A converted Satanist said she was given the task, before her conversion, of cursing everyone in a local Catholic Church. So she cast her spells and curses over the entire congregation. But she noticed something that surprised her. Her spells were effective over the "casual" Catholics, i.e., those who were rather lukewarm in their faith. But with fervent Catholics, they were completely ineffective. Satan had no power over them.
In an unpublished manuscript of a Catholic mystic, the mystic was "graced" by God with a vision of hell. One particularly surprising moment came when she saw a couple in hell whom she had known on earth who were weekly Church goers. She wasn't sure why they had ended up in hell, but obviously they were not truly followers of Jesus. Simply attending Church on Sunday was obviously not enough.
It is easy to become complacent or lukewarm in our faith. The complacent may stop going to Mass on holy days; they seldom go to confession; they may even skip Mass on Sunday when not convenient; they rarely pray privately. They engage in few, if any, devotions, holy hours, rosaries, or read spiritual books, or study the Bible. In short, they are doing little to develop a relationship with Jesus and to engage all the wonderful graces He offers through his holy church.
The lukewarm often start entertaining lax, and possibly heretical, ideas such as universalism (all people go to heaven) or denying the existence of purgatory, that is, recognizing their own sinfulness and the need for redemption by Jesus. They might think: "God will never send me to hell" or "I am a good person and don't need all that religion" or simply, "I don't have time." The words of the Book of Revelation apply: "Because you are lukewarm ... I will spit you out of my mouth ... Be earnest therefore and repent" (Rev 3:16,19).
Our exorcism ministry would not allow such "Christians" into an exorcism session. Their lukewarm faith would spiritually drag down the entire effort. Moreover, being in the presence of demons in an exorcism they might be in spiritual danger. They are not fully protected, as the converted Satanist discovered.
An exorcism typically demonstrates the need for a fervent, active faith. The Exorcist cannot cast out the demons when the afflicted person is not fully engaged in the Faith. We insist on regular Mass (if not daily); confession at least monthly; a daily regimen of deliverance prayers, the rosary, holy hours and more. Regular Bible study is important.
Most importantly: do we have a real thirst for Jesus and his Kingdom? The Bible tells us the first commandment is to "love" the Lord our God, and our neighbor. Do we truly love God if we pay little attention to Him?
We are beginning a new year. Let us all pray for the grace to "catch fire" for the faith. When I see this in people, it is exciting. Pray for this grace!
And start doing those things that will help you "catch fire." Read the Bible daily. Pray daily. Use the sacraments and sacramentals of the Church. Pray for the grace of a Spirit-filled faith. If you do these things, I guarantee you eventually WILL catch fire. Thus this year will be the best ever! And you might find that the gates of heaven will open to you.
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+SMC's new initiative: the St. Gemma Project provides online session for young adults (18-30) to dialogue with Msgr. Rossetti about spiritual warfare, angels, demons and faith in the world today. The next young adult session is this Monday, Jan 5th!!! Register here or go to our website. To receive notices about this project, sign up here or on our website: www.catholicexorcism.org.