.
A friend told me that Fr. Dominic Radecki, CMRI, from Queen of Angels
Catholic Church in Newhall, CA, gave a sermon a few weeks ago in
which he described his involvement in doing a recent exorcism. I don't
have any of the details beyond the part that it was rather intense, and
that there was a lot of cursing and other conspicuous signs of demonic
possession. He also said that the full-strength holy water that was
blessed during the Easter Vigil ceremony (or is it Holy Saturday?)
was most effective, and that the devil laughs at holy water sometimes
when it is blessed in a less thorough manner. The ceremony that Fr.
Radecki uses for that blessing is lengthy and most precisely executed
at the altar rail in front of the packed chapel. There is a lot more to
know about holy water.
The ritual that the Eastern Churches use to bless holy water is very
edifying. I used to think they rather go "overboard" with the details,
but in retrospect, perhaps that all amounts to something special.
Curiously, protestants deny that there is any such thing as holy water.
One can only wonder how many of them are possessed! Maybe they
are and don't even know it -- why would the devil care, when he's
got them hooked in a false religion where there is no salvation?
That the Novus Ordo diocese had been trying but had failed was not
among the points my friend told me about. But maybe he just skipped
that part. It seems the CMRI don't do this very often, though, so it
does not look like it would have been a different case, especially since
it took two priests. I don't know who the other priest was.
My question was also about jurisdiction, as that has been a bone of
contention in discussions in regards to other exorcisms in years past,
from what I've heard. The word was that without the local ordinary's
permission, no one should be attempting exorcism, as it can be very
dangerous, even life threatening, without such jurisdictional clearance.
On the surface, it would seem impossible that A) the CMRI priest
and/or bishop would have asked the local Newbishop for permission,
PLUS, B) even if they had done so, it's rather difficult to imagine
the local Newbishop granting such permission. Any thoughts on that?
There was a news item a few months back saying that Fr. Gabriele
Amorth, the Vatican exorcist, had become "fed up" with all the failed
attempts in recent years using the "updated form" of exorcism, and
consequently, he declared that the Novus Ordo priests are being
instructed to abandon that form and to revert to the tried-and-true
form from before Vat.II, for one reason: it works.
I've heard of iron frame beds being bent by unseen forces, and
that wood frame beds are not allowed because they usually just
break to pieces. The crucifix the priest holds must have the Corpus
of Jesus attached with real nails, driven through WOOD, or else the
devil will laugh and ridicule the cross as a FAKE. The most common
crucifix for effective use is the 8-inch St. Benedict Crucifix, which
has inlaid ebony set in a metal framework, and a St. Benedict
Medal behind the head of Our Lord. The Medal itself, properly
blessed, is the most powerful solid sacramental for exorcisms, on
par with first class relics of the great saints, such as St. Therese of
Lisieux, Pope St. Pius X, St. John Marie Vianney, St. Philomena, etc.
It would seem that authentic relics of the True Cross would be so
as well, but I haven't heard anything about that.
Since the CMRI deny the validity of episcopal consecrations done
after 1968, and Holy Orders after 1969, one is left with unanswered
questions. To presume that "supplied jurisdiction" is sufficient might
be the occasion for a very serious mistake, it would seem. But again,
I am not passing any judgment, just looking for answers. In any
case, serious exorcisms in serious cases are not something to be
treated with ANY DEGREE of cavalier attitude. If there was ever a
thing that is SERIOUS BUSINESS, this is IT.
I'm not an expert in this, just saying what I have heard from others
who are more informed. I heard Msgr. Perez describe an exorcism
he was a WITNESS to some months ago, in which it was successful,
and in which he received personal confirmation of the power of the
devil in that case, but I'm not going to describe it since there are
members here who will howl and whine over the validity of Orders.
I only wonder why jurisdiction is so lightly treated? This applies to
the Menzingen-defenders, likewise, for +Fellay has said that unless
SSPX priests practice obedience to him, their sacraments will not
be valid, specifically regarding absolutions, which is closely related
to exorcism. When questioned on this he as been typically silent,
and meanwhile, we all know he has no jurisdiction.