This is how Satan's presence is manifested. Father Amorth replies

According to the exorcists, there are four reasons why a person can fall into diabolical possession or ailments of malevolent origin. It can be a simple permission of God, just as God can allow an illness, in order to give the person an opportunity for purification and merits. Saints suffered it, such as Angela da Foligno, Gemma Galgani, Giovanni Calabria. Others have been victims of evil disturbances with beatings and falls: Curé d'Ars and Padre Pio.

The cause can be given by an evil that is suffered: invoice, curse, evil eye. Those who turn to magicians, fortune tellers, sorcerers are exposed to the risk of evil influences or possession; those who participate in spirit sessions or satanic sects, those who dedicate themselves to occultism and necromancy. One can fall into evil evils due to the persistence of serious and multiple sins. Don Gabriele Amorth exorcist priest of the diocese of Rome had cases of young people addicted to drugs or guilty of crimes and sexual perversions. But on what symptoms is it based to proceed to an exorcism? The exorcist also looks at the medical records. Certain diagnoses hide the misunderstanding of the true evil that afflicts the patient. The most significant symptom is the aversion to the sacred that manifests itself in many forms: 1. Repugnance to prayer and for all that is blessed, even without the slightest knowledge that it is (holy water that causes an unbearable burning); 2. Violent and furious reactions, in a person who is completely different in nature, with blasphemies and aggressions even if one prays only mentally; 3. Culminating symptom: furious reactions of the person if they are prayed for or blessed.

HOW TO REACT

VARIOUS TYPES OF EVIL

According to the purpose

Amatory: to promote or destroy a love relationship with a person. Venomous: to cause physical, psychic, economic, family harm. Ligament: to create impediments to movements, relationships. Transfer: to transfer the torments made to a person to a puppet or to a photo of the person you want to hit. Putrefaction: to procure a mortal evil by making a material subject to putrefaction putrefy. "Possession" to introduce a diabolical presence in the victim and cause a real possession.

According to the way

Direct: by contacting the victim with the object that carries the evil (for example, when making the victim drink or eat something "ill-treated" or "billed"). Indirect: through the malevolent action performed on an object representing the victim.

According to the operation

By driving or nailing: with pins, nails, hammer, tips, fire, ice.
For knotting or tying: with laces, knots, bridles, ribbons, bands, circles.
By putrefaction: burying the object or the animal-symbol after having "invoiced" it
By curse: directly on the person or on the photo, or on a symbol of it.
For destruction with fire: it is practiced by burning several times the object on which the victim's person has ideally moved, to obtain, in this, a form of consumption more or less analogous to that of "putrefaction".
By satanic rite: for example, a satanic cult or black mass, made for the purpose of harming someone.

According to the medium

With invoices: puppets or meat, with pins, bones of the dead, blood, menstrual blood, toads, chickens.

With evil objects: gifts, plants, pillows, dolls, watches, talismans, (any other object).

Localization of symptoms:

the head (strange pain, beating, confusion, mental and physical tiredness: bad eyes, sleep, personality, behavior disorders. The stomach (digestive difficulties, pains, anorexia, a strange, intense and widespread malaise that from the breastbone or stomach mouth goes up to throat and head, bulimia, anorexia, vomiting)

"Piccate" in the part of the heart.

Aversion to the sacred (detachment from prayer, faith, Christian spiritual life, estrangement from the sacraments and from the Church, distractions, yawning-sleepiness in prayer, discomfort in being in church, nausea until fainting. Health disturbances (without adequate explanation and without effective treatment); Psychic disorders (Confusion, obsessions, amnesia, anxiety, fear, abulia, inability to concentrate to study, to work. Disorders in affection and mood: nervousness, constant quarrels, coldness or unmotivated passion, tendency to depression, discouragement, despair. Impediments (in marriage, engagement, study, career, business; failures, unthinkable errors, strange accidents. Thrust to death. Strange signs: feeling pins, nails, piercings, fire on you, ice, snakes, laces. Strange noises and phenomena in the home or in the workplace (footsteps, creaks, strokes, shadows, "presences", animals, lamps that burst , appliances that lock, doors, windows that open or close, invasion of insects. (For further technical details: "The secrets of the exorcists" - Giancarlo Padula, Edizioni Segn - and on all the symptoms of the evil spell and how to fight it: "The real weapons to effectively fight the powers of evil.

THE ACTIVITY OF SATAN

The devil infests man out of pure hatred; it is in itself hatred for Heaven and Earth, and in its destructive fury it does what God grants it for the advancement of the good. I would divide the infesting work of the devil into the following gradations, in ascending order: Temptation It is the suggestion made by the evil one on human memory and imagination, in order to make man prefer evil rather than good, or greater evil against a lesser one, or a lesser good against a greater one. Temptation is the ordinary activity of the devil, in the sense that it affects all men at all times (the devil does not sleep!) And aims at the estrangement of man from God through sin, which leads him to eternal damnation.

