Driving Out Demons

We don’t like to talk about demons. When is the last time you brought up the subject of evil spirits at home with your family or at work with your colleagues? Have you ever heard a homily about demons, even when they appear in the Scripture passage at Mass?

 

This is not to say that we are not fascinated by the subject. The long lines at horror films and the mega sales of ghost and occult stories show an appetite in our culture for exploring what is dark, hidden, forbidden and frightening.

 

I thought of this the other day when demons played a prominent role in the weekday Gospel reading.  In the first chapter of his Gospel, Mark describes the early public ministry of Jesus: Simon Peter’s mother-in-law is sick and Jesus “grasped her hand and helped her up, and the fever left her.” When news of this healing spread, the whole town flocked to the house and “brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.” Jesus cured the sick and “he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him” (Mark 1:29-39).

 

Every once in a while a word or phrase in the Bible jumps up and grabs your attention, as though you had never come across it before. These words hit me: “not permitting them to speak.” There has been much written and said about why Jesus did not want the demons to speak; basically, he didn’t want his identity and ministry to be revealed yet. But that’s not what intrigued me about those words.

 

What struck me was the fact that these were really demons – evil spiritual beings with an identity and a voice. You see, I had been educated in the modern skeptical tradition, by Catholic scholars who thought themselves smarter than the tradition of the Church. I had been told that the demons in Scripture were not really personal beings; they were really manifestations of some sort of psychological illness that people at the time did not understand. People who were thought to have demons really had epilepsy or some sort of psychosis, and Jesus healed them not by driving out these demons, but by affirming their humanity and reintroducing them to the human community.

 

I never really bought this explanation, but there seemed to be some truth in this way of reading Scripture. After all, the evangelists wrote their Gospels in the language of the time, using the idioms and understandings of their readers to communicate a deeper spiritual message; just as the Genesis authors used the concept of “days” to describe the creation of the heavens and the earth – the message being that God is the Lord of all manner of time, matter and beings.

 

Yet this phrase in Mark’s Gospel, “not permitting them to speak,” stuck in my mind. Mark did not write that Jesus forbade the afflicted persons to speak; Jesus forbade the demons to speak. Once separated from the possessed, these demons had a voice of their own, and a will and a personality of their own – they knew Jesus and he knew them. Clearly, the Gospel is not describing a psychological illness or epileptic siege. These are demons.

 

Exorcists say that demonic possession can often accompany mental illness, and mental illness can often give the appearance of possession or “obsession” by demons. So they must always rule out physical and psychological causes before deciding that demons are truly involved in the life of a troubled person. But they also are clear that demonic possession does occur. Demons are real. They are personal, individual spiritual beings who are smarter than humans and intend to do us harm.

 

I think we all know or suspect this fact. Demons are more than things that “go bump in the night.” A friend of mine recalls an exorcist saying: People may scoff at the existence of demons or the devil, but when they see a possessed person walking on the ceiling, they tend to believe.

 

I write this not to scare anyone, but to wake us all up to the reality of this evil. Demons, of course, have no direct power of us, and we can combat them through prayer, sacraments and the power of the name of Jesus Christ and his Precious Blood. God’s love and mercy expressed through his Church is stronger than even the devil himself, who is the biggest loser of all time.

 

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle!

Comments

[Tom Perez]

I certainly believe Satan sends evil spirits to attempt to torment us and lead us astray. I once heard a priest on Relevant Radio talk about how frequently we hear of someone's ailment, either physical or mental, for which no cuase or diagnosis can be given. He said for many it is the case that they are being tormented by Satan's demons, and that once this is understood, the evil, and the related ailment, can be removed through prayer. He explained that whereas most relate the word "exorcism" to what is seen in movies, simple exorcism prayers can be used on a daily basis to ward evil from ourselves and others. I often say the Prayer to St. Michael when I feel myself overcome by temptation. As a personal example, for three straight nights my 3-year old woke up in the middle of the night and cried inconsolably. On the third night, after trying for more than an hour to calm her down I finally fell to me knees and prayed aloud for the evil that tormented her to leave her. I not only asked for God's help, but directly ordered Satan to leave and stated that he was not welcome in my house. So as not to scare my daughter, I said things like "Claire is a good girl and loves Jesus, you do not have power over her, leave her now, you are not welcome." Within about a minute of starting my daughter not only stopped crying but actually got out of her bed, stood next to me, and started repeating what I was saying about her being a good girl. I picked her up, put her in bed, and she soon was back asleep and did not wake up the rest of the night. My wife was a little concerned when I told her what I had done, but I told her that Satan is constantly sending his evil spirits to attack all of the faithful and not to take it as a sign of anything wrong with our daughter.

[Dave Rohde]

This is a very good entry; well written & well done. Thanks!

[M. Liccione]

I've shared this on my FB wall. Thanks.

[Rick Smith]

Brian, Oddly enough I was just talking to a co worker about demons last night. He was watching one of those ghost hunter shows and I was explaining to him I don't believe in ghosts but I did believe demons could imitate what ever they wanted to and use that to lead people astray. That is just my own thoughts and not based on any Church teaching. Any way nice article. Take care and God bless.

[Jamie McAdams]

I think it's important to not downplay the existence of demons because it helps us to better face them and combat them. They may not personify themselves as much as they do in a possessed person but I think we all face them in some form or another.

[Yaholo H]

Oh yeah, they're real. But you are also right, they have no power over those who have the Holy Spirit. Deception is their only weapon. Sadly, due to lack of education, deception has become an effective tool they use against us, when otherwise they would have no power at all.