What do you think?
Rate this book
The Deceiver: Our Daily Struggle with Satan
Fr. Livio Fanzaga, the Rome-educated, Vatican-endorsed writer and director of Europe’s largest Catholic radio network, Efforts to soft-pedal the reality and continuous threat of the devil have left many Catholics “unarmed and unprepared” to resist him. But the question does Satan tempt and deceive us? And how can we see through and resist him?
In The Our Daily Struggle with Satan, Fr. Fanzaga confidently guides you through everything the Catechism, Sacred Scripture, and the wisdom of the saints tell us about the wiles and antics of the devil. You’ll come to understand why evil exists, and you’ll explore real-life examples of how the enemy tempts and ensnares us. The Deceiver masterfully unmasks the devil’s seductive plan to create a kingdom of his own in your heart, ruled by pride, sensuality, greed, anger, fear, violence, and destruction.
Most importantly, Fr. Fanzaga provides you with the weapons you need to combat the darkness of the enemy and the seven capital vices. “Satan wants to buy you at a cheap price, but Jesus has poured out His blood in order to obtain your soul,” reflects the author.
These pages correct many of the most common misconceptions about Satan while shedding important light on the end times. They also
The strategy of the evil one in attacking our minds and heartsWhy sin is so alluringHow we can help – and harm – others on their way to salvationHow you can use the light of God to expose evilHow to be on constant guard against temptation and Satan’s trapsThe proper roles of repentance and mortificationThe keys to opening your soul to grace and discernmentFr. Fanzaga warns us in this stunning “In a cultural climate that excludes the supernatural, the devil acts without being noticed. In a context of life in which God and His moral law are denied, Satan moves like a fish in water. Souls without light and deprived of the
weapons of the holy battle are doomed.”
The Deceiver will equip you with the weapons you need to defeat Satan while opening your eyes to the miracles of God’s healing love as you prepare for eternity.
In The Our Daily Struggle with Satan, Fr. Fanzaga confidently guides you through everything the Catechism, Sacred Scripture, and the wisdom of the saints tell us about the wiles and antics of the devil. You’ll come to understand why evil exists, and you’ll explore real-life examples of how the enemy tempts and ensnares us. The Deceiver masterfully unmasks the devil’s seductive plan to create a kingdom of his own in your heart, ruled by pride, sensuality, greed, anger, fear, violence, and destruction.
Most importantly, Fr. Fanzaga provides you with the weapons you need to combat the darkness of the enemy and the seven capital vices. “Satan wants to buy you at a cheap price, but Jesus has poured out His blood in order to obtain your soul,” reflects the author.
These pages correct many of the most common misconceptions about Satan while shedding important light on the end times. They also
The strategy of the evil one in attacking our minds and heartsWhy sin is so alluringHow we can help – and harm – others on their way to salvationHow you can use the light of God to expose evilHow to be on constant guard against temptation and Satan’s trapsThe proper roles of repentance and mortificationThe keys to opening your soul to grace and discernmentFr. Fanzaga warns us in this stunning “In a cultural climate that excludes the supernatural, the devil acts without being noticed. In a context of life in which God and His moral law are denied, Satan moves like a fish in water. Souls without light and deprived of the
weapons of the holy battle are doomed.”
The Deceiver will equip you with the weapons you need to defeat Satan while opening your eyes to the miracles of God’s healing love as you prepare for eternity.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2000
31 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 26, 2024
Five stars all the way. The title says it all; Satan IS the deceiver. The chapter headings say the rest insofar as why you would want to read this book:
1) Life is a Struggle and Heaven is only won by battle against this foe. Christianity has been a militant religion since the beginning, but not in the sense in which Islam calls for a holy war against infidels, promising Paradise to those who fall in battle.
2) Satan is the Prince of Darkness. Unlike human beings, Satan does not love the limelight but certainly not for humility; rather because his great pride would never allow him to operate on that basis. He does it for utility, because hiding himself suits his purpose, which is luring souls in order to capture them.
3) All that God has created is good. However, jealous of God, Satan wanted to obtain the splendor of divinity, not receiving it with submissive humility but stealing it with presumptuous pride. His sin was longing to have and possess more. Hating God as he did, the devil tempted humanity as described in the Book of Genesis and continues to do so down through the present age.
4) The devil is the avowed Adversary of God who hates Him yet constantly hides this behind his web of lies. He assumes the external appearance of an “angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). He is known as the Father of Lies.
