Thought for the Day – 25 January – Of the Way to Resist the Impulses of Sense (Part One)

Thought for the Day – 25 January – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

The Third Weapon
of the Spiritual Combat

XIII: … Of the Way to Resist the Impulses of Sense
and of the Acts to be Performed by the Will
in order to Acquire Habits of Virtue (Part One)

“Whenever your reasonable will is attacked by the will of sense, on the one hand and the Divine Will on the other, each seeking to obtain the mastery over it, you must make use of various exercises, in order that the Divine Will may always govern you.

• Firstly: — Whenever you are assailed and buffeted by the impulses of sense, oppose a valiant resistance to them, so that the superior will may not consent.
• Secondly: — When the assaults have ceased, excite them anew, in order to repress them with greater force and vigour.

Then challenge them again to a third conflict, wherein you may accustom yourself to repulse them with contempt and abhorrence.
These two challenges to battle should be made to every disorderly appetite, except in the case of temptations of the flesh, concerning which we shall speak in their place.

• Lastly: — Make acts contrary to each evil passion which is to be resisted.
  This will be made clear by the following example in part two.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli