Can satan, demon or any evil spirit pray?

[TheLittleLady]

Guessing you mean that you attend a parish where the Extraordinary Form is celebrated by the Institute of Christ the King. They are small in the US, having only 2 superiors in our country.

ICK is Apostolates and Provences who operate in with the permission of the Local Ordinary, however, like religious orders, they do some things differently. Choosing to publicize the names of their exorcists is at the discretion of the Institute’s Superiors/Bishop.

I am speaking of Secular priests. The Bishops of the United States rarely publicize the name of the exorcist, one needs to first speak to their parish priest instead of “self diagnosing” any sort of possession. Sort of the way that you need to see your GP doc to get a referral to a surgeon or other specialist.

If this young man is seeking to inter the Institute, their process is different than that of a Diocesan priest. From my second hand experience (friends who have discerned vocations in the ICK), their process is rigorous. Our OP would want to begin attending Mass with the ICK and speak to his pastor there about discernment Vocations

 

[Socrates92]

You would have to become a priest first. Only priests are allowed to perform exorcisms.
Lay people are not permitted to do this

Are you sure this is correct? In the old orders of Holy Orders, Exorcists are the third level (I forget the exact order - will try to find a source). Priests are the final level of the major orders (subdeacon, deacon, priest). In my understanding, this has been done away except in organizations like the FSSP, but in the old orders it sounds like one could serve as an exorcist before having undergone full ordination. Yes, exorcists are not lay people, but they are also not full priests necessarily. This is of course a different question than jurisdiction - no one, including priests, are allowed to perform exorcisms without the appointment of the bishop.

I find it very confusing myself, so it’d be good if some more knowledgeable person could clear this up.

 

[Socrates92]

The serpent spoke to Eve.
Satan spoke to the LORD in the book of Job.
Satan petitioned Jesus to do things in the desert.
Demons said they knew who Jesus was to him.
Demons petitioned Jesus to cast them into a herd of swine.

None spoke to the Lord seeking forgiveness, none with self-sacrificing love, none seeking union or oneness with the Lord, none with Faith that follows as a disciple.

John Martin

So I guess the answer to the original question would depend on how “prayer” is defined.

 

[Socrates92]

He has lost. will lose. is the universes’s ultimate, all time, barred non… loser.

I find that is a great thing to bring to mind in the face of temptation of any kind - if Satan sees that temptation just serves as a reminder about what a pathetic loser he is, he is much less likely to bother.

Fr. Ripperger has a great story about one of his cases where the individual was being tortured by a demon during an exorcism I think - the demon kept referring to the woman as “that stupid woman”. The woman then flipped it around by saying, “Well, I may be stupid, but at least I’m not a fool.” The demon’s pride couldn’t handle that and he shut up for a bit.

 

[thistle]

Are you sure this is correct? In the old orders of Holy Orders, Exorcists are the third level (I forget the exact order - will try to find a source). Priests are the final level of the major orders (subdeacon, deacon, priest). In my understanding, this has been done away except in organizations like the FSSP, but in the old orders it sounds like one could serve as an exorcist before having undergone full ordination. Yes, exorcists are not lay people, but they are also not full priests necessarily. This is of course a different question than jurisdiction - no one, including priests, are allowed to perform exorcisms without the appointment of the bishop.

I find it very confusing myself, so it’d be good if some more knowledgeable person could clear this up.

Canon Law:

Can. 1172 §1 No one may lawfully exorcise the possessed without the special and express permission of the local Ordinary.

§2 This permission is to be granted by the local Ordinary only to a priest who is endowed with piety, knowledge, prudence and integrity of life.