The Exorcist Files - Case #05 - All In Your Head - Pt. 2

Episode Date: April 24, 2023

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Do you crave more Exorcist Files content? Do you want to go deeper into theology and spiritual warfare? Well, you're going to want to subscribe to The Vault, our new premium subscriber program. The Vault is our way of ensuring we bring you content all year long. Subscribers will get access to exclusive once a month, Ask Me Anything episodes with Father Martins, where you can submit questions and vote on the ones you want him to answer most. You'll also get access to a very special case behind the case series,

where we relisten to past episodes and cases, and Father reflects back on insights and anecdotes he just didn't have time to get into in the podcast. To subscribe, head on over to Exorcistfiles.tv and sign up, or just click the link in the show notes. Again, that's exorcistfiles.tv to get access to the vault. I command you and any like you to depart from her. Welcome back to the Exorcist Files,

a spiritual sojourn into the actual case files of Father Carlos Martins. Last week, we brought you a heartbreaking story of a young girl who, after an abrupt abandonment by her father, descended into a deep depression, only to be assaulted by the forces of darkness as they came clothed in the dressings of love and light. If you are new to the show, welcome. For maximum enjoyment, we recommend you listen to Part 1 of this case file first, entitled All in Your Head Part 1. If you're fully caught up, before we begin, let me say real quick that we are very aware

it's been a couple weeks since our last episode dropped. We haven't lived up to our once-a-week intentions, and for that, we deeply apologize. If you haven't surmised from the credits, we are a small three-person team. And sure, we could go faster by compromising quality and runtime, but in the end, we prefer higher-level production value

over punctuality. And let me reassure you that season two will be fully staffed, so a weekly release will be easier to achieve. In short, thank you for your patience, and a special thank you to all those that understand our predicament and have left us kind words of encouragement. And as for those who left us a bad review for running late, Father and I forgive you.

Chandler's working on it. Now, let's get on with the show. As with every case, listener discretion is advised. It was well over five minutes before Mike could get himself off the floor. Lena remained with her head cocked with a kind of Mona Lisa grin. Lita, what you do? Look at what you did. Rita.

Rita hit that desk so hard that she would need weeks of convalescence in order to heal. In that moment, both Rita and Mike developed a physical fear of Lena. There was a strength she exhibited that made no sense. While we've established that demons do not play fair, the ever-enduring question still lingers. If, according to Scripture, God is love, how then could he permit an innocent child to fall into demonic bondage? As a preteen, Lena is certainly the youngest possession case we've ever featured on this show. Rarely do children get possessed, but I've certainly seen children possessed.

It's more common, though, for adults to become possessed, because they've developed their mental and rational faculties and their agency to choose these. thereby it's just that they receive the consequences of their actions more acutely. They are learning. So there's just less possession of children. Now, I have seen where children inherit a possession, where demons have gained a jurisdiction over children because of some deal that their parents or some more remote ancestor makes with the devil. And of course, that sounds scandalous to many people.

If this child did not choose evil, why is this child suffering the effects of evil? That is a product of the moral nature of the universe insofar as God has constructed it. According to Christian doctrine, sin and death entered into the world through original sin, or the fall of Adam and Eve, and we are experiencing the consequences of their actions to this day. Even those who live a quote, good life, are still under the judgment that derives from original sin. And under the same framework, decisions made by people in previous generations can trigger demonic attachments for their descendants down the line. We baptize children, so an infant, doesn't explicitly choose the Christian faith, but the parents choose the Christian faith on the child's behalf. So if that works for good, it can also work for evil.

