intercessor so she talks about the devil would come in and then very foul things would come out of her kind of contrary to her demeanor and her person but it's almost like see that's where the devil thinks that he's doing something very harmful but in reality he's doing something good because he was helping her purge herself of all these sinful inclinations in her life that's always the interesting thing about the devil that God when he thinks that he's in control he's really God is controlling him like a puppet on the string so he's doing things that he believes they're destroying people's lives but God can bring good out of that so like in Gemma Galgani causing her to cause foul things to come out of her mouth a mean disposition but then she was able to confront all of that sinfulness in her own life and then turn it over to God just any now when you're done enough babe it's kind of like who you going to believe believe message bringing believe the devil if you are rejecting the lies of the devil are telling you then your that's your faith are believing when I think about the word believe you can see lot B why me so so she says in the word believe we see the words be lie and Eve let's look at another passage because it's going to tie in to what you just talked about the sense of belief this comes from Mark 9 14 through 29 when they came to the disciples they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them immediately on seeing him the whole crowd was utterly amazed they ran up to him and greeted him he asked them what are you arguing about with them someone from the crowd answered him teacher I brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit whenever it seizes him it throws him down he foams at the mouth grinds his teeth and becomes rigid I asked your disciples to drive it out but they were unable to do so he said to them in reply Oh faithless generation how long will I be with you how long will I endure you bring him to me they brought the boy to him and when he saw him the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions as he fell to the ground he began to roll around in foam at the mouth then he questioned his father how long has this been happening to him he replied since childhood it is often throwing him into fire and into water to kill him but if you can do anything have compassion on us and help us and Jesus said to him if you can everything is possible to one who has faith the boy's father cried out I do believe help my unbelief Jesus on seeing the crowd rapidly gathering rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it mute and deaf spirit I command you come out of him and never enter him again shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions he came out he became like the corpse which caused many to say he is dead but Jesus took him by the hand raised him and stood and he stood up when he entered the house his disciples asked him in private why do we not drive it out he said to them this kind can only come out through prayer this passage doesn't include fasting not from Mark's Gospel and one of the others it includes fasting but mark only talks about the power of prayer so what do we know about this passage Jesus came there was a large crowd there was an argument taking place what was the argument over they were arguing about this boy who was possessed and who could really help him and then when they saw Jesus what did they do they all run up to him his reputation has been spreading people know what he's been doing and so about the boy that's possessed they believe that Jesus can do something Jesus what are you arguing about someone from the crowd answered teacher recognizing again the authority that Jesus has teacher I brought to you my son possessed by a new spirit and then he shows the sign of demonic possession throws him down foaming at the mouth grinding his teeth and becomes rigid I visited a young man in a Correctional Facility at jabal school for boys over in Terre Haute who a priest believe that this 17 year old boy was possessed and when I went there with another priest to kind of do an evaluation we met with him and we were talking with him and the other priest wanted to pray he knew this young man he asked a young man can we pray for you and he was like whatever so this priest very holy and pious priest closes his eyes starts to say this wonderful prayer as an exorcist you learned never to close your eyes around anyone that you think might be possessed this young man I started watching him and his back starts to arch his eyes are closed and I can see his eyeballs moving a mile and then and in his head and then I hear this this low growl start to come out of him this other priest his eyes are still closed saying this wonderful prayer and I go amen and then ended it because it wasn't the time to address it we were driving back to Indianapolis and this other priest said I was really surprised because I thought when I was praying that I would see him there would be a manifestation and I said well if you wanted to see it you needed to have your eyes open so there's those signs the grinding of the teeth becoming rigid the disciples aren't able to drive the demon out and then Jesus says Oh faithless generation he rebukes them for their lack of faith how long will I be with you how long will I endure you bring him to me they bring him to Jesus and what immediately happens the demon sees Jesus throws the boy into convulsions he falls to the ground rolls around foams at the mouth this is always interesting what happens next you would think the immediate focus would be where on this young boy who's in convulsions and all of that see there he is rolling on the ground and Jesus is like so how long has this been happening to you so there's that sense of inquiry and asking questions Jesus already knows that he can deal with this that he's more concerned about the faith of the father so he questioned him how long has this been happening Jesus already knew the answer since childhood throws him into fire into water tries to kill him and then the classic line if you can do anything out of compassion could you help him and Jesus is like if yes what are you talking about and then the great line everything is possible to one who has faith and then the great line in this passage I believe I do believe help my unbelief in other words I have faith but it needs to grow it's still in the infancy stages maybe the analogy to the word puppies that we just heard instead of dogs something needs to grow and what needs to grow is this man's faith I