Prayer Seen As Super-Weapon Against Evil

Not long after our explorations of hate and evil we see growing in the world, the Vatican revealed a new assault on Satan. It appears that we are not the only ones seeing evil growing in the world; and while it may seem ironic to many that an organization like the Catholic church, who has seen much evil arise from its own ranks in recent years, is spearheading an attack on evil from the outside, at least somebody is doing something! The rite of exorcism is as old as the church itself and was popularized by a movie made in the 1970's entitled simply "The Exorcist". The idea that an archduke of evil can inhabit the body of a man against his will is perhaps one of the most frightening ideas ever conceived and the Vatican's straightforward assault is a modern day eye brow raiser for sure.

According to a highly placed Vatican official, a chief in charge of fighting the devil, Father Gabriele Amorth: "Too many bishops are not taking this seriously and are not delegating their priests in the fight against the Devil. You have to hunt high and low for a properly trained exorcist." It looks like the Satan hunt is on for real and, to many who see this type of church activity as akin to voodoo, it may look like a giant step backward for the organization. According to Amorth, "People suffer and think that turning to the Devil can help solve their problems. We are being bombarded by requests for exorcisms." Sounds like the exorcist appeal is more a matter of supply and demand than an attempt to restore the church to earlier time or more traditional standards.

As a silver bullet in the fight against the Devil, the church recommends recitation of a specific prayer: The Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. The prayer was traditionally seen as protection against evil that was recited at the end of Catholic Masses. The prayer was dropped in the 1960s by Pope John XXIII. The text of the prayer follows.

• Saint Michael the Archangel,
  defend us in battle.
  Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
  May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
  and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -
  by the Divine Power of God -
  cast into hell, Satan and all the evil spirits,
  who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
  Amen.

We don't want to be accused of doing commercials for the Catholic church. We are of the opinion that if Christ were walking the streets of Rome today he might well purge the church of all of its symbols and riches much as he did when he upset the tables of the money changers in Temple of His own time. The church does, however, do something few organizations do anymore and that is speak out on matters of spirit which we feel need to be placed higher in the public realm than they currently are. Matters of spirit need to be discussed, debated and dissected in this time of strife we are entering; they may be our only refuge during The Apocalypse Times....