Tag: frlorenzoscupoli

Posted in QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LUST, QUOTES on MEDIOCRITY, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 23 February – Of Using the Senses to Advantage in Diverse Situations (Part One)

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Thought for the Day – 23 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XXIII: … Of Using the Senses to Advantage
in Diverse Situations
(Part One)

“Having now seen, by what means, we may raise the mind from sensible objects to the contemplation of the Divinity and of the Mysteries of the Incarnate Word, I will here add some aids for various subjects of meditation, that, as the tastes of souls are many and varied, so too, may their nourishment be.
This maybe *awful, not only to simple persons but also to those of higher
intellect and more advanced in the spiritual life, who, nevertheless, may not at all times be equally disposed and ready for higher contemplations.
Nor need you fear to be perplexed by the variety of the methods described, if you will only observe the Rule of Discretion and attend to the advice of others which I wish you to follow with all humility and confidence, not in this instance alone but, with regard to all other counsels which you shall receive from me.

+++ At the sight of all the things which please the eyes and are prized in the world, consider tha, all these are vile as dust, compared with heavenly riches, after which heavenly beauty do you aspire, with undivided affections, despising the whole world.

+++ When looking upon the sun, consider that your soul is brighter and more beautiful if it be in your Creator’s favour; if not, that it is blacker and more hateful than the darkness of hell.

+++ When your bodily eyes are lifted to the heavens above you, let the eyes of your mind penetrate even to the Heaven of heavens and there, fix yourself in thought, as if you are in the place prepared for your eternal and blessed abode, if you shall live a holy life on the earth.

+++ On hearing the songs of birds, or other melodious sounds, lift up your heart to the songs of Paradise, where resounds a ceaseless Alleluia and pray the Lord to make you worthy to praise Him together with those celestial spirits, forever and ever.

If you are conscious of taking delight in the beauty of the creature, remember that there, the deadly serpent lies hidden, ready and eager to wound, if not to enslaye you and say to him:
“O accursed serpent, you insidiously lie in wait to devour me!”
Then turning to your Lord God, say:
“Blessed be Thou, O my God, Who has revealed to me the hidden enemy, and delivered me from his ravenous jaws.”
Then FLY at once, from the allurement, to the Wounds of your Crucified Lord, letting your mind rest on them, considering how acutely He suffered in His most Sacred Flesh, to free you from sin and make you detest all carnal delights.
Another way of escape from this perilous allurement is, to consider what will be the condition of that object, after death, which now delights you so!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

*Proper and original meaning of “awful” – “full of awe” or “worthy of respect” or “striking with reverential awe.”

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, QUOTES on CREATION, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, The INCARNATION, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 21 February – Of How Sensible Things Aid Us to Meditate on the Incarnate Word in the Mysteries of His Life and Passion (Part One)

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Thought for the Day – 21 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XXII: … Of How Sensible Things Aid Us
to Meditate on the Incarnate Word in the
Mysteries of His Life and Passion
(Part One)

“I have shown you how we may raise our minds from sensible objects to the contemplation of the Divinity.
Now, learn a method of taking occasion from the same, to meditate on the Incarnate Word and the most Sacred Mysteries of His Life and Passion.

All things in the universe may serve to this end, if first you behold God in them, as the sole first cause, Who has bestowed on them all the being, beauty and excellence which they possess.
Passing on from this, consider how great, how immeasurable is His goodness; Who, being the Sole Principle and Lord of all creation, was pleased to descend so low, as to become Incarnate, to suffer and to die for man, permitting the very works of His Hands to arm themselves against Him and to Crucify Him.
Many objects will then bring these Holy Mysteries before your mind’s eye, such as weapons, cords, scourges, pillars, thorns, reeds, nails, hammers and other instruments of His Passion.