do believe help my unbelief how do we help young people today that don't believe in the reality of all of this there's still a foundation of faith somewhere in their lives even if they've disconnected with how do we help them to reconnect with that faith that began in the sacrament of baptism reinforce when they either went to Catholic schools they were attending Faith Formation on Sundays so there is a foundation somewhere in the lives of these people that's just become clouded over how do we help the people reconnect with that foundation that line again I do believe help my unbelief because if these same people are intrigued by all these demonic shows on television something is speaking to them there's still a spark that's there but how do we take that spark and help them to reignite their life of faith that's the really the challenge I think that we face today because there's probably everyone in here that has family members who have left the church or no longer practice the faith I told you I'm one of nine children I always say to people that I'm the only one in my family that goes to Mass on a regular basis we all grew up in the same home went to the same schools you name it Catholic grade school Catholic high school and yet most of them don't practice a faith any faith today what can we do it's a difficult challenge but we can set the example of why faith is relevant yes you know what what I was thinking that when you were saying that is that line in Scripture if you strike the shepherd you scattered the sheep and I think the thing is when people no longer practice their faith or the devil somehow has caused them to abandon their faith in going to church what's the collateral damage of that is two children they're never going to go to be taken to mass they will not receive the sacraments of the Church so when we have folks who leave the church the collateral damage there will be their children they will not grow up I had a nephew he was baptized but then never received First Communion never known of the sacraments of the Church he got married several years ago and he called me and he said I'm gonna be getting married he goes could you do the way his fiancee was Orthodox and I said to him well you know you're a nun catechized Catholic really to get married in the church you should receive some instructions so that you understand what the sacrament of marriage is really all about I said this is what you and your fiance should do I said if she's Orthodox the two of you need to sit down and ask the question what role will faith play in our marriage I said when you can answer that question you're gonna know the answer to where you should get married he called me in two days later and told me he was getting married at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas but disappointing but at least it was an honest answer he was saying faith is not relevant in our marriage so the question was posed the seed was planted who knows where ultimately that may come about when their first child was born they went back to Romania and then the child was baptized in the Orthodox Church where her family all lives but again plant seeds and maybe something sprouts it doesn't mean there isn't heartache along the way sure appear many parents have that heartache about children who don't practice the faith and all of that but we constantly have to set the example and maybe in doing so something gets reignited in the lives of these people I think one of the greatest opportunities for evangelization for the church today is when we celebrate a wedding or a funeral because there are many people coming who have been away from the church for a while there are even non Catholics so we have the opportunity to put our best foot forward so they've come finally to us so we need to take that as a great opportunity for evangelization and of course the key thing is to be welcoming to be inviting and in doing so to give them a little charity and love and compassion and maybe that helps to melt away some of the hardness against the church that has grown up I can tell you many people they come to to weddings and funerals always afterwards will come up to me and say that was just so beautiful and so inspiring and so meaningful it was just a wonderful tribute to the life of this person and faith so the demon is out there's one more passage that I want to share with you and we've talked about this one already but it's a very powerful and good one so yes yes that's the laying on of hands a part of the ritual laying on the hands of the person again invoking the holy spirit laying on his hands is a very powerful gesture in the life of the church anytime somebody was called forth there's a laying on of hands the sense of anointing that one has been chosen it's a reminder that one is a child of God even though sacrament the anointing of the sick priest should lay their hands on the head of the person during the prayer I know that we live in an age where people get uptight about abuse and all of that and setting up barriers and parameters but that sense of touch is so so powerful you know there's a debate in the church today about whether people like the sign of peace at mass or not some people like it some people don't I have an elderly woman told me one time that her favorite part of the mass outside of the Eucharist was the sign of peace and I said well why is that and she said I'm all alone she goes I have no family and she said when I go to Mass and somebody touches me it's the only human touch I get all week that's pretty powerful it used to be the kiss of peace yes yes some passages will say just prayer and then some will say prayer and fasting so the question is she's asking should lay people lay hands on people it is a sign of authority and I think that's why when priests lay hands on the head of the person it's recognized in the authority that comes from the sacrament of Holy Orders I think the difference of that it's the question of authority so parents could certainly lay hands on the head of their child because they have authority over them but if you're just generally gathered together and you're praying with somebody normally then people will place hands on the shoulders of the person can you give examples on effective fasting is and immersion when do you use it fasting is that is something very very powerful in Jesus again going out into the desert where he fasted those forty days you know why do we fast you know he isn't just so we lose a few pounds and look better you know we're not really doing it for that