The Spiritual Combat

1 The Spiritual Combat by Fr. Dom Lorenzo Scupoli based on text at First published in 1589 (None is vanquished in this Spiritual Combat but he who ceases XIV: What must be done when the superior-will seems to struggle and loses con dence in God. to be wholly sti ed and overcome by the interim- "He does not receive the Victor's Crown unless he ghts well" - will and by other enemies .. 10. 2 Timothy 2:5) XV: Some advice touching the manner of this warfare, and especially against whom, and with what res- The Spiritual Combat olution, it must be carried on .. 10. XVI: In what manner the soldier-of-Christ should take the eld early in the morning .. 10. XVII: Of the order to be observed in the con ict with Contents our Evil Passions .. 11. XVIII: Of the way to resist sudden impulses of the Passions .. 11. The Spiritual Combat 1 XIX: Of the way to resist the sins of the Flesh .. 12. XX: How to Combat Sloth.

2 13. Introduction 3 XXI: Of the regulation of the Exterior Senses, and how I: Of the Essence of Christian Perfection - to pass on from these to the contemplation of Of the Struggle Requisite for its Attainment - the Divinity .. 14. And of the Four Things Needful in this Con ict . 3 XXII: How the same things are to us means where- by to regulate our senses, and to lead us on to The First Two Weapons of the Spiritual Combat 4 meditate on the Incarnate Word in the Mysteries II: Distrust of Self (di dence) .. 4 of His Life and Passion .. 14. III: Of Trust in God (con dence) .. 4 XXIII: Of some other means whereby we may regulate IV: How a man may know whether he is active in Self- our senses according to the di erent occasions Distrust and Trust in God .. 5 which present themselves .. 15. V: Of the Error of Many, Who Mistake Fainthearted- XXIV: Of the way to rule the tongue .. 16. ness for a Virtue .. 5 XXV: That, in order to ght successfully against his enemies, the Soldier of Christ must avoid as much VI: Further directions how to attain Self-Distrust and as possible all perturbation and disquiet of mind.

3 16. Trust in God .. 5. XXVI: What we should do when we are wounded .. 17. The Third Weapon of the Spiritual Combat 5. The Enemy's Deceptions 18. VII: Of Spiritual Exercises, XXVII: Of the means employed by the Devil to assail and rst of the Exercise of the Understanding, and deceive those who desire to give themselves which must be kept guarded against ignorance up to the practice of virtue, and those who are and curiosity .. 5. already entangled in the bondage of sin .. 18. VIII: Of the hindrances to a Right Discernment of XXVIII: Of the Devil's assaults and devices against Things, those whom he holds in the bondage of sin .. 18. and of the method to be adopted in order to un- XXIX: Of the arts and stratagems by which he holds in derstand them properly .. 6. bondage those who knowing their misery, would IX: Of another danger from which the Understanding fain be free; and how it is that our resolutions must be guarded prove so often ine ectual.

4 18. in order that it may exercise a True Discernment 6 XXX: Of a delusion of those who imagine they are X: Of the Exercise of the Will, and the end to which going onward to perfection .. 19. all our actions, XXXI: Of the Devil's assaults and stratagems in order whether Interior or Exterior, should tend .. 7 to draw us away from the path of holiness .. 19. XI: Of some considerations which may incline the Will XXXII: Of the above named last assault and stratagem to seek to please God in all things .. 8 by which the Devil seeks to make the virtues we XII: Of the diverse wills in Man, and the Warfare be- have acquired the occasions of our ruin .. 20. tween them .. 8. XIII: Of the way to resist the impulses of sense, and of Virtues 21. the acts to be performed by the will XXXIII: Some counsels as to the overcoming of evil in order to acquire Habits of Virtue .. 8 passions and the acquisition of virtue.

5 21. 1. XXXIV: Virtues are to be gradually acquired by exercis- LXI: Concerning the Manner in which we are to Per- ing ourselves in their various degrees, and giving severe our attention rst to one and then to another .. 22 in the Spiritual Combat until Death .. 35. XXXV: Of the means whereby virtues are acquired, and how we should use then so as to attend for some At Death 35. considerable time to one virtue only .. 22. LXII: Concerning Our Preparation against the Enemies XXXVI: That in the exercise of virtue we must proceed who assail us at the Hour of Death .. 35. with unceasing watchfulness .. 23. XXXVII: That, as we must always continue in the ex- LXIII: Concerning the four assaults of the Enemy at ercise of all the virtues, so we must not shun any the Hour of Death. opportunity which o ers for their attainment .. 23 The rst assault against Faith and the manner of XXXVIII: That we should highly esteem all opportu- resisting it.

