James Ackerman
A couple in our parish had a beautiful
little girl. She was their second daughter. After bringing her home from the hospital,
the child developed a blockage whereby she was unable to eliminate the waste
from her body. At the hospital the doctors tried everything they knew; but to
no avail. The little girl was being fed from an I.V. in her head.
The parents, deeply concerned, called me to
come to the hospital to baptize their little girl. The Catholic hospital had a
very large and beautiful chapel. There was a baptismal font there, so the
parents arranged for members of their family to gather, together with the
sponsors, at the chapel for the baptism. The chancel area of the chapel was solid
slate stone, and was elevated from the nave by three steps which were also
slate stone. When everyone was present, a nurse brought the little girl to us.
She still had the I.V. in her little head together with the bottle suspended
from the pole on casters.
As I began the baptism, as written in the agenda,
I recalled what I had read in one of the volumes of Luther’s works. He customarily
performed a miniature exorcism in conjunction with baptism. The Lord impressed
upon my heart that I ought to do this right after baptizing the little girl. It
seemed right to me because I knew the families of both parents; and there were
a number of serious spiritual problems in their family backgrounds.
When I finished baptizing the little girl,
I laid my hand upon her and in Jesus' Name rebuked any evil spirits to depart
and return no more. The woman, a sponsor for the child, who was holding her,
immediately fell backward as though pushed by a powerful invisible force. As
she fell, the little child went flying from her arms and bounced down the three
slate steps to the chapel floor. The woman sponsor hit the back of her head on
the slate floor with a loud crack. The baby began to cry. In a matter of
moments nurses appeared and took the baby and the woman sponsor to x-ray to
determine the extent of their injuries. We waited anxiously and prayerfully for
word of their condition.
Soon a nurse appeared to inform us that
the woman was fine, just a bump on her head. The little child was also just
fine. In fact, her blockage disappeared completely. They took her home several
days later. She never had any more problems with her digestive tract.
It is impossible to write on paper the powerful
emotional impact this even had on all present. As we waited for word of the sponsor’s
and child’s possible injuries, I began to feel a sense of guilt. If either of them
was injured, I was responsible. All of us praised the Lord when word came back that
both of them were just fine.
There are two powerful truths to be
learned from this baptism. The first is that this wonderful gift of grace which
we call baptism is indeed “powerful” in its effects. I have seen this many
times over when I have been called to a hospital to baptize a premature baby.
In all my years in the ministry every one of these children survived and grew
up to be healthy adults. Secondly, this baptism ought to convince us that the devil
and his demons are real; and that the consequences of sin are, as God said,
passed on to “the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” The
ground Satan and his demons have to harass and keep people, even babies, in
bondage is our sinful nature which we inherit. There is good reason to follow
the ancient baptismal rituals of performing an exorcism following the baptism
of an infant. In some cases, where there are spiritual bondages in the family background,
the attached demons are easily detached and leave if the baptism is accompanied
with a prayer of exorcism.
Rev. James Ackerman
28706 27 Mile Road
New
Haven, MI 48048