An Exorcist Explains the Demonic

by Gabriele Amorth

  Man is also subjected to the test of fidelity to God’s laws. This happens in an eminent way during a time of suffering, which, as we well know, is experienced by everyone. “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). The Magisterium of the Church reminds us that “the messianic victory over sickness, as over all other human sufferings, does not happen only by its elimination through miraculous healing, but also through the voluntary and innocent suffering of Christ in his passion, which gives every person the ability to unite himself to the sufferings of the Lord.”4 Therefore, human suffering associated with Christ’s becomes salvific: “In bringing about the Redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ.”5

  Pain, especially that of the innocent, is a mystery that overwhelms our capacity to understand. The sufferer, who bears the pain of illness or of some other spiritual evil, such as diabolical possession, is elevated to a level nearer to Christ, making him capable through faith of cultivating hope. Indeed, the sufferer is called to a true and proper vocation, that of participating in the increase of the Kingdom of God with new and more precious modalities. The words of the apostle Paul can become their model: “[I]n my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col. 1:24).6 Offering oneself to the will of God in suffering is the only path one can take. It is the mystery that I encounter each day in my ministry of releasing so many brothers and sisters from the sufferings of evil spirits, sufferings that they, in turn, offer for the salvation of the world.

  In order to translate these theological concepts into popular terms, let us borrow what was said in my region, in Emilia [Romagna]: “No one goes to heaven in a horse-drawn carriage.” It’s necessary somehow, to earn one’s way. But let us understand that everything is grace; paradise can never be “merited.” It is Christ alone who has earned it for everyone through the narrow passage of His Passion and death on the Cross that led to the joy of the Resurrection. We are given the opportunity to accept it through the trials of life. And this is so for everyone. We read, for example, that some saints endured extraordinary sufferings. But the Lord does not demand this from everyone. Each of us endures his tribulations, his ordinary and his extraordinary difficulties. To be tried in body and in spirit, entrusting oneself totally to God, is a true and proper test of faith, where love and fidelity to the Lord are given freely and not for some advantage. In brief, love for God has no other reason but love. Is it not also true of human love? Bernard of Clairvaux has illuminating words on the subject: “Love is sufficient of itself; it gives pleasure by itself and because of itself. It is its own merit, its own reward. Love looks for no cause outside itself, no effect beyond itself. Its profit lies in its practice; I love because I love.”7

  We are called, then, to love God and to believe in Him in the difficulties of life, because we recognize that the stormy things give us strength and the help to go forward each day. I cite again the example of St. Paul, who speaks of the “thorn in the flesh” (cf. 2 Cor. 12:7). We do not know exactly what he was suffering; he speaks of a “messenger of Satan” who was persecuting him. We can infer that it involved a physical suffering due to the action of the devil and not from natural causes. “Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me,” he affirms, nearly desperate (2 Cor. 12:8). God, however, does not free him. “My grace is sufficient for you,” He responds to him (2 Cor. 12:9), because virtue is manifested and deepened precisely through suffering, where virtue is tried and perfected. The apostle’s experience confirms that we learn to love God through suffering, perfecting ourselves in love. Suffering — I repeat — offered as reparation for the salvation of souls and the conversion of sinners becomes an instrument of true collaboration with God’s work for the redemption of all humanity.

  The Signs of God’s Love

  How, then, is divine mercy manifested toward those who suffer and, in particular, toward those who are vexed by demons? The response is: through prayer, the intimate communion with Jesus, and in the highest way, in the sacraments, the tangible signs of God’s love for us.

  Those persons who experience spiritual disturbances suffer from a unique form of suffering: in the case of physical illnesses there are medical tests, and if doctors are able to understand the causes, they can make prognoses and often find suitable remedies at the right moment and proceed with the attempts. In the case of the sufferings caused by demons, no human or scientifically verifiable explanation exists. We are in the field of the invisible: no two cases are similar; each has its own story, and in each one it is very difficult, if not impossible, to know how things were developed. What is certain is that the interior suffering is always very great, and often not understood, at least at the beginning, not even by those who are around the afflicted person, such as relatives and friends. This situation often leads to great frustration and solitude in those who experience it. In the case of torments caused by demons, we find ourselves before a mystery that can be confronted solely through total abandonment to the will of God. It is indispensable to turn to Him, since no human cure exists other than the supernatural cure and the knowledge that comes from faith that one’s life, even in paradoxical situations like these, “is hidden with Christ in God” (cf. Col. 3:3).

  Thus, God’s “prescriptions,” authentic instruments of grace, become tangible signs that nurture faith and hope even when one confronts the most inexplicable situations. Many persons who suffer from spiritual maladies, and whom I have encountered over the years, confirm this each and every day.

  3 See Job 10:21; 17:13–19.

  4 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on Prayers for Healing, no. 1.

  5 St. John Paul II, apostolic letter Salvifici Doloris (On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering), no. 19.

