FAMOUS EXORCIST SAYS LAYMEN CAN CAST OUT EVIL PRESENCES
AND INFLUENCES
(Thank you to Michael Brown - www.spiritdaily.com)
Are laymen allowed to assist at exorcisms? What role does the laity have in deliverance? Should they cast out demons themselves?
To an extent, says Rome's official exorcist, Father Gabriel Amorth, the answer to each of those queries is a surprising -- to some, even a shocking -- "yes."
Laymen have a large role in the actual rooting out of evil.
This is an area that deserves great caution, and let us note immediately that a full-scale exorcism can only be conducted 
by a priest with the permission of a local bishop. In severe cases, the Church should immediately be consulted; the stole of the priest is a tremendous protection. Without it, there can be danger. But that doesn't exclude the laity from active spiritual deliverance, according to Father Amorth, the world's most famous exorcist.
"A lay person who prays for deliverance from demons offers a private prayer, calling upon the common priesthood of the faithful and the power granted by Christ to all believers," says Father Amorth. "The priest who prays for the same purpose also recites a private prayer. Everything being equal, it is more efficacious than the first, because he calls upon his ministerial priesthood and his mandate to bless. When an exorcist administers an exorcism, the efficacy is greater still, because he is practicing a sacramental, which is a public prayer, invoking the intercessory power of the entire Church.
"However," adds Amorth, "let us be clear on this: The Lord takes faith into account. Therefore, a simple prayer of a lay person, even though it is private, could be more efficacious than the prayer of anyone else."
Father Amorth cites the example of Saint Catherine of Siena: When an exorcist could not liberate a demoniac, he would send the afflicted person to her. "Then the saint would pray and obtain liberation," writes Amorth. "Her prayer was not an exorcism; she was neither an exorcist nor a priest. But she was a saint!"
As Father Amorth notes, it all comes down to faith: Christ Himself admonished His followers to cast out spirits, but He also pointed to a lack of faith as the reason they weren't always able to succeed. It is faith that is our shield. It is our faith that unlocks the power of God -- which readily overcomes all evil.
What's the difference between an "exorcism" and "deliverance"?
Efficacy differs in degrees, says Amorth -- but the aim is the same: deliverance from an evil presence, manifestation, or influence. "Canon Law speaks of exorcism relative to those who are possessed (CIC 1172), in other words, those who are victims of a true demonic possession," the famous priest writes in An Exorcist: More Stories. "While there is nothing to forbid the use of exorcism for all other forms of evil influence, and all exorcists do so, there are other types of interventions for minor or less severe circumstances, such as deliverance prayers."
Amorth has criticized changes to the official exorcism rituals that he says has weakened them. He also has criticized bishops for not paying more heed to evil infestations, fretting that many dioceses do not even use the services of an exorcist despite the rise of evil around us. He especially warns about witchcraft. "It has been practiced throughout human history and by all civilizations. Still today many fall into its clutches. Many priests underestimate the danger of witchcraft. While they rightly trust in the salvific powers of Jesus, Who died to free us from Satan's bonds, they forget that the Lord never told us to underestimate the devil's power; he never told us to defy him or to stop fighting him. Instead God gave us the power to expel demons."
Father Amorth, who has worked with the Pope himself in exorcisms, also points to the Eucharist in cases where evil seems to be present. Sacraments themselves offer relief from evil spirits. "The usual means to obtain grace -- prayer, sacraments, fasting, charitable works, and so on -- may be sufficient," he notes. "Confession and Communion are worth more than a strong exorcism."
Love and Blessings, Wendy C.
"Mom of 13" - Your Mommy Health and Happiness Practitioner!
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