On the Demonic 

By Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen 

Compiled and Edited by Father Dave Tomaszycki 

Emmaus Road Publishing, 2024 

224 pages, $17.95  

To order: EWTNRC.com 

 

The devil wants to convince us to reject the cross. It was the tactic he used against Jesus in the desert and one that Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979) often warned people about. Sheen was not one to dwell on the devil, but he felt it was vitally important for us to recognize his ploys and to shield ourselves against them. His teachings on this topic have been compiled by Father Dave Tomaszycki, of the Archdiocese of Detroit, in the book On the Demonic. 

Looking for a thesis subject for his Licentiate in Sacred Theology, Father Tomaszycki noted that Sheen’s preaching against the demonic intensified as the modern culture unfolded. Sheen was a renowned theologian, preaching on television and radio, even twice being awarded Emmys for “Most Outstanding Television Personality.” For 20 years, he hosted the night-time radio program The Catholic Hour on NBC and then moved to television and presented Life Is Worth Living (1952-1957) and The Fulton Sheen Program (1961-1968). 

In 1952, Sheen warned that “moving throughout the world at a furious hellish pace is what might be called the force of the demonic, and by 1970 he suggested that we might be in a demonic age.” Realizing that Sheen never followed through on writing a book on the demonic, Father Tomaszycki dove into the project for his thesis in 2020, gleaning Sheen’s teachings from his talks and writings. 

“Though most of this material was produced some fifty years ago, one will notice that it resonates with more truth today than at the time of its origin,” Father Tomaszycki explained. “Sheen was prophetic, and many of his prophecies have come true.” 

 Three Temptations 

Sheen often argued that what the world needs most is holiness, which comes from the cross. In the desert, the devil attempted to lure Christ away from the cross with promises of an easier way. “The essence of the demonic from a biblical point of view is hatred of the cross,” he explained, “and the temptations offered three shortcuts from the cross.” 

The first temptation was to turn stones into bread. Jesus was hungry but also a social reformer, Sheen explained. Turning stones into bread offered a way to give bread to the masses while satisfying his own hunger. “Jesus rejected it as one who says, ‘I reject any plan which promises to make men richer without making them holier,’” Sheen said.   

A second temptation followed. “Cast Thyself down to earth. For it is written, ‘He has given charge to his angels concerning Thee, and they will hold Thee up with their hands, lest through should chance to trip on a stone’ (Matthew 4:6).”  

Sheen explained that the second temptation was to replace the cross with a display of power. “Our Lord might say, ‘You repeat this temptation whenever you admire the wonders of science and forget that I am the Author of the Universe and its science. … I refuse to perform stunts to win them, for they would not really be won that way. It is only when I am seen on the Cross that I really draw men to Myself; it is by sacrifice and not by marvels that I must make My Appeal.’” 

For the third and final temptation, the devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and offered to give him command over them if Christ would fall and worship him (Luke 4:5-7). 

“It’s the temptation of co-existence of good and evil,” Sheen revealed. “Find a quicker easier way. The kingdom Satan offered was the world, not the spirit, and to serve the world is slavery. Jesus came to conquer hearts first, then the world follows.” 

 Weapons Against Satan 

It is the cross that saves us, Sheen taught, and yet, even while dying on the cross Jesus was told: “Come down from that cross, if you are the Son of God” (Matthew 27:40). “It’s human to come down; it’s divine to hang there,” Sheen stated. “The demonic, very simply, is the anti-cross, the anti-disciplined life, the anti-Christ.” 

Father Tomaszycki then quoted Sheen’s identification of three powerful weapons against Satan: First, the Holy Name of Jesus, which Satan cannot stand because “at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow in the heavens, on the earth, and under the earth” (Philippians 2:10). 

Second, the invocation of the Blood of Christ: “We are saved by the Blood of Christ; therefore, in temptation, call upon his Blood, ‘for without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin’” (Hebrews 9:22). 

Third, devotion to our Blessed Mother: “For at the beginning in the Book of Genesis it was the seed of a woman that would crush the seed of Satan” (Genesis 3:15).  

Sheen noted the ebb and flow of the Church, beginning with the Fall of Rome and including Muslim invasions, schisms and corruptions when reformers were needed to breathe life back into the Church. Even in his day, Sheen described a Church that is “rotting and spoiled, lacking zeal, learning, and fire within. The Church is being declared dead.” 

He warned that our enemy today is the spirit of the world, which pressures us to conform lest we become branded. “We have to go into the world but not to be worldly. There are no fires. We have become broadminded and indifferent. … Calvary was more endurable than the indifference of our day.”  

Strong advice that Sheen implored everyone to do was to make a Holy Hour, spending time before the Blessed Sacrament in adoration. The test, ultimately, according to him, is the choice between the spirit and the world. Time spent in adoration strengthens our spirit, leading us to holiness.   

“He is training us,” Sheen explained. “The only argument left to convince others is holiness. The world has heard every other argument and is ready to reject them all, except holiness.”