parents and ancestors exercise an authority over others who come after them. That's a sobering reality and a reality that has led to possession. I've encountered that multiple times. In essence, it comes down to authority, and demons will access whatever doorway is open to them, and we see that time and again in Father's Case Files. Now, while it's not quite the same, I did find an interesting parallel to this concept

at the biological level called epigenetic inheritance. Recent studies have shown that environmental trauma can influence the genetics of subsequent generations. One study, led by psychiatry and neuroscience professor at Mount Sinai in New York, Dr. Rachel Yehuda, revealed that descendants of Holocaust survivors displayed very specific gene alterations compared to those without a history of family trauma. Essentially, the descendants displayed those genetic changes even though they had not experience the same suffering of the relatives. So this got me thinking, if profound trauma and suffering can be passed down to future generations biologically, perhaps at some metaphysical level,

our actions today can send spiritual ripples down the family line. While we marinate on that thought, let's get back to Lena, the Levittator. Two weeks after that encounter, Lena came home from school. Hey, Lena, can you bring me a cup of water and come talk to? me for a second? Rita had not confronted her daughter following that day. So it took her a while to build up the courage, but also she had to process a bit before she could figure out how to even talk to Lena about it. Thank you. Hey, we need to talk about what happened in the bathroom. What do you mean? It's important. It's easy. You were there. You yelled at me for being upset. for taking dad's towel.

Had a right to be upset. I'm sorry for yelling at you. I am, but you can't hurt people like that. What? Mike and I both had actual physical injuries. Do you understand that? I didn't. I mean...

I know my daughter. That wasn't her in there. I want to know where did that violence come from, Lena. I don't know. It's confusing. We were yelling, then I heard you guys coming back from the hospital. Some of it's fuzzy. You know you did that, right?

Mom, I'm not crazy. Are you telling me you don't have any memory of injuring us? I know it sounds weird, but I really don't remember hitting you or Mike. I got so angry. And then it just went dark. Lena, you said that the towel came from your father? Yeah. Baby, that towel couldn't have come from him.

That's not true. He comes and sees me almost every day. What do you mean he comes and sees you? I mean he comes to the house or he'll show up at the bus stop, even at school. He shows up for me when I need him, which I can't say for the people in this house. I, so you and your dad talk a lot? Rita asked her daughter that knowing there was no way that this is. happening. She began to fight off tears because what she intuited was that her daughter is having

psychotic episodes, that these visits from her father are hallucinations. Yes, Mom. We hang out a lot. Honestly, I don't know why he doesn't talk to you, but he makes me feel better and you don't. Mom, my life really sucks right now. Please just don't ruin this for me. I'm not trying to stop you. Let me ask you this. How does he look? So good. Remember that mustache you made him shave?

He grew back even bigger. Like the singer from Queen? Rita is now choking off tears because she thinks her daughters losing her mind. And she starts uttering a prayer, almost involuntarily. He finally became a famous musician. Moving out West really helped him with this work. Hey! Stop it.

Stop what? I hate it. What? I'm just trying not to cry. It's just all... It's not you're crying. I'm sorry for interrupting. Please, tell me more about your dad.

I really want to know. So Lena goes on and on into this nonsensical account of the different things that Dave is accomplishing. And again, Rita starts asking the Lord, I told you to stop. Stop what? Your worthless prayers. I don't need them. I don't want them.

Rita was not an immensely religious person, but she did have faith. She did pray. So a thought came to her. I'm sorry, I'll stop that. Tell me about your father's new song. Once a long enough time had passed, Rita silently began to recite the Hail Mary for her daughter in her mind. She only got to the point of full of grace.

Rita! I told you not to do that. Lita! Vomit shot from Lena's mouth and she stormed out the front door. Shortly after that, Rita and Mike contacted me and stated that they believe their daughter had a demonic spirit within her. There were some strong clues starting to show. Lena's extreme aversion to anything religious, her superhuman strength,

and of course, the elephant you can't see in the room because the mirror doesn't show her reflection. What I insisted happen first is a mental health assessment of her. mental health professionals are indispensable to an exorcist. As stated in previous episodes, whenever possible, the church insists on a psychiatric evaluation first to rule out natural causes. And in most cases of demonic affliction, the underlying causes are not spiritual in nature. I referred her to a particular psychologist

because he had such a soft-spoken demeanor and could convey an assessment in a way that made sense to the person with the affliction. That's what he did with Lena. Over the course of two months, he was able to prove to her that these experiences with her father were not real. So one of the big indicators was the fact that

Lena's episodes were always preceded by a burst of anger and resentment, brought upon by the absence of her dad, and they were usually directed towards her mom. She also reported that a second sensation would follow the anger, and that was a kind of mild pleasure that steadily increased, that became more and more intense, eventually it became so euphoric that Lena felt powerless to resist it.

