Fr. Ripperger shares with Tucker Carlson that God allows demonic attacks to make people holier

(LifeSiteNews) — Exorcist Father Chad Ripperger explained to Tucker Carlson that God allows people to be demonically attacked at times to help them become holier, including after a person draws closer to God.

Carlson asked Ripperger in a recent interview, “Have you ever seen a phenomenon where someone is acted on by God, clearly inspired by the Holy Spirit, has a closer connection to God then normal, and then shortly after is attacked by demons?”

“Yes,” the exorcist affirmed. He pointed out that while demons “tend to like to go after easy prey,” they can be used by Christ as an instrument of our sanctification. They cannot do anything without His permission, he stressed.

“So a lot of times God will allow the person who’s leading a really good Christian life to come under attack in order to draw them even closer to him than they actually are or to purify them, make them holier, or to help them overcome a particular defect, because the demon’s using that against them,” Ripperger said.

“If the demons are tempting you towards, say, lust, and you combat that, the degree of virtue when you come out of it is going to be stronger than if it’s just natural human temptation,” he told Carlson.

Ripperger has shared prayers by which people can combat ordinary and extraordinary diabolical temptation and attack, including basic binding prayers, in his book Deliverance Prayers for Use by the Laity. It also contains a thorough list of demonic spirits that can be bound through these prayers.

The exorcist pointed out a little later in the interview that one of his lay assistants started to notice a pattern in the kind of people afflicted by demonic attacks.

“We watch for patterns because demons act in a very consistent way. What we started noticing is that the people that demons attack, whether that’s attacking their externals through oppression or through obsession and even temptation in some cases, are people (with) some area of their interior life that is undisciplined,” Ripperger said.

The lack of discipline can manifest in many different ways. “They eat too much, or when it comes to chocolate, they’re a little too indulgent, instead of trying to moderate those things,” Ripperger cited as examples. “Not that those things are bad. Quite the contrary, they’re good. But they have to be moderated.” 

“Or the person just doesn’t moderate their irritation or anger in certain circumstances. Things like that … Sometimes it’s just they’re not praying. You should be praying on a consistent basis every single day. I mean, if you really love God, if you really love Him, you’re going to want to be with Him. And that occurs through prayer. A lot of people just don’t do that.”

The exorcist has explained that beyond temptation, demons can attack a person through the externals in their life, such as their finances and possessions, and even through other people. This is known as diabolic oppression. Diabolic obsession, which negatively affects a person’s thoughts and emotions in sudden and intense bursts, is also at epidemic levels. Ripperger has said exorcists generally agree that about 25 percent of the population suffers from demonic obsession that is distinct from purely natural psychological problems.