Duel with dark forces
In the movies, Catholic priests cast out the Devil with holy water and the crucifix. In real life, it is the power of prayer and the purity of the priest that drive out demons, MAJORIE CHIEW learns.
THE Catholic priest holds up a cross and chants prayers to drive out the evil spirits. There may be blood-curdling screams, incessant wailing or a change in the voice of the possessed. One can feel the trembling and the bad vibes.
This chilling scenario is the stuff of Hollywood horror flicks.
While horror movies are full of drama, real-life exorcism sessions can be even more frightening. Those who bear witness to deliverance sessions will testify that evil spirits are not a figment of the imagination; priests have engaged in battles with forces of evil.
Father Anthony Thomas of Convent of Sacred Heart in Kuala Lumpur has performed countless deliverance sessions. Here he shares three of the more frightening cases, two of which were handled by his fellow priests:
“A young sportsman who was possessed turned up for deliverance. We prayed over him and when it was exactly midnight, this man became violent. His complexion changed to bluish and he looked rather frightening. He was filled with extraordinary strength; it took eight people to pin him down. The deliverance session lasted until 3am and after the man had calmed down, the team left. The next day, we continued with our deliverance session and managed to cast out the evil spirits.
“There was another puzzling case involving three boys. The priest held a cross against the chest of one boy and started praying. Suddenly the cross flew out of his hand, hit the ceiling and fell on the floor. In another incident, the priest was praying over the three boys when one of them excused himself to go to the toilet. As he entered the toilet, a pail rose from the ground and floated high above before crashing on the floor.
“In another deliverance session, a soft-spoken girl became violet and screamed in an old man’s voice. She was grinding her teeth, uttering dirty words and cursing God,” recalls Father Thomas.
What is a deliverance session like, for those who are witnessing it for the first time?
For Claire (not her real name), a Catholic, it was a frightful experience. It happened last year during a praise and worship session. She was part of a prayer group of 10.
“During prayers, a girl who was in her 20s suddenly swung her hand uncontrollably in a circular motion. When she could not stop, she told the prayer leader about it. Soon after she slapped the prayer leader’s wife, and fell on the floor wriggling and screaming in a gruff and hoarse voice. She was coughing and retching,” recalls Claire.
“When a Bible was brought close to her, she screamed: ‘I hate Him.’ The group later went to search the girl’s room and found a talisman and a piece of yellow paper which they burnt. The girl was screaming away all this while. Finally the prayer leader advised her to pray and eventually the spirit left her.”
Claire’s sister also related her experience at a deliverance session several years ago: “A woman who was possessed started screaming when the priest prayed over her. She spoke in different voices. The woman finally calmed down and the priest succeeded in commanding the spirits to leave her. He later learnt that she was possessed by seven different spirits.”
Rites of exorcism
We often hear the terms “deliverance” and “exorcism” among Christians. Is there a difference between the two?
Father Thomas explains that the practice of deliverance and exorcism by Christians are one and the same. “Deliverance means delivering a person from the evil one; exorcism means praying over a person to get the evil one to go away,” he says.
“When a person claims to be possessed, the priest needs to distinguish whether it is a genuine case. Even a mad person can acquire great strength but it is not necessarily the devil at work.”
What are the tell-tale signs of demon possession?
Violent behaviour, grinding of teeth, utterance of obscenities, cursing God, and a change in the person’s voice, according to Father Thomas.
“Both the Protestants and the Catholics pray for deliverance using the name of Jesus. That is enough to force the evil one to leave,” he says.
“The archbishop has to give his approval for deliverance involving evil possession and then picks a priest to perform it. The priest has to be a very holy man. The possessed person would be informed about this and the archbishop would also send a letter to the priest chosen for the job. The priest has to fast and pray before the deliverance,” explains Father Thomas.
“During deliverance, the priest rounds up a team of holy Catholics and they pray together. During deliverance we praise God and evil cannot stand that.”
The Catholics also use holy water (water that has been prayed over). “The holy water is not absolutely necessary; likewise, the wooden cross. It is a useful visual aid, though,” he adds.
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