I was going to discard a book called "Evidence of Satan in the Modern World" by Leon Cristiani, but began reading it again, making sure there was nothing in it worthy of note. The book mainly contains specific examples of infestation and possession, but I found it most interesting in light of the lack of valid/licit priests who can exorcise today. Published in 1959, its contents intrigued me because it foretold what is happening today:
FALSEHOOD
"The negation of God is the first, most serious of falsehoods in our present world. But it is not the only one. We are deep in falsehood, immersed in lies, so that we practically breathe falsehoods without being aware of it. The emblem of this falsehood is contradiction. [...] To deny the existence of God, of Satan, of an immortal soul, to deny any distinction between Good and Evil, to deny the existence of Sin, of Virtue, of Heaven and Hell; these are some of our lies by negation. And if, after that, we glorify ourselves, if we transform ourselves into the only gods that exist, it is pure contradiction. Being and Nothing are confused." (page 162)
"To say that God does not exist is the same as saying Being does not exit. The word God means, in effect, He who is." (page 160)
"If, as Christ says, Satan has been 'a murderer from the beginning', it follows that he has not only been present in all men's fratricidal struggles, but that he has also been their secret instigator." (page 163) In reality, "...there is a devil of pride, Satan, a devil of avarice, Beelzebub, and a devil of impurity, which took the name Isacaron." (page 64)
"In many of the cases we shall mention it seems that the original cause of the possession was a malefice, or what the general public usually calls a 'spell.' [...] 'these malefices are the Devil's sacraments.' (page 65) "Possession is, in a certain sense, a replica, a caricature, of the Incarnation of the Word." (page 11)
TOOLS OF SATAN
1) "To drown truth in falsehood is a truly diabolical activity." (page 46)
2) "If we wish to know how Satan manifests his presence amongst us, in our own times, we must try, on the one hand, to discern the great lies of our time, and the progress made in the art of killing men, on the other. The deeper an age is impregnated with falsehood, the more the life of man is held in contempt and overshadowed by the threat of death, the more Satan is present." (page 159)
3) "We may believe that Satan is engaged in preparing the most terrifying catastrophe that can be imagined. All the more so in that lies, nowadays, are backed by hitherto unknown instruments of mass homicide." (page 161)
4) "The fear of war will, in the long run, do more harm to our souls than war itself." [...] "there is no longer any peace amongst men, yet they are condemned to a perpetual discussion of peace, as of an absent friend, a remote ideal, a dream." (page 163)
5) "The more our means of communication are increased, thanks to the progress of which we are so proud, the more distance becomes unimportant, the more the air we breathe becomes, as it were, tainted and poisoned, every day at the same time, by news from all parts of the world, informing us, in one form of another, of hatred, conflict, impending catastrophe, and untried and fearsome means of mass destruction." (page 163)
6) "Things have reached such a pitch that we may well ask whether certain masters of the world -- a world that with modern communications has grown so small -- are not purely and simply Satan's lieutenants, even the mediums of Satan." (pages 160-161)
7) "The latter show striking symptoms of the presence of an alien intelligence [AI] within them. This intelligence is hostile to Jesus, and is what we describe as the intelligence of an evil spirit." (page 10)
8) "There is a corpus mysticum of Christ, of which we like to feel we are a part. But there is also, or can be, a corpus mysticum satanicum which incorporates all the destructive will of humanity and Hell. [...] The corpus mysticum of Satan is composed of human beings who have made themselves his accomplices, who willingly submit to his suggestions, and who live by his inspiration and principles." (page 158)
9) "But the greatest reproach that can be levelled against the Devil's disciples is their mutilation of man's stature, by denying his infinity and refusing him immortality." (page 172)
10) "Magic is, in our view, infinitely more satanic than idolatry. In idolatry there is a core of truth. Man is mistaken in the object to be venerated, but not in the necessity for subordination and supplication. [...] In magic there is a kind of sacrilege, a truly diabolic pride of power. The magician gives orders." (page 177)
