Part 1 of 3
In the prologue of a new book called “The Rite-The Making of an Exorcist” (2009- Random House/Doubleday Inc), journalist Matt Baglio describes an exorcism of a 35 year old woman named 'Anna' in Italy in 2005.
“The exorcism had been going on for the better part of an hour, and the strain was beginning to show on everyone. Should he continue?
Suddenly, the woman’s head turned, her eyes fixating on a spot near the far wall. ‘No!’ the demon said in a deep, guttural voice coming from deep within her-
The exorcist felt a momentary ray of hope, knowing from past exorcisms that this was the demon’s code to describe Saint Gemma Galgani.
‘And, the little white one from Albania!’ the demon roared.
‘Mother Teresa of Calcutta?’ The exorcist asked.
The demon let fly a string of blasphemies in a rage, then his voice took on a mocking, childlike tone ‘Oh, look at them. Look at them! They are hugging and greeting each other!”
Then, back to a deep guttural rasp ‘Disgusting! Disgusting!’
To the woman lying on the table, the two figures appeared as if in a dream. Saint Gemma was dressed in her traditional black, and looked pretty much as she did in her twenties. Oddly, Mother Teresa also looked very young -perhaps only twenty five.”
A few minutes later, the late Pope John Paul II appeared, whom the demon mockingly called “Totus Tuus”, and then finally while “the woman felt awash in an incredible feeling of love, the figure of the Virgin Mary appeared before her, wrapped in a gold and white veil that covered half of her face. Watching in amazement as the figure approached, the woman was even more surprised to see that Mary was gazing at her tearfully.”
The appearence of the Blessed Mother seemed to make the demon more angry, but at the same time made him weaker, almost powerless. Momentarily coming back to her senses Anna said- "A tear from Mary is all it took," before lapsing back into a trance.
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"The Rite -The making of an Exorcist" tells the true story of an American Priest, Father Gary Thomas, who in 2005 was appointed by his bishop to become the official exorcist for the Diocese of San Jose, California. The book details his year long stay in Rome for study and training to become an exorcist. The author, freelance reporter and journalist Matt Baglio, tells Father Gary's story in a third person, eyewitness reporting style. The book is a simple and engaging “matter-of-fact” look at the life, training, and experiences of a modern exorcist.
(Taken from “The Rite-The Making of an Exorcist” 2009- Random House/Doubleday Inc.)
An exorcist at the Monastery-Sanctuary of Saint Gemma
Encouraged and edified by this recent account of the assistance of Saint Gemma in the battle against evil, I was prompted to contact Padre Alfredo Pallotta C.P., a Passionist Priest who, until 2007 was for 13 years the Chaplain at the Monastery-Sanctuary of Saint Gemma in Lucca, Italy. Interestingly, Padre Alfredo is also a longtime exorcist, especially assigned to this ministry by the local Bishop.
In his assigned capacity as exorcist, for 13 years Padre Alfredo performed countless exorcisms in a special room at the Monastero-Santuario di Santa Gemma Galgani in Lucca. For years, people from all over Tuscany have sought him out in their battle against the demonic. He is also known for his extraordinary devotion to Saint Gemma, and has written numerous booklets and prayers in her honor. Padre Alfredo has also recently written a book entitled “Un Esorcista si Confessa” (An Exorcist Confesses) Edizione Fuori Commercio, 2005
So, in light of his experience in the battle against evil and his extraordinary devotion to Saint Gemma, I decided to contact Padre Alfredo for a written interview, and he kindly replied to my questions.
Concerning the assistance of Saint Gemma in his ministry as exorcist, Padre Alfredo writes in his letter-
“She [Saint Gemma Galgani] has often been near me in the exorcisms, above all when I carried them out in her Sanctuary. She was present to help me in fighting the Fiend who had so often appeared her in life. The demon often informed me of her presence, calling her the “stigmatized”.
Part 2 of this article will have a written interview with Padre Alfredo Pallotta C.P., which was given specifically for this website. In this upcoming article, Padre Alfredo will mention an exorcism that took place on June 17th, 2007, where '....the Fiend confessed that the “stigmatized” [St Gemma] had sent the Madonna to drive away some wicked spirits who were in the person that I was exorcising.'
http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2009/05/exorcist-st-gemma-padre-pallotti-cp.html
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"...Do You know, Jesus, who has forbidden me to think about sinners? The devil. On the contrary Jesus, I recommend them to Thee. Think of them, oh Jesus, poor sinners, and teach me to do as much as possible to save them." -St Gemma Galgani
10 comments:
I am halfway done reading this book. I stumbled upon your blog accidentally, and I am very grateful for doing so. Thank you for spreading the message and devotion of St. Gemma Galgani. I hope to share her with my family and friends. God bless.
