Griggs courier., 1893-10-13
CASTING OUT DEVILS,
TESTIMONY THAT ExoRCiSM HAS
REASONS FOR EXISTENCE.

Signs ThrsuGh Which One Who Il Pos
sessed Il Recognized-The CoaSuration
and Other Strange Formulas Employed
by the Good Monks.
The possessed woman of Gi.f is cured
now not by the doctors, who were un-
able to do anything for her, but by the
theological science of the cure of the
parish and the firmness of Mgr. Goux,
bishop of Versailles, which shows that
exorcism has its reasons for existence
and that possession" is as real as hys-
terra. AS a matter of fact, the church
has never laid down her arms in the
presence of the devils.
There are four principal signs through
which the possessed one is recognized:
|. No known remedy relieves him. 2.
He speaks of incidents and facts beyond
his natural reach and which nobody has
revealed to him. s. He foretells events
and speaks several languages unknown
to him before his aff1iction. 4. In the
presence of a priest and at sacred cere-
monies he trembles, ss,fSers pain, writhes
and blasphemes.
The Catholic priests, and especially
the Dolninicans, hare from away back
practiced exorcism. According to the
canons, the ezorcist belongs to one,of the
minor orders which precede the priest
hood. He must be humble of heart in
his ministry, and If he operates with
any thought of display he risks for him
self the contagion of the evil spirits that
still remain to be cast'out.
Ordinarily the ceremony takes place
in the church in the presence of the
faithful assembled at prayer. particular
ly at the feasts of the Nativity, of the
Resurrection. of the Ascension, of Pen
tecost. of the Virgin Mary and of the
Apostles. After the morning mass, to
which the possessed one assists, the ex-
orcist puts on the surplice and assists
the priest who puts ON the violet colored
cope, the symbol of the pains of purga-
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 body
Then the sign of the cross is made upon
him. and he is sprinklcd with holy wa
ter. In Latin the devil is commended
to tell his name, to say whether or not
he is alone and why he is there. Finally
he is ordered to depart. The .conjura-
tion in any other language and espe-
cially i'll Hebrew is useless. Hebrew is
reserved for satan himself.
The Flagellum damonum contains
the most complete formula of exorcis,n,
consisting of we'll known prayers min
gled with the most ancient and strangest
appellations of God, such as 'Oh, ADO
mai Tetragrammaton" and others, which
come in part from Chaldea, from Phoe-
aecia and from Greece. The words are
supposed to possess in themselves a GER
tain power of evocation Of celestial vir-
tues which terrify the Internal legions.
Certain words of Christ, according to
st. Matthew, are used to drive out evil
spirits.
If the demon does not retire imme.
diately, the cxorcist takes painted i'm
age representing him and throws it into
tho consec-ated fire along with incense,
ruc and sulphur, with strong mystic
elors, intending to prove by this act
that hewill send theevil spirit back into
his natural element-hell. This DONE.
he places upon the head of the possessed
ono the book. the relics, the crucifix and
sometimes even the host-the last and
invincible remedy. According to the
authority Of certain demonographs, the
devil then comes out through the nose
Of the patient.
In the ancient monasteries they made
tho exorcist carry upon his person GER
tain. amulets containing protective
formulas. Sometimes these formulas.
written upon pieces of parchment, were
swallowed. In the process of digestion
tho exorcism was accomplished without
fatigue.
In our days exorcism has taken ref
uge in La Trappe. The clergy are
somewhat averse to it, while at the
same time they do not refuse to admit
it. The man who breaks the spells is
very old. But the devils cast out by
the good monks are reduced to the tor
menting Of animals. Pigs are their
favorites. Then the o.d spell smasher
whips them with beads and sprinkles
them with holy water. and the pigs re-
cover and become happy, because the
devils 60 away.
Mr.. j. K. Huysmans has been able to
speak de visu Of the power Of demons
and the efficacity of exorcisms. More
over, the eminent writer was we'll &C.
quainted with one of the most learned
demonogrsphers of his time, tho Abbc
Boullan, who ran through hell in his
Dare feet, holding the host in his hands
Either at the church of Sanetot or the
church of Senneville, received this Gu
rious document from M. Gilbert Angus.
tin Thierry, the author Of 'Une Ame en-
Peine." The ecure 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 red
stole. The church is draped in purple.
But, stranger still, 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