Poor hovels will recall to our memory the stable and manger of our Lord.
Rain will remind us of the drops of Divine Blood which fell from His most sacred Body in the Garden and watered the ground.
Rocks will represent to us those which were rent asunder at His Death.
The earth will bring to our memory the earthquake at that hour; the sun, the darkness that then covered it.
The sight of water will speak to us of that stream which flowed from His most Sacred Side.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, QUOTES on WISDOM, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 20 February – Of the Proper Use of the Exterior Senses: Contemplation of the Divinity (Part Two)

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Thought for the Day – 20 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XXI: … Of The Proper Use of the Exterior Senses:
Contemplation of the Divinity
(Part Two)

“And if attracted by the beauty of the creature, separate that which you see, from the Spirit which you see not and consider that all that exterior beauty, is solely derived from the invisible Spirit which is its source and joyfully say:
“Behold, these are streamlets
from the uncreated Fountain;
behold, these are drops
from the Infinite Ocean of all good.
O, how does my inmost heart rejoice
at the thought of that eternal Infinite Beauty
which is the Source and Origin of all created beauty!”

And, on the discovery, in other men of goodness, wisdom, justice or similar virtues, make the same mental separation and say to God:
“O most rich Treasure-house of all virtues,
how greatly do I rejoice that from Thee
and through Thee alone,
flows all goodness and, that all in comparison
with Thy Divine perfections, is as nothing!
I thank Thee, Lord, for this
and every good gift which Thou hast vouchsafed
to my neighbour; remember, Lord,
my poverty, and my great need of this very virtue.”

When you stretch out your hand to do anything, reflect that God is the first cause of that action and you but His living instrument and raising your thoughts to Him, say thus:
“How great, O supreme Lord of all,
is my interior joy, that without Thee
I can do nothing and that Thou,
art in truth, the first and chief Worker of all things!”

When eating or drinking, consider that it is God who gives its relish to your food. Delighting yourself, therefore, in Him alone, say:
“Rejoice, O my soul,
hat as there is no true contentment but in God,
so in Him alone, may you, in all things content yourself.”

When your senses are gratified by some sweet odour, rest not in this enjoyment but let your thoughts pass onto the Lord, from Whom this sweetness is derived and, inwardly consoled, by this thought, say:
“Grant, O Lord, that as I rejoice
because all sweetness flows from Thee,
so may my soul, pure and free from all earthly pleasure,
ascend on high as a sweet savour,
acceptable unto Thee.”

When you listen to the harmony of sweet sounds, let your heart turn to God, saying:
“How do I rejoice, my Lord and God,
in Thine Infinite perfections
which, not only make a super-celestial
harmony within Thyself,
but also, unite the Angels in Heaven
and all created beings,
in one marvellous harmonious concert!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/19/thought-for-the-day-19-february-of-the-proper-use-of-the-exterior-senses-contemplation-of-the-divinity-part-one/

Posted in CONTEMPLATIVE Prayer, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on CREATION, QUOTES on WATCHING, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 19 February – Of the Proper Use of the Exterior Senses: Contemplation of the Divinity (Part One)

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Thought for the Day – 19 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XXI: … Of The Proper Use of the Exterior Senses:
Contemplation of the Divinity
(Part One)

“Great watchfulness and continual exercise is needed, for the due ordering and regulation of the exterior senses – for the appetite which is, as it were, the captain of our corrupt nature, inclines us to an immoderate seeking after pleasure and enjoyment.
The appetite, being unable, by itself, to attain them, it uses the senses as its soldiers and as natural instruments for laying hold of objects, whose images it draws to itself and impresses on the mind.
Hence arises the pleasure which, by reason of the relationship subsisting, between it and the flesh, diffuses itself, over all the senses which are capable of it, infecting both soul and body with a common contagion which corrupts the whole.
You see the evil – now mark the remedy.

Take good heed not to let your senses stray freely where they will; nor to use them when pleasure alone and not utility, necessity, nor any good end, is the motive.
And, if inadvertently they have been allowed to wander too far, recall them at once; or so regulate them that, instead of remaining as before in a miserable captivity to empty pleasures, they may gather a noble spoil from each passing object and bring it home to the soul, that, collected within itself, if may rise with a steadier flight towards Heaven, to the contemplation of God.

Which maybe done in the following manner:
When any object is presented before one of your exterior senses, separate in your mind, from the material thing, the principle which is in it and reflect that, of itself, it possesses nothing of all that which it appears to have but, that all is the work of God, Who endows it invisibly, by His Spirit, with the being, beauty, goodness, or whatever virtue belongs to it.
Then rejoice that thy Lord alone is the Cause and Principle, of such great
and varied perfections and, that they are all eminently contained in Himself, all created excellences being but most minute degrees of His Divine and Infinite perfections.
When engaged in the contemplation of grand and noble objects, reduce the creature, mentally to its own nothingness, fixing your mind’s eye on the great Creator therein present, Who gave it that great and noble being and delighting yourself in Him alone, say:
“O Divine Essence and above all things to be desired,
how greatly do I rejoice that Thou alone
art the InfInite Principle of every created being!”