And there was a moment that she consented to it. Most victims of possession can usually recall a specific point of entry, so to speak, when they made a decision to yield control to the alien presence that was now exerting its thoughts and behavior on them. She would describe that moment as, quote, letting it take over. Then she would suddenly find herself living a false experience with her dad. But an experience that felt so real she took it for reality. In order to enter and eventually commandeer the body, consent is necessary. The demon obtains that consent by leveraging its knowledge of the victim's character traits,

special interests, or desires, such as in Lena's case, her longing to reunite with her father. Once the entry point is secured, withdrawal of consent becomes much more difficult, as the demon stakes a claim to its new rights and asserts more and more control over the victim's actions, curtailing her freedom and, if necessary, using illusions to limit it further. In short, once they get in, demons take their claim hard. In time, Lena discovered she no longer needed the anger to trigger that experience, but she could cause it directly just by willing it.

And the psychologist was able to convince Lena that what was happening in her, among other things, was a disassociation from reality caused by schizophrenia. And that schizophrenia was probably triggered by the trauma that Lena went through upon the leaving of her father. Nevertheless, that assessment could not explain the ability for Lena to know exactly when her mother was praying, the immense strength exhibited by Lena,

and it could not explain how she was. She wasn't present in the reflection in the mirror. So when Lena came to see me, I had the diagnosis on that first day. And when she manifests this partial levitation, I had more than enough evidence that there's something demonic here. Please take a seat over there. When we finally got into the room, I explained to Lena that, look, I need to make sure that your hallucinations are due to schizophrenia alone and not because of of anything demonic.

No matter what is causing this, we can help you. But we have to make sure this isn't spiritual. Because if it is, medicine won't fix it. Okay. Lena, is it okay for me to pray with you? Together, we can ask God to remove anything that is not of him from you and from your life. Is that okay? Mm-hmm.

Would it be okay if I place my hand on your head as we pray with you? Yeah, that's fine. I only got as far as standing up. We're going to go to a brief commercial break, and when we come back, we'll take a deep dive into an ancient and powerful tool used in the Exorcist's arsenal. Amen. Father Martin's here. I want to do a quick plug for one of the most powerful tools I've seen for breaking free and growing closer to Christ.

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This is your chance to break free, refocus, and rediscover who God is calling you to be in the new year. It starts January 20th. So go to Exodus 90.com slash X-Files. To learn more about Exodus 90, that's Exodus 90.com slash X-Files to join tens of thousands of men from all over the world for Exodus 90. Again, it begins Monday, January 20th. God bless you. Welcome back to the Exorcist Files, where Lena has just begun to react violently after Father Martens tried to pray for her, instigating the beginning of a demonic showdown.

We will return to this confrontation soon enough, but before we do, let's delve into the captivating world of relics. Ancient weapons exorcists have wielded against malevolent forces since the earliest days of the church. Throughout history, humans have turned to a variety of items to ward off evil. In the Christian tradition, incense, blessed salt, and holy water are widely used to protect one from insidious forces. bells are consecrated to clear the air of evil, hence the common presence of church bells and handbell choirs.

