I was having a bit of a conflict with a cashier at work. We always banter back at forth, joking, sometimes kidding each other, but he sometimes says hostile things such as, “Cabdrivers are stupid” or,“You think you’re an expert mechanic; you don’t know anything.” I had oscillated from trying to befriend him to ignoring him. Last week we seemed to have a breakthrough and he opened up and told me a lot about himself, such as he wanted to be a professional soccer player but couldn’t get into college because he had to take remedial classes and then just gave up.
Then, when I saw him Thursday he was back to his old “cabdrivers are stupid, and you know nothing about mechanics.”
I was stewing over it for a few days, thinking of lambasting him with some of the personal things he had revealed to me. I was rehearsing in my mind what to say to him: things such as. “Cabdrivers are stupid? You couldn’t even get into college—a lot of drivers, including myself, have gone to college! Mr. expert!” I was really thinking of letting him have it; taking him down a peg. I also thought it might be better to just avoid talking to him; he is sort of a poison person.
Exorcism Prayer by St. Anthony
Then last night I saw this Exorcism Prayer by St. Anthony posted on Facebook:
Begone, all evil powers!
The Lion of the tribe of Judah,
The Root of David, has conquered!
Alleluia, Alleluia!
I was riveted. What perfect timing, I thought. I’ll just say this prayer before I see him and say it to him when I see him. No further discussion. I practiced and learned the prayer. I said it a few times last night and today. Maybe this will drive the devil out of this guy because I sometimes think he is a devil. I was also still rehearsing some of my put-downs of him in case I changed my strategy.
Of course, the thought occurred to me many times, “You’re a Catholic and you are really not supposed to be putting anyone down. You can say things to correct someone’s behavior, but say it with love.”
I had a counter thought, “Yeah, but this guy is so proud and arrogant, someone has got to put him in his place. Knock him down a few pegs.” I realize this is just an excuse for anger, so I kept wavering between anger, silence, or the Exorcism Prayer.
As I plowed my Yellow Cab up Madison Ave. through a cold rain, I stopped at a red light and glanced down at my cell phone. Someone had posted a story about a demonic house, where a local priest had performed exorcisms, being torn down in my hometown of Gary, Indiana. How odd, I thought, that there would be two stories about exorcism in one day, not yet knowing that there would be yet a third.
Near the end of my shift last night something extraordinary happened. As I dropped a young woman off on Nassau Ave. in Greenpoint, Brooklyn about 5 blocks from Calvary Cemetery where the Priest, who confirmed me in the Catholic Faith in 2008, worked as a teenager–this thought came to me, “Why don’t you help that cashier? Instead of lambasting him because he couldn’t get into college, why don’t you give him some hope and encouragement and offer some suggestions for how he could find out about careers online, and even get free instructions in areas he might want to pursue for a better job? He loved soccer, why not check out careers in sports medicine and physical therapy?” Duh?
This idea just seemed so right, so calming. I said a prayer of thank you.
A second thought came, “He seems to have drifted away from the Catholic Church. Help him to come back, and bring his wife and child with him. This is the most important thing of all.”
I then thought, “Well, let me first rebuild the friendship with the career suggestion, and if there’s an opening I’ll bring up religion. But let me rebuild the bridges that have been burnt first.” It seemed like a good plan.
Well, guess who my next customer was?—a guy who had been in sports medicine and knew everything about it. His destination?—back to Greenpoint and a stone’s throw from Calvary Cemetery.
The Lord doesn’t operate any plainer than that.
The Exorcism Prayer Worked On Me
I also realized that the Exorcism Prayer had worked—on me! It had driven out the demons in me, not the other guy. Oh, what a lesson I learned.
“And why behold the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:5)
When I did see the cashier later, I could see he was a little tense and defensive but when I offered my suggestions he really relaxed. We were friendly again in an instant. He wasn’t too interested in my suggestions but he started joking and we were kidding each other in a very good natured way. I have been thankful ever since.
The Lord is always right when he says that hostility and hurting others never works. Always use kindness, charity, and love.
