How does the Church protect her children from the influence of evil spirits?
The Lord gave his disciples “authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out” (Mat 10:1), and promised that “in my name they will cast out demons” (Mrk 16:17). The Church exercises this authority first of all in the Mysteries. Before Baptism, the catechumen is exorcised in the name of Christ, renounces Satan facing west, and then turns to the east to be united to Christ (see Q295). The newly baptized are sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit and nourished with the Body and Blood of Christ, which St Ignatius calls “the medicine of immortality, the antidote that we should not die” (St Ignatius of Antioch, To the Ephesians, 20).
The Church also sanctifies the places and things of daily life, so that no part of the Christian’s world is surrendered to the enemy. At Theophany the waters are blessed for healing and sanctification and for the averting of every assault of the adversary, and with this water the homes of the faithful are blessed (see the Study: Relics, Holy Water, and Pilgrimage). Prayers are appointed for the blessing of homes, fields, and every honest labor, according to the Apostle: “everything created by God is good… for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1Ti 4:4–5).
The sign of the Cross is the constant defense of the Christian. St Cyril of Jerusalem instructs the catechumens:
Let us not be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Let the Cross, as our seal, be boldly made with our fingers upon our brow and on everything: over the bread we eat and the cups we drink, in our comings in and goings out, before we sleep, when we lie down and when we rise up… for it is the sign of the faithful, and the dread of devils. (St Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 13.36)
Where a person is gravely troubled by evil spirits, the Church has special prayers of exorcism, such as those attributed to St Basil the Great and St John Chrysostom. These are read by a bishop, or by a presbyter with the bishop’s blessing, with discernment and pastoral care. Many afflictions of mind and body have natural causes and call for medical care rather than exorcism, and the two must not be confused (see the Study: Suffering, Grief, and Illnesses of Mind and Body). Christians must never seek deliverance through practices foreign to the Church, which only give the enemy a new claim (see the Study: Giving the Enemy No Claim).
Above all, the surest protection is a life of repentance, prayer, and communion: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” (Jas 4:7–8). The Christian who lives in the grace of the Mysteries need not fear the demons, for they “believe and shudder” (Jas 2:19) before the One who dwells in the hearts of the faithful.
