Father Amorth reveals the secrets of Satan to us

What is the face of Satan? How to imagine it? What is the origin of its representation with tail and horns? Does it really smell like sulfur?
Satan is a pure spirit. It is we who give him a physical representation to imagine him; and he, when he appears, takes on a sensitive aspect. As ugly as we can represent, it is always immensely uglier; it is not a question of physical ugliness, but of perfidy and distance from God, the highest good and the culmination of all beauty. I think that the representation with horns, tail, bat wings wants to signify the degradation that took place in this spiritual being which, created good and shining, has become hideous and perfidious. So we, with shapes to our mentality, imagine it a little to me a man who is downgraded to the rank of an animal (horns, claws, tail, wings ..). But it is our imagination. As well as the devil, when he wants to make himself visibly present, he takes on a sensitive, false aspect, but such as to be seen: he can be a scary animal, a horrible man and he could also be an elegant gentleman; it varies according to the effect it intends to cause, of fear or attraction.
As for odors (sulfur, burnt, dung ...), these are phenomena that the devil can cause, as can cause physical phenomena on matter and physical evils in the human body. It can also act on our psyche, through dreams, thoughts, fantasies; and can convey his feelings to us: hatred, despair. These are all phenomena that occur in people affected by satanic evils and especially in cases of possession. But the true perfidy and true ugliness of this spiritual being is superior to any human imagination and any possibility of representation.

Can the devil locate himself in a man, in a part of him, in a place? And can he cohabit with the Holy Spirit?
Being pure spirit, the devil does not locate himself in a place or in a person, even if he gives the impression of it. In reality it is not a question of locating oneself, but of acting, of influencing. It is not a presence like a being that goes from to dwell in another being; or like the soul in the body. It is like a force that can act in the mind, in a whole human body or in a part of it. So we exorcists also sometimes have the impression that the devil (we prefer to say evil) is, for example, in the stomach. But it is only a spiritual force that acts in the stomach.
So it would be wrong to think that the Holy Spirit and the devil can live in the human body, as if two rivals were in the same chamber. They are spiritual forces that can act simultaneously and differently in the same subject. Take for example the case of a saint who has the torment of a diabolical possession: without a doubt his body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, in the sense that his soul, his spirit, fully adhere to God and follow the guidance of the Spirit Holy. If we thought of this union as something physical, diseases would also be incompatible with the presence of the Holy Spirit; it is instead a presence, that of the Holy Spirit, which heals the soul and guides action and thinking. This is why the presence of the Holy Spirit can coexist with the sufferings caused by an illness or another force, as is that of the devil.

Couldn't God block Satan's action? Couldn't it block the work of the sorcerers and wizards?
God does not do it because, by creating angels and free men, he lets them act according to their intelligent and free nature. Then, in the end, he will sum up and give everyone what he deserves. I believe that in this regard the parable of the good wheat and the tares is very clear: at the request of the servants to eradicate the tares, the owner refuses and wants the harvest time to be expected. God does not deny his creatures, even if they behave badly; otherwise, if he blocks them, the judgment would already be made, even before the creature has the opportunity to express itself fully. We are finite beings; our earthly days are numbered, so we are sorry for this patience of God: we would like to see immediately the good rewarded and the evil punished. God waits, leaving time for man to convert and also using the devil so that man can show faithfulness to his Lord.

Many do not believe in the devil because they are healed following psychological or psychoanalytic treatments.
It is clear that in those cases it was not a question of evil evils, much less of malevolent possessions. But I don't know these disorders are necessary to believe in the existence of the devil. The word of God is very explicit in this regard; and the feedback we find in human, individual and social life is clear.

Exorcists interrogate the devil and get answers. But if the devil is the prince of lies, what can be useful to question him?
It is true that the demon's answers are then to be examined by you. But sometimes the Lord requires the devil to speak the truth, to prove that Satan has been defeated by Christ and is also forced to obey the followers of Christ who act in his name. Often the evil one expressly states that he is forced to speak, which he does everything to avoid. But, for example, when he is forced to reveal his name, it is a great humiliation for him, a sign of defeat. But woe if the exorcist gets lost behind curious questions (which the Ritual expressly forbids) or if he lets himself be guided in a discussion by the devil! Precisely because he is a master of lies, Satan remains humiliated when God forces him to tell the truth.

