Monday, September 28, 2026: A reflection by Father Jim Fredericks on "demons"

Today, I want to talk about demons.  I want to explain the Church’s teachings about demons.  These teachings are subtle and, I admit, difficult. But  understanding the Church’s teaching about demons is very  important.  Why do I say this?  

It’s because these teachings help us to live our faith with  depth and with hope in God’s promise never to abandon  us.  Some time ago, I spoke with a young man for about two  hours. I sat with him on the benches before the image of  Our Lady of Guadalupe outside the church. He was about  twenty years old.  This young man was struggling with a demon.  At a party, he got drunk and then got unruly and then  started to threaten people. The police were called and he  was placed under arrest.

 A judge sentenced him to three  months in the county jail.  Father, something’s wrong with me. Am I mentally ill?  There’s a demon inside of me.  As he said this to me, my heart ached. Oh, if only I could  cast out demons the way the Lord did. If only I had more  faith, I could move this mountain. If you know this young  man, tell him to contact me. I long to speak with him again.  

We all have demons. We all struggle with the “powers and  principalities” that rule over us. For some of us, the demon  is alcohol. For others, it is wrath or lust or the anger that will  not leave our hearts. For yet others, the demon is greed  and covetousness. And then, there is perhaps the greatest  demon of all: despair.  Yes: despair is a demon. 

 

We all have demons. This is the Church’s first teaching.  The second teaching is that we are obliged to struggle with  our demons. I do not pretend that this is easy. This may  take a lifetime. But this is what the Church demands of us.  And there is a third teaching.  

The Church teaches that, when we struggle with our  demons, the Holy Spirit struggles with us. This is what Saint  Paul means when he says,  the Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;  for we do not know how to pray as we ought,  but the Spirit intercedes with inexpressible  groanings.  

The LORD called the prophet Jeremiah to speak out against the corruption of the rich and the powerful. And  they tormented him. "All the day I am an object of laughter;  everyone mocks me.  The word of the LORD has brought me  derision and reproach all the day."  

And Jeremiah wants to shut his mouth and refuse to  proclaim God’s word.  I say to myself, I will not mention the LORD,  I will speak in his name no more.  But after saying this, something curious happens within the  Prophet:  But then "the word of God] becomes like fire  burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones;  I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it."  

This is an example of what Saint Paul means  when he tells us that the Holy Spirit comes to aid us in our  weakness. We do not know how to pray as we ought, but  the Spirit itself intercedes within us with inexpressible  groanings.  

Remember the Church’s teachings: we all have demons;  we must struggle with our demons; and hidden within our  struggle is the Holy Spirit interceding with God on our  behalf.  Jeremiah’s demon was despair. 

He feared that he did not  have the strength to do God’s will. And as he struggled  with this demon, the Holy Spirit came to Jeremiah’s aid  interceding with God “with inexpressible groanings,” just  as Saint Paul said.  We all have demons. That young man with whom I spoke  as we sat before the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe has  a vicious demon inside of him.  

Father, something’s wrong with me.  Am I mentally ill?  There’s a demon inside of me.    He was in despair, and despair is a demon. But I want you  to understand this young man’s words correctly. Hidden  within his anguish – hidden within his struggle with this  demon – the Holy Spirit is at work, interceding for him “with  inexpressible groanings.”