Exorcism


Pope Francis       

28.01.18  Angelus, St Peter's Square        

4th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B           

Mark 1: 21-28 

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!

This Sunday’s Gospel reading (cf. Mk 1:21-28) is part of a wider narrative called the “day in Capernaum”. At the heart of today’s reading is the event of the exorcism through which Jesus is presented as a powerful prophet in word and deed.

He enters the Synagogue of Capernaum on a Saturday and he begins teaching. The people are astonished by his words because they are not ordinary words. They do not sound like the ones they are accustomed to hearing. The Scribes in fact teach but without any authority. And Jesus teaches with authority. Jesus instead teaches like one who has authority, thus revealing himself as God’s Emissary, and not a simple man who has to base his teaching solely on earlier traditions. Jesus has full authority. His doctrine is new and the Gospel says that the people commented: “a new teaching! With authority” (v. 27).

At the same time, Jesus reveals himself to be powerful also in deeds. In the Synagogue of Capernaum, there is a man who is possessed by an unclean spirit which manifests itself by shouting these words: “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” (24). The devil tells the truth: Jesus came to destroy the devil, to ruin the demon, to defeat him. This unclean spirit knows the power of God and he also proclaims his holiness. Jesus rebukes him saying: “Be silent, and come out of him!” (v. 25). These few words from Jesus are enough to obtain victory over Satan, who comes out of that man “convulsing him and crying out in a loud voice”, the Gospel says (v. 26).

This makes a strong impression on those present. Everyone is overcome by fear and asks themselves: “What is this? [...] he commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him”. (v. 27). The power of Jesus confirms the authority of his teaching. He does not just speak with words, but he takes action. In this way, he manifests God’s plan with words and with the power of his deeds. In the Gospel in fact, we see that in his earthly mission, Jesus reveals the love of God both through preaching and through countless gestures of attention and aid to the sick, the needy, children and sinners.

Jesus is our Teacher, powerful in word and deed. Jesus imparts to us all the light that illuminates the sometimes dark paths of our lives. He also transmits to us the necessary strength to overcome difficulties, trials and temptations. Let us consider what a great grace it is for us to have known this God who is so powerful and so good! A teacher and a friend who shows us the path and takes care of us especially when we are in need.

May the Virgin Mary, the woman of listening, help us to create silence around us and within us, in order to hear, through the din of the messages of the world, the most authoritative word that there is: that of her Son Jesus who proclaims the meaning of our existence and delivers us from all slavery, even that of the Evil one.

28.01.18


Pope Francis       

12.10.18   Holy Mass  Santa Marta      

Luke 11: 15-26 

The essence of the devil is either to destroy directly through vices and wars, or to try to do so in a more educated way by making man live in the spirit of worldliness.

When the devil takes possession of a person’s heart, he makes it his home not wanting to leave. Many times Jesus cast out demons, his and our true enemies, and they always tried to harm people, even physically.

The struggle between good and evil may be too abstract for many people, but the true struggle is the first battle between God and the ancient serpent, recounted in Genesis, between Jesus and the devil. This struggle takes place in each of us, even if we are unaware of it.

The devil’s nature and his very vocation is to destroy the work of God. Some believers doubt his existence however, and believe that he is only an invention forged by priests. But he does exist, he destroys. When the devil cannot destroy openly because God is a greater force that defends the person, then he, cunning and "smarter than a fox", searches for ways to take possession of a person.

In the Gospel passage Jesus speaks of the unclean spirit, who travels through arid places looking for somewhere to rest. And he can't find it. So he thought, 'I'm going back to my house, where I came from.' The demon even politely presents himself by saying "I've returned" instead of admitting that he was thrown out. But the home is tidy, ordered. So he takes 7 other demons with him worse than him, they enter and settle there. So the condition of this man is worse at the end than at the beginning. This return of the demon after his expulsion is something that could affect us all.

We are Christians, Catholics, we go to Mass, we pray..... Everything seems to be fine. Yes, we have our faults, our little sins, but everything seems to be fine. Acting like a polite person the demon goes about to find a weak point , looks for more demons, knocks on the door saying "Excuse me? May I come in?" and he rings the bell. And these polite educated demons are worse than the first ones, because you don't realize you have them at home. And this is the worldly spirit, the spirit of the world.

The devil destroys either directly with vices, with wars, with injustices, or politely, diplomatically in this way, as Jesus describes. They don't make noise, they make friends, they convince you – "No, it's possible, it's not that much, no, but.... so far it's okay" - and they take you on the road to mediocrity, they make you a "lukewarm" pushing us on the path to worldliness.

