How To Equip Yourself For Spiritual Battle From An Archdiocese Exorcist

“Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.” – Gospel of St. Luke 4:1

This Sunday’s Gospel reading, on the First Sunday of Lent, is not just an account of Jesus encountering the devil. As St. Thomas Aquinas points out, “Christ went out into the desert as to a field of battle.”

We all have been called into spiritual battle. Though the devil has many tactics, we have nothing to fear if we stay united with Jesus, according to an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Omaha.

The priest, who has been an exorcist for five years, agreed to share some advice on spiritual warfare for Catholic Voice readers. He answered a series of questions via email.

The archdiocese prefers to keep the identities of its two exorcists confidential. The priests were asked to be exorcists by Father Scott Hastings, the archdiocese’s vicar general and tribunal director, on behalf of Archbishop George J. Lucas.

“No one chooses this role,” the exorcist said, “and a good rule to follow is: If someone wants this ministry or any related ministry, they should never do it. This ministry is not about us; it is about Jesus Christ.”

Though the devil likes to tempt people through their sinful attachments, emotions and weaknesses, he said, they always have free will, a key component in spiritual warfare.

Even when a person is possessed, “while the enemy can control the faculties of the body, God does not permit him to control our will,” the exorcist said. “This means that he cannot force us to commit sin, no matter how much we may feel it. Our free will matters.”

Q: What is spiritual warfare?

Spiritual warfare is, to my mind, the art of choosing to remain in communion with God. Remember: God – who is Love, Joy, Peace, etc. – desires to be in communion with us for all eternity. The enemy seeks to create ruptures within this communion. This is literally the root of the word “devil: “διαβάλλειν (diaballein) means “to throw apart” or “to scatter.” The art of remaining in communion with God, therefore, is the way by which we learn, through discernment, to listen to and follow His voice and to reject the voice of the enemy.

Q: Who is my enemy, and what are his tactics?

The enemy is the Devil, or Satan, and while his tactics are diverse, they are also fairly simple. He and his fallen angels (demons) seek to move us away from God by playing on our imagination and emotions so that we commit sin and feel justified in doing so. They seek to convince us that we need whatever pleasure they propose more than we need God. This is meant to bring about disorder in our lives and move us away from him. A really good example of this, but certainly not the only one, is when individuals insist that the Catholic Church must change her teachings on a variety of issues to accommodate their choices. Notice how there is greater attachment to the choice than to the person of Christ himself. In this example, we no longer heed the voice of the Church, the cry of the martyrs for Christ, and instead demand that Christ mortify himself yet again to accommodate us.

Q: Should I be afraid?

We should never be afraid of the enemy, but this does not mean that we should be brazen in dealing with him. God keeps him on a very short leash, but it is arrogant and dangerous to believe that God will protect us if we choose to have dealings with him or challenge him. Our focus, then, should not be on the enemy but on God, and we always need to remember to focus on Charity, that is, the virtue by which we love God above all else and others for his sake. That charity will help us to remain in adoration of God and will also keep our minds and hearts focused on Him rather than the enemy.

Q: How do I keep him at bay? What are my weapons and armor?

To keep the enemy at bay, one needs four fundamental things, which are really the basics of the Christian Life.

