Fr. Michael Williams

I remember being asked to visit a house where there had been disturbances of a spiritual nature. The couple had been so disturbed by it that the house was put on the market to sell. Anyway, once the house was blessed and sprinkled with holy water, the family reported soon after that the disturbances had ceased and the family took the house off the market!

This very simple action cured the problem because it was the action of the Church, and Jesus gave the ministers of the Church “authority over the unclean spirits”. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus, and He has given that authority to the Church, for the benefit of mankind.

St Paul tells us in Ephesians, “It is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the Sovereignties and the Powers who originate the darkness of this world, the spiritual army of evil in the Heavens”. Jesus and all the Apostles, and the Saints of the Church, were very aware of an evil spiritual army that is bent on our destruction.

We have to fight against these forces with the spiritual resources Christ has given to the Church. We have to make use of the spiritual treasures Jesus has given to the Church, which is His Body. It is important that people are blessed, especially the sick and the troubled. Objects such as rosaries, crucifixes and medals should also be blessed and carried on our person and placed in our homes. House blessings are also important. We should use these sacramentals in conjunction with faith and prayer, because Jesus tells us that faith and prayer are the weapons we need to use against the forces of evil. As St Paul also tells us in Ephesians, “You must rely on God’s armour…carrying the shield of faith…to put out the burning arrows of the evil one”.

Jesus also told His Apostles to bless the sick with holy oil. The sick, the elderly and those about to undergo operations are encouraged to receive the Sacrament of the Sick. This Sacrament is an anointing with oil that will give strength and grace to the sick person. Sometimes this Sacrament will help the sick person to make a physical recovery through the healing power of Christ. The gospel today tells us that the Apostles, “anointed many sick people with oil and cured them”. But even if this does not happen the Holy Anointing will give the sick person the grace and strength necessary.

It is important that once we know that one of our Catholic friends or member of our family is sick, we should call for the priest to anoint them. St James in his letter says, “Are there people sick among you? Let them send for the priests of the Church, and let the priests pray over them anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord”. We should not wait until the sick person is near death before anointing them, the sick should be anointed sooner, rather than later.

Jesus “gave the [Church] authority over the unclean spirits”. Let’s pray that we make use of the spiritual resources of the Church, because it is for our benefit and for our salvation that they have been given by Christ, who has authority over “everything in the heavens and everything on earth”.