Republished with permission: Church Pop
The St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal released a free Catholic Exorcism app that provides deliverance prayers for priests and the laity.
The Catholic non-profit organization specializes in “praying with people who are spiritually suffering and in need of healing and deliverance,” conducts spiritual education workshops and trains clergy, religious and laity,” and “helps and supports clergy in living healthy and holy lives.”
Psychologist and exorcist Msgr. Stephen Rossetti told ChurchPOP why the app’s prayers are so important in today’s world.
ChurchPOP: Why do you think this app is important for Catholics to use?
Msgr. Stephen Rossetti: “With the increasing secularization of the culture and fewer people practicing the faith, people are more susceptible to demonic activity. The protections of the sacraments, sacramentals and practicing the faith are disappearing in people’s lives.
“And then with the rise of people practicing witchcraft, Wiccan, Ouija, and other occult rituals, the demonic is given an open door to wreak havoc in people’s lives. As a result, exorcists around the country are reporting a sharp increase in the numbers of
people requesting help.”
“This app provides important Catholic prayers and rituals for those needing deliverance from demonic activity. There are sections for priest exorcists, for any priest doing deliverance work, and for the laity as well.”
ChurchPOP: Why would you discourage the laity’s use of the prayers for priests?
Msgr. Stephen Rossetti: “The prayers for priests and exorcists tend to be slightly different than those for the laity. Priests, especially exorcists, are given special protections when encountering demons.
“For example, in some sessions, possessed people have lunged violently at me. Just before they can harm me, they are invisibly stopped dead in their tracks.
“It is clear that there is a kind of ‘bubble’ of protection around the priest exorcist. As such, we can safely directly command demons to depart. We wield the authority of the Church and command the demons to leave.
“Jesus gave this authority to his twelve disciples. (Matt. 10:1).
ChurchPOP: Is there anything Catholics should know before using the prayers?
Msgr. Stephen Rossetti: “Laity do have a deliverance ministry based upon their baptism and should indeed pray for demons to depart. But we recommend that they use what we call ‘deprecatory’ prayers.
“Instead of addressing demons directly, we recommend that they direct their prayers to God (or Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, or St. Michael) and ask them to cast out Satan. It is unwise for the laity to confront demons directly and certainly not to engage in any sort of questioning or conversation.
“Of course, doing a solemn exorcism over a possessed person is reserved to a priest with a mandate from the Bishop. However, the more general deliverance ministry is part of the ministry of all priests and indeed all the baptized.
“[Also] in the app, there is a blog entitled, “Diary of an Exorcist.” In this section, people can get an instructive insight into the daily, and often surprising, experiences of an exorcist.”
ChurchPOP: Which prayers do you think are the most important?
Msgr. Stephen Rossetti: “There are lots of different kinds of prayers for difficult situations. There is a ritual to dispose of cursed objects. There are prayers to lift curses; there are prayers to lift generational and masonic curses.
“There are a number of minor exorcism prayers from the tradition of the Church, such as the exorcism prayers of St. John Chrysostom or St. Gregory of Nazianzen.
“There are prayers for exorcizing a place which are important when demonic activity is suspected in a house or other physical
location. So, depending on what the problems are, there are specific prayers to address them.”
ChurchPOP: Is there anything we didn’t ask?
Msgr. Stephen Rossetti: “We find that the prayers do work! Jesus has triumphed over the power of Satan and destroyed his reign of terror. Jesus has given his Church this authority to cast out Satan.
“When people are willing to live a Gospel life, and we work together to cast out Satan, the great majority are eventually freed. They experience is a newfound joy in their lives and a deep inner peace. They know firsthand the truth of the Gospel and they are typically in the front pews of our churches!”
Click here to download the Catholic Exorcism App for Apple or Android.
[See also: “Pray, Pray, Pray”: Exorcist Unmasks Satan’s Open Spiritual Warfare in America]
[See also: Exorcist Exposes Demonic Forces to Blame for Violent Unrest: “America Needs Deliverance”]
