The Devil In The Digital Age

I wanted to talk a little bit about the devil in the modern world, in the context that we're living in now in 2026.

I've been involved in the exorcism world for about 20 years, and I have seen some changes in that time.

A lot of things have stayed the same, and some things have stayed the same for centuries.

I've read transcripts of exorcisms from the Middle Ages.

The interactions are very similar.

I can kind of almost predict what the demon's going to do or say next, because in a sense, he's not a creative creature.

Things don't change much.

But there are some real changes compared to the Middle Ages, compared to the ancient world.

that we're living in.

Now, first off, what the devil's trying to do has not changed at all.

His main goal is to separate us from God, both in this life and in the next.

He wants us damned, separated from God forever, just like he is, just like the angels that followed him are.

They want this because they're just mere creatures.

They're not actually fighting God or able to harm God or able to do anything.

They only even continue to exist because God wills it that they continue to exist.

So they strike at the creatures made in the image of God, these rational creatures, us human beings.

us human persons, this combination of a soul and a body.

He strikes at us because he wants to strike at God's precious creatures that are created in his image that can become a temple of the Holy Spirit.

So out of his bitterness and his jealousy and his hatred, he goes after us to separate us from God.

In this life, that's through mortal sin, bringing about spiritual death, cutting us off from God in a particular way when we're in a state of mortal sin.

And if we die in that state of mortal sin, and exactly what mercy is extended in the process of dying is unknown exactly, we hope that there's a moment of opportunity for repentance, even in those last moments.

But if we were to die in unrepentant mortal sin, we would be damned and permanently separated from God for all eternity.

So that's his goal.

I think if we understand that and see sin, see temptation, see the effect of habitual sin on us and how as we get pulled more and more and we cooperate more and more and we go deeper more and more into sin, we feel a separation from God.

We despair of God's mercy.