A secular book about exorcism says that one thing rankles demons.Posted on 05/31/2007 8:43:12 AM PDT by NYer
A secular book about exorcism says that one thing rankles demons.
"The devil doesn't like Latin," writes Tracy Wilkinson in The Vatican's Exorcists. "That is one of the first things I learned from Father Gabriele Amorth, long known as Rome's chief exorcist, even though that has never been his formal title.
"Now past the age of eighty, Father Amorth has dedicated the last decades of his life to regaining a measure of respectability for exorcism. Despite his advancing age, he continues to perform the rite several times a week at his office in Rome.
"Scores of people seek him out. He prefers to use Latin when he conducts exorcisms, he says, because it is most effective in challenging the devil."
That tidbit comes to us at a time when Benedict XVI is ready to loosen restrictions on Latin Mass. It's in the new book -- a secular and sometimes skeptical but fascinating glimpse into the world of Italian priests who see their job as casting out demons.
While the numbers dwindle in countries like the Canada, France, and the U.S., exorcists are on the rise on the Vatican's home turf -- thanks largely to priests such as Father Amorth.
In Italy the number of exorcists has grown tenfold in the past decade, according to the priest (who is himself author of two bestsellers, An Exorcist Tells His Story and An Exorcist: More Stories). Credit is also due to the legacy of John Paul II -- who made the notion of exorcism, which was founded by Jesus Himself, respectable again.
Father Amorth was born in Modena in northern Italy and has been a priest since 1954. In 1986 he began performing exorcisms under the tutelage of the vicar for Rome.
According to Wilkinson, Father Amorth accepted the task "after praying to the Virgin Mary for her steadfast guidance and protection."
"On the walls of Amorth's exorcism chamber, eight Crucifixes and pictures of the Madonna are hanging, plus a picture of Saint Michael the Archangel," says the book. "A two-foot-high statue of the Virgin Mary, the Madonna of Fatima, sits on a corner table.
"There are also pictures of the late Pope John Paul II; the popular saint Padre Pio; Amorth's mentor, Father Candido; and Father Giacomo Alberione, the founder of the Society of Saint Paul Congregation."
Father Amorth calls them "my protectors," adding that "the more recent addition of John Paul's has been especially effective and helpful."
"The demons become very agitated at his presence," Father Amorth says of the late Pope -- who himself performed several exorcisms during his pontificate and warned of the rise of dark forces both in 1977 and then in 2005 just days before he lapsed in his final bout with illness.
How is exorcism done? There is the Crucifix. There is the Holy Water. There are the ritual prayers. Many times, those afflicted have to come back on a regular basis -- the process a gradual one.
In Father Amorth's appointment book, women outnumber men by three to one. That is perhaps because they are more in tune with the spiritual, says the exorcist, or because they are special targets as the descendants of Eve.
The very word "hysteria" -- so often seen in the possessed -- comes from the Greek word hyster for womb. Greeks believed it was caused by abnormalities in the uterus.
"I maintain that in part, the reason is because women are the ones who do the most praying," says the priest. "Another reason is women are more inclined to approach a priest than are men, in case of need."
In some cases, say other exorcists, the devil attempts to mask possession as insanity. This sets up conflict with the far newer practice of psychology -- which looks down on exorcism as the psychiatrist's couch has replaced the confessional.
"An exorcism is the residue of a medieval practice completely devoid of any foundation in reason," the book quotes Sergio Moravia, a philosopher at the University of Florence, as saying. "I don't think it's crazy. It's worse."
Exorcists counter that psychological diagnoses such as "multiple personality" and "schizophrenia" are clinical covers for an infestation.
That opinion is shared by the many who have sought the services of Father Amorth -- finding relief when the devil was cast away after years of frustration at the hands of psychiatrists who saw their problems so differently.
Blessed salt and Holy Water are often used not just by the exorcists themselves, but by those who have been exorcised -- to stave off further disturbances.
Extraordinary strength, preternatural knowledge, speaking in foreign tongues unknown to the victim, vomiting of strange objects, and violent aversion to holy objects make pure psychological explanations suspect in strong cases.
Prayer, of course, also chases the devil and his manifestations away -- apparently, Latin in particular.
