The 1614 Roman Ritual Rite of Exorcism: Lesson 1

What I am endeavoring to do in this series of Lessons is to present the actual Rite of Exorcism, as contained within the 1614 Roman Ritual 1952 version, in its various components (instructions, prayers, rites, invocations, and scriptures, etc.) in the order that they come in. My purpose in doing so is simply; first, so that in doing so I may gain - as a demonologist who is a Roman Catholic - a greater understanding and appreciation for the Rite (one of the best ways I personally learn and study is to break down, in written form, such a subject. Be aware that this Rite, though it still may be used upon gaining special permission by the local Bishop, is NOT the current Rite of Exorcism. The official Rite of Exorcism now in place is the 1998 Rite. I will be placing the Lessons on it online in the near future. There are some changes in form and style, but I think it is still very effective - according to what I am hearing from a mandated exorcist I am in contact with in the United States.
 
Something happens in this process that time has proven works for me, and I am able to retain much of it later. Such a practice is an excellent learning tool, at least for me); and secondly, that the reader will gain the benefit of this breakdown and the comments I make on whatever I am led to make comments on. Part of this process, as I work through the Rite line by line, involves being prompted (perhaps by the Holy Spirit or my own curiosity) to pause and do research on a particular thing. Such "chasing down side avenues and alleys" is indeed time consuming, but isn't that what private study is for, and indeed what makes for such a rich learning experience? One can go wherever the winds of the adventure of learning take you! I have no idea, at this outset, of how many separate lessons it will take for me to get through the entire Rite, but, that's part of the fun and mystery of it all. Below is Lesson One.

The 1614 Roman Ritual: Official Rite of Exorcism of the Roman Catholic Church

- A Summary What the Rite Contains -

Lesson 1A

INTRODUCTION

First, comes eight pages of Introduction, which is a historical, theological and biblical summary of the Roman Catholic Church’s position on exorcism and its causes, and Christ’s power over Satan. These eight pages are remarkable reading for the Christian, especially a Roman Catholic demonologist, and should be studied copiously. I would even suggest that these eight pages be broken down by the discerning and humble demonologist in such a way that helps him completely understand every aspect of these pages, including the theological, Christological, and historical aspects of the Church’s position on exorcism. This section also includes practical considerations and covers such items as the piety and characteristics of the priest who should be selected to conduct such a rite. This introduction is a very rich section of the Roman Ritual, and the importance for the demonologist to be very familiar with it cannot be overstated. [At some point I will do a Lesson on this Introduction, and it will be entitled Lesson 1B.]

NORMS

These are twenty-one “norms” or rules which must be followed and much attention given to by the priest when he conducts the exorcism. [At some point I will do a Lesson on these norms or rules, and it will be entitled Lesson 1C.]

THE RITE OF EXORCISM

The rite of exorcism begins, but first states what the Priest is supposed to do in preparation for the rite. I have placed a summary (paraphrase) of what the Rite lists in bold, and then give my personal remarks, notes, and commentary - in standard non-bold font - on whatever I have listed:

1. Go to Confession; or, at least elicit an act of contrition

2. Offer the holy Sacrifice of the Mass if it is convenient to do so

At first glance, these two things seem a bit strange or odd. However, upon reflection they make a lot of sense. What I find very interesting in these first two preparatory acts is that the Church seems to call upon the priest to act in his priestly role just before he conducts an exorcism. This alludes to the fact that all of the weight of the universal Church’s authority is bestowed upon the priest while he is conducting this rite. So, acting as a confessor and providing the Sacrifice of the Mass – the Eucharist – are both extremely powerful. There is no doubt that the freshness of having been involved in these sacraments strengthens and further validates the priest, in many ways, for what he is about to do in the exorcism. In effect, these acts bring him freshly up-to-date, if you will, with his priestly office – both in right (authority) and might (power). In conducting both, the priest also asks for forgiveness of his own sins and partakes of the Eucharist – the body and blood of Christ. Freshly forgiven and fed, if you will, he has properly prepared for that which will sustain him in battle. In short, these two acts of preparation reinforce the Priests authority and power in his office as a priest - a mediator.

