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| photo courtesy of !Shot by Scott! |
While my two companions and I were seated
inside the small office where I sometimes conduct interviews, a self-assured
woman entered the office accompanied by her father. She was a doctor who had
just finished medicine from one of the top medical schools in the country. I
agreed to meet her since there were enough signs that pointed to a great
probability of extraordinary demonic harassment. An occult practitioner had
warned her not to see me because I was “bad”.
Nevertheless, she made up her mind to see me since no occult practitioner had
yet been able to help her with her problem.
She had been into the occult and had
“duwendes” protecting her. The
problem started when, after completing an important project in her life, she
prayed to God and offered to Him the fruits of her work. After that, paranormal
occurrences started to take place in her home, terrorizing her family. What was
worse, within a short span of time, an alien entity had begun to take over her
body and now she is frightened. Before the meeting, I had already asked
Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales, my bishop, for the faculty to perform an
exorcism. I knew in my heart that I would be needing it.
I greeted the client guardedly. Peering right
into her eyes, I noticed that they were glazed. “This is not a good sign,” I told myself, knowing full well that
the eyes easily make evident what is occurring in the depths of the soul. I
turned to one of my companions in the office, one who is sensitive to spirits,
and I noticed that she seemed sick. Again, not a good sign.
I proceeded to interview the doctor and her
father more thoroughly. She was forthright with her answers and, as the
interview progressed, I also tried to explain to her the probable spiritual
dynamics that were occurring in her life.
I knew that things were not right when the
father, who was not sensitive to the paranormal, told me that he felt the hair
on his body stand. Unknown to me, my sensitive companion started to also feel
the same thing. She told me afterwards that it was around that time that she
also started to “see” huge dark
entities pacing back and forth in the hallway outside the office. There was no
one else on the floor where we were since it was already late in the afternoon.
I decided to end the interview by giving her
some assignments to do. I told her to get rid of all her occult paraphernalia,
bolster her spiritual life and start using the sacramental of the Church. As we
all stood up to call it a day, she asked me to bless the water that they had
brought along. I readily agreed. With my two companions beside me, and she and
her father in front of me, I started the prayer of blessing.
A strong voice suddenly erupted from the
young doctor’s throat. “Stop!” I stopped
the prayer immediately wondering what was wrong. But even before I could lift my
eyes to look at her, my gut was already telling me that something was unusual
with her voice. It sounded like hers but not totally.
As my gaze rose to hers, I realized
that my foreboding had just come true. I was not looking at the eyes of a young
woman. Her eyes were now alien and snake-like, filled with arrogance.
“Stop
that!” she said again.
My mind was reeling at what was
happening, trying to put two and two together. I was caught unprepared. This
was the first time in my life that a demon had spoken directly to me.
The woman then arrogantly crossed
her arms and gave me a look that was telling me, “What will you do now?”
I gulped. My mind was racing for the
right response. I knew that through her stories that she could remain in this
possessed state for more than an hour. Nervously, I grabbed my “exorcism kit” from the table nearby and
quickly pulled out my manual of prayers. I could sense the heavy fear rising in
me like a giant tidal wave about to hit land.
Trembling, I used all my willpower
to calmly leaf through the correct pages where the deliverance prayer was. The
entity eyed me with a piercing gaze as I placed my hand on the woman’s head and
began to mouth the words of my command. Even as I started, I knew that I would
fail; there was so much fear in my heart and so little faith. My words rattled
as they left my lips and my knees wobbled from the strain of trying to remain
focused.
The woman slowly took hold of my
hand that was on top of her head and, in an almost snake-like manner, removed
it. She then moved backwards slowly and very confidently sat on the
soft-cushioned chair just behind her. She folded her arms defiantly and stared
at me. Trying with the best of my ability to remain calm and collected, I again
mouthed the word of my command. The entity at the same time started to
mockingly laugh, voicing out the chilling words, “Is that the best you can do? Priest? You cannot get rid of me! I can
stay here all afternoon!”
It knew that I was afraid of him and
that I do not have the faith to drive him out, my heart silently moaned. My
companions by this time were hiding behind my back since they had no firsthand
experience with possession cases. The father remained immobile and rooted on
his spot.