5) Satan is the Enemy of Man, our False Benefactor. In his hostility to God and to all that is of God, Satan seduces us, the masterpiece of creation, in order to destroy. His activity is the exact opposite of God’s. If God is the Creator, then Satan is the destroyer. If God is life, then Satan is death.
6) When Jesus comes, He affirms that Satan is the prince of this world, revealing the empire of evil that the dark one had surreptitiously constructed for himself over the course of history, occupying the minds and hearts of men and infiltrating society and its institutions.
7) Christ also points out, ‘Satan’s power is certainly great, but he is not in a position to bend the human will. If he obtained victory over our first parents and has become the ruler of this world, it is because men allowed themselves to be blinded by his seductions and have chosen evil instead of good.’
8) It is vital to state here that, ‘although Satan has won a battle, Christ has won the war. Inasmuch as the “great dragon” is infuriated and has the capacity to seduce the whole earth (Rev. 12:9), we should not forget that “by his passion, Christ delivered us from Satan and from sin” (CCC 1708).’ And yet as we also know, the evil one has hardly thrown in the towel. Far from it, he is working harder than ever to grab as many souls as he can while he can.
9) The chapter on the Blessed Virgin Mary is the most beautiful and hopeful in the entire book. Here is a brief sample: ‘Mary is always Mother to us, even when we are far away from her through indifference and sin. Nevertheless, if we receive her in our life and entrust to her our journey of sanctity, we can be assured that no snare of the serpent will be able to harm us, no seduction will lead us astray, and no bite will be mortal. Satan used a woman to condemn humanity; Jesus Christ avails Himself of the woman to lead souls to salvation.’
10) Satan is The Tempter, the expert in tempting us, i.e., in getting us to sin. In Chapters 9 through 17 we are walked through all aspects of temptation: the temptation of our first parents, the temptation of Our LORD, the beginning, dynamics and outcome of temptation; temptation and capital vices; temptation in daily life and temptation on the way of conversion. There is no way to summarize this, but here is the one point the author makes which applies across the board to ALL the temptations:
11) A couple of chapters are concerned with the ferocity of the dragon, how Satan seduces us, sows discord, especially in families, provokes wars and persecutes the church. Also, there was information about how he seeks to undermine the good that can come from genuine visions by inducing fake visions. Then there is all the harm being caused today from divination, spiritualism and other occult practices.
12) Finally, the book concludes with a chapter on our last battle at the hour of our own death—by far the most important time in our life and often the time least prepared for. And also, a chapter regarding ‘the End Times’.
I regard this as one of the ten most important books I have ever read. The chapters on temptation cover the sins so thoroughly that one could use them for an examination of conscious.
EXCELLENT! I did not want to read this book much less review it, but I want to go to Heaven, and I know I am not smarter than the devil. Please help me, Jesus, Blessed Mother, Guardian Angel and all my Patron Saints!
1) Life is a Struggle and Heaven is only won by battle against this foe. Christianity has been a militant religion since the beginning, but not in the sense in which Islam calls for a holy war against infidels, promising Paradise to those who fall in battle.
2) Satan is the Prince of Darkness. Unlike human beings, Satan does not love the limelight but certainly not for humility; rather because his great pride would never allow him to operate on that basis. He does it for utility, because hiding himself suits his purpose, which is luring souls in order to capture them.
3) All that God has created is good. However, jealous of God, Satan wanted to obtain the splendor of divinity, not receiving it with submissive humility but stealing it with presumptuous pride. His sin was longing to have and possess more. Hating God as he did, the devil tempted humanity as described in the Book of Genesis and continues to do so down through the present age.
4) The devil is the avowed Adversary of God who hates Him yet constantly hides this behind his web of lies. He assumes the external appearance of an “angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). He is known as the Father of Lies.
5) Satan is the Enemy of Man, our False Benefactor. In his hostility to God and to all that is of God, Satan seduces us, the masterpiece of creation, in order to destroy. His activity is the exact opposite of God’s. If God is the Creator, then Satan is the destroyer. If God is life, then Satan is death.
6) When Jesus comes, He affirms that Satan is the prince of this world, revealing the empire of evil that the dark one had surreptitiously constructed for himself over the course of history, occupying the minds and hearts of men and infiltrating society and its institutions.
7) Christ also points out, ‘Satan’s power is certainly great, but he is not in a position to bend the human will. If he obtained victory over our first parents and has become the ruler of this world, it is because men allowed themselves to be blinded by his seductions and have chosen evil instead of good.’
