(English text after the Italian / Spanish text after English)

Prayer of liberation and healing. Which insurmountable border separates theology and pastoral with the danger of falling into magical practices?

«Using the magical offices of certain charismatic shamans, Not only will the deceased of the whole family tree of applicants be freed, But also those who must always come to the world. Indeed, thanks to the power of the peregrifying liberator from one hotel to another, posterity will no longer even need baptism, Why, Once the imposition of the hands is received by a electrocuted in the brain, they will be born directly without original sin "

— Pastoral current events —

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Author
Ivano Liguori, Ofm. Cap.

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In the face of my last two articles on the possible drifts of a method of understanding exorcism, combined with the conception that sees the devil as a marketing and profitless product (you see WHO e WHO), I believed it appropriate to write a third that will have as its object the prayer of liberation.

I want to clarify that my little contributions are nothing Compared to the most complete and exhaustive works of demonologists such as Mons. Renzo Lavatori or Father José Antonio Fortea.

How can we forget particularly expert exorcists like the Father Moreno Fiori o.p. and the Father Raffaele Talmelli S.P., Both left a flourishing bibliography on demonopathies. We cannot forget, against the other, All the other exorcist priests who carry out their ministry in fatigue and who are reliable masters in which to find a guide. Considering that some of them have written several books and articles on these issues, I invite the reader to a targeted bibliographic research with which it is possible to increase the knowledge of these topics. In the face of this, My article constitutes only a small tribute and thanksgiving.

Before defineing precisely the prayer of liberation, First of all, the boundaries and areas of competence must be established. First of all, This prayer is not an exorcism but it is a prayer of intercession with which we turn to God, to the Madonna or the Saints to ask for the liberation of a suffering person due to the evils caused by the influence of the evil one. With this definition we immediately exclude the conclaimed cases of real diabolical possession, that exist but they are very rare, and the cases of diabolical influences such as the obsessions and harassments that must require a particular care by the exorcist priest, joined to a multidisciplinary approach of the case.

To be even more precise We summarize how much the sacred congregation for the doctrine of the faith has established since 29 September 1985 in Letter to ordinary regarding the rules on exorcisms (cf.. WHO) And we apply what has been said to the liberation prayer:

– In the prayer of liberation it is never allowed, even when they do not deal with diabolical possession, contact the devil directly.

– Only the exorcist can be addressed directly to the devil, intimandogles, In the name of the Church, to leave.

– Lays cannot, even if they are prayers of liberation, Use the formulas of exorcism, Including the one published by Pope Leo XIII, nor use part of said prayer.

– Exorcism can only be exercised by a priest specially authorized by the local ordinary (cf.. Code of Canon Law, 1166; 1172).

Defining even better the prayers of liberation It is necessary to specify that they can be recited by anyone who intends to ask the Lord for themselves or for others healing and liberation from evil, On the basis of the invocation already contained in the prayer of the Our Father who recites "free of us from evil", that is, free us from the evil one.

Ask God to defend us from the evil one it means affirming a double truth: The defense against sin that is the main work of the evil one and the defense against the consequences of sin, whose fruits are represented by the countless infirmities and spiritual and bodily fragility of which man has had experiences already after his creation. Theologically it is more correct to see liberation and healing as aspects of the same reality of fighting to sin, on which Jesus, The Son of man, has full power (cf.. MC 2,1-12).

In the document entitled Education about prayers to get healing from God, The sacred congregation for the doctrine of faith, In the disciplinary provisions it establishes:

«To every faithful it is legitimate to raise prayers to God to obtain healing. However, when these take place in church or another sacred place, It is convenient that they are guided by an ordered minister " (cf.. art. 1).

Based on a correct theological vision of understanding of sin and its consequences, Each faithful has the opportunity to invoke God for liberation and healing from his evils, as well as ask the prayers brothers for this intention. Whether these evils have affected the spirit or body, with a wise assignment to Christ Celeste doctor, The faithful use all the remedies that grace and human science make available to be able to soothe as much as possible such suffering. As a result, in discernment between the different evils and the possible treatments, the faithful will be able to resort to the priest, to the doctor or other specialist based on his real situation of infirmity, without excluding that all these figures can work in communion to reach a happy resolution of the problem. We remember, about that, One of the cornerstones of health pastoral care that says that where it is not possible to heal it is always possible and duty to cure.

The prayers of liberation and healing They should be properly formulated in a context of full loyalty to the filing of the faith of the Catholic Church, in communion with the Magisterium, In obedience to the sacred shepherds and with their firm attention to never slip towards deviated and ambiguous forms that could generate misunderstandings or misunderstandings, As the last document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith already mentioned indicates.

Only by inserting liberation into a sacramental journey We can then ask ourselves about when it is appropriate to resort to the so -called liberation prayers. I have already had the opportunity to explain that the path of liberation and fight against the devil is very complex and begins with the sacrament of baptism, In that daily path of conversion and change of mentality that constitutes the solid basis of a new life in the Holy Spirit, in which in the image of the child, The Holy Spirit is pushed in our soul and the voice of the Father recognizes us as loved children (cf.. Mt 3,17; MC 1,11; LC 3,22). Risorti as new creatures from the waters of baptism, We too are conducted in the desert to face the face to face to be against the spirit of evil. In Christ we already have the victory, His divine humanity strengthens our humanity; His divine Spirit and the same spirit of ours has been given to us and with whom we can say every time we are tempted: «Go Satan!» (cf.. Mt 4,10).

From the sacrament of baptism we move on to the sacrament of confession with which the Holy Spirit speaks to us as to the prodigal Son and invites us to return to the paternal house to be covered with that branch dignity that we have lost with sin (cf.. LC 15,17-20). It is precisely of sin, indeed, push man to the removal from God, Up to convince him that his father is the obstacle element for full happiness and a freeding realization. When the man with his concrete historical acts and with his current sins voluntarily opens the door of his heart to the ordinary action of the evil one, here the sin is consumed. And sin drags to sin, With the repetition of the same documents it generates the vice, from which the perverse inclinations then derive from it, which obtaining consciousness by altering it and leading man to an inability to evaluate and choice between good and evil (cf.. Catechism of the Catholic Church n. 1865).

Certain current sins with the consequent derivative vices, They involve a clear personal responsibility of the man - the divine question due to the fault of the progenitors and for the murder of Abel is quite eloquent: "What did you do?» (cf.. GN 3,13; 4,10) - An obvious fault, which can be recovered only and only when it is dissolved with the power of the keys that Jesus gave to Pietro (cf. Mt 16,18-19) and that in the sacramental forum is represented by the acquittal. If we are careful, we are faced with the celebration of a real exorcism, to the supreme act of liberation of man, which is not only an invoked liberation, but objectively realized in reality.

