[" 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 the Church...

[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, the afflicted...

["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 gifts.   The good...