8) It is vital to state here that, ‘although Satan has won a battle, Christ has won the war. Inasmuch as the “great dragon” is infuriated and has the capacity to seduce the whole earth (Rev. 12:9), we should not forget that “by his passion, Christ delivered us from Satan and from sin” (CCC 1708).’ And yet as we also know, the evil one has hardly thrown in the towel. Far from it, he is working harder than ever to grab as many souls as he can while he can.
9) The chapter on the Blessed Virgin Mary is the most beautiful and hopeful in the entire book. Here is a brief sample: ‘Mary is always Mother to us, even when we are far away from her through indifference and sin. Nevertheless, if we receive her in our life and entrust to her our journey of sanctity, we can be assured that no snare of the serpent will be able to harm us, no seduction will lead us astray, and no bite will be mortal. Satan used a woman to condemn humanity; Jesus Christ avails Himself of the woman to lead souls to salvation.’
10) Satan is The Tempter, the expert in tempting us, i.e., in getting us to sin. In Chapters 9 through 17 we are walked through all aspects of temptation: the temptation of our first parents, the temptation of Our LORD, the beginning, dynamics and outcome of temptation; temptation and capital vices; temptation in daily life and temptation on the way of conversion. There is no way to summarize this, but here is the one point the author makes which applies across the board to ALL the temptations:
‘Satan seeks to disarm you before every temptation. He does this by taking away from you the only instrument that enables you to defeat him: prayer. In prayer, you obtain from God the light of discernment to discover Satan’s snares and the strength to oppose his allurements. He will be untiring in his attempt to rob you of your daily moments for prayer, making excuses that there are other, more urgent things to do.’What can we do to stay strong against temptation? Refuse to give up daily prayer time... Pray, pray, PRAY... Strive to pray ALWAYS... Practice the presence of God!
11) A couple of chapters are concerned with the ferocity of the dragon, how Satan seduces us, sows discord, especially in families, provokes wars and persecutes the church. Also, there was information about how he seeks to undermine the good that can come from genuine visions by inducing fake visions. Then there is all the harm being caused today from divination, spiritualism and other occult practices.
12) Finally, the book concludes with a chapter on our last battle at the hour of our own death—by far the most important time in our life and often the time least prepared for. And also, a chapter regarding ‘the End Times’.
I regard this as one of the ten most important books I have ever read. The chapters on temptation cover the sins so thoroughly that one could use them for an examination of conscious.
EXCELLENT! I did not want to read this book much less review it, but I want to go to Heaven, and I know I am not smarter than the devil. Please help me, Jesus, Blessed Mother, Guardian Angel and all my Patron Saints!
January 15, 2024
I can’t say enough good things about this book! This is a must read for all. Engaging and well-written, the content is very relevant to current events. The author uncovers all the tricks of the devil in a world that often doesn’t even believe he exists (which is one of his greatest tricks!). I also appreciate that the author gives strategies to overcome the temptations and seductions of the devil. We’re In unprecedented times and we need help to make it to heaven. I recommend you search YouTube for NDE accounts of Bryan Melvin and/or Gloria Polo. They both went to hell. Terrifying. Read the book.
April 24, 2022
The Deceiver: Our Daily Struggle with Satan,
Absolutely a must read! If u have questions read this book. I highly recommend this book. And a easy read.
Absolutely a must read! If u have questions read this book. I highly recommend this book. And a easy read.
May 7, 2024
Fr. Fanzaga hit the nail on the head in this book. Although first published in 1959, when I turned 14, the evils of that time are the very same as today's. In fact today is worse due to the massive expansion of communications into the very heart of our lives! Yes, the world, the flesh, and the devil are still active in the work toward the fall of man the second time around. There is so little faith today, except in small enclaves here and there. Mega-Churches, video disciples, and others are leading us into error all of the time. The 'Feel Good Gospels' and 'LA-LA Land' philosophies are grave in error. Fr. Fanzaga exposed all of that over 65 years ago. He is now long dead, but his words reflected that of Jesus and of his disciples spoke of some 2,000 years ago. A lot of folk will disagree, well, God did create us with a free will. I say read and reflect, you could be required to make a change of heart once you digest the contents of this excellent book. To some reading the book will produce a sense of real concern, to other it may be like plowing through a high sea very slowly. Read the book, pray, and see what many others have seen.
January 26, 2024
Wow what a wonderful and insightful book! Couldn't put it done and I really liked the way the author spoke directly to the reader and called them "Dear friend".
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews