{"id":606419,"date":"2018-01-04T08:00:40","date_gmt":"2018-01-04T14:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/?p=606419"},"modified":"2018-01-05T10:19:19","modified_gmt":"2018-01-05T16:19:19","slug":"angels-dragons-vi-set-oppressed-free-luke-418","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/angels-dragons-vi-set-oppressed-free-luke-418\/","title":{"rendered":"Angels & Dragons VI: \u201cSet the Oppressed Free!\u201d (Luke 4:18)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"This article is about setting the demonically oppressed free and <\/span>\u201c proclaiming liberty to the captives\u201d<\/i>\u00a0(Luke 4:18) using deliverance prayers. It is not about the demonically \u2018possessed\u2019 but about the everyday <\/b>spiritual battle which Christians face against \u201cthe dragon and his angels\u201d<\/i>\u00a0(Rev. 12:7) in these ominous times!<\/p>\n

Immediately after my diaconal ordination, 11 years ago, mysteriously and providentially God brought spiritually afflicted people into my life that I might help them. The truth be known, I was afraid and hesitant to help them, but then God gave me an image of a sheep with a wolf [demon] ripping into its flesh; plus He also let me know that I could either be the hired hand fleeing when the wolf comes, or be the shepherd who lays down my life for the sheep;<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hired hand is not the shepherd and doesn\u2019t own the sheep. So when he sees a wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock!\u201d <\/i>(Jn. 10:12)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Many exorcists will tell you that the most common occurrence is not the demonically possessed, but the demonically oppressed\/obsessed. This is \u201cground zero\u201d<\/i>\u00a0of where the battle between \u201cSt. Michael and his angels\u201d\u00a0<\/i>(Rev. 12:7) occurs against the dragon and his angels. Therefore, I would like to share a few of those experiences from the different parishes I have been at in case they benefit someone.<\/p>\n

The Bad Samaritan <\/b><\/p>\n

<\/a>One morning many years ago I sensed the Lord asking me to place Fr. Gabriel Amorth\u2019s (Vatican\u2019s exorcist) deliverance prayers inside my car. These prayers can be found at the end of the book,\u00a0\u201cAn Exorcist Tells His Story,\u201d<\/i>\u00a0(Order here<\/a>) and they are for the use of lay people. This was years before Fr. Chad Ripperger put out his great book, \u201cDeliverance Prayers for Use By The Laity”<\/i>\u00a0(Order here<\/a>). I simply obeyed. In the evening I went to do my daily holy hour, but before entering the chapel I saw a girl being prayed over by a lay group of holy people I knew. I could see the young woman was sad and spiritually afflicted, and in my fear and selfish attitude I said to myself in my mind, \u201cSee no evil, hear no evil, just keep on going, don\u2019t stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

When I came out of my holy hour, they were still praying for her. Like the parable in the gospel of the Good Samaritan, I walked by like the priest and Levite (deacons of the Old Testament) and simply repeated what I had said earlier. When I reached the door of my car I heard an inner voice in the depths of my heart, \u201ccoward!\u201d I knew it was the Lord so I reached inside my car and got the deliverance prayers. I went back and asked if I could help with special prayers, and a blessing, and they said, \u201cYes!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>By now she was in a lot of anguish. Compelled by the Holy Spirit, I prayed the deliverance prayers plus a blessing, and she seemed very at peace when I finished. I then proceeded to leave since I didn\u2019t want to get involved as there was plenty of \u201caccompaniment\u201d and pastoral care.<\/p>\n

A few days later I saw those people who were praying for her, they related that she had recently given birth to a baby, and that every time her baby cried she couldn\u2019t stand his cry, and therefore she hated the baby. She had a roommate who had a boyfriend who was a real warlock who had cast a spell so that he could marry her, but also so that she would abandon the baby. She said midway through the deliverance prayers she saw something dark leave her stomach and that as soon as she got home she could hold and love her baby even when he cried.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cursed Object<\/b><\/p>\n

I received an email from the parish that the priests were not available, and asking if I could help a parishioner. I called the person and set up an appointment. The parent brought their teenager who related in tears and much distress that she could see shadows, dead souls, nightmares, etc. I asked how long ago this had been occurring, and the teenager said it started when a cursed object was given to her when she was younger. (This had been discerned in spiritual direction some years earlier). The object was burnt but the side effects had continued. With the parent\u2019s permission, I started praying the deliverance prayers and midway she let out an emotional sigh of relief and smiled so I paused to ask her what happened. She said \u201cit\u201d had lifted, and she now felt at peace and joy for the first time in a very long time. Her facial countenance had changed and the happiness was visible in her face. We finished the prayers and I gave her some guidelines of living a prayerful and sacramental life. A couple of weeks later she was volunteering at church as a totally new and normal teenager.<\/p>\n

Unbaptized 3 Year Old<\/b><\/p>\n

Ten years ago, the parish receives a call and no one is available so the call is forwarded to me. The parents explain that their unbaptized three-year-old claims to see the devil and begins to cry uncontrollably every time. They are from the neighboring mega Protestant church and their pastor told them that Catholics know what to do! I meet with the couple but as the three-year-old comes into the church, she sees a giant statue of St. Michael the Archangel slaying the devil, at the entrance, and tells her mom in tears, \u201cThat\u2019s the one! That\u2019s the one!\u201d<\/i>\u00a0even though she had never been inside a Catholic Church. I used the pre-baptismal anointing with the Oil of the Catechumen along with the designated prayer, and the child went from afflicted to peaceful tranquility. She never again complained of seeing the devil. For the unbaptized, the prayer with the oil produces a spiritual \u201ccleansing and strengthening,\u201d<\/i>\u00a0(CCC 1294) effect in their \u201cstruggle between the flesh and the spirit.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0(RCIA paragraph 90) plus paragraph 100 explains that \u201cfor particular reasons, a priest or deacon may confer the anointing privately\u2026\u201d<\/i>Of course all this should be done with the permission of the pastor and the minor exorcism prayers for the unbaptized in section # 94 should be the first option.<\/p>\n

