Although the local community priest has passed away, there are still clergy in the community church repairing damaged items in the church.
After Pastor Arnold and Joseph entered, they saluted everyone. A priest in a white robe walked out of the prayer room and hugged Arnold.
Arnold hugged the priest in front of him and said,
"Elder Obel, I didn't expect you to be here."
Elder Ober smiled kindly and said,
"This community needs someone to stay there permanently. I don't want to stay at the headquarters anymore, so I'll just come here."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Arnold got straight to the point.
"I wonder if Elder Obell knows about the Annalise case?"
Elder Ober looked serious after hearing this and nodded in confirmation. It was obvious that the headquarters took this exorcism case, in which even a clergyman died, very seriously. He said,
"I came here this time and brought you some props that you should be able to use."
After he finished speaking, he ordered someone to bring a leather suitcase, which was opened and displayed to Arnold.
What caught the eye were a variety of items, the most eye-catching of which were two crystal balls.
Elder Obel said,
"These two palm-sized crystal balls are filled with holy water from the Jordan River, which was taken from the river where John the Baptist baptized his son, Jidu, and was transported to St. John's Cathedral, where St. John was buried, and blessed. This should be able to cause considerable damage to the evil spirit.
The holy relic in Mont Saint-Michel, the ebony cross that has been enshrined in front of the portrait of Michael in Saint-Michel Cathedral for hundreds of years, symbolizes the absolute justice of Michael. You should understand the purpose of this item. "
Elder Ober paused, picked up a bottle of white crystals, and continued,
“The pure white salt from the Red Sea is a great helper in protecting souls.
Finally, there is this one, which looks like an ordinary linen handkerchief, but it is actually the legendary Veronica Saint Handkerchief. It can save your life at a critical moment. "
"Thanks to the Lord's grace and the Pope's expectations of me, I will do my best to complete this exorcism." Arnold said while kneeling on the ground and took the suitcase with both hands.
"The headquarters attaches great importance to this case. I hope you can solve it well." Elder Ober said meaningfully, "I am old, and naturally someone needs to take the elder's seat."
Arnold lowered his head even more respectfully after hearing this.
Elder Obel slowly walked back to the prayer room, while Arnold and Joseph resolutely walked out.
Joseph asked,
"Reverend Arnold, do we need anything else? It seems like the elders have already given us a lot of items."
Arnold shook his head and said,
"The more holy relics there are, the more difficult it is to exorcise the demon this time. I still need to go to the silver jewelry store."
After hearing this, Joseph led the way to a nearby silver jewelry store.
"Boss, we need to customize three pure silver wind chimes. Each one should be 15 centimeters wide and 30 centimeters long, and oval in shape. Can you do it?" Arnold asked the owner of the silver jewelry store.
"I can do it, but I need you to draw a detailed blueprint for me. Do you have any requirements for the carving pattern style of this wind chime?" the silver jewelry store owner replied.
Arnold asked his boss for some white paper and pencils, and in a few seconds the outline of the wind chime appeared on the paper.
As for the carvings on the wind chimes, Arnold drew them separately on another piece of paper. It was a wild and solemn crucifixion and a simple sketch of the Last Supper.
"Thank you for your help, boss. I hope it can be completed as soon as possible. Remuneration is not a problem." With the support of the Holy See, Arnold had sufficient gold marks as financial support.
"It will take at least two days to complete one item. It's easy to ruin a silver product if you're not careful when carving a portrait. How about this, my apprentice and I rush the work and you come back in a week. Including the labor and material costs, the total cost is twenty-five gold marks. Is that not too much?" The honest boss did not add too much profit to the price, so Arnold saved himself the trouble of bargaining and paid the fee directly.
"Mr. Joseph, let's go back and see Annalise first. I think it's almost time for her to wake up." Arnold looked at Joseph and said, and then the two returned to their residence.
The leather suitcase seemed to have the ability to isolate the air, and the foreign object in Annaliese's body did not receive any stimulation.
Joseph made a cup of black tea for Arnold, paired with two slices of fresh lemon, which was one of the few drinks that could be used to entertain guests at home. Joseph felt a little guilty for forgetting basic etiquette because he was too flustered, but Arnold didn't care about it.