A widely used Jewish devotional that predates Christianity is the Mazuzza, which means doorpost in Hebrew. It consists of a piece of parchment inscribed with God's instructions from Deuteronomy to obey the commandments, and as the name suggests, it is attached to doorposts to protect the home from evil. So effective was the Mazusa for warning off demons that Gentiles and Jews, alike used it. Then of course there's the crucifix. Symbolic of the defeat of Satan through the death of Christ, it is an important tool in the exorcist's arsenal. Also, the cross itself was used as a symbol for centuries predating Christianity, especially when pertaining to burial. A common Catholic sacramental is the Medal of St. Benedict. The front of the medal shows St. Benedict

holding a cross, while the back contains a series of letters, which are the initials for a Latin prayer of exorcism, translated as, quote, Be gone, Satan, never tempt me with your vanities. What you offer me is evil. Drink the poison yourself, end quote. Then we have the rosary, often described as the chain that our lady uses to bind Satan. Possessed individuals are known to revolt against and destroy the rosary, as its presence irritates and its touch burns them.

Other Catholic sacramentals include holy cards. In his book, an exorcist tells us. his story, Father Gabriel Amorth describes holy cards as being efficacious, and demons are particularly aversive of cards depicting St. Michael, the Archangel. And finally, we come to the rarest of holy objects. That is, unless your name is Father Martens. These items carry great healing and exorcistic properties and are known as sacred relics. Since we are lucky enough to have, quote, the relic guy, as our lead host and resident demon disciplinarian, I'll let Father Martin define relic.

Relics are physical objects that have a direct association with the saints or with our Lord. They are traditionally broken down into three classes. First class relics are the body or fragments of the body of a saint, such as pieces of bone or flesh. Second class relics are something a saint personally owned. For example, a shirt or book or fragments of those items. third-class relics are those items that a saint touched or that have been touched to a first second or another third-class relic of a saint.

Within the rite of exorcism, it is stated that the crucifix, holy water, and where available, relics of the saints are to be employed. The ritual of 1614 contains 21 directives for the exorcist, with directive number 13 being, quote, relics of saints, where available, safely and properly, fastened and covered may be reverently applied to the chest or head of the possessed. Care must be taken that the sacred objects are not improperly handled or harmed in any way by the demon. Interestingly, the ritual also notes that due to the possibility of desecration, the Holy Eucharist should not be placed upon the head of the possessed person

or elsewhere on his body. However, at the exorcist's discretion, this rule need not apply in cases where there is no danger of irreverence, such as when the victim's actions are nonviolent. The Catholic Church derives its use of relics from scripture and sacred tradition. Each time a relic is mentioned in scripture, two things always occur. One, there is always a healing.

And two, touch is the way by which that healing comes about. In the New Testament, in Matthew chapter 9, we hear about a woman being healed of her hemorrhage simply by touching the hem of Jesus's cloak. Now, what's interesting is she didn't touch Jesus, but his clothing. And that was enough for the healing. Another example can be found in Acts chapter 19. When clothing or fabrics touched by the Apostle Paul were applied to the sick, those individuals were healed and any evil spirits departed from them.

Even after their deaths, countless miracles have been occasioned by the saints in the near presence of their relics. In each of these instances, the cause of the healing is God. The relics are simply a means through which he acts. God looks on the saints as a proud parent looks upon his children. He wants to draw our attention to the saints as models and intercessors. While relics sometimes create controversy among Protestant denominations, the church fathers make numerous references to them as being conduits of God's power.

St. John Chrysostom, for example, wrote of the power of relics, stating, quote, the bodies of these saints repel the assaults of those enemies that are felt and seen, but also they both subvert and dissolve as readily, the snares of the invisible demons and all the devices of the devil. St. Hillary of Poitiers, who died in 368, wrote that demons howl when relics are brought into their presence. St. Jerome, who died in the year 420, declared that even the dust of the saints torment the demons and cause them to burn with, quote, unseen flames. Perhaps the most remarkable ancient account of the interaction of relics dispelling demons and tormenting them comes from St. Ambrose, who was the Bishop of Milan. He died in the year 397.

