Despite unflattering reviews, movie goers made “The Devil Inside” the number one movie at the box office last month. Rotten Tomatoes opined that it is, “a cheap, choppy un-scary mess, featuring the worst ending in recent memory” and Michael Rechtshaffen of the Hollywood Reporter had an even less flattering review, writing “this movie proves as scary and unsettling as a slab of devil’s food cake—only considerably less satisfying.”

So, while I have not seen it, and will not see it unless it finds its way to Mystery Science Theatre 3000, why bother writing about it?

I think it’s worth bothering with because we have forgotten that we are all called to be possessed. Not demonic possession, obviously, but a different kind of possession that is far more fascinating, exciting, powerful, and real. I mean to allow oneself to be possessed by the Holy Spirit.

Luis Cardinal Martinez, in his masterpiece on the Holy Spirit The Sanctifier, writes, “Our love for the Father tends to glorify Him; our love for the son, to transform ourselves into Him, our love for the Holy Spirit, to let ourselves be possessed and moved by him.” If we are serious Christians who want to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul, then we are called to be possessed by the Holy Spirit.

This is not an easy thing to do, let alone write about in a few short paragraphs. It requires struggling against all disturbances, all distracting noises, all unhealthy things that clamor for our attention, and letting go, so that little by little, the Holy Spirit spreads its deep influence through all our faculties and over our heart.

The remarkable thing is that the Spirit does really possess us. Those who have experienced it know what I am talking about. Those who haven’t are probably laughing at how silly this article sounds.

Regardless, I find myself at a complete loss of words trying to describe the joy, peace, and freedom that has come from striving to let go of everything that is not God, and open my heart to him, begging him to send his Spirit into my life to possess me.

What would be a few simple means to invite the Holy Spirit to possess your life?

• First, simply ask that the Spirit come into every aspect of your being: your intellect, your heart, your will, your emotions, your past, present, and future.
• Second, make a good confession.
• Third, cut out any useless noise and distraction in your life.
• Fourth, constantly ask the Spirit to guide you in all your decisions.
• Finally, seek to have the general disposition of handing control of your life over to God.

Then get ready for an adventure of a life time. You will experience a possession that is much more exciting and fulfilling than anything a Hollywood producer can dream up.

Let us pray that we all can carry the Holy Spirit inside, or, as we’re more accustomed to hearing it, to be worthy temples of the Holy Spirit.

Fr Jason Smith, LC