ST. MICHAEL CENTER

MSGR. ROSSETTI'S BLOG

I’ve spent the last five years managing social media for Catholic priests and apostolates. There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit is using social media to bring Christ and His Church to those who need it most, but there is also a danger. We spend countless hours consuming content, debating strangers online, and filling our minds with a thousand voices, yet rarely making room for God’s. Although we may consume nuggets of beauty and truth online, the never-ending feed of conten

[Good Angel of Death, Evelyn De Morgan 1880] At the moment of death, some people have reported being tempted and harassed by Satan. A famous case was St. Martin of Tours. At his death in 397 AD, he saw Satan present and he exclaimed: “Why do you stand there, you bloodthirsty brute? Murderer, you will not have me for your prey. Abraham is welcoming me into his embrace.” With that, he died and passed on to the Kingdom of God. Not uncommonly, people also report receiving

["Blessing Herself with Holy Water," Paul Seignac, 1826-1904] I often pray at night when all the world is dark and silent. It is easier to find some extended time to pray when all are asleep. Blessed Conchita, Mexican mystic, author and mother of nine, would wait until all her children were asleep to pray and write. She was amazingly prolific. But a recent night's prayer was unusual. Rather than being a time of peace, I felt greatly agitated, for no obvious reason. I c

Like many of you, I opened my phone yesterday morning to the news that the beautiful town of Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the place where alleged apparitions of Our Blessed Mother have been taking place since 1981, was devastated by an act of gross vandalism in the darkness of night. The statue of our Blessed Mother was defaced, and the outdoor sanctuary behind the beloved Church of St. James was set on fire. Last year, our St. Michael Center team traveled to Medjug

When we surrender to the Holy Spirit, He leads us to opportunities we never could have dreamed up on our own. God's plan is usually much different than what we think it will be, and that's what makes life such an adventure! One prayer and act of faith at a time. Seeking to follow where the Holy Spirit is leading us, the St. Michael Center staff has spent the last month in a period of discernment and transition. During this brief hiatus, although we were taking a break from

["House Liberated through Church's Prayers", computer generated; blessed by priest] Some will claim that their house has demons. It might be the case. This is particularly true if some great evil has taken place in the house, much like when demons claim ownership of a person who has committed great sins. Houses can become infested with demons after such incidents as occult rituals, rituals summoning demons, satanism and witchcraft, abortions, child abuse, murders and geno

["Invoking the Holy Spirit in an Exorcism," computer generated, blessed by priest] In the midst of an exorcism, I noticed that the demons were tortured by any mention of the Holy Spirit. So, I commanded them to face the truth; I voiced a rhetorical question: "Were you there at Pentecost?" They screamed. The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was obviously an EXCRUCIATINGLY painful moment for Satan and his demons. I then commanded the demons: "Face the truth! This pe

[Msgr. Rossetti and Gina praying at McGivney's Tomb] In New Haven, CT at St. Mary's Church, Blessed Fr. Michael McGivney is buried. Some SMC team members were blessed to pray at his tomb. SMC strongly supports his devotion and the organization that he founded: The Knights of Columbus. Fr. McGivney founded the Knights for several reasons including helping families with deceased members and providing spiritual support to Catholic men and their families as an alternative to

["Spiritual Warfare on the Earth," Computer generated. Blessed by priest.] I cannot think of any who have a greater hatred of the Catholic faith (Odium Fidei) than Satan and his demons. Every exorcist experiences the pure hatred of demons for the Church, priests, and all things Catholic such as holy water, relics of saints, the crucifix, the Eucharist, the BVM and more. The presence of this pure overwhelming hatred in a session is one strong sign that demons are truly pre

[Computer generated. Blessed by priest.] It was immediately after lunch. We began the exorcism session as usual. After only a few moments, I was so overcome with lethargy I could hardly continue. I thought I must have eaten too much lunch! But the lethargy was much too intense for that. As the session continued, I was fighting to move forward with the prayers. It then occurred to me, "Ahh, it's demonic!" So, I repeatedly commanded the Demons of Lethargy to leave. I

