In the 17th vision, Saint Frances of Rome speaks to us about demons, and explains to us the creation of the angels and their classification which were revealed to her; God enabled her to discern those who would sin from those who would remain faithful.
She was then a witness to their revolt and the horrible fall which it earned them. However, this fall was not as profound for some as for others: one third of these unfortunate beings remained in the air, another third stopped on the earth, and the final third fell all the way into hell.
This difference in punishments corresponded to those which God noted in the circumstances of their common fault. Among these rebellious spirits, there were some who embraced the cause of Lucifer with a light heart, if I may speak in such a way; and others who viewed this uprising against the Creator with indifference and remained neutral.
The first were immediately cast into hell, from which they never emerge, unless God unleashes them when He wishes to strike the earth with some great calamity, to punish the sins of men.
The second were thrown partly into the air and partly onto the earth; and it is these latter who tempt us, as I will say later.
Lucifer, who wished to be the equal of God in heaven, is the monarch of hell, but a monarch in chains and more wretched than all the others. He has under him three princes to whom all the demons, divided into three bodies, are subjected by the will of God: just as in heaven, the good angels are divided into three hierarchies presided over by three spirits of superior glory.
To better understand, I invite you to read The Celestial Hierarchy of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite before continuing.
These three princes of the celestial militia were taken from the first three choirs, where they were the noblest and most excellent; thus, the three princes of the infernal militia were chosen as the most wicked of the spirits from the same choirs, who raised the standard of revolt.
Lucifer was in heaven the noblest of the angels who revolted and his pride made him the most wicked of all demons. It is for this reason that the justice of God gave him as king to all his companions and to the reprobate, with the power to govern and punish them according to his whims; which is why he is called the tyrant of hell. Besides this general presidency, he is also established over the vice of pride.
The first of the three princes who command under his orders is named Asmodeus: he was in heaven a Cherub, and he is now the impure spirit who presides over all dishonorable sins.
The second prince is called Mammon: he was formerly a Throne, and now he presides over the various sins committed by the love of money.
The third prince bears the name of Beelzebub; he originally belonged to the choir of Dominations, and now he is established over all the crimes spawned by idolatry, and presides over the infernal darkness. It is also from him that come the shadows which cloud the minds of humans.
These three chiefs, as well as their monarch, never leave their infernal prisons; when the justice of God wishes to exercise some striking vengeance upon the earth, these accursed princes depute a sufficient number of their subordinate demons for this purpose; for it sometimes happens that the scourges with which God wishes to strike peoples require more strength or more malice than the evil spirits spread over the earth and in the air possess. Then the more wicked and enraged infernal beings become indispensable auxiliaries. But outside of these rare cases, these great culprits cannot leave the prisons where they are confined. All these unfortunate spirits are classified in the abyss according to their hierarchical order.
The first hierarchy, composed of Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones, inhabits the lowest hell; they endure more cruel torments than the others and exercise the celestial vengeances upon the greatest sinners. Lucifer, who was a Seraph, exercises a special authority over them, by virtue of the pride over which he holds the high presidency. The demons of this hierarchy are only sent to earth when the wrath of God permits pride to prevail in order to punish nations.
The second hierarchy, formed of Dominations, Principalities, and Powers, dwells in the middle hell. It has for its prince Asmodeus who, as I have already said, presides over sins of lust. One can guess that the demons of this hierarchy are on earth when peoples abandon themselves to the infamous vice of impurity.
The third hierarchy, which is composed of Virtues, Archangels, and Angels, has Mammon as its chief, and inhabits the upper hell. When these demons are unleashed upon the earth, the thirst for riches prevails everywhere, and there is no longer any talk but of gold or silver.
As for Beelzebub, he is the prince of darkness, and spreads it, when God permits, into intelligences, to smother the light of conscience and that of the true faith. Such is the order that reigns among the demons in hell; as for their number, it is innumerable.
These same hierarchies are found among the demons who dwell in the air and on the earth, but they have no chiefs, and consequently live in independence and a sort of equality. These are the aerial demons who, most of the time, unleash the winds, stir up storms, produce tempests, hail, and floods. Their intention in this is to harm men, especially by diminishing their trust in divine Providence, and making them murmur against the will of God.
The demons of the first hierarchy, who live on the earth, do not fail to also profit from these occasions favorable to their malice; finding men irritated by these calamities and greatly weakened in their submission and trust, they make them fall much more easily into the vice of pride.
Those of the second hierarchy do not fail in their turn to precipitate them from their supercilious height into the impure mire, which then gives every facility to the demons of the third hierarchy to make them fall into the sins spawned by the love of money.
Then the angels who preside over the darkness blind them, make them leave the path of truth and make their return extremely difficult. It is thus that all the demons, despite the difference in their functions, conspire and mutually assist each other to lose souls. Some weaken their faith, others push them to pride, these to impurity, those to the love of riches, others finally throw a veil over their eyes and lead them so far from the path of salvation that most never find it again.
The only means of escaping this infernal conspiracy would be to rise again promptly from the first fall, and this is precisely what these poor souls do not do. Hence, this chain of temptations, which from fall to fall leads them to the bottom of the precipice.