The entity continued its tirade of
mockery against me. “Why do you do this,
priest? Go back to your mansion! You cannot be happy doing this! You are a rich
man!” It knew my background! This was further parapsychological proof that
an alien entity was at work. I could now sense the very dark and evil presence
all around me. This was one powerful spirit given free reign in the life of
this woman.
“Lord,
what am I to do? Help me!” I called out silently from the depths of my
heart. At that precise moment, I realized my weakness, the answer to why my
prayers of command were ineffective. I did not have faith and the demon knew
this. It also knew that I had fear in my heart. Yes, demons can know the
emotional state of a person by his bodily reactions.
I knew then what I had to do. I had
to draw from within me the faith that could move mountains. Without delay, I
silenced myself and entered into God’s presence. “Lord, grant me the strength I need to bring Your victory in this
deteriorating situation,” I prayed.
In response to this desperate cry
for help, God gave me a feeling of peace and quiet confidence which entered my
heart little by little. I opened my eyes and peered into the eyes of the
sneering entity. I did not approach her but simply extended my hand towards the
young doctor and spoke the words of command with calm authority.
The voice of the entity immediately
changed from one of arrogance to one of anger. “Stop that!” it said. I knew the Lord had joined the battle against
this demon.
As I continued to repeat the prayers
of deliverance with more and more boldness and faith, the demon became totally
uncontrollable in its rage, screaming in hatred and pain. Miraculously, the
body of the possessed doctor could not get up from the chair where she was
seated; she remained rooted on the spot, taking the spiritual bombardment.
With renewed courage, one of my
companions grabbed a bottle of holy water and started to sprinkle its contents
on the woman. But the water did not and could not touch her. Some sort of
invisible shield was protecting her!
I approached the possessed person
and placed my face close to hers to meet her gaze directly. I remembered a
teaching which said that if you do not know the name of the demon, you may
still directly command it by looking into the victim’s eyes, which is usually
where the evil spirit manifests itself most visibly.
The entity avoided my eyes, averting
its gaze by looking at the ceiling. Tears were flowing from the woman’s fearful
eyes. Strangely, my companions later told me, whenever each of them peered at
the woman from their hiding place behind my back, the entity would be eyeing
them diabolically. I told them that this was impossible because I watched the
person closely the whole time that the demon started to get hurt and it never
took its gaze off the ceiling.
As I continued my barrage of
prayers, I kept my eye on the entity as I grabbed my “exorcism kit” with my free hand. I hurriedly grabbed my other
tools for the spiritual warfare: the exorcism crucifix, the holy water, the
exorcised salt, the exorcised oil, The Roman Ritual for Exorcism, some other
prayer pamphlets and a first-class relic of St. Ignatius of Loyola. I scattered
them hastily on the table for easy access. The entity continued to scream with
fear and pain but was obstinate in remaining within the woman. “She is mine! She is mine! I will never
leave!” it screamed.
I held the relic and cupped it in my
hand. Quickly, without the entity seeing it, I placed it on top of the
possessed woman’s head. The screams became louder and deafening as I struggled
to keep this holy object – which tortures and “burns” any spiritual being – in place.
“No!
Stop! Stop! Sit down and let’s talk about this!” it screamed, pleading and
pitiful.
“I
do not dialogue with demons!” I shouted back. “Leave her or I will continue this torture!” I knew at this point
that the demon was weakening since it was now bargaining with me. This time,
when my companion behind me used the holy water, the victim screamed in pain as
though she was being burned. The father, who was crying on one side of the
room, dashed forward to wipe off the holy water from the “burning” arm of his daughter. I firmly grasped his arm and told
him loudly that it was not his daughter who was in pain, but the demon within
her.
He backed off, wavering but still
clutching his handkerchief which he planned to use to wipe off the sacramental.
