We had this case with the demon of pride possessing a woman. The exorcism dragged on a for more than two hours. She was the second case for the day. We did the exorcism prayers at least three times using the Ritual of Exorcism published under the authority of Paul V and reissued under Pope Pius XI in 1925. The demon was very strong, he could resist the prayers. He remained silent most of the time. But when it does speak he mocks the prayers and the proclamation of the Word of God.
At one point I seem to have caught the spiritually afflicted while in a trance to be moaning on those parts of the exorcism prayer that reminded the demon of his being thrown out of heaven. The exorcism prayer was said in Latin but I give here its English translation:
"It is He who commands you, He who flung you headlong from the heights of heaven into the depths of hell." (Wellers 1952, Exorcism Prayer I)I noticed too that it was moaning when that part of Exorcism Prayer II is said:
"to whom the heavenly Virtues and Powers and Dominations are subject, whom the Cherubim and Seraphim praise with unending cries as they sing: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Saboath."Since the Instruction n.17 of the Ritual says:
He (the exorcist) will pay attention as to what words in particular cause the evil spirits to tremble, repeating them the more frequently. And when he comes to a threatening expression, he recurs to it again and again, always increasing the punishment."I did as instructed but I modified it by addressing the exorcism team at that time to join the angelic hosts in the unceasing hymn of praise to God. We started to repeat the Sanctus:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.in the presence of the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. God knows how many times we repeated that prayer. At first there was just a soft moan. And every time we repeated the Sanctus the moaning became louder and louder. We knew then that this praise of the Most High was tormenting the unclean spirit terribly. I whispered to the ear of the afflicted and commanded her to join as in saying the Sanctus. At first she had difficulty pronouncing the words in English. But I encouraged her to say it. Every time she would attempt, the demon in a husky voice would shout "No! Do not pray!" I commanded the demon to kneel before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and to proclaim His praise and holiness. This created the breakthrough because when the spiritually afflicted started to kneel and recite the angelic hymn, the recitation was at first difficult, there was a strong resistance. But we continued insisting to recognize the glory of the Lord, and finally it did. At first slowly then with cadence. The demon shouted and shouted but we simply continued the angelic hymn. Then we heard the voice of the afflicted reciting the angelic hymn. When she repeated it with us, we knew that liberation was near. The last straw for the demon was when I commanded the spiritually afflicted to repeat continuously: "Lord Jesus, I kneel before you, I glorify you, and I adore you." This act of worship sealed the fate of the demon and the liberation of the afflicted.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
It was pride that caused the fallen angels to lose their heavenly status. The angelic hymn was the hymn they used to sing in the presence of the divine majesty. Seeing the intensity of the praises of God from the lips of the lowly human creatures, reminded the demons of their once noble status in heaven before their rebellion and fall. Now these human beings they so despised would replace them in the heavenly ranks joining the myriads and myriads of the angels who remained faithful to the Most High and the numerous Blesseds and Saints who now are one with the Holy Angels in praising God and beholding His glorious presence. The act of true worship and humility before the One True God by the spiritually afflicted, finally freed her from the fallen angel that refused to worship God.