Oppression

With oppression we enter the area of ​​the extraordinary activities of the devil, that is, those sporadic actions (we want to emphasize it) that God sometimes allows Satan to sift man, to strengthen him in faith, to glorify His Church, or for reasons unknown to us. The oppression affects the senses of the person, through horrendous hallucinations, stenches, sudden frost, and the surrounding environment: noises, crunches, levitation of objects, etc.

oppression

Thanks to Heaven, a very rare phenomenon, of lesser spiritual significance than what will follow. harassment is the real physical aggression by demons. Many saints are the object of it (think of Padre Pio!): The devil, unable to effectively tempt the man of God, lifts him from the ground, scarring him, shaking him, slamming him against the walls, until God interrupts his work distruente. Obsession Here Satan's action gets closer to the human psychosomatic unity: the devil introduces thoughts of despair and hatred into the affected mind, moves (from the outside!) The victim to involuntary and self-destructive, sacrilegious and unnatural actions, torments her with frightening visions and gruesome preternatural phenomena. It is however an intermittent action, that is, the person has moments of respite.

First degree possession

Sometimes, mysteriously, the devil can invade the psyche of a human being, taking control of his body and his intentionality. The phenomenon lasts until it is canceled by exorcism, or for periods established a priori. In this degree of possession the devil is latent, he limits himself to altering the attitudes of the possessed, his reactions to the sacred, instilling feelings of despair and depression.
Second degree possession

This possession is more evident: changes of voice occur, preternatural phenomena such as glossolalia, levitation, pyrokinesis (power to ignite objects at a distance), holy water produces sores in the body of the possessed, which in itself clearly manifests itself to have another personality. Generally by diabolical possession we mean this intermediate situation.
Third degree possession

To this degree, the evil spirit (or more spirits) have taken such a dominion of the person, to horribly alter even his somatic traits (which become truly gruesome!), His smell, the temperature. This is the most difficult case, and numerous exorcisms are usually required for definitive release. In fact, the difference between the last three gradations is only a subtlety, because many times the person passes from one phase to another with almost imperceptible changes.

THE EXORCISTS

Exorcists are priests delegated by the bishop to carry out this ministry within a diocese. In ancient times every Christian exorcised, but progressively the Church established a "specialist" ecclesiastical college, ordained for thaumaturgical healing and liberation from unclean spirits. Only the exorcist designated by the bishop is authorized to exorcise; the faithful and the remaining clergy, though unable to do so, can (indeed, must!) nevertheless formulate prayers for liberation; the most famous, which is recommended to pronounce to all believers when they are harassed by diabolical temptations and suggestions, is: "In nomine Iesu, praecipio tibi, immunde spiritus, ut recedas ab hac creature Dei." By virtue of the baptismal consecration, every Christian is given a royal and priestly dignity that allows him to defeat demons! The exorcist must be a priest who "stands out for piety, science, prudence and integrity of life" (canon 1172 of Canon Law): characteristics which, if we think about it, should be proper to every priest. Mgr Corrado Balducci (well-known demonologist, author of Il diavolo) adds that an exorcist should also have a good psychiatric / psychological culture, so as to be able to discern mental illness from the actual diabolic infestation.Today the ecclesiastical hierarchy is pondering whether to entrust the ministry an exorcist also to lay people with the appropriate moral and cultural qualifications, for a more lively participation of the laity in the mission of the Church.

