Catholic theologians discuss angels and demons

Spirit World radio program co-hosts Debbie Georgianni and Adam Blai, who discuss the theology of angels and demons, visited Houston July 13 to speak on the theology of angels and demons. Photo courtesy of Guadalupe Radio, KSHJ AM 1430HOUSTON — Not to sensationalize angels and demons as movies do, national Catholic speakers Debbie Georgianni and Adam Blai, co-hosts of the radio show “Spirit World,” say they try to educate people on how to theologically interact with such entities for positive outcomes. 

“Movies don’t even come close” to showing the horrid reality of exorcisms, said Blai, who is a peritus (Catholic Church-decreed expert) on Religious Demonology and Exorcism in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. 

Although not a priest, Blai is an auxiliary member of the International Association of Exorcists based in Rome and has helped numerous priests both in prayer and physically wrestling with possibly possessed persons. 

Both he and Georgianni, who dedicated 25 years to catechetical ministry in the Diocese of Phoenix working with all age groups, appeared together in Houston July 13. They broadcast their national radio show Spirit World, which airs locally on KSHJ AM 1430 at 10 a.m. Saturdays.  

Then, they later personally addressed a crowd of more than 200 people from across the Archdiocese that Saturday evening at the Lone Star Flight Museum surrounded by vintage airplanes in the Ellington Field complex. 

“I believe the only one who came close to being considered a Catholic expert on angels is St. Thomas Aquinas,” Georgianni said of the 13th-century author of the Summa Theologica. “But if you’re like me, you may be connected to what can be overwhelmingly negative social media, and you need tools that God provides.” 

She recommended to “go to the powerful Rosary” when media or the trauma of the world causes temptation, fear, anxiety or depression, as it can do for so many people. 

“I also pray to the Blessed Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old who was very computer-savvy but stayed connected to the vine” of the Lord, Georgianni said. 

The Vatican recently announced that Acutis, a London-born teenager who became internationally known for sharing Church teachings about the Eucharist online, will be canonized a saint. Touted as the “patron saint of the internet,” Acutis used his natural computer tech talent to create a website to catalog miracles and maintained websites for local Catholic organizations.  

He begged his parents to take vacations to 17 different countries, where he journaled and took copious notes on everything he witnessed. Over a span of two-and-a-half years, he documented 187 Eucharistic miracles. Acutis, who died in 2006 of leukemia, will become the first person from the millennial generation to be named a saint. 

Blai said in exorcisms, some of the tools used are blessed prayer cards of saints as well as first-degree, second-degree and third-degree relics of saints, including bones, pieces of cloth and other items. “These objects and sacramentals like holy water are not magical talismans but are in proportion to your faith and your relationship with Christ.” 

He added, “First of all, we want to rule out the mundane whether it is a mental illness or physical ailment that is causing them to believe they are possessed, oppressed or suppressed.”  

Describing a case where a young married couple had moved into a home, Blai said the wife began to see flashing lights and hallucinations, but the husband never saw any apparitions. “Turns out, after medical tests, she was found to have an operable brain tumor that was pressing in the area, causing visual anomalies. Once she had her surgery, the visions stopped.” 

But in another case, Blai said he pressed a prayer card of a little-known saint to the back of a seemingly possessed man as the priest in charge was praying the exorcism rites. 

“The man could not see the card I was holding but shouted out, ‘Take that nun away from me — she is helping so many Christians die as martyrs in the Holy Land,’” Blai said.  

The card was of St. Mary of Jesus Crucified, born as Mary Baouardy and also known as the Little Arab Girl. Born in 1846, in the small village of I’billin, halfway between Nazareth and Haifa in northern Israel, St. Mary had parents who were pious Catholics of the eastern rite. As they refused to convert to Islam, they were repeatedly imprisoned and forfeited their property. She declined marriage and became a religious sister. 

He described the demons as disparagingly mocking people who lost their souls dabbling in witchcraft, satanic worship and other occults that they thought would bring them power if they invited the darkness. “The priest can command the demon to kneel and show deference to God and to pray in the name of Jesus. This is not done in glee, but to demonstrate the truth that there is only one true God.”   

Georgianni suggested another useful tool is to pray to your guardian angel to help you keep a strong spiritual and prayer life. 

“Padre Pio, one of my favorite saints, knew his guardian angel since he was a child,” Georgianni said. 

At the beginning of his priesthood, Padre Pio sent letters to his spiritual directors describing in detail his visions of celestial spirits, visits from the angels — especially his guardian angel — and his constant battle with the devil.