In like manner, at the sight of trees, plants, or such like objects, you will understand that the life which they have, they have not of themselves but, from the Spirit which you do not see,and which alone quickens them.
Say, therefore:
“Behold here the true Life from which, in which and through which,
all things live and grow!
O living Joy of this heart!”

So, at the sight of brute animals, raise your thoughts to God, Who gave them sensation and motion, saying:
“O Thou First Mover of all that moves, Thou art Thyself immovable;
how greatly do I rejoice in Thy steadfastness and stability!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in CHRIST, the BRIDEGROOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SLOTH, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on THANKSGIVING, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES on WATCHING, The PASSION, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 18 February – How to Combat Sloth (Part Two)

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Thought for the Day – 18 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XX: … How to Combat Sloth
(Part Two)

“Call to mind then, frequently that a single elevation of the heart to God, a single genuflection in His honour, is worth more than all the treasures of the world and that, as often as we do violence to ourselves and our sinful passions, a glorious crown of victory is prepared for us, by angels’ hands in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Remember too, on the other hand that God gradually withdraws from the slothfulm, the grace which He had once bestowed upon them; while He increases that of the diligent, permitting them, at last, to enter into His joy.

If you are unequal at first to a bold encounter with toil and hardship, disguise them from yourself, that they may not seem as formidable as sloth would represent them to you.

The exercise before you, is perhaps, to acquire some virtue by many repeated acts, by many days of toil and the enemies to be overcome, seem to you many and strong.
Begin these acts then, as if you had but a few of them to perform, that is, only a few days’ conflict to endure.
Fight only against one adversary, as if there were no more to be resisted and, in full confidence that, with the help of God, you will be stronger than they. By this means, sloth will begin to grow feeble and will make way. at last, for the gradual entrance of the contrary virtue.

I would say the same of prayer.
An hour of prayer is perhaps needful for you and this seems a difficult matter to sloth but apply yourself to it, as if intending to pray but for the eighth part of an hour, you will then easily pass on to another eighth and so on, to the whole.
But if, in the second, or any other of these divisions, you should feel too violent a repugnance and difficulty, leave the exercise awhile, lest you become weary but return to, it shortly.

You should pursue the same method with respect to manual labours, when you are called upon to do things which to sloth appear many in number and difficult of performance and so cause you much disturbance of mind.
Begin, therefore, quietly and courageously with one, as if you had no more to do and when you have dilligently accomplished this, you will be able to
perform all the others with far less labour than sloth would have you believe possible.
But if you do not pursue this method and encounter the toil and hardships which lie in your way, resolutely, the vice of sloth will so gain the mastery over you that you will be forever harassed and annoyed, not only by the present toil and difficulty which will always attend the first exercises of virtue but, even by the distant prospect of them.
You will be forever in fear of being tried and assailed by enemies, or laden with some fresh burden so that, even in the time of peace, you will live in perpetual disquiet.

Know too that this vice of sloth will, by its secret poison, not only consume, the first and feeble roots which would in time have produced habits of virtue but even the roots of habits already acquired.
Like a worm in the wood, it will go on insensibly corroding and eating away the marrow of the spiritual life.

By these means, the devil seeks to ensnare and delude all men but especially, spiritual persons.
Watch, therefore and pray and labour diligently and do not delay to weave the web of your wedding-garment that you may be found ready and adorned to meet the Bridegroom!
And remember daily that He, Who gives you the morning, does not promise you the evening and although He gives the evening, yet promises not the morrow.
Spend, therefore, every moment of every hour according to God’s will, as if it were your last and so much the more carefully, as, for every moment, you will have to give the strictest account!

