I
Issa87
Guest
You would think that casting out demons would be up there with forgiveness of sins and healing the sick, no?
- Status
J
jimcav
Guest
Exorcism is a rite, or a sacramental, because unlike a sacrament,* "exorcism’s “integrity and efficacy do not depend … on the rigid use of an unchanging formula or on the ordered sequence of prescribed actions.”*
F
fred_conty
Guest
A sacrament is an exterior sign which God works thru to cause grace within the soul.
That is a bit feely defined, but will do.
Exorcism does not cause grace within the soul, it rather forces the evil spirit to go out of a person. That by itself does not make them holy, it just removes an evil power controlling the person’s body. The condition of the soul is a separate matter.
The same holds for curing the sick, it frees the person from a bodily affliction, but has directly no bearing on the condition of the soul.
J
JRS_88
Guest
So many of our brothers and sisters suffer from scrupulosity and have a difficult time
handling the sacrament of Confession.
Can you imagine those with scruples trying to figure out or thinking they need an exorcism?
handling the sacrament of Confession.
Can you imagine those with scruples trying to figure out or thinking they need an exorcism?
A
AttendeDomine
Guest
Exorcism does not infallibly lead to a person being freed of demonic possession.
Therefore, it couldn’t be a sacrament, which always instantly results in the proper sacramental graces being given by God, so long as a person is properly disposed.
Example:
So long as I put no impediments before God, when I show myself to the priest in Confession, and when he absolves me, my sins are, in fact, absolved. The grace of the Sacrament is infused into my soul. I need not go back six or seven or eighty or a thousand times in order for absolution to take.
But exorcism can take a great deal of time, and it can require that the rite be prayed multiple times. Sometimes, it is God’s will that a person be freed soon; and other times, God permits possession to go on for weeks or months or years.
Therefore, it couldn’t be a sacrament, which always instantly results in the proper sacramental graces being given by God, so long as a person is properly disposed.
Example:
So long as I put no impediments before God, when I show myself to the priest in Confession, and when he absolves me, my sins are, in fact, absolved. The grace of the Sacrament is infused into my soul. I need not go back six or seven or eighty or a thousand times in order for absolution to take.
But exorcism can take a great deal of time, and it can require that the rite be prayed multiple times. Sometimes, it is God’s will that a person be freed soon; and other times, God permits possession to go on for weeks or months or years.
- Status