re: Raymond Arroyo: Why Exorcisms are on the rise

??every diocese has at least one exorcist

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Raymond Arroyo: Why Exorcisms are on the rise

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Just checking. This is the year 2026, right? Not the year 800.

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You can’t look at this and tell me that demons don’t exist

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I don't believe in demons.

I do believe in attention whores.

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I do not think demonic possessions are real.

Psychological illness is real.

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Mental illness and demonic possession are not mutually exclusive. Catholic Church/exorcists require extensive mental evals and testing before determining wether possession or demonic influence exist prior to recommending an exorcism.

Exorcist files is a fascinating podcast on the subject and case files if you or anyone is interested.

The following highlights key points spiritual points sometimes stripped from Scripture. Read in light of the Holy Spirit.

In Matthew 12 the Pharisees, in a lawyer-like manner, tried to catch Jesus in the act of breaking the law, so they could plot against Him. The lesson here portrays God’s desire for relationship and partnership rather than legal schemes.

Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

Jesus understood the law better than the lawyer-like demons that were presumably with the Pharisee at that time.

“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Pay attention to some keys here. It has relevance to Jesus as a God who loves you and desires relational love, contrasted with the demonic, who know the rules of engagement and must even follow them with your permission to gain authority, in a procedural legalistic binding fashion.

How he entered the house of God
Pos eisethen eis ton Oikon tou Theos

One of the interesting things about this passage is the house (used here in the masculine) vs what we see later, of the house of a strong man entered by a demon (but the house used there in the feminine).

Enter the house (of God) - Eiserchomai eis ho oikos (theos)
Matthew 12:4

Key Words
Eiserchomai (or eisenthen “He entered”) – Enter into, taking possession of a body
oikos (or Okion masculine form) – habitation, house, any dwelling place that is able to be possessed (as of a body)

Eiserchomai: Greek eiserchomai (enter into)
Oikos: Greek Oikos (masculine house or body)

Continue the reference passages showing Jesus’s mastery of the law.

David and the showbread is referenced in 1 Samuel 21:6, but it was unlawful per Lev 24:5-8 and priest were prescribed work to do on the Sabbath by preparing a sacrifice per Numbers 28:9-10

The Bread of the Tabernacle speaks of some of the works that priest were prescribed to perform on the Sabbath.

“And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it. Two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. You shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the Lord. And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, an offering made by fire to the Lord. Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute.”

Why was it unlawful for David to eat? Was David a Levite or of the tribe of Judah? Was he a priest or a king?

Why were the (We got Him now) Pharisees so concerned about Jesus breaking the law? Did Jesus know the law better then them?

Sabbath Offerings

‘And on the Sabbath day two lambs in their first year, without blemish, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, with its drink offering. This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering with its drink offering.

Would this be considered work on the Sabbath to the (lawyers?) Pharisees?

He follows up with a quote from Hosea 6:6 (full quote from Hosea below)

For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

What does this have to do with the legalistic nature of demons, presumably even the demons following the Pharisees in this interesting chapter of Matthew?

Well if you continue reading Jesus heals on the Sabbath in Matthew 12:9-14 and Jesus is aware of this plot against Him by the Pharisees. But then He cast out a demon-possessed man where the same Pharisees seen, acting like a prosecuting attorney and an “accuser” (much like Satan?) towards, Jesus, who just cast out this demon (from a presumably strong man trapped in his own body?).

Pay attention to this passage but take a look behind the language in the Greek

A House Divided Cannot Stand

Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

E pos dynatai tis Eiselthein eis ten Okian
Or how can someone enter into the (feminine form of house)
Oikia : Greek Oikia (feminine "house")

The language is interesting because it is talking about presumably a demon who binds (deo) a strong man and enters and “plunders” his house.

Deo – binding, taking possession (as in demon possession), put under obligation as if by duty or the law, to be bound.
deo : Greek (Deo Binding, Legal Means, Chains)

I have to point out one of the on-going themes in society about "self". Many are told they are not who God says they are. Many lose their identity in Christ and further, many “trans” people feel trapped (in their own body?).

One of the important lessons we learn from this is who we choose to partner with, because the enemy also deals in contracts and they want to gain your authority by having you take their yoke, but Jesus already gave the solution to this in the last words of the previous chapter, Chapter 11 of Matthew.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

A yoke for anyone unaware was an agriculture tool (often used between two ox for plowing) is a device that pairs two things together (a partnership, an agreement, a relationship or a contract).

Jesus loves you and invites you to Him and even those that are lost and feel trapped have freedom in Christ.

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Edit: For all you dumb MF’ers downvoting, I hope you pray for healing when you get gravely sick and get an exorcism rather than seeking assistance from modern medical physicians.

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You need to listen to actual exorcist priests. You’ll see quickly and resoundingly that they are not anti-realism or anti-modern medicine. In fact, they do everything they can to rule out any and every materialist or medical explanation before even considering demonic obsession, influence, or full fledged possession.

If you actually look at the evidence, you’ll be more than convinced.

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I do not. I have never heard of anything to make me believe that.

I believe in schizophrenia. I believe in mental health issues. I believe in many things.

But there has never been any verifiable proof.

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We are 40 years into consumer video cameras being everywhere...

And there are videos of demonic possessions... which are just people acting nuts. No supernatural powers on display, just people acting like what they've seen or read about.

Belief that any of this is real has to happen in the victims of the possession and in the exorcists and observers.

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If you actually look at the evidence, you’ll be more than convinced.

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I’m quite certain I would not be convinced despite what you or the priest might consider as evidence.

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You need to listen to actual exorcist priests

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Certainly they videoed some of this and it’s on YouTube? Where can I access it?

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Should become a lot more obvious by the end of this year.

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What?

Catholics, man.