Finally, I warn you to account that day lost, in which you will neither have gained some victory over your evil inclinations and your self-will, although it may have been full of busy action, nor returned thanksgiving to your Lord for His mercies and especially for His bitter Passion endured for you and for His sweet and fatherly correction, when He has made you worthy to receive, at
His Hand, the inestimable treasure of suffering.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/17/thought-for-the-day-17-february-how-to-combat-sloth-part-one/

Posted in QUOTES on SLOTH, QUOTES on THE WORLD, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 17 February – How to Combat Sloth (Part One)

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Thought for the Day – 17 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XX: … How to Combat Sloth
(Part One)

“To avoid falling into the miserable bondage of sloth, which would not only hinder your progress towards perfection but also ,deliver you into the hands of your enemies, you must observe the following rules:

  1. Shun all curiosity concerning worldly things and all attachment to them and also, every kind of occupation which does NOT belong to your state of life.
  2. Endeavour earnestly, to respond immediately to every inspiration from above and to every command of your superiors; doing everything at the time and in the manner, which is pleasing to them.
  3. Never allow yourself even one moment’s delay – for that one little delay, will soon be followed, by another and that, by a third and this again by others and to the last, the senses will yield and give way more easily than to the first, having been already fascinated and enslaved by the pleasure they have tasted therein.

Hence, the duty to be performed, is either begun too late, or sometimes laid aside altogether, as too irksome to be endured!
Thus, by degrees, a habit of sloth is acquired which, as we cannot disguise it from ourselves, we seek to excuse by vain purposes of future diligence and activity, while we are all the while held in bondage by it.

The poison of sloth overwhelms the whole man – not only infecting the will, by making exertion hateful to it but also, blinding the understanding, so that it is unable to see how vain and baseless are its intentions, to do promptly and diligently, at some future season, what should be done at once but is either willfully neglected altogether, or deferred to another time.

Nor is it enough that we perform our appointed work quickly; we must, in order to bring it to its highest possible perfection, do it at the very time required by its nature and quality and with all suitable diligence.
For that is not diligence but the subtlest form of sloth which leads us to do our work before its time – not seeking to do it well but dispatching it hastily, that we may afterwards indulge in the sluggish repose on which our thoughts have been dwelling, while we were hurrying over our business!

All this great evil proceeds from the want of duly, considering the value of a good work, performed at its right time and with a spirit determined to brave the toil and difficulty, put in the way of untried soldiers, by the sin of sloth.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in QUOTES on LUST, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 16 February – Of the Way to Resist the Sins of the Flesh, Section III

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Thought for the Day – 16 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XIX: … Of the Way to Resist the Sins of the Flesh
(III) When the Temptation is Over

“ When the temptation is over, however free, however perfectly secure you may feel yourself from danger, keep far from all those objects which gave rise to the temptation, even though, you should be induced to do otherwise, for some apparently good and useful end.
For this is a deception of our evil nature and a snare of our cunning adversary, who transforms himself into an angel of light to bring us into darkness!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in CONFESSION/PENANCE, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LUST, QUOTES on MEDITATION, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 15 February – Of the Way to Resist the Sins of the Flesh (Part Two of Section II)

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Thought for the Day – 15 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XIX: … Of the Way to Resist the Sins of the Flesh
(II) During the Temptation
(Part Two)

“Against evil thoughts, from whatever source arising, the remedies are as follows: (1) Occupation in the various duties proper to our state of life; (2) Prayer and meditation.

Prayer should be made in the following manner:
When first conscious of the presence of these evil thoughts, or even of such as may betoken their approach, FLY for refuge at once to the Crucified, saying:
“My Jesus! my sweet Jesus! help me speedily that I may not fall into the hands of this enemy.”
And sometimes, embracing the Cross on which your Lord is extended and repeatedly kissing the wounds of His Sacred Feet, say lovingly:
“O beauteous Wounds! chaste Wounds! holy Wounds!
wound Thou now, this miserable impure heart of mine
and free it from all that offends Thee.”

At the moment when temptations to carnal pleasures assail you, I do not advise you to meditate upon certain points recommended in many books as remedies against these temptations, such as the vileness of this vice, its insatiable craving, the bitterness and loathing, the peril and ruin of estate, life, honour, etc which follow in its train.
This is not always a certain method of overcoming the temptation – for, if the mind repels these thoughts on the one hand, on the other, they afford an opportunity and expose us to the danger of taking pleasure in and consenting to, them.
Therefore, the true remedy in all these cases, is flight, not from these thoughts alone but from everything, however contrary to them, which may bring them before us.

