The press this morning was announcing that the Pope performed an exorcism. Here is the video footage that was shown on Italian television of something that happened after Mass on Pentecost Sunday. The Pope prayed over a number of people who were sick, including this young man:
This is certainly not an exorcism in the true sense, which would require that the Pope say some of the official prayers of exorcism. At the very least, you cannot call something an exorcism unless there was the command against the demon, as St. Paul did in Acts 16:18. It does not seem that the Pope said anything, only that he prayed.
I agree with the Vatican press which denied that this was an exorcism.
The Italian language commentary actually says that this was a prayer of liberation, and it then smudges the difference between a prayer of liberation and an exorcism. The Italian said, “È stata una preghiera di liberazione, o un vero e proprio esorcismo” – in other words, “This was a prayer of liberation, or an actual, real exorcism.” The problem with that statement is that a prayer of liberation is not an actual, real exorcism, but something less powerful. I have no complaint with the claim that the Pope prayer a prayer of liberation for the man.
It is possible that the young man was (is) possessed. The reaction coming out of the man is radically different from anything you would expect an ordinary person to do, but it is within the range of something a demon might do if he were feeling threatened:
If a young man had this reaction when being prayed over, I would certainly refer him to an exorcist for a full evaluation. If you do think the boy looks troubled by something, please pray for him, because even under the care of an exorcist it would be a long journey before he is free.
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Easter Season, Pentecost. When our school caught fire and burned last year, it was a terrible tragedy. But the Holy Spirit was moving in that fire to bring something bright, new, and so much better. The Spirit continues to work in the Church to bring unity, to purify us, and to speak to us in every language. The Spirit also moves people to step forward to serve the people of God in special ways – Priests, Deacons, Lay Ministers. The Spirit is moving in their lives and ours. Come, Holy Spirit! (21 May 2013)
I do not claim that Angelina Jolie’s announcement that she had a double mastectomy is the most important story of the week. An excellent commentary on this has been published in On The Square over at First Things, so I am not going to duplicate what she had said.
To put the matter very simply, the decision to cut off a healthy part of your body is not acceptable unless it is absolutely necessary. Doctors could not (and did not) tell Ms. Jolie that it was absolutely certain that she would get breast cancer: they only said that she had a high risk of getting breast cancer. While I totally appreciate Angelina Jolie’s desire to be there for her children and spare them, and herself, from the ravages of cancer, there are a number of far less damaging ways to reduce the risk of cancer. Continue reading »
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Easter, Ascension of the Lord. God takes Jesus up into heaven and He prepares to send us a new gift: the Holy Spirit. We cannot see the Holy Spirit but we can see the effects of the Spirit. The Spirit is the Lord and giver of life; He produces the one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church; He gives us the Resurrection of the dead and life everlasting. Just like the Holy Spirit, mothers work in the background for the success of others. They often put in long and thankless hours so that others can succeed. Our mothers want what is best for us and we should perhaps listen a little more to what they say. We should also listen to the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who makes us fruitful, the Spirit who wants us to be fully alive, and the Spirit who prepares us to “get on the bus” when God the Father comes for each of us. Let us be grateful for mothers. Let us be grateful for the Holy Spirit.
(13 May 2013)
One of the prayers of the Mass that I never understood very well was the prayer that goes like this:
grant that we, who are nourished
by the Body and Blood of your Son
and filled with his Holy Spirit,
may become one body, one spirit in Christ.
It is easy for me to understand the first part of this prayer, about becoming one Body in Christ. We talk about the Church being the Mystical Body, and it is not hard to imagine each Christian being like a little living cell in the great body of Christ. Just as every little cell in the human body is kept alive by the nutrients in the blood stream, so every cell in the Body of Christ is kept alive by the lifeblood flowing from Christ.
What I did not understand in this prayer was the idea that we should become “one spirit in Christ.”
Continue reading »
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Easter, 6th Sunday. Does a Christian have to be circumcised and observe the Mosaic law? The Holy Spirit inspired the Church to answer: No. At Baptism we were made members of God’s covenant. We have to be faithful to Jesus, and the Mosaic Law is not necessary to staying faithful to Jesus.
The Spirit continues to work in the Church to apply the message of Jesus to the world of today. The teachings of the Church help us to know what it means to be faithful to Jesus here and now. Peace comes from knowing “whose” we are: We belong to God, and God belongs to us. He will always be faithful to us. Will we remain faithful to Him? (5 May 2013)
The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help recently received a new statue of Mary as she appeared to the visionary, Adele Brise in 1859.
The statue reflects the way Adele described Our Blessed Mother, as having golden hair and a white dress tied with a yellow sash.
It was unveiled on Wednesday, May 1st.
See more photos from The Compass.
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Easter, 5th Sunday. The Bible tells the story of the romance between God and His people. In the beginning God creates a paradise out of nothing. But then we sin and lose friendship with God. God does not give up. He sends His Son to forgive our sins and lead us to the Promised Land. The book of Revelation tells us how the story ends: a New Creation and union with God.
Through Jesus, God reveals the mystery of human nature. In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches his apostles that they must lay down their lives for one another. We must sacrifice ourselves for the good of others. This is what makes us part of God’s holy people and allows us to pass safely through the plagues into the paradise prepared for us. If we want to truly be His disciples, we must love one another as Christ has loved us. (29 Apr 2013)
I am consistently impressed with Simcha Fisher’s blog and she has a great post on Ten things to do instead of drowning in the daily news.
I find my life is much happier and more peaceful when I don’t watch or read the news. I usually just skim the headlines to see if there is anything I really need to know (there rarely is) and then go over to News.va to see if the Pope said anything inspiring (he usually does).
Simcha Fisher really highly recommends cleaning; any respectable housewife (Simcha included) would probably not agree that my cleaning actually counts as cleaning. I just make the dirt less conspicuous.
I totally agree with her general point. Focusing on one thing that we can actually make better – no matter how small it is – is one hundred thousand times better than focusing on twenty things that we are powerless to change.
That being said, I need to go straighten up this room. +
Twelve Lessons on the Catholic Faith – by Fr. Benjamin Sember
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