If the devil is pure spirit, how is he able to physically hurt people?

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A lot of so called possessions are people who are mentally ill and self harm so I am not convinced this is possible.
 
According to the Bible, I believe, St. Michael is the guardian angel of the Nation of Israel. I cannot find the book of the Bible where this is discussed, but it is there. Also, there is mention of other angels engaging in conflicts with other angels who are guardians of other nations. Again, I cannot remember where in the Bible I read this. For this, I apologize. Perhaps someone else remembers and can assist here?
 
I have found this so far, additionally it seems that Archangel Michael is traditionally thought to be the angel protector of Israel.

Michael, the Archangel, is the patron angel of Israel. In Daniel 10:13, it is Michael who assists another angel who had been sent to Daniel, to respond to Daniel’s prayer. In Daniel 12:1-3, Michael’s tasks include the destruction of sinners at The End of Days, he will also praise and glorify the righteous. In Jude 1:9, Michael contended with the Devil over Moses’ body, and did not dare to bring a condemnation of slander against him, but said “The Lord rebuke you!” In Revelation 12:7-8, Michael is the angel who leads a battle against evil, which is characterized as a dragon. Michael prevails. The name Michael means “Who is like God?”

This is not an official source however, simply for some information of interest.
 
It could be that when Padre Pio was in these struggles, he physically reacted and got bruises from the movements.

So much legend has grown up about the good Saint that we need to understand some of these things may be hyperbole.
 
Seagull said:
but Kreeft - isn’t that good - imo
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Dr Kreeft is one of the leading Catholic Theologians in our world today.

What do you mean “isn’t that good”? Do you question is credentials? Can you cite the errors in his works?
 
I agree with you, but in a book by a friar who assisted St Pio for several years he relates a story whereby he often helps Padre Pio to mass and then quickly goes back to his cell for sleep. Often he sets his alarm but it doesn’t go off but he is awoken by a knocking on the cell door. To cut a long story short no person is knocking, it turns out to be Padre Pios angel which he has sent to wake up his assistant!

This infers that angels can cause physical disturbance and so by extension that perhaps the enemy could do the same.
 
I love that book “ Send Me Your Guardian Angel “
I have it standing - on top of my bookcase !
 
I actually bought that book for a Christmas present -
for my 16 year old niece -
She’s a little rebellious - but I know she’ll glance through it.
( I bought her other small gifts too - non religious )
 
Zaccheus said:
Spirit has power over matter.
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Yes, spirits who have intellect and will such as God, angels, and the soul of human beings which is spiritual are of a superior nature and power over material bodies and all the natural physical forces of the corporeal creation. Our soul or spirit which is the form of our body moves our body immediately at the command of our will. Similarly, angels, good or bad, who are of a superior nature and power than human beings can move the inanimate and animate bodies and forces of the natural world which we find them doing all over in the text of Sacred Scripture. For example, demons can even move possessed human beings to say and do various things and demons moved the pigs to rush headlong into the sea when Jesus cast them out of that certain person in the gospels. Spirits move bodies not by body to body contact since they are without bodies but by contact of power such as our spiritual soul and the power of our will moves our bodies.
 
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If I remember correctly, Satan is the Prince of the earth and everything that moves in it. He has the power to control weather and creatures, he has the power to physically hurt people too, demons as fallen angels retained all their powers, and the spiritual overrides the physical. Therefore Satan has power over matter. Is through our senses he tempts us.
 
St Michael is the Prince of the church. While Satan is the Prince of the earth and therefore matter. But since matter is attached to our soul here in earth he affects both. So Jesus said keep watch that you might not fall into temptation, he also said pray unceasingly, to curb his power.
 
Sophie111 said:
Perhaps the power of the imagination is greater tha we realise.
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Absolutely. In fact imagination can make pretty much anything happen, for better or for worse. Certain forms of sorcery are based on this, as are certain religious practices. The whole idea that “imagination” is somehow “less real” than “reality” is a dangerous deception, because it makes us underestimate the consequences of our thoughts – which is just what the Devil wants.
Sophie111 said:
[…] what we now know as the planets were literally “heavenly bodies” each ensouled by an angel/god which moved them in perfect circles. As they move […] they generate ethereal music that only the holy can hear on a quiet evening in prayer. Do you accept that also?
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Don’t know about poster @Francis, but I do!
halogirl said:
A lot of so called possessions are people who are mentally ill and self harm so I am not convinced this is possible.
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And a lot of so-called “mentally ill” are people who are actually possessed…
Seagull said:
Not to be negative, but Kreeft - isn’t that good - imo -
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True. He’s a little overrated. He’s not bad, but he’s a out of his league sometimes. He’s mostly popular because he writes in an easily readable style that makes things accessible. But accessibility and easy reading don’t make things true, and indeed not everything that Kreeft writes is.
MillenialCatholic said:
While Satan is the Prince of the earth and therefore matter.
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Big no-no! Satan is the Prince of this world, not of its natural constituents. You’re condemning matter and therefore material existence as evil, which is one of the great classical heresies. People typical call this “gnosticism”, though I disagree with that label. It’d be more accurate to call it neo-Platonism. In any case, material existence arose in accordance with God’s Will, and constitutes Creation. It is only the perversion of life that has been brought about by disobedient intelligent creatures, that now makes this world an evil place ruled by Satan. Natural material existence is not at fault.
 
Roguish said:
Absolutely. In fact imagination can make pretty much anything happen, for better or for worse. Certain forms of sorcery are based on this, as are certain religious practices.
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How can imagination make pretty much anything happen?
Roguish said:
The whole idea that “imagination” is somehow “less real” than “reality” is a dangerous deception, because it makes us underestimate the consequences of our thoughts – which is just what the Devil wants.
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How so?
 
CatholicHere_Hi said:
How can imagination make pretty much anything happen?
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Phenomenal existence is the “realization” of ideas. Ideas “inform” shapeless matter, and thus Creation arises. When they are only God’s Ideas, what you get is Perfect Nature. But the ideas of lesser entities (be they God’s creatures or demons) can get realized too, by hi-jacking the minds of intelligent (self-aware) creatures, thus turning them away from being the realization of an Idea of God, to being (also) the realizers of the ideas of demons.
CatholicHere_Hi said:
How so?
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The Devil is quite pleased if you consider your thoughts and your imagination as nothing of consequence (“they’re just thoughts, they’re not real!”), because once you believe this, you will not keep your thoughts under guard. Thus you’ll be easily tempted to allow yourself to think or imagine anything that titillates you. Thus you contribute to the Devil’s great project (of ruining man) without knowing that you do.
 
Brendan said:
That they can take human form?
Or that they are not imaginations?
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The first is not endorsed by the Magisterium as far as I know. However it does not appear to prohibit the view.

The 2nd I opine is the more mainstream teaching.
That is, spirits normatively can only affect the material order by some influence over a victims imagination…not by assuming bodily matter or poltergeisting.

It may be that levitation and poltergeisting etc is a preternatural gift that humans cannot normally access. But when possessed, or deeply moved, or in rapture due to angelic influence, then the human agent is actually responsible and not the external influence which is more a " catalyst".
 
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