3. To implore God’s help in devout prayer

4. Wear the surplice and purple stole

A word of commentary on these two items: these taken together, are the source of the priest’s authority and power (might and right) – the Church and our triune God. In prayer, the priest invokes God and petitions Him for His help in this matter. It is God who will act in power in this matter if Satan is to be driven away. Likewise, in donning the surplice and purple stole – the vestments of his priestly office – the priest is acting as a rightful representative of Christ in conducting the rite. The surplice and purple stole cover the clothes of the priest in a symbolic way that says the priest himself, as a mere man, is not doing this in and of his own authority and power (rite and might). It should also be noted that while the rules (norms) above as well as the introduction both made clear that the priest chosen for such work should be pious, humble and prudent and have displayed a truly and genuine holy life, that he is still not acting in and of himself. This is called ex opera operato, meaning that the exorcism, just as with the ministry of the sacraments, operates independently of the worthiness of the minister. The holiness of the priest is helpful but is not necessary. Having said this, the worst of it may be that in the case of a priest who is not pious or holy, the exorcism may take longer. So, ideally, the representative of Christ chosen for this rite would indeed be virtuous and holy, and would indeed make for a more potent authority and power during the exorcism. A “bad” cop may still properly arrest a perpetrator of a crime, but of course how much better it is if the man in the uniform and with the badge who is representing society, law, and order, is truly a “good” cop. To add to what I said in concluding the section on 1 and 2 above: In short, these two acts of preparation reinforce the Priests authority and power in his office as a priest - a mediator - and display and reinforce the source of his authority and power - which are Christ and the Church.

5. He places the person possessed before him, in bonds if it is deemed necessary for the safety of both the person possessed (to keep him or her from harming themselves or others who are present.)

This is simply a practical measure no doubt learned from centuries of practical experience in dealing with such individuals.

6. The Priest traces the sign of the cross over the possessed, over himself, and over any bystanders.

7. He next sprinkles them with Holy Water.

8. Kneeling down, the priest prays the Litany of the Saints.

[The Litany of the Saints may be skipped, and often is. Remember, the priest has great latitude in choosing the various parts contained within the Rite itself, with the most important being the actual exorcism itself – commanding the demon or demons to leave the possessed, which is “the oath of binding” (what "exorcism" literally means) that the Priest possesses through the succession of Apostolic authority given the Apostles by Christ – the binding and loosing that is such a central part of Roman Catholic doctrine. This doctrine, and the corresponding authority and power it gives the bishops and the priests, deserves a Lesson in and of itself as it is, as I mentioned, a cornerstone doctrine of the Catholic Church.]

This is where this first teaching will end, and I will pick up the components of the Ritual with the next lesson. In the next lesson however, I want to expound a bit on numbers 6 and 7 above. I want to do this because I want people to understand the profound meaning and importance (and authority and power) of that simple act of The Sign of the Cross. It is extremely powerful and demons hate it. Likewise, I also want to give some background and meaning to the power of Holy Water, and why demons are repelled by it as well.



Angels: Lesson 1

VOCABULARY - A couple of terms to become familiar with:

 

Angelophany: the actual appearance of an angel to man; the appearance to man, in visible form, of angels.

 

Theophany: the visible manifestation of a deity to a human, a divine manifestation.

ANGLES ARE CREATED BEINGS

Angels were created by a divine act of God.

Both the existence and the creation of the angels are dogmas of faith of the Roman Catholic Church. We believe them to be the first creatures (created beings) ever in the universe, and as such, the Angels were the first revelation of the supreme goodness of God and of his transcendent beauty. Even though they are part of the created order of the universe, they really constitute a world unto themselves – a middle realm, which we will discuss a bit further down.

