The Devil is Closer Than You Think

By Julia Bartlett

EASTON: Jason Giombetti makes a point to drive out the devil wherever he can.

Jason Giombetti, a priest for five years, is an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Boston. 

"All priests are exorcists by virtue of our ordination," said Giombetti.

Giombetti said it was part of the rite of being a Catholic priest, so when he had his first encounter in 2015, he dealt with it the only way he knew how to: praying.

In late 2015, Giombetti was in the seminary to become ordained and suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. He found this odd because he was wide awake.

"About a foot above, there were rays of light that hit me," said Giombetti.

It felt like the rays of light were holding him to the mattress, unable to even sit up. So he started to pray Hail Mary.

It was exactly 3 a.m.

He prayed the rosary once.

Twice.

Three times.

Suddenly, it stopped.

After this encounter, he began to study under Father Dennis McManus, who practiced exorcisms. While he studied under him, Giombetti started to "see."

Giombetti knew that there were some misunderstandings regarding exorcism and the devil himself.

"The devil can take refuge in his favorite element anonymously."

But who is the devil? What are demons? 

"The devil/Lucifer/Satan fell from heaven and was thrown down from earth," said Giombetti.

The demons who followed the devil were all angels, the devil included. He was an evil angel, with a few other bad angels following his path according to Giombetti.

The devil has many different ways of reaching into people's lives. There are many forms of this called "extraordinary activity," including demonic possession, diabolic oppression, diabolic obsession, diabolic infestation, and diabolic subjugation. 

Giombetti said he had experienced different types of unusual activity, including when a woman's basement had a diabolic infestation. 

Anytime this woman entered her basement, it felt like someone was hugging her. It slowly worsened over time. The hug became tighter and tighter every time she went down. Finally, she could no longer do it and asked for Giombetti to exorcize the room. 

Giombetti went into the basement and read a prayer to exorcize the room. When he asked her to go back into the basement, she said she felt whatever was in the room disappear.

Giombetti said there are four different ways someone can become possessed: 

-"With God's permission."

-"When we are subjected to an evil spell," which can happen from burning sage which sends a sign to the devil that you are "opening the door for him," said Giombetti.

-"A grave and hardened state of sin"

-And lastly, "association with evil people, places and things," said Giombetti.

Giombetti recalled when a group of Harvard students tried to host a Black Mass (worshiping the devil) but was stopped after the Boston church found out about it and came together to pray it away.

Giombetti said there was a difference between hauntings and possessions.

"You can't exorcize a haunting," said Giombetti.

If you try to exorcize a demon and it doesn't work, then it is haunting.

Giombetti said the worst case he ever had.

A young woman had come seeking help about strange things that had been happening to her young daughter. 

"The daughter was crying but it wasn't a normal crying and her mom had a baby monitor set up next to her daughter and saw a lizard going up to the baby," said Giombetti.

When the mom went to check on the daughter, she didn't see the lizard, but when she sat back down at her desk,  the lizard was there again. That's when the mom brought her family to Giombetti.

When the family arrived, and Giombetti began walking towards the family's car, the daughter "started screeching and pushing on the back door." 

As Giombetti got closer, the louder she screamed. When he stopped walking towards the car, she stopped screaming but as soon as he started walking again, the screeching started.

"She climbed over the driver's seat and she wedged herself towards the gas pedal and under the dashboard," said Giombetti.

When it was later discovered the daughter had not been baptized, they brought her to be baptized. She was screaming and kicking the entire time.

She suddenly stopped on the third pour of holy water.

After the lecture, Jason Giombetti exorcized St. Benedict's Crucifixes and offered individual blessings with Holy water.