Father Chad Ripperger, a Catholic priest and longtime exorcist, is warning of increasing “satanic oppression” while rallying his followers to fight against dark forces and become “saints.”
Father Ripperger warned of the rise of satanic elements during an hour-long lecture at New York City’s famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral last week. While levels of demonic possession, one of the most serious forms of demonic activity, have remained relatively stable in recent years, other forms of demonic activity, such as demonic obsession and oppression, have increased, Father Ripperger said. emphasized.
According to Father Reppinger, this dramatic increase in demonic activity is due to the number of people committing “evil deeds” and the decline in holiness among believers.
“Before 1963, the average time it took to free someone from full possession was one to two days. You’d probably spend a week outdoors,” he said. explained.
“Since 1963, it has taken eight months to two years for the average person to be freed, instead of the one or two days it used to take. It takes on average 4 years. There are two reasons for that. One is because the world is much more evil and the devil is much more powerful. The second component is [how] Exorcism work, so-called exorcism work Ex Opera Operatis Ecclesiae.
What does that mean? That said, how holy the people of the Catholic Church are will determine how effective my prayers will be when I go into a session. This shows that there is a fundamental problem with church members. They are not as holy as they were in the past,” he declared.
Although he is a priest. Ripperger cited mortal sin, an increase in the number of people who do evil in the world, and a decline in holiness as the main factors for the increase in the activity of the dark elements, stating that God Himself allows the influence of the devil to sanctify believers. It reminds us that we can.
“One of the main reasons God allows evil spirits into our lives is to sanctify us. Because when we fight against evil spirits and become instruments of justice for them… St. Paul said: “Engage the ancient serpent and win the crown of glory. ”
Mr. Ripperger continued. “In heaven, you take two things with you: your state of grace, how much grace you have in your soul, and your virtue. That’s it. It’s a fight. It’s a fight. We know that God loves a good fight. We know that God does.
“Part of the reason we know that is because when Adam and Eve ate the fruit in the garden, they stepped out of God’s authority structure and stepped under Satan’s power structure.
“From that point on, each of us was drafted into this spiritual battle,” Ripperger emphasized.
Father Chad Ripperger speaks about spiritual warfare at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York
He said we have been in a spiritual battle since the fall of Adam and Eve.
“From that point on, each of us was drafted into this spiritual battle.” pic.twitter.com/LmKFghyYzj
— Andreas Weilzer (@Andreas_Wailzer) February 1, 2024
Father Ripperger has witnessed dozens of exorcisms, but he is quick to point out that it is God who cleanses afflicted people of their demons.
“I free no one. Christ frees everyone,” Ripperger insisted. “…One time people asked me how many people I had released. I said, ‘Nothing.’ I have been to places where Christ has freed many people. ”
As for what people can do to avoid becoming victims of demonic activity, Ripperger argues that the simplest medicine is the best medicine: prayer and living a good Christian life.
“…live an authentic Catholic life. Stay away from sin. Avoid temptation. Avoid people, places, and things that can cause you to fall. Receive the sacraments regularly. Regular prayer.
“One of the reasons prayer is so effective is because it uses the imagination. So if you have your imagination flooded with sacred things and there are demons out there tormenting it, They’re going to bug out because they don’t want to deal with having that imagination pushed into their head all the time. They’re trying to seduce you, so they’re trying to get away from you.”
Father Ripperger revealed an example in which the devil revealed to him the importance and holiness of Mary, the Mother of God.
A statue of the Virgin Mary on a column stands in front of Tyn Church in Old Town Square after being installed in Prague, Czech Republic on June 6, 2020. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
“What is interesting is that God compels them to reveal about the saints and the Virgin Mary,” he recalled.
“Beelzebub once revealed that the reason why the Virgin Mary was different from all other creatures was because she sacrificed her whole life and never calculated personal sacrifice. Since there is only one, it means that she is not like other angels.
“She did it over and over again. [Beelzebub saying] it was forever [is what] got it. And she never calculated her personal costs. There’s not one of us in this room who hasn’t considered the personal costs. That’s why she’s different. That’s interesting. It’s beautiful,” he added.
Regarding how demonic forces work, Father Ripperger suggested that the usual suspects are not always the most influential in the dark realm.
“Satanists and witches in public life are always middle-class people at best,” Ripperger explained. “Usually, they’re lower-class people involved in the occult.
“High-level people in the occult world, these are people whose witchcraft has been ingrained in their families for 300 to 400 years. Their knowledge of how this works is about the same level as mine. They know exactly how this works. They know exactly what rituals will have a certain effect, and they perform them, but who they are You never know.
“They could be the person sitting next to you on the pews…they could be a police officer or a judge. They could be your baker. They could be really nice to you. They could be perfectly normal people who seem kind.
“Those people…are involved in the occult at a higher level. That’s why they’re always quiet.”
A priest praying holding a wooden cross in the foreground. (Luna Marina/Getty Images)
Mr. Ripperger concluded by exhorting his followers to fight faithfully in these dark times.
“We also know that it doesn’t matter how bad things get, even in the church when we seem to be in meltdown. Christ said that the gates of hell cannot be broken down. I said, things will get worse for a while, but hell won’t prevail.
“If demons prevail and things are as evil as they are, we know from the Bible that where sin abounds, grace will abound all the more. For those who are faithful to grace, that faithfulness to grace means that when God gives you the grace to go to church, God also gives you the grace to go to prayer.”
