Sienese School of the 14th Century, "St. Michael and the Dragon"
A permanent deacon shared this encounter with me. It occurred before he was involved in our deliverance ministry. At the time, he was also an active duty policeman:
I walked in the side door of our church about 4:20pm to set up for the 5 o'clock Mass. My mood was ho-hum and I was sad to have to leave my children back at the house having fun. But with Providence, there are no accidents.
Entering the church I encountered a young lady who had obviously stepped down from the sanctuary and was in the aisle. As she approached smiling, she looked like another misguided, poorly-dressed youngster with baggy pants, a tank-top, and medusa-like hairdo. As we closed the gap walking toward one another I (being a trained police officer of over ten years) observed a tattoo at the base of her neck. I immediately recognized it as a symbol of Satan- an inverted cross. She then uttered some blasphemies about God and Jesus.
I glanced at the altar to see if the tabernacle had been disturbed or if the altar was defamed. Confident that nothing serious had taken place, I asked "What do you have in the cup?" (She was holding a child's sippy cup full of clear liquid and a white lily that came from our altar arrangement.) She smiled again and said, "It's just some [profanity] holy water." "Why would you want that?" I asked, not batting an eye at her blasphemies and profanity. "I need it for exorcisms. I'm a witch. I worship Satan." I reached my hand into the holy water font and blessed myself. She said, "Keep that [profanity] away from me" and she backed up two paces. She was undoubtedly looking for access to the Blessed Sacrament and settled for holy water.
I put on my work face and said, "I am a police officer and I'm giving you an official invitation to leave here and not return." She appeared shaken and obeyed immediately. She wrote in our Prayer of the Faithful intention booklet at the entrance to the church. She scribbled across the sheets an invitation to pray to Satan and "indulge in life". She also wrote, "God [profanity], burn the bible, hail Satan. Satan loves you, kinda."
This woman was not a nut. She was cheerful, smiling, profane and on a mission. Her presence made me feel the total absence of love, warmth or goodness. I have seen bad and evil in people plenty of times in my tenure as a cop. This was the first time I felt anyone absolutely revel in it. She had an aura of malevolence. I felt soiled by her presence and wanted to shower.
I informed the Pastor of the "invasion." He then told me of a priest friend of his whose parish secretary turned out to be a satanic priestess. She had taken the job solely to gain access to the Blessed Sacrament.
The church of Satan does exist. They preach an indulgence in all things that make one feel good. I recognized this "dogma" in her note to "indulge in life." Evil comes to us smiling, just as this witch did. I offered up a rosary to Our Lady for her conversion.
I am proud of our deacon. He responded to her blasphemies with care for the sacred. He responded to her profanity with respect. He responded to her hatred with a loving prayer to Mary for her.