Ambrose had built an enormous basilica in Milan, but he lacked relics to place beneath its altar. In reference to a passage from Revelation, Chapter 6, it's an ancient tradition that relics of the saints are placed inside every altar. Having a lack of relics, Ambrose prayed that he would obtain some. And so in a dream, he was shown the location of St. Gervasius and St. Protasius, the proto-martyrs of Milan. The dream showed him their shared graves general location, but it did not show him precisely where it was.

So Ambrose, along with the excavation team, brought along a possessed demoniac. So at a certain point, the demoniac was seized and was thrown to the ground. The grave's location had been found. The bodies of the two martyrs were brought inside the basilica, and multiple demoniacs were liberated simply by being brought into their presence. What's especially noteworthy is Ambrose's claim that the dean's, The demons spoke to the relics as if they were speaking to the saints themselves. And in the exorcisms I've performed, I've experienced the same.

Given what we know of relics, it seems fairly logical to conclude that their efficacy would differ according to their origin and history. All relics are not alike in their effect. There's a universal effectiveness and then there is a visceral effectiveness that really causes a kryptonite effect. a tremendous amount of weakening to the demon. And that is what you're looking for in the relics. And not each one produces that effect in demons. So that's the reason why I bring a very large number. I've got lots.

I mean, you're talking to the relic guy. As Father is the man with the relics, this brings up for me an important question. How does the exorcists know which relic to use? Well, I pray. I seek a word out and I ask the Lord to bring. bring a saint forward. I also listen to the demon, to what he's about. I pay regard to his name, to his personality, and the things that he declares. If he brags about himself, I try to

recall a saint who has exhibited the virtues that are the counterpart to the behavior of this demon is bragging about. So I'll grab relics of those saints and apply them to look for that very effect. Now, if that demon doesn't show that effect immediately, I don't sweat about it. I just keep that relic upon that demon because they may be using everything in their power to hide their reaction in hopes that you put that relic down. So I don't put the relic down until I've come to my own conclusion that, okay, this relic is not producing a superabundant effect on this demon's So I'll move on to look for one that does. We will return to relics soon.

But first, let's get back to Lena and Father Martins, who is about to issue some spiritual evictions. The demon at that point is experiencing an intense threat through the presence of an exorcist. So there's that. In the name of Jesus, I command you demon to stop harassing Lena and depart from her. Lena, please sit back down in the chair. She turned around and made her way back to the chair. And I started to pray. Holy Lord, Almighty Father,

everlasting God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who once sent for all, he signed that fallen and apostate prior to the flames of hell. I'll send your woman become silent to the world. Crush that roaring lie. Let your mighty hand cast him out of your servant, so he may no longer hold captive. This person.

who had pleased you to make in your image and to intervene through your son lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit. God forever. She is my! Silence, demon, her baptism made her a daughter of God the Father. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World and Son of the Father, I command you and any like you to depart from her. Your prayers fall by deaf ears. fathless priest Holy Lord,

hasten to our call for you and snatched from ruination and the touches of the noonday devil this human being made in your image of likeness strike terror Lord and you're now laying waste to your sins She asked me to be your father

Now it may not be a lie that she gave herself up to the devil but she only did so because he presented a lie to her You confront a lie with the truth She asked me to be her father. That is only because you deceived her. Truth itself is exorcistic. The demon had manipulated her under the guise of being her father, who unfortunately was a wretch,

but her longing for her father to be loved by him. The demon was able to manipulate and trick her into making a pact. she would accept the demon as her father, although she didn't know that it was a demon with whom she was making a pact. There are many terms for these packs. In some traditions, they are also known as covenants. We will explore covenants and packs,

as well as answer some questions about witchcraft in our next case file. The demon just kept affirming his rights, just grotesque, disgusting words, disgusting imagery. Mr. Morchelle, you have a lot. way this creature of God or the bystander or any of their guns are you childless

unit you deceived her serpent the pig is mine this young woman is a child of God she belongs to God you cannot have her you have no place in her return from the pit you came out of let her go foul dima all the sack of shit this war let me run up I'm luck, I'm like, a lot, a life. He's not our daughter, that's something to do. This one probably isn't even your type.

