How can Catholics counteract Satan on Halloween?
Exorcist Msgr. Stephen Rossetti of the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal explains the answer to this question in a video on how Catholics can safely celebrate Halloween, particularly in the spiritual sense.
The priest of the Diocese of Syracuse explains that even dressing as demons or witches isn’t the best idea.
“If you had any idea how ugly witchcraft is or how incredibly evil demons are, you wouldn’t even think about that,” Msgr. Rossetti says.
He adds that the devil “is rampant” on Halloween. Praying rosaries, attending Mass, and Eucharistic adoration are the best ways to counteract satan on All Hallow’s Eve.
“On the eve of the Feast of All Saints, the demons try to take something holy like All Saints and pervert it,” Msgr. Rossetti continues. “Satanic inversion, we call that. And so to counteract that – prayer, mass, rosaries…”
Here’s the full video below:
Here’s the text of the video:
“I have no problem with people going from house to house and getting some candy from people. That’s okay. But would I suggest you dress like a witch or a demon? Oh…if you had any idea how ugly witchcraft is, or how incredibly evil demons are, you wouldn’t even think about that.
“Do I want to start doing magic and potions and stuff? Absolutely not. We shouldn’t be frightened of Satan, but we shouldn’t underestimate him and how evil these things can be.
“So one family I like – a Catholic family – they decided to have their children dress up as their favorite saint, which was nice.
“I thought that was nice and having a party for kids on Halloween is nice. But here’s what we do: here at the center, we have a holy hour close to midnight, and then maybe some several hours, because it’s true that evil is particularly rampant on All Hallow’s Eve.
“On the eve of the Feast of All Saints, the demons try to take something holy like All Saints and pervert it. Satanic inversion, we call that. And so to counteract that – prayer, mass, rosaries…”
“Parties are fine, but don’t forget to pray. Don’t forget to promote God’s kingdom.”
As of this writing, the video received over 265,000 views, more than 14,000 reactions, and over 300 comments.
Here’s how some users responded:
One Instagram user wrote, “After reading ‘Dominion’ and understanding how Christ controls all, and even Satan, I’m more confident in my faith and Catholicism. Jesus wins in the end.”
Another user wrote, “This post makes perfect sense. I was the victim of Satan’s misdeeds one Halloween. It was in NYC and I got mugged. Although they got away with some of my money, thank God I was protected from harm.”
Another user added, “Amen! Thank you, Father! Very insightful.”