Thank you Linda. Thank you Gabriele. Between you, you have me smiling all morning.
Many, many years ago Linda Blair scared the shit out of me. But I recovered under my own steam. Some of those who went to see the film, The Exorcist, probably did not. But they had been catered for in advance, as the cinema queue was worked by a local evangelical group (name and address supplied) who were offering post-film counselling to those who might feel in need of it in the wake of the green vomit. Great film.
Then shortly after his election, Pope Benedict XVI discovered that the Devil had been busier than anyone had realised and he decided to beef up the Satan Squad under the able leadership of the then 82 year old Gabriele Amorth, his Exorcist in Chief. The Devil, apparently, was everywhere, frantically recruiting more fuel for the eternal fires.
Now that the Pope is leaving the stage, Gabriele has come forward in public to thank him for his cooperation and to remind his successor that the Devil is still busier than ever and that there should, therefore, be no question of any cutbacks in that Department of the Curial Bureaucracy.
Nice one Gabriele, age cannot wither you ...
The phrase "Get thee behind me Satan" has resonated with me for years. I don't remember where I first heard it. Probably from the pulpit.
ReplyDeleteAnyway I looked it up and was surprised to see that Jesus had used it not only when addressing the Devil during his temptation in the desert, but also in rebuking Peter, when the latter appeared to deny the possibility of the Resurrection. Now that really fits the bill, does it not?