Demonic possession and physical appearance

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stpiosson

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I have read that if someone is possessed there are 4 signs that exorcists look out for. I also read that the possession is not “active” continually, that is that there are times when the possessed person can present as their normal self but then can change when the demon becomes “active” so to speak.

My question is this, would the face of a person who was possessed reveal any signs that things were not quite right? Anything about the skin pallor? The eyes?

Does anyone know?

Thank you.
 
The biggest sign is that they are away from the Church in a state of unrepented mortal sin.
 
stpiosson said:
My question is this, would the face of a person who was possessed reveal any signs that things were not quite right? Anything about the skin pallor? The eyes?
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There’s no way to be 100% certain until psychological testing has been performed. Then a trained Exorcist can, with the approval of his Bishop, proceed cautiously.
TheLittleLady said:
The biggest sign is that they are away from the Church in a state of unrepented mortal sin.
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Not always. Fr. Amorth noted that God can permit good practicing Catholics to be Possessed or tormented.
 
Cruciferi said:
Not always. Fr. Amorth noted that God can permit good practicing Catholics to be Possessed or tormented.
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That discussion has happend on many, many forum threads (this and other forums).

No one making that claim has ever produced evidence of a validly baptised Catholic who is in a state of grace having become possessed UNLESS they fall into unrepentant mortal sin. There is not one thread of doctrine to support this claim.

If by “tormented” you mean tempted, yes, we may be tempted to sin and step out of friendship with God. Thing is, Christ told the faithful “resist the devil and he will flee from you” and that we will never be tempted where there is not a way to escape. Never from Christ means never.

ETA Also see John 10:28-30 NO ONE will steal us out of His hand. We are free to jump, but, we cannot be snatched.

Fr Amorth is not alive to defend his claims, and he has made claims that have then been understood to be exaggeration. People also read into the late Father’s words. May God rest the soul of a priest, but, he is not infallible.
 
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TheLittleLady said:
Fr Amorth is not alive to defend his claims, and he has made claims that have then been understood to be exaggeration. People also read into the late Father’s words. May God rest the soul of a priest, but, he is not infallible.
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People’s exorcisms aren’t usually publicized. So, I’ll defer to someone who’s actually dealt with the situation. It’s always been understood that true demonic possession affects the body.

These Posters are Correct.
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Can a baptized person become demon-possessed? Apologetics
I’ve looked, but haven’t found this addressed.
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The posters in that thread did not post any sort of official statements, doctrine or dogma.

Really, speak with your pastor. It is not healthy to believe that Satan is more powerful than the Sacraments.
 
I never said that. Do not insinuate such rubbish. The devils are infinitely weak in comparison to God and his Sacraments.

Fr. Amorth noted that even people who’ve been liberated can relapse through no fault of their own. Being in a State of Grace makes you undesirable to anything evil. However, it would appear that possession is also a physical affliction and there’s much that we don’t understand about it.

I will add that the examples Fr. Amorth cites took place while the individuals were within several weeks of dying.
 
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Cruciferi said:
Fr. Amorth noted that even people who’ve been liberated can relapse through no fault of their own.
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This, again, is in direct conflict with Scripture.

Do some study of Matthew 12 and Luke 11. Christ was clear that those who have been victim of possession need to keep themselves “swept clean and put in order” or the demons will return.
 
Assuming that you’re right, why haven’t other Exorcists come out and condemned Amorth’s writings? I haven’t heard cries of “Heretic” :man_shrugging:t2: Could it be that neither you or I are privy to the information?
 
The thing is Fr Amorth himself did not claim to speak without error.

There have been criticisms of the claims:

http://jimmyakin.com/2006/08/hes_baaaaaaaack.html

http://www.canonlaw.info/a_amorth.htm

This recent article references the above along with other hyperbolic claims http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/sdg-reviews-the-devil-and-father-amorth

Heresy is a very specific accusation. Exaggeration or outright error does not = heresy. The late Father was not trying to assert his claims as doctrine.

