Interview with an Exorcist (2006)

I've always been intrigued by the spiritual realm.

I remember hearing an interview with Father Malachi Martin who, when speaking about the real exorcism from which the movie The Exorcist was based, stated that our sins are on the "public record," so to speak, in the spiritual realm. He spoke about how they are available to the demons to use against the priest. And how, at the end of that one particular difficult exorcism that spawned a movie franchise, a small group of people in a small church nearby all saw the image of St. Michael the Arc Angel lifting his sword in victory after the mighty demon was finally purged from the child.

Stories like that have fascinated me. I've always figured the spiritual realm was much greater, much more complex and far more intricate than we could ever imagine in our small little brains.

And, personally, I have felt the tinge of harassment from an unwelcomed entity at one point in my life.

So, picking up the book Interview with an Exorcist, by Father Jose Antonio Fortea of Spain, was a really interesting and a sometimes disturbing read about the nature of demonic forces, their goals, how best to combat them and the limits of what they can and cannot do. The book is fashioned in the standard and efficient answer/question format where, over the course of 110 questions, Father Fortea gives real world insight into what's up the Devil's sleeve and ways in which we can avoid or combat the work of the evil minions.

Some of that information was quite surprising.

Father warns that Satan would like nothing better than to make us all non-believers in him. Some religions have actually disbanded exorcists completely. Nothing makes Satan happier. Fortunately, Pope Benedict XVI has recently requested that more exorcist be made available to confront evil within our society.

Reading this book was also therapeutic for me, as it forced me to face the disturbing memories of when I felt attacked by an evil presence. Thankfully, the mercy of God is great and through pure living and frequent prayer Satan is unable to beat us.

God will be victorious in the end. And if we can remain by His side we will always be protected.