Thought for the Day – 9 March – Of the Devil’s Artifices, In Order to Draw Us Away, From the Path of Holiness (Part One)

Thought for the Day – 9 March – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XXXI: … Of the Devil’s Artifices, In Order
to Draw Us Away, From the Path of Holiness
(Part One)

“The fourth device of the Evil One, when he sees us advancing steadily towards holiness, is, to excite within us, a variety of good desires that, by this means, he may lead us away from the exercise of virtue, into sin.

A sick person is perhaps bearing his illness with a patient will.
The cunning adversary knows that by this means, he may attain to a habit of patience and, he immediately sets before him all the good works which, in a different condition, he might be able to perform, and tries to persuade him that if he were but well, he would be able to serve God better and be more useful to himself and others.
Having once aroused such wishes within him, he goes on increasing them by degrees, until he makes the subject restless at the impossibility of carrying them into effect and, the deeper and stronger such wishes become, the more does this restlessness increase.
Then the enemy leads him on gently and with a stealthy step, to impatience at the sickness, not as sickness but as a hindrance to those good works which he so anxiously desires to perform for some greater good.
When he has brought him thus far, with the same art he removes from his mind the end he had in view, to serve God and perform good works and leaves him only, the bare desire to be rid of his sickness.
And then, if this does not happen according to his wish, he is so much troubled, as to become actually impatient and so, unconsciously, he falls from the virtue in which he was exercising himself, into the opposite vice.

The way to guard against and resist this snare, is, to be very careful, when in a state of trial, not to give way to desires after any good work which, being out of your power to execute, would very probably disquiet you.
In such cases, resign yourself, with all patience, resignation and humility, to the conviction, that your desires would not have the effect you think, inasmuch as you are far more insignificant and unstable, than you account yourself to be.

Or else believe that God, in His surer counsels, or on account of your unworthiness, is not pleased to accept this work at your hand but, will rather that you should patiently abase and humble yourself under the Gentle and Mighty Hand of His Will.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli