The Exorcist Files - S2-Case #18-"Hannah's Story"

Episode Date: December 31, 2025

*CONTENT WARNING*- Today's episode features a discussion of Sexual Abuse and some listeners may find the content triggering. Some listeners may want to skip the episode or certain portions. A young woman must confront her traumatic past to find healing and restoration through Christ.SponsorsThank you to our sponsors!RocketMoney- Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at Rocketmoney.com/exfilesOllie- Amazing food for your pup. Get them the best at Ollie.com/exfilesWild Alaskan Co- Get $35 off your first box of wild-caught, sustainable seafood—delivered right to your door. Go to:  https://www.wildalaskan.com/EXFILES.Sign up for the Vault- Exorcistfiles.supercast.comFollow us on instagram at @thebethea and @exorcistfilesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey friends, this is the last episode of 2025. We want to give a special thank you to our vault members for helping support the show and the ministry. Your support is crucial and it's a huge help. It's a gift, a privilege, and an honor to get to do what we do. The show is a lot of work, and we are so grateful for your support. As a reminder, vault subscribers get episodes ad free going forward and special Ask Me Anything episodes with Father Martins. And with that, we are about to start a case that is, well, very different from what we normally feature on the program. but it's a serious and important topic nonetheless.

We hope it blesses you, and we hope you have an amazing start to 2026. God bless and enjoy. The enemy is so active in our world that there is no shortage of stories to tell. But the cases I share on the Exorcist files are never random. Each one is chosen with care because each reveals spiritual principles and information that I believe will be most helpful to you as you navigate your own journey through this life. Some cases are extreme.

The stories are unsettling. The manifestations are dramatic. And the details are graphic. I understand why those episodes often capture the most attention. But the enemy is not always loud and bold. He can be extremely subtle, cunning, and patient, often doing his greatest damage in ways that leave little trace on the surface.

Very often, it is this type of tactic that causes the most permanent damage to a victim. While the pride and arrogance of some demons make them brazen, self-assertive, and theatrical, such as not the personality of every demon. Some operate very differently. Certain demons behave more like parasites, quietly, stealthily concealed.

They avoid the jarring and dramatic, preferring instead to leach life little by little, so subtly that their victim is unaware of what is happening. In many ways, these are the most dangerous spirits of all, because their presence is discovered only by accident, if at all. Today's case is one of those, what you might call a slow burn. I share it with you because it demonstrates how essential it is to confront the buried trauma

in our personal histories. Left unhealed, our wounds can become a hiding place for a stealthy demon, who lurks like a shadow among the weeds, quietly latching on to whatever he can. Back to the Exorcist Files, a conversational cornucopia of the Christian creeds, convictions. I'm your co-host. You Love Second Most, Ryan Bethay. Now, college is often where young adults confront some of life's biggest questions. Is there a God? Who am I at my core? And can I actually afford to get guacamole on my Chipotle bowl? For one young adult, college opened up a beautiful lifeline, a place of prayer, community, and truth in the midst of confusion. But we know that no good

intent of God goes unopposed. Just like the best packages from Amazon, deliverance of anything comes with a price. And sometimes that price tag is a cost we simply don't want to pay. On a serious note, today we dig into a very intense topic, those who are victims of physical abuse. I want to give listeners a fair warning. While this episode is a light on the spooky, it is heavy on the emotional side, one of the most awful tragedies a human can endure. Listener discretion is advised. So now, just like Hamlet, we turn to a hall at York University in Toronto. Enter Father Carlos Martens, Exorcist extraordinaire. In 2011, I was assigned to be the chaplain at York University in Toronto.

The assignment change was sudden and unexpected. Until then, I had been serving at a fantastic church in Texas, the Catholic Charismatic Center, in downtown Houston. It was at the center where I found. first cut my teeth in exorcism and deliverance ministry, working with Father Francis Frankovich, the Archdiocesan exorcist. I also engaged in prison ministry and served as the head of the E-team, an evangelization ministry comprising of approximately 65 dedicated men and women who organized powerful retreats throughout the state. The ministry at York University was different. First of all, as a pastor on

a college campus, you're working exclusively with students, and that means you lose one quarter of your people annually because they complete their degrees, graduate, and move on to do something else with their lives. With a complete turnover of population in four years, a chaplain has a short time frame to make a lasting impact on a student. But even to have a chance to do that, you've got to find a way to get that person to connect with the campus chaplaincy. How do you do that? Well, you need to go out into the halls and gathering places and engage, making what you have to offer attractive.

