EXORCISM - THE HIDDEN TRUTH

CHAPTER 9
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS: A CAREER AS AN EXORCIST

          Looking back on my years as an exorcist it is possible to claim that in many ways I have had a unique experience - in the sense that though there are (or have been) many practitioners of the ritual, I have been lucky to be among that number who have gained some sort of fame (or notoriety!) by being called upon to exercise my profession (or gifts!) where other approaches have ostensibly failed. I do not claim hundred percent success - who does, in anything? but by and large "success" has attended my efforts and correspondingly "failure" has been comparatively rare. As a result I have quite an extensive "portfolio" of notes on cases, some of which I have described in the preceding chapter. Maybe my failures or as I prefer to call them, my "unsatisfactory conclusions" may be more interesting!

          I have elsewhere described "success" as an awareness of having restored a person or place to normality - whatever that means: a generally accepted state of personality or condition? Occasionally one does not feel that this has been achieved - or is in the event, only a partial success or a temporary one. What one is certain of is that a type of struggle has ensued denoting that undoubtedly there is (or has been) an alien force that has dominated a person or place, which has been hard to dislodge, and which had to be combatted. Whether this has always been a demonic force or "principle of evil" (as it is commonly referred to) or simply a temporary habitation by a dead (once living) spirit I freely confess, I have not on occasion been sure; what I have been always certain about is however the need to remove the entity whatever it may have been.

          Of course a Roman Catholic priest one is bound by the dictates of the venerable Rituale Romanum, centuries old. Some of the rules and regulations have as we have said, been modified recently, so that an interpretation is now possible and a certain individualism can creep in - but still within limits. In modern times (the last hundred years) investigations into mental (and concomitant physical disorders) have made giant strides with a consequent lessening of belief in diabolical agency. This has been reflected in changes to the wording of the Ritual but the BELIEF (in satanic power) has been retained.

BELIEF

          I cannot over emphasise the fundamental importance of belief - to the exorcist especially - and to the energumen (the person to be delivered) where the latter wishes to be healed.

          Fundamentally, "success" is most commonly achieved when the sufferer wishes to be "cured": i.e. he/she has a belief in the efficacy of the ritual and trust in the officiant (the exorcist). "Failures" or disappointing outcomes are most commonly encountered when the sufferer is overcome (or possessed) against his/her will and appears to be totally dominated and directed by a supernatural or preternatural force.

          We have stressed the absolute necessity of belief in the rite on the part of the exorcist and the absolute faith he must put in divine intervention. Such a person must be supremely confidant that ultimately he will triumph, although as we know, this desired outcome may not be achieved,- at least not for a time - only perhaps after several attempts. Some cases are indeed indeterminate: in such scenarios one cannot be certain.

          I have to say that belief in the Devil/Satan and his demons is not by any means as firm as it once was - even a few decades ago. For the RC priest however, it is an article of faith that belief in malicious and wicked entities is retained. I do not think this strength of belief is so predominant in other Christian faiths, however.

          It must be stated that world-wide the incidence of (or need for) exorcism does seem to be rising, as we have previously pointed out. You may recall the statment: "We are busier than ever" : a Roman prelate exclaimed! Personally, I could not have continued in this "ministry) (of healing) without having an implicit belief in the possiblity of the warring elements WITHIN A PERSON of good and evil. Belief in God as supreme goodness on the one hand and Satan and his minions on the other as supreme evil. Consequently, I have always approached the administration of the ritual where appropriate as a necessity and with great devotion. I have no doubts about its validity now, in the modern world, just as Christ had no doubts about having recourse to it two thousand years ago. Jesus was himself the greatest of all exorcists, as the New Testament shows

A CONTINUING NEED.

          It should be clear that personally I believe implicitly in the continuing need for exorcism. This need has not declined. Despite the advances in medicine, psychology and psychiatry, psycho-somatic syndromes and the like, which can explain many "cases" of possession in the past, there is still a very strange (and unexplainable) core of mysterious incidences which defy analysis and modern investigation. Where the medical man is baffled, the exorcist comes in.

          Certainly, the rubrics governing the ritual need to be revised from time to time - like any other thing. The rite itself may need occasional changes in emphasis - and in wording, as does indeed happen. Nothing is cast in stone as some believe about the Catholic Church. There IS revision but it tends to be minimal - and slow; but it does occur.

          Anyone who saw the film, THE EXORCIST, will know how intensive the administration of the rite can be. Of course the film was over the top, as the saying is, but essentially it gave a compelling picture of how arduous a task exorcism can be. Not only arduous but dangerous as well. It is a demanding calling and many are the priests world-wide who have found it too demanding and have practised their ministry only a short time. I do not criticise such people; it is easy to become disillusioned and thwarted and to feel it is all too much. Perhaps also there is a lack of total commitment; I can only surmise.

          It is difficult enough being a Catholic priest without the added responsibilty of being an exorcist. I do feel this. But it is also a great calling. One can try to save souls in the usual ways open to a priest; deliverance from dominating evil influences is another aspect of the same mission, but in a way it is greater and can be more euphoric once achieved.

