FOR CLERGY
It is certainly preferable over a web site to seek the counsel of experienced Clergy and the guidance of your Bishop in these matters. I sit on a committee with some of the most experienced people in exorcism and deliverance in the United States (Father LeBar, Father Scanlan, Father Salvagna) and I've been blessed to also learn from my friend Father Fortea. This committee works to educate clergy and foster discussion, sharing, networking, and brotherhood amongst those committed to working for Jesus in this ministry. This is said to give some measure of comfort to clergy visiting this site that I'm not making baseless statements. I will certainly err, and I am open to correction on any point. This website is my own work and I do not speak for, nor claim the authority of, the committee here. Please take this information to prayer.
It has been a blessing to be part of this committee and work toward
education, networking, and training for Clergy in the United States.
Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ.
If I can be of assistance to Clergy I'll do what I can to help you and also find assistance or network. Please email me at adamblai@hotmail.com and we can talk.
The spiritual world is very legalistic and if you know the laws you will have a good sense about what to do and what not to do. You will know the truth, and be able to rightly ask for help or call the enemy on a lie. Training, experience, and mentorship are the best teachers.
The spiritual world isn't directly available to us but some people have what is called "discernment", or the ability to detect evil in people or locations. Discernment and other exorcistic gifts can take many forms. It is critical to remember that any gifts are provided by God on a moment-by-moment basis and are not inherent in you. The latter kind of thinking can lead to pride, and your downfall.
Religious tests for the presence of demons
Since demons generally don’t manifest when investigators are present it can be difficult to know if a person is really experiencing supernatural problems. Religious tests are essentially using religious activity to force a reaction from the demons that reveals them. Religious tests have to be done in a way that the client is aware and approving of their use, but unaware of when they are used. This is done so as to avoid faking by the client type who merely seeks attention. Some religious tests for infestation and oppression include:
- Saying deliverance prayers
in your mind while walking through the home.
- Sprinkling holy water.
- Reading the Bible out loud (psalms works well).
Other religious tests might
include:
- A house blessing
- The blessing of the threshold
- Saying deliverance Prayers out loud, or with the client.
- Hanging blessed holy
objects or symbols in plain view in problematic rooms.
The religious tests for oppression can be more difficult since the demonic manifestation generally has moved to the client's experience only, or near them. These could include:
- Having the client apply
holy water to their head before sleep, while they ask
God to protect them from demonic dreams or influence in their sleep
(something workers in demonology are advised to do for themselves while
involved in cases, or as needed). This has worked very well for many
cases of demonic oppression through nightmares for many clients.
- Placing holy symbols and objects in their bedroom to see if it stops
attacks.
- Doing a house blessing often causes manifestation or an attack on
the oppressed victim either during
the blessing or as soon as the clergy leaves.
Testing for possession is dangerous and won't be described here. Please seek the counsel of experienced clergy.
Fear
It is normal to feel some fear the first few times encountering a particular phenomenon. One should try and avoid letting the victim know about this fear if possible. If needed take a break and discuss the situation with someone more experienced. Do not go off alone as you will likely be in a heightened state of awareness (fight/flight) and may over-react to little things. Being scared generates negative energy and also tends to make others around you scared, this is called hysteria. Try breathing slowly through your nose and just focus on that for a minute.
Demonic infestation
Demonic infestation is when demonic entities either try to scare with typical “ghost” tricks or entice with spirit communication and eliciting sympathy. The infestation is usually a result of some kind of invitation, either by the current residents or a previous one, or from a curse or spell cast by a practitioner of black magic. The goal of the infestation is to increase awareness of the spirit, increase interaction with it, and finally start to control the life of the victim, or victims.
A common trick of the demonic is to appear as the “ghost” of a loved one, sick child, or some positive figure such as a “wise spirit guide” or angel. These types of infestations often have their origins in spirit communication such as Ouija boards, séances, or other divination techniques. The apparently helpful or needy spirit will press for more and more communication and interaction. As they gain a psychological foothold in the person’s life they become more demanding and ultimately controlling and threatening.
Some of the phenomena can include:
- tapping or knocking noises
on the walls or floors
- the sound of footsteps on floors or stairs
- disturbances in electronic equipment like digital clocks going backwards,
appliances turning on or off, lights turning on or off
- the sound of voices or animal sounds in the walls, rooms, or outside
- fluids or other things appearing on walls or floors
- bad odors with no natural explanation
- black human figures that stand or move about
- black clouds that look like smoke that move about but don't dissipate
- small black shadows on walls or floors that move with no natural cause
Many of the specific complaints of demonic infestation are explainable. Look for natural explanations in the home or environment, including:
- Animals in the home or
walls
- High electric fields from power transformers or bad wiring (these
can cause hallucinations)
- High levels of Radon
gas (a radioactive gas that comes from the earth into the basements
of many homes that may cause hallucinations at high levels)
- Old or defective wiring
- Malfunctioning heating or air conditioning
- Neighbor's activity
You need to verify the phenomenon the client has complained of and document it in some form. Photos, video, and sound recordings can be very useful. If you determine that there are no natural explanations for the phenomenon you observe you should move to attempting a resolution to the phenomenon.