We know that Satan hates God. Can we say that God also hates Satan, for his perfidy? Is there a dialogue between God and Satan?
"God is love", as s defines it. John (1 Jn 4,8). In God there can be disapproval of behavior, I never hate: "You love existing things and do not despise what you have created" (Sap 11,23-24). Hate is a torment, perhaps the greatest of torments; it is inadmissible in God. As for dialogue, creatures can interrupt it with the Creator, but not vice versa. book of Job, the talks between Jesus and the demoniacs, the affirmations of the Apocalypse; for example: "Now the accuser of our brothers, the one who accused them before God day and night" has been precipitated "(12,10:XNUMX), let us suppose that there is no closure by God in front of his creatures, however perverse.

Our Lady in Medjugorje often speaks of Satan. Can it be said that he is stronger today than in the past?
I think so. There are historical periods of greater corruption than others, even if we always find good and evil. For example, if we study the condition of the Romans at the time of the decline of the Empire, there is no doubt that we find generalized a corruption that did not exist at the time of the Republic. Christ defeated Sa tana and where Christ reigns, Satan gives in. This is why we find in certain areas of paganism a release of the devil superior to what we find among Christian peoples. I have, for example, studied this phenomenon in certain areas of Africa. Today the devil is much stronger in the old Catholic Europe (Italy, France, Spain, Austria ...) because in these countries the drop in faith is frightening and whole masses have given themselves up to superstition, as we have pointed out about the causes of evil evils.

In our prayer meetings liberations from the evil one often take place, although exorcisms are not made, but only prayers of liberation. Do you believe it or do you think we delude ourselves?
I believe in it because I believe in the power of prayer. The Gospel presents us with the most difficult case of liberation, when it speaks to us of that young man on whom the apostles prayed in vain. We talked about it in the second chapter. Well, Jesus requires three conditions: faith, prayer, fasting. And these always remain the most effective means. Undoubtedly prayer is stronger when it is done by a group. This too the Gospel tells us. I will never tire of repeating that one can free oneself from the devil with prayer and without exorcisms; never with exorcisms and without prayer.
I also add that when we pray, the Lord gives us what we need, even regardless of our words. We don't know what we have to ask; it is the Spirit who prays for us, "with unspeakable moans". So the Lord gives us much more than what we ask for, much more than what we dare to hope for. I happened to see people freed from the devil while Fr. Tardif was praying for healing; and I happened to witness healings while Msgr. Milingo prayed for liberation. Let us pray: the Lord then thinks about giving us what we need.

Are there privileged places for the liberation from evil evils? Sometimes we hear about it.
It is possible to pray everywhere, but there is no doubt that it has always been - privileged places of prayer are those in which the Lord has manifested himself or those directly consecrated to him. Already among the Jewish people we find a whole series of these places: where God manifested himself to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob ... We think of our shrines, our churches. Therefore liberations from the devil often do not take place at the end of an exorcism, but at a sanctuary. Candido was particularly attached to Loreto and Lourdes, because many of his patients were freed in those sanctuaries.
It is true that there are also places where those affected by the devil recur with special confidence. For example in Sarsina, where the iron collar, used for penance by s. Vicinio, has often been the occasion for liberations; once upon a time one went to the sanctuary of Caravaggio or to Clauzetto, where a relic of the precious blood of Our Lord is venerated; in these places, those affected by the devil often obtained healing. I would say that the use of particular places is also useful to provoke a greater faith in us; and that's what counts.

I got free. Prayer and fasting have benefited me more than exorcisms, from which I have only had passing benefits.
I also consider this testimony valid; basically we have already given above the answer. We reiterate the very important concept that the victim must not have a passive attitude, as if the task of freeing him was in the exorcist; but it is necessary that you actively collaborate.

