Attacks by the Devil

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I’ve been reading about saints, and how they were attacked by the devil, but there is no explanation of what that entails. I take it these targeted attacks differ from the inclinations and temptations to sin that lie in our hearts, but that’s just my best guess.

Can anyone here elaborate?
 
Satan normally attacks Saints due to extreme frustration.

Live a saintly life and he will try to stop you.
 
bearer said:
I’ve been reading about saints, and how they were attacked by the devil, but there is no explanation of what that entails. I take it these targeted attacks differ from the inclinations and temptations to sin that lie in our hearts, but that’s just my best guess.

Can anyone here elaborate?
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You may want to look into the how the devil attacked Padre Pio and St. John Vianney.

Here is the account of St. Gemma Galgani…stgemmagalgani.com/2008/09/saint-gemma-versus-devil.html
 
bearer said:
I’ve been reading about saints, and how they were attacked by the devil, but there is no explanation of what that entails. I take it these targeted attacks differ from the inclinations and temptations to sin that lie in our hearts, but that’s just my best guess.

Can anyone here elaborate?
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You might find this interesting re St. Gemma: stgemmagalgani.com/2008/09/saint-gemma-versus-devil.html

also, St. Padre Pio: google “padre pio attacked by demons” and you’ll find a number of hits that respond to your question

I’m sure the same is true of other saints
 
When we are living a sinless and righteous life we should not have attacks from the devil should we?

My feeling is that when you are close to God you are close to God.

My guess is that the devil attacks someone because he can, because their spiritual armor is not strong.

I don’t understand the logic that says - if you are close to God the devil will attack you. That doesn’t say much about God does it? Does God say: come close to me so I can unleash the devil on you?

Of course not! He says “my yoke is easy and my burden is light”. (Matt 11:30) And that he will give you rest: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28).
 
bearer said:
I’ve been reading about saints, and how they were attacked by the devil, but there is no explanation of what that entails. I take it these targeted attacks differ from the inclinations and temptations to sin that lie in our hearts, but that’s just my best guess.

Can anyone here elaborate?
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Would you provide some specific examples of “saints” and their attacks from the devil please.🙂
 
Lisa44 said:
When we are living a sinless and righteous life we should not have attacks from the devil should we?

My feeling is that when you are close to God you are close to God.

My guess is that the devil attacks someone because he can, because their spiritual armor is not strong.

I don’t understand the logic that says - if you are close to God the devil will attack you. That doesn’t say much about God does it? Does God say: come close to me so I can unleash the devil on you?

Of course not! He says “my yoke is easy and my burden is light”. (Matt 11:30) And that he will give you rest: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28).
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God gives us exactly what we need. Any demons threatening Padre Pio were not harassing someone else instead who may not have been able to take it. These attacks probably also helped Padre Pio to grow in holiness and grow even closer to God. It should really be an honor to be entrusted by God to fight those battles against the devil. Also, please note that Jesus was sinless yet did not the devil harass him to no end? I’m also sure that Padre Pio probably would have told you his yoke was light, because with God he could do anything.
 
Lisa44 said:
Would you provide some specific examples of “saints” and their attacks from the devil please.🙂
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This site has quotes and stories based on first hand accounts that could all be checked to make sure they were valid. I have read a biography of Padre Pio so I can confirm that there are sources available to corroborate this.

