Now that we have established that evil exists and how it usually tends to operate we are going to get into how to combat it. This is not physical combat, but spiritual.
Weapons are necessary but not the same. First off, know you are completely helpless to it without the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
1-Faith
The stronger your faith, the better your life is in general. Truth be told, my faith is not strong enough. I know God can do anything.
I just doubt sometimes if the things I ask for in prayer will be His will. Jesus knows we feel these things. That is why He tells us repeatedly in the New Testament not to be afraid and not to worry.
Though I myself am a work-in-progress, as my faith grows the less I fear evil. When we know and practice our faith, we have greater power over evil (because of Jesus, never us personally).
Our prayers work better when we believe they will be answered. Jesus told sinners and the suffering several times, your faith has healed you.
2-Prayer
Basic prayer is a powerful weapon against Satan. We usually don’t need the big guns of the Rite of Exorcism.
Jesus gave us the Our Father for a reason. The Blessed Mother and the angels and saints (especially St. Michael) are powerful against the demonic because of their humility and obedience.
Our protestant/evangelical brethren will differ with me here. They believe we need only pray to the Holy Trinity and that praying to the Blessed Mother and saints to be idolatry.
I will get more detailed about this when I do a full article on the Holy Rosary. But let me explain our own Catholic and I think Orthodox perspective on this topic.
Let me start with Mary. Mary is not God, but is Divine. Our non-denominational Christians know their Bible very well.
And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery. And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth; she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. (Revelation 12:1-6).
This describes Mary. This does not describe God.
But to me it does describe a Queen, the Queen of Heaven and the new Eve. When we pray to Mary and the saints we are asking for their intercession before Jesus, not for them to answer the prayers directly if we pray correctly.
Have none of you ever asked someone to pray for you? Who better than Jesus’ Mother along with the angels and saints?
Admittedly some Catholics do not understand the difference and may slip into praying directly to Mary and the saints for actual healing. This is incorrect in my opinion.
I once read an article from a priest who was performing an exorcism and the devil stated that every Hail Mary was like a blow to his head and that if every Christian prayed the Rosary it would be his undoing.
My go-to prayers are the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Prayer to St. Michael The Archangel, Jesus Prayer (Orthodox) throughout the day. I have daily devotions to The Holy Rosary and The Chaplet Of Divine Mercy in the 3 PM hour.
Jesus appeared to St. Faustina and gave her the Chaplet Of Mercy stating that prayers are especially powerful in this hour because it is the time of His Passion and therefore when He is most merciful. BTW-exorcists and religious demonologists claim that 3 AM is often the height of demonic activity.
They believe this to be a mocking of the Holy Trinity and the opposite of the hour of Christ’s Passion and victory over sin.
If I feel for any reason that evil is ramping up around me, I will go to the Novena to The Sacred Heart of Jesus, The Chaplet of St. Michael or the Exorcism Prayer from St. Leo XIII.
When it comes to the St. Leo prayer, there is a part only priests are authorized to say. Ralph Sarchie (Catholic demonologist) told me himself that this prayer should only be said in a state of Grace.
Praying the part that only priests are authorized can put us personally in a battle we are ill-prepared for. Saying this prayer in a state or mortal sin can also be dangerous because it is a throw down to the demonic.
The demonic attach themselves to our sins for God’s permission to attack us. So please only say this prayer in a state of Grace.
3-The Holy Sacraments
Many of the Holy Sacraments are like mini exorcisms. They wash away sin and/or force us to reject Satan and proclaim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Baptism is a must for any Christian regardless of denomination.
Some say it is a requisite to enter Heaven. If you are a Christian please have your children baptized. If you are an un-baptized adult, have it done.
It doesn’t have to be a big drawn out event. I know someone who neglected to have their child baptized and then did it quickly at a Church when the child was about 5 or so.
All of the other Holy Sacraments are weapons against the devil. I recommend weekly Mass and frequent Confession for sinful Catholics like myself and monthly confession for all Catholics.
If you are not Catholic I recommend confessing and repenting for your sins however your denomination does so. If you are not Christian, I suggest you convert. Failing to do so makes you a sitting duck for Satan.
4-Knowledge
Knowing your faith is paramount. The best way to know your Christian Faith is to read Scripture. I would start with the New Testament.
This is where many of our protestant and evangelical brethren have us Catholics beat. They know and love Scripture.
Mother Angelica once said that she believed that if you combined the protestant love and knowledge of Scripture with the Catholic Eucharist, you would have a near-perfect Christian.
5-Sacramentals
Holy Water, Holy Oils, Blessed Salt, Blessed Chalk and icons of Jesus, the Blessed Mother and the saints (especially St. Michael and St. Benedict) from what I have read are all powerful against the demonic.
Again, non-Catholics will argue that these icons are unnecessary and border idolatry. I disagree.
We Catholics and Orthodox don’t pray to the icons. We pray and live in their presence as reminders to keep our focus on God.
If I pray in front of a picture of Jesus I am praying to Jesus the Lord, not the picture itself. The way I understand it, most non-Catholic Christians drive out evil with deliverance prayers.
I am sure they are mostly effective. However, I have heard of numerous priests who have been called in by Reverends and Ministers to perform the Rite of Exorcism when these deliverance prayers did not complete the job.
I recommend every Christian have at least one crucifix prominently displayed in their home. Sacramentals are more powerful when blessed by a solid priest.
I say crucifix over a bare cross. Ralph Sarchie claims in his book, Deliver Us From Evil that the site of the Godman on the cross is far more torturous to the demonic than a plain cross. In fact, the possessed react with aversion to all blessed sacramentals.
You know why? Because they work.
My home is loaded with crucifixes, rosaries, icons, pictures, etc. St. Benedict medals are buried with Holy Water in each corner of the property at Sarchie’s advice. One thing I neglected that I realized later on is they should be wrapped in foil out of respect rather than buried bare in the soil.
My doors are chalked every year after the Feast of The Epiphany. Holy Water is sprinkled in every corner of every room and closet of my home along with all doors, windows and drawers/compartments.
These are my preventative measures to combat evil. Next I will discuss reactionary measures. Talk soon.
-Marksman
