A Follow Up On Exorcists

[ThomasPeter]

as i read the last reply to this "chain" something cought my eye. i had the idea taht it was possible for a lay person to, at leats try, an exorsisim. however, i read in cappie's last post that tey can not. what lead me to my belief was Mark 9:38-41 (i had to find it again.) if you read it you will see what i mean. it seems here taht Christ is telling his Apostles to, among otehr things, allow people to exorcise because they were getting mad when others were. but the Mexican Bishop has said that the lay cant. so, if you can help thanks!
tom

[Pontifex]

It is a good question, but we must take scripture as a whole and in light of our Catholic Tradition (lived experience) as well.

The role of Exorcist is reserved for a priest. One should not try to exorcise anything. The Priest has a particular charism by rite of ordination, like the Apostles, that give him the authority to perform the rite of exorcism. In addition to that, a bishop usually appoints a priest, who has an exemplary character. It is a priest who lives a very holy life, and is deeply devoted to prayer.

I would agree with the good Fr. Cappie in that exorcism is not to be messed with by the average bear.

However, certainly by our baptism we all possess a priestly nature and if we feel that we are being bothered or picked at by the devil and his minions, we can command the devil to go in the name of Jesus. A simple prayer asking for Jesus to cast away all evil spirits and to ask for the infilling of the Holy Spirit is a good practice. But this is a far cry from a formal exorcism.

Peace.

Edited September 29, 2004 by Pontifex