6 36. nities of ghting for the acquisition of virtues, LXIV: Concerning the four assaults of the Enemy at and chie y of those which present the greatest the Hour of Death. di culties .. 23 The second assault of Despair and its Remedy.. 36. XXXIX: How to avail ourselves of various occasions for LXV: Concerning the four assaults of the Enemy at the the exercise of a single virtue .. 24 Hour of Death. XL: Of the time to be given to the exercise of each The third assault of Temptation to Vainglory .. 36. virtue, and of the signs of our progress .. 24 LXVI: Concerning the four assaults of the Enemy at XLI: That we must not yield to the wish to be delivered the Hour of Death. from the trials we are patiently enduring, and how The fourth assault of various illusions employed we are to regulate all our desires so as to advance by the Devil at the Hour of Death .. 36. in holiness .. 25. XLII: How to resist the devil when he seeks to delude us by means of indiscreet zeal.

7 25. XLIII: Of the temptation to form rash judgments of our Treatise on Peace of Soul and Inner Happi- neighbor, arising from the instigation of the Devil ness Of the Soul Which Dies to Self in Order to Live for and the strength of our own evil inclinations, and of the way to resist this temptation .. 25. God 37. I: The nature of the human heart and the way in which The Fourth Weapon of the Spiritual Combat 26 it should be governed .. 37. XLIV: On prayer .. 26 II: The care to be exercised by the soul in the acquisi- XLV: Mental prayer .. 27 tion of perfect tranquillity .. 37. XLVI: Meditation .. 27 III: The necessity of building this peaceful habitation XLVII: Another Method of Meditation .. 28 by degrees .. 38. XLVIII: A Method of Prayer based on the Intercession IV: The necessity of relinquishing human consolations of the Blessed Virgin .. 28. in the acquisition of inner peace .. 38. XLIX: Some Considerations to induce Con dence in the Assistance of the Blessed Virgin.

8 28 V: The necessity of keeping the soul disengaged and in L: A Method of Meditation and Prayer involving solitude that God's Holy Will may operate in it . 38. the Intercession of the Saints and the Angels .. 28 VI: The necessity of our love of neighbor being guided LI: Meditation on the Su erings of Christ and the Sen- by prudence that serenity of soul be not disturbed 39. timents VII: The necessity of divesting our souls entirely of their to be derived from Contemplation of them .. 29 own will, that they may be presented to God .. 39. LII: The Bene ts derived from Meditations on the VIII: Concerning our faith in the Blessed Sacrament, Cross and the method by which we are to o er ourselves and the Imitation of the Virtue of Christ Cruci ed 30 to God .. 40. Communion 31. IX: True happiness is not to be found in pleasure or LIII: Concerning the most Holy Sacrament of the Eu- comfort, but in God alone.

9 40. charist .. 31 X: The necessity of not being dejected at the obstacles LIV: The manner in which we ought to receive the and repugnance we nd in the acquisition of this Blessed Sacrament .. 31 interior peace .. 40. LV: Preparation for Communion and the role of the XI: Concerning the arti ces of the devil to destroy our Eucharist peace of soul, and the method of combating them 40. in exciting in us a Love of God .. 31 XII: The necessity of preserving equanimity of soul in LVI: Concerning Spiritual Communion .. 33 the midst of internal temptations .. 41. LVII: Concerning Thanksgiving .. 33. XIII: God permits temptations for our ultimate welfare 41. LVIII: The O ering of self to God .. 33. XIV: The mode of behavior to be adopted with regard Final Remarks on Prayer and the Combat 34 to our faults .. 42. LIX: Concerning Sensible Devotion and Dryness .. 34 XV: The soul without loss of time should compose itself LX: Concerning the Examination of Conscience.

10 35 and make steady progress .. 42. 2. Introduction their own will; and blind to their own faults, they are busy and diligent observers and critics of the deeds and words of others. I: Of the Essence of Christian Perfection - But touch only with a nger their point of honor, a certain Of the Struggle Requisite for its Attainment - vain estimation in which they hold themselves and would have others to hold them, interrupt their stereotyped devotions, and And of the Four Things Needful in this Con ict they are disturbed and o ended beyond measure. Would you attain in Christ the height of perfection, and by a And if, to bring them back to the true knowledge of themselves nearer and nearer approach to God become one spirit with Him? and of the way of perfection, Almighty God should send them Before undertaking this greatest and noblest of all imaginable sickness, or sorrow, or persecution (that touchstone of His ser- enterprises, you must rst learn what constitutes the true and vants' loyalty, which never befalls them without His permission perfect Spiritual life.)