Be careful with this Exorcism Prayer, it might work in ways you would never have dreamed of.
34 thoughts on “Exorcism Prayer Brings Results”
please help prayer for luis kiyoshi hasegawa -for luisa matiko hasegawa and your family.thanks
Behold, the Cross of the Lord!
Begone, all evil powers!
The Lion of the tribe of Judah,
The Root of David, has conquered!
Alleluia, Alleluia!
In the original Latin, the prayer says
Ecce Crucem Domini!
Fugite partes adversae!
Vicit Leo de tribu Juda,
Radix David! Alleluia!
Thank you for showing us the prayer in Latin also. Bless you.
What a wonderful story, Jamey! I was given The Cross or Brief of St. Anthony many years ago by a priest friend…it is like a huge scapular that had been touched to the true cross and a relic of St. Anthony..and the actual prayer on it (in both Latin & English) is “Behold the Cross of the Lord! Begone hostile enemies! The Lion of Juda, the Offspring of David has Triumphed. Alleluia! Alleluia!”
How interesting. Is the scapular so large that you wear it like the monastic orders? The slight variations in the translation of the prayer are also fascinating. Thank you.
It is 3X3 inches…and looks very old.
How nice of you to send us a picture of The Cross or Brief of St. Anthony. I’ve never seen that before. I love those old holy gifts that people hold onto for years. When I was young a Catholic woman named Celia gave my Mom, who was Protestant, a crucifix that she put on the wall of my room. I never paid much attention to it at the time, but since becoming Catholic I have thought about it often. I am certain that Celia’s prayers protected me throughout a troubled youth and were instrumental in leading me to the Catholic Church many years later.
I too need this beautiful prayer today. Thank you for sharing especially during this time of Lent where the more you pray the more the devil is out there to get you.
you are so right carol the devil hates to see true love and will do all to destroy it
Every time I hear swearing in the street, I pray: “”Blessed be the Name of God! Begone, Satan!” Now, I really cannot find the source of it anymore (I know I read somewhere that you should do it). The prayer is very handy, because in my country swearing and cursing is said after every neutral word. So maybe it would be handy for someone.
But anyway, thank you Jamey for a great story! I think the prayer will always be handy!
That sounds like a good one, Julia. There’s a bunch of them I’ve used over the years. I like some of the short ones: “Get thee behind me, Satan,” and “Deliver us from evil.”
The swearing seems to be some people’s philosophy—“I swear, therefore, I exist.”
Julia I often say this prayer also. It saddens me how often and easily people profane our Lord’s name probably not even thinking about the pain it causes Him. Unfortunately it seems today people often underestimate the power of prayer. I have a devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus and this prayer along with the Golden Arrow Prayer are said for reparation of this terrible sin. Our Lord to Sr. Mary of St. Peter: “My name is everywhere blasphemed – even children blaspheme it. This is a frightful sin. More than all others, it grievously wounds My divine heart. Through blasphemy, the sinner curses me to My Face, attacks me openly, and pronounces his own condemnation and judgement. Blasphemy is a poisoned arrow.” http://www.7dolors.com/page4holyface.htm
One more thought…. I love how everyone is so kind and respectful on here. It is so pleasant to see how discussion boards should be versus how they usually are. Thank you everyone!
I loved this. you are so right! Sometimes, we are the ones in need of the prayers we pray for others.
Oh, do I learn that again, and again. What I hate in others is so often what I hate in myself. (But deny, and pretend I don’t have).
Just wondering, could we said this prayer since it is the season of Lent and it has Alleluia, Alleluia! in it?
Michelle Arnold Catholic Answers Apologist says, “No, it’s not a sin. During the public liturgies of the Church, the Alleluia is omitted so that it becomes more significant once Easter arrives, but there’s nothing wrong with individuals saying “Alleluia” on their own time.” http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=322068
I remember coming upon the Official prayer o Exorcism in a book at my parent’s home once. I began reading it out loud and my mother startled me by sharply telling me to stop it. She said I would call the devil’s attention to the house. :-/ It was a happy and holy home so I guess she had a point.