I know your type. You're a naughty, not this one you're pleased. This is my house. My father? I will have fun. Is my boy. Father notices that this demon keeps boasting about being Lena's father, which brings to mind the antithesis of Lena's patriarchal parasite.

the father of a humble and well-known carpenter from a little town called Nazareth. In my bag, I have a reliquary of St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. And it contains a fragment of his cloak, which has been venerated from ancient times in Rome at the Basilica of St. Anastasia. Now, to be sure we can properly fill out our Exorcist Files bingo cards, a reliquary is a high-quality vessel for relics, usually plated in gold or silver. And when Father speaks of, quote, venerating a relic, that simply means to show it honor or admiration. The idea is that one is being intimate with someone who is in heaven by asking for their prayers, but their soul, who is at this very moment beholding God face to face, is just as present in their sacred remains. Joseph's garment

remained in the possession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, and then upon her leaving the earth, it remained in the possession of the church. It was venerated greatly in Palestine, then was brought sometime around the year 375 by St. Jerome, the Church Father, to Rome. And it remains in St. Anastasia today. That cloak of Joseph has been one of the most highly valued relics in the church. Some time ago, a tiny portion was removed and was then assigned to the ministry that I direct. Now, Relic Guy, as you may have surmised, is not Father Martin's formal title. He runs a ministry called Treasures of the Church, which conducts exhibits throughout the world,

bringing a large collection of relics to churches to give people a chance to venerate them. And, you may not know this, you can make your own relic. Yes, you heard right. That, of course, is awesome. We will cover more in Father's upcoming Q&A bonus episode. So I had that relic with me, and I pulled it out, placed it upon the back of Lena's head. The demon immediately responded. Do you recognize this?

I hope more of a father than you are. He said that you are condemned. You are condemned. I'll trouble him no more. I bind the human in the name of Jesus. Our Lord and sin. From St. Joseph to St. Thomas Beckett, the saint you might remember. remember from the murder demon story, Father employs a wide variety of relics during exorcisms. I've used relics of all 12 of the apostles. For example, St. Peter, the apostle, always, for me,

gets a reaction. That's not too surprising. After all, he is the apostle, upon whom Christ said he would build his church. And it is reported in Acts chapter 5 that even the touch of Peter's shadow healed many. I used relics of New Testament saints, for example, St. Mary Magdalene, who died in Provence, France. Her body is underneath the Abbey Church of St. Denis in Provence, but there are relics of saints that nobody is heard of. St. Walburga was born in England around the year 700. I had this relic of hers, and I applied maybe 20 or 30 relics prior to that point, but my gosh, when while Berga was applied against this demon, we struck oil. And now he was subject to our prayers in a way that he hadn't been before.

It was just a game changer. Any time as an exorcist that you can achieve that, gosh, you've just cut your time and your effort exponentially. Now, if you're like me, you're wondering how anyone knows the relics father uses are actually authentic. When these New Testament saints died, immediately there was a shrine erected over the grave of the saint, so their tombs were honored and venerated. Thomas the Apostle, for example, ended up in India. Peter and Paul, they were martyred in Rome. So when Christianity became legalized during the time of Constantine, there was an excavation beneath that shrine, whereby the relics were rediscovered.

And for those heading to Vatican Trivia night, you will want to pay attention here. So the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica, is where it is, because it was built over the grave of St. Peter. Ancient Rome was very densely populated, and in order to prevent contagion

that might spread because of cemeteries, there was a law in ancient Rome that nobody could be buried inside the walls. So the Vatican was was a very large cemetery, a necropolis, that existed beyond the Tiber. And Peter was martyred in Nero's Circus, just a few hundred feet away from the Vatican Necropolis, and then he was buried in that necropolis because it was close by.