"Pastor Arnold, Annaliese is in your care this time. Over the past five years, we have watched her become thinner and thinner, and her mental state has been getting worse day by day. I didn't expect that your arrival today would allow her to have a good and peaceful sleep. Thank you so much." Joseph currently regards Arnold as his life-saving straw and is very grateful.
Arnold smiled and said,
"Mr. Joseph does not need to be grateful to me, but should be grateful for the gift of Holy Light. It is the Supreme Lord who made it possible for us to meet. I also believe that all this is the will of the Lord."
At this time, Annaliese in the room had slowly woken up. She cast a lifeless look at Arnold in a black robe, holding the cross tightly in her hand.
"Thanks to the holy light and the priest, I will face the evil bravely. Just because I am the Lamb of the Lord." said the weak Annaliese.
Arnold stood up from the sofa and walked to Annalise's bedside and asked,
"Anna, can you eat now?"
Annaliese shook her head, but Joseph beside her looked very anxious and said,
"Dear Annalise, my daughter, you must eat something. It's been three days since the exorcism. You've only been drinking water for three days. Your body can't stand it."
Arnold asked Joseph, "Go get some corn tortillas and a glass of red grape juice. I have a way to get her to eat a little."
Joseph and his wife went to the kitchen to prepare corn tortillas and red grape juice, put them on a plate and brought them in.
Arnold placed the plate on the ground, knelt on his knees, held the Holy Light Sutra in his hands, and chanted,
"For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you: that on the night he was betrayed he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way he took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord."①
Lying on the bed, Annaliese watched Arnold perform a simple communion ceremony in front of her. Arnold took the unleavened corn tortilla, dipped it in a little grape juice, and put it into Annaliese's mouth.
This is the first time Annalise is able to taste food after the failed exorcism.
All the previous attempts to eat had a fishy smell in the mouth, just like the smell of a corpse that had been rotting for days. Every previous attempt to eat was a torture.
Even if you try to swallow, your body will immediately show an unnatural nausea phenomenon, and then vomit until all the green and yellow bile comes out.
The inability to eat caused Annalise to become extremely weak.
Only now, the sweetness of the grape juice combined with the crispness of the tortillas made Annaliese once again realize the preciousness of food.
The tortilla is swallowed along with saliva, passes through the esophagus without any obstacles, reaches the stomach, and fills the empty stomach with digestible food.
Annaliese's eyes were filled with tears, but her body was still weak. Arnold looked at the tortured Annaliese, stroked her haggard cheek, and said,
"Don't be in a hurry, child. Eat slowly. This is the holy communion that Yesu dedicated to the world. Only those with pure hearts can truly appreciate its taste. The sacrifice of the Son of God washes away our sins and brings comfort to you at the same time."
Joseph watched this scene, silently covering his face and weeping. He saw hope, hope that his baby daughter could survive, and being able to eat was the first step towards light at this time.
Hope spread silently at this moment, and Joseph thought of the holy objects he saw in the church today, and felt more confident that his daughter's exorcism would be successful.
A few days later, Arnold and Joseph brought the finished wind chimes, and the store also gave them a few silver chains as gifts.
Arnold repeated the daily ritual of performing Holy Communion for Annalise, and Annalise's physical and mental state gradually recovered.
After the feeding was finished, Joseph quietly pulled Arnold aside and said,
"Reverend, thank you for your care over the past few days, but I wonder when you are going to perform the exorcism ceremony?"
"October 31st," Arnold responded.
"Halloween? Isn't this the day when ghosts appear?" Joseph asked, feeling a little confused.
"Yes, so that night is also the easiest day to drive the devil out of Annaliese's body. The devil is still lurking in her body now, and the calmness of these days is just the eve of the storm. If I don't perform the exorcism on Halloween Eve, the devil will completely control Annaliese's soul. Just as those filthy words say, she will enter the boundless hell and sink forever." Arnold said solemnly.
"Then what can we do now?" Joseph asked anxiously.
"wait."