The sacramental path that leads from baptism to confession culminates with the Eucharist and Holy Mass. Indeed, The path of liberation does not stop but continues in a very special way in the Eucharist, In that divine banquet of the Holy Mass where the real presence is made, real and substantial of our Redeemer. In his true body, In his true blood, In his true soul and in his divinity he continues to defeat the power of the evil one-sin and death-and with his own person he wins the one who is the very incarnation of the "non-person" and leads the man towards a human and divine depersonalization[1].

I think it is useful to know that the new Roman Missal In the section "Masses and prayers for various needs" includes several specific formulars for the celebration of the Holy Mass which have as its object the sick and the dying (NN. 45-46) To then move on to all those spiritual situations of various needs that could be a consequence of the intervention of the spirit of evil and the rooted and hardened sin (n. 48 sez. A-B-C).

Keeping this sacramental vision of liberation well in mind that embraces the first three sacraments of the septenary, Allow me to borrow a thought of Cardinal Mauro Piacenza:

«The sacraments continually educate the struggle: especially the repetable sacraments, those who do not impress character and that can be celebrated many times in life, mean and indicate, full way, The "competitive" dimension - of agone - of the fight against evil ".

This is the focal point of the question that we set ourselves at the beginning of this paragraph: how decisive it is immediately to resort to liberation prayers if you are not constantly inserted within a sacramental path? Without a attitude preventive sacramental it is necessary to avoid prayers of liberation, especially if the actual utility is not warned, without a certain preparation by those who intercept on the person and without a prior and robust preparation of those who receive them.

It is necessary to clarify how the effectiveness of the sacramental (Exorcism or prayer of liberation) In the faithful it depends on their sacramental life. These are the sacraments that imprint the freeding and re -analyzed force to the sacramental, who are part of that affected and lived faith in daily by the faithful. Has no case in the Holy Mass, in the rites of communion, The priest before the exchange of peace says:

«Lord Jesus Christ, that you told your apostles: “I leave you peace, I give you my peace ", Don't look at our sins, But to the faith of your Church, and donale unity and peace according to your will. You who live and reign over the centuries of the centuries. Amen».

It is the faith that the Lord seeks from us, that faith received in baptism, strengthened in the recognition of our sins and the exercise of mutual charity, Nourished and increased by the body and blood of Christ. Without faith or in the absence of it there is no type of liberation or healing, Only superstitious palliative that often cause more damage than benefits from the soul and body. And in this superstitious vision we can also drop the holy things, like the use of sacramental and devotion to the saints.

When we talk about prayers of liberation We risk getting lost within a variety of truly diversified forms and content, It is therefore completely consequential to ask: which prayers of liberation to do? The collections of these prayers would impose an order that is above all of a theological nature. Indeed, The structure of these prayers is very varied and it is often difficult to go back to the exact origin: they range from apparently Catholic ones, to those with a devotional flavor related to some mystical or holy, to those with an oriental style that wink at the Greek world up to the prayers of some reformed Christian communities (Suffice it to mention the practice of liberation, of purification and healing of the genealogical tree of Kenneth Mcall) To finish then to Formulari with a clearly esoteric flavor.

The absence of a canon never transcribed constitutes the most evident problem from which the lack of an approved canonical collection to be drawn. This is perhaps one of the things that most promotes the possibility of resorting to wild improvisation. Certainly priests have the opportunity to resort to the blessing that it gives countless ideas, But the field of the fight against the devil and its influences is so specific that it would require some more attention, So as to avoid the morbid research of the averting and the most decisive invocation also at the cost of crossing the border from orthodoxy and garden.

The prayer of liberation is outlined as an invocative prayer which concerns the context of the Sacramentals. This requires having to verify at least two criteria in it:

– that is approved by the competent ecclesiastical authority;

– that has a very precise dogmatic and liturgical construction in its composition that it does not leave margins of confusion or misunderstanding.

In the directory on popular and liturgy piety, The congregation for divine cult and the discipline of the sacraments establishes:

«Although drawn up with language, as it were, Less rigorous than the prayers of the liturgy, The texts of prayers and formulas of devotion must draw inspiration from the pages of Sacred Scripture, of the liturgy, of the fathers and the magisterium, agree with the faith of the Church. The stable and public texts of prayers and acts of pity must approve the local ordinary " (cf.. full document WHO).

The prayer of liberation needs to be a prayer approved by the Church precisely because of the delicacy of the matter treated, containing of necessity inside that corpus of faith believed and professed that well summarizes that theological principle for which the the law of prayer And law of belief and vice versa. Although the prayers of liberation are not real liturgical prayers, which consist of a specific celebratory and liturgical area, This does not exempt from a less accurate composition of the texts and content.

But let's get to the specific. In my two previous articles, I have already had the opportunity to argue on the prayer of the Our Father that the Lord himself taught to his disciples (cf.. Mt 6,9-13; LC 11,1-4) and as such, It prefigures not only as the first prayer of liberation but first of all as prayers par excellence. Excluding this, We know that in the new exorcism ritual it is contained, In 2 appendage (NN. 1-10), A section of prayers for private use of the faithful who find themselves having to fight against the power of darkness. This list can well be considered as an official list and approved of prayers to be done privately and who affect all those who experience an action of the devil that goes beyond ordinary action. It is legitimate to think, so, that the ratio Inspiring of these prayers does not concern only those who are already subjected to greater exorcism but above all those who find themselves experimenting with a particular direct assault of the evil one.

Wanting us to unbalance in the interpretation, We can assume that the mens Of these prayers in the ritual it does not only concern the single faithful but also that largest community that is to travel the streets of this world of ours marked by the wound of sin and the fomite of the concupiscence. Useful in this sense it is to draw up an essential case that could suggest the use of a prayer of liberation, Just as the Church has always done in many litanic prayers that end with the invocation: Deliver us O. Let's think for example:

1) to frequent and repeated blasphemy;

2) to feelings of hatred, rancor, of destruction and despair;

3) to the inducement in severe sin and rooting to perform evil;

4) To the conflicts torn to families;

5) to situations of natural and epidemiological wars and disasters;

6) to those situations of widespread immorality, of desecration and scandals that also concern the public life of a country or a nation;

7) to the malicious and defacent management of human relationships and between peoples;

8) to persecutions against the Church and Christians because of faith in Christ;

9) to the attack on the integrity of weak and defenseless human life.

The case studies could also be much more diversified, But the use of a precise and mature discernment accompanied by the Church becomes the best choice to learn to distinguish the origin from the cause[2]. Because, If it is true that certain situations do not always have the devil as a direct cause it is also true that at the origin of these evils there is always its deceived and corrupted action.

Listing the prayers of official and approved liberation prayers, For argumentative completeness I believe is noteworthy the universal prayer that the Church elevates to God on Good Friday. The tenth intention, dedicated to all tributes, reads like this:

"We pray, Dear brothers, God the Almighty Father, because the world free from any disorder: remove diseases, Scacci hunger, Make prisoners freedom, justice to the oppressed, grant safety to those traveling, The return to the distant from home, Health to the sick, to the dying eternal salvation.
Almighty and eternal God, comfort of the afflicted, Support of Tribolates, Listen to the cry of suffering humanity, Because everyone rejoiced to have received the rescue of your mercy in their needs. For Christ our Lord " (Previous x, For tributes).

