Author Topic: The consequences of laymen attempting exorcisms (Read 1662 times)

Matthew · « **on:** January 03, 2017, 11:35:15 AM »

When a priest performs an exorcism, he is

A) an ordained priest of God, united to Christ in a special way by means of the sacred character imprinted on his soul when he was ordained.
B) doing the job under Obedience to his bishop, which is the best way to stay humble
C) acting with the full power of the Catholic Church behind him, speaking in the Church's name

If a layman were to attempt an exorcism, he would be in QUITE A DIFFERENT SITUATION.

A) A mere man, facing down an angelic intellect with angelic powers.
B) Undertaking the role of "exorcist" out of pride and vainglory. How can one vanquish the devil with pride? That is like fighting a fire using glowing hot coals!
C) He would be acting completely alone, speaking in his own name, using his own personal "power" (if you can call it that!)

I leave you with the words of Holy Scripture, teaching us what can easily happen when self-appointed exorcists, not sent by the Church, attempt to fight the devil:

Acts of the Apostles, chapter 19:

Quote

[12] So that even there were brought from his body to the sick, handkerchiefs and aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the wicked spirits went out of them. [13] Now some also of the Jєωιѕн exorcists who went about, attempted to invoke over them that had evil spirits, the name of the Lord Jesus, saying: I conjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth. [14] And there were certain men, seven sons of Sceva, a Jєω, a chief priest, that did this. [15] But the wicked spirit, answering, said to them: Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?

[16] And the man in whom the wicked spirit was, leaping upon them, and mastering them both, prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. [17] And this became known to all the Jєωs and the Gentiles that dwelt at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

Wow! Scripture puts it quite delicately here, but the meaning is clear: the possessed man BRUTALLY SODOMIZED the would-be exorcists!

If you think about it, it wouldn't make sense any other way. If you took a toy gun and went after a group of bank robbers, and shouted, "Freeze, dirt bags!" and then started "firing" your toy cap gun, what do you suppose those criminals would do to you, once they realized you were powerless? They would probably kill you, if they were armed.

Neil Obstat · « **Reply #1 on:** January 04, 2017, 12:00:25 AM »

Quote

Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?

How do you say "Paul" in Spanish?

Cantarella · « **Reply #2 on:** January 04, 2017, 12:44:48 AM »

Quote from: Neil Obstat

Quote

Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?

How do you say "Paul" in Spanish?

Pablo

poche · « **Reply #3 on:** January 04, 2017, 11:20:58 PM »

A life of prayer and communion with God will do more to defeat the kingdom of satan than anything else for a layman.

TKGS · « **Reply #4 on:** January 05, 2017, 08:14:43 AM »

Out of curiosity, what was the impetus for posting a commentary about "lay exorcisms" in the beginning of January of 2017?

I realize that this has been discussed on the forum previously, but has there been a sudden rash of lay exorcisms recently?

Matthew · « **Reply #5 on:** January 05, 2017, 11:05:52 AM »

Quote from: TKGS

Out of curiosity, what was the impetus for posting a commentary about "lay exorcisms" in the beginning of January of 2017?

I realize that this has been discussed on the forum previously, but has there been a sudden rash of lay exorcisms recently?

The subject came up, and I wanted to have a little "discourse" of sorts on the topic, abstracting from any real-world situations to which it might be applied...

Reality is reality, and Catholic doctrine is Catholic doctrine.

To put it another way: everyone in the Traditional Catholic world should have NO PROBLEM AT ALL with my post. And that includes 100% of those who consider themselves "Resistance", as well as 100% of those who consider themselves "against" Bishop Williamson, Bishop Faure, Bishop Thomas Aquinas, Fr. Zendejas, etc.

Let's face it -- if "Fr. Pfeiffer's group" were to reject parts of Scripture, or if they had different doctrines about angels and devils, the powers of the priesthood, the nature of the Church, the roles of laymen, etc. then they would be a lot more than just a troublemaking section of the Resistance -- they would be a bona-fide Protestant sect!

(As an aside -- It's funny they use the term "fake Resistance" at the same time the MainStream Media has discovered a new propaganda toy: "fake news". And in both cases, the objective "good guy" in the struggle is the "fake news" or "fake Resistance". Funny how the secular and ecclesiastical worlds are coming together, as we approach the Chastisement.)

It doesn't matter who the Catholic is: they should agree with the doctrine, at least in the abstract. It doesn't matter if they disagree with me about certain issues, if they've been banned from CI, or if they are crazy about a priest who is attacking most other priests.

If I post that Mary was conceived without Sin, or that Jesus has two natures (human and divine), everyone should -- and must -- agree! Once we're all on the same page about Catholic doctrine, then we should react similarly when we come across someone denying one of these dogmas, correct?

If as many people clung to the truth as they claim to, we wouldn't have such disagreements and schisms in the Catholic world.

Let's just say I've seen the results of large swaths of Catholics being ignorant of their Faith -- and being manipulated by dubious men (both cleric and lay) as a result.