This prayer is “engraved into the base of the obelisk erected in St. Peter’s in Rome” in 1586.
“Popular tradition holds that St. Anthony taught a prayer to a poor woman who sought help against the temptations of the devil. The Franciscan Pope Sixtus V had the prayer — also called ‘the motto of St. Anthony’ — engraved into the base of the obelisk erected in St. Peter’s Square in Rome.” – See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/02/22/a-prayer-of-exorcism-taught-by-saint-anthony/#sthash.yix35xWA.dpuf
What a great story. On my way to confession and Mass yesterday, I was confronted in the Church parking lot by an angry driver. I won’t mention the horrible things he said to me as I walked away from him and in to the Church. During Mass I believe that I received a great insight from the Holy Spirit. This insight is that Satan will claw and claw at us all the time. Maybe especially as we try to attain a state of grace. This incident made me much more aware of opportunities for grace and how Satan is always looking to devour us..
It is so hard for me to not try to stop someone from going around my right on the freeway and then cutting in-but I have found a solution: as soon as I know they are going to do it, I slow down and begin a Hail Mary for whoever it is. Had not thought, newguy40 and Jamey, but you all are right-the devil is out there on the road.
Or when other drivers just sit in your blind spot and trail you down the road, I slow up too. My football coach was also my drivers’ ed coach. Again and again, I think back at the life-saving techniques he taught me there: always, always, check your blind spot, left or right, any time before you change lanes–the single most important thing in driving. Much more important than the football lesson: You hit that linebacker and knock him off his pins! Then drive him into the ground, and keep drivin’ him ‘til you hear the whistle!
Satan does come after us when we are getting close to God. I have found ridicule to be a most potent weapon against him. Fr. George Rutler in his book on St. John Vianney “The Cure D’Ars Today” http://www.ignatius.com/Products/CAT-P/cure-dars-today.aspx says,
“So as Christ mockingly called the prince of the devils ‘Beelzebul’ [the lord of the flies], Vianney rolled the name ‘grappin’ [a little rake] over his tongue as though he were nicknaming a naughty pet. It was the subtlest and most violent theology of all: ridicule is one affliction that makes the devil feel like hell…
“His resolution was adept: ‘I turn to God, I make the sign of the Cross, I address a few contemptuous words to the devil. I have noticed, moreover, that the tumult is greater and the assaults more numerous if, on the following day, some big sinner is due to come’…
“The evil one terrorizes no one as much as he is terrorized by Christ the Victor; a losing foe can still win incidental battles before the war’s end, but the outcome for the world is certain even when individual fates are not”…
Thanks for the quotes. I admit to being a big collector of interesting quotes.
I’m presently reading a book of the lectures of Bl. Columba Marmion. He quotes St Dominic (I think…) that when addressing the devil we should laugh at him and remind him of our adoption thru Christ and one of God’s children. In fact, St Dominic goes on to say that we should tell the Devil that he should bend his knee to us as he does to Jesus who is God’s Son and second of the holy trinity because this adoption.
I like quotes myself, and I sure love ridiculing Ole Scratch.