Let your meditation, then, for this end, be on the Life and Passion of our Crucified Redeemer.
And, should the same thoughts again, intrude themselves against your will and molest you more than ever, as will very probably happen, be not discouraged on this account, nor leave your meditation but continue it, with all possible intensity, not even turning from it to repel such thoughts but giving yourself no more concern about them than if they, in no way, belonged to you.
There is no better method than this of resisting them, how incessant soever maybe their attacks.

You will then conclude your meditation with this or some similar Supplication:
“Deliver me, O my Creator and Redeemer,
from mine enemies, for the honour of Thy Passion
and of Thine unspeakable goodness.”

Suffer not your thoughts to recur again to the subject; for the bare recollection of it is not without danger!
Neither stay, at anytime, to reason with such temptations, to find out whether you have consented to them or not – for this is a device of the devil, who seeks, under the semblance of good, to disquiet you and make you distrustful and faint-hearted, or hopes, by entangling you in such discussions, to draw you into some sin.

Therefore, in this temptation, when the consent is not evident, it is sufficient that you briefly confess the whole to your Spiritual Father and then, rest satisfied with his opinion, without thinking of it further.
But be sure, faithfully to reveal every thought to him and, neither be restrained from so doing by shame or any other consideration.
For if, in dealing with all our enemies, we need the grace of humility to enable us to subdue them, in this case, more than in any other, we are bound to humble ourselves; this vice being almost always, the punishment of pride!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE of I:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/12/thought-for-the-day-11-february-of-the-way-to-resist-the-sins-of-the-flesh-part-one/
PART TWO of I:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/13/thought-for-the-day-13-february-of-the-way-to-resist-the-sins-of-the-flesh-part-two/
PART ONE of II:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/14/thought-for-the-day-14-february-of-the-way-to-resist-the-sins-of-the-flesh-part-one-of-section-ii/

Posted in MODESTY, QUOTES on LUST, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on VICE, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 14 February – Of the Way to Resist the Sins of the Flesh (Part One of Section II)

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Thought for the Day – 14 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XIX: … Of the Way to Resist the Sins of the Flesh
(II) During the Temptation
(Part One)

“During the temptation, consider whether it proceeds from internal or external causes.
By external, I mean, curiosity of the eyes or ears, immodesty — in dress, habits and conversations which excite to this sin.
The remedies in this case are purity, modesty, the refraining from seeing or hearing anything which excites to this vice and, as I said before, fight against such vices!

The internal are either the rebellion of the flesh, or thoughts of the mind proceeding from our own evil habits or from the suggestion of the devil.
The rebellion of the flesh must be mortified by fasts, disciplines, hair-shirts, vigils and other similar austerities, as discretion and obedience may direct.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE of I:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/12/thought-for-the-day-11-february-of-the-way-to-resist-the-sins-of-the-flesh-part-one/
PART TWO of I:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/13/thought-for-the-day-13-february-of-the-way-to-resist-the-sins-of-the-flesh-part-two/

Posted in QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on LUST, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on VICE, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 12 February – Of the Way to Resist the Sins of the Flesh (Part One of Section I)

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Thought for the Day – 12 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XIX: … Of the Way to Resist the Sins of the Flesh
(I) Before the Temptation
(Part One)

“These sins must be resisted in a way peculiar to themselves and different from the method used against any other temptation.
In order, therefore, to resist successfully, three phases must be observed. The firtst – before the temptation, the second – during the temptation and the third – after the temptation.

Before the temptation the struggle must be against those things which generally occasion it.
First, you must combat the vice but never confront it; on the contrary, avoid to the utmost of your power, every occasion and every person, where you may incur the slightest danger.
And if at times, compelled to converse with such, let it be brief, with a grave and modest demeanour and with words of severity, rather than of excessive tenderness and affability.

Neither be confident in yourself, if you are free of such temptations and, during many years of such exercises, have continued free from temptations of the flesh – for this accursed vice makes its advances secretly, often doing, in an hour, what in many years it had failed to effect and it hurts the more grievously and wounds the more fatally, the more friendly the form it assumes and the less ground of suspicion it seems to give.

