He had become possessed by the devil while visiting prostitutes

I just returned from a 10-day mission trip to the United States .  Among the testimonies that were reported to me, here is one from one of our assistants who has lived with us for over a year in Medjugorje, and who participates, as a prayerful presence, in exorcisms which take place in her parish in California:

 

"When Father John was ordained, someone gave him the gift of a metal crucifix. A hidden compartment in the crucifix contained a small piece of wood reported to be a piece of the true Cross. He wasn't really sure of the authenticity of this relic, so he didn't pay much attention to this gift, but he kept the crucifix along with other religious articles in his possession.  Nine years later, he found himself involved, at the request of his bishop, in prayers of deliverance and even of exorcisms. One day, a man came to him and asked for help, specifically for prayers of deliverance. The man had become possessed by the devil while visiting prostitutes in South America. During the sessions of prayers of deliverance, Father John noticed that the man had a strong aversion to the standard wooden crucifix that he was using to bless him. The man would turn his head away from the cross and do everything he could to avoid having it contact his skin, and he would shout anytime Father made the sign of the cross over him with the crucifix. 

"The same behavior continued for 3 meetings in a row.  Then Father John remembered the metal crucifix that he had received long ago.  For the following session, he brought that little cross with him, but he said nothing to the team or to the man about the difference between the two crucifixes. As soon as Father raised that crucifix to bless the man, the possessed one flung himself away from the cross so forcefully that his chair went over backwards and he landed up against the wall several feet away.  He continued shouting and tried desperately to get away from this cross.  Everyone else in the room was surprised at this extreme reaction, more violent than anything that had happened with him before. After the prayers were concluded and calm had returned, Father John opened up the hidden compartment of his cross to show everyone the small relic hidden inside.  No one had the slightest doubt as to the authenticity of what father held in his hands."

It was by His cross that Jesus conquered Satan and delivered us from his hold! This type of testimony is not rare among exorcists.  But I am anxious to call attention to it here, because today, aren't we all on a truly cruel battlefield? It would be utopic to believe that we can conquer evil without Christ and without His Cross.  This testimony also demonstrates how precious these true relics are, and to despise these objects of piety would deprive us of many graces that God desires so much to give us.

Sister Emmanuel