TREATMENT – SECOND CHANCES

Paul is in his mid-thirties. Growing up in Ireland as a catholic, Paul had strong faith which he carried
into adulthood. During most of Paul’s life he had been a heavy drinker but he would still attend
Mass. He was married before he met his now girlfriend, Maria. Maria is younger than Paul (23), she
is a few months pregnant and beginning to show. Paul and Maria move in with each other to
prepare for the birth of their child. Paul stops drinking, he is determined to turn over a new leaf so
he can become a good father. Weeks turn into months; things seem to be getting better for Paul and
Maria.

Paul is having a nightmare; he is in a confessional booth. He is confessing sins from a dark and
violent past. The priest is Father McLaughlin, an older priest at the parish. He is possessed by a
charismatic, condescending demon. The possessed Father McLaughlin taunts Paul, “The Devil wears
many disguises”.

Paul and Maria are awakened in the small hours of the morning by a loud banging noise which
sounds like it is coming from downstairs. The banging sounds like it is getting closer and closer until it
sounds like it is coming from right outside the bedroom door. The pair are frozen as the constant
banging from outside the door bellows louder and louder. Maria is shaking with fear, “Paul, you
need to go see what is making that noise”. Paul gets out of the bed. He approaches the door; the
banging is still constant. Before he opens the door, he shouts, “who is there?”. The banging stops.
Paul puts his hand on the handle, takes a deep breath and forcefully opens the door.

As he looks out into the hallway, he is overcome by a sudden drop in the temperature. The hall is
freezing. Fear consumes his body; he is shivering so much even his teeth are chattering. He steps
back into the bedroom; the temperature is normal. Maria asks him, “what is it? What was making
that noise?”. Paul is still shaking from the cold, “there is no one there but the hallway is freezing”. He
puts a fleece on and tells Maria to wait in the bedroom while he checks downstairs. As he steps back
into the coldness of the hallway, he feels fear again. He cannot see anything but he can feel evil. He
remembers that his rosary beads are placed on top of his bible on a small wooden table in the living
room.

As he opens the living room door, the coldness seems to get colder. His heart is racing, whatever is
in this room with him is thriving off this fear, Paul begins to panic. He feels a little relief when he sees
his rosary beads sitting on top of his bible, he rushes towards them. As he reaches for the rosary
beads, the beads are lifted into the air and ripped apart in front of his eyes. He can see nothing else
in the room with him. He closes his eyes tight and begins to pray. As he finishes his prayer, the
coldness dissipates. Whatever evil brought the coldness and fear is gone. Paul goes back to bed
where he is met with a bombardment of questions from Maria. He has no explanation of what
happened. Maria gets back to sleep but Paul cannot.

The next morning, Paul goes to see Father John at the parochial house. Father John is a very
enthusiastic priest, he is the go-to priest in the parish for anyone who has any problems. He knew
Paul from attending Sunday mass. Paul very restless and anxious when he arrives. Father John offers
him a seat and a cup of tea but he refuses. Paul is more interested in finding out if there is an
explanation to what happened to him the previous night. Father John listens intently to Paul’s
relocation of the night before. When Paul is finished, Father John asks him, “Have you changed your
life in any way?”. Paul tells him that he has just moved in with Maria, that they were having a child
together and that he had stopped drinking alcohol. Father John presses on, “any other changes in
your life?”. Paul is hesitant, “Yes, Father. Before I met Maria, I was up to no good. I fell in with a bad
crowd. That has all changed now and I will never go back to that way of life again. I have too much
too lose”. Father John’s tone is more serious, “Paul. Listen to me, carefully. What I have to say may
frighten you. What you experienced last night was Satan or one of his demons. Before you changed
your life, Satan and his demons did not bother you as they almost had your soul. Now that you are
living your life as an honest family man and have left your past life behind, you are getting Jesus
Christ back into your life. Satan does not like to lose a soul he was so close to having. I must warn
you; this will not be the end of it. I will come to your home and bless it”. This is a lot for Paul to taken
in. He allows Father John to bless the house.