The US Bishops have put out a new book on deliverance prayers (Order here<\/a>) which the lay faithful can pray. I have already met some lay people who prefer these prayers because the prayers are gentler when praying them for themselves. Finally, for the clergy, keep in mind what the new rite of exorcism states concerning helping lay people with deliverance prayers,<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026the faithful, who think themselves victims of evildoing, of bad luck, or of a curse brought by others upon them, their dear ones, or their goods<\/i>\u2026 He should not deny them spiritual help.\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u00a0(1999 De Exorcismis et Supplicationibus Quibusdam)<\/p>\n

Angels & Dragons I <\/a><\/p>\n

Angels & Dragons II<\/a><\/p>\n

Angels & Dragons III<\/a><\/p>\n

Angels & Dragons IV<\/a><\/p>\n

Angels & Dragons V<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article is about setting the demonically oppressed free and \u201c proclaiming liberty to the captives\u201d\u00a0(Luke 4:18) using deliverance prayers. It is not about the demonically \u2018possessed\u2019 but about the everyday spiritual battle which Christians face against \u201cthe dragon and his angels\u201d\u00a0(Rev. 12:7) in these ominous times! Immediately after my diaconal ordination, 11 years ago,… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[671],"tags":[481,74,358,507],"class_list":{"0":"post-606419","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-column","7":"tag-angels","8":"tag-prayer","9":"tag-spiritual-warfare","10":"tag-war","11":"entry","12":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":513093,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2017\/11\/angels-dragons-v-minor-exorcisms\/","url_meta":{"origin":606419,"position":0},"title":"Angels & Dragons V: Minor Exorcisms","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"November 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"With today\u2019s increase in pagan practices such as astrology, mediums, psychic readings, cleansings, New Age religion, Reiki, magic, angel touch, witchcraft, tarot cards, s\u00e9ances, Ouija boards, ghost hunters, Satanic music or worship, etc., people who have participated in any of these occult practices, including Christians, may feel demonically oppressed. When\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/image12-550x330.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/image12-550x330.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/image12-550x330.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1156073,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/angels-dragons-xii-st-michaels-flaming-sword\/","url_meta":{"origin":606419,"position":1},"title":"Angels & Dragons XII: St. Michael\u2019s Flaming Sword!","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"September 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"St. Padre Pio did spiritual battle with demons to free souls, and at his shrine, there is a mosaic of the Archangel Michael handing Padre Pio a sword. In the book \"Deliverance Prayers For Use by the Laity,\" exorcist Fr. Chad Ripperger uses the sword of St Michael, together with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/D8WK4yu5lb4\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1135906,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/angels-dragons-xi-michael-the-archangel-will-arise-dn-121\/","url_meta":{"origin":606419,"position":2},"title":"Angels & Dragons XI: \u201cMichael the Archangel will Arise.\u201d (Dn.12:1)","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"September 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Throughout history St. Michael the Archangel has arisen to protect God\u2019s Church and heal God's people. St. Michael will arise now during these most turbulent times, but we must invoke his protection with prayer, consecrations, penances, novenas, and processions as in the ages past. In the year 590 Pope Pelagius\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/O1GzzgaPDOU\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1946697,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/angels-dragons-xxii-st-michael-the-archangel-in-mexico\/","url_meta":{"origin":606419,"position":3},"title":"Angels & Dragons XXII: St. Michael the Archangel in Mexico","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"August 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"On April 25, 1631, St. Michael the Archangel appeared in Tlaxcala, Mexico to a 17-year-old named Diego L\u00e1zaro de San Francisco who was married to Francisca Castillian Xuchitl.\u00a0\u00a0 The apparition occurred as everyone was processing in celebration of a previous apparition of St. Michael to St. Gregory the Great (April\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/unnamed-425x700.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":145213,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/angels-dragons-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":606419,"position":4},"title":"Angels & Dragons II","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"September 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"What is a Dragon? The Hebrew word \u201ctanniyn\u201d is used to depict a mysterious and vile creature similar to a giant reptile. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cTanniyn\u201d is found 28 times in the Old Testament, with English translations sometimes referring to it as dragon, sea-monster, serpent, whale, or jackal. \u00a0In the New Testament the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"By Gustave Dor\u00e9","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Destruction_of_Leviathan-153x190.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1703316,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/angels-dragons-xx-war-in-heaven-rev-127\/","url_meta":{"origin":606419,"position":5},"title":"Angels & Dragons XX: \u201cWar in Heaven\u201d (Rev. 12:7)","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"April 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Book of Revelation describes the \u201cWar in Heaven\u201d (Rev. 12:7) between St. Michael and his angels against the Red Dragon and his angels, when a vision of a woman about to give birth is shown to them. What was the first battle like?\u00a0 Why did it happen?\u00a0 What was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image13-550x304.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image13-550x304.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image13-550x304.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}