Seán Manchester (from his writings) on exorcism:
We must be careful how we define "vampire activity," but so long as we understand it to mean predatory demonic interference then, of course, such darkness remains extant in the world, and I believe it to be a demonic contagion which will be with us until the final days and will almost certainly magnify as worldly events worsen.
Demons have the ability to turn mankind from God and lead us toward destruction. Indeed, that is their ambition. Demons live in another realm, a nether region, and they require a portal to enter our realm. Those who have evil intent serve the Devil whether they believe in his existence or not, and create the conditions required for a portal to exist. Needles to say, the employment of LHP occultism can and will open that entry point.
Satan's kingdom is a lie. He wants to be like God, but in the first of the Ten Commandments, God told Moses: "I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods that are proposed to us in the kingdom of darkness." St Paul tells us to be on our guard: "The Spirit says clearly that some men will abandon their faith in later times. They will obey lying spirits and follow the teaching of demons" (1 Timothy 4: 1). When the Israelites were about to come into the promised land, God gave them many commandments that had to do with the true worship that He desired, and the false worship that He hated. These same commandments hold true for us today.
In Satan's kingdom, the Devil wants everything that is in the Kingdom of God, but his kingdom is counterfeit. In the kingdom of darkness there is false worship, adoration and evil prayer. He offers us phoney happiness and peace. He holds out to us dark wisdom and knowledge. This is how he tempted Adam and Eve (Genesis 3: 5). Satan said: "No, God knows well that the moment you eat it [the forbidden fruit] your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad."
In his kingdom, Satan also offers us a health that is unto death, and a protection that is false. Just as we picture the angels of heaven singing and worshipping God, there is also a depraved sound which is the musical din of the kingdom of darkness.
The Lord says that we must be true to Him. We cannot serve two masters. Jesus said: "He who is not with Me is against Me" (Matthew 21: 30). We have to be firm in our resolve to follow only Jesus Christ.
Forbidden power is a form of magical power that produces effects apart from God and in a way that is beyond ordinary human means. It is to be avoided at all costs. These powers influence war just as demons frequently influence the leaders who take us to wars that lead to death and destruction. The rise of atheistic communism in the world is an obvious example, but there could be many such examples reaching back throughout history.
Casting out demons is the preserve of Christians; especially Christians in holy orders. The pursuit of those demonic entities known as vampires commenced for me in earnest with the unfolding of the Highgate case in the late 1960s. I was not in orders during that decade, but had contact with a sympathetic Roman Catholic priest and fellow students who, like me, were largely self-taught. The modern church as an institution was not entirely comfortable with the subject matter, but certainly did not dismiss it out of hand. However, individual priests along the way proved most helpful; especially those of the Eastern Orthodox persuasion. I entered the minor order of exorcist in early 1973. Highgate's principal demonic contagion was exorcised in the following year.
I have carried out multifarious exorcisms of demonic contamination down the years; some undoubtedly vampiric and I am still consulted by priests in other denominations due to the unique sub-category of vampirology within demonology being no longer part of their training and syllabus. More often I am contacted by clergy and laity where a suspected contagion arises. Whilst demonic interference is frequently unearthed, classical vampirism less often rears its head. Forms of vampirism can occur without the manifestation having an apparent corporeal presence. When it does have a tangible form it would be regarded by vampirologists as a traditional or classical case.
There are obvious reasons why I would not want to reveal just how many have been encountered by me and my colleagues. It is, of course, more than the recorded encounters and exorcisms in the published account of the Highgate investigation. The scourge of this unearthly phenomenon is by no means vanquished. It presents itself as a manifestation of that demonic legion referred to in Ephesians 6: 12 which we are required to resist in every way we can. This is the struggle that ensued at Highgate all those years ago. It is a permanent struggle for those of us called to cast out such evil.
Avoiding wherever possible the media in all its forms to ensure confidentiality to those who need help and whose help and co-operation is sought has allowed the ministry for dealing with such demonic molestation to become increasingly effective over the decades. Suffice that a world famous case was written about over the last four and a half decades where media intrusion was impossible to prevent. Countless film documentaries have been made about it and there have been televised dramatisations. There would have been no justification in repeating the unavoidable process of media co-operation applicable in the Highgate case over and again. By not discussing subsequent cases and by not exposing private people to a limelight they would certainly not welcome, my colleagues and I have been able to continue to operate with a reputation which precedes us for keeping confidences and not compromising people and places. Decades after that first case was both reported and sensationalised by the media, I am still being asked to discuss it. While remaining open to debating the topic privately, I avoid the particular when it comes to unpublicised incidents and cases; having resolved not to allow investigations in the wake of Highgate to become similarly blighted.
It is in harmony with reason and faith to assume that the Devil has greater power over the unbaptised in consequence of original sin. For this reason, at a very early date, exorcisms were performed repeatedly over the catechumens in preparation for baptism. To perform these exorcisms and, in general, to exorcise persons possessed by or under the influence of evil spirits exorcists were ordained.