Resolution of demonic infestation generally involves these steps:
- Talk with the client about
the nature of demonic trickery so they will no longer be deceived into
thinking they are helpless, that it is a ghost, it is their friend,
or warrants their sympathy.
- Talk with the client about their religious beliefs and spiritual life.
Find out if they have been involved in the occult or other religious
or spiritual activities that can invite the demonic in. If they have
help them renounce this and confess it in the sacrament of reconciliation.
Remove all objects and books associated with the occult from the home.
- Remove any possibly cursed objects or occult books and paraphernalia.
- Have the house blessed and possibly have a simple exorcism performed
on the premises.
- Immediately after the house blessing have the blessing of the threshold
done (Epiphany blessing of the threshold) to resist the demons coming
back into the house once expelled by the blessing or simple exorcism.
- Place a blessed religious
symbol in each room in plain sight.
- Possibly have Mass offered in the home with the intention for the
freedom of the home and family from demonic problems.
- Encourage the person to develop a positive relationship with
God and to strengthen their spiritual life. This is the second half
of resolving the problem and cannot be over-emphasized.
Be aware that the process of infestation, either the lie of a “good ghost” or the instilling of fear through noises, leads to the deeper problem of demonic oppression.
Demonic oppression
Demonic oppression is when the demonic problem becomes personal and interacts with the victim, sometimes taking over the person’s thoughts for a time. The goal of demonic oppression is to put strain on the victim emotionally, psychologically and physically, causing them eventually to “give up” and accept more complete control from the demons. If a demonic infestation took the form of a helpful spirit that pretense is generally dropped when things progress to this point. The demonic have enough of a hold on the person’s life, mind and soul that they can afford to let the truth be known: they want to destroy the victim and damn their soul, usually through suicide. This process can involve:
- Affecting the emotions
of the victim, usually in the home or location where the problem started,
but not always. This can take the form of depression, withdrawal from
friends and family, anger issues, or any other negative emotional problem.
This is done to wear the victim down emotionally and isolate them away
from people that care about them. This could simply be depression.
- Affecting the thoughts of the victim. This can take the form of paranoia,
distrust of others, irrational beliefs, intrusive thoughts that seem
to come from somewhere else. This is done to wear the victim’s
sense of reality down and eventually make them more vulnerable. This
could be normal psychosis.
- Affecting the sleep of the victim. The victim is often bothered by
nightmares of a demonic nature, disturbed in their sleep so they get
little rest, or waking to see things in their room. This is done to
wear the victim down and make them fatigued.
- Causing the victim to “hear voices”, either in their head
or in the room with them. The voices often encourage the victim to do
negative things and avoid positive people. It is important to be sure
these voices are not part of a mental illness or side effect of a medication
or physical disease.
- Taking over the victim’s body completely, but not permanently.
The demons speak and interact with the victim’s body as if it
were their own. The victim often has no recall of what happens during
these episodes.
- Causing the victim to see things, including images of demons.
- Distorting the victim’s perceptions. This includes sometimes
not perceiving words associated with God, such as Jesus, prayer, Church,
Holy, etc. The victim may see angels as demons
- Touching the victim.
- Molesting the victim.
- Scratching or biting the victim.
- Causing writing or occult symbols to appear on the victims body.
- Raping the victim.
Depending on how far the oppression has gone it can be hard to communicate with the victim in a normal way. They may appear distant or “spaced out”. It is good to ask if they are hearing voices when they seem to not pay attention to what is going on around them. Always have a full medical work up done to be sure the symptoms are not medical or simply psychiatric.
The resolution of demonic
oppression is often the same as infestation. Deliverance prayers are
often used in addition to the steps outlined above. It is possible to
learn through attempts at intervention that what looked like oppression
is transitory possession or full possession. Be prepared.
Demonic possession
True demonic possession is rare. Demonic possession is a state of fuller control of thoughts, emotions and behavior. The periods of time when the person’s body is not under their control are frequent, or constant. When the person is in control of their body they usually hear the demons talking to them (and each other) in their head, threatening them and giving instructions on what to do at all times. The person’s ability to actively ask for help will likely be severely curtailed by threats from the demons of punishment for seeking help.