This high plea on the day when the Church recalls the passion of the Lord, has a clear value of liberation prayer. Indeed, God is asked that all evils and situations of fragility and danger for men come to be removed, To achieve the victory against the one who at the origin of all evil and sin. While being part of the official liturgy of Good Friday, Nothing prohibits a faithful to recite it privately and to ask God for himself and for others the help in the various situations of tribulation.

Finally, here we come to the problem of pastoral abuses in the prayers of liberation. In education about prayers to get healing from God, The congregation requires that these prayers take place preferably in church or another sacred place and that they are guided by an ordered minister. Unlike the exorcism which compulsorily requires the presence of a presbyter, The prayers of liberation, Just as we understood them in this article, they can also be guided by a deacon. But I immediately advance that this choice requires a certain prudence and guarantees for the reasons that I will explain later.

The presence of the ordered minister It is not simply important but just essential to guide prayer by updating that mandate that Christ has given those who sent two by two to free and heal (cf.. LC 10,1-20). Therefore, Public prayers guided by lay faithful cannot be promoted, who will have to look at each other from imposing their hands or make gestures reserved for ordered ministers, remaining within the limits and in the terms provided for by the precise provisions dictated by the Church (cf.. the, Blessings, Rome, 1992, 18).

Healing and liberation are united in the same theological gaze, As the sacred congregation for the doctrine of faith clarifies and how it is our priestly and pastoral duty to remember, Because it is only the Lord "the one who frees from all evil" (cf.. Sap 16,8) And in this action of grace the suffering that accompany the disease are also the subject of the profound desire of man of a total liberation that affects not only the corporal component but also the psychic and spiritual component (cf.. art. 1).

The Congregation has a regulatory will referred to those circumstances of public prayer, Leaving aside the sphere of life of private prayer of the faithful, Knowing that each baptized is asked to pray to God for the living and for the deceased and for their own and others conversion. As for the choice of the place, The sacred context strengthens the will to remain united to the Church and its shepherds, It also makes what the Lord recommends in the parable of the good Samaritan (cf.. LC 10,25-37) in which the unfortunate wayfarer is housed in the hospital-hospital represents the church. The image of the brigands is strongly symbolic and has a spiritual sense that has been described by the Fathers of the Church, who have been able to see the work of the devil and his angels who undress the man of the guise of immortality and strike him to death with the weapon of sin until he deprive him of the life of grace.

All other public places that are not a church, A chapel or an oratory are in themselves unsuitable, it should be superfluous to reiterate it, But it is good to do it in the light of the clear and precise discipline of the Church, certainly not of their personal opinions. Just as some channels and communication routes such as phones are unsuitable, cell phones, webcam I like. Unfortunately, cases have occurred, and continue to occur, in which exorcisms were made on the phone, Prayers of liberation on the radio or with the use of the various means of communication, Not to mention the exorcistic and liberating tours organized around Italian hotels on weekends with lots of promotional packages that offer liberations, healing, conversions or, As some confreres as well as sailed as it would now be disenchanted:

«Using the magical offices of certain charismatic shamans, Not only will the deceased of the whole family tree of applicants be freed, But also those who must always come to the world. Indeed, thanks to the power of the peregrifying liberator from one hotel to another, posterity will no longer even need baptism, Why, Once the imposition of the hands is received by a electrocuted in the brain, they will be born directly without original sin ".

A pastoral situation that deserves attention it is that relating to those who are really prey to the spirit of evil but whose situation of possession, obsession or harassment has not yet clearly revealed. The case in which, Following the healing or liberation prayer meetings, The evil spirit can manifest itself suddenly, as forced by the power of prayer combined with the faith of the Orante Assembly. Often there is not even the need for a particular liberation prayer but the simple prayer of praise or an invocation of the Holy Spirit is enough to find itself in a situation similar to that happened to Jesus in the Synagogue of Capernaum (cf.. MC 1, 21-28; LC 4, 31-37).

Management similar manifestations involves prudence and soul fortress, combined with faith in Christ and obedience to the Church. We must be seriously wondering if for these public prayer meetings there must be no preventive presence of a formally appointed and authorized exorcist, which has the name of Christ and the Church can lawfully intervene. We remember that facing the evil spirit without being exorcist, without being an orderly minister and with his own condition of fragility it is decidedly not very wise. Man has no power on demons and disproportion is the one between an angelic creature and a human creature. It is true that the history of the Church recalls men who have been able to make exorcisms and liberations, But this reality is determined by their particular holiness of life and by a special assistance of divine providence, I like to remember Sant'Antonio Abate, St. Benedict of Nursia, St. Francis of Assisi, Santa Chiara d'Assisi, San Salvatore da Horta. All of them were not priests and had not received the appointment of exorcist but their life shone with that holiness to which no devil could resist. Same speech can be done for San Pio da Pietrelcina, who fought his whole life against the devil, Although he has never received the authorization from the Ministry of Exorcist from the Diocesan Bishop and his Provincial Minister and his Provincial Minister.

To conclude: is the cure of the Church protecting the privacy of those who live spiritual manifestations of evil influence with a prompt accompaniment and free from indebted spectacularizations. All those protective situations for these suffering brothers must be taken into account so that their liberation takes place within a reserved context. For this reason, you avoid bringing these brothers suffering in the various tour liberation, exposing them to the public to make testimonies that often have the flavor of advertising campaigns aimed at increasing the "fame" and the self -centeredness of the charismatic healer or liberator, instead of seeking stability through a priest who starts accompaniment. To this it is useful to combine a group of prayer that can help in the spiritual battle elevating fervent intercessions to God. Just as happens in some practices of psychotherapy, The path of liberation and healing must aim to make man again autonomous and master of himself. The therapist does not have to tie the patient to his person, Thus the priest does not have to tie to his person or his charisma the faithful by forcing him to an infinite path of liberation prayers. If after a congruous period of time there are no tangible improvements, If you have not acquired a serious sacramental habitus, If there is no particular evidence, Then it is better to interrupt these prayers and start a more in -depth human and spiritual discernment.

In any case, the problem remains the same over the centuries, without ever having lost topicality, He clearly put him clearly the blessed Apostle Paul by writing to his disciple Timoteo:

«The day will come, indeed, when they will not endure sound doctrine;, ma, having itching ears they, will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, refusing to listen to the truth to turn to fairy tales. But you shall carefully, endure suffering, do the work of the gospel proclaimer, fulfill your ministry " (II Tm 4, 1-5).