Christians watch out against falling into this spiritual mediocrity, into this "spirit of the world", which corrupts us from within. I am more afraid of these educated demons than others.

When someone asks for an exorcist for a person possessed by a demon, I am not that worried, but I am worried when someone opens their door to polite demons who persuade them from within as friends.

I often ask myself: what is worse in a person's life? A clear sin or to live in the spirit of the world, of worldliness? The demon who seduces you to sin 1, 10, 20, 30 times, and you are ashamed - or the demon who sits with you at the table and lives, lives with you and everything is normal, but there he whispers things to you and takes possession of you with the spirit of worldliness.

Jesus prayed at the Last Supper: "defend them from the spirit of the world" - exhorting his disciples to be vigilant and calm. Let us Christians be vigilant and calm with these polite demons who want to enter the house as wedding guests. Christian vigilance is the message of Jesus, that questions what is happening in the heart - why am I so mediocre; why am I so lukewarm; how many well-mannered people live at home without paying their rent? 

12.10.18


Pope Francis          

31.01.21 Angelus, Library of the Apostolic Palace        

4th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B           

Mark 1: 21-28 

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today’s Gospel passage (cf. Mk 1:21-28) tells of a typical day in Jesus’ ministry; in particular, it is the Sabbath, a day dedicated to repose and prayer: people went to the synagogue. In the synagogue of Capernaum, Jesus reads and comments on the Scriptures. Those present are attracted by His manner of speaking; their astonishment is great because He demonstrates an authority different to that of the scribes (v. 22). Furthermore, Jesus shows Himself to be powerful also in His deeds. Indeed, a man of the synagogue turns to Him, addressing Him as God’s Envoy: He recognises the evil spirit, orders him to leave that man, and so drives him out (vv. 23-26).

Two characteristic elements of Jesus’ work can be seen here: preaching, and the therapeutic action of healing: He preaches and heals. Both of these aspects stand out in the passage of the evangelist Mark, but preaching is emphasised the most; exorcism is presented as a confirmation of His singular “authority” and His teaching. Jesus preaches with His own authority, as someone who possesses a doctrine derived from Himself, and not like the scribes who repeated previous traditions and laws. They repeated words, words, words, only words: as the great singer Mina sang, [“Parole, parole, parole”]; that is how they were. Just words. Instead Jesus, His word has authority, Jesus is authoritative. And this touches the heart. Jesus' teaching has the same authority as God who speaks; for with a single command He easily frees the possessed man from the evil one, and heals him. Why? Because his word does what He says. Because He is the definitive prophet. But why do I say this, that He is the definitive prophet? Remember Moses’ promise: Moses says, “After me, long after, a prophet like me will come - like me! - who will teach you”. Moses proclaimed Jesus as the definitive prophet. The teaching of Jesus has the same authority as God who speaks, because he has the power to be the definitive prophet, that is, the Son of God who saves us, who heals us all.

The second aspect, healing, shows that Christ’s preaching is intended to defeat the evil present in humankind and the world. His word is pointedly directed at the kingdom of Satan: it puts him in crisis and makes him recoil, obliging him to leave the world. Touched by the Lord’s command, this possessed, obsessed man is freed and transformed into a new person. In addition, Jesus’ preaching conforms to a logic contrary to that of the world and of the evil one: His words reveal the upheaval of a mistaken ordering of things. In fact, the demon present in the possessed the man cries out as Jesus approaches: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” (v. 24). These expressions indicate the total extraneousness between Jesus and Satan: they are on completely different planes; there is nothing in common between them; they are the opposite of each other. Jesus, authoritative, who attracts people by his authority, and also the prophet who liberates, the promised prophet who is the Son of God who heals. Let us listen to the words of Jesus, which are authoritative: always, do not forget! Carry a small copy of the Gospel in your pocket or in your bag, in order to read it during the day, to listen to that authoritative word of Jesus. And then, we all have our problems, we all have our sins, we all have spiritual malaises; ask Jesus: “Jesus, you are the prophet, the Son of God, He who was promised to us to heal us. Heal me!” Ask Jesus for healing, from our sins, from our ills.

The Virgin Mary always kept Jesus’ words and deeds in her heart, and followed Him with complete availability and faithfulness. May she help us too to listen to Him and follow Him, to experience the signs of His salvation in our lives.

