Exorcists effectively fight demons

And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17: 14-20)

As in all other situations, it is necessary that disciples act not only in the Most Holy Name of Jesus but also with full faith in him. Demons are angelic creatures, even if fallen, who are much more powerful than men. This is why we can never subdue them by relying on our own strength. You cannot bargain with the devil, as Eve found out when she tried to dialogue with him. As it turned out, she ended up being deceived and devastated. The apostles wonder why they had failed to drive out a demon. The reason, highlighted by Jesus himself, is their insufficient faith in him. Let us pray to the Lord that the faith never abandons those priests who serve as exorcists, which even today is so necessary for the life of the Church and her faithful.