That Angels exist and were created by God is an article of faith which was firmly established in Scripture and Tradition, and clearly expressed in Christian doctrine from the beginning and affirmed throughout. The Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 stated that God “by his almighty power created together in the beginning of time both creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal, namely the angelic and the earthly…”

The specific Person of the Godhead who created the angels was the Second Person of the Holy Trinity – the Son. Speaking of Christ Colossians 1:15-17 reads, “He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

So, we believe God created two orders of rational, created beings:

            1) Heavenly “purely” spiritual beings – angels.

            2) Earthly, partly material, partly spiritual beings – man.

WHEN WERE THEY CREATED?

We do not know the exact time when the angels were created. There are a couple of different schools of thought on when they came into being.

School 1:

Many of the Church fathers believe as very probable they were created long before the material world. Their reasoning is as follows:

            1) They were already distinguished as good angels and fallen angels on man’s first appearance on Earth (Genesis 3:1; 3:24).

            2) It does not seem likely that God, who created this world for His own glory, would have no created intelligences to witness the awe-inspiring act of its making.

            3) Indeed recall God asks Job in 38:4, 7, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth…when all the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

This opinion is expressed in the Constitutions of the Apostles, in the Liturgy of the Mass, called Clementina: “By Him [Thy only begotten Son] didst Thou make, before all things, the Cherubim and the Seraphim, the Aeons and the Hosts, the Powers and Authorities, Principalities and Thrones, the Archangels and Angels. And after all these, didst Thou make the visible world by Him, and all the things that are therein.” And in St. Ambrose: “Even though the Angels, the Dominations and the Powers had a beginning, they were already there when this world was made.” Hexaemeron, I, 5, 19. The same opinion is defended by St. Jerome (Super Epist. Ad Titum, I), St. John Damascene (De Fide Orthodoxa, III, 3) and others.

Summary:

So, in summary, the angels were created into existence by God, and there was a time when angels did not exist – like all the other creatures. We don’t know exactly when they were created, but we do know it was before mankind (Adam and Eve) – we just don’t know how long before our ancestral parents the angels were created.

NUMBER: HOW MANY ARE THERE?

We do not know exactly how many angels were created, but we do know that the number is staggering…billions and billions of them. Although we do not know the exact number, the number is finite. Since they were created, there has not been any added nor taken away. There are no more angels today than there was when they were first created at the beginning of time. They filled the heavens from the start, and their number was complete from the beginning. Their spiritual nature, just like our human soul, cannot be produced except by the divine act of creation, with the difference that the human soul is created only in the course of time, when it is needed to inform a human body at the time of generation.

As for the number of fallen angels, we also do not have a precise count. We only have a ratio, or proportion, which is one of every three. The scriptures state that, “Behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his head seven diadems; and his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth.” Apocalypse 12:3ff.

Where Do Souls Go When They Die: 53 Miles West of Venus?

The infamous B52’s (no, not the bomber) had a song on one of their first albums entitled, “53 Miles West of Venus.” Frankly, it’s not much of a song, even though I liked it. As a tune, it is raw but simple rock-n-roll, a very basic example of the early B52's punk genre. It is mainly an instrumental, and the only lyric in the song is that of the title, “fifty-three miles west of Venus.”  Interestingly, I often think of that song when I hear people talking about human spirits – the spirits of the human dead. I’ve even begun to use that concept - of being fifty-three miles west of Venus - in my lectures and teaching on the subject of the afterlife, as an object lesson for the mistake that I believe many make: that of mistaking “state” with “place.”

                       

As human beings born of and into a material-physical world, we find it very difficult to get away from thinking of things in terms of physicality. When it comes to thinking about spirits of the human dead, so often we think that their soul leaves their body and goes “some place.” Most often, in the culture I grew up and now reside in once again (after many travels to far off places), people think grandma died and “went to heaven” and is walking around there with others. They may think of the unblessed dead (say, perhaps Hitler and Stalin), as having died and now are in hell, burning away. Most, not being Catholic, only have a two-tiered conception of the afterlife, and do not include within their view, the “place” of purgatory - the third rail of the afterlife. This was how I grew up thinking.