I would like to know what difference there is between the blessed water and the water of Lourdes or other sanctuaries. Likewise, what difference is there between the exorcised oil and the oil that springs from certain sacred images or that burns in the lamps placed in certain sanctuaries and which is used with devotion.
Water, oil, salt exorcised or blessed are sacramentals. But even if they receive particular efficacy through the intercession of the Church, it is the faith with which they are used that confer them efficacy in concrete cases. The other objects of which the applicant speaks are not sacramental, but have their efficacy conferred by faith, through which the intercession deriving from their origin is invoked: from Our Lady of Lourdes, from the Child of Prague, etc.

I have a continuous vomiting of thick and frothy saliva. No doctor has been able to explain it to me.
If it benefits, it can be a sign of liberation from some evil influence. Often those who have received a curse, eating or drinking something turnover, get rid of it by vomiting thick and frothy saliva. In these cases I recommend everything that is suggested when a liberation is needed: a lot of prayer, sacraments, forgiveness of heart ... what we have already said. In addition, drink blessed water and exorcised oil.

I don't know why, I'm very envied. I fear this will harm me. I would like to know if jealousies and envy can cause evil evils.
They can cause them only if they are opportunities to make an evil spell. Otherwise they are feelings that I give to those who have them and that undoubtedly disturb good harmony. We also think only of the jealousy of a spouse: it does not cause evil evils, but makes a marriage that could have been successful unhappy. They do not cause other ailments.

I have been advised to frequently pray to renounce Satan. I did not understand why.
The renewal of baptismal vows is always very useful, in which we reaffirm our faith in God, our adhesion to him, and we renounce Satan and all that comes to us from the devil. The advice that has been given to her supposes that she has contracted bonds that she must break. Those who frequent magicians contract an evil bond with both the devil and the magician; so those who attend spirit sessions, satanic sects, etc. The whole Bible, especially the Old Testament, is a continuous invitation to break all ties with idols and to turn decisively to the one God.

What is the protective value of wearing sacred images around your neck? Medals, crucifixes, scapulars are widely used ...
They have a certain efficacy if these objects are used with faith, and not as if they were amulets. The prayer used to bless sacred images insists on two concepts: to imitate the virtues of those represented by the image and to obtain their protection. If one believed he could expose himself to dangers, for example, going to a satanic cult, sure of being protected from evil consequences because he wears a sacred image around his neck, he would be very wrong. Sacred images must encourage us to live the Christian life coherently, as the image itself suggests.

My parish priest claims that the best exorcism is confession.
His parish priest is right. The most direct means that Satan fights is confession, because it is the sacrament that snatches souls from the devil, gives strength against sin, unites more and more to God by sending souls to conform their lives more and more to the divine will. We recommend frequent confession, possibly weekly, to all those affected by evil evils.

What does the Catechism of the Catholic Church say about exorcisms?
It deals specifically with it in four paragraphs. At no. 517, speaking of the Redemption wrought by Christ, also remembers his exorcisms. The N. 550 says verbatim: "The coming of the Kingdom of God is the defeat of the kingdom of Satan. "If I cast out demons by virtue of the Spirit of God, the Kingdom of God has certainly come among you" (Mt 12,28:12,31). Jesus' exorcisms free some men from the torment of demons. They anticipate the great victory of Jesus over the "prince of this world" (Jn XNUMX:XNUMX) ».
The N. 1237 deals with the exorcisms inserted in baptism. «Since baptism means liberation from sin and from its instigator, the devil has one or more exorcisms pronounced on the candidate. He is anointed with the oil of the catechumens, or the celebrant places his hand on him, and he explicitly renounces Satan. Thus prepared, he can profess the faith of the Church to which he will be delivered by baptism ».
The N. 1673 is the most detailed. It says how in exorcism it is the Church that asks publicly and with authority, in the name of Jesus Christ, that a person or object is protected against the influence of the Evil One. In this way he exercises the power and the task of exorcising, received by Christ. "Exorcism aims to drive out demons or free from demonic influence."
Note this important clarification, in which it is recognized that there is not only real diabolical possession, but also other forms of demonic influence. We refer to the text for the other clarifications it contains.