From the Latin word meaning circle, a Roman circus was a large open-air entertainment venue, typically reserved for chariot races, theater performances, and other events. When Constantine became a Christian, it was his desire to build a basilica over top of the grave of Peter. And that grave had to be squarely beneath the altar where mass would be celebrated in that basilica. And it was excavations during the 1930s and 40s and 50s where his body was rediscovered. So whoever discovered St. Peter's remains, well, I'm sure they're. said, best day ever. Can you imagine? We'll be right back after this commercial break. Welcome back to the Exorcist Files. I think we've made you wait long enough. Let's get to the eviction of Lena's

demon. Lena required eight exorcism sessions before she was completely free of the demon. In the third session, the demon himself confessed the moment that he entered her was shortly after her father left, The demon presented to her a reality that was deceptive and manipulative, and Lena knew there was something off with it, but she conceded to it anyway. That served as the pact. That believing in a lie was the doorway needed for the devil to begin attaching himself to her, and eventually Lena accepted a reality that was so alternative that the demon was able to put. possess her. Lena's liberation required a four-part healing process. The first was that she had to accept the fact, hey, my father abandoned me. And this was really difficult for her. I thought he loved me. Very traumatic. I have the best memories of being with him. And then he just

left me. He left me. He left me. He left me. She deserved to be left. In the next name of Jesus, I demand you leave this child of God. Lena, stay here, stay with me. Even if you get angry, focus on me. I know it's difficult to accept, but every instance of your father's return were deceptions of an evil force. It wasn't your fault,

but you must accept the cold reality that your father made a decision to leave this family. Why? It was wrong, but your father abandoned you. Why did you leave me, Dad? But your mom and Mike are here for you. They stayed. You have people here in your life who love you very much.

I know. We are here, sweetie. I know, I know. I love you, baby. I love you so much, Mom. The second part was that Lena had to forgive her mother for the defects she saw in her mother. Those defects became the trigger for her rage. Some of the defects were real, some of them were perceived simply because her father had conducted himself as such a friend of Lena's, but he was a false friend, ultimately.

She had to dig deep within her in order for her to cross into the third part of healing, which was that Lena had to forgive herself. She had to release herself from the shame she felt at having a father who coldly abandoned. her. Of course, it's not Lena's fault that he did so. But I've worked with victims since the beginning of my priesthood. And what I've noticed is that a victim will sooner forgive an abuser than will forgive himself or herself. It was not your fault. Your father left. But if he loved me, why would he leave me? It must be something I did. I wasn't good enough. No, Lena. Your father is a broken man. Broken people hurt. people. I'm not good enough. Lena. People don't just leave. There has to be something wrong with me.

Look at me. Look at me. Forgive yourself. It hurts. Say it out loud. I forgive myself. Say it just hurts. I forgive myself. I forgive myself. I forgive myself. I forgive myself. I forgive myself. a lot of ministry to put her in a place where she could see the defect was squarely on her father's shoulders. There was something shamefully wrong in her father. And the fourth and final step was Lena had to claim her identity as a daughter of God. You must remember who you really are. Repeat after me now. I was created by God. I was created by God. I am loved. by God. I'm loved by God.

Lena, you are not a mistake because God chose you to be here. From the very beginning, God knew you. He calls you by name. God chose me to be here. God wants me to be here. I belong here. That's right. Good, Lena.

Say it with me now. I have dignity and I belong here. I have dignity and... I am a pride of darkness. Lena, come back to me, Lena. This is her father. You come back to me. Lena.

Lena, come back to me, Lena. Lena, come back. Lena, come back. Lena. You're doing great. Just sit back down. It knows its time is short, and it knows where it's going. These four steps were the engine, if you will, by which the exorcism became effective.

That gave her the freedom. internally to remove any final claims the demon possessed on her. And the demon didn't stand a chance. The faith of the holy apostles, Peter, and follow the sense, amen. The blood of the martyrs, the command. The combatants, the confessors, the lies, the devout cares of all women and women,

command you grow. The saving mysteries of our Christian faith command you. Silence, demon. Lena has forgiven her father. She has forgiven her mother. She has forgiven herself. She has accepted her true identity as a darling of God. Your deception is at an end.

