The herald., 1893-10-08
CASTING OUT DEVIL
TESTIMONY THAT ExORclsM !
REASONS FOR EXISTENCE.

Signs Through which One Who Is Pd
sessed Is Recoenized--The conjuratd{
and Other Strange Formulas Employ n
by the Good Monks.
The possessed woman of Gif is curd|
now not by the doctors, who were IA
able to do anything for her, but by II
theological science of the cure of tn
parish and the fifmness Of Mgr. Goui|
bishop of Versailles, which shows thd|
exorcism has its reasons for existend}
and that possession" is as real as hyN
terra. AS matter Of fact, the churc.
has never laid down her arms in I'll
presence of the devils.
There are four principal signs throug.
which the possessed one is recognized
l. No known remedy relieves him.
He speaks of incidents and facts beyony
his natural reach and which nobody IN
revealed TO him. 0. Ho foretells evend|
and speaks uovc-'al languages unknowI
to him before his at1liction. 4. In TN
presence Of 4 lw.ess and at sacred. certI
monies he trsilb-es, suffers pain, writhe
and blasphe.nea.
The Catholic priests, and especially
the Dominica,,s, havo from away bac
practiced c--c::cism. According to thl|
canons. the e--o-cist belongs to one Of thI
minor orderl which precede the PRIEST
hood. He must Le humble of heart II
his ministry. end If he operates wit,
any thought CT display he risks for hin4'
self the conta sion of the evil spirits thai
still remain to be cast out. i,
Ordinarily the ceremony takes placn
in the church in the presence Of thu
faithful assembled at prayer, par ticnla1f
ly at the feasts of the Nativity, Of th$
Resurrection, of the Ascension. Of Pen'
tecost, of the Virgin Mary and Of th$
Apostles. After the morning mass, I'd
which the possessed one assists, the exF
orcist puts on the surplice and assist3
the priest who puts on the violet colored
cope, the symbol Of the pains of purga3
tory. The patient who has confessed
then approaches. A stole Is passed
around his neck to tie the devils that
have become the masters of his bodyS
Then the sign of the cross is made upor{
him, and he is sprinkled with holy wai
ter. In Latin the devil is commended
to tell his name, to say whether or not
he is alone and why he is there. Finalll
he is ordered to depart. The conjurd
tion in any other language and espl
cially in Hebrew is useless. Hebrew ii
reserved for satan himself.
The Flagellum dmmonum contai4
the most complete formula of exorcisn5
consisting of well known prayers mi1i1|
gled with the most ancient and strapgesl
appellations of God, such as ''0h, Add
mai Tetragrammaton" and others, whics
come in part from Chaldea, from Pho3j
necia and from Greece. The words artI
supposed to possess in themselves q ccgaI
tain power Of evocaticn of celestial vii,
tues which terrify the internal lcgions0
Certain words of Christ, according til
st. Matthew, are used to drive out cri
spirits.
If the demon does not retire immeE
diately, the exorcist takes painted im}
age representing him and throws it intff
the consecrated FIRE along with incense
rue and sulphur, with strong mystic
odors, intending to prove by this ac'
that he will send the evil spirit back into
his natural element-hell. This done
he places upon the head of the possessed
one the book, the relics, the crucifix and
sometimes even the host-the last and
invincible remedy. According TO tho
authority Of certain demonograp.is, thd|
devil then comes out through the nosfl
of the patient.
In the ancient monasteries they made.
the exorcist carry upon his person cer7
tain amuiets containing protectivej
formulas. Sometimes these formulas,
written upon pieces of parchment, were{
swallowed. In the process Of digestionk
the exorcism was accomplished without
fatigue. ,ra
In our days exorcism has taken ref-}
uge in La Trappe. The clergy arei
somewhat averse to it, while at the
same time they do not refuse to admit
it. The man who breaks the spells Isl
very old. But the devils cast out byt
the good monks are reduced to the tori
menting Of animals. Pigs are their,
favorites. Then the old spell smasher0
whips them with beads and sprinklesl
them with holy water, and the pigs red
cover and become happy, because the!
devils go away.
Mr.. J. X. Huysmans has been able tol
speak de visu Of the power Of demonsl
and the eficacity of exorcisms. More-l
over, the eminent writer was well ac-l
quainted with one Of the most learned
demonographers Of his time, the AbbcI
Boullan, who ran through hell in his
bare feet, holding the host in his hands.
Either at the church Of Sanetot OF thel
church of Senneville, received this Gu
rious document from M. Gilbert Angus
tin Thierry, the author of "Une Anne en-
Peine." The cure of Petites-D Dalles in cur
ing the possessed says special mass,
called the ''red mass" or ''mass Of the
martyrs" Red flowers are placed upon
the altar, and the priest wears a, red
stole. The church is draped in purple.
But, stranger still, q few years ago the
wife of the editor Of leading Catholic
journal in Paris, being troubled by evil
spirits, witnessed the death Of the Do
minican priest who was endeavoring to
exercise her, and who was unable to
guard himself against the forces with
whichhe was contending. Paris Figaro.
The Perfect Foot.
The Greek statuary, uuch OF 1t dated