Fallen Angels
So, were the fallen angels always bad? The answer is no, God created all of the angels good. Lets see what The 4th Lateran Council in 1215 has to say, ” the devil and the other demons were created by God good in their nature but they by themselves have made themselves evil” D 428, D 427.
The Angels were subjected to a moral testing, they were in a state of pilgrimage in which they were required to merit The Beatific Vision of God. The Good Angels who passed the test entered into the blessedness of Heaven (Matt 18:10, Tob 12:15, Heb 12:22, Rev 5:11, 7:11. The fallen angels or bad angels who did not cooperate freely with Gods will, and through their own pride and envy chose freely not to serve God, fell under the ban of eternal damnation (2 Peter 2:4, Jud 6 ). The Fathers and theologians generally refer to the fall the words from Jeremiah 2:20 “non serviam” in English this translates as “I will not serve”.
Well, what if someone chooses not to believe that the devil and his demons are real? That person had better change their mind real quick, and it is a good chance that the devil or one of his demons has helped that person make that suggestion. The devil truly exists, and we see his handiwork everywhere we look. Satanism, satanic cults, devil worship, abortion, radical feminism, and exorcisms are all very real and we see them publicized and glamourized all over the secular world for it not to be true. So, how do we resist the devil and his temptations, and is it always the devil that tempts us? We resist the devil with our will and the help of the Sacraments of the Church. 1 Cor 10:13 states ” God will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able”. It is not always the demon who tempts, it could be our own flesh or the world, but always keep your guard up through daily prayer, regular confession, daily rosary, and of course The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Eucharist to protect yourself from the evil one. Sacramentals like Holy Water, the Rosary, and the Brown Scapular are also very helpful in fending off the evil one . Some of the other ways we protect ourselves from the evil one are by making prudent decisions by what we expose ourselves to. Definitely stay away from : astrology, palm readers, psychics, yoga, white or black magic, wicca, trance mediums, Ouija boards, séances, pornography, sexually explicit movies or images, and away from other sources ,or potential sources of temptations. We have that responsibility also to make willful decisions that won’t put us in an occasion to sin or draw others into sin either.
The Council of Trent names as a consequence of Adams sin mans subjection to the power of the devil D 788, D793. The Church’s belief finds liturgical expression in the ceremonies of Baptism. We know that the devil tempts and tries to hurt us spiritually and morally, but in certain circumstances, he can in fact harm us physically. A type of demonic infestation is possession, obsession , and oppression. This is when the evil spirit takes forceable possession of the human body, so that the bodily organs and lower part of the soul, but not the higher parts of the soul are dominated by him. In these cases often a good confession can heal the one afflicted. Sometimes some deliverance prayers will be needed, and in less common cases a priest who is granted permission ( also called faculties ) by the Bishop will have to perform an exorcism or exorcisms to rid the person of the demonic possession.
in JMJ, Lee
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