And there is often great danger, as experience has shown and still shows, in connections which are indulged in, under fair and lawful pretexts, such as kindred, relations of duty, or, again, great virtue in the person beloved.

For the poisonous pleasure of sense insinuates itself into this over-frequent and imprudent connection, instilling its venom gradually, until it penetrates into the marrow of the soul and darkens the reason more and more, until at last, no account is made of things which are really dangerous, such as mutual glances of tenderness, loving words and the enjoyment of conversation and so, a change creeping over both, they fall at last into destruction, or into some temptation most difficult and toilsome to overcome!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, OUR Cross, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, QUOTES on Will (Sensual or Inferior), The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 11 February – Of the Way to Resist Sudden Impulses of the Passions

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Thought for the Day – 11 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XVIII: … Of the Way to Resist
Sudden Impulses of the Passions

“Until we have become habituated to ward off sudden strikes, whether of insult or other adverse circumstances, it is well, in order to acquire such a habit, to anticipate them and desire to suffer them, over and over again and so, to await them with a mind prepared.

The way to anticipate them is, to consider the passion to which you are most inclined and also, the places wherein and the persons with whom, you are wont to converse; whence you may readily conjecture what is likely to befall you.
And should you meet with any other untoward circumstance which you have not foreseen, although you will find your soul strengthened by having been prepared to meet the other evils which you did foresee, yet may you also avail yourself of the following additional help.

At the very first touch of the insult or ‘trial,’ whatever it be, rouse yourself at once and lift up your heart to God, reflecting on His ineffable goodness and love, which sends you this affliction that, by enduring it for the love of Him, you may thereby be more purified and brought nearer and united unto Him.
And, knowing, how greatly He is pleased that you should suffer it, turn next to yourself and with a sharp rebuke, say, “O, why will you refuse to bear this cross which is sent to you, not by man but by your Father Who is in Heaven!”
Then turn to the cross and embrace it with all possible patience and joy, saying, “O cross, formed by Divine Providence before I was born; O cross, endeared to me by the dear love of my Crucified Lord, nail me now to youself that so I may give myself to Him, Who died on you for my redemption!”

And if, at first the passion should prevail against you and you should be wounded and unable to raise your heart to God, strive even then, to do, as at the beginning and fight as if still unwounded.

The most effectual remedy, however, against these sudden impulses, is to remove the cause from whence they proceed.
Thus, if you discover that, through your affection for any object, you
are thrown into a sudden agitation of mind, as often as it is presented to you, the remedy is, by persevering efforts, to withdraw your affection from it.

But, if the agitation proceeds from a person, who is so disagreeable to you that every little action of his annoys and irritates you, the remedy here, is to force yourself to love and cherish him, not only as a creature formed by the same Sovereign Hand, with yourself and created anew by the same Divine Blood but also becaus. he offers you an opportunity, if you will accept it, of becoming like your Lord, Who is kind and loving unto all men!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in QUOTES on ENEMIES, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on VICE, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 10 February – Of the Order to be Observed in the Conflict with our Evil Passions

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Thought for the Day – 10 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XVII: … Of the Order to be Observed
in the Conflict with our Evil Passions

“It is of great importance that we should know how to observe a due order in this combat, lest, as too many do, to their own great injury, we should fight in a casual or desultory manner.

The order to be observed in the warfare against your enemies and evil inclinations should be as follows:

Look well into your heart and search diligently until you have discovered, by what thoughts and affections it is surrounded and, by what passion it is most tyrannically swayed,
Then, against this vice, first take up arms and direct your attack. If, meanwhile, you should be assaulted by other enemies, turn against the one nearest to you and which, at the moment threatens you but fail not, to return afterwards, to the prosecution of your principal enterprise.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in "Follow Me", ArchAngels and Angels, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SELF-DISTRUST, The COMMUNION of SAINTS, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 9 February – The Soldier of Christ Must Prepare for Battle, Early in the Morning (Part Two)

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

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

XVI: … The Soldier of Christ Must Prepare
for Battle, Early in the Morning (Part Two)

‘Not by might, nor by power but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.’ – Zechariah 4:6,

“Begin the combat in the Name of the Lord, with the weapons of Self-distrust and Trust in God, of prayer and spiritual exercises and challenge your foe to the battle, that is, that inclination, whatever it be, which, according to the order above laid down, you have resolved to conquer.
Do this, now by open resistance, now by deep abhorrence, or again, by acts of the contrary virtue, wounding him again and again, even unto death, to give pleasure to your Lord, Who is looking on, with the whole Church Triumphant, to behold your conflict!