Resolution of demonic possession generally involves these steps:
- Talk with the client about
the nature of demonic trickery so they will no longer be deceived into
thinking they are helpless, that it is a ghost, it is their friend,
or warrants their sympathy. It is common that the victim is convinced
the demons are "their friends" and clergy and helpers are
the enemy.
- Talk with the client about their religious beliefs and spiritual life.
Find out if they have been involved in the occult or other religious
or spiritual activities that can invite the demonic in. If they have
help them renounce this and confess it in the sacrament of reconciliation.
Remove all objects and books associated with the occult from the home.
- Submit a report to the Bishop requesting an exorcism.
- Have the house blessed and possibly have a simple exorcism performed
on the premises.
- Place a blessed religious symbol in each room in plain sight.
- Possibly have Mass offered in the home with the intention for the
freedom of the home and family from demonic problems.
- Encourage the person to develop a positive relationship with God and
to strengthen their spiritual life. Prayer is critical. If Jesus frees
the person through exorcism they must fill their life with God and stay
close to Him in the future.
Deliverance, Simple Exorcism, and Solemn Exorcism
Deliverance work is praying for, or requesting, intervention from Holy sources to remove evil affecting a person or the effects of that evil. Deliverance prayers can be said by laity or priests and they are used for situations where a person is being oppressed by evil forces, often demons. Deliverance work is commonly done with a small group of people praying over or for an individual. The individual usually sits quietly and prays along with the people to have the negative influences removed from their life. Deliverance work is sometimes done for physical ailments. Deliverance prayers can also be said in a home where demonic infestation is taking place. If during deliverance prayer it becomes apparent that the person is possessed the process should be stopped immediately and the case should be referred to an exorcist. Trying to use deliverance prayers on a possessed person will only anger and inflame the possessing demon and make the situation worse. Trying to use deliverance prayers on a possessed person will very likely put you in serious danger and probably wont free them.
A Simple Exorcism for priests and laity was defined by Pope Leo XIII and can be used on locations or situations where the activity of the devil is suspected. Simple exorcisms are included in many prayers, blessings and sacraments. The simple exorcism should be used with great caution when it comes to people because it includes not only petitions for intervention but commands to the evil to depart. A Simple exorcism should never be used on a person. It should also never be used as a test of whether a person is possessed.
A Solemn Exorcism is a formal ritual of the Roman Catholic Church that commands the evil in a person’s body to depart and not return. A solemn exorcism can only be performed by an ordained priest who is given permission by his Bishop (or Ordinary) to perform the Ritual. The solemn exorcism carries the weight of Christ’s Church behind the command. Lay demonologists should not even read the Roman Ritual of exorcism for danger of inadvertently using the wording of the ritual in prayers or deliverance work. Laity shall never attempt to perform a solemn exorcism.
Inde Ab Aliquot Annis
On The Current Norms Governing Exorcisms
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
September 29, 1985
Translated by Father Gabriele
Amorth, Exorcist of Diocese of Rome
Prot. no. 291/70; ASS 77 (1985): 1169-70; EnchVat 9, nn. 1663-67
Excellentissime Domine
For some years there has been an increase in the number of ecclesial
gatherings which seek liberation from demonic influences, even though
they are not properly and truly exorcisms. These groups, even when a
priest is present, are led by lay persons.
Since the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has been asked
what ought to be thought about this, this dicastry is of the opinion
that all other ordinaries should have the following response:
1. Canon 1172 of the Code of Canon Law declares that no one is able
to legitimately undertake exorcisms of the possessed unless expressed
and individual permission has been obtained from the ordinary of the
place (section 1). The canon also establishes that this permission ought
to be conceded by the ordinary of the place only to priests who are
distinguished in piety, knowledge, prudence, and integrity of life (section
2). Bishops are, therefore, strongly urged to see to the observance
of these norms.
2. From these prescriptions it follows, therefore, that no member of
the Christian faithful can use the formula of exorcism against Satan
and fallen angels, extracted from that which was made law by Leo XIII,
and even less are the able to use the entire text for exorcism. Bishops
are to bring this to the attention of the faithful as it is deemed necessary.
3. Finally, for the same reasons, bishops are asked to be vigilant that
-- for even cases in which true diabolical possession is excluded, diabolical
influence nevertheless seems in some way to be revealed -- those who
do not have the required faculty not serve in the leading of meeting
where, in order to gain freedom, prayers are used which dignify demons
by directly questioning them and in searching to make known their identity.
The announcement of these norm, however, ought not to keep the faithful
from praying that, as Jesus taught us, they might be delivered from
evil (cf. Mt 6:13). Finally, pastors ought to avail themselves of this
occasion to recall what the tradition of the Church teaches about the
proper function of sacraments and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, the angels and the saints in the spiritual fight of Christians
against evil spirits.