His books are entertaining and of interest to some people, they should not be taken as official treatises on doctrine. The Church does not have hidden doctrine or secret practices, that is what many non-Christian religions do. The Church puts all doctrine out there for the faithful to be able to access.
 
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Look, it comes down to whether or not you believe him. You don’t and I do. So far, all I’ve seen are opinions. Since we’re not able to study each case all we have are personal accounts. I have not seen an Exorcist refute Amorth’s claims.

Adam Blai is probably the only readily available expert to answer this question.

www.catholic.com

Adam Blai

Adam Blai (pronounced “Bly”) is a Church-decreed expert on religious demonology and exorcism in the Pittsburgh diocese. He is an auxiliary member of...
www.catholic.com www.catholic.com
 
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The face can have a change in appearance for example.
  1. “shark eyes”, eyes look solid black, it’'s like the way cats eyes can open up to see the dark. This is common with even a lesser spirits of wicca. Easy to rebuke, but it still can put up a fight. There was a girl who had the whites of her eyes fill in with gray tone in early stages her friends could see that. Later when she would change and lose conciousness memory, etc. Her eyes were black as I detail.
  2. The skin can do a strange tightness of the face. Like a face lift gone wrong wrinkles can’t be seen
  3. The face can change, but some believe it is not a distortion as much as an illusion. Say when the face starts to look like a pig for example. One or the other can take place. (I go with it being given a physical affect, not an illusion, it’s unmistakable)
  4. Eyes may roll back in the head, but it’s more like when they are Catatonic , unconcious. And not like in the Exorcist where white eyes are seen when they are active. You often have to pull up the eye lids to see this. Sometimes thus occurs in what I seen is when the body is an empty shell. One case, the 12 yrs old boy was taught to Astral travel by his mother, 6 exorcism were needed, the exorcist could not get a response from the demon or the boy at times. As though neither were online, plugged into the boy.
  5. The voice can either be a disoriented of their own, or a manifested sound coming from or near the possessed. There are times where the voice seems normal, just so as in any of these cases, an absence of one or more of these symptoms does mean a demon is not present. Again, black eyes is the most common. For physical features of the face. Red eyes can show also as though pink eye/blood shot has set in then, it can mysteriously clear up after the demon has left, or after they go to sleep. Their skin can react to holy oil on forehead, burnig incense or candles can affect the nise or eyes to run. Basically the body, in some cases can react to all things sacred like it is a virus. One example case, the woman would hold the Miraculous medals off her skid by the chain when a demon was coming back to possess. If she left it touch her skin it would start to created/ burn an oval shape like the medal. More like a rash thiugh, although they complain it is burning, before they lost conciousness and the demon took over.
    Head spinning? 180 degree turn to look behind, not 360. The body can bend and stretch in strange ways. It is considered that the higher demons can manipulate the muscle, tissues, bones, so no injury occurs. Rather than it is a mere hallicination, that could be witnessed by family members and bystanders. How would only the mother see it and none other? She wasn’t grounded in her faith on many levels more vulnerable to demonic oppressive imagery and tricks.
 
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Doing discreet test, and a careful investgation can most often narrow it down better than defaukting to primarily using psychological testing first. As Fr. Chad Ripperger even says demons can mimic all psychological ailments perfectly." The concern is that many oppressed with even anxiety and depression can be cured with prayers of liberation, not pseudoscience. Back in 2007, One case in Nashville the man went to a psychologist, his priest recommended. The Doctor State certified him as “schizophrenic”, …so typical. We had determined it was demonic oppression after we were contacted by a Baptist minister who was handling his case at the time to help this Catholic" man. Witnesses of bizarre paranormal occurance sorrounded this man, yet the doctor clung to “natural”. It’'s all he knows!
Be leary of even a Ph.d!
(Sorry off topic, …off to bed here…)
 
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