Sanluri, 25 March 2025

NOTE

[1] For a greater study of what has been said in this paragraph, please refer to the intervention of Cardinal Mauro Piacenza: Exorcism and sacraments, On the occasion of the XI basic course on exorcism by the National Gris in collaboration with the Pontifical University Regina Apostolorum in Rome and the International Esorcisti Association. 4 April 2016 Thursday 15 September 2016.

[2] To this list is added how much William Bleiziffer says in his contribution: Exorcism and exorcist in the canonical discipline of the Church, in Studia Universitas Babeş-Bolyai, Demonology today: Theological foundations and practical aspects, 2019, p.154 Note 42.

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PRAYER OF LIBERATION AND HEALING. WHAT IMPRESCABLE BOUNDARY SEPARATES THEOLOGY AND PASTORAL CARE FROM THE DANGER OF FALLING INTO MAGICAL PRACTICES?

«By using the magical offices of certain charismatic shamans, not only will the deceased of the entire family tree of the applicants be liberated, but also those who must always come into the world. In fact, thanks to the power of the liberator wandering from one hotel to another, posterity will no longer even need baptism, because, once they have received the imposition of hands from a lightning-struck person in the brain, they will be born directly without original sin».

— Pastoral actuality —

Author
Ivano Liguori, Ofm. Cap.

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PDF Article print format

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In light of my last two articles on the possible consequences of a way of understanding exorcism, combined with the concept that sees the Devil as a product of marketing and profit (see WHO, WHO), I thought it appropriate to write a third that will have as its subject the Prayer of Liberation.

I would like to clarify that my small contributions are nothing compared to the much more complete and exhaustive works of learned demonologists such as Mgr. Renzo Lavatori or Father José Antonio Fortea.

How can we not remember particularly expert exorcists such as the italians Father Moreno Fiori o.p. and Father Raffaele Talmelli S.P., both of whom have left a flourishing bibliography on demonopathies. We cannot forget, among other things, all the other exorcist priests who carry out their ministry in hardship and who are reliable teachers in whom to find guidance. Considering that some of them have written several books and articles on these topics, I invite the reader to do a targeted bibliographical research with which it is possible to increase the knowledge of these topics. In light of this, my article is only a small tribute and a thank you.

Before precisely defining the Prayer of Liberation, we must first establish its boundaries and areas of competence. First of all, this prayer is not an exorcism but a prayer of intercession with which one turns to God, the Madonna or the Saints to ask for the liberation of a person suffering from the evils caused by the influence of the evil one. With this definition we immediately exclude the clear cases of real diabolical possession, which exist but are very rare; and the cases of diabolical influences such as obsessions and vexations that must require special care on the part of the exorcist priest, combined with a multidisciplinary approach to the case. To be even more precise, let us summarize what the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has established since September 29, 1985 in the Letter to Ordinaries regarding the norms on exorcisms (see HERE) and let us apply what has been said to the Prayer of Liberation:

– In the Prayer of Liberation, it is never permitted, even when it is not a question of diabolical possession, to address the Demon directly.

– Only the exorcist can address the Demon directly, ordering him, in the name of the Church, to leave.

– Lay people cannot, even when it is a question of Prayers of Liberation, use the formulas of exorcism, including that published by Pope Leo XIII, nor use part of said prayer.

– Exorcism can only be practiced by a priest specifically authorized by the Ordinary of the place (cf. Code of Canon Law, 1166; 1172).

– In further defining the Prayers of Liberation, it is necessary to specify that they can be recited by anyone who intends to ask the Lord for healing and deliverance from evil for themselves or for others, on the basis of the invocation already contained in the prayer of the Our Father which says «deliver us from evil», or deliver us from the Evil One.

Asking God to defend us from the Evil One means affirming a twofold truth: the defense from sin, which is the principal work of the Evil One, and the defense from the consequences of sin, the fruits of which are represented by the innumerable spiritual and physical infirmities and frailties that man has experienced since after his creation. Theologically, it is more correct to see liberation and healing as aspects of the same reality of the fight against sin, over which Jesus, the Son of Man, has full power (cf. Mk 2, 1-12).

In the document entitled Instruction on prayers to obtain healing from God, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in the disciplinary provisions establishes:

«”People are called to joy. Nevertheless each day they experience many forms of suffering and pain”. Therefore, the Lord, in his promises of redemption, announces the joy of the heart that comes from liberation from sufferings (cf. Is 30:29; 35:10; Bar 4:29). Indeed, he is the one «who delivers from every Evil» (Wis 16:8). Among the different forms of suffering, those which accompany illness are continually present in human history. They are also the object of man’s deep desire to be delivered from every Evil» (Official document SEE).

The Prayer of Liberation needs to be a prayer approved by the Church precisely because of the delicacy of the subject matter, necessarily containing within itself that corpus of faith believed and professed that well summarizes that theological principle for which the the law of prayer is law of belief. Although the Prayers of Liberation are not liturgical prayers in the true sense, consisting of a specific celebratory and liturgical context, this does not exempt from a less accurate composition of the texts and contents.

But let’s get to the specifics. In my two previous articles, I have already had the opportunity to argue about the prayer of the Our Father that the Lord himself taught to his disciples (cf. Mt 6,9-13; Page 11,1-4) and as such, it is prefigured not only as the first Prayer of Liberation but above all as prayers par excellence. Excluding this, we know that in the new Ritual of Exorcisms there is contained, in Appendix II (NN. 1-10), a section of prayers for the private use of the faithful who find themselves having to fight against the power of darkness. This list can well be considered as an official and approved list of prayers to be said privately and which concern all those who experience an action of the devil that goes beyond ordinary action. It is legitimate to think, therefore, that the inspiring ratio of these prayers does not concern only those who are already subjected to major exorcism but above all those who find themselves experiencing a particular direct assault of the Evil one.

If we want to enter into interpretation, we can assume that the mens of such prayers in the ritual does not only concern the individual believer but also that wider community that finds itself walking the paths of this world of ours marked by the wound of sin and the fomite of concupiscence. It is useful in this sense to draw up an essential case study that could suggest the use of a Prayer of Liberation, as the Church has always done in many litanic prayers that end with the invocation: Deliver us O. Let us think for example:

1) frequent and repeated blasphemy;
2) feelings of hatred, resentment, destruction and despair;
3) hardening in grave sin and in the rootedness to do evil;
4) tearing conflicts in families;
5) situations of war and natural and epidemiological disasters;
6) to those situations of widespread immorality, profanation and scandals that also affect the public life of a country or a nation;
7) to the malevolent and disfiguring management of human relations and between peoples;
8) to persecutions against the Church and Christians because of their faith in Christ;
9) to attacks on the integrity of weak and defenseless human life.

The casistic could also be much more diversified, but the use of a precise and mature discernment accompanied by the Church becomes the best choice to learn to distinguish the origin from the cause. Because, if it is true that certain situations do not always have the Devil as a direct cause, it is also true that at the origin of such evils there is always his deceptive and corrupting action.