Hi Connie,
It is a pleasure to meet you. Thanks so much for your comments. I am glad to hear that you are enjoying the website. It is really a "work of love" so to speak.
May God bless you and yours,
Glenn Dallaire
About 10 seconds into this exorcism video you will notice a picture of St. Gemma:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8335637107673032012&ei=OGIXSuW6FoqCqQKlv4SzBQ&q=exorcism&hl=en
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the link to the video.
Yes, Padre Alfred Pallotta is very devoted to St Gemma. In his kind letter to me he mentioned some of the booklets and prayers that he wrote over the years about and concerning Saint Gemma.
I am going to publish his letter along with the info about his booklets in Part 2 of this article.
Thanks again for the link!
May God bless you and yours,
-Glenn Dallaire
I recieved an email from a friend who is very devoted to St Gemma concerning this article stating-
"I have to say that when my friend read the very same passage you have on the site, I became really emotional - overwhelmed with gratitude - a "that's my girl" sort of pride! When Mother Teresa and John Paul II were added, I could have used a fresh box of kleenex!"
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And I wrote back-
"I am smiling right now from ear to ear! That is EXACTLY what I thought too when I read it...I said to myself- "That's my girl Gemma! You tell that demon where to go in the name of your Jesus!!! It was definitely a "proud" moment, God forgive me!....Not long after reading and then writing these three articles, I was driving in the car thinking it all over and I said to her [St Gemma] smiling - 'so they [meaning the demons] call you "the jinx" and also "the stigmatised", so what do you think of that, Gemma!!! ....and, I could picture her smiling at that one!
But really, her intercession against the demons is not surprising, given all her battles with them during her lifetime. In fact, later in the book "The Rite- the Making of a Modern Exorcist", the author, Matt Baglio, points out that because during her lifetime St Gemma fought so often with the devil, she is often invoked against the demons by those who are oppressed by them."
What an invitation to join in the chorus! My eyes popped out and my heart pounded when I read that Gemma, Teresa of Calcutta and JPII came! Then I wondered where Padre Pio was....and felt my soul smiling in peace.
Hi Linda P,
Yes, I think we are all invited to join the chorus of the Saints!
You will see that St Padre Pio makes an appearence in Part 3 of this article, located here:
Exorcisms and the intercession of the Saints- Part 3
Thanks for your comments, and may God bless you and yours,
Glenn Dallaire
i have a deep concern for my 14 year old daughter eileen gemma my husband hs encouraged her to spend the summer reading just harry potter books. i try to say how wrong it is, but then he tells me something is wrong with me. please pray. thank you!!!!!!!
Hi Anonymous,
As for myself, I have been lucky thusfar that my kids have not been interested in Harry Potter, thank God.
Is your husband a Christian? If so, Pastors of numerous denominations have spoken out against the Potter books, (as you probaly already know), so perhps you can print a few of these out and show it to him. He need not take your word for it, as many religious leaders have spoken against the Potter books.
My feeling is though, that perhaps you should not say anything more about it. Just pray with confidence to God and I am certain that He will arrange things so that this will soon pass.
May God bless you and yours,
Glenn Dallaire
On Harry Potter, for what it's worth...
I take what is probably a Jesuit approach. READ IT WITH HER!! As you do so, point out the times Harry is NOT acting heroically, but rewarded for evil. There are tons. If you know anything about spells, magic (always a perversion of the good), point out how the author is teaching these. Why?
When small, I forbade my daughter to have anything to do with Harry Potter. But what can you do when kids go to someone's house, or a drop-in sitting service? You can't be everywhere. But you can teach them to judge what is good and what is bad.
I read the first novel so I could judge for myself. (I have a PhD in English.) In the first scene, I was struck by the unnecessary nastiness in the depiction of Harry's relatives -- far beyond what you would see in Dickens, and without any compassion for the character. I found this disturbing, and in spite of the delightful wordplay, use of classical references and so on, it all seemed just a bit "off." Even without the problem that they are studying to be witches, the books are just another Tom Brown's Schooldays, an expression of that desire to be one of the privileged (an English boy of a family wealthy enough to send him off to boarding school). What is that but envy?
Another tactic would be: use compare and contrast. Find good examples (like Lord of the Rings) that you can also interject. Next to real literature, Rowlings suffers. God bless you!
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