The most famous exorcist in the world has given valuable spiritual advice to arm you against evil
Father Gabriele Amorth (1925-2016) was an exorcist in the diocese of Rome for about thirty years. Known worldwide, he wrote numerous books about his ministry and founded the International Association of Exorcists (IAE) with French Father René Chenessau in 1994.
In a 2015 video, Father Amorth shared the three basic requirements a priest needs to effectively expel the Evil One. These are faith, confession and fasting. Although this video was aimed specifically at the priests of the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome, it can also be of great use to lay people.
1 FAITH IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST
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The first requirement to expel the devil is faith in the name of Jesus Christ , explains Father Amorth. He recalls a passage from the Gospel in which the disciples, returning joyfully from their mission, say to Jesus: “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name” (Lk 10:17). Indeed, faith is the source of the power of the exorcist who can thus order Satan to depart from the possessed.
If faith turns out to be a fundamental condition for exorcists, it is equally so for laymen in their daily struggle against evil and temptation. In many books, the Italian exorcist explains that faith is a gift that must be continually exercised and deepened so as not to be lost. He had also written in the book An Effort Against Evil : “You can have your child baptized, but if you do not educate him, if you do not get him used to praying or going to church, he will lose his faith.”
2 THE CONFESSION
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The second condition mentioned by Father Amorth is confession, on which he especially insists, explaining that an exorcist must confess frequently . He even tells the story of an exorcism during which the demon had revealed all the sins of the priest he was exorcising…! But he also cites many exorcists who confessed every day, such as Pellegrino Ernetti, exorcist of the city of Venice for 40 years or Blessed James Alberione, founder of the Pauline Family. “The saints are clever and they want to be pure, pure, pure,” he states in the video.
How important, in fact, also for the laity, to frequently resort to the sacrament of reconciliation to reject the accuser, to receive strength against sin and to live more in communion with the Lord.
3 FASTING
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Father Amorth’s third piece of advice to expel the devil is to fast . “We have to have that courage… especially us in the West who are ‘eaters’ and value good food,” he jokes in the video. If fasting is, above all, food deprivation, the father also indicates that there are other forms of it, such as screens, the Internet, certain readings, words, to learn to be masters of all our actions. Fasting turns out to be a powerful weapon for our soul.
Thus, faith, confession and fasting are the three essential spiritual ingredients, according to the famous Italian exorcist, to win our fight against Satan and experience a true conversion of heart.