Listing the official and approved Liberation Prayers, for completeness of argument I believe that the Universal Prayer that the Church raises to God on Good Friday is worthy of note. The tenth intention, dedicated to all the troubled, reads as follows:

Let us pray, dearest brothers, to God the Father almighty, that he may free the world from every disorder: that he may remove disease, banish hunger, give freedom to prisoners, justice to the oppressed, grant safety to those who travel, the return of those far from home, health to the sick, eternal salvation to the dying. Almighty and eternal God, comfort of the afflicted, support of the troubled, hear the cry of suffering humanity, that all may rejoice in having received in their needs the help of your mercy. Through Christ our Lord (Prayer X, For the troubled).

This supplication, raised on the day in which the Church remembers the Passion of the Lord, has a clear value of a Prayer of Liberation. In fact, it asks God that all evils and situations of fragility and danger for men be removed, to achieve victory against the one who is at the origin of all evil and sin. Although it is part of the official liturgy of Good Friday, nothing prevents a believer from reciting it privately and asking God for help for himself and for others in various situations of tribulation.

Here we finally come to the problem of pastoral abuses in the Prayers of Liberation. In the instruction on prayers to obtain healing from God, the Congregation requires that such prayers preferably take place in a church or another sacred place and that they be led by an ordained minister. Unlike exorcism, which requires the mandatory presence of a priest, the Prayers of Liberation, as we have understood them in this article, can also be led by a deacon. But I must immediately point out that this choice requires a certain amount of caution and guarantees for reasons I will explain later.

The presence of the ordained minister is not simply important but absolutely essential to guide prayer by actualizing that mandate that Christ conferred to those he sent two by two to free and heal (cf. Luke 10, 1-20). Therefore, public prayers led by lay faithful cannot be promoted, who must be careful not to lay on hands or perform gestures reserved for ordained ministers, remaining within the limits and terms established by the precise provisions dictated by the Church (Benedictional, Rome, 1992, 18).

Healing and liberation are united in the same theological vision, as the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith clarifies and as it is our priestly and pastoral duty to remember, because it is only the Lord «who frees from every Evil» (cf. Wis 16, 8) and in this act of grace the sufferings that accompany illness are also the object of man’s profound desire for a total liberation that concerns not only the physical component but also the psychic and spiritual one (cf. art. 1).

The Congregation has a normative will referring to those circumstances of public prayer, leaving aside the sphere of the private prayer life of the faithful, knowing that every baptized person is asked to pray to God for the living and the dead and for their own and others’ conversion. As regards the choice of place, the sacred context strengthens the will to remain united to the Church and its pastors, and also pastorally realizes what the Lord recommends in the parable of the Good Samaritan (see Page 10:25-37) in which the unfortunate traveler is lodged in the inn-hospital that represents the Church. The image of the robbers is strongly symbolic and has a spiritual meaning that has been described by the Fathers of the Church, who were able to discern the work of the Devil and his Angels who strip man of the garment of immortality and strike him to death with the weapon of sin until they deprive him of the life of grace.

All other public places that are not a church, a chapel or an oratory are in themselves unsuitable, it should be superfluous to repeat it, but it is good to do so in light of the clear and precise discipline of the Church, certainly not of one’s personal opinions. Just as some channels and means of communication are unsuitable such as telephones, cell phones, webcams and the like. Unfortunately, cases have occurred, and continue to occur, in which exorcisms have been performed over the telephone, Liberation Prayers on the radio or with the use of various means of communication, not to mention the exorcism and liberation tours organized around hotels on weekends with promotional packages offering liberation, healing, conversion, or, as some experienced but now disenchanted confrere would say:

«By making use of the magical services of certain charismatic shamans, not only will the deceased of the entire family tree of the applicants be liberated, but also those who must always come into the world. In fact, thanks to the power of the liberator wandering from one hotel to another, posterity will no longer even need baptism, because, once they have received the imposition of hands by charismatic layman struck by lightning in the brain, they will be born directly without original sin».

A pastoral situation that deserves attention is that of those who are truly prey to the Spirit of Evil but whose situation of possession, obsession or harassment has not yet clearly revealed itself. It is not uncommon for the case in which, following prayer meetings for healing or liberation, the Evil Spirit can suddenly manifest itself, as forced by the power of prayer united with the faith of the praying assembly. Often there is not even the need for a particular Prayer of Liberation but a simple Prayer of Praise or an invocation of the Holy Spirit is enough to find oneself in a situation similar to that which happened to Jesus in the synagogue of Capernaum (see Mk 1:21-28; Page 4:31-37).

The management of such manifestations requires prudence and fortitude, combined with faith in Christ and obedience to the Church. We must seriously ask ourselves whether such public prayer meetings should not require the prior presence of a formally appointed and authorized exorcist, who has the name of Christ and the Church and can lawfully intervene. Let us remember that facing the Evil Spirit without being exorcists, without being an ordained minister and with one’s own condition of fragility is decidedly unwise. Man has no power over demons and the disproportion is that which exists between an angelic creature and a human creature. It is true that the history of the Church remembers men who were able to perform exorcisms and liberations, but this reality is determined by their particular holiness of life and by a special assistance of divine providence, I like to remember Saint Anthony the Abbot, Saint Benedict of Norcia, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Clare of Assisi, Saint Savior of Horta. All of these were not priests and had not received the appointment of exorcist but their lives shone with that sanctity that no demon could resist. The same can be said for Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, who fought all his life against the Devil, despite never having received authorization for the ministry of exorcist from the diocesan Bishop and his Provincial Minister.

In conclusion: it is the Church’s duty to protect the privacy of those who experience spiritual manifestations of evil influence with prompt accompaniment free from undue sensationalism. All those situations of protection for these suffering brothers must be taken into due consideration so that their liberation occurs within a private context. For this reason, one should avoid taking these suffering brothers on various liberation tours, exposing them to the public to give testimonies that often have the flavor of advertising campaigns aimed at increasing the “fame” and egocentrism of the charismatic healer or liberator, rather than seeking stability through a priest who begins the accompaniment. It is useful to combine this with a prayer group that can help in the spiritual battle by raising fervent intercessions to God. As happens in some practices of psychotherapy, the path of liberation and healing must aim to make man autonomous and master of himself again. The therapist must not bind the patient to his person, just as the priest must not bind the faithful to his person or his charisma by forcing them to an endless path of Liberation Prayers. If after a suitable period of time there are no tangible improvements, if one has not acquired a serious sacramental habitus, if there is no particular evidence, then it is better to interrupt these prayers and begin a more in-depth human and spiritual discernment.

In any case, the problem has remained the same throughout the centuries, without ever having lost its relevance, as was clearly highlighted in his time by the Blessed Apostle Paul when he wrote to his disciple Timothy:

«For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths. But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry» (II Three 4, 3-4).