You have to evangelize. You can't sit back and simply expect people to walk through your door because they won't. Without evangelization, a campus ministry does, a quick death. For those wondering just what a chaplaincy is, it's the place where the chaplain works. I know. Seems obvious, right? Well, I didn't know it. Also, Arnold doesn't say in the movies, get through the chaplaincy. Okay, back to father. York University had a student population of over 60,000. But when I arrived, only 18 students were actually coming to the chaplaincy.

It was pretty bleak, and evangelization was badly neat. needed. I proposed a four-week school of evangelization to train them in both theory and practice. Of the 18, 16 committed, and these 16 were some of the finest people with whom I have ever worked. Serious, dedicated, and enthusiastic, they would go on to change countless lives. After their formation, the plan was for them to go out and engage other students, and invite them to join one of our Catholic Bible studies, each an hour a week for six weeks. We plan to run dozens of them at all times of the day to fit student schedules.

It wasn't a big commitment, but it would give us a valuable hour to proclaim the identity of Jesus Christ. Still, I wondered, rather than going out to them, was there a way to have the students come to us? I had an idea, which now seems patently obvious. College kids are always hungry. I capitalized on this by buying the biggest popcorn machine I could find that ran on a standard plug and I bought 1,100 pounds of corn kernels, two full skids.

The smell of fresh popcorn became our advertisement throughout the campus hallways. and thanks to a generous budget from the archdiocese, I had another idea. Give away a free Catholic book with every bag of popcorn. Not just pamphlets or pens like other clubs, but real high-quality books on the faith. It made a statement, we were investing in you, unlike other ministries and groups,

which might just give you useless swag. But even more important, The book table slowed students down. While they browsed, we struck up a conversation. What's your major? Did you get into all the classes you want? That human touch led to many to sign up for our Bible study. That was how I met Hannah.

She was already a devout Christian and very active in the Reformed Church that was also on campus. She came by and struck up a conversation with one of our student evangelist. But when she saw a flyer for a woman's retreat that I was leading, she was intrigued. Because it was off campus and overnight, and because she was unknown to us, my assistant scheduled a meeting so I could meet her and vet her attendance. Come in. Hi, Father Martin? Yes. Are you, Hannah?

I am. I know I'm a few minutes early, but... No, no, no, it's fine. Thanks for coming by. And here, please take a seat. Thanks. Yeah, absolutely. So you're the one who wants to join us on their retreat, yeah? Yeah, I would. I saw a poster in Central Square.

It looked really cool. It is really cool. So what piqued your interest? You know, it was the way it talked about women. I hadn't heard the phrase genius of women before, and the reference to mystics and saints and just learning more about myself as a woman and how to live purposefully.

that seems really cool. Ah, that's great. We would love to have you, but I wanted to meet with you because there are a few things I wanted to talk to you about before you commit to going. Oh, sure. So, as a Protestant,

you are absolutely welcome. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, but there are some really important distinctions. A communion, right? Yes, that's right. So under no circumstances, are you to receive Holy Communion. Oh, yeah, I've heard that.

It's because I'm not Catholic, right? Yeah, so it's even deeper than that. And look, it's not just Protestants. There are Catholics who shouldn't be receiving a community either. Oh. But the Catholic Church believes that the Eucharist is not a symbol of God's presence. It is God's very presence itself. Body, blood, soul, and divinity.

The sacrament does not represent God. It is God. Yeah, that is a big difference, Father. My church believes God is there spiritually. Yes, yes, exactly, exactly. And that is why we cannot invite you to receive Holy Communion. We believe the Eucharist to be the most holy thing in the world, and for us, we feel it would be inappropriate to share with someone who does not regard it with the same faith.

Yeah, I guess that makes sense. We both love Jesus, but I can appreciate the big difference in our views, and I can totally roll with that. Thank you. There is one other thing. You are asking to come to our retreat, and it is a Catholic retreat. We will be doing Catholic practices, things like praying the rosary and adoring the Eucharist. I'd ask, if you do come, you agree to be a participant. It's not a choose your own adventure kind of thing. Also, you'll get more out of it if you're all in, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I understand, and I can agree to that and accept that. I've actually wondered about the rosary for a while. Is it easy to begin? Hannah, honestly, not really. But you'll get the hang of it. Welcome aboard. I'm delighted you're coming. Sweet.