CANONICAL RULES TO BE OBSERVED WITH THOSE WHO ARE EXORCIZED BY THE DEMON

1. The priest who is preparing to exorcise persons tormented by the devil must be provided with special and express authorization from the Ordinary and must be provided with piety, prudence, integrity of life; trusting not in his power, but in the divine one; be detached from any greed for human goods, in order to be able to fulfill his religious task moved by constant charity and humility. It must also be of mature age and worthy of respect not only for the assignment, but for the seriousness of the customs.
2. Therefore, in order to be able to carry out his office correctly, make efforts to know many other documents useful for his task, written by proven authors and which, for brevity, we do not indicate, and make use of experience; furthermore he must diligently observe these few rules, which are particularly necessary.
3. First of all, do not easily believe that someone is possessed by the devil; for this purpose, be well aware of those symptoms from which a possessed person stands out from those who are affected by some disease, especially psychic. They can be signs of the presence of the devil: correctly speaking unknown languages ​​or understanding who speaks them; know distant or hidden facts; demonstrate that you have strengths above age and natural condition; and other phenomena of this kind which are more numerous and more indicative.
4. To acquire greater knowledge of the person's state, after one or two exorcisms, he questions the possessed about what he has perceived in the mind or body; to also know what words the demons were most troubled by, to insist on them and repeat them more frequently later. [It is known that demons are tormented in a particular way by the invocation of the Incarnation, Passion and Death on the Cross of the Lord, for the following reasons: 1) they have freed man from satanic slavery; 2) remind the devils of the infinite humility of God, against their unredeemable pride (see Metapsychology); according to Don Amorth, moreover, the unclean spirits would be very afflicted by the invocation of the Blessed Evergreen Mary, because: 1) she was constituted by God as the future opponent of the Serpent, to whom she would have crushed the head (Gn 3, 15); 2) He gave flesh to the Redeemer of the world; 3) Having been preserved from sin and taken to Heaven, it is the model and "advance" of all believers, and therefore full failure of Satan; ed]
5. Realize what artifices and deceptions demons use to mislead the exorcist: in fact, they usually answer with lies; they are difficult to manifest so that the exorcist, now tired, will renounce us; or the affected person pretends to be sick and not possessed by the devil.
6. Sometimes the demons, after having manifested themselves, hide and leave the body free from any harassment, so that the affected person believes he is totally free. But the exorcist doesn't stop until he sees the signs of liberation.
7. Sometimes then the demons put in place all the impediments that they can because the patient does not undergo exorcisms, or they try to convince that it is a natural disease; sometimes, during exorcism, they cause the sick person to sleep and show him some vision, hiding themselves, because it seems that the sick person is freed.
8. Some claim to have received a curse, also declaring by whom it was made and how it should be destroyed. But be careful that for this you do not turn to magicians, or fortune-tellers or others, instead of resorting to the ministers of the Church; that no form of superstition or other illegal means is used.
9. Other times the devil allows the sick person to rest and receive the Most Holy Eucharist, so that it seems that he is gone. Furthermore, there are countless artifices and frauds of the devil to deceive man; in order not to be fooled by these ways the exorcist must be very cautious.
10. Therefore the exorcist, mindful of what the Lord has said, that certain kinds of demons cannot be driven out except by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17,21:XNUMX), should make efforts to make use of these two powerful remedies to impetrate divine help and expel the demons, according to the example of the Holy Fathers, as far as possible, either personally or by entrusting others.
11. The possessed are exorcised in church, if it can be done comfortably, or in another religious and convenient place, away from the crowds. But if the possessed is sick, or for another just reason, exorcism can also be done at home.
12. The possessed should be advised if he is physically and mentally able to do so, to pray to his advantage, to fast, to often receive confession and communion in his support, according to the priest's advice. And while he is exorcised, that he is collected, that he turns to God with firm faith to ask him for health with all humility. And as he is most tormented, you endure patiently, without ever doubting God's help.
13. Have the Crucifix in your hands or in sight. Even the relics of the Saints, when they can be had; held securely and wrapped conveniently, they can be reverently placed on the chest or head of the possessed. But be careful that sacred objects are not treated unworthily or can be damaged by the devil. The most holy Eucharist should not be placed on the head of the possessed or on another part of his body, for the danger of irreverence.
14. The exorcist is not lost in many words, nor in superfluous questions or curiosities, above all concerning future or hidden facts, which do not suit his office [and which would assimilate him to a fortune teller or a necromancer; ed.] But force the unclean spirit to keep silent and answer only his questions; nor believe him if the devil pretends to be the soul of some saint, or of a deceased, or of a good angel.
15. The necessary questions to ask are, for example, those on the number and names of the spirits present, on the time they entered, on the cause of possession, and others similar. As for the other futility of the devil, laughter, trifles, the exorcist, trunks or contempt; and warn those present, who must be few, not to notice it and not to ask questions to the possessed; but rather to pray to God for him, with humility and insistence.
16. Exorcisms must be said or read by commanding with authority, with great faith, humility and fervor; and when one realizes that the spirit is more tormented, then one insists and presses it with more force. If you notice that the possessed suffers in some part of the body, or is hit, or a bubo appears in some part, make the sign of the cross and sprinkle with holy water, which must always be ready.
17. The exorcist also observes at what words the demons tremble most [see note at point 4; ed], and repeat them several times; and when he comes to command, he repeats it often, always increasing punishment. If you then notice any progress, keep going for two, three, four hours, and as much as you can, until success is achieved.
18. Also beware of the exorcist from administering or recommending any medicine, but leave this to the doctors.
19. When exorcising a woman, always have some trusted person present, who holds the possessed tight while being agitated by the devil; if possible, these people belong to the family of the company. Furthermore, the exorcist, jealous of delicacy, should be careful not to say or do anything that could be an occasion for bad thoughts for him or for others.
20. During exorcism, preferably use the words of Holy Scripture, rather than those of yourself or others. And ask the devil to say if he entered that body as a result of magic, or evil signs, or evil things that the possessed has eaten; in this case the vomits; if, instead, we have used things external to the person, say where they are and, after finding them, they will burn. The possessed is warned to reveal to the exorcist the temptations to which he is subjected. 21. If then the possessed is freed, let him be warned carefully to guard against sin so as not to offer the devil the opportunity to return; in this case his condition could become worse than before liberation. (can. 1172 ff. of Canon Law).