

    The following is Part Two of an excerpt entitled
  "A Brief Handbook of Exorcism".
    It is taken from Malachi Martin's 1976 classic work on
  the subject of possession and exorcism called,
  "Hostage To The Devil".
    Among other things, the 477 p. book also contains an
  in depth analysis on the recent possessions of 5
  "ordinary" Americans.
    For further information on the subject, the reader is
  invited to consult the book. It is published by Perrenial
  Library of New York.

    Note: Italicized words are represented through
          use of'single' quotation marks.




         "A Brief Handbook of Exorcism" - (2)
         ____________________________________


             There is no lexicon of Exorcism; and there is no
         guidebook or set of rules, no Baedeker of Evil Spirit
         to follow. The Church provides an official text for
         Exorcism, but this is merely a framework. It can be
         read out loud in 20 minutes. It merely provides a
         precise formula of words together with certain prayers
         and ritual actions, so that the exorcist has a preset
         structure in which to address the evil spirit. In
         fact, the conduct of an exorcism is left very much up
         to the exorcist.

             Nevertheless, any practiced exorcist I have spoken
         with agrees that there is a general progress through
         recognizable stages in an exorcism, however long it
         may last.

             One of the most experienced exorcists I have known
         and who was in fact the mentor of the exorcist in the
         first case related in this book, gave names to the
         various general stages of an exorcism. These names
         reflect the general meaning or effect or intent of what
         is happening, but not the specific means used by the
         evil spirit or by the exorcist. Conor, as I call him,
         spoke of 'Presence', 'Pretense', 'Breakpoint', 'Voice',
         'Clash', and 'Expulsion'. The events and stages these
         names signify occur in nine out of ten exorcisms.

             From the moment the exorcist enters the room, a
         peculiar feeling seems to hang in the very air. From
         that moment in any genuine exorcism and onward through
         its duration, everyone in the room is aware of some
         alien 'Presence'. This indubitable sign of possession
         is as unexplainable and unmistakable as it is
         inescapable. All the signs of possession, however
         blatant or grotesque, however subtle or debatable,
         seem both to pale before and to be marshaled in the
         face of this 'Presence'.

             There is no sure physical trace of the 'Presence',
         but everyone feels it. You have to experience it to
         know it; you cannot locate it spatially - beside or
         above or within the possessed, or over in the corner
         or under the bed or hovering in midair.

             In one sen


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