No demon. No longer do you have authority. When you heard it, here before God Almighty, your rights have been removed. In the name of Jesus Christ, son of the most high, I cast you out. No!

And send you back to the pit of hell. We're right here. Is it over? It's over. It's gone. That was really scary. I'm really sorry, guys. It's okay.

You're okay. How do you feel? Um, lighter? I feel confused, warm. I just... Can we go get some ice cream? something, my throat really hurts and I could use an app. Absolutely. We can go get you whatever you want. I love you guys. I love you so much. God the father loved her. She's ultimately his daughter.

And even though her human father and everyone else on this earth, for that matter, is going to fall short. God doesn't fall short. And he always will love her. And she always has a place in his heart. And that, folks, is what makes father's job so special, the freedom that the victims find when they finally are released from their spiritual shackles. So even if you find yourself skeptical of certain claims made in this podcast, we can hopefully all appreciate the fact that these people, after their time with Father Martins, recovered. They were liberated. And as for where she is today?

Lena, she was able to manage the schizophrenia through psychological things, and medication. I've lost touch with her, but for many years, even after the exorcism, I remained in touch with her, and she was managing well enough. She's certainly not the worst schizophrenic case that I've ever seen, but it was a real thing for her. And she had a really good analytical edge to her. And she was able to parse out what is false by tracing back. Wait a minute, where did this thought come from? Is this rational to believe? What was I think before, what was I feeling before, how did I end up here? And thus concludes the case of levitating Lena.

Her newfound freedom brought many blessings, one of the most important being the ability to self-reflect. And we are happy to report that Lena is finally able to get her picture taken, especially that new driver's license photo. Thanks for listening, folks. And before we say farewell, we leave you with a tease of our final case file for season one. Okay then. I'll take these plates, grab us another fiendermonde, and then what do you say we moved to the solarium and watch the sunset? You have a salarium?

My second favorite spot in the house. Wow, you, you are full of surprises. Let me help you clean up. No, no, no, no. The guest of honor must relax. You just hang tight and conserve that energy. I really don't deserve this treatment. No. You deserve more.

You've been listening to The Exorcist Files. For additional materials and video resources, you can follow us on social media and sign up for our email list at exorcistfiles. TV to be made aware of new case files. You can also email us absurd and overly specific criticisms at ExorcistFiles at gmail.com. Or just feel free to send some praise. We love both. We do get hundreds of emails, so give us some time.

All cases in the Exorcist Files are recounted by Father Carlos Martins from his personal archives. The Exorcist Files is hosted by Father Martins and myself, Ryan Bethay. This episode's reenactments were directed and recorded by Chandler Mays and Ryan Bethay in Los Angeles, California. Lena was portrayed by Kennedy Haddon, step-dead Mike by James Brandt Isaacs, Rita by Lexi Flores, Father Martins by Paul Leach, any likeness or similarities of characters are entirely coincidental and unintentional on the part of the writers. Additional research provided by Anne-Marie Robson and Miranda Hawkins.

Script written by Chandler Mays and Ryan Bethay. Original theme and select scores, written and composed by Dan Carey Bailey. Additional music graciously provided by Dim, spelled D-I-M. And you can find his beautiful album, Steep Sky, Stained Light, at I.MDim.BandCamp.com. Assistant editor is Christoph Fier's, supervising producer, sound designer, editor, and mixer is Chandler Mays. Executive producers are Carlos Martens, Ryan Bithay, Ben Bowlin,

and Chandler Mays. The Exorcist Files is the production of IHeartMedia. Go get some ice cream or something. My throat really hurts and I can use an app. Absolutely. We can go get you whatever you want. Anything at all. I love you guys.

I love you so much. Here's my deal. That was it. I think I'll head it. I think y'all head it.