I no longer believe in such a concept.

I also have come to understand such a concept is NOT rooted in scripture or Christianity, and is especially not rooted or sourced in Catholic (orthodox) Christianity. It is rather a concept concocted from a variety of sources and mixed together. But, that is an entirely different post for another day (the influences of hyper-science, materialism, the Enlightenment, Greek Classical philosophy, and simplistic, cultural Christianity). Stay with me as I explain what I mean by all of this; and, breathe easily. Of course I believe in heaven and hell...it's just that I believe in the biblical concepts of those places, not a cultural, secular, pagan, or humanistic one. You see, the Bible teaches that upon death, the human soul is separated from the physical body. The old physical body is left behind to corrupt and decay. However, the soul and spirit live on as the part of us that is immortal.

As a side-note:

Notice that I said “soul and spirit.” There should be no big confusion here, because, as the Bible was mainly written in Hebrew and Greek, both cultures had their own conception of the view of the immortal aspect of humans. The Hebrew concept was that man was bi-partite (existed in two parts): the physical body and the soul/spirit. In other words, the Hebrew concept combined the “invisible” aspect of humankind – his soul and his spirit. In contrast, the Greek conception was to be a little more detailed – that humans consisted of a body, a soul, and a spirit. Thus, the Greek conception was that humans are tri-partite beings (three-part). It really doesn’t matter, because the Christian concept simply separates, upon death, the physical body as the visible from the other part (or parts) as the invisible. The Hebrew concept of soul-spirit is the same as the Greek concept of spirit and the soul. I personally prefer the Greek concept, because I like the aspect of explaining the human spirit as consisting of conscience, intuition and the capacity/need for worship, and the human soul as containing our mind (intellect), emotion (feeling) and volition (will).    

So, whether it is the Hebrew or the biblical Greek concept (not to be confused with the classical Greek concept) that human beings are either three-part or two-part, the fact remains that the visible (the body) dies and is left behind to decay, and the invisible (the soul – spirit) moves on.

Obviously then, as a disembodied soul the human now exists in a “state,” not in a place. It is a physical body that occupies space or place - as it indeed does in this world in the here and now. A spiritual "body" (better said to be "an entity"), such as an angel, demon, or the spirit of a dead person, exists rather in a state. These entities do not occupy space. As exorcist and hagiographer Father Jose Antonio Fortea has said, it also does not mean that they are in some other physical dimension. Fortea says, “They are not anywhere. They exist, but they are not “here” or “there” in a physical sense.”

I agree. I further agree with Fortea’s conception that spirits (angels and demons) are properly said to be in a place when it acts in that place. If a human spirit manifests over by the door, then that is where that human spirit is at that point, in the state of being that it happens to be in – a deceased human soul/spirit who has left its physical body and exists in a non-material state and happens to be over by the door in that particular moment in time and space. It also, in the case of a deceased human spirit, is either in a blessed state (bound for heaven) or in an unblessed state and bound for hell. Another way of putting it, in a Roman Catholic sense, is that the soul is either in a state of grace when it dies or it is not (the particular judgment - Catholics will know what I am talking about here). The Catholic Church teaches, and I believe, that one day, Christ will return again and the blessed in Christ (those that died in a state of grace) will receive a new body – a resurrected body at the Last Judgment– and at that point will once again be united with a material - physical human body. Then, at that time, those persons who receive such a body, will exist in the new heaven and the new earth and have geographical locality in a “concrete place.” In other words, they will occupy a place. But, that is then, in the meantime, they exist in a state of being - not in a place of being.