padrepio.catholicwebservices.com/ENGLISH/The_Devil.htm
The struggle between Padre Pio and Satan became more difficult when Padre Pio freed the souls possessed by the Devil. Father Tarcisio of Cervinara said, "More than once, before leaving the body of a possessed, the Devil has shouted, “Padre Pio, you give us more trouble than St. Michael”; also, “Father Pio don’t steal the bodies from us and we won’t bother you.”
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In one of the letters to Padre Agostino, dated January 18, 1912, he stated, “The Devil does not want to lose this battle. He takes on many forms. For several days now, he has appeared with his brothers who are armed with batons and pieces of iron. One of the difficulties is that they appear in many disguises. There were several times when they threw me out of my bed and dragged me out of my bedroom. I am patient, however, and I know Jesus, Our Lady, my Guardian Angel, St. Joseph and St. Francis are always with me.”
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Nate13 said:
God gives us exactly what we need. Any demons threatening Padre Pio were not harassing someone else instead who may not have been able to take it. These attacks probably also helped Padre Pio to grow in holiness and grow even closer to God. It should really be an honor to be entrusted by God to fight those battles against the devil. Also, please note that Jesus was sinless yet did not the devil harass him to no end?
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No, the devil did not harass Jesus to no end. Where do you get that from? The devil tried to tempt Jesus and he failed miserably. Jesus said “Go away Satan!” and the devil left him.
It’s as simple as that. (Matt 4:10). Before that Jesus actually gave the devil some teachings, which was very kind of him. 😃

If you think the devil has any power over Jesus then you are mistaken.🙂
 
Lisa44 said:
No, the devil did not harass Jesus to no end. Where do you get that from? The devil tried to tempt Jesus and he failed miserably. Jesus said “Go away Satan!” and the devil left him.
It’s as simple as that. (Matt 4:10). Before that Jesus actually gave the devil some teachings, which was very kind of him. 😃

If you think the devil has any power over Jesus then you are mistaken.🙂
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Of course he has no power over him. Why do you believe that means Jesus would never be tempted? He only has power over you if you fall and concede to temptation. The devil knew exactly who Jesus was and went after him with everything he had though. That was the point.

Another from St. John Vianney,
Early on, Fr. Vianney became aware that these infestations were most outrageous just before an outstanding action of grace was about to occur through his priestly ministry, usually the conversion of a sinner. In fact, he remarked that the worst assaults of the devil happened when he was on the verge of “landing a big fish,” by which he meant welcoming back a baptized person who had fallen far into the darkness of despair. With this insight, Fr. Vianney calmly ignored the infestations, and looked forward with joyful hope to the next victory of grace about to occur through the Sacrament of Penance.
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Also be aware that the devil hides himself from most of us because he is more able to succeed that way than by making himself known. The best trick of the devil is making you not even believe he exists. Thus I really don’t think many of us even require God’s protection to keep the devil at bay because the devil himself finds it in his best interest to work through more subtle means. What we really need is God’s grace to help us see through such deceptions.
 
Lisa44 said:
When we are living a sinless and righteous life we should not have attacks from the devil should we?

My feeling is that when you are close to God you are close to God.

My guess is that the devil attacks someone because he can, because their spiritual armor is not strong.

I don’t understand the logic that says - if you are close to God the devil will attack you. That doesn’t say much about God does it? Does God say: come close to me so I can unleash the devil on you?

Of course not! He says “my yoke is easy and my burden is light”. (Matt 11:30) And that he will give you rest: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28).
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I would recommend that you read some of the Saint’s biographies to get a better understanding of this topic. There have been links posted to Padre Pio as well as St. Gemma’s experiences. St. John Vianney and others can give you some insight as well.

Furthermore, most of us aren’t
Lisa44 said:
living a ***sinless ***and righteous life
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?
 
Nate13 said:
This site has quotes and stories based on first hand accounts that could all be checked to make sure they were valid. I have read a biography of Padre Pio so I can confirm that there are sources available to corroborate this.

padrepio.catholicwebservices.com/ENGLISH/The_Devil.htm
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That website is interesting. It seems that the devil was involved in Padre Pio’s life, and I don’t doubt that. Padre Pio is a man afterall. I am not qualified to judge him.

But if I could ask Padre Pio a question it would be: how did you rid yourself of the devil when he attacked you? He said by calling out Jesus’s name. Then I would ask, and how do you prevent the devil from returning? I would like to know what he said.
 