The rite speaks of exorcists as spiritual physicians endowed with the power of healing. This may also refer to bodily afflictions caused by the Devil; once the influence of the Devil is broken by the exorcism, the affliction ceases.
The other duties of the exorcist stood in close relation to this principal function of the Order of the Exorcistate. According to the usual interpretation of the instruction read to the ordinands, he was to direct persons under exorcism, and for that reason barred from Holy Communion, when to withdraw. Furthermore, it was his duty at sacred functions to administer the water for the washing of hands to the officiating priest. The latter ceremony symbolises purification from sin, hence a banishing of the influence of the evil spirits; it was fitting, therefore, to assign this duty to the exorcist.
I have carried out multifarious exorcisms of demonic contamination down the years; some undoubtedly vampiric and I am still consulted by priests in other denominations due to the unique sub-category of vampirology within demonology being no longer part of their training and syllabus. More often I am contacted by clergy and laity where a suspected contagion arises. Whilst demonic interference is frequently unearthed, classical vampirism less often rears its head. Forms of vampirism can occur without the manifestation having an apparent corporeal presence. When it does have a tangible form it would be regarded by vampirologists as a traditional or classical case.
There are obvious reasons why I would not want to reveal just how many have been encountered by me and my colleagues. It is, of course, more than the recorded encounters and exorcisms in the published account of the Highgate investigation. The scourge of this unearthly phenomenon is by no means vanquished. It presents itself as a manifestation of that demonic legion referred to in Ephesians 6: 12 which we are required to resist in every way we can. This is the struggle that ensued at Highgate all those years ago. It is a permanent struggle for those of us called to cast out such evil.
Avoiding wherever possible the media in all its forms to ensure confidentiality to those who need help and whose help and co-operation is sought has allowed the ministry for dealing with such demonic molestation to become increasingly effective over the decades. Suffice that a world famous case was written about over the last four and a half decades where media intrusion was impossible to prevent. Countless film documentaries have been made about it and there have been televised dramatisations. There would have been no justification in repeating the unavoidable process of media co-operation applicable in the Highgate case over and again. By not discussing subsequent cases and by not exposing private people to a limelight they would certainly not welcome, my colleagues and I have been able to continue to operate with a reputation which precedes us for keeping confidences and not compromising people and places. Decades after that first case was both reported and sensationalised by the media, I am still being asked to discuss it. While remaining open to debating the topic privately, I avoid the particular when it comes to unpublicised incidents and cases; having resolved not to allow investigations in the wake of Highgate to become similarly blighted.
Father David C. Trosch states: "Only Catholic priests who are both legally and morally ordained and are faithful to the teachings of Sacred Scripture, as validly understood through the legitimate moral authority of the Church, and who remain spiritually sound should attempt an exorcism."
In Mark 16: 17, Jesus Christ states: "Believers will drive out demons in My name."
Our Lord confronted Satan in the wilderness. He also cast out demons during His ministry on Earth. Indeed, these comprise the majority of His miracles in the Synoptic Gospels.
How can a Christian, therefore, not recognise the real existence of the Devil and his legion of demons if Christ did and, moreover, instructed us to cast out demons in His name?
The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in its traditional manifestation fully accepts such existence and consequently the requirement of exorcism. This embraces the traditional wing of such denominations as Anglo-Catholicism, Roman Catholicism, Old Catholicism, Eastern Catholicism, Western and Eastern Orthodoxy.
To exorcise means to deliver a person from the presence or influence of evil spirits. That the Devil, within the limits allowed by God, has retained a certain power over men even after the coming of Christ is clearly testified by Holy Scripture and the history of the Church. Jesus drove out demons from the possessed and He bestowed this power upon His apostles and disciples. In the early times of the Christian era many lay persons possessed this power as a charism.
It is in harmony with reason and faith to assume that the Devil has greater power over the unbaptised in consequence of original sin. For this reason, at a very early date, exorcisms were performed repeatedly over the catechumens in preparation for baptism. To perform these exorcisms and, in general, to exorcise persons possessed by or under the influence of evil spirits exorcists were ordained.
The rite speaks of exorcists as spiritual physicians endowed with the power of healing. This may also refer to bodily afflictions caused by the Devil; once the influence of the Devil is broken by the exorcism, the affliction ceases.
The other duties of the exorcist stood in close relation to this principal function of the Order of the Exorcistate. According to the usual interpretation of the instruction read to the ordinands, he was to direct persons under exorcism, and for that reason barred from Holy Communion, when to withdraw. Furthermore, it was his duty at sacred functions to administer the water for the washing of hands to the officiating priest. The latter ceremony symbolises purification from sin, hence a banishing of the influence of the evil spirits; it was fitting, therefore, to assign this duty to the exorcist.
A simple exorcism for priests or laity can be found on my website at this link where I also provide a solemn exorcism (as found in the Rituale Romanum) at this link.
Unless you are familiar and comfortable with Latin, I recommend the vernacular for such exorcism prayers and rituals.
No comments:
Post a Comment