It is of catholic faith that all sins, both mortal and venial, committed before baptism are forgiven “washed clean” the very instance of the reception of the sacrament of baptism (CCC 977, 978, 1263). It is also of faith that all sins confessed with true repentance and will to do penance and amend one’s life in the sacrament of reconciliation are truly absolved (CCC 1395, 1442, 1449, 1496). In this then, it is of certain faith, that the sins once forgiven by God are truly forgiven, not simply covered, but really washed. It does not exist in the presence of God. And if it is not present in the Almighty, then it is not present at all anywhere. Therefore, not even the demons know them.
It is true that the devil knows our sins when we commit them for he is the author of sin. But once subjected to the saving action of the sacrament of baptism and later through the sacrament of reconciliation they are as it were not only invisible but truly none existent. However, one needs to also keep in mind that if a person approaches the sacrament without faith nor sincerity, nor genuine repentance, nor desire for amendment, even if they be given the words of absolution by the priest, their sins are not forgiven (CCC 1456, 1491). This includes hiding a sin from the confessor. The bad intention in itself is equivalent to non-repentance. For it is of divine precept that all mortal sins must be confessed. Confession of venial sins though not necessary, are also recommended to be subjected to the sacrament of reconciliation. Deliberate non-disclosure of known sins is a case of a bad confession. Therefore, the devil can reproach a person for this.
Being in the state of habitual sanctifying grace for both the exorcist and his équipe as well as for the spiritually afflicted and those assisting is necessary if any one of them is to avoid any form of serious retaliation. During the course of an exorcism the demons may resort to tactics to distract or weaken the exorcist or his équipe. The revealing of sins only happens if one is not in the state of grace. This is the very reason why the instructions of the Ritual for the priest and his team to go to confession becomes necessary. Although theoretically, an exorcist as long as he possesses the mandate from the local ordinary, even if he be in the state of sin, can effectively perform an exorcism and cast out unclean spirits. Nonetheless, to shield him from humiliation, embarrassment, or undue psychological harassment, should regularly go to confession and strive to live in a habitual state of grace. If going to confession is not immediately possible for lack of a priest, a perfect act of contrition suffices until access to a priest for confession and absolution becomes available.
As a matter of procedure when ministering to those afflicted by unclean spirits, the General Confession of Sins (I Confess…) and the General Absolution (May Almighty God, have mercy on us…) and the Prayer of Protection are important prayers not to be easily dispensed with as these, by God’s mercy and abundant kindness, shield the exorcist and his équipe from demonic pestering while ministering to the afflicted.
It is true that the devil knows our sins when we commit them for he is the author of sin. But once subjected to the saving action of the sacrament of baptism and later through the sacrament of reconciliation they are as it were not only invisible but truly none existent. However, one needs to also keep in mind that if a person approaches the sacrament without faith nor sincerity, nor genuine repentance, nor desire for amendment, even if they be given the words of absolution by the priest, their sins are not forgiven (CCC 1456, 1491). This includes hiding a sin from the confessor. The bad intention in itself is equivalent to non-repentance. For it is of divine precept that all mortal sins must be confessed. Confession of venial sins though not necessary, are also recommended to be subjected to the sacrament of reconciliation. Deliberate non-disclosure of known sins is a case of a bad confession. Therefore, the devil can reproach a person for this.
Being in the state of habitual sanctifying grace for both the exorcist and his équipe as well as for the spiritually afflicted and those assisting is necessary if any one of them is to avoid any form of serious retaliation. During the course of an exorcism the demons may resort to tactics to distract or weaken the exorcist or his équipe. The revealing of sins only happens if one is not in the state of grace. This is the very reason why the instructions of the Ritual for the priest and his team to go to confession becomes necessary. Although theoretically, an exorcist as long as he possesses the mandate from the local ordinary, even if he be in the state of sin, can effectively perform an exorcism and cast out unclean spirits. Nonetheless, to shield him from humiliation, embarrassment, or undue psychological harassment, should regularly go to confession and strive to live in a habitual state of grace. If going to confession is not immediately possible for lack of a priest, a perfect act of contrition suffices until access to a priest for confession and absolution becomes available.
As a matter of procedure when ministering to those afflicted by unclean spirits, the General Confession of Sins (I Confess…) and the General Absolution (May Almighty God, have mercy on us…) and the Prayer of Protection are important prayers not to be easily dispensed with as these, by God’s mercy and abundant kindness, shield the exorcist and his équipe from demonic pestering while ministering to the afflicted.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM EXORCISM CASES:
- It is not rare that during exorcisms the afflicted complain about headaches. But simple as it may seem, not all headaches are the same. Just like in medicine, the doctor asks where exactly does the headache originate.. The same is true with exorcisms. The exorcist will ask the locus of the headache. Because by knowing the headache's center, then we can determine what the unclean spirit is attacking. As a rule of thumb all frontal headaches signify a conscious effort to hide something. Often a grievous sin that has not been repented, confessed and subjected to the sacrament of reconciliation. And if the pain from the headache radiates to the heart, then it also means an ill-feeling is connected with the sin as well. In this case, the demon is immediately retaliating because the prayers are forcing it to be cast out but the afflicted is holding it back through its attachment to sin. And if the exorcism continues and the demon forces the afflicted to go on a trance-like state, the demon would surely reveal the reason why it does not want to leave or that it cannot leave. And it would not be surprising if it would reveal the sin that is hidden.
- The demon knows that if a soul has strong faith in God it cannot win over it. Therefore, it will strategize to weaken that faith. It will first attack the exorcist by psychological battle. It may not know sins already confessed and forgiven, but it knows that there are still memories of it hidden in the mind. It will attempt to have access to that by throwing out words that would stimulate the exorcist to unwittingly bring those forth in consciousness. The demon might say for example: "I know your sins, all of them. Remember when you were still a seminarian...?" He will repeat those words over and over again. For it knows that by doing so it can rattle the exorcist. It may even cause such agitation that the priest would remember an event. The demon sensing the inner turmoil will continue to feed on that so that fear would come in, and with fear, lack of faith. The turmoil is the fear of being embarrassed and exposed before the people around. But one should not lose composure and faith. The demon is simply fishing and one should not succumb to that trap. A sin forgiven he cannot see. It is the memory that it taps so that it can guess on the sin. There is no use remembering it for him. Rather, let the memories be consecrated and offered to the Most High once more to be healed by His grace and love. Let the exorcist pray internally to be hidden in the wound of Christ (intra tua vulnera absconde me) and covered by the protective mantle of maternal love of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And above all the demon should not be allowed to talk when not asked to answer questions. It should be commanded to be silent in the name of Jesus. And the command should be repeated over and over again as often as the demon would attempt to talk.
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