Prayer Against Satan and the Rebellious Angels

The following is a simple exorcism prayer. The term "exorcism" does NOT always denote a solemn exorcism involving a person possessed by the devil. In general, the term denotes prayers to "curb the power of the devil and prevent him from doing harm." As St. Peter had written in Holy Scripture, "your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). These prayers are recommended whenever action of the devil is suspected. [In combination with these prayers, liberally sprinkle holy water in, on, and around the place where such action is suspected. Additionally, the burning of blessed incense is recommended as a holy perfume repugnant to the devil and the other rebellious angels.]

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL

Most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Armies, Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in "our battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places" (Eph. 6:12). Come to the assistance of men whom God has created to His likeness and whom He has redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. Holy Church venerates thee as her guardian and protector; to thee, the Lord has entrusted the souls of the redeemed to be led into heaven. Pray therefore the God of Peace to crush Satan beneath our feet, that he may no longer retain men captive and do injury to the Church. Offer our prayers to the Most High, that without delay they may draw His mercy down upon us; take hold of "the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan", bind him and cast him into the bottomless pit "so that he may no longer seduce the nations" (Apoc. 20:2).

EXORCISM

In the Name of Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, strengthened by the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of Blessed Michael the Archangel, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and all the Saints, we confidently undertake to repulse the attacks and deceits of the devil.

PSALM 67: God arises; His enemies are scattered and those who hate Him flee before Him.

As smoke is driven away, so are they driven; as wax melts before the fire, so the wicked perish at the presence of God.

V. Behold the Cross of the Lord, flee bands of enemies.
R. He has conquered, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the offspring of David.
V. May thy mercy, Lord, descend upon us.
R. As great as our hope in Thee.

[The crosses below indicate the Sign of the Cross to be made silently.]

We drive you from us, whoever you may be, unclean spirits, all satanic powers, all infernal invaders, all wicked legions, assemblies and sects; in the Name and by the power of Our Lord Jesus Christ + may you be snatched away and driven from the Church of God and from the souls made to the image and likeness of God and redeemed by the Precious Blood of the Divine Lamb. + Most cunning serpent, you shall no more dare to deceive the human race, persecute the Church, torment God's elect and sift them as wheat. + The Most High God commands you, + He with Whom, in your great insolence, you still claim to be equal; "He who wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (I Tim. 11:4). God the Father commands you. + God the Son commands you. + God the Holy Spirit commands you. + Christ, God's Word made flesh, commands you; + He who to save our race outdone through your envy, "humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death" (Phil. 11:8); He who has built His Church on the firm rock and declared that the gates of hell shall not prevail against Her, because He will dwell with Her "all days even to the end of the world" (Mat. 28:20). The sacred Sign of the Cross commands you, + as does also the power of the mysteries of the Christian Faith. + The glorious Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, commands you. + The blood of the Martyrs and the pious intercession of all the Saints command you. +

Thus, cursed dragon, and you, diabolical legions, we adjure you by the living God, + by the true God, + by the holy God, + by the God "who so loved the world that He gave up His only Son, that every soul believing in Him might not perish but have life everlasting" (John 3:16); stop deceiving human creatures and pouring out to them the poison of eternal damnation; stop harming the Church and hindering her liberty. Begone, Satan, inventor and master of all deceit, enemy of man's salvation. Give place to Christ in whom you have found none of your works; give place to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church acquired by Christ at the price of His Blood. Stoop beneath the all-powerful Hand of God; tremble and flee when we invoke the Holy and terrible Name of Jesus, this Name which causes hell to tremble, this Name to which the Virtues, Powers and Dominations of heaven are humbly submissive, this Name which the Cherubim and Seraphim praise unceasingly repeating: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord, the God of Armies.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.
V. May the Lord be with thee.
R. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray - God of heaven, God of earth, God of Angels, God of Archangels, God of Patriarchs, God of Prophets, God of Apostles, God of Martyrs, God of Confessors, God of Virgins, God who has power to give life after death and rest after work, because there is no other God than Thee and there can be no other, for Thou art the Creator of all things, visible and invisible, of whose reign there shall be no end, we humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy glorious Majesty and we beseech Thee to deliver us by Thy power from all the tyranny of the infernal spirits, from their snares, their lies and their furious wickedness; deign, O Lord, to grant us Thy powerful protection and to keep us safe and sound. We beseech Thee through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

From the snares of the devil, deliver us, O Lord.

That Thy Church may serve Thee in peace and liberty, we beseech Thee in peace and liberty, we beseech Thee to hear us.

That Thou may crush down all enemies of Thy Church, we beseech Thee to hear us.

The Seperation Between Satan and Mary

From Marie-Dominique Phillipe, O.P.'s, Mystery of Mary:

The devil never had any direct hold over Mary, over her soul, or over her body. Among Adam's descendants, she is the only pure creature that totally escapes him. He knows nothing whatsoever about this little child of men. She is a "closed garden," a divinely closed one. To him she is a mysterious enigma that puzzles and irritates him. Filled with dread, he guessed that she was his rival. The revelation of her divine motherhood was probable the very cause of his revolt. In his pride, he could not accept the fact that a pure creature could be the Mother of his God an thereby know an intimacy with God that he, Lucifer, will never know. Seeing this descendant of Eve escape him, he sense that she was the one that God had chosen as Queen of heaven and earth, of men and angels. Confronted with her he is forced to admit that he is alien, vanquished and powerless.

We must clearly understand the practical attitude of Satan with respect to the mystery of the Immaculate Conception in order to better comprehend the following words from Scripture: "Inimicitias ponam inter te et mulierem"; "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed" (Gen. 3:15). In His wisdom God allowed the devil, through original sin, to have a certain hold over Adam's descendants. In his pride, Satan considers this divine permission as a right. One of the practical consequences of pride in creatures is to immediately establish as a permanent right any permission granted on a temporary basis. Doesn't Satan present himself to Jesus in the wilderness as the "prince of this world," as the one who has the right to rule over the universe and to tyrannize men? Faced with this mystery of a descendant of Eve untouched by the hereditary flaw, instead of keeping quiet and admiring a special gesture of God's totally gratuitous mercy, he considers himself defrauded of his rights. This mysterious little child appears to him as a failure vis-a-vis his power as the "prince of this world." Refusing out of pride to admit that it is normal for God's mercy to act in perfect freedom, refusing to admit that His mercy is accountable to no one, he is angry inside and tries as much as possible to ignore the existence of this extraordinary creature, claiming that she is nothing. For this proud intellectual, the only real things that exist and have the right to exist among the realities that he respects and are within his particular competence are those he knows! But since he cannot absolutely deny the fact of this existence, he tries in every possible way to minimize this creature enveloped in God's prevenient mercy and to hold her up to ridicule. He always tries to make caricatures of her! This mystery is intolerable for his pride. It is too clearly the "sign" of a mercy which shows him God's absolute right over all creatures, even over this fallen human race. He himself, however intelligent he may be, has no rights but those received from God or depending God's permission. His days of domination over the earth are numbered; he is not the one who has fixed their duration.

Thus Mary is Satan's specific and personal enemy from the beginning, his indomitable enemy who totally escapes him, just when he considers himself to be master of the situation, master of the world. Thanks to this privilege, Mary is indeed completely separated from sin and from any complicity with evil and with the prince of this world.