ST. MICHAEL CENTER

MSGR. ROSSETTI'S BLOG

[ The Raising of Lazarus , Rembrandt. c. 1630-1632] I have written in the past about cases of a spirit of lethargy which were not successfully treated by medical science but lifted in response to prayer. There does seem to be an evil spirit of lethargy which can afflict people, especially those who are doing something the demons want to stop, including an exorcism. For example, in the midst of an exorcism, the Exorcist and/or the afflicted person may become overwhelmed wi

[ Pentecost with the BVM , photo by author; San Agostino, Lucca Italy; Oblates of the Holy Spirit] 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

[" 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. ] I just returned to the big city after being away for several weeks. I went directly to a big box store to buy some items for the Sisters. After about twenty minutes, a realization dawned on me as I noticed all the peoples' faces. They all looked miserable! Their faces were taut; their eyes were joyl

[" The Fool with Two Demons ," detail, Ingeborg Psalter, c. 1205] Demons shame people. Constantly. Compulsively. Always. In hell there is no affirmation. Mystics who have had a graced vision of hell speak of demons eternally tormenting people with their sins. Over and over again, demons in hell rub the noses of the damned with their faults, sins and failures. They are the epitome of sadism- deriving perverted pleasure from peoples' suffering. I recently shared a sh

[ Confessional in Poland ] Two major archdioceses just announced their plans for multi-million dollar settlements on hundreds of priest-abuse cases. While all sin is an opening to evil, some sins are particularly deadly and child abuse is one of them. When the perpetrator is a priest, the spiritual devastation and resulting scandal are incalculable. Some have speculated that the Church is especially weak today and thus making exorcisms more difficult. This could be true.

[" Annunciation ," Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1898]    Today was a good day.  We had been praying over an afflicted person for five years.  Her mother was a witch and raised her on cocaine and spells.  As a young woman, she had been trafficked, abused, and raped.  Not surprising, she was one of the most possessed people I had ever met or even heard of.   But today, her eyes were clear and bright.  She has been clean of drugs for a couple of years and living an exemplary chaste lif

[" Grace Before Meals ," Franz Defregger, 1875] After doing exorcisms for over 18 years and facing demons of all sizes and stripes, there is one thing you will NEVER hear from them. That is gratitude for anything. They are angry, bitter, and will spend their eternity railing against God and blaspheming Him because of what "He did to us!" They cast themselves as the eternal victim. One of our excellent exorcists just mentioned to me that his client, while not yet visibl

[ Passionary of Weissenau ; Coligny, Switzerland; Cod. Bodmer 127, fol. 146; 1500] All sin is an opening to Satan which should be repented and confessed. But there are some actions which are huge openings to Evil and eventually yield disastrous spiritual results. Here are six: Worshipping pagan "gods" and gurus . Some people are binding themselves to pagan "gods" (who are actually demons) and give themselves to their gurus. Thus, in their lives they replace the true God

[" Resurrection ," Annibale Carracci, 1593] I spent much of the last hour lying down. This is unusual for me since it was the middle of the afternoon. But I felt so drained, as if all the energy had been sucked out of me. An hour earlier I had been casting out demons and lifting curses from an afflicted man. Then I remembered something I keep forgetting-- a true exorcism is very draining. The presence of demons drains the energy out of anyone with whom they come in cont

[Photo by Msgr. Rossetti; holy water font handmade in Colombia] I recently received the email below and with permission I cite it anonymously: After a medium at a temple put a spell on me on the pretext of “healing”, I tried to expel that something in my body by burning sage (that was before I found Catholicism). It agitated it greatly, and it retaliated. Same with consuming spoonfuls of cinnamon. My learning is that these things had agitation effects but no pow

[ The Gates of Hell , Cornelis Saftleven (1607-1681)] In the midst of the exorcism I commanded the demons, in Jesus' name, to tell me the truth: "Who is Lord, Jesus or Satan?" They were very loathe to say it but finally snarled and said, "Jesus." I responded, "That's right! And in Jesus' name, I cast you out!" We have just passed All Hallows Eve. It is typically a bit of a spiritual fight, especially for those who are targets of the occult and witchcraft. It was indee

[" The Last Judgment ," Michelangelo]           Some time ago, one of our exorcists was traveling on a plane.  Conversing with the young woman seated next to him, she asked him his occupation.  He responded that he was a Catholic priest.  “Oh,” she said, “You and I are the same.  I practice witchcraft.”  The priest retorted, “If you practice witchcraft, we are not the same.”               Similarly, a young woman died who self-identified as a practicing Catholic. During the f

[ St. Bartolo Longo ] Today, Sunday Oct 19th, the Pope canonized former Satanist priest Bartolo Longo at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. At Bartolo's Satanic "ordination," the "walls of the room shook and disembodied screams terrified those in attendance." As a satanic priest, he was involved with seances, drugs and orgies. He eventually became paranoid and miserable, contemplating suicide. His conversion was credited to the fervent prayers of family and friends, hearing

[" The Exorcist ," the movie, wikicommons] We receive a lot of emails, feedback and comments. We are grateful for all of you! In...

[" The Reconciliation of Marcus Emilius Lepidus and Fulvius Flaccus ", Domenico Beccafumi, 1529-1535] Perhaps one of the most difficult...

[" St. Michael and the Angels at War with the Devil ," Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1448] This life has often been described as a spiritual...

[" Pope Saint Gregory I Frees the Souls from Purgatory with His Prayers ", Francesco Fontebasso, 1731] Two weeks ago I shared stories...

[" Jesus Casts Out Satan ," Carl Bloch, 1865-1879] In this post, it is my intention simply to share my experience. These ideas are not...

[" The Virgin Mary intercedes for Purgatory's souls ," Sebastiano Ricci, 1687-1688] Last week I spoke about the fact that there are no...

[" Christ on the Sea of Galilee ," Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1611] These days I increasingly hear about people, including some priests, who...