  6 See Instruction on Prayers for Healing, no. 1.

  7 Cf. St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Love of Bridegroom and Bride, 83:4–6.

  Satan and the Fallen Angels

  The Pride of Lucifer and His Acolytes

  Let us now delve deeply into the topic of evil spirits — the identity of Satan and his followers, the demons — and let us proceed in an orderly manner. God, in His infinite power, created multitudes of angels, an impressive, incalculable number. Psalm 146 says that God knows the stars one by one and calls them by name. The same thing can be said of the angels: God knows them one by one. One day during an exorcism Father Candido Amantini — a Passionist priest and my great teacher8 — asked a demon: “How many are you?” The demon responded: “We are so many that if we were visible we would obscure the sun.” The demon on that occasion gave information that we have no reason to disbelieve because it is confirmed in the Bible.

  God created the angels as extremely intelligent beings, with knowledge immensely superior to man’s; and He predestined them to paradise, to eternal beatitude. Paradise, then, is not a passive and static contemplation of God. God Himself created everything in movement, both visible things — for example, the stars — and invisible things.

  A great number of the angels fell because they rebelled against God. We recall that before admitting the angels to paradise, God subjected them to a trial of obedience and humility, of which we know the nature but not the specifics. The sin of the fallen angels was one of pride and disobedience. Satan, the most beautiful of all the angels, being aware of his extreme intelligence, rebelled at the idea of being subjected to someone. He forgot that he was a creature made by God. Many angels followed him in his folly of omnipotence and never turned back from their choice.

  I note, incidentally, that this also happens with man, particularly in our day, when many appear to have forgotten God. The frenzy of omnipotence, of which men are often the victim in our times, seems to me precisely to reenter into this dramatic perspective of autonomy
and complete self-referentiality.

  Returning to our discourse: the original sins of the angels are the same as those who implicitly or explicitly adhere to Satanism. Angels and men who follow Satan base their existence on three principles and practical rules of life: you can do what you wish, that is, without subjugation to God’s laws; you obey no one; and you are the god of yourself. We shall speak of this further on.

  The Angels Who Chose God

  Unlike the demons, the angelic creatures were humble, and therefore a choice opened up to them: the joyful and eternal Beatific Vision of God, the Creator. They chose to remain faithful to the nature and goal of their existence — that of praising God eternally — doing a simple and at the same time difficult thing: being humble and therefore free from pride. They accepted submission to God, that is, fidelity to their Creator and to His plan. In this way the angels fully embraced their nature and their end. It was a sign of faithfulness to the truth: they, like us, were created by God to love Him forever. This attitude does not humiliate them at all, because it does not imply a lack of something in any way; rather, to the contrary, a fullness. The angels have continued to be faithful to their nature, which refers them directly to God, the One who has written in creation the best laws for them, thought of for their own good.

  Their sole activity is to praise God in eternity, obeying His every command. For this reason, I always exhort everyone, above all my particular clients, to invoke often their guardian angels, who protect us from dangers and who give us the proper suggestions at the right moments, even if they cannot impede us from being put under temptation and from eventually falling into sin.

  What happened between the angels is narrated in the twelfth chapter of the book of Revelation: there was a great war between the angels who remained faithful to God and those who rebelled against Him — in brief, a war between the angels and the demons. In this passage, the Bible tells us that Michael the Archangel was at the head of the angels and that the dragon guided the angels who rebelled (and were defeated). The result was that “there was no longer any place for them in heaven” (Rev. 12:8). There also occurred something that Sacred Scripture does not mention, but that I personally have no motive to doubt: that the demons were free to create the inferno (hell), that is, to put themselves in a situation, in a state of life contrary to God, damning themselves eternally. With their choice they themselves gave form to their own environment.

  Their new condition, recognized by the Bible as “infernal,” implied that the devils were forever excluded from paradise, from the vision of God, and from eternal happiness, which originally was their only goal. Therefore, it is a truth of faith that the demons are definitively condemned, that is, damned: for them there is absolutely no possibility of salvation because their arrogant choice is unchangeable. Why? Because of their intelligence — which, in pure spirits, is greatly superior to ours — and because, unlike us men, they already enjoyed a full vision of God, they made their choice in a state of complete awareness, and it cannot be withdrawn. On the other hand, the demons would not wish to go back. The same can be said, but in the contrary, for the angels who chose God, and for the saints who have already merited the eternal vision of God, and for us who are called each day to respond to our call to sanctity.

  Can the Devil Read Our Thoughts?

  We have now arrived at the specific action of the devil, and we begin with the first question: Can the devil know our thoughts; is he able to understand what we are thinking at a certain moment in our life? The response is simple: absolutely not. Theology is agreed on this question. Only God — who is omniscient, who intimately possesses the secrets of created reality, that of men and angels, and that of uncreated reality, which is His own essence — knows in depth the thoughts of each man. Although a spiritual creature, the demon does not understand what is in our mind and in our heart; he can only surmise it through observing our behavior. It is not a complicated operation for him, having an extremely fine intelligence. If a young person smokes marijuana, for example, [the demon] can deduce that in the future he will also use stronger drugs. In a word: from what we read, see, say, and experience, and from the companions we choose, even from our glances — from all this he can discern where he will tempt us and at which particular moment. And that is what he does.