purpose but fasting one of the ways that I look at it is that it creates an emptiness within us the physical emptiness and that physical emptiness should cause us to think about the true emptiness that all of us experience in our lives we when we lack the presence of God or that relationship with God and so we're oh s it's one of the main disciplines of our faith it's done for spiritual reasons I there's no there's a new diet out now I think I heard work you can eat anything you want for 10 hours turn in a 10 hour period but then you have to fast for 14 hours and that you do that you're gonna lose weight but again fasting in the church is a spiritual discipline you know prayer fasting almsgiving the three disciplines of the Lenten season that'll be coming up next month but again we do that to grow in faith we can grow in virtue in holiness so those are things that help us and that they also help other people so when you know I will fast - before doing an exorcism just based on the passages from Scripture types of Bibles that are out there we're some of the old ones with I don't think so I think it's always important as Catholics we look for two things in any book you look for the imprimatur at the beginning you look for the neil old stat that says that these books then are in line with church teaching there's nothing in error that is within them I think sometimes there may be going back and looking at ancient manuscripts or texts and trying to say what was the real meaning when we had the revision of the Roman Missal several years ago and we had to start saying consubstantial and and we all like other than you know big words but the reason that changing that was to try to give back to the authentic writings when they were first written and I think two is when you say words like and then the creek on substantial it makes you think of things on a deeper theological level and so you have to be very deliberate in what you're thinking or what you're saying and then you know or the incarnation became incarnate it may challenges us to think about what that really means and I think when it comes to our faith if it's good to have words that draw us to a higher level of thinking let's look at this last passage I'll make a few comments and then our time is coming to an end so quickly we can just be here for forever perhaps so this is Mark's Gospel chapter 5 verses 2 3 6 through 20 story the garrisoned demoniac when he got out of the boat at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him the man had been dwelling among the tombs and no one could restrain him any longer even with a chain catching sight of Jesus from a distance he ran up and prostrated himself before him crying out in a loud voice what have you to do with me Jesus son of God Most High and they pleaded with him send us into the swine let us enter them and he let them and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine the herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they were drowned the swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town and throughout the countryside and people came out to see what had happened as they approached Jesus they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion sitting there clothed and in his right mind and they were seized with fear those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man and to the swine then they began to beg him to leave their district as he was getting into the boat the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him but he would not permit him but told him instead go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you then the man would often began to proclaim in the Decapolis which Jesus had done for him and all were amazed so again Jesus what kind of territory is he in is he in Israel no he's no longer amongst the Israelites he's now amongst the Gentiles she could say there's a man from the tombs no one could restrain him not even with the chain superhuman strength one of the signs of demonic possession catching sight of Jesus this is very very powerful he ran up meaning the man prostrating himself prostrating what sign of what does that mean when you prostrate his complete submission on Good Friday service begins and silence the priest comes in and prostrates complete submission to God during the sacrament of Holy Orders when a priest is being ordained it's the same posture complete submission to God and then what does the voice say from the man what have you to do with me and then there's Jesus son of the Most High God and they pleaded with him send us into the swine why swine significant Jesus is in Gentile territory swine is considered to be was an unclean animal why is the swine why're swine considered unclean based on their their hoof based on their hoof they were unclean so an unclean animal and then they begged to be sent into the swine they enter the swine they rushed down the bank they drown in the sea the swineherds ran the reported the incident are the people amazed does it bring him to greater faith no they were told that they were afraid something great has happened something wonderful but rather than coming to faith they give in to fear those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened then they begged him to leave their district over in Israel Jesus is doing all these wonderful things people are coming to him coming to him from everywhere but in this area what do the people want go away go away he's disrupting the normal way of life and they don't want that think of the people today they tell Jesus to go away I always wonder why they ask they may be put in just one birthday I mean I would have thought they'd have been happier well they know they're going to be sent out so think they're they're trying to decide where they might go there is a degradation on demonic possession where demons exist so they can be in the human they can be in an animal they can be associated with plants and water demons in the history of humanity have always congregated or been present around sources of water because water is what essential for life so humans will always be found around sources of water which is why water is such a powerful symbol within the life of the church you think again of baptism that cleansing there is a conversion but it's the conversion of the man possessed by Legion because some Jesus says go home to your family and then what does he says he began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him so Jesus performed this miracle and then sent him out he becomes an evangelizer first at his