At a time when we contemplate the purity of Mary we might also focus on how to bring purity to ourselves, and of course this begins internally: we must watch every thought we have in addition to every word we speak. We are called to step back from antagonism (particularly at Christmas). And we are called to purge evil from our situations.

To do so it greatly helps to invoke "Mary, the Immaculate Conception." According to Father Carl Vogl, author of Begone Satan! (the account of an extraordinary possession), when the Blessed Mother under that title was spoken, it caused the possessing devil "fearful agony."

"When he was addressed, 'I command you in the name of the Immaculate Conception, in the name of her who crushed the head of the serpent,' he wilted and languished," writes the priest.

And then there are the practical issues of purity, and here we can mention the importance of Holy Water in "cleaning up" our surroundings.

The Blessed Mother has actually advised using it every Saturday to cleanse our homes. The same is urged by exorcists -- who state that their experience in casting out impure spirits has taught them the value of this sacramental.

"Holy Water is also something hateful to Satan," wrote Father Vogl. "Whenever he was approached with Holy Water he screamed: 'Away, away with it, away with the abominable dirt! Oh, that burns, that scorches!'

"On one occasion a piece of paper bearing the inscription of a fake Latin prayer was placed on the woman's head. Even the good nuns [assisting in the exorcism of an Iowa woman] believed that the prayer was genuine. In reality, the prayer consisted of words taken out of a pagan classic. The nuns were very much surprised that Satan remained so quiet under the experiment. The exorcist, however, knew the cause of the devil's tranquility. Immediately afterwards, a second prepared paper was placed on the head of the woman, which had been blessed beforehand with the Sign of the Cross and Holy Water without anybody noticing it. In an instant the piece of paper was torn into a thousand pieces."

We see then the potency of Holy Water, the rage it causes demons, and how exorcisms prove the worth of Catholic sacramentals, not to mention sacraments.

They may rip at a piece of paper, but eventually they have to leave!

It is suggested that we use Holy Water throughout our homes, especially where there seems to be tension. Let us add that it is good to use before and after we receive visitors.

More recently, Spanish exorcist Father José Antonio Fortea (in Interview with an Exorcist) has recounted the fascinating time he ran out of Holy Water because extremely cold weather had frozen pipes in his parish.

"A possessed girl I was exorcising could not be given water from the Holy Water fonts because it was several days old and many people had dipped their fingers in it," he writes. "As I was preparing to go out in search of water, I remembered that there was a bottle of lemonade that had been left over from a meeting of catechists. It occurred to me to bless the contents of the bottle, thinking that the type of liquid was of little importance since its power was rooted in the prayer attached to it.

"I discovered, though, its effect on the demon was much less than normal. After a few minutes, I ordered the demon in the Name of Jesus to tell me why this was so. He resisted, but in the end he told me that, while any blessed liquid might have some effect on demons, Holy Water is more effective because it symbolizes purity and cleanliness" -- as does the Blessed Mother who recommends it!