The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-10-05
CASTING OUT DEVILS.
Minute Description of the Operation, by
Believer.

theological scienos of the cure of tho
parish and the frmness of Monsignor
Goux, Bishop of Versailles, which
shows shat exorcism has it's reasons for
existence and that possession is as
real as hysteria. AS 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.
First mo known remedy relieves him;
secont, he speaks of incidents and facts
beyond his natural reach, and which
NOBODY has revealed to him; third, he
foretels events and speaks several Ian
guages unknown to him before his
afiictbn; fourth, in the presence of a
priest and at sacred ceremonies he
tremHes, suffers pain, writhes and
blaspfemes.
ThdCatholic priests, and especially
the D<minicans, have, from away back,
practiced exorcism. According to the
canors the exorcist belongs to one of
the minor orders which precede the
priesthood. He must be humble of heart
in his ministry, and, il he operates with
any thought of display he risks for
himself the contagion of the evil spirits
that still remain TO be cast out
ordinarily the ceremony takes place
Afhe church In the presence of the
SaNhfT assembled at prayer, particu-
larly at the feasts of the Nativity, of
the Resurrection, of the Ascension, of
Pen!ecost of the Virgin Mary, and of
the Apostles. After the morning mass,
to which the possessed one assists, the
exorcist puts on the surplice and assists
the priest who puts on the violet-colored
cope, the symbol of the pains of pur-
gatory. The patient who has con-
fessed 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 sprinkled
with the holy water. In Latin the
devil is commanded to tell his name,
to say whether or not he is alone, and
why he is there. Finally he is ordered
to depart. The conjuration in any
other language, and especially in He
brew, is useless. Hebrew is reserved
for Satan himself.
The Flagellum demonum contains
the most complete formulas of eXor-
cism, consisting of well-known prayers
mingled with the most ancient and the
strangest appellations of God, such as
Oh, Adonal Tetragrammaton, and 9TH
ers, which come in part from Chaldea,
from Ph9necia, and from Greece. The
words are supposed to possess in them
selves certain power of evocation of
celestial virtues which terrify the in
fernal legions. The words of Christ,
according to Saint Matthew, |, ., 3,
are the most in use to drive out evil
spirits.
If the demon does not retire imme-
diately, the eXorcist takes a painted
image representing him and throws it
into the consecrated fire along with
incense, rue and sulphur with strong
mystic odors, intending to prove by
this act 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 the authority
of certain demonographs, the devil
the patient.
In the ancient monasteries they made
the 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
the exorcism was accomplished with
out fatigue.
In our days exorcism has taken ref
uge in La Trappa. 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
whips them with beads and sprinkles
them with holy water, and the pigs re-
cover and become happy, because the
devils go away.
j. X. Huysmans has been able to
speak de visu of the power of demons
and the ethcacity of exorcisms. More
over the eminent writer was we'll ac-
quainted with one of the most learned
demonographers of his time, the Able
Boullan, who ran through hell in his
bare feet, and holding the Host in his
hands.
Either at the Church of Saneipt or
the Church of Senneville l received
this curious document from NJ. Gilbert
Augustin Thierry, the author of "Une
Anne en- Peine." The cure of Petites-
Dalles, in curing the possessed. says a
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 trou-
bled by evil spirits, witnessed the death
of the Dominican priest who was en-
degvoring to exercise her. and who was
unable to guard himself against the
forces with which he was contending.
Paris Figaro.
Power of the Imagination.