Is it an accident that so many people are hurting?
Is it merely by chance that awful things happen to good people? Or does evil exist and is someone organizing it, using other personalities to accomplish his will? I believe so. His name is Satan, and he is aided by demons who inflict pain in personal and powerful ways.
I recently hosted a legitimate, trained-in-Rome, exorcist on my podcast. Everything about it was unexpected, including how helpful it was.
I don’t know what comes to mind when you think of an exorcist, but if you’re like me, it probably came from a movie.
As a child, my parents signed up for a free trial of HBO, where I caught the original The Exorcist film back in the mid 1970s. Like everyone else, it scared the crap out of me.
In my mind, exorcists were dark, brooding, serious men, rushing into creepy houses and doing battle with pea soup spewing demons. If they came out on top, it was only by the skin of their teeth. They were usually in over their head, spiritually-dead from what they’d seen, surviving by staying in the shadows.
Then I met Father Vincent Lampert, a Catholic parish priest and the exorcist for the diocese of Indianapolis. He blew all my expectations out of the water.
Instead of dark, brooding, and serious, Father Lampert is light, engaging and fun. He’s a guy you’d want to get a beer with, laughs at my middle school humor, and loves camping.
Instead of rushing into homes at midnight, Father Lampert explained there’s no such thing as an emergency exorcism. Everything is methodical, thought-out, and helpful. He doesn’t see demons behind every bush. Instead, he sees people who need help—sometimes spiritual, but even more so, emotional and relational. He connects people in need to the help they’re looking for, whether it’s counseling, medication, or something deeper.
Instead of barely hanging on, Father Lampert is a man with a deep, abiding faith. He’s seen things that sound like the movies, and yet he is anchored to a truth that allows him to greet each day with genuine joy: God is stronger than the devil, and light always dispels darkness.
Culture is incredibly interested in spirituality, but we too often settle for knock-offs. Father Lampert is the real deal, speaking to the evil spiritual realities we’re all facing with a perspective that brings freedom instead of fear.
It sounds almost impossible to say, but a conversation with an exorcist might be the unexpected shot of hope and perspective you need right now, with practical ways to go about standing up to your demons.
Check it out here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or search The Aggressive Life wherever you listen to podcasts.
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