  This brings to mind a passage from the first letter of St. Peter: “Brothers and sisters, be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith” (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8–9). My interpretation of this passage, on which various biblicists are agreed, sounds like this: “Brothers and sisters, be vigilant. The devil wanders around each one of you, searching where to devour.” That word where is important: the devil looks in each person precisely for his weak point and “works” on it, creating his next sinful occasions, those that he has commissioned for him. It will be the targeted person himself, who in his liberty, will commit the sin, after having been well “cooked” by Satan’s temptation.

  The most frequent weak points in man are, from time to time, always the same: pride, money, and lust. And, let us note well, there are no age limits for sinning. When I hear confessions, I often say to my penitents, somewhat jokingly, that their temptations will end only five minutes after they have exhaled their last breath. Therefore, we must not presume or hope that at an advanced age we shall be exempt from sin. A vice that is cultivated in youth will not lessen in old age without some work and intervention. Let us consider lust: when I hear confessions, it’s not uncommon for the elderly to confess to looking at pornography more often then the youth. The will to struggle against sin must be cultivated even to the end of our days.

  Does the Devil Fear Man?

  We proceed to the second question: Who must be afraid, us or the devil? The letter of James says textually: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). The demon keeps his distance from the one who nurtures his faith, who frequents the sacraments, and who wishes to live devoutly. Why? Simply put, the devil hates God and is in terror of Him and anything that even has the odor of santicty. If we think about it, we can recall periods of our existence in which we have intensified our interior life and felt stronger in resisting temptations. On the other hand, we must avoid becoming arrogant and must always remember that the demon does not ever cease to tempt us, even to the end of our days.

  I should also mention that sacred places, in particular those where a strong Marian devotion exists, have a similar effect. For these Satan has an invincible aversion: Loreto, Lourdes, Fátima, just to cite a few that are well known. Many liberations occur in these places.

  I also wish to add that the devil can greatly disturb a person who nurtures his faith, but he does so unwillingly because he is “forced” to by the power of a spell. He prefers, far and away, to be involved with those who have distanced themselves from God. In these circumstances he is freer to act. Satan fears the sons of God, those seeking to conform their lives to Jesus: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). The devil is aware that he is stronger and more intelligent than we are, but he also knows that we are not alone in the struggle against him. One example suffices: toward the sunset of his life, Don Bosco, one of the greatest saints of the nineteenth century, liberated a girl from possession simply by entering the chapel dressed in sacred vestments to celebrate Mass. The devil is in fear of the saints and their sanctity.

  Often people will ask me if, during the process of liberation, the prayers denouncing Satan are useful. My response is: yes. Indeed, it is indispensable to recite them. Our liturgy also affirms it: the so-called renunciations of Satan and the questions on the articles of the Creed are purposely included in the rite of baptism, the sacrament with which we begin our Christian life. We also pronounce them during the Paschal Vigil, in confirmation of our faith. It is important to renounce Satan and all his works, but it is als
o important to recite the Creed often, as we say it at Mass on Sundays and on feast days. Moreover, the experiences of my ministry tell me that renouncing Satan and pronouncing the profession of our Faith are indispensable for those who have had some experience with the occult; it serves to break off every tie with the Evil One.

  Where Does the Evil One Dwell in the Human Body?

  Another recurring question is whether the demon is located in a specific part of the human body. The answer, without a doubt, is in the the negative. To put it as simply as possible, demons influence our body or one part of it without locating themselves in that particular organ or limb. When the possessed person falls into a trance and the Evil Spirit takes “control” in some way — inducing in him uncontrolled movements or making him speak or curse — it is as if the demon wraps around the entire body of the possessed, causing him to lose control of himself. Sometimes it can seem as if the spirit is localized in the throat, in the stomach, in the intestine, or in the head, where pains and spasms are manifested. In reality, the demon is not there in a specific part of the body but only influencing a specific organ within that moment.

  If this is the way things are, do diabolical possessions and other spiritual evils exclude the presence of the Holy Spirit? We cannot reason in a human way with spirits. The represented space within the human body is not empty or refillable the way that a glass can be refilled by and emptied of water. In the case of the demon and the Holy Spirit, the two rival entities can live together — obviously in conflict — in the same person. On the other hand, we know that diverse saints were possessed by bad spirits, even if evidently they were filled with the Holy Spirit. How does one explain this if the demon does not occupy physical space? Certainly, the Holy Spirit can chase away the demon, but He does it within the boundaries of our own free will, thus permitting us to make our own choices. The Gospel of Mark says: “This kind [of demon] cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29). The demon always tries to minimize himself, to hide himself, because he knows that as soon as his presence is obvious to the outside world, it could be the beginning of his end. The person would then begin to pray more intensely, to submit to exorcisms and prayers of deliverance, to intensify his participation at the Mass, et cetera. Beyond a certain limit, the devil is not able to resist the power of prayer and fasting. Obviously, this is not always the case, so it probably occurs through a mysterious divine permission, or through the exceptional efficacy of the completed rite. But more often the demon is deeply ingrained and difficult to uproot, and exorcisms may continue for years and years.