From Gregory Nazianzen.Oration 40, The Oration On Baptism-here’s some really good language for Ole Scratch. Check out telling the devil, since I am in the image of God,”worship thou me”-: “. If after baptism the persecutor and tempter of the light assail you (for he assailed even the Word my God through the veil, the hidden Light through that which was manifested), you have the means to conquer him. Fear not the conflict; defend yourself with the Water; defend yourself with the Spirit, by Which all the fiery darts of the wicked shall be quenched. Ephesians 6:16 It is Spirit, but That Spirit which rent the Mountains. 1 Kings 19:11 It is Water, but that which quenches fire. If he assail you by your want (as he dared to assail Christ), and asks that stones should be made bread, do not be ignorant of his devices. 2 Corinthians 2:11 Teach him what he has not learned. Defend yourself with the Word of life, Who is the Bread sent down from heaven, and giving life to the world. John 6:33 If he plot against you with vain glory (as he did against Christ when he led Him up to the pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, Cast Yourself down Matthew 4:6 as a proof of Your Godhead), be not overborne by elation. If you be taken by this he will not stop here. For he is insatiable, he grasps at every thing. He fawns upon you with fair pretences, but he ends in evil; this is the manner of his fighting. Yes, and the robber is skilled in Scripture. On the one side was that It is written about the Bread, and on the other that it Is written about the Angels. It is written, quoth he, He shall give His Angels charge concerning you, and they shall bear you in their hands. O vile sophist! How was it that you suppressed the words that follow, for I know it well, even if you pass it by in silence? I will make you to go upon the asp and basilisk, and I will tread upon serpents and scorpions, being fenced by the Trinity. If he wrestle against you to a fall through avarice, showing you all the Kingdoms at one instant and in the twinkling of an eye, as belonging to himself, and demand your worship, despise him as a beggar. Say to him relying on the Seal, I am myself the Image of God; I have not yet been cast down from the heavenly Glory, as you were through your pride; I have put on Christ; I have been transformed into Christ by Baptism; worship thou me. Well do I know that he will depart, defeated and put to shame by this; as he did from Christ the first Light, so he will from those who are illumined by Christ. Such blessings does the laver bestow on those who apprehend it; such is the rich feast which it provides for those who hunger aright.
That’s about 100 quotes that will turn Ole Scratch into a puddle of stink, which is all he really is, anyway.
I knew Melanie had not started a 7th career as a cabbie! Jamey, if you don’t know it, you may appreciate the exorcism poem -abbreviated -on the back of St Benedict medals. I have enlarged a reproduction of it and carry it – medal, both sides, and poem complete-in my car. Devils don’t like to ride with me. You gotta love “drink the poison yourself.” Guy
reverse side of the medal:
” V R S N S M V – S M Q L I V B are the initial letters, as mentioned above, of a Latin prayer of exorcism against Satan: Vade retro Satana! Nunquam suade mihi vana! Sunt mala quae libas. Ipse venena bibas! (Begone Satan! Never tempt me with your vanities! What you offer me is evil. Drink the poison yourself!)”
Reverse Side of the Medal
[reverse]Crux mihi lux
On the back of the medal, the cross is dominant. On the arms of the cross are the initial letters of a rhythmic Latin prayer: Crux sacra sit mihi lux! Nunquam draco sit mihi dux! (May the holy cross be my light! May the dragon never be my guide!).
In the angles of the cross, the letters C S P B stand for Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti (The cross of our holy father Benedict).
Peace
Above the cross is the word pax (peace), that has been a Benedictine motto for centuries. Around the margin of the back of the medal, the letters
That’s so funny, Guy. I was thinking the same thing: people must have thought Melanie was quite a dynamo—mother of 9, full-time editor and writer, and she still manages to drive a Yellow Cab in Manhattan!
I have worn a St. Benedict Medal around my neck since I first went into Queen of Peace Church near me as a believer in the Faith. A man there who would bring his 2 teenage daughters to the Mary Chapel every day at 6 a.m. gave it to me 8 years ago. It has kept me safe, even from some very dangerous characters, all these years. Thanks for the insights on all of the prayers on it. I wake poor Benedict, and Sts. Joseph and Peter and Michael many a night with prayers for protection. They have kept me out of trouble, trouble you wouldn’t believe.
Meanwhile, I live as far from Manhattan as possible- in rural eastern Ontario, Canada on the edge of a tiny hamlet, on 7 acres in an 1886 house, an hour from the city.
I know, which is why it must have surprised readers this morning when they saw your name on this story, and that you were driving a Yellow Cab in Manhattan. 🙂
What a wonderful story. I really needed this today!
That’s a good prayer, Jamey.
Isn’t it, james? I just discovered it this week when I read it in Aletia. http://aleteia.org/2016/02/22/a-prayer-of-exorcism-taught-by-saint-anthony/