Sin involves rejecting the commands of God and, as a consequence, placing ourselves out of the proper structure of authority and in a state where we are vulnerable to evil.

They believed their house secure enough and their coffers strong enough to safeguard their precious treasure of grace. It was because of their unconscious reliance on self – although it seemed to them that they were relying solely on the grace of God – that the most just Lord left them to themselves and allowed them to be despoiled.”[171]

Demons possess people for one reason: to cause suffering.

The demons are not in possession of the kind and amount and depth of knowledge as are the angels who are faithful to the Lord.

the devil’s power is not a natural power, but one that comes from guilt. St. Thomas says, “He is not the ruler of creatures, but of sinners and darkness.”[65]

The best way to combat diabolical obsession is humility and mental prayer. Humility is the most powerful thing to protect yourself.

diabolical infestation. This is the term used to refer to external manifestations of demonic activity in the world. This can involve things like animals, as is depicted in Sacred Scripture in the story of the Legion of demons being sent into the pigs, who then ran madly off the cliff and plunged into the sea.[67]

The spiritual advice that Fr. Ripperger gives is to not spend so much time thinking about and analyzing yourself and your sin but, instead, to think about God as much as possible. As the exorcist Msgr. John Esseff states, “Sin is far worse than Satan.”[54] It is our disconnect from God that leads us to rely on ourselves, which necessarily leads to

St. John Damascene states, “There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death.”[8]