Day 19: Authority to Drive Out Demons (Mark 3:13–19, Part Four)

By Sindhu Nadarajan · Thursday, October 8, 2026

Jesus calls the Twelve to be with him, to be sent out to preach, and to have authority to drive out demons. This authority is not something they own. It is a share in his own power, the same power that silenced the unclean spirit in the synagogue at Capernaum (1:21–28). The Church teaches that every Christian shares in Christ's authority over evil, but this power is exercised in two distinct ways: through ordinary spiritual combat, open to everyone, and through solemn exorcism, reserved to priests designated by the bishop.

1. The source: a share in Christ's kingly office

In Baptism, every Christian is anointed into Christ's threefold office as priest, prophet, and king. To share in his kingly office is to receive the grace to overcome the reign of sin in ourselves (CCC 786). St. Leo the Great puts it beautifully:

"For all, regenerated in Christ, are made kings by the sign of the cross; they are consecrated priests by the oil of the Holy Spirit… For what is more king-like than to find yourself ruler over your body after having surrendered your soul to God? And what is more priestly than to promise the Lord a pure conscience and to offer him in love unblemished victims on the altar of one's heart?"

This is where driving out demons begins for most of us. In everyday life, we cast out the enemy by refusing sin, by rejecting every one of his suggestions, whether subtle and quiet or loud and showy. At our Baptism we renounced Satan, all his works, and all his empty promises. Each time we say no to temptation, we renew that renunciation and rule as kings over our own lives. This authority is delegated, not inherent. We have no independent power over darkness. Whatever authority we have is the power of the name of Jesus and of the Holy Spirit working through us.

2. Ordinary authority: prayers for deliverance

Experienced exorcists and spiritual writers teach that the faithful may pray for deliverance from evil influence over themselves and those entrusted to their care, as parents pray over their children. The way we pray matters. Laypeople are encouraged to use deprecatory prayers, which ask God to rebuke the evil one, as we do in the Our Father ("deliver us from evil") and the St. Michael Prayer. The Church cautions laypeople against imprecatory prayers, which directly command a demon to leave. These are traditionally reserved for those with holy orders and pastoral jurisdiction.

The Church places other powerful prayers in the hands of every believer. The Creed is one of the strongest. At Baptism, the renunciation of Satan is followed at once by the profession of faith, and each time we pray the Creed, we stand again on the truth the father of lies cannot bear. The Hail Holy Queen is another. Pope Leo XIII ordered it prayed after every Low Mass, together with the St. Michael Prayer, as the Church's daily defense against the powers of darkness. In it we turn to Mary as "our life, our sweetness and our hope," and ask her to show us Jesus. Prayed with faith, these are not mere words but acts of spiritual combat.

3. Solemn exorcism: reserved to the Church's ministers

When the Church publicly and authoritatively asks in the name of Jesus that a person be freed from the power of the Evil One, this is exorcism. Solemn exorcism, called a "major exorcism," may only be performed by a priest with the bishop's permission. It requires careful discernment: before proceeding, the Church must be sure it is dealing with the presence of the Evil One and not an illness, especially a psychological one, which belongs to medicine (CCC 1673). The Church does not see demons behind every struggle, and neither should we.

4. The daily weapons of spiritual warfare

The primary way Christians exercise authority over evil is not through dramatic expulsions but through everyday faithfulness. The sacraments come first. Regular Confession and the Eucharist pour sanctifying grace into the soul and are the surest protection against the enemy.

The Church also gives us sacramentals, and holy water is among the simplest and strongest. Blessing ourselves with it recalls our Baptism, the moment we were first freed from the power of darkness and made kings by the sign of the cross. In a moment of temptation, before a journey, on entering a church, or at the beginning and end of the day, we can make the Sign of the Cross with holy water and renew our baptismal "no" to Satan. St. Teresa of Ávila wrote that she found nothing that drove the devils away and kept them from returning like holy water. Sacramentals are not charms. Their power comes from the prayer of the Church and from the faith with which we use them, preparing us to receive grace and cooperate with it (CCC 1670). Used this way, they become small, daily acts of spiritual combat.

Then there is virtue, above all humility. The Desert Fathers knew that pride is the devil's home ground and humility is the one place he cannot stand.

No creature shows this more clearly than Mary. Satan fell through pride, refusing to serve. Mary rose through humility, calling herself the handmaid of the Lord (Lk 1:38) and rejoicing that God "has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness" (Lk 1:48). In God's promise in Genesis 3:15, the woman and her offspring stand in enmity against the serpent, and the Church has long seen Mary in that woman, the one who shares in her Son's victory and is pictured crushing the serpent's head beneath her feet. St. Louis de Montfort taught that the proud enemy suffers more from being defeated by a humble handmaid of God than by God's power itself. Her strength over Satan is not force but lowliness. This is why the saints run to her in spiritual battle, and why we can too.

Resisting temptation through a disciplined life of prayer is the most effective way we exercise the authority Christ has given us. This is why Jesus told the disciples that some demons come out only through prayer (9:29). The authority to drive out demons always depends on first being with him.

Ponder

• Do I treat my Baptism as a real share in Christ's victory, or only as something that happened to me long ago?

• How faithfully do I use the ordinary weapons the Church gives me: Confession, the Eucharist, holy water, the Creed, daily prayer?

• What lie or accusation do I most need to renounce in Jesus' name today?

• Where does pride give the enemy a foothold in me, and how is Mary's humility inviting me to choose lowliness instead?

Closing prayer

Lord Jesus, you have given me a share in your victory over sin and darkness. Keep me close to you in prayer and in the sacraments, and clothe me in humility, where the enemy cannot follow. Deliver me and those you have entrusted to me from every evil. Holy Mary, humble handmaid of the Lord, pray for us. My Guardian Angel and St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Amen.