11) "We cannot stress too often the fact that in the Gospels Satan is given the incredible title of Prince of this world, yet the title must be justified, since Christ himself accords it. Yet such a title could not be given to Satan if the pagan deities were not purely and simply devils." (pages 174-175) "What is undeniable is that to the Jews and still more to the Christians, all pagan deities could be none other than devils." (page 175) "It is also certain the early Christians considered the pagan worship of idols as diabolic in inspiration." (page 12)
12) "Satan's deepest wile is to make us believe that he does not exist." (page 174)
INDIVIDUAL POSSESSION - How St. John Mary Vianney dealt with this
"I turn towards God: I make the sign of the Cross [...] I have noticed that the noise is louder and the attacks more numerous when some great sinner is to visit me the following day." [...] "he recited the rosary. It was his favourite weapon against Satan." (page 25)
"...his trust in God put him beyond the reach of attack." (page 26-27)
"...the Master whom he served was stronger than the Adversary. He was even able to rejoice when these nocturnal phenomena became more terrifying: to him it was a sign that on the following day great sinners -- the big fish, as he used to say -- would, at his confessional, become the prisoners of grace." (page 33)
"If the Devil was so preoccupied with Jean-Marie Vianney that he employed every means at his disposal to divert him from his task, either by exhausting his energy by insomnia, or by bringing him into such anguish of mind that he wanted to escape into the wilderness, it is because he knew the efficacy of the saint's prayers, of his scourgings, of his ministry to sinners. (page 37)
COLLECTIVE POSSESSION
"We have pointed out that Satan's activity rises progressively from temptation to infestation, and from infestation to possession. There could therefore be countries which are possessed, others subject to infestation and those which are simply tempted." (page 165)
"Demons are to be found in many countries, but particularly in Prussia. In Lapland, too, there are a great many demons and magicians. In Switzerland, not far from Lucerne, on a very high mountain, there is a lake called Lake Pilatus: there the Devil indulges in all kinds of infamies." (page 15)
"In contemporary atheism, which we denounce as the most colossal, the most hateful and culpable of lies, we may distinguish two trends, one more serious than the other: theoretical atheism, the atheism of materialism, scientism, agnosticism and certain forms of existentialism; and practical atheism, that of men preoccupied with their businesses, the affairs of this world, the calculations of politics, trade, even scientific research and technical invention, to the extend of no longer finding any place for God in their lives. In many countries theoretical atheism is nowadays to be found in the highest circles of power and authority. It is hardly necessary to specify this or that country, this or that government, this or that national leader, for whom theoretical atheism is a law of being. We can hardly doubt the existence of a collective possession in such cases." (pages 159-160)
"If communist atheism is based on falsehood, on the negation of God and the soul and of all spirituality, one must admit that this falsehood is more triumphant in China than elsewhere." (page 165) "It seems very probable that the conflagration which, one day or another, will consume the earth, will be kindled in China." (page 166)
"But it is not for us to set capitalism again communism. Both are inspired by Satan, to the extent that they are a negation of God and the soul." (page 171)
COMBATTING THE DEVIL
"He [a priest] considered that the couple's piety was his greatest asset in the struggle with the devil." (page 150)
"There is nothing which can so surely diminish the power and dominion of Satan as the conversion of the victim, if conversion be necessary, or his progress in virtue, if it be not." (page 72)
In summary, "...there is much in common between madness and possession" (page 160)
CALL TO ACTION: Recognize the eclipse of Holy Mother Church and prepare yourself for Jesus' second coming! ...also acknowledge that "Our destiny is either demonic or angelic. We shall behold God, like the angels, says Jesus, or we shall be damned with Satan and all his host." (page 11)
Source: "Evidence of Satan in the Modern World" by Leon Cristiani; original French publication (1959); quotes above from TAN Books and Publishers, Inc. (1974); Imprimatur: Cyrillus, Episcopus Southwarcensis; Nihil Obstat: R. D. Dermitius Fogarty, D.D., L.C.L. and R. D. Kilianus Lynch, D.D., D.C.L., O.Carm. Censores Deputati
Photo by Jongsun Lee