One thing an exorcist learns quickly is that demons HATE priests! Just this week during an intense session, the possessed person, in the midst of a demonic manifestation, looked at me with rage and disgust and said, “I hate the day she met you!”
A diagnostic moment often occurs when the person whom we are praying over looks at the priest with an evil and angry look and says, “You stupid priest!” If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, we could fund our ministry forever. It’s one of their most often repeated lines. And when we hear it, it confirms our diagnosis that the person is indeed possessed.
We believe that the priest is sacramentally configured to Christ. So, when the demons look at the priest, it is really the face of Christ they are seeing. This causes them unbelievable torment.
When the demons get particularly snarky and look at me with disgust, I will often say, “I command you that when you look at me, you will see the face of Christ.” This command wipes the snarky look off their faces and they cower in fear. Sometimes they start to whimper and cry. Demons are cowards and nothing in the presence of Jesus.
Reprinted with permission of Catholicexorcism.org.
Image (modified) courtesy of Unsplash.
