Pinning a dog and exorcism

February 14, 2007

rosarium.jpgI watched the Dog Whisperer in amazement as he dealt with an out of control dog by pinning him on his side and, ultimately, dominating him. The dog fights back ferociously baring teeth as though to say “I’ll rip your face apart.” But Cesar Millan does not give up. And the struggle can go on for minutes, until finally the dog gives up permanently and says “You win.” Cesar can even take his hands off the dog and it continues to stay on its side, vulnerable, and controlled. Cesar refers to this wild unleashed fury as “bad energy” and something that can be, in a sense, emptied and released.

In 1998, William MacDuff and I went to Medjugorje, Bosnia Herzegovina to investigate Marian apparitions supposedly going on there–which became my 2 hour drama for chorus and orchestra, ROSARIUM. There I saw, or was told that some saw, a variety of wild spiritual happenings. The wildest was an alleged possession. The guy writhed around the floor, almost like a seizure, but his babbling had all the anger of a snarling dog. It was at the end of a mass where some 1500 had been, now just a handful standing around watching this event. A priest came running in who, we learned later, was the exorcist of the parish. He dashed over to the young man, still writhing, Scandinavian, 6’5″, with sandy blond hair, and dominated him. He went through all the traditional spiritual exorcist incantations, and after about 3 more minutes, the guy gave up: “You win.” He stretched out on the pew and barely moved. The priest left his side and stepped back. He was exorcised. Was he really possessed? Or did he just need to be dominated?

Previous post:

Next post: