LIVING IN A STATE OF GRACE PROTECTS YOU FROM THE DIABOLICAL
QUESTION?
I've been listening to your show for a while, and I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I'm a cradle Catholic, and I try to life out my faith as well as I can. I reached out to the local exorcist of my diocese over a year ago because I thought that I may have had some kind of demonic attachment after working in the French Quarter of New Orleans for about a year and a half. I was interviewed over the phone by a member of my local exorcist's deliverance ministry team. She instructed me to write a statement to the exorcist and send it to him. I did so. This statement had some very personal information in it, but I never heard back directly from the exorcist. Instead, he gave my case to a member of his deliverance team. This layman called me and talked to me at length over the phone before agreeing to meet me in person. I met with him and two women in a chapel at the local parish. We talked, prayed the rosary, they prayed some deliverance prayers over me, and then they all anointed my forehead with oil. This last part made me uncomfortable because none of them have any authority to bless me. I haven't met with them since then. They refuse to see me due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The guy who has my case texts me once every 2-3 months. He just says something generic to let me know that God is in charge. I appreciate that, but I wish I had access to all of the graces and prayers that the church has to offer for people like me. Do you have any advice? I go to the Latin Mass every Sunday. I try to pray my rosary every day. I don't know what else to do.
ANSWER!
1. If you live IN A STATE OF GRACE you will be protected from the diabolical.
“…a soul in the state of grace has nothing to fear from demons, who are cowards capable of running away from the look of a child…” - St Therese of Liseux (Doctor of the Church, from ’The Story of a Soul’ Chapter 1).
2. Become Holy - this drives out the demon.
Fr Vince Lampert (Indianapolis,, Indiana Exorcist) – “It is possible that someone who is demon possessed doesn’t necessarily need the ‘Rite of Exorcism’, just through growing in holiness in virtue they could help eradicate that on their own. So if someone is demon possessed…they could have a desire to turn to God, to have a relationship with Christ and in doing so by growing in holiness and virtue that connection between the individual and the demon could come to an end.“ (28) Bone-Chilling Interview with a Real-Life Exorcist (Fr. Vince Lampert) - YouTube (from 42:36-43:49).
3. Have a serious daily prayer life -
Father Chad Ripperger (Exorcist), author of Deliverance Prayers: For Use by the Laity, a Catholic priest, from Denver, who founded a community of religious exorcist urges Rosary and daily meditation. “I don’t know of anyone who meditates who has become either possessed or diabolically obsessed,” speaking, of course, of Catholic contemplation - http://spiritdaily.org/blog/news/video-exorcist-on-deliverance.
“The goal of prayer is to be possessed by Christ” - St Mother Teresa of Calcutta - https://aleteia.org/2018/09/05/mother-teresa-prayed-this-inspirational-p...
Go talk to your Pastor and tell him everything you told me. He has spiritual authority over you. He can bless you, anoint you with oil (a lay person CANNOT do that) and pray deliverance prayers over you as well.