By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM
Although there are millions and millions of good angels, we know only three of them by name, Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael: Michael (Hebrew for “Who is like God?” — Daniel 10:13; 12:1; Jude 9; Rev. 12:7), Gabriel (“Strength of God” — Daniel 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26), and Raphael (“Healing of God” — Tobias 5:4; 12:15). Their feast day is September 29.
Please note that only these three are publicly venerated by name. The Church does not permit the public use of any other angels’ names from apocryphal works or private revelations, such as “Uriel” and others. The neo-pagan New Age movement has adopted apocryphal angels, and Catholics are encouraged to avoid such.
The history of our salvation began with angels doing all sorts of things: It was an angel who announced to Mary that she was to be the Mother of the Redeemer. It was an angel who brought the word to the shepherds that the divine Child was born. It was an angel who informed St. Joseph of the divine Incarnation, and advised him when and where to escape with Mother and Child.
Scripture says, “For He will give His angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91 [90]:11-12). So we would do well in acquiring devotion to the holy angels: God encourages us to do it, and our own interest demands it, because the opposition guys are always on the alert. . . .
Let us now investigate the opposition, the liberal-minded disobedient angels who disdained God’s Law: the devils. The leader of the opposition is variously named in Sacred Scripture. He is called the serpent (Gen. 3:1), Satan (Hebrew, “enemy” — Job 1:6; Mark 1:13), the Devil (Greek “slanderer,” accuser — Wisdom 2:24; Matt. 4:11), the dragon (Rev. 20:2), Beelzebub (a Philistine idol; the word means “lord of the flies” — Luke 11:15 ff.), Lucifer (Latin, “the light bringer” — Isaiah 14:12-15). Originally, the name Lucifer referred primarily to King Nebuchadnezzar: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer…thou saidst in thy heart . . . I will be like the Most High. But yet thou shalt be brought down to hell” (Douay-Rheims version).
He is also known as the Evil One (Matt. 13:19), the father of lies (John 8:44), the prince of this world (John 12:31), the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4), and the tempter (Matt. 4:3). He is a multifaceted, many-named creep, devilishly clever, and the master of deceit. The other angels who followed Satan into rebellion are called devils, demons (Luke 8:33), fallen angels, impure or unclean spirits (Mark 6:7), and other terms.
The Church fathers apply to the Devil the words of Jer. 2:20 “Non serviam” (“I will not serve”) — words which God speaks to the prophet to indicate Israel’s disobedience. And here is precisely what marks the Devil’s action: He will not serve God. And we cooperate with his non serviam every time we sin, because what is sin if not a simple act of disobedience to God’s Law? We say to God: You forbid such and such a thing, but I like it, so I do it. Or: You command me to do such and such a thing, but I don’t like it, so I don’t do it.
This is sin, and that is why Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Sacrament of Confession to humble us into submission to His love, admit our sin, and ask for that forgiveness which He always gives with joy. But sin is always an act against God’s will, an act of disobedience.
There are times when the action of the opposition demons is too much for a person to get rid of, and the help of the Church is needed to expel it from the person. It is called infestation, obsession, or possession, and the cure is called exorcism. That is when the Church authoritatively commands the Evil One in the name of Jesus Christ to leave a person or object. Exorcism banishes the Devil, withdraws people and things from his dominion, and protects against his power.
An exorcism may be public (with an authorized form in a rite), or private. When public, it may be simple (as within the rite of Baptism), or solemn (in case of possession).
Now folks, this is no joke: The reality of diabolical possession and exorcism is clearly set forth in Sacred Scripture. For instance, our Lord questions devils, or at times forbids them to speak; He casts them out and gives His apostles power over them (Matt. 11:18; 12:22f.; Mark 5:2f.; Luke 8:27f.; Acts 16:18; 19:13). The power which Christ gave to His apostles He has given to His Church.
Although the exorcist has power to expel the devil, the possessed person must cooperate with the help furnished by the Church by making a good Confession, by Mass, prayer, use of the sacramentals, and by observance of the Commandments.
In our own day, instances of possession have been proven by abundant evidence. Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of Rome, who has performed thousands of exorcisms, has also written books about the topic. I strongly recommend that you read them! One of the books is called An Exorcist Tells His Story — a life-changing experience (available at www.ignatius.com, or call 1-800-651-1531).
Fr. Amorth explains that a successful exorcism can take minutes or hours, or longer; each case is different. Only a priest lawfully deputed by his bishop may perform an exorcism. It is presumptuous, dangerous, and disobedient for a layman to undertake such a ritual. Lacking authority from the Church to exorcise, he may expose himself to the power of the demon, whom he imitates by disobedience. Simplistic and imprudent laymen who try to exorcise the devil risk putting into practice the old adage, “He went out to steal wool and returned sheared.”
The well-known lengthy prayer of Pope Leo XIII against Satan and the rebellious angels is not for use by the laity. The short prayer of Leo XIII to St. Michael is recommended for general use.
There is one important thing that we should note that Satan cannot do, even in the case of possession: It is to compel any one to commit sin. He may force his victim to do many things that are in themselves sinful, but cannot force him to approve of them. A demon may take possession of the body, but never of the soul. God has placed man’s faculty of free will absolutely beyond the reach of evil spirits. If we misuse it, the fault is ours alone.
Next article: More on the powers of the Devil.
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(Raymond de Souza is an EWTN program host; regional coordinator for Portuguese-speaking countries for Human Life International [HLI]; president of the Sacred Heart Institute, and a member of the Sovereign, Military, and Hospitaller Order of the Knights of Malta. His website is: www.RaymonddeSouza.com.)
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