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PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF H.H. POPE LEO
XIII
The Holy Father
exhorts priests to say this prayer as often as possible, as a simple exorcism
to curb the power of the devil and prevent him from doing harm. The faithful
also may say it in their own name, for the same purpose, as any approved
prayer.[1]
Its use is recommended whenever action of the devil
is suspected, causing malice in men, violent temptations, and even storms
and various calamities. It could be used as a solemn exorcism (an official
and public ceremony, in Latin), to expel the devil. A priest, in the name
of the Church and only with a Bishop’s permission, would then say
it.
IN the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer
to Saint Michael the Archangel
 MOST glorious
Prince of the Heavenly Armies, Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in
“our battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of
this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high
places” (Ephesians 6:12). Come to the assistance of men whom God has
created to His likeness and whom He has redeemed at a great price from the
tyranny of the devil. Holy Church venerates thee as her guardian and protector;
to thee, the Lord has entrusted the souls of the redeemed to be led into
heaven. Pray therefore the God of Peace to crush Satan beneath our feet,
that he may no longer retain men captive and do injury to the Church. Offer
our prayers to the Most High, that without delay they may draw His mercy
down upon us: take hold of “the dragon, the old serpent, which is the
devil and Satan,” bind him and cast him into the bottomless pit “so
that he may no longer seduce the nations” (Revelation 20:3).
Exorcism
IN the
name of Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, strengthened by the intercession
of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of Blessed Michael the Archangel,
of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and all the Saints,
(and powerful in the holy authority of our
ministry), we confidently undertake to repulse the attacks and deceits
of the devil.
*
Lay persons omit the parenthesis above.
PSALM 67: God arises;
His enemies are scattered and those who hate Him flee before Him.
As smoke is driven away, so are they driven; as wax melts
before the fire, so the wicked perish at the presence of God.
V.
Behold the Cross of the Lord, flee bands of enemies.
R. He has conquered, the Lion of the tribe
of Juda, the offspring of David.
V. May thy mercy, Lord, descend upon us.
R. As great as our hope in
Thee.
(The crosses
[ ] indicate a
blessing to be given if a priest recites the Exorcism; if a lay person recites
it, they indicate the sign of the cross to be made silently by that
person.)
WE drive
you from us, whoever you may be, unclean spirits, all satanic powers, all
infernal invaders, all wicked legions, assemblies and sects; in the name
and by the power of Our Lord Jesus
Christ 
may you be snatched away and driven from the Church of God and from the souls
made to the image and likeness of God and redeemed by the precious Blood
of the Divine
Lamb.
Most cunning serpent, you shall no more dare to deceive the human race, persecute
the Church, torment God’s elect, and sift them as wheat.
The Most High
God commands
you, He
with Whom, in your great insolence, you still claim to be equal; “He
Who wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”
(1 Timothy 2:4). God the Father commands
you. God
the Son commands
you. God
the Holy Ghost commands
you. Christ,
God’s Word made flesh, commands
you; He
Who to save our race outdone through your envy “humbled Himself, becoming
obedient even unto death” (Philippians 2:8); He Who has built His Church
on the firm rock and declared that the gates of hell shall not prevail against
Her, because He will dwell with Her “all days even to the end of the
world” (Matthew 28:20). The sacred sign of the cross commands
you, as
does also the power of the mysteries of the Christian
Faith.
The glorious Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, commands
you, she
who by her humility and from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception
crushed your proud head. The faith of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and
of the other Apostles commands
you. The
blood of the Martyrs and the pious intercession of all the Saints command
you.
Thus, cursed dragon,
and you, diabolical legions, we adjure you by the living
God, by
the true
God, by
the holy
God, by
the God “Who so loved the world that He gave up His only Son, that every
soul believing in Him might not perish but have life everlasting” (John
3:16); stop deceiving human creatures and pouring out to them the poison
of eternal damnation; stop harming the Church and hindering her liberty.
Begone, Satan, inventor and master of all deceit, enemy of man’s salvation.
Give place to Christ in Whom you have found none of your works; give place
to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church acquired by Christ at the
price of His Blood. Stoop beneath the all-powerful Hand of God; tremble and
flee when we invoke the holy and terrible name of Jesus, this name which
causes hell to tremble; this name to which the Virtues, Powers, and Dominations
of heaven are humbly submissive; this name which the Cherubim and Seraphim
praise, unceasingly repeating: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord, the God of
Armies.
V.
O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.
V. May the Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us
pray.—God of heaven, God of earth, God of Angels, God of Archangels,
God of Patriarchs, God of Prophets, God of Apostles, God of Martyrs, God
of Confessors, God of Virgins, God who has power to give life after death
and rest after work, because there is no other God than Thee and there can
be no other, for Thou art the Creator of all things, visible and invisible,
of Whose reign there shall be no end, we humbly prostrate ourselves before
Thy glorious Majesty, and we beseech Thee to deliver us by Thy power from
all the tyranny of the infernal spirits, from their snares, their lies, and
their furious wickedness; deign, O Lord, to grant us Thy powerful protection
and to keep us safe and sound. We beseech Thee through Jesus Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
From the snares of the
devil, deliver us, O Lord.
That Thy Church may serve Thee in peace and liberty, we
beseech Thee to hear us.
That Thou may crush down all enemies of Thy Church, we
beseech Thee to hear us.
Holy water is sprinkled in the
place where we may be.
[Imprimatur:
Henri, O.M.I.,
Vicar Apostolic of James Bay, August 15, 1967]
___________
1. Be advised that a reader writes, “I know
of at least one case where demonic attacks increased when a laywomen started
to say the prayer privately. As a rule one should never address the demons
directly in a exorcistic fashion. That is reserved, at least with the use
of liturgical language, to the priest with proper authorization.”
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