The debate over the Eucharist is, an enormous theological divide between Catholics and Protestants. But to strike an ecumenical tone here, especially as the show's resident material heretic, a few points of commonality. Lest Protestants think it's just them being excluded, it is not. The Eucharist is such a sacred practice that members of the Catholic Church who are not in good standing or are in a state of mortal sin are prohibited from receiving Holy Communion. Agree or not, it does show how seriously the Catholic Church takes this intimate act of uniting oneself with Christ, through his sacramental body and blood.

Secondly, while Protestants and Catholics disagree about what actually happens when the bread and wine is consecrated, there is tremendous agreement that it is a sacred act. It is something Christ commanded his followers to do, and it is an act born out of love by the one savior of man whom billions of Christians of all denominations worship. Hannah jumped right in on the retreat. Besides talks, the first two days featured praying the rosary

and invoking the intercession of the saints. She followed along with a spare set of rosary beads and a pamphlet that gave her the words to the prayers. It was foreign to her, but she put herself into it and did great. Every retreat I've ever run has Eucharistic adoration as part of it. Adoration is simply spending time in front of the Eucharist.

The Blessed Sacrament is displayed on an altar and a beautiful golden vessel called a monstrance. While in front of it, you may sit, stand, or kneel, and while doing so, may pray in any manner you like, or read from scripture or another spiritual book. Or you can choose to do nothing, and simply sun tan, wordlessly basking in the presence and light of God's only sun. On this retreat, adoration occurred nocturnally.

during the night between the second and last day. Retreatens signed up for a one-hour shift, which they would spend with the Lord. Each could decide when that would be, although there was a maximum of three participants per hour. The shifts during the middle of the night are always the toughest to fill, because they're too late in the night for one to stay up for them,

and they're over too early in the morning not to return to bed. Nevertheless, the 3 a.m. shift has always been my personal favorite because it was during that shift in 1996 that the Lord revealed himself to me in the Blessed Eucharist, converting me from atheism. Why was an atheist on a Catholic Eucharistic adoration retreat? Because I was invited. That's the short version. Suffice it to say, there was a reason why I wanted Hannah to commit to participating fully in the retreat's prayers and practices. If she didn't, then they couldn't speak to her, and I knew from experience that they do. They changed my life. If I hadn't fully engaged on that retreat, I wouldn't be speaking to you right now. 3am.

Notice Father's personal favorite spot for adoration. To most, it's just a really awful time to wake up. But in the spiritual tradition, it's often referred to as the witching hour, a time long associated with heightened demonic activity. But why 3 am? It's a calculated inversion, a direct mockery of 3 p.m., the hour Jesus died on the cross. In that light, 3 a.m. becomes the anti-3 p.m.,

a time of spiritual distortion when evil mimics and perverts what is holy, a reminder that Satan doesn't just oppose, he mocks. Many exorcists have long reported that manifestations attacks or oppressive episodes spike around that time. And of course, even the venerable Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20 has said he gets very lonely at 3 a.m. Hannah had an amazing retreat. The experiences of praying like a Catholic spoke to her heart, especially Eucharistic adoration. Afterwards, she became a regular at the chaplaincy, throwing herself into everything we offered. Mass, Bible studies, our campus popcorn outreach, fellowship nights, etc.

Because Hannah had a gift for connecting with people, she was a whiz at our campus outreach. She wasn't pushy, but was confident and genuine. Soon she was leading outreach teams, organizing events, and even mentoring younger students, all while still not being Catholic herself. However, that soon changed. She started RCIA, short for the right of Christian initiation for adults, to explore the process of conversion in earnest. Her passion was contagious, and after a few months of formation, I received her into the Catholic Church the following Easter. Amen.

Father Martin's here. I want to do a quick plug for one of the most powerful tools I've seen for break. free and growing closer to Christ. Exodus 90. The Exodus 90 challenge begins this year on January 20th, but this isn't just a 90-day program. Exodus 90 is a spirituality for modern men that is built on three ancient pillars, prayer, self-sacrifice, and fraternity. We all long for something more. We long to be the men God created us to be. sons of a loving father. It's time to turn away from our idols. It's time to break free from the pharaohs that hold us in bondage. If you're ready to make a fresh start and embark on a journey

to uncommon freedom in Jesus Christ, then download the Exodus 90 app today. 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. Two years after Hannah attended her first retreat in the winter, I was planning another this time for the fall.

