How many times has he whispered to me? How many times have I believed his lies?
Does Satan exist?
I am no mystic or spiritual visionary so I speak with minimal authority at best. From time to time though, I think I’ve learned a few things from the school of hard knocks. I don’t know if anything I write here will help anyone or be of value but it is cathartic if nothing else.
I believe that the Devil and other fallen angels exist. Maybe in ways that we don’t realize or expect, but I think their influence is upon us.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy.266 Scripture and the Church’s Tradition see in this being a fallen angel, called “Satan” or the “devil”.267 The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: “The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing.”268
392 Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels.269 This “fall” consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign. We find a reflection of that rebellion in the tempter’s words to our first parents: “You will be like God.”270 The devil “has sinned from the beginning”; he is “a liar and the father of lies”271
It seems that ever since then, the adversary has been at work trying to bring us down with him. While we live, we have choice and free will. But they know that if they pull us over to them through sin, our fate is sealed once death takes us.
They are intelligent and can work in overt ways but, more often, ply their wares slowly and subtly. I’ve watched The Exorcist and The Exorcism of Emily Rose and countless other similar movies but I think those types of manifestations are exceedingly rare.
An overview of temptation
To put it clinically, the Devil is known for being a master of temptation. What means does he use to accomplish this?
- Appealing to our desires.
- The Devil often tempts us by appealing to our desires. He knows what we crave and what we want, and he uses this knowledge to entice us into sin. For example, if someone struggles with a particular addiction, the Devil may use this weakness to tempt them further.
- The Devil often tempts us by appealing to our desires. He knows what we crave and what we want, and he uses this knowledge to entice us into sin. For example, if someone struggles with a particular addiction, the Devil may use this weakness to tempt them further.
- Creating doubt.
- The Devil also tempts us by creating doubt. He may make us question our faith, our beliefs, or our values. He may use this doubt to make us feel lost or confused, and then offer us a solution that seems like the easy way out, but which ultimately leads to sin or further confusion.
- The Devil also tempts us by creating doubt. He may make us question our faith, our beliefs, or our values. He may use this doubt to make us feel lost or confused, and then offer us a solution that seems like the easy way out, but which ultimately leads to sin or further confusion.
- Twisting the truth.
- The Devil is also known for twisting the truth. He may take a small part of the truth and use it to deceive us. For example, he may use scripture out of context to justify sinful behavior or to convince us that what we’re doing is not really that bad.
- The Devil is also known for twisting the truth. He may take a small part of the truth and use it to deceive us. For example, he may use scripture out of context to justify sinful behavior or to convince us that what we’re doing is not really that bad.
- Offering immediate gratification.
- The Devil often tempts us by offering immediate gratification. He knows that we live in a world of instant gratification, and he uses this to his advantage. He may offer us something that seems pleasurable in the moment, but which ultimately leads to pain and suffering in the long run.
Although the above list certainly encapsulates many of the adversary’s MO, I think, from my own experience, there are others.
Master of subtlety
To be clear, I am not saying that I have experienced the devil or any of his minions. Although I am fascinated by accounts of saints, such as St. Padre Pio, who by many reports contended with Satan directly, I have only suffered from run of the mill temptations. I’m OK with that!
Looking back over the years, I have made a few discoveries that have helped me. I say “I made the discoveries” but it was really only by God’s grace that I have learned anything. I admit that I’m a little slow in this department.
- Blustery Sins
- The devil uses the “noisy” sins to blind us to the more subtle and, in my opinion, more serious sins.
- For example, if you struggle with a temptation towards lust or addiction, those are pretty obvious, up front issues. They present in a very physical way and have obvious impacts and repercussions in many circumstances.
- For someone who is committed to changing, it is easy to invest a lot of energy into reform but they can be hard to conquer because it has physiological or chemical roots. Often one finds themselves confessing these kinds of sin over and over again.
- It seems that the devil can use these sins to “cover up” other sins that may not be as front and center for the person. While they are expending a lot of time trying to work through the noisy sins, pride, temptation to despair, sloth and so many others can lie comfortably underneath the surface.
- The devil uses the “noisy” sins to blind us to the more subtle and, in my opinion, more serious sins.
- Ascetic Overdrive
- It can be easy, particularly for one without a spiritual director, to fall into over practice of certain ascetic tasks if not careful. These can be particularly dangerous not only from the potential physical harm they may introduce but also in terms of spiritual danger.
- For example, well intended faithful may fast twice a week on bread and water or maybe just water, practice self-flagellation, wear a cilice or a host of other self-mortifications.
- These practices can easily introduce pride. One can be tempted to view these disciplines through the lens of self-accomplishment. Even if it is not voiced or expressed to anyone, the person can easily develop an elevated sense of themselves because they are doing all of these practices above and beyond the “common Christian.”
- Although these practices may have their place in carefully moderated circumstances, I have no doubt the Devil walks freely in this playground.
