"The Devil Is Real"

I was skeptical about whether the exorcisms I performed were doing anything--until an unseen force grabbed my hand.

BY: the Rev. Lloyd Prator

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A few words about how exorcism works in my church: If you believe that you need an exorcism, you do not simply look in some directory under “E” and find the service provider you need. The Episcopal Church’s official teaching on the subject requires that a person suffering from what she believes to be demonic possession must present her case to her own priest, who will lay the matter before the Bishop. The Bishop and the local priest will then determine that there are no physical or emotional causes for the symptoms. In this case, the young woman had a thorough physical examination and ongoing psychiatric analysis.

I remember first meeting the young family and feeling my heart stirred by the wife's pain. She was desperate and was turning to me and the Bishop. I wanted to help. Little did I know how it was going to turn out, but I wanted to do something.

I began going to the family's house every week or so. As I began to minister to the couple, I became increasingly uneasy. I could smell the foul, stale odors in their home. When they explained the strange telephone calls, and reported that the only identifiable word they could discern was something which sounded very much like a Hebrew word for the "realm of death," my hair rose. I had started the exorcisms skeptical of the world of evil spirits, but that world seemed to be knocking on my door.

I saw some of the welts on the young woman's skin, I experienced the odd disparities of heat and cold in their home (an exceptionally cold room in a non-airconditioned home on a hot day), and, most of all, I saw the profound fear in the young couple. The husband was a physicist, a man used to rational analysis, intellectual inquiry, and scientific methods. Yet he was terrified of what was happening to his young wife--and, potentially, to his child. I had little evidence of the reality of these evil spirits, but abundant evidence of their effects. It was that which led me to continue.

I performed exorcisms of their house and of the woman herself. I read prayers over the woman to drive out the spirit, accompanying the words with liturgical gestures. At a number of points in the liturgy, the priest must exhale very deeply, probably imitating the divine breath that gives life in the Genesis story. I did this, and made signs of the cross (a symbol of conquering evil) over the woman. I sprinkled baptismal water on her and on the places being exorcised: water is a general symbol of cleansing, and for Christians, it is a sign of the new life imparted in baptism. In using water, touch, and gesture, it became clear to me that exorcism is a physical event. Just as evil permeates the physical world, God uses physical objects to relieve people from possession by evil spirits.

In addition to the rites of exorcism, I used other liturgies from our tradition. I anointed the young women for healing, and also celebrated the Eucharist in their home from time to time.

To a certain extent, this exorcism was done in community, as most should be. The materials I read suggested that the exorcist have a prayer partner who would agree to pray for him and for the one being exorcised at the time the rite was being done. I always used one of my Church Wardens (lay leader of the parish) as a prayer partner. I also received support and direction from some Roman Catholic clergy. I felt sustained by a community of faith.

Something grabbed my hand, trying to prevent me from completing the cross...
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