May I take this occasion to convey my great feelings of esteem for you,
remaining your servant in the Lord, Joseph Card. Ratzinger, Prefect
Translated to Italian by Father Gabriele Amorth, Exorcist to the Diocese
of Rome in his Exorcist Tells His Story, [American Edition], Ignatius
Press, San Francisco (1999), (translated into English by Nicoletta V.
MacKenzie), pp. 189-90
Comments from Father Amorth Concerning Inde Ab Aliquot Annis
The above-cited letter warns against any direct dealings with demons
and states that their name should not be asked by those who have not
been granted the specific faculty to do so. The Acts of the Apostles
report a particularly fitting event ... (of the consequences of acting
without faculty to do so in the story of the Seven Brothers --Acts 19:11-20).
(from An Exorcist: More Stories, [American Edition], Ignatius Press,
San Francisco: (2002), (translated into English by Nicoletta V. MacKenzie),
pp. 189-90 )
I will now explain some of that is forbidden and what is required, according
to these guidelines (of Inde Ab Aliquot Annis).
• First, official exorcisms are not allowed; they are reserved
exclusively for the exorcist. The same holds true for the exorcism of
Leo XIII, even though it is now part of the public domain. The private
use of such exorcisms is another matter; at least, this is how I understand
the above-cited document.
• We must avoid addressing the demon directly and to find out
his name and -- I add -- anything else. All other considerations aside,
a direct dialogue with the demon can be dangerous to anyone who dares
to initiate it without the due authorization of the Church, and therefor
without her protection.
At the end, the document reminds one of the importance of prayer, the
sacraments, and the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the angels, and
the saints.... (from Exorcist Tells His Story, Ibid, pp.190-91)
Dealing with the possessed outside of solemn exorcism.
-
It is preferable to have family members of the possessed present at
all times, particularly if they are of the opposite sex from you. If
the demon comes forward and attacks you this could be interpreted wrongly
later when the demon disappears or family members walk in.
- Words related to God or the Church are often not heard by the possessed.
They might also become garbled in their perception. It is distressing
to the possessed person to see a person’s lips moving but not
be able to understand or hear what they are saying.
- Asking the possessed person in their human state about spiritual or
theological issues could cause the demon to come forward and manifest
in the person.
- If the demon manifests and attacks you, use minimal force to restrain
the victim. Try to not harm the victim. If they are truly possessed
they will have as much strength as the demon wishes to create, so you
may get hurt.
- If the demon manifests and talks to you do not answer its questions.
Do not question it. Do not respond if it taunts you. Do not react if
it talks about your sins or secrets it may read from your mind.
- If the demon manifests and you have no other choices use the prayer
to Saint Michael or ask for intervention from Mary or Jesus.
Dealing with backlash and spiritual attacks
“Then he went on to describe the double vision. It was not like seeing another table beside the real table or another wall beside the real wall. It was not a vision of eyes or a hearing with your ears or a touching with your hand. It was another level of reality. An exorcism sharpens your awareness of that reality, he said. You know what stands behind and around and beneath and above all that is visible and tangible. The intertwining cords of spirit appear everywhere. Good and bad spirit. Beauty and ugliness. Holiness and sin. God as a tremendous majesty. Personal evil is a formidable force. Nothing escapes those cords.” (Hostage to the Devil, page 454)
“No one who, like me, conjures up the most evil of those half-tamed demons that inhabit the human beast, and seeks to wrestle with them, can expect to come through the struggle unscathed.” -Freud
Demons are a very dangerous reality that must be approached with a deep and solid spiritual basis. You simply will not understand this unless you encounter a demon, whether in a person or disembodied. Once you do encounter one your world view will be forced to accommodate the presence of evil as an objective reality. This will make you feel mentally unstable for at least a short time. You will never be able to go back to thinking of demons as an abstract idea or thrilling possibility: they will forever be a part of your life and may attack you openly and personally because of your choice to step into the spiritual arena with them.
It is very important to monitor the effects of working with negative situations and fears on yourself. People that work in direct human services are aware of this need to take breaks from the work, demonologists need to do the same. One priest used the analogy of radiation: if you are in a house with supernatural evil in it’s like being exposed to radiation. You won’t know the radiation is there or that you are being dosed with it, you only become aware sometime later when the effects come to light.
Spending time in stressful
situations where there could be human and/or supernatural negativity
can be damaging to you. Look for signs of stress: difficulty with sleep,
increase or decrease in eating, loss of interest in the fun things in
life, etc. If you are getting stressed or feel like your reactions are
causing you to be biased, then take a break.
All material Copyright Adam Blai, 2007
