by Fr. Tommy Lane
The Gospel today with Jesus exorcising the man in the synagogue in Capernaum (Mark 1:21-28) reminds me that I have sometimes been asked a question about exorcism by someone who is concerned about something in their own life or in the life of someone close to them. I want to alleviate your worries by saying that exorcism is exceptional and rarely needed in cases where people have concerns. Exorcists tell us that there are some “classic” indications that someone really is in need of exorcism: the person is able to speak other languages without ever having studied them; the person knows things about the life of another person that he/she could not have known; the person has strength beyond what any normal human would have. Most of the cases brought to exorcists, after enquiry, are seen to be something else not needing exorcism.
It also helps to alleviate worries and concerns by knowing that a demon will not take a foothold in your life if you do not open a door to let him in. You have been baptized and so you, so to speak, are possessed by God since the day of your baptism. You would have to do something to stop being possessed by God and instead be possessed by a demon. We have all heard of the things that open the door to let demons in. There is a long list of them, but we could put it simply by saying that any time people act as if God is not in control of their lives, they are opening a door to let something else in. Disobeying the first commandment about not having strange gods leads to all sorts of problems.
Jesus had authority over demons. That is why he was able to drive them out; he had authority over them. Because of that authority, as we heard in the Gospel, Jesus spoke directly to the demon: “Quiet! Come out of him!” (Mark 1:25) Exorcists and only exorcists have been given the authority to command demons to go. It happens sometimes that the leadership of a prayer group goes astray or is misinformed and people in the group start saying prayers of deliverance. That leads to problems and then they have to call exorcists to clean up the mess they created. Only exorcists can command demons to go. An instruction from the Vatican in 1985 made that clear (Inde ab Aliquot Annis, Letter to Ordinaries regarding norms on Exorcism, “no one can legitimately perform exorcisms over the possessed unless he has obtained special and express permission from the local Ordinary” (§1); “it is not even licit that the faithful use the formula of exorcism against Satan and the fallen angels.” (§2)) If ever someone tells you to say a prayer commanding a demon to go, don’t. That would be talking to a demon. Leave that to exorcists. Instead, pray to God, pray to Our Lady and the saints. The only prayer of deliverance that is good for you to say is praying to God asking God to deliver you from evil. We do that every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer when we pray to Our Father in heaven and conclude the prayer saying, “deliver us from evil.” The prayer to St. Michael the archangel is a common prayer asking for protection and deliverance. If ever someone tells you to say a prayer commanding a demon to go, don’t. Leave that to exorcists. Instead, pray to God, pray to Our Lady and the saints.
The intercession of the saints for us is very powerful. When exorcists are doing exorcisms, they call on the intercession of the saints to help them. The saints are in heaven and see God face to face and so their prayers for us are very powerful. Praying to the saints is a beautiful privilege we enjoy in the Catholic Church. In most other Christian churches they pray with the saints as brothers and sisters, but we pray to the saints asking them to intercede before God for us. I have heard an exorcist say that during a difficult exorcism when they ask Our Lady’s intercession, that is the end of the battle and demon goes immediately. So you want to have Our Lady in your life. Make room for Our Lady in your life every day. She is your Mother and you need her. I have also heard an exorcist say that the intercession of St. Joseph and Pope St. John Paul II is very powerful during exorcisms. So ask the saints to help you. Make friends with a saint, read about him/her, and ask him/her to help you. Have a friend in heaven to help you.
If you have concerns about something in your life, bring it to confession. Confession is a sacrament of healing. It is to heal what is broken in our lives. Take the issue to confession with genuine sorrow, not just partial sorrow, but with genuine sorrow, and the love and mercy and healing of Jesus will meet your genuine sorrow. Recite the Creed as an act of faith in God, putting God first, showing that you take the first commandment seriously and that you are leaving the matter behind. Apart from Mass on Sunday, praying every day is so important.
Since the day of your baptism, you have been possessed by God. So, live that possession by God. Turn your life over to God putting God first.
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2024
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
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