Its intent was to help participants experience one of the most foundational dimensions of the Christian faith, the Holy Spirit. This retreat would prove to be just as impactful for Hannah as the first, though in a much different way. I flew in some of my old friends from the evangelization team in Houston to lead it. These were amazing people with whom I had put on retreats for years when I lived in Texas. They were men and women of prayer, discernment, and humility, deeply spiritual,

grounded in the church, and intimately familiar with how the Holy Spirit moves when hearts are open to him, and they are experts at getting them open. By now, Hannah had been a Catholic for two years and was a committed, respected member of the campus parish community. She had grown remarkably in both faith and maturity, and it was beautiful to see her utilizing her God-given gifts and talents to bless her peers. The retreat theme was clear. The Holy Spirit wants to come alive in us, invite him in. Too often, people think of the Holy Spirit as a vague force or abstract concept, something merely theological rather than a someone who is personal. The retreats. The retreats, Treat repeatedly hammered home one major truth, that the Holy Spirit is a divine person who wants

you to invite him into your life. He won't force himself in. He's too much of a gentleman for that. He waits, he knocks, he offers, but he will never invade a heart that remains close to him. But if you do invite him, not only will he enter, like a true gentleman, he always brings gifts. His trademark gifts are comfort, peace, and inner calm. But he also brings the supernatural gifts described by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 12. Manifestations of the Spirit meant to build up the body of Christ and unleash God's power in the world. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, the Apostle Paul discusses the gifts of the Holy Spirit, emphasizing their diversity and purpose for the common good of the church.

Paul lists nine gifts, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. But Paul never suggests that this list is complete or exhaustive, only that these are examples of the spirit's many works among God's people. Gifts are given by the Holy Spirit to each believer as he determines for the benefit of the entire body of Christ. Paul emphasizes that they are not for personal gain or status, but rather for the common good and the building up of the church. He also stresses, that while these gifts are diverse, they all come from the same Holy Spirit

and are meant to be used in love. That second night of the retreat, after a talk on the charisms of the Holy Spirit, we gathered for a special time of prayer asking for the Holy Spirit to impart those charisms on the participants. The invitation was simple yet profound. Come, Holy Spirit, I give you permission,

have your way with me. After two days of talks and preparation, the evangelization team members prayed over each participant one by one. And the gifts began to flow. Some received the gift of wisdom, a gift of divine insight into decisions with which they or others are facing. Others received the gift of knowledge, a gift of understanding of truths about themselves or others that could only come from God. several were given the gift of faith, not just more belief, but a deep unshakable confidence in God's presence and power to act. A few experienced the gift of joy, where emotional wounds were lifted and inner burdens removed, both replaced by overwhelming peace. The gift of prophecy flowed, as many spoke words that cut straight to the heart, words they didn't even fully understand themselves,

but that landed with divine precision on those for whom they were intended. A great many received the gift of tongues, a heavenly language transcending the intellect, releasing praise from the depths of the soul. In all the manifestations, there was a tremendous sense that something profound was happening. God was doing something he had long wanted to do. He had been invited by those present

and was indulging himself by lavishing his gifts. All around the chapel, students were encountering God in powerful and personal ways. Some were filled with joy and laughter. Others sat in peaceful silence as they received gifts for which it would never occur them to ask. The atmosphere was thick with the presence of God, light, liberation, holiness. However, one person was having a very different kind of experience. I suddenly saw Hannah, who had been such a steady, faithful presence throughout the retreat, jump up out of her seat, bolt to the back of the chapel, and crumple herself into a corner.

It was a strange and jarring sight. While others were rejoicing, she was clearly in pain. Hannah? Hannah, Hannah, I can see you're going through a lot right now. Can I ask what's wrong? I just, I just hate myself. I can't stop thinking about how much I hate myself. You hate yourself, why?

I can't, I can't. Hannah was sobbing so much that she was shaking. All I can think about is the abuse. I was abused as a kid. A neighbor molested me, and I thought I had moved past it, and it just made me feel so ugly and disgusting. And all I can think of is that as all I'll ever be. It's just this little girl that's going to just feel gross.

Hannah began to tell a tragic story. Her neighbor, a Christian, whom she and the entire community looked up to, had routinely molested her over the course of several years. She was seven years old when it started. The abuse was reported to the police, and the abuser was arrested. He pleaded guilty, but his lawyer argued in defense that Hannah was, quote-unquote, open to it, and thus a willing participant. This added vinegar to the wound. Hannah, I'm grieved to hear that you suffered abuse.