Sanluri, 25 March 2025

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PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE AND HEALING. WHAT IS THE INVALIDABLE LIMIT THAT SEPARATES THEOLOGY AND PASTORAL CARE FROM THE DANGER OF FALLING INTO MAGICAL PRACTICES??

«By making use of the magical offices of certain charismatic shamans, Not only will the deceased be freed from the entire family tree, but also those who must come into the world. In fact, thanks to the power of the liberator who wanders from one hotel to another, posterity will no longer even need baptism, why, once they have received this imposition from the hands of someone struck in the brain, "They will be born directly without original sin.".

— Pastoral news —

Author
Ivano Liguori, Ofm. Cap.

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PDF ARTICLE TO PRAY

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Considering my last two articles on the possible drifts of a way of understanding exorcism, combined with the concept that sees the Devil as a marketing and profit product (watch ON HERE and ON HERE), I have thought it appropriate to write a third that will have as its object the Prayer of Liberation. I want to clarify that my small contributions are nothing compared to the much more complete and exhaustive works of demonological scholars such as Italians like Monsignor Renzo Lavatori or from the father José Antonio Fortea.

How can we not remember especially expert exorcists like the father Moreno Fiori o.p. and the father Raffaele Talmelli S.P., both have left a very rich bibliography on demonopathies. we can't forget, among other things, all the other exorcist priests who carry out their ministry with difficulty and who are reliable teachers in whom to find guidance. Considering that some of them have written several books and articles on these topics, I invite the reader to carry out a bibliographic search with which it is possible to increase knowledge on these topics. In view of this, my article is just a small tribute and a thank you.

Before precisely defining the Liberation Prayer, we must establish its limits and areas of competence. First of all, This prayer is not an exorcism but a prayer of intercession with which God is addressed., to the Virgin or the Saints to ask for the liberation of a person who suffers evils caused by the influence of the Evil One. With this definition we immediately exclude cases of real diabolical possession, They exist but are very rare, and cases of diabolical influences such as obsessions and ailments that must require special care from the exorcist priest, combined with a multidisciplinary evaluation for each case.

To be even more precise, Let us summarize what the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has established on 29 September of 1985 in The Letter to the Ordinaries on the rules regarding exorcisms (watch HERE) and let's apply it to the Prayer of Liberation:

– In the Prayer of Liberation it is never allowed, even when it is not diabolical possession, go directly to the Devil.
– Only the exorcist can directly address the Devil, ordering him, in the name of the Church, let it go.
– The laity cannot, even if they are Prayers of Liberation, use exorcism formulas, including that made by Pope Leo XIII, nor use part of said sentence.
– Exorcism can only be performed by a priest specifically authorized by the local Ordinary. (watch Code of Canon Law, cann. 1166; 1172).

To further define the Liberation Prayers, It is necessary to specify that they can be recited by any person who intends to ask the Lord for healing and deliverance from evil for themselves or for others., based on the invocation already contained in the prayer of the Lord's Prayer that says "deliver us from evil", or deliver us from the Evil One.

Ask God to defend us from the Evil One means affirming a double truth: the defense of sin, which is the main work of the Evil One, and the defense of the consequences of sin, whose fruits are represented by the innumerable spiritual and physical illnesses and weaknesses that man has already experienced since his creation.. Theologically it is more correct to see liberation and healing as aspects of the same reality of fighting against sin., about which Jesus, the Son of Man, has full power (cf. MC 2,1-12).

In the document titled Instruction on prayers to obtain healing from Dios, The Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith establishes in its disciplinary provisions:

«Each of the faithful is free to raise prayers to God to obtain healing. When these are carried out in the Church or in another sacred place, It is advisable that they be guided by a priest or a deacon. (cf. ON HERE)

Starting from a correct theological vision understanding of sin and its consequences, Every believer has the possibility of calling on God for liberation and healing from their ills., as well as ask your brothers for prayers for this intention. Whether these evils have affected the spirit or the body, with wise trust in Christ the heavenly physician, The faithful must use all the remedies that grace and human science make available in order to alleviate such suffering as much as possible.. Consequently, when discerning between different ailments and their possible cures, the faithful may turn to a priest, to a doctor or other specialist based on your current illness situation, without excluding that all these figures can work in communion to reach a happy resolution of the problem.. In this sense, Let us remember one of the cornerstones of health pastoral care that says that where it is not possible to heal, it is always possible and necessary to cure.

Prayers for deliverance and healing must be adequately formulated in a context of full fidelity to the deposit of faith of the Catholic Church, in communion with the Magisterium, in obedience to the sacred shepherds and with firm attention not to fall into deviant and ambiguous ways that could generate misunderstandings or misunderstandings, as indicated in the latest document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith already cited.

Only including liberation in a sacramental way We can then proceed to ask ourselves when it is appropriate to resort to the so-called Prayers of Liberation. I have already had the opportunity to explain that the path of liberation and fight against the Devil is very complex and begins with the Sacrament of baptism., in that daily path of conversion and change of mentality that constitutes the solid foundation of a new life in the Holy Spirit, in which in the image of the Son, the Holy Spirit is poured into our soul and the voice of the Father recognizes us as beloved children (cf. Mt 3,17; MC 1,11; LC 3,22). Resurrected as new creatures in the waters of baptism, we are likewise led into the desert to face in battle face to face, to the spirit of evil. In Christ we already have victory, His divine humanity strengthens our humanity; His divine Spirit is the same spirit that has been given to us and with which we can say every time we are tempted: «¡Yourself, Satan!» (cf. Mt 4,10).

From the Sacrament of Baptism let us move on to the Sacrament of Confession. in which the Holy Spirit speaks to us like the prodigal son and invites us to return to our father's home to clothe ourselves with that filial dignity that we have lost through sin (watch LC 15,17-20). In fact, It is precisely sin that distances man from God, to the point of convincing him that the Father is an obstacle to full happiness and liberating plenitude. At the moment when the man, with their concrete historical acts and with their current sins, voluntarily opens the door of his heart to the ordinary action of the evil one, the sin is consummated. And sin drags sin, the repetition of the same acts generates vice, from which perverse inclinations derive that darken the conscience, They alter it and lead man to the inability to evaluate and choose between good and evil. (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1865).

The sacramental path that leads from baptism to confession culminates with the Eucharist and the Holy Mass. In fact, the path of liberation does not stop but continues in a very special way in the Eucharist, in that divine banquet of the Holy Mass in which the true presence is realized, real and substantial of our Redeemer. In his true Body, in his true Blood, In his true soul and in his divinity he continues to defeat the power of the evil one - sin and death - and with his own person he defeats the one who is the very incarnation of the “not person” and leads man towards a human and divine depersonalization.