          Summing up the tenor of the foregoing is a paragraph taken from George Birch's book, THE DELIVERANCE MINISTRY. (210)

          To see people who are immersed in demonized cultures be set free by the gospel; to truly and completely deliver men, women and children from the kingdom of Satan and bring them into the kingdom of God; and to minister to believers who are still subject to abuse by the spirits, we Christian leaders must relearn the spirit world...we must be willing to become incarnate into the same world which our Lord entered - a world of deadly spiritual warfare.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE

          This world of spiritual warfare is seen par excellence in people who are truly possessed. I would say that most possessed people are conscious of their foreign condition: those who are able to talk in the main, rationally; but there are some who do not talk rationally and appear to be unaware of anything strange or unnatural happening to them. They are not conscious, not appreciative, of their possession.

          As we have seen, some exorcists believe that people are possessed not by evil spirits, but by spirits of the dead, who may be known to the victim, or might not; these once incarnate spirits may be attached in some mysterious way to a person or place, so that in a sense, they derive a sort of comfort from the habitation, and/or may be simply working out their destiny, maybe temporarily.

CONCEPT OF THE SOUL

          It is vital to believe in the concept of an immortal soul and a spirit which endures for ever after death. To clarify, it is vital for the exorcist, and for the victim, though I have not always been sure this was a conscious realisation on the part of the latter. It is possible that the spirits of those who infest a place or a person, are those of people who in life believed there was nothing after death, but oblivion. Freeing such spirits and at the same time freeing a victim from unnatural domination is a major achievement. It is as Maurey remarks in his book on exorcism, the case that an exorcist has a profound influence in directing an entity in the spirit world. As Maurey says, (p. 50), a spirit entity can communicate by thought transference; if we think continually about a particular deceased person we could inadvertently draw that person within our mind: this is often how a possession starts.

          What is more important to an exorcist, however, is how to end the possession. Obliterating the "signs" (as we know them) is clearly fundamental and it is often at this juncture that a possession ends - or begins to. Afterwards, one, (the exorcist), wonders at the susceptibility of the erstwhile sufferer to an entity that can take him/her over so completely. In some ways the altered state is akin to that seen in a hypnotised person in the sense that suggestion, or even command, dictates the person's behaviour who seemingly cannot resist (the injunctions).

          I am not for a moment suggesting that threats and entreaties to the evil or incapacitating entity by the exorcist make the invading spirit depart - only the power of God can do this, but possession cases, of people and places, do differ so much that one is bound to reflect on the state of mind of the victim, and concomitant with this, the reality of supernatural powers that can bring about change, for the worse, initially, and change for the better, later.

          It does seem as if the brain can only take so much pressure, so much strain; and then normal responses are not possible. The nervous system begins to wilt. In such a state he/she becomes highly susceptible and may accept commands he would normally not. An exorcist needs to be very much alive to this possibility. That is one important reason for the necessity of preliminary inquiry into a victim's background, before anything is attempted. It is not only mental states that must be considered but emotional ones as well. Prolonged subjection to stressful events is often a prologue to mental and emotional disfunction, which can exhibit itself as pseudo-possession - or indeed can leave the individual open to seige.

          William Sargant summed it up nicely when he said that the choice between good and evil, open to man because of his free will, is scarcely any choice at all when "he can so readily be induced to adopt beliefs diametrically opposed to those he previously had, due to the creation by emotional arousal of paradoxical phases of brain activity". (p. 196)

          We have spoken about "obsession" as opposed to "possession" earlier and at this juncture something more can be said. Obsession in the context of this study is always detrimental because to say the least it is disorientating and can be the beginnings of possession (as we relate here). Obsession can however be a good thing in a general sense in so far as someone obsessed with a project or idea may be so channeled, so directed, that he becomes a poor prospect for "invasion"; he becomes as it were, so focused that a chink in his emotional or psychological armour is not possible.

          On the other hand, a thing that gives exorcists pause, is the person given to anxiety states, panic attacks, manic-depression and so on, who is clearly vulnerable and appears to be dominated against his will. Diagnostic, better still discernment skill is indeed paramount in the exorcist's attributes!

FAITH HEALING?

          Some writers have made the point that all healing is merely faith healing (in the modern sense). "And yet we need faith," as Sargant says; and this coming from the pen of one not known for his religious belief. "We do not live by reason alone and we have to take all sorts of people and assumptions on trust." (p. 199) By "faith" in this context, Sargant means religious faith.

          It is indeed religious faith which sustains the priest-exorcist. He knows he cannot hope to win a victory against a powerful evil entity without divine help. With the authority of the Church behind him he can trust in his powers. Unfortunately, Man will continue to be assailed; will continue to be possessed by many (false) gods, and devils and beliefs, as Sargant says, in THE MIND POSSESSED; "he will continue to reach the sublimest heights of good and the lowest depths of evil..."

          In this final chapter we have read about the reflections of an exorcist on his "office"; the necessity for belief and confidence; and the conviction that exorcism will prove to be a continuing need.

          Perhaps it is fitting to end on a note similar to that which began this study.

          Exorcism began with Jesus Christ as we see in the New Testament. This abilty - a gift from God - is one of the first things that attracts our attention about Jesus. He passed on this "gift" to his apostles and later disciples. As Matthew, 10-1 relates: "Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to cure every disease ..."

          A little later in Matthew's gospel (10-7,8) Jesus says to his followers, "...proclaim the good news. The kingdom of heaven has come near. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons..."

          Nothing could be more unequivocal.

© A.B. Finlay Ph.D