It has been with you a long time, and it doesn't have to define you. Can we pray through this together, inviting God into your situation and asking him to heal it? He has to do. It's okay. It's okay. I'll guide you. First, I want you to announce the lie that your abuser believed, that you are worthy of abuse. Repeat after me, in the name of Jesus, I reject the lie that it's okay for anyone to mistreat or abuse me. In the name of Jesus, I reject the lie that it's okay for anyone. want to mistreat or abuse me.

You got it. Good. That's great. Okay, now, I want you to announce the lies that the abuse planted in you. Say after me, in Jesus' name, I renounce the lie that I am worthy of abuse. I renounce the lie that I'm worthy of abuse. That I am worthless. That I'm worthless. That I have no value. That I have no value. That the true me is the little hurt.

girl who feels exploited and gross. That the true me is the little hurt girl who feels exploited and gross. That God created me to feel this way. That God created me to feel his way. That I'll never be free of the abuse. And that I'll never be free of the abuse. I knew that only Jesus could bring Hannah the freedom that she desired. But I didn't want her to be

left with just a band-aid that would merely get her through one difficult evening. I wanted her to be completely free from her wounding. To get there, she was going to need grace, an atom bomb's worth of it. And to obtain it, she was going to have to take Jesus to the fullness of his word and forgive her abuser. Forgiveness is the quintessentially Christian virtue. More than any other, it shows the completely different logic by which God operates and which he insists we imitate. An abuser hurts his victim in two ways. There is the act itself which damages the integrity of the victim, violates her dignity and autonomy,

and most of all implants pain and suffering. But there is a second hurt which is even worse and lasts much longer. the victim's distorted view of reality. This distortion causes the victim to believe a series of lies, such as, I'm alone, I'm worthless. The disgust I feel now is how I will always feel.

I will never be happy. My life is ruined. These lies can become embedded in the victim's identity and worldview and affect her behavior and relationship. and become a fundamental part of her identity. It is truly awful. As a regular listeners know, spirituality and physicality are often far more connected than we realize. Abuse doesn't just wound the heart.

It can reshape the brain. In certain studies, neuroimaging reveals that trauma suffered in the early years of a person's life can physically alter the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. The region's responsible for fear, memory, and executive function. survivors often live in a state of hypervigilance, constantly scanning for threats, even when none exist. Their nervous system has been rewired for survival, sometimes after just one interaction. Emotionally, the impact goes much deeper. Abuse often plants what psychologists call core beliefs or schemas. Subconscious lies like, I'm dirty, I'm not safe, or this was somehow my fault.

These distortions affect behavior, relationships, and even one's view of God. As trauma expert, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk puts it, The Body Keeps the Score. For Hannah, her abuse opened up a two-front war, one for the health of the mind and the other for the health of her soul. But the Christian faith teaches that God is above all of it and can renew the mind. Therapy is great and an important weapon in the exorcist's arsenal,

but only Jesus can penetrate to the core and offer spiritual healing. Bringing healing must extend beyond merely making a victim feel better, because that alone will not remove her distorted perception of reality. Healing means guiding the victim to allow God to rewrite her story, and that cannot be done unless the victim is willing to forgive. I proposed forgiving her abuser to Hannah because the moment seemed right. She had experienced tremendous spiritual growth in her walk with Jesus. She found a community that loved her in the Catholic chaplaincy. At this retreat, an obvious outpouring of grace was happening to all, and she trusted me enough to tell me about her abuse. Christ does not ask us to consider forgiving.

He commands it of us. In fact, forgiveness is a core part of the Lord's prayer. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who to forgive those who trespass against us. Hannah, I'm going to ask you to do something that may seem impossible, but you can and need to do it. We're here before God, and only he can give you the healing you need, and he will. But it begins with something hard, forgiving your abuser. Not because your abuser deserves it. None of us deserves forgiveness.

You don't, I don't, but we do it because Jesus. Jesus commands it. Right now, your story is that of a victim. But in forgiving, you're giving God permission to rewrite. But how can I forget what he did to me? Christ commanded us to forgive. He never commanded us to forget. Besides, it's impossible for you to forget what happened.

But he has never shown any sign of being sorry at all. He doesn't need to be sorry for you to receive healing. This is between you and Jesus. And forgiving, you are giving Jesus the great physician permission to enter into the situation in a new way and have his way with it. I guess I don't know what forgiveness is. Yeah. Yeah, I understand.