Bishop Andrea Gemma of Isernia -- who himself performs exorcisms -- ascribes the Church's move from Latin as part of a global plot to undermine Christianity.
"The devil is happy with the near-disappearance of Latin," said the bishop.
Does exorcism mask psychological illness with the supernatural, or is psychology itself a ruse, at least in certain instances, to prevent deliverance?
We have only to study the ministry of Jesus to know the answer.
Of course that is after the exorcism of the “holy water” right?
Can you show me where we are taught that there is any such thing as “holy water” or that it has any power?
It's that it isn't the language of any surviving nationality today (if you don't count Vatican City) and is therefore universal. Nobody can be offended that it is being spoken, rather than "their" national language.
The bonus is that it's spoken universally throughout the Catholic church. You can go to a Latin Mass anywhere on earth, no matter what the local language is, and it's always exactly the same.
Plus, you can use it to communicate with other Latin speakers. I once had an Italian client (long story) who had no English, I had no Italian, but we spoke Latin and got along o.k. (for really important stuff we wrote, and had our offices translate, but on the phone it worked pretty well.)
Sanskrit is the holy language of Hinduism. It does produce results when practiced according to their tradition.
Every religious tradition has a language set aside for speaking to God and performing rituals. The Jews have Hebrew for example. Latin is one of the languages which hung over the head of our Lord on the Cross. It was chosen by the Roman Church as the official language of the Church. For those reasons and probably a couple of others it is especially powerful against demons. That is not to say an exorcism is not effective in vernacular languages. It can be, but the use of Latin is an extra boost.
Other religions which perform types of exorcisms utilize their sacred language as well. There is a whole field of study out there on sound in tune with the human body and the universe in general. Remember, God created the world by word.
Just when I think I’ve heard everything, along comes something like this!
He is not the one that said it was a dead language one of your fellow Catholics gave that as the reason that Satan hates it ( he does not understand it)
The devil has spoken Latin during exorcisms. He can speak any language.
So:
Latin is not immutable (After all I doubt the word for ATM or checking account was around before banking)
Latin is not Dead (its spoken today)
Latin is universal (so is Japanese so its not really a huge advantage there)
The only thing you are saying is because the catholic church uses latin it has special power over satan..
But the water that Jesus turned into wine at Cana in Galilee was Jewish holy water. John 2:6
And Greek and Hebrew are the languages of scripture *not Latin* which was originally spoken by Jupiter worshipers..
The universal language of the universal Church, yes. As such, the possibility that the devil would have a particular aversion to it, as compared to the same prayer in a different language, is not unreasonable.
And the Romans most definitely had checking accounts. How do you think they kept track of their money?
Yup folks you heard it here, when it comes to Exorcism Latin is Gods Red Bull...
Of course, if you've ever studied Latin, you can see why the devil hates it, lol. Masculine, feminine, neuter nouns , the pluperfect, the past pluperfect, the future pluperfect. I got an A five years running, though!
Different demons react to different sacramentals. It's often a matter of trial and error. Blessed candles (holy fire) can be quite effective. Of course it is the sacramental blessing in addition to the element that makes it effective. The element by itself is not.
Indeed, it is that material point of view that would, IMHO, prevent them from being healed once and for all.
Experience and history does not bear this out.
The division of language was a JUDGMENT of God on men
Please show us anywhere that confirms that Latin is especially "powerful". Show me in scripture where it is the language and not the name of Jesus that drives demons out?
Listen to the disciples of Christ
Luk 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Personally my God heard all the prayers of all men regardless of language.
Latin is only associated from a nationality point of view with the Romans, who are long gone and replaced by the Italians.
I'm glad nobody is making me construe the Latin Rite - there are some verb forms in there that I have completely forgotten, if I ever knew them at all.
Can you explain to me why attempting to dethrone God (and probably, ultimately, kill him) was not grounds for God to utterly destroy Lucifer, and why, instead, he actually empowered Lucifer with control of his own kingdom and even allowed him to hang out in Eden (God's new creation after the failed creation in Heaven with the angels) and then chat with God when the Job bet was arranged?
No, because the new rite of exorcism is completely ineffective. It removed crucial prayers and commands for Satan to leave. Even the most devout priests see it as useless.
Source?
It was actually the washing water not "holy water"
Please show us your source for Jewish holy water?
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