What are the tell-tale signs of true demonic possession? Father Gary Thomas of the Archdiocese of San Jose, California who has been performing exorcisms for over a decade, said there are six signs that people need to watch out for.
"The first is an aversion to the sacred. For example, a Catholic could have incredible difficulty receiving the [Eucharist], to the point where it's burning as she's consuming it," he shared with Cosmopolitan. "Another sign would be speaking in a language that they have no competency in. I've had people speaking Korean, in Chinese or Russian or Spanish, who have no understanding of those languages."
Thomas said people should be suspicious as well of individuals exhibiting inordinate strength. Just recently, he performed an exorcism on a woman who required five people just to hold her down. People who are possessed by demons also have foam coming out of their mouth. Thomas said this is actually a good sign because it means the demon is reacting to the prayer.
"Another is the knowledge of hidden things, so the demon would begin eliciting information that the person wouldn't have any access to," he added. "The last thing would be a kind of epileptic reaction involving the distortion of the face — histrionic out-of-control movement in the arms and the legs."
Thomas said the one thing people must know about demons and demonic possession is that it is the work of Satan. A lot of people mistakenly think that Satan does not exist, but he does — and this is the reason why Jesus Christ came into this world, he said.
"Jesus didn't come just to be a nice guy. His death and resurrection defeated Satan," he said. "Satan is not a metaphor. Satan is real. He'd like you to believe he doesn't exist, and that's his greatest deception. People need to buck up and realise that we're not the masters of our own destiny. We have to put ourselves at the disposal of God."