Look, forgiveness is acknowledging that your abuser took from you what he had no right to take. He thereby has incurred a debt because of it. In your case, that debt consists of your body, integrity, innocent. peace and everything else that has been damaged. But even if he wanted to, he could not possibly repay that debt to you. It is impossible for him to restore what he took from you. But forgiveness means that you release him from that debt, turning that debt over to Jesus

and asking Jesus to make good on it on your abuser's behalf. I don't know. I guess it makes sense, but I don't want to. It's okay. It's okay. I get it. Look. Repeat after me. In Jesus' name. In Jesus' name. I forgive my abuser. God is so freaking hard. I forgive. I forgive. I forgive my abuse. I led Hannah through a series of renunciations, specifically aimed directly at the lies. I had her forgive him for using her as pray for abusing her identity as a daughter of God, and I had her pray a blessing over him.

Forgiveness will sound absolutely ludicrous to some, but it is a command straight from the mouth of Jesus. In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus commands us to pray for our enemies and to bless those who persecute us. This is in no way asking God to allow evil people to prosper in their sin, but it is lifting their sinfulness to God so that he can do something with Him. it. Hannah showed herself to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. What she just did was enormously

difficult, but she did it completely and admirably. The statements she repeated are not just platitudes. They are legal statements that allow Jesus to completely rework the dynamics of the abuse and pain. Jesus was now unleashed in a new way within the situation. Still, as significant as what just happened was, I needed to ask Hannah to do something that I suspected would be even more difficult than what she just did. Early on in my priesthood, I did a lot of prison and deliverance ministry. I worked with a lot of victims in both.

While counseling them, I noticed a part of the person. pattern. A victim almost always hates himself. In fact, it will almost always be easier for a victim to forgive his abuser than to forgive himself. This strange phenomena is part of the distorted thinking that trauma leaves behind. It robs the victim of a truthful and godly view of himself. If such a distortion existed in Hannah, and I have never known a victim to not have it, she needed to be free of that too. Hannah, there is another person you need to forgive, and I suspect that it will be much more difficult for you to forgive this person than your abuser.

I'm willing to forgive yourself for being abused. Such is the law of reversals in abuse. The victim did nothing wrong. But Hannah is exhibit A that a victim often has more resentment against herself than even against her abuser. You did nothing wrong, but grave trauma often leaves us with self-hatred. This time we're free of that, do you agree? Yes. Do you forgive yourself for being abused? Yes.

Do you forgive yourself for being a target? Yes. For feeling powerless against it. Yes. For feeling awful and not knowing what to do about it. For feeling hopeless like there was no way out. Yes. For any self-hatred, bitterness, and disgust that you hold against yourself.

Yes. Praise God, Hannah. You're doing great. The hardest parts are over. Okay. There is one more person I want you to forgive. But I think that this will be the easiest of the three to forgive. Are you ready? In my experience, a victim often needs to forgive God.

Obviously, God has no objective fault in the abuse. Subjectively, however, God can seem like an uncaring figure who just stood by and watched me suffer abuse while doing nothing about it. This is often another distortion left behind by trauma. And it needs to be confronted. Even though the victim is often unaware, he holds resentment against God. And that's the point. In its distortion, trauma deceptively changes our view of reality in a false and perverted manner.

Hannah, do you forgive God for allowing the abuse to happen? Yes, I forgive him. Yes, for standing by and seeming like he was doing nothing about it. Do you forgive God for creating you in the manner he did as a sexual being whom someone can target for abuse? For making you in such a way that you could not save yourself from abuse. For bringing you into a fallen world and allowing you to experience pain and anguish. Hannah did it. She brought her entire wound to Jesus and opened it up to him,

for healing. There was now light shining in places within that had not seen light in decades. Hannah, your part is over now, but I am going to say a prayer over you and then we're done. Is it, is it okay if I put my hand on your head? Yes. When I pray with someone for virtually anything, I like to put my hand on the person's head. First of all, the gesture is biblical. In the Old Testament, it was used for blessing. I'm thinking of Genesis Chapter 48 and Atonement, Leviticus Chapter 16. In the New Testament, both Jesus and the apostles used it when they prayed for healing, Mark 6. For the impartation of the Holy Spirit, Acts 8, and for commissioning, Acts 13. Secondly, it's incarnational. In Catholic The

