(LifeSiteNews) — “Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8

Evil lurks everywhere in our world, but it’s often disguised as a good. That’s what the devil wants. He lures people in with promises of fun, happiness, and self-serving pleasure, hoping to drive a wedge between humans and their Creator. He desires nothing more than to create dissension, hatred, and distrust among people. He wants people to devalue life, to fight among each other, and to embrace the evil that he thrives on.

This is how Satan devours souls. And it’s sometimes how he literally possesses bodies.

In a new book entitled The Most Powerful Saints in Exorcisms, Catholic authors Charles D. Fraune and Patrick O’Hearn take readers into the disturbing world of exorcisms and evil. Yet, despite its terrifying theme, the book speaks of hope, of Fatherly love, and of the fierce protection of the saints.

Possession

Demons are always seeking an “in” into our lives and our hearts. They want to eliminate the light and replace it with darkness. These demonic attacks come on a variety of levels; the most extreme is possession.

Fraune explained that an “open door in our soul” is what allows for possession, saying that demons “can inflame your vice” and “swing the door open to mortal sin.”

When we live in a state of mortal sin and allow it to continuously corrupt us, we become more susceptible to possession. Additionally, when people dabble in occult practices, such as using Tarot cards or playing with a Ouija board, or if they practice satanic rituals or magic or even watch pornography, they allow that door to open wider.

With wisdom and firsthand stories from renowned exorcists, including Fr. Gabriele Amorth, Fr. Vincent Lampert, Fr. Chad Ripperger, and many more, Fraune and O’Hearn take the reader on a terrifying journey not only through what happens during exorcisms but how God and the saints prevail.

The saints as our helpers

Fraune explained, “In an exorcism, one of the things the priest is doing is reaffirming the dignity of the possessed person and trying to extract the devil from the person, off the person, out of the person’s life so that they can return to the dignity of a child of God, which the devil has been assaulting.”

The saints have an immense role to play in exorcisms. As the book stated, “The saints’ desire to assist in exorcisms shows that they are willing to get involved in the darkest and vilest parts of our lives, a place where most any other friend would flee in fear.”

The book dives into the lives of many of the saints who seem to show up during exorcisms, including St. Therese of Lisieux, St. John Paul II, and St. Joseph.

In fact, O’Hearn said that often, whenever St. Therese shows up, her parents tend to show up as well. This illustrates the importance of the family and is why we must also build up the family here on earth, for “the stronger the father and the mother, the stronger the children.”

Fr. Lampert explained why the demons are so affected by the presence of saints. He stated, “When these saints show up, the demons are more compelled to tell the truth. Because demons are liars. The devil is a liar. … But when the saints show up, demons are less likely to be able to lie because they’re now in the presence of one who truly lived in the light and the truth of God.”

Evil and attacks on life

Evil is all around us. We see it in mass shootings, in violence on the streets, and in threats to the sanctity of life, such as abortion.

In his previous book entitled The Occult among Us, Charles Fraune wrote, “One of his great demons in Sacred Scripture, Moloch, demanded the sacrifice of children. Our nation, according to exorcists, through the acceptance and celebration of abortion, has essentially submitted itself to this demon.”

He explained to me that the devil wants to “make us love evil and think that evil is good and that the source of our happiness comes from doing whatever we want.” He stated that abortion is a “great example” of that desire and that the “devil is hardening the hearts of these [pro-abortion] women to fortify them in the love of evil because they refuse to be converted.” He compared these women to Pharaoh, who witnessed all the plagues from God but who chose to ignore them.

Fraune went on to explain that many “abortion mills are ‘blessed’ by the occult,” and he said that this “blessing” is in reality a curse that “inflames the vice that’s already there.”

O’Hearn affirmed the connection between abortion and satanism and said that “the abortion clinic is Satan’s church.” He retold a story that a monk once told him of a security guard in an abortion facility who had reported that, at night, the elevators went up and down and he could hear howling.

Invoking the saints

Since at the beginning of each exorcism, the exorcist prays the Litany of Saints, both Fraune and O’Hearn encourage those praying for an end to abortion to pray this in front of abortion facilities or to pray it before they leave their house. O’Hearn stated, “All of pro-life work is essentially trying to achieve the same effect as an exorcism, trying to push evil out so goodness can return.”

He encouraged people to add pro-life saints, like Sts. Bartolo Longo and Gianna Molla, into the Litany of Saints.

St. Bartolo Longo, who was recently canonized, understands the evil present in the world. As a young man, he was so spiritually corrupted that he became a satanic priest. He eventually repented and became a Third-Order Dominican, yet he fell into despair thinking that his soul still belonged to Satan. It was only when he truly began to believe that he was forgiven and that he must fervently pray the Rosary and teach others to do so that he was able to forgive himself.

The Rosary and the power of our Mother, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, are not to be underestimated.

O’Hearn explained that Our Lady plays a vital role in exorcisms and that “when She shows up at the end, it’s over.” Why is this? Because “She humiliates Satan and demons can’t stand Her.”

This is why “we need to cling to Mary.” When we honor our Blessed Mother, say the Rosary regularly, or even simply pray the Hail Mary, we can be assured that the demons will flee.

How do we protect the vulnerable?

O’Hearn explained that all of the saints have graces to share, and they are just waiting for us to ask for them.

Just as St. Joseph saved Jesus from Herod, he can help protect us against the Herods of our time – those hell-bent on assaulting human dignity and the lives of the vulnerable.

There’s so much darkness in the world, but the light of Christ can and will overcome it. We all have a role to play, and we can help eradicate evil by befriending the saints and fortifying our families. When we do this, there will be less evil in the world and thus less of a need for exorcisms.

The love of Christ and the love of the saints should bring us great hope and consolation, for we know that Christ will always be victorious. Indeed, the book affirms, “The devil has been trying to extinguish Catholicism for over two thousand years, but the light of Christ can never be put out so long as pious souls allow the Holy Spirit to kindle the fire of God’s love in them.”

Allow the saints to kindle that fire in you and your family. And know that, as Satan prowls the world searching to destroy souls, the saints desire nothing more than to save them.