An Exorcist: More Stories

Fr. Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of Rome, continues his message of deliverance and liberation from demonic influences in his sequel to the best selling "An Exorcist Tells His Story". This time, he expands on the church's teachings on exorcism within the Catholic Church, and he includes written testimonies from those whom he has helped in the past. More prayers of deliverance are offered at the end of the book. Even though this book is essentially a continuation of Fr. Amorth's first book, the urgency that existed in the first book for the need for trained priests and bishops in the Catholic Church is still there. In this book, he gives yet more examples of how cunning and deceptive evil spirits can be, and gives many indications on how a true affliction can be detected or discerned. He even takes lay deliverance one step further from his previous book, which only mentioned the Protestant and lay deliverance ministries, and gives some examples of how and when these have been effective. Still, Fr. Amorth is insistent that exorcism, as a sacramental, is only to be performed by priests with their bishop's approval. Anything else is not strictly speaking an exorcism, and yet he gives examples of lay (female!) saints who cast out spirits through their holiness, even when a priest failed using the Rite of Exorcism! This shows that a life of holiness goes a long way towards spiritual warfare, that men and women alike are called to holiness, and that deliverance is not restricted to Catholic priests. If you are interested in learning more about exorcism as a Catholic sacramental, then this is definitely a must read book! If you are interested in lay deliverance, then I would recommend another of the more popular books available on deliverance. While this is a fascinating topic, the view presented in this book is strictly from a traditional Roman Catholic perspective. [...].

I found this book to be forthcoming and very insightful. There is no sense of "playing it up" for dramatic effect. It is a very straight forward book. Everyone should own a copy. It makes us realize how close evil/satan/demons really are. So often you find people who do not believe in the devil. After reading this book, how could you not?

Gabriele Amorth's text "An Exorcist: More Stories" complements his first book "An Exorcist Tells His Story". And the additional stories are very revealing of the tremendous spiritual problems that some people experience. Amorth clearly explains the goal of an exorcism is to free a person "of those blocks that make it difficult" for him or her to pray and read the Bible" (p. 143). The blocks that prevent a person "from attending church, praying, receiving Communion, and reading the Word of God" are the stuff that exorcists deal with regularly. The question is: where do the spiritual blocks come from? Amorth describes the blocks as "baffling" psychological "effects" (p. 130). "There can be four principal causes," according to the author (p. 62): 1. Permission from God; 2. Curses from witch doctors, shamans, card readers or satanic followers; 3. Individual's consent to sexual perversions, violence and drugs; and 4. Visiting evil places, such as "spiritualistic sessoins, consulting magicians, participating in black masses. All four causes "put us at great risk" (pp. 62-63). Why is it that not everyone who gets cursed or consents to bad stuff or visits bad places gets possessed, oppressed, or obsessed by "demonic activity" (p. 61). Amorth charitable offers us his wisdom when he asks, "What is the bond that allows the evil presence to persist?" (p. 110). We all know the answer: "resentment" (p. 111). A person is prepared to receive demonic activity when he feels a mixture of fear and hate toward a person he admires; that is, resentment. We can assist a person who experiences demonic activity. Amorth writes that the victim "should go to church, but needs to be taken there and to be supported, because he is constantly tempted to leave" (p. 97). Of course, the individual person with demonic activity must get to work. "I can help you," writes Amorth, "but the battle is yours to fight" (p. 133). He gives the analogy of how a person can move from being like "absorbent paper to water-proof paper" (p. 112). A person with resentment, a curse and spiritual blocks from demons can become "water-proof" by using the three main tools: "faith, prayer and fasting" (p. 110). "More Stories" is an excellent book for a person growing spiritually and willing to help others, since "More Stories" describes real problems and real solutions. Amorth writes, "In my experience, a good general confession, in conjunction with an intense life of prayer and grace, is sufficient to end the afflictions" (p. 79).

When C.S. Lewis wrote "The Screwtape Letters" he wrote an extraordinary and literary account of Satan and his minions ordinary daily activity: temptation. Thus, temptation is with us all, every day. However, as the Bible and tradition teach us, occasionally, when the Lord allows them for the good of salvation, the Devil and Demons involve themselves in extraordinary activity. This activity includes, but is not limited to, Demonic Possession. In this important book, which is even better than his first on Ignatius press, Fr. Amorth systematically outlines, defines, and explains this extraordinary demonic activity in an easy to read, yet scholarly way. After reading this book, I was more convinced than ever that regular prayer and frequent reception of the sacraments (especially The Eucharist and Confession) are incredibly important. However, as other reviewers have noted, this book is not an effective "apology." If you do not believe in Satan, or evil, this book is not likely to convince you. For that I recommend starting with Lewis (Mere Christianity, Screwtape, etc.) and then moving on from there. This book is highly recommended. For Christian warriors, knowing how the enemy works is a singular advantage.

If you loved Father Amorth's first book yet found yourself wanting more, this is the book for you. Written in the same clear cut style, Father Amorth once again lays out spiritual truths in a way understandable to everyone.