1. To remain in a State of Grace: This State of Grace is the ultimate trump card because it means that we choose to remain with Jesus Christ and avoid mortal sin. God’s protection here is tremendous, and it should not be taken for granted. Should we choose to freely commit mortal sin – meaning, for example, that we freely choose to skip Mass on Sundays and Holy Days or we choose to engage Ouija boards, tarot cards, psychics, palm readers, or any other occult activity – we need to go to Confession as soon as possible so as to return to our State of Grace and to break the relationship we have formed with the enemy through mortal sin.
2. Prayer: We need to spend time in prayer to get to know the voice of God. Some wonderful examples of such prayer are Ignatian Prayer, Lectio Divina, WRAP, and the Rosary. The Rosary is a particularly powerful prayer, but we also need to pray it well. This means, for example, that before we begin to pray one of the Mysteries, we take 20 seconds or so to meditate on how the hearts of Christ, Mary, Joseph, God, etc., are experiencing this Mystery. Then, with that in mind, we can begin to offer the Rosary in a more relational manner and so deepen our prayer.
3. Sacraments: This one is fairly simple. Are we coming to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days and coming to Confession every 1-2 months? The practice of the Faith by the reception of the Sacraments is a powerful defense against the enemy because it is a powerful choice for God. Remember: An exorcism is a Sacramental, meaning that it doesn’t rise to the level of a Sacrament. This is why so many people hear exorcists saying that one good confession is worth 500 exorcisms. The Sacrament of Confession is more powerful and more healing because, rather than just being a prayer to evict the enemy, it gives us the forgiveness of God and the elimination of our sin in His eyes.
4. Virtue: This one is also simple. Are we choosing to grow in holiness by choosing that which is good, avoiding sin, and fasting so that we can grow in self-mastery and holiness? This is how we follow the Christian life and grow more united to Jesus Christ. The ministry of exorcism is about the conversion of the afflicted person. Virtue, to that end, is necessary for their freedom and the Christian life. A fantastic way to grow in virtue can be found in St. Ignatius’ 14 Rules for the Discernment of Spirits. By Spirits, Ignatius doesn’t necessarily mean angels or demons. Rather, he means the movements of the heart. These rules, therefore, can help us discern between the good and bad movements of the heart, learn to listen to the voice of God, and grow in holiness and virtue.

Q: Who are my comrades in spiritual battle?

Our comrades in the spiritual battle are:

1. Christ Himself: Christ loves us and should always be the one we seek. We can, therefore, ask his assistance and invoke his Name, Blood, and especially the Sign of the Cross over ourselves when we are dealing with the enemy.
2. Mary and the Saints: Mary and the Saints are extremely powerful intercessors, and we do a disservice to ourselves in neglecting them. I know that it can be easy to think that all we need is Christ (this is True), but we must remember that God, who is Good, loves to share himself with others. The reason we invoke Mary and the Saints, therefore, is because God chose to honor them with particular graces and virtues, and they can bring those same graces and virtues to bear for our own healing and liberation from darkness. For example: Saints should always be invoked on their feast days because, on these days, we celebrate their entry into Eternal Life. God honors them on these days by allowing them to work powerfully. Mary is also extremely powerful because God gave everything he has, his Son, to her and because God loves to exalt the humble over the pride of the enemy. So, we honor the will and choice of God when we invoke Mary and Saints, and he brings them with his grace to answer our prayer.
3. Our Guardian Angels: Our Guardian Angels are also tremendously powerful and are happy to respond to our prayer. These angels love us dearly and desire salvation for all of us. To that end, we can ask them for healing, liberation, and especially for insights into our root sins that we struggle to rid ourselves of. Keep in mind that, when they respond, there will be no judgment at all: only clarity.
4. The priests: Catholic priests, especially pastors by virtue of their office, have tremendous authority to deal with the power of darkness. This authority is not something we “take on.” Rather, it is authority that has been received by virtue of Ordination. If we suspect that the enemy is at work, our parish priests are a great resource to utilize because they carry with them the authority of Jesus Christ, as I explained above.
5. The Catholic Community: The Catholic community is a wonderful gift from God, and we should never hesitate to ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for us. Their intercession can be tremendously powerful in our battle against darkness. That said, we should never let anyone “pray over us” or impose hands on our heads if they are not an ordained minister. Others can always pray with us, but never over us from a place of authority. This is because lay persons do not have authority over other lay persons, but priests, by virtue of Ordination, do. Remember: The Lord protects those who walk in obedience to what he has established. If someone chooses to act beyond what the Lord has given them, they risk attempting to attack the enemy with his own weapon, disobedience. It simply won’t work. We should note, however, that this doesn’t apply to the immediate family since this is an authority structure that Christ has established. This means that husbands and wives can pray over each other and their children (and should bless them daily) from a place of authority.
6. Catholic Culture: Catholic culture is another great comrade, and by this I mean simple things such as making the Sign of the Cross as we pass a Catholic church or cemetery, practicing Line of Sight devotion (meaning we place beautiful religious images around us so that we can look at them and pray with them), celebrating the days of our Saints (the ones we are named for) and our Baptismal days, and other such Catholic Traditions. These are wonderful ways to grow in devotion and move against any darkness in our lives.