When I said that the demons who are in the air and on the earth have no chiefs, I meant only that they have no subordinate officers; for all are subject to Lucifer, and obey his commands, because such is the will of divine justice. Despite the hatred they bear towards men, not one of them would dare to tempt them without the order of Lucifer, and Lucifer himself cannot prescribe, in this regard, anything but what the Lord, full of goodness and compassion for us, permits him.
Lucifer sees all his demons, not only those who are around him in hell, but also those who are in the air and on the earth. All also see him without any obstacle and perfectly understand all his wishes. They likewise see each other and understand each other very well. The evil spirits, spread throughout the air and on the earth, do not feel the assaults of the fire of hell; they are nonetheless exceedingly unhappy, as much because they mistreat and constantly strike one another, as because the operations of the good angels in this world cause them a spite which torments them cruelly.
The pains of those who belong to the first hierarchy are more bitter than those of the spirits of the second, and these are more unhappy than the spirits of the third. The same distributive justice presides over the torments of the infernal spirits; but these are all prey to the ardor of the infernal flames. The demons who dwell among us, and have received the power to tempt us, are all spirits fallen from the last choir.
The angels committed to our guard are also simple angels. These tempting spirits are constantly occupied in preparing our ruin. The means they employ for this are so subtle and varied, that a soul which escapes them is very fortunate, and cannot show too much gratitude to the Lord. There is not an instant of the day or night when these cruel enemies do not attempt one temptation or another, in order to weary those whom they cannot conquer by cunning or violence. Patience is therefore the defensive weapon par excellence.
Woe to him who lets it fall from his hands! When these ordinary tempters encounter strong and patient souls, which they cannot breach, they call to their aid companions more astute and wicked, not to fight with them or in their place, for God does not permit it, but to suggest more effective stratagems to them. Frances knew all this by experience: it was rare that she was tempted by her demon alone. Usually he associated others with himself; and, still too weak, they resorted to the malice of the superior spirits who dwelt in the air. She had become so skilled in this warfare, that in sustaining an attack, she knew to which choir belonged the one whose counsel directed it, and who he was.
When demons wish to deliver an assault on a skillful and strong soul, some attack it from the front and others place themselves behind it. It is in this manner that they ordinarily fought against our blessed one, and she saw them making signs to each other to concert their means.
When a soul, conquered by temptations, dies in its sin, its habitual tempter carries it off promptly, followed by many others who heap insults upon it, and does not cease to torment it until it is cast into hell. These detestable spirits then give themselves over to a ferocious joy. Its Guardian Angel, after having followed it to the entrance of the abyss, withdraws as soon as it has disappeared and ascends to heaven. When a soul, on the contrary, is condemned to purgatory, its tempter is cruelly beaten by the order of Lucifer, for having let its prey escape.
He remains there, however, outside of purgatory, but close enough for the soul to see him and hear the reproaches he makes to it concerning the causes of its torments. When it leaves purgatory to ascend to heaven, this demon returns to earth to mix with those who tempt us; but he is an object of mockery for them, for having poorly fulfilled the mission with which he was charged.
All those who thus let souls escape can no longer fulfill the office of tempters. They go, wandering here and there, reduced to rendering other bad offices to men, when they can. Sometimes Lucifer, to punish them, lodges them shamefully in the bodies of animals, or else he uses them, with God's permission, to exercise possessions which often bring them new shames. The demons, on the contrary, who have succeeded in losing the souls to which Lucifer had attached them, after having borne them into hell, reappear on earth, covered with glory among their kind and play a greater role than ever in the war they wage on the children of God. It is they whom the others call to their aid, as more experienced and skillful, when they have to deal with strong and generous souls who laugh at their vain efforts.
Every demon charged with the mission of losing a soul does not concern himself with the others; he wants only that one, and employs all his care to make it sin or to disturb its peace. However, when he has conquered it, he pushes it as much as he can to tempt, molest, or scandalize other souls. There are other demons of the same choir as those who tempt us, who live in our midst without attacking us.
Their mission is to watch over those who tempt us, and to chastise them each time they do not succeed in making us sin. Each time they hear the holy name of Jesus pronounced devoutly, they prostrate themselves spiritually—not willingly, but by force.
Frances once saw several in human form, who, at this sacred name which she pronounced while conversing with her confessor, inclined their forehead with a profound respect, even into the dust. This sacred name is for them a new torment, which makes them suffer all the more cruelly, as the person who pronounces it is more advanced in love and more perfect. When the impious profane this adorable name, these reprobate spirits are not saddened by it; but they are forced to bow, as if to repair the injury done to it. They act the same when it is taken in vain. Without this forced adoration, they would be quite content to hear this holy name blasphemed.
The good angels, on the contrary, on such occasions, adore it profoundly, praise it and bless it with an incomparable love. When it is pronounced with a true feeling of devotion, they render it the same homage, but with a lively feeling of joy. Each time our blessed one uttered this most holy name, she saw her Archangel take on an extraordinarily joyful air, and bow in such a gracious manner, that she was all inflamed with love.
When souls live in the habit of mortal sin, the demons enter into them, and dominate them in several ways, which vary according to the quality and quantity of their crimes; but when they receive absolution with a contrite heart, they lose their domination, depart as quickly as possible, and place themselves near them to tempt them anew; but their attacks are less vigorous, because confession has diminished their strength.
Source: Life of Saint Frances of Rome