The following night, Father John arrives at Paul’s house. He is met at the door by the couple who
look visibly anxious and afraid. They invite him into the living room, Paul reaches for the TV remote
so he can turn it off. It had fallen behind the TV, as he reaches for the remote, he sees a metal bead
from the rosary beads that had ripped apart in front of him. This makes him feel uneasy, he lifts the
bead. He offers Father John some tea. Maria goes to make it. Father John explains to Paul that every
room in the house will need to be blessed. He asks Paul if they would like to accompany him. Paul
agrees but insists on having tea first. As the three have tea, Father John asks if anything else has
happened since that night. Maria mentions that the hallway and one of the bedrooms, the room
that is going to be the baby’s room, were always colder than the rest of the house. She does not like
going into the “baby’s room” because she “felt afraid” and “fear grips her body” when she is in
there. Maria gets emotional, “I feel like I cannot live in this house for much longer, Father”. She
starts to cry, “Can you help us, Father? Make whatever this is go away? I am worried about the
baby”. Father John consoles Maria. Father John asks them again, “would you like to accompany me
as I bless each room in this house? We can pray together”. They both agree.

They start blessing the downstairs rooms then move upstairs. As each of them reach the top of the
stairs, they feel a drop in the temperature. They all stop at the same time and look at each other,
Father John continues to pray as they walk towards their bedroom. The couple feel a little relief after
the bedroom is blessed. The room even feels warmer. The next room is the baby’s room. The
hallway is still freezing. Father John tries to open the door but it does not open, he asks Paul if the
room is locked. Paul is confused, “No, Father. It is always open”. Father John tries the handle again
but the door will not open. Suddenly, the door flings open and slams against the wall with a loud
thud. Maria does not want to go into that room so Father John tells Paul to wait outside the room.
Father John enters the baby’s room praying alone, the door slams shut behind him. He begins to
panic and Paul tries to open the door but it’s closed so tightly. A sudden calm rush over them, the
door slowly opens to show a pathetic figure. Father John’s head is slumped, his bible is held tight to
his chest and tears are streaming down his face. He lifts his head towards the couple, “I cannot help
you. I am sorry. You need a stronger Priest”. As he passes Paul, he pauses, “God bless you and your
family. You need to leave this house”.

The next morning, Paul and Maria barely speak as their thoughts are focused on what happened the
night before. Paul asks, “Do you remember what happened last night, Maria?”. Maria stays silent.
Paul continues, “Did Father John really tell us to leave our home? Did you see how he looked when
the door burst open? He could not leave quick enough”. Maria finally responds, “Paul, I was right
there beside you the whole time. I thought I was having a nightmare but I could not wake up. What if
it happens again tonight when there is no priest to protect us?”. Maria decides that she is going to
stay with her mother for a while because she is worried that the stress might be too much for the
baby. Paul insists that he will go to the parochial house to see Father John and get some answers.
Paul is upset when Maria still leaves for her mothers. He does not want to be alone.
Paul walks to the parochial house in a panic, everything has gotten too much for him. As he arrives at
the chapel gates he pauses and takes a moment to look at the crucifix on the chapel spire. He
blesses himself, “Jesus Christ, I need you in my life more than ever. Lord, please help my family and I
get through this”. As he gets closer to the parochial house, he starts to get anxious. Voices in his
head are telling him to go home and leave the priest alone. He knocks on the door; the door is
opened almost immediately by the housekeeper. A tall slim older lady wearing her hair in a small
bun at the back of her head. She greets Paul and invites him inside.

The housekeeper ushers Paul into the waiting room, tells him to take a seat and asks, “what priest
would you like to see?”. Paul tells the housekeeper that he needs to see Father John urgently. The
housekeeper responds calmly, “that may be a problem as Father John has taken a sabbatical. He
may not be back for a year”. Paul insists that it is important that he sees him. The housekeeper goes
to get Father McLaughlin, leaving Paul with his head clasped in his hands. So many questions are
running through his head. His thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door. He jumps into an
upright position and stares at the door. An older Priest, Father McLaughlin, peaks his head around
the door, “Hello, my name is Father McLaughlin”. Paul automatically responds, “Hello, Father”. As
Father McLaughlin slowly walks into the room, Paul realizes that this is the priest from his
nightmare. Fear consumes him as Father McLaughlin takes a seat beside him. Father McLaughlin is
very well spoken and charismatic. “Hello, Paul. Father John has explained your situation to me. What
he experienced in your house has taken its toll on Father John. He is a broken man and he will need
time to recuperate”. There is an air of insincerity when he speaks about Father John. Paul tries to
avoid eye contact. Father McLaughlin goes on to say, “I am going to contact my bishop and see what
we can do for you”. He stands up and reaches his hand out towards Paul for a handshake. Paul
reluctantly shakes the hand; his hand is trembling.

Later that night Paul is out walking. He is stopped by a young boy. The young boy hands Paul a set of
rosary beads. The young boy disappears. Paul decides to go the chapel. He is not going to give up on
his faith or his family.