Q: What are some of the most common ways demons harass and attack people? How can a person discern if a demon is at work?

Demons primarily attack us through temptation, that is, playing on our sinful attachments. This temptation is meant to “help” us choose to sin and, if we did choose sin, to weaken us against further temptations. Along with that, the enemy likes to lie to us – e.g. “God doesn’t love me,” “I’m not good enough,” etc. – and work on our emotions so that we think these ideas and feelings are ours when they are not. Keep in mind that these are common ways the enemy likes to attack us.

Q: What advice would you give people who feel that they are being harassed by a demon?

If someone, however, has more severe experiences than this, it can be helpful to make a good confession and build a daily life of prayer in order to drive back the enemy. If the more severe attacks persist, then they should speak to their parish priest and invite him to pray with them and so begin to discern if the enemy really is at work. Keep in mind, though, that we should not assume that the devil is the one causing the issue. Various issues can be caused by physical and mental illness, and so the priest may ask us to visit with a doctor in order to ascertain whether or not something is natural.

Q: Some people deny that demons exist. How would you respond to them?

If someone denies that demons exist, I would simply invite them to ask Jesus to show himself to them. Christ is the goal and he is always the primary actor. I do not ever attempt to prove the existence of the demonic to people. I have had discussions in which I will refute the claim that a possessed person is mentally ill, but I never try to “prove” the demonic because that doesn’t usually help someone find Christ. As for the mental illness question, I can say the following: while mental illness is very real and should be treated by professionals, the list of symptoms for a mental illness is radically different from that of possession. For example: How many mentally ill people can have a fluent conversation in multiple languages, but only when a priest, with express delegation from his bishop, vests for an exorcism and uses a particular Rite of the Church? Again, how many mental illnesses have this as a symptom? I am not trying to downplay the reality of mental illness; I only want the reality of demonic possession to be respected because of the harm it causes to those who truly suffer from this when we ignore them or claim they have a mental illness without verifying that very thing.

Q: How can we help others, or the Church at large, in spiritual battle?

To help others in the spiritual battle: BE A SAINT. The holier the Church, the easier exorcism ministry becomes. Remember: An exorcism is not a Sacrament. It is a sacramental. This means that it works by the grace of the Church. If the Church is not reflecting Christ in her members, meaning her members are not holy, then exorcism ministry becomes more difficult. If the Church, however, is radiating the holiness of Christ, exorcism work becomes more efficacious over a shorter period of time.

Q: What are some of the most amazing healings and deliverances you’ve seen or been part of?

As far as deliverances, I would prefer not to share them because certain details specific to them could hint at who I was praying with, and I want to protect their privacy. That said, I will reveal a beautiful moment in a prayer session. There are moments during sessions where God will force the demon to admit certain truths about the Faith. Exorcism ministry literally is a school in which we learn the reality of the Truth of the Catholic Faith. During one session, the demon, while trying to not say anything, admitted that “it is through the Rosary that I am undone in a soul.” The Rosary is a powerful gift that we, as Catholics, should avail ourselves of daily. Why? It is because the power of the Rosary is the meditation on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This meditation on and prayer with his life then brings his grace into our lives and makes us like him, that is, holy. One final note: the word “salvation” comes from the Latin word “salus,” which means “health.” We have a God who wants to heal us, literally, so as to prepare us for Heaven. And the way he does this is by asking us to choose Him (recall: virtue is built through our choices, that is, our free will) just as he chose us and continues to choose us in Jesus Christ.

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