Lisa44 said:
That website is interesting. It seems that the devil was involved in Padre Pio’s life, and I don’t doubt that. Padre Pio is a man afterall. I am not qualified to judge him.

But if I could ask Padre Pio a question it would be: how did you rid yourself of the devil when he attacked you? He said by calling out Jesus’s name. Then I would ask, and how do you prevent the devil from returning? I would like to know what he said.
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That’s the whole point though! The fact that the devil was visiting him so often was a sign of just how effective he was. Padre Pio knew that the only reason the devil visited him was because God allowed it, because as you said the devil has no power over God. Therefore Padre Pio trusted that there was a reason that God was allowing this. I think John Vianney’s story above also speaks to this in that, he knew that he was only being attacked because he was such a threat.
 
Nate13 said:
Of course he has no power over him. Why do you believe that means Jesus would never be tempted? He only has power over you if you fall and concede to temptation. The devil knew exactly who Jesus was and went after him with everything he had though. That was the point.

Another from St. John Vianney,

Also be aware that the devil hides himself from most of us because he is more able to succeed that way than by making himself known. The best trick of the devil is making you not even believe he exists. Thus I really don’t think many of us even require God’s protection to keep the devil at bay because the devil himself finds it in his best interest to work through more subtle means. What we really need is God’s grace to help us see through such deceptions.
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The devil tried to tempt Jesus, but he could not tempt him. If you read Matthew you will see that Jesus was not tempted by Satan’s offers. To the contrary, he preached to Satan.😃 Very generous I must say.

And God gives his grace to those who follow him. We agree on that.🙂
 
Michelleds, why the question mark? Do you not try and stay out of mortal sin?
Did not Jesus say: “Go and sin no more”. (John 8:11)
 
Nate13 said:
That’s the whole point though! The fact that the devil was visiting him so often was a sign of just how effective he was. Padre Pio knew that the only reason the devil visited him was because God allowed it, because as you said the devil has no power over God. Therefore Padre Pio trusted that there was a reason that God was allowing this. I think John Vianney’s story above also speaks to this in that, he knew that he was only being attacked because he was such a threat.
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The devil is in everyone’s life. Is it true that the devil never stopped harassing Padre Pio, or did the attacks on him at night eventually stop?
We cannot read the heart and mind of a person. Do we know what was going on in Padre Pio’s heart and mind?

I have heard stories of Padre Pio being very rude to people. I know he wouldn’t give confession to any woman that was not wearing a skirt past her knees. (or that is what I read some time ago).

Maybe he had some sins that we don’t know about? I have also heard that he knew people’s sins and he would throw them out of confession for them.

All I am saying is that if we could ask him how he got the devil to stop attacking him, it would be interesting to hear what he said.🙂

Everyone on the spiritual path has to go through purification in order to be closer to God. And that means our hearts and our minds (I am guessing, I am not a “purified” person).

All I am suggesting is that if the devil is attacking you that would make you re-examine yourself. It shouldn’t make you more prideful lets put it that way. It should make you re-examine yourself to see where you are sinning or where you are not as close to God as you could be.

That would be my guess. Because no human is ever perfect. And I would think there would always be room to grow closer to God. The work would never be finished in other words.

And we have only one judge.🙂
 
Lisa, read the book of Job where God allows the devil to test him, a most righteous man who was well loved.
 
Lisa44 said:
When we are living a sinless and righteous life we should not have attacks from the devil should we?

My feeling is that when you are close to God you are close to God.

My guess is that the devil attacks someone because he can, because their spiritual armor is not strong.

I don’t understand the logic that says - if you are close to God the devil will attack you. That doesn’t say much about God does it? Does God say: come close to me so I can unleash the devil on you?

Of course not! He says “my yoke is easy and my burden is light”. (Matt 11:30) And that he will give you rest: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28).
Click to expand...
I would suggest reading this sermon from St. John Vianney:

cfpeople.org/Apologetics/page51a015.html
 
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