The catechism of the Church states that heaven, hell, and purgatory exist now only as states of being (see CCC 650, 1005). In the eschaton, after the Last Judgment, heaven and hell will be physical, material realities, but not until then. This fact escapes even many Christians, and thus, we fall into error when trying to understand or explain the afterlife (and manifestation of the afterlife into our present physical - material reality). As it is, the dead are all around us, in the state of being alive, but not in a physical sense. I love what one Church Father once said (I’m sorry but I can’t recall his name): “All who ever lived, are still alive.” We die physically, but we live on, just not like before. So, these humans live on in either a state of grace or not. Also, as a Catholic who believes in purgatory, I believe that some exist in a third state, a purgatorial state. Technically, purgatory is a part of that group of people who have died in a state of grace, just not in the fullness of grace. This is because they, while not evil, are not yet perfected in the sense that they can immediately enjoy God's closeness upon death. Their souls have to be refined more - perfected - before they can enjoy His close presence. Those in this state of purgation are people who will one day end up in heaven but first have some work to do in their spirit/souls in order to be holy enough to enter into the very presence of God. In other words, they are in the state of purgatory.

Such a concept helps to explain the amount of spiritual activity that surrounds us, both in the human spirit sense and the sense of angels and demons (evil spirits). Human beings do not die and go off to a place located fifty-three miles west of Venus, never to be seen or heard from again. [Can you see now how people who believe in such a place for the dead have such a difficulty believing in ghost or spirit manifestations?] That is why, I believe, the bible speaks of "this great cloud of witnesses that surround us" (Hebrews 12:1). Why else would the Bible say that those who have passed on still surround us, if indeed they go off somewhere, as if they were sent to a "colony" or "holding area?" 

So, when a person dies in a state of grace and is blessed (like Grandma, for example) she exists in the "state" of paradise. That is "where" Grandma is right now - in a state, not a place. Later, after Christ's return, she will have a resurrected physical body and exist in and on a new earth and a new heaven. If Uncle Bill believed in God but really didn't live quite right - had committed no mortal sin but plenty of venial ones - he exists in a "state" of purgatory right now, but one day like Grandma will be in heaven with a resurrected body. Stalin and Hitler will one day be "in" hell (assuming they died without conversion). Right now they are said to be in a "state" of sheol, or hades.

Heaven and hell, biblically, are much more relational concepts than geographical or locational ones. Again, we have traded a state of relationship for a cheaper, reductive place of gaudy physicality. How tragic and absurd. For an example of what I am talking about, read Christ's prayer to the Father in John 17, which includes, "...this is eternal life: that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." Notice he did NOT say that eternal life was Graceland times 1000 - a place with gold faucets and an awesome jungle room and streets of alabaster...no, rather than some gaudy place or location, he describes eternal life as knowing the Father and the Son...as a close, intimate relationship with Himself and the Father. In the Greek, the word for "knowing" that he uses here is genosko - to know experientially and closely, not just a head knowing. There is another word for knowing in the sense of knowing data, such as "I know the Great Wall of China exists because I was told that." In contrast, genosko is a knowing like you grew up right beside it, played on it every day and crawled all over it or even help build it, so you know every nook and cranny of it - you don't just "know" it as a piece of information in your head as data...you truly know it. To know Christ and the Father that way, and them to know you that way, is truly relational, intimate and "paradise." That is what eternal life is.

The bottom line, as human beings our physical bodies die and what is left - our spirit and soul - enters a state of existence wherein we are still "alive" - just not in the physical sense. The dead are simply wherever they are, and that can be anywhere. This does not mean that those who are dead in Christ are not happy, or in a state of grace with Christ - they are - they are just not located and tied down to some specific location. The same is true for those in purgatory or hades. Sometimes, they are very close by and we catch “glimpses” and “evidences” of them – whether it is a sound, a slight touch, a smell, an intuitive impression that cuts through the chatter of the mundane…or for those of us who are most lucky and blessed, it is allowed for us to actually see them.

So, upon describing or thinking about souls of the human dead, do not confuse place of existence with what should be understood as a state of existence. If you stubbornly refuse to do so, just do not say you got your concept from the Christian Bible, because you simply did not.

Grandma is not “53 miles west of Venus”...she may be right beside you.

Suggested Reading:
The Holy Bible, RSV Catholic Version
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Interview with an Exorcist, by Jose Antonio Fortea