Certain current sins, with the consequent vices, They entail a clear personal responsibility of man - the divine interrogation for the guilt of the parents and for the murder of Abel is very eloquent.: «What have you done?» (cf. GN 3,13; 4,10) ―, an obvious fault, that can only be recovered the moment it is unleashed with the power of the keys that Jesus gave to Peter (cf. Mt 16,18-19) and that in the sacramental forum is represented with absolution. If we pay attention, we are facing the celebration of a true exorcism, the supreme act of liberation of man, which is not just an invoked release, but objectively realized in reality.

I think it is useful to know that the new Roman Missal in the section “Mass and prayers for various needs” includes several specific forms for celebrating the Holy Mass that are intended for the sick and dying (n. 45-46) and then it moves on to all those spiritual situations of diverse needs that could be a consequence of the intervention of the spirit of evil and rooted and hardened sin. (n. 48 section A-B-C).

Bearing in mind this sacramental vision of liberation which covers the first three sacraments of the septenary, Allow me to borrow a thought from Cardinal Mauro Piacenza:

«The Sacraments continually educate the fight: especially the repeatable Sacraments, those that do not imprint character and that can be celebrated many times in life, They fully signify and indicate the “agonistic” – agonal – dimension of the fight against evil..

This is precisely the focal point of the question we asked ourselves at the beginning of this paragraph: How decisive is it to immediately resort to the Prayers of Liberation if it is not a consistent part of a sacramental path?? Without a preventive sacramental habitus it is necessary to avoid Liberation Prayers, especially if its real usefulness is not felt, without a certain preparation on the part of the person who intercedes for the person and without preventive and robust preparation on the part of the person who receives them.

It is necessary to clarify how the effectiveness of sacramentals (Exorcism or Prayer of Liberation) in the faithful it depends on their sacramental life. It is the Sacraments that impart the liberating and healing force to the sacramentals, that are inserted in that faith affirmed and lived daily by the faithful. It is no coincidence that in the Holy Mass, in the Communion Rite, the priest before the exchange of peace says:

«Lord Jesus Christ, What did you say to your apostles?: “Peace I leave you, “I give you my peace”, don't look at our sins, but the faith of your Church, and according to your word, grant him peace and unity. You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen”.

It is the faith that the Lord seeks in us, that faith received in baptism, strengthened in the recognition of our sins and in the exercise of mutual charity, nourished and increased by the Body and Blood of Christ. Without faith or lack thereof there is no type of liberation or healing, only superstitious palliatives that often cause more harm than good to soul and body. And in this superstitious vision we can also include holy things, such as the use of sacramentals and devotion to saints.

When we talk about Prayers of Liberation we run the risk of getting lost in a variety of truly diverse forms and contents, so it is completely consistent to ask ourselves: What Liberation Prayers to do? Collections of such prayers would impose an order that is primarily theological in nature.. In fact, The structure of these sentences is extremely varied and it is often difficult to trace their exact origin.: They range from those apparently Catholic, passing through those with a devotional flavor linked to some mystic or saint, or those of oriental style that wink at the Greek world and include the prayers of some reformed Christian communities (just mention the liberation practice, purification and healing of Kenneth McAll's family tree) to put an end to formulas with a clearly esoteric flavor.

The absence of a transcribed canon is the most obvious problem, and from this derives the absence of an approved canonical collection on which to base. This is one of the things that most favors the possibility of resorting to wild improvisation. Certainly priests have the possibility of turning to the Book of Blessings which offers innumerable indications, but the field of struggle against the devil and his influences is so specific that it requires greater attention in order to avoid the morbid search for supplication and the more decisive invocation, even at the cost of crossing the border between orthodoxy and orthopraxy.

The Prayer of Liberation It is outlined as an invoking prayer that belongs to the sphere of sacramentals.. This makes it necessary to verify at least two criteria in it:

– that is approved by the competent ecclesiastical authority;
– that has in its composition a very precise dogmatic and liturgical construction that leaves no room for confusion or misunderstandings.

In it Directory on Popular and Liturgical Pietya, The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments establishes:

«Although written with a language, so to speak, less rigorous than for the prayers of the Liturgy, The texts of the prayers and formulas of devotion must find their inspiration in the pages of Holy Scripture, in the Liturgy, of the Fathers and the Magisterium, and be in agreement with the faith of the Church. The stable and public texts of prayers and acts of piety must bear the approval of the local Ordinary. (Comprehensive document ON HERE: Introduction, 16).

The Prayer of Deliverance needs to be a prayer approved by the Church precisely because of the delicacy of the subject, which necessarily encompasses in itself that corpus of faith believed and professed that well summarizes that theological principle according to which “the law of prayer” is “law of belief” and vice versa. Although Prayers of Liberation They are not liturgical prayers per se., because it belongs to a specific celebratory and liturgical context, This does not exempt them from a less precise composition in the texts and contents..

But let's get to the point. In my two previous articles I already had the opportunity to discuss the Our Father prayer that the Lord himself taught his disciples. (cf. Mt 6,9-13; LC 11,1-4) and as such, It is prefigured not only as the first Prayer of Liberation but above all as prayers par excellence. Apart from this, We know that the new Ritual of Exorcisms contains, in Annex II (numbers. 1-10), a section of prayers for the private use of the faithful who are forced to fight against the power of darkness. This list may well be considered as an official and approved list of prayers to be said in private and which concern all those who experience an action of the Devil that goes beyond ordinary action.. It is reasonable to think, therefore, that the inspiring ratio of these prayers does not concern only those who are already subjected to major exorcism, but above all to those who are experiencing a particular direct attack from the Evil One.

Wanting to unbalance ourselves in the interpretation, We can assume that the mens of such prayers in ritual concerns not only the individual believer but also that larger community that finds itself traveling the paths of this world of ours marked by the wound of sin and the fuel of concupiscence.. In this sense, It is useful to trace an essential casuistry that can suggest recourse to a Prayer of Liberation, as the Church has always done in many litany prayers that conclude with the invocation: deliver us, Lord. Let's think for example:

1) to frequent and repeated blasphemy;
2) to feelings of hate, resentment, destruction and despair;
3) to hardening in serious sin and radicalization rooted in doing evil;
4) to devastating conflicts in families;
5) to war situations and natural and epidemiological disasters;
6) to those situations of generalized immorality, desecration and scandals that also affect the public life of a country or nation;
7) to the malevolent and disfiguring management of human relations and between peoples;
8) to the persecutions against the Church and Christians because of their faith in Christ;
9) to the attack on the integrity of weak and defenseless human life.

The casuistry could also be much more diversified, but the use of precise and mature discernment accompanied by the Church becomes the best option to learn to distinguish the origin from the cause.. Why, If it is true that certain situations do not always have the Devil as a direct cause, It is also true that at the origin of such evils there is always their deceptive and corrupting action..