[Satan Bound, Pieter Mortier, 1700] I woke up this week with some unexplained scratches on my right shoulder- too far apart to be an animal and I don't have a cat. "Ahh," it dawned on me, "it's demonic." Mine are very similar to the demonic scratches that one of our team members received about a month ago. These scratches are usually in three's, a mockery of the Holy Trinity. They are about 6-12" in length, although I have seen longer. They don't hurt and the person d

I recently returned from an exciting conference in Brazil: Misercordia Brasil 2026 . There were 16k people in the arena in Fortaleza (tickets sold out in one hour) and 80k online. It was a dynamic, spirit-filled event. The Hesed Institute, which runs this event, is a flourishing young community of sisters, brothers and priests. They have over 200 members and are growing rapidly. They are a contemplative community and yet they have an online YOUTUBE following of over 5

[" Resurrection ", Annibale Carracci, 1593] [This is a reprinting of Exorcist Diary #340 . It is a reflection worth revisiting in the wake of Easter. Can we "prove" that Jesus rose from the dead? The experiences of an exorcist are perhaps some of the strongest "proofs" that He truly resurrected.] In the midst of the exorcism session I said, "By the power of the death and resurrection of Jesus, I command the demons to leave!" The out-front demon yelled back: "We won! We

[" Christ Giving the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter ," Pietro Perugino, 1481-1482] We had just finished an exorcism session and the afflicted person looked at me and said, “The demons have a message for you." He then said: “Ask Joey how Francis is.” He had no idea what it meant. I thought about it for a moment and then figured it out. It was demonic evil genius. In five words they tried to diss me, control me, frighten me, and then, their major goal, to turn me against

[Mary Crushing The Serpent" from " Immaculate Conception ," detail, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1767-1768] Typically the first words out of demons' mouths are: "She/he belongs to me!" An exorcism is essentially a battle for ownership. Demons claim the person. The new Rite of Exorcism, which is very effective, is based upon the Sacrament of Baptism. The person is "reclaimed" for Christ. In baptism, the Priest says: "I claim you for Christ our Savior." In an exorcism, t

["Demon Deceiving a Soul", computer generated and blessed by a priest] I was recently contacted by a priest who asked for assistance. We chatted and I thought his experience was instructive for us all. With his permission, here it is: As a priest I was fascinated, curious and a bit envious of those with special spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues, a word of knowledge, prophecy, or, for some priests, the gifts of healing. Many of my close priest friends had these gif

["Safe in the Barque of Peter," digitally generated and blessed by priest] A priest-exorcist contacted me about a difficult case. It started out like a typical situation and they were making good progress. But then things started to shift. Instead of the demons and their antics getting weaker, they were actually getting stronger. For example, for the first year or so, he barely needed to be restrained in an exorcism session. But around year three, he became increasingly

[St. Joseph casting out the demons. Digitally generated & blessed by priest.] The Feast of St. Joseph is March 19th. He is a greatly under-appreciated spiritual figure. He is rightly called: "Terror of Demons." As St. Alphonsus Liguori said: "Saint Joseph is most powerful against demons which fight against us." I was reminded of this in an exorcism some time ago: A young woman who was afflicted by demons was being ministered to by our St Michael Center for Spiritual Ren

[ " Jesus casts out the devils " , Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Die Bibel in Bildern , Plate 191.] I hesitate to wade into this intense, conflictual arena, but there is something that has been gnawing at me for quite a while. As a priest-exorcist and as a licensed psychologist, I have been looking at the phenomenon, especially in the United States, of the "lone wolf terrorist." These are the ones who are not formally part of a terrorist group, but rather commit acts of t

[" Light of the World ," William Holman Hunt, 1851-1854; Jesus is knocking on our door and asks to be let in. The door is overgrown and has not been opened in a long time. ] Recently I was told of a couple that had left the Faith and went full speed into pagan religions. They traveled to non-Christian religious sites in Asia, practiced TM and yoga, and embraced their teachings and spiritual practices. As they were doing this, their friends noticed they slowly became more