Regina Angelorum, William-Adophe Bougeureau, French, 1900
Today I was in the presence of an angry man who believed he was being ill-treated. I was stunned by the anger and violence in his voice. He distorted the words and actions of those around him, and responded with arrogance and disdain. Just hearing him, I felt wounded.
I recognized the voice. When demons manifest in the midst of an exorcism, their presence is unmistakable. The look in their eyes is murderous. The hatred and arrogance is their voice is palpable. Their hearts are blacker than any darkness we know. The true ugliness occasioned by sin, demonic or human, is beyond words.
In this life, based upon our choices, we already begin to manifest heaven or hell. St. Catherine of Siena in her Dialogue relayed that God told her that souls receive the "earnest money" of the next life while still on this earth. Those who do evil already experience the "earnest money of hell," while the servants of the Lord "taste the earnest money of eternal life."
Already in this life, we begin to sing the song of the angels, or we begin to rage with the demons. In the Rite of Exorcism is the Trisagion- "Holy, Holy, Holy." It is the song of the angels praising God that the demons refused to sing (Rev 4:8). Exorcists have found it a powerful moment in an exorcism and often repeat these words many times. Just hearing the words is a great torment to the demons.
The longer I spend in this deliverance ministry, the more sensitive I am to the presence of the angelic and to the demonic. I am temporarily wounded by dark encounters with the demonic. I am daily buoyed up by many more people who reach out with a kind gesture and caring words.