Listing the official and approved Prayers of Deliverance, for the sake of argumentative integrity, I believe that the Universal Prayer that the Church raises to God on Good Friday is worthy of mention. The tenth intention, dedicated to all those who are troubled, says the following:

«Let us pray, dear brothers, to God the Father almighty, to free the world from all its errors, keep away diseases, feed the hungry, free the imprisoned and bring justice to the oppressed, provides security to those who travel, a good return to those who are far from home, health to the sick and salvation to the dying.

Almighty and eternal God, comfort to the afflicted and strength to the suffering, Listen to those who call on you in their tribulation, so that everyone may experience the joy of your mercy in their needs.. For Jesus Christ, our lord. Through Christ our Lord" (Prayer, For the troubled).

This supplication raised on the day when the Church remembers the Passion of the Lord It has a clear value as a Prayer of Liberation. In fact, We ask God to eliminate all evils and situations of fragility and danger for men., to achieve victory against the one who is at the origin of all evil and sin. Although it is part of the official Good Friday liturgy, nothing prevents a believer from reciting it privately and asking God for help in various situations of tribulation for himself and others.

Finally, we finally come to the problem of pastoral abuse in the Prayers of Deliverance. In the instruction on prayers to obtain healing from God, The Congregation requires that such prayers be preferably performed in church or another sacred place and that they be led by an ordained minister.. Unlike exorcism, which requires the presence of a priest., Prayers of Liberation, as we have understood them in this article, They can also be led by a deacon. But I immediately anticipate that this choice imposes a certain prudence and guarantees for the reasons that I will explain later..

The presence of the ordained minister It is not simply important but precisely indispensable to direct prayer, carrying out the command that Christ gave to those whom he sent two by two to deliver and heal (cf. LC 10,1-20). So, public prayers led by lay faithful cannot be promoted, who must be careful not to lay hands or make gestures reserved for ordained ministers, staying within the limits and deadlines established by the precise provisions dictated by the Church (cf. Blessings, Rome, 1992, 18).

Healing and liberation are united in the same theological perspective, as the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith clarifies and how it is our priestly and pastoral duty to remember, because it is only the Lord "who delivers from all evil" (cf. Sab 16,8) and in this action of grace the sufferings that accompany illness are also the object of man's deep desire for a total liberation that affects not only the bodily component but also the psychological and spiritual component. (cf. art. 1).

The Congregation has a normative will referring to those circumstances of public prayer, leaving out the scope of the private prayer life of the faithful, knowing that every baptized person is called to pray to God for the living and the dead and for the conversion of oneself and others. Regarding the choice of place, the sacred context reinforces the desire to remain united to the Church and its pastors, also implements pastorally what the Lord recommends in the parable of the good Samaritan (cf. LC 10,25-37), in which the unfortunate traveler is accommodated in the inn-hospital that represents the Church. The image of the bandits is highly symbolic and has a spiritual meaning that was described by the Fathers of the Church, who could see the work of the Devil and his Angels who strip man of the mantle of immortality and beat him with the weapon of sin until depriving him of the life of grace.

All other public places other than a church, a chapel or an oratory are in themselves inadequate; It would be superfluous to reiterate it, but it is good to do it in the light of the clear and precise discipline of the Church, and certainly not from personal opinions. As well as some channels and means of communication such as telephones, mobiles, webcams and similar are not suitable. Unfortunately, There have been and continue to be cases in which exorcisms have been carried out by telephone, Prayers of Liberation on the radio or through the use of various means of communication, not to mention the exorcism and liberation tours organized in Italian hotels on weekends with promotional packages offering liberation, the healing, the conversion or, as an experienced and now very disenchanted confrere would say:

«By making use of the magical offices of certain charismatic shamans, Not only will the deceased be freed from the entire family tree, but also those who must come into the world. In fact, thanks to the power of the liberator who wanders from one hotel to another, posterity will no longer even need baptism, why, once they have received the laying on of hands from someone hit on the brain, "They will be born directly without original sin.".

A pastoral situation that deserves attention is that relating to those who are truly prey to the Spirit of Evil but whose possession situation, obsession or vexation that has not yet manifested itself. It is not strange that, after prayer meetings for healing or deliverance, the Evil Spirit can suddenly manifest itself, being forced by the power of prayer combined with the faith of the praying assembly. Often a specific prayer of deliverance is not even necessary, But a simple prayer of praise or an invocation of the Holy Spirit is enough to find yourself in a situation similar to what happened to Jesus in the synagogue of Capernaum. (cf. MC 1, 21-28; LC 4, 31-37).

Managing similar events requires prudence and strength, combined with faith in Christ and obedience to the Church. We must seriously ask ourselves whether at such public prayer meetings there should not be the preventive presence of a formally designated and authorized exorcist., that in the name of Christ and the Church I can legally intervene. Let us remember that facing the Spirit of Evil without being an exorcist, without being an ordained minister and with one's own fragile condition, it is decidedly imprudent. Man has no power over demons and the disproportion is that between an angelic creature and a human creature.. It is true that the history of the Church remembers men who knew how to perform exorcisms and liberations, but this reality is determined by his particular sanctity of life and by a special assistance of divine providence.; I like to remember San Antonio Abad, to Saint Benedict of Nursia, in San Francisco of Assisi, in Santa Clara of Assisi, to San Salvador de Horta. All of them were not priests and had not received the appointment of exorcists, but their lives shone with that holiness that no demon could resist.. The same can be said of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, who fought against the devil all his life, despite never having received authorization for the ministry of exorcist from the diocesan bishop and his provincial minister.

To conclude: It is the responsibility of the Church to protect the privacy of those who experience spiritual manifestations of evil influence with prompt accompaniment free of undue spectacularization.. All situations of protection of these suffering brothers must be taken into account so that their release occurs in a confidential context.. For this reason, we must avoid taking these suffering brothers on various liberation tours, exposing them to the public to give testimonies that often have the flavor of advertising campaigns aimed at increasing the “fama” and the egocentrism of the charismatic healer or liberator, instead of seeking stability through a priest who initiates accompaniment. For this it is useful to join a prayer group that can help in the spiritual battle by raising fervent intercessions to God.. As happens in some psychotherapy practices, The path of liberation and healing must aim to make man autonomous and master of himself again.. The therapist should not tie the patient to his person, just as the priest should not tie the believer to his person or his charisma., forcing him to travel an infinite path of Prayers of Liberation. If after an adequate period of time no tangible improvements are observed, if a serious sacramental habitus has not been acquired, if there is no particular evidence, then it is better to interrupt these prayers and begin a deeper human and spiritual discernment.

In any case, the problem remains the same throughout the centuries, without ever having lost its relevance, as the blessed apostle Paul clearly highlighted in his time writing to his disciple Timothy:

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but having itchy ears, teachers will be gathered according to their own lusts; and they will turn away their ears from the truth and turn to fables. but you, be sober in everything endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry (2 Tim 4, 1-5).

Sanluri, 25 of March 2025

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The books of Ivano Liguori, to access the book shop click on the cover

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