Repentance can be born only of grace. If God does not send grace to a spirit, making it understand the perpetrated evil, then there can be no supernatural repentance. Without grace, a demon can understand that it was a foolish decision to have rebelled, a decision that has caused it suffering. But true repentance is qualitatively different from just mere awareness. It is not simply an act of the understanding; rather, it is a gift from God so that we might bend our knees before Him and humbly ask for His forgiveness. Without this grace, one may feel pain for making a wrong decision, but true repentance is beyond him. Demons can admit that their choice led to suffering, but this does not stop them from hating God.
The eternity of hell, then, is not due to some arbitrary divine decision. Rather, its eternal duration is a necessary consequence of rebellion against God. It is they who have drifted far away from Him and do not want to return. Many Christians think that God is excessively severe in imposing an eternal condemnation on sinners, but He is just giving those who hate Him what they want – eternal separation from Him (see Catechism of the Catholic Church 1033-1037).
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