A priest acts in persona Christi, which is Latin for in the person of Christ. And so his hand becomes the hand of Christ invoking divine authority and love. Lord Jesus, pour your healing grace over Hannah now. We ask that you break the chains of her abuse. Free her from every effect of trauma. God, fill her with your peace. Lord, we ask you to send your Holy Spirit upon her and allow your spirit to flow through every part of her,

completely enveloping her. Let him flow through her body, her soul, her flesh, her bones, her blood, her memory, imagination, intellect, and will. Allow it to flow through her entire person, setting her free from every hurt, ill, wound, and trauma. Let him burn up everything that is not of you, leaving behind only that which is renewed. God, we ask that you allow her to come now into the fullness of the dignity and identity for which you created her.

Allow her to blossom in all the ways in which you desire for her to blossom. Allow your plan for her to unfold in a magnificent way now. God, allow her to feel your love for her. As I was praying, Hannah said something to which, at the time it occurred, I did not pay much attention. I can actually feel demons leaving through my hands. I can actually feel them leaving. I hadn't been expecting a comet like this, so I wasn't sure what to have. make of it. Until that moment, demons hadn't come up in our discussion at all. Hannah, though fun-loving

and quick to laugh, was also serious and not prone to exaggeration. So I didn't know how to take her words. She was intelligent and was not one to make frivolous comments, so I knew she wasn't simply making a joke or attempting to stir up drama. Though I have worked as an exorcist for years, I am not one who sees a demon behind every blade of grass or piece of furniture. In fact, I believe the only thing as dangerous as ignoring the devil altogether is attributing to him more power and influence than he truly has. So I said nothing. I simply kept praying asking God to free Hannah from the effects of her abuse

and seal her in his protection. So Lord Jesus, pour your healing grace over Hannah now. We ask that you break the chains of her abuse. Free her from every effect of her trauma. Fill her with your peace, oh God. Let today be the first day of a brand new Hannah. The next morning, I sat down at breakfast at one of the tables in the dining hall. It just so happened that Hannah was at the same table sitting directly across from me.

She was visibly lighter and radiant, showing a glow that comes from the freedom of Christ. Hey, Hanna, how are you feeling? Hey, I feel amazing. Like, so, so good. Father, thank you. Like, thank you so much. Yeah, of course.

As she was talking, she raised her hands, and bringing them together made a gesture of gratitude. They were horrifically black and blue, like someone had just beaten them with a heavy stick. You okay? That looks painful. Nah, I feel great. Really, like, the best I've ever felt. And you know what? They're just sore losers and decided to slam the door in their way out. But whatever, they're gone and good riddance. Yeah. Well, God bless you, Hannah. You are pretty tough. Well, remember, I was raised Protestant and we know how to pick a fight.

Hannah's transformation is a testament to God's power to heal and restore. Her deliverance wasn't just about freedom from spiritual oppression. It was about becoming who God created. created her to be. In Catholic spirituality, deliverance often goes hand in hand with healing past wounds, as trauma can open a door to spiritual bondage. Hannah's freedom allowed her to develop leadership and joy, which became a beacon for others, showing the true liberation comes through Christ. While there wasn't a lot of demonic manifestations in this episode, I did find it interesting that the demons departed through the hands. In many interviews, victims have shared that the demons will depart the body in a variety of ways, but one pattern that stands out is that they'll share they often leave through the back of the head,

although this is the first time I've heard of them leaving through the hands and actually causing physical damage. The good news, though, is that while the demons might have bruised her hands, Hannah was still able to give them a bruised finger on the way out. Thanks again for tuning in. All cases in the Exorcist files are from the archives of Father Carlos Martins. If you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review and share it with someone who might need to hear this story.

If you didn't enjoy it, still leave us a positive review and share it with someone else who will probably. enjoy it. To keep in touch with us and get some of our anointed merchandise, you can visit our website at exorcistfiles.tv.tv. You can also email us those absurd and overly specific criticisms at Exorcist Files at gmail.com. A special shout out to our small cast today. The role of Father Martins was played by Paul Leach and the role of Hannah by Nicoll Douglas. Music and Scoring and Tom Strelie. Music and Mastering, Engineering, Recording, by Dan Blessinger and Michelle Martinez, executive producers are Ryan Bethay and Father Carlos Martins, script written by

Father Carlos Martins and Ryan Bethay. Thanks again, folks.