This husband and wife team are active in their faith, and serve on a prayer team to accompany the exorcist of their diocese.
We have just overcome a pandemic – one that paralyzed the life of the entire planet. We stopped celebrating birthdays and family gatherings, and we had to halt important and urgent matters like medical procedures, chemotherapy treatments, etc. -- services that many people needed in order to get well and regain control of their lives.
Today we’re going to talk about one among these services that had to stop in its tracks because of the pandemic: exorcisms.
I had the opportunity to contact a couple who are part of a prayer team who accompany the exorcist of a Spanish diocese. Here we refer to them as "G" and "A."
Aleteia: Good morning, G and A! Thank you for granting this interview. We’re very interested in learning how the activity of the ministry of exorcism was carried out in your diocese during the three hardest months of the pandemic.
G: The truth is that during the three months of confinement during the pandemic we weren’t able to visit any of the people who had requested our services. We continued to pray for them, although not in person.
Aleteia: Before the pandemic, how often did the people who needed these services meet with you?
G: In normal situations, one long session a week is ideal, although it can be done every two weeks.
"Nothing like the movies"
G: As a precaution, when we were able to start going out and were able to continue with our ministry, we reduced to smaller groups the number of people who would pray, and we’d alternate. I’d also like to point out that, in our diocese, the house the bishopric has given to us, dedicated exclusively to this ministry, is a very cheerful house. It’s very luminous, and has a waiting room, a chapel, and a library, and it oozes holiness everywhere. The Blessed Sacrament is always exposed during the sessions. It has nothing to do with the gloomy and macabre aspect of the places that usually appear in the movies. It’s a really beautiful chapel.
Aleteia: Could we say that Satan, during the pandemic, attacked this ministry in particular?
G: During the pandemic, Satan didn’t only prey on people in need of this ministry, but on everyone: there were no funerals, no Masses, no confessions, etc.
Aleteia: How does an "ordinary" Catholic couple come to participate in their diocese’s exorcisms?
G: In our case, we could say that it was "by surprise." We came to this diocese providentially because of my husband's work, and we offered to help out in the parish. From there they recruited us: they were looking for people with a life of faith to help in this ministry. At first they offered it to other people, but when they heard the word "exorcist" they quickly said “no.” We had always admired people who dealt with this matter, but I never thought we could end up in this position ourselves.
Scary at first
G: At first, I was a little scared. I felt too small for this battle. But my husband was enthusiastic, and I thought, "Why not?" The fact is that we, like all Christians, fight the devil every day. We fight against thoughts and temptations provoked by the devil, and sometimes we fall into them, and we become mired in sadness or depression, and we have to fight against it. Being on the exorcism team is another way of fighting him too.
A: That's right. If you engage in dialogue with him, he dresses himself up, and he disguises himself as your best friend, until you stumble. Then, he makes you feel like you’re worthless ... For us, the fact of belonging to the Neocatechumenal Way prepared us to have a balanced understanding of the topic of the devil.
Aleteia: Why do you think that it’s been so easy for the devil to become invisible and to make it happen that nobody believes in him anymore?
G: This has been a gradual process. Satan, the prince of darkness, moves best when hidden in the dark. But there comes a moment when there’s so much that’s hidden that it begins to come to light. And we can see it: on TikTok, on Youtube, within the reach of very young children. Satanism is shown as something good and positive.
A: It's the devil's great game. Nobody believes in him anymore. Similarly, many Christians don’t believe that human beings can be filled with the Holy Spirit. Besides, it has been especially easy to disappear in a society where truth has been completely relativized. People no longer believe that good and evil exist.
G: We Christians have ceased to be sentinels, and we’ve left the wall without defenses. We’ve stopped talking about him, about death. We’ve been distancing this topic from our lives. I would recommend being attentive; he’ll always be smarter than we are.
Aleteia: Has participating in this ministry marked a “before and after” for you?
G: Yes, but there’s also a “before and after” regarding our work with Caritas. Perhaps what has impressed me the most is the action of the Church: it’s a mother that receives believers and non-believers alike in this service. The Church takes care of everyone, with the same sensitivity, no matter where they come from.
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A: For me, it’s an experience that strengthens our faith: first, because we see that the devil has already lost the battle. We realize that the devil is defeated, but that he’s going to try to drag with him as many souls as he can.
"The devil is very much afraid of the Virgin Mary"
Besides, we have been able to verify that he is very much afraid of the Virgin Mary: when faced with her, he runs like a chicken.
G: At some moments when the action of a demon on a person is very strong, we interrupt the ritual and pray a mystery of the Rosary, which makes the person calm down, and then we can continue with the ritual.
Aleteia: Thank you, G and R for giving your time, along with so many other people, to support this ministry. Unfortunately, although some want to look the other way, it’s still very necessary. May you never lack the assistance of St. Michael, and may the mantle of the Blessed Virgin protect you from the enemy. Thank you for defending that part of the wall.