31.01.21

Pope Francis       

25.09.24 General Audience, St Peter's Square 

Cycle of Catechesis. The Spirit and the Bride. The Holy Spirit guides the people of God towards Jesus our hope.  7. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. The Holy Spirit, our ally in the fight against the spirit of evil  

Luke 4: 1-3, 13-14

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Immediately after His baptism in the Jordan, Jesus “was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Mt 4:1) – this is what the Gospel of Matthew says. The initiative is not Satan’s, but God’s. Going into the wilderness, Jesus obeys an inspiration of the Holy Spirit; He does not fall into an enemy snare, no, no! Once He has withstood the test, it is written, He returns to Galilee “in the power of the Spirit” (Lk 4:14).

In the wilderness, Jesus freed Himself of Satan, and now He can deliver from Satan. He freed Himself, He frees from Satan. It is what the Evangelists highlight with the numerous studies of deliverance from possession. Jesus says to His opponents: “If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Mt 12:28). And Jesus casts out the demons, with the aspiration of the kingdom of God.

Nowadays we are witnessing a strange phenomenon regarding the devil. At a certain cultural level, it is held that he simply does not exist. He would be a symbol of the collective subconscious, or alienation; in short, a metaphor. But “the cleverest ruse of the devil is to persuade you he does not exist!”, as someone wrote (Charles Baudelaire). He is astute: he makes us believe that he does not exist, and in this way he dominates everything. He is cunning. And yet our technological and secularized world is teeming with magicians, occultism, spiritualism, astrologers, sellers of spells and amulets, and unfortunately with real satanic sects. Driven out the door, the devil has re-entered, one might say, through the window. Driven out of faith, he re-enters with superstition. And if you are superstitious, you are unconsciously conversing with the devil. One does not converse with the devil.

The strongest proof of the existence of Satan is found not in sinners or the possessed, but in the saints! “And how can this be, Father?”. Yes, it is true that the devil is present and working in certain extreme and “inhuman” forms of evil and wickedness that we see around us. But by this route, though, it is practically impossible to reach, in individual cases, the certainty that it is truly him, given that we cannot know with precision where his action ends and our own evil begins. This is why the Church is so prudent and so rigorous in performing exorcism, unlike what happens, unfortunately, in certain films!

It is in the life of the saints, precisely there, that the devil is forced to come out into the open, to place himself “against the light”. All the saints, all the great believers, some more, some less, testify to their struggle with this obscure reality, and one cannot honestly assume that they were all deluded or mere victims of the prejudices of their time.

The battle against the spirit of evil is won as Jesus won it in the wilderness: by striking with the word of God. You see that Jesus does not converse with the devil, He never conversed with the devil. Either he casts him out, or condemns him, but He never converses. And in the wilderness, he replies not with His word, but with the Word of God. Brothers, sisters, never converse with the devil; when temptations present themselves: “But, this would be nice, that would be nice” – stop. Raise your heart to the Lord, pray to Our Lady and banish him, just as Jesus taught us how to banish him. Saint Peter also suggests another means, that Jesus did not need, but we do – vigilance. “Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pt 5:8). And Saint Paul says to us: “Give no opportunity to the devil” (Eph 4:27).

After Christ, on the cross, defeated forever the power of the “ruler of this world” ( Jn 12:31), a Father of the Church said, “the devil is bound, like a dog on a chain; he cannot bite anyone except those who, defying the danger, go near him... He can bark, he can urge, but he can bite only those who want” [1]. If you are a fool and you go to the devil and say, “Ah, how are you?”, and everything, it ruins you. The devil – distance. One does not converse with the devil. One banishes him. Distance. And all of us, everyone, we have experience of how the devil approaches with some temptation. The temptation of the ten commandments: when we feel this, stop, keep your distance: do not approach the chained dog.

Modern technology, for example, besides the many positive resources that are to be appreciated, offers also countless means to “give an opportunity to the devil”, and many fall in the trap. Think of online pornography, behind which there is a flourishing market: we all know this. It is the devil at work, there. And this is a very widespread phenomenon, which Christians should beware of and strongly reject. Because any smartphone has access to this brutality, to this language of the devil: online pornography.

Awareness of the action of the devil in history should not discourage us. The final thought must be, also in this case, of trust and security: “I am with the Lord, be gone”. Christ overcame the devil and gave us the Holy Spirit to make His victory our own. The very action of the enemy can turn to our advantage, if with God's help we make it serve our purification. Let us therefore ask the Holy Spirit, in the words of the hymn Veni Creator:

Drive far away our wily Foe,

And Thine abiding peace bestow;

If Thou be our protecting Guide,

No evil can our steps betide”.

Beware, the devil is astute – but we Christians, with God’s grace, are more astute than him. Thank you.


[1] Saint Caesarius of Arles,  Sermons 121, 6:  CC 103, p. 507.

25.09.24