By this time, I could sense that my energies were fast being depleted due to
the intensity of the emotional, psychological and spiritual struggle. I had to
keep my focus on commanding with faith and authority as well as deflect the
emotional fears and anxieties that the demon was sending my way. We must keep
in mind that when one is a beginner in spiritual warfare, he must have the
discipline to control his mind and thoughts and remain focused since the devil
can harass us with obsessive thoughts during the encounter. Our imagination
must also remain under our control, as well as our feelings, since the devil
can sometimes put images that distract us from the encounter and amplify any
negative emotional openings that we may have.
Throughout the ordeal, the victim
was sometimes aware of what was happening; other times she was not. She felt,
as she related to me later on, that her soul was in one tiny corner of her
being. She also stated later that during this encounter, the spirits which
manifested themselves were more powerful than any she had experienced before.
She was aware that she was snarling and shouting in pain although she herself
experienced no physical pain. Her father also told her that she screamed the
loudest when the exorcism crucifix was placed on her head. She had tried to
fight but her face was contorting badly and her body merely continued to snarl and
growl at me.
My knees now started shaking
uncontrollably due to fatigue and tension although it had been, I believe, just
less than ten minutes since the confrontation started. I then took The Roman
Ritual of Exorcism since I had been given the faculty to perform an exorcism on
this woman. I thumbed hurriedly through its pages while holding the exorcism
crucifix with my free hand. As I mouthed the words in the solemn rite, the high
emotional tension in my body started to inhibit me from forming the words
properly. To my frustration, I got tongue-tied but still did the best that I
could to continue. The screams from the possessed continued unabated, but nor
for long.
My blood turned cold when the voice
that came from the woman said with renewed vigor and power, “She is ours! She is ours! We will never
leave!” An important rule that I had not done because things happened so
fast was to seal the place so that any spirits within the vicinity would not be
able to give support to the entity within the possessed person. Now, the evil
spirit was no longer alone. It had gotten reinforcements to aid it!
I bent down in tired frustration
with my hands on my shaking knees. I knew that I could not keep up this
struggle for long. I then prayed a silent prayer to Mama Mary for her powerful
intercession. “My Mother has never ever
failed me!” I thought.
Suddenly, an inspiration hit me
(thank You, Mother!). This young woman must herself enter into the battle and
tell God that she chooses Him and not the demon! In any exorcism, the possessed
person must renounce the devil as much as he can, with the freedom remaining in
him, especially if he has been involved with satanic activities. Then he must
choose God with as much passion as he can muster. This would then release any “right” the devil has over the person.
I took the woman’s hands and placed
the exorcism crucifix into them. I told her to loudly say the words, “Jesus, I love You!” I was hoping
against hope that wherever her consciousness was imprisoned in, she could still
hear my words. Her father and my two companions joined their voices with mine
in telling her to call on Jesus. The young woman’s consciousness suddenly
emerged and came into the foreground and she immediately started to mouth the
words, “Jesus, I love you.” As she
tried to repeat these words a second time, her mouth froze at the beginning of
the word Jesus. She couldn’t seem to continue. I could see the struggle in her
pitiful face as she tried unsuccessfully to say the Name of Jesus while gazing
directly at the crucifix she was clutching. The spirit was preventing her from
speaking! She seemed like an infant desperately trying to speak its first
words. The whole group then gathered around her encouraging her to say the Name
of Jesus and to fight whatever was holding her in bondage.
As she struggled with almost
superhuman effort, my mind was silently praying “Dear God, please help us. Please help her!”
Suddenly, the words burst forth from
her lips. “Jesus! Jesus! I love You, Jesus!”
As she repeated these words over and over again, I saw her tearful and
sweat-filled face beaming and now at peace. She held the crucifix gently and
tenderly kissed it.
“She
is back,” I told myself, “The demons
have departed! Thank You, Dear God! Thank You!”
My knees then gave way at that
precise moment and I flopped down into a nearby seat. “The Lord truly came at the perfect moment,” I reflected, “I would have collapsed from exhaustion if
the struggle continued any longer.” My companions were also visibly drained
and shaken by the experience but relieved as I was that the battle was over.
The victory was again the Lord’s!
Although we were rejoicing, I knew
that the war was far from over.
Fr. Jose Francisco C. Syquia (2006). Exorcism - Encounters with the Paranormal and the Occult. Shepherd’s Voice Publications, Inc.
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