- It can be easy, particularly for one without a spiritual director, to fall into over practice of certain ascetic tasks if not careful. These can be particularly dangerous not only from the potential physical harm they may introduce but also in terms of spiritual danger.
- Waterfall Effect
- It seems somewhat common that the adversary will use one sin as an opening for many other sins.
- For example, if someone who has made good efforts to walk the narrow path stumbles for whatever reason, the devil can use that as a source for temptation to further sin. “Well, now look what you did,” he says. “You’ve fallen into sin yet again haven’t you? There’s really no point is there. You’ll never get better so you may as well just do whatever sounds good, right?”
- I suppose this is despair – no matter what I do, I won’t be saved because I always fall into sin.
- The saints all sinned. Every one of them. But when many of them did, they didn’t turn to despair but instead trusted in God’s mercy and had confidence. Many thanked Him for the grace of not allowing them to fall even further into sin.
- It seems somewhat common that the adversary will use one sin as an opening for many other sins.
There are probably a thousand more examples, many of which are particular to the individual’s disposition, but the above items are things that I have come across personally in one form or another. All of them took me years to recognize and halfway understand. (I can’t claim much understanding though)
Parting thoughts
I enjoy movies about angels and demons (although Angels and Demons, not so much) and exorcisms and all of those things that make for a good story about the devil and his ilk.
What I always found perplexing about the supposed true accounts of possession in book and film is that if Satan and the demons can produce such effects on the body – vomiting bugs/weird stuff, speaking in other languages, aversion to holy objects, etc. – why doesn’t he do more of it?
I think that he simply doesn’t have to. So many willingly yield to sin and temptation without a whisper of resistance. Thousands, if not millions, walk down the path to Hell without an giving an ounce of thought to doing otherwise. They are his and they don’t even know it. I imagine many think themselves in a happier place for it at least while they draw breath.
Many saints have had visions of Hell. Sister Lucia, (one of the visionaries of Fatima) wrote in her Memoirs:
Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in a huge fire, without weight or equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, all black and transparent. This vision lasted but an instant.
How can we ever be grateful enough to our kind heavenly Mother, who had already prepared us by promising, in the first Apparition, to take us to Heaven. Otherwise, I think we would have died of fear and terror.
https://www.ncregister.com/blog/saints-who-saw-heaven-and-hell
St. Faustina wrote in her diary:
Today, I was led by an Angel to the chasms of hell. It is a place of great torture; how awesomely large and extensive it is! The kinds of tortures I saw: the first torture that constitutes hell is the loss of God; the second is perpetual remorse of conscience; the third is that one’s condition will never change; the fourth is the fire that will penetrate the soul without destroying it, a terrible suffering, since it is a purely spiritual fire, lit by God’s anger; the fifth torture is conditional darkness and a terrible suffocating smell, and despite the darkness, the devils and the souls of the damned see each other and all the evil, both of others and their own; the sixth torture is the constant company of Satan, the seventh torture is horrible despair, hatred of God, vile words, curses and blasphemies. These are the tortures suffered by all the damned together, but that is not the end of the sufferings. There are special tortures destined for particular souls. These are the torments of the senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and indescribable sufferings, related to the manner in which it has sinned. There are caverns and pits of torture where one form of agony differs from another. I would have died at the very sight of these tortures if the omnipotence of God had not supported me. Let the sinner know that he will be tortured throughout all eternity, in those senses which he made use of to sin.
[I am] writing this at the command of God, so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody has ever been there, and so no one can say what it is like. I, Sister Faustina, by the order of God, have visited the abysses of hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence. I have received a command from God to leave it in writing. The devils were full of hatred for me, but they had to obey me at the command of God. What I have written is but a pale shadow of the things I saw. But I noticed one thing: that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell. When I came to, I could hardly recover from the fright. How terribly souls suffer there! Consequently, I pray even more fervently for the conversion of sinners. I incessantly plead God’s mercy upon them. O my Jesus, I would rather be in agony until the end of the world, amidst the greatest sufferings, then offend You by the least sin.
https://www.ncregister.com/blog/saints-who-saw-heaven-and-hell
I can’t imagine that I would be made of stern enough stuff to withstand such a glimpse into the eternal fire. Even just writing this post makes me uncomfortable. I pray that by God’s grace, I obtain pardon and mercy for my offenses.
We are redeemed by the blood of Christ.
The Anima Christi
Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me.
Within your wounds conceal me.
Do not permit me to be parted from you.
From the evil foe protect me.
At the hour of my death call me.
And bid me come to you,
to praise you with all your saints
for ever and ever.
Amen.
En ego, o bone et dulcissime Iesu
Here,
O good and gentle Jesus,
I kneel before you,
and with all the fervor of my soul
I pray that you engrave within my heart
lively sentiments of faith, hope, and love,
true repentance for my sins,
and a firm purpose of amendment.
While I see and I ponder your five wounds
with great affection and sorrow in my soul,
I have before my eyes those words of yours
that David prophesied about you:
“They have pierced my hands and feet;
I can count all my bones.” (Ps 22, 17)
Amen.