family and then to the Decapolis the ten cities there in that area so Jesus did this miracle as a way then see the people wouldn't accept Jesus but this man is one of them and now that he's received this great blessing from Jesus Jesus sends him out to go and proclaim the gospel with conversion is hope and with hope we have joy circle to how we begin today are immaterial what's the incentive for a demon to go into swine or into water because going into that they're still connection with humanity because swine were a food source for the people there that's why they were raising the swine it's a food source so by being present in the swine they're still condena t be connected to humanity because then people would consume the flesh of the swine that's been possessed by demons people will consume or drink the water now that the demons you know the swine had drowned in the lake so they're now present in the water we all drink the water that's why we we bless things again it's not just to offer gratitude and a blessing to God for these gifts but we're really a form of an exorcism in a way possession isn't punching into the demo because they don't want to be involved with us in any way and their reports they have essentially brought our fall through need they're forced to do this so even when they're in possession with someone they're still it's still a punishment to them because they don't come on is that right so he's as he's saying that he's read somewhere where possession was seen as a form of punishment to the demons because they're you know they really want nothing to do with humanity but one of the things they do want with humanity is that they want to destroy humanity they want us to end up in eternal damnation as they are so by afflicting us and possessing they're hoping that we will make the same choice that they themselves have made to reject God so when it comes to joy the last thing I want to share today is just a few things that we can do to radiate joy number one is to have a renewed faith in Jesus Christ so we're not freed or saved by a formula or a doctrine but by a person and the person's name is Jesus Christ Jesus promised to be with us always and is essential that he be at the center of our lives number two be people of integrity victory over Satan and the pain and misery he inflicts on people depends on how much our souls remain pure from every worldly vice temptation is real for all of us as Jesus reminds us we must be in the world but not of the world st. Paul put it this way put on the armor of God that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil Satan will attack us as we fight against him it will be waged first of all in our spiritual life for this reason the armor of God is so important that armors the power of the Holy Spirit because they developed in the Holy Spirit we are able to understand how to defeat the powers of evil and to help those who have fallen under the power of the devil later in his letter to the Ephesians Saint Paul says so stand firm with your gird your loins girded in truth clothed with righteousness as a breastplate and your feet shod and readiness with the gospel of peace in all circumstances holds faith as a shield to quench all the arrows of the evil one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God number three be people of Prayer so we have a renewed faith in Jesus Christ people of integrity people of Prayer prayer is a gift of grace that demands diligence and presupposes a commitment which can sometimes be where is some ever said I'm just too tired to pray today I don't have time what's the old line everybody needs to pray at least 15 minutes a day unless you're too busy and if you're too busy then you need to pray 30 minutes a day because you need it twice as much as you thought so prayer connects us to God and the devil will do all he can to turn us away from prayer and our union with God and we should never let prayer become mechanical and finally be people of humility be willing to fast suffering to make sacrifice the servant of God Father Candido Amon teenie who spent his life doing exorcisms at the sons of scholar in Rome reminded all those priests who trained under him that in order to fulfill the mission of exorcism one must cultivate prayer with a spirit of serious sacrifice he fasted and often spent the night in prayer depriving himself of rest and imposing upon himself acts of penance and mortification so in summary these four things can all be summarized as being men and women of God I'm reminded of the biblical account where Moses goes to Pharaoh and says to him God says let my people go what happens to the staff in Moses's and it turns into a serpent Pharaoh's magicians the same thing don't they but what was the difference between these magicians and Moses Moses was a man of God it wasn't what Moses was doing it was what God was doing through him he chose to become a vessel of God a Messenger of God in each and every one of us is called to do the same so as followers of Jesus Christ we must be able to see the power of God at work in us is through the power of Jesus and work at us by virtue of our baptism that people are liberated and not through any strength or power of ours and that's a good place to end because again at mass later today the Gospel reading is going to once again reinforce the importance of the sacrament of baptism and what that calls us to I know we have just about ten minutes and everybody has to be at the top of the hill because the rosary starts at 9:30 in the mass of ten o'clock so one last question I actually have a there's a an email address that's been put out for people who have questions it's called info at exorcism answers.com info add exorcism answers.com it is real yes that is real it's real see I guess my warped sense of humor has you trying to figure out what's real and what's not but there is a website or it's a it's an email address where you can send questions or concerns on that so thanks for everybody coming out for your time and attention hopefully going away from here if you have just a little bit better insight into the world of exorcism and how you can participate in that thank you you [Music] you

Channel: franciscanfriars

Views: 109,316

Keywords: Fr. Vincent Lampert, peace, joy, Christ the Victor, Battle, Fr. Lampert Exorcism 2020, conquer, deliverance, demon, demonic possession, Devil, exorcism, exorcist, Salvation, Faith, God, Church, Gospel, Catholic Church

Id: 8R0pRU0cY90

Length: 64min 2sec (3842 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 25 2020