I tell you again, you must not weary of the struggle but, remember the obligation which lies on us all, to serve and please God and the absolute necessity of fighting in this battle, from which none can escape, without wounds or death.

I tell you, moreover, that if, as a rebel you would fly from God,and give
yourself over to the world and the delights of the flesh, you will still be forced, in spite of yourself, to labour by the sweat of your brow, against many and many an adversary, who will pierce your heart with deadly anguish.

Consider, then, what folly it would be to incur all this toil and trouble, which does but lead to greater toil and endless trouble and spiritual death, in order to avoid that which will soon be over and which will lead us to eternal and infinite blessedness in the everlasting enjoyment of our God.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/08/thought-for-the-day-8-february-the-soldier-of-christ-must-prepare-for-battle-early-in-the-morning-part-one/

Posted in QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SUFFERING, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 8 February – The Soldier of Christ Must Prepare for Battle, Early in the Morning (Part One)

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Thought for the Day – 8 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XVI: … The Soldier of Christ Must Prepare
for Battle, Early in the Morning (Part One)

‘Not by might, nor by power but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.’ – Zechariah 4:6,

“On awaking in the morning, the first thing to be observed by your inward sight, is the field of battle in which you are enclosed, facing the enemy and bound by the law of the combat – either fight or die!

Here picture to yourself, on one side, your enemy (that evil inclination which you are already pledged to conquer) now standing before you, ready armed to wound and slay you.
See also, on the right hand, your victorious Captain, Jesus Christ, with His most holy Mother the Virgin Mary and her beloved Spouse Saint Joseph and innumerable hosts of Angels, especially Saint Michael the Archangel and, on the left hand, the infernal demon, with all his armies, ready to excite this passion and to persuade you to yield to it.

Then shall you seem to hear a voice as of your Guardian Angel addressing you:

“You are to fight this day against this and your other enemies.
Let not your heart fail, nor your spirit faint.
Yield not on any account, neither for fear nor any other cause; for our Lord, your Leader, stands beside you with all His glorious hosts and will do battle for you against all your enemies and will not suffer them to prevail against you or to overcome you.

Only stand firm – do violence to yourself and endure the pain such violence will cause you.
Cry unceasingly from the depths of your heart and call upon the Lord and so assuredly, shalt you gain the victory.
If you are weak and inexperienced, if your enemies are strong and manifold, manifold more, are the succours of Him Who created and redeemed you and mightier beyond all measure and comparison, is your God and more willing to save you, than are all your enemies to destroy you.

Fight valiantly then and be not loathe to suffer; for it is this toilsome resistance to your evil inclinations, this painful struggle against evil habits which shall gain you the victory and win for you a treasure wherewith to purchase the Kingdom of Heaven and unite your soul to God forever.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on ENEMIES, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on THE WORLD, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, The FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES: JUSTICE, PRUDENCE, TEMPERANCE, FORTITUDE, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 6 February – Of the Enemies We are to Engage and the Courage Necessary to Fight (Part One)

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Thought for the Day – 6 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XV: … Of the Enemies We Are to Engage
and the Courage Necessary to Fight (Part One)

“You see now after what manner you must fight in order to conquer self and to adorn your soul with all virtues.

Know, furthermore, that to obtain a speedier and easier victory over your enemies, it is expedient, nay necessary, that you should fight against them daily and, especially against self-love and learn to esteem, as dear friends and benefactors, all the insults and vexations which the world can heap upon you.

And it is because men know not the necessity of this daily warfare and make too little account of it that, as I said before, their victories are rare, difficult, imperfect and unstable.

Moreover, I warn you that you must bring great courage and steadfastness of soul to this conflict.
And this gift you will readily obtain if you beseech it of God, considering, on the one hand, the undying hatred and fury of your enemies and the vast multitude of their ranks and squadrons and, on the other, how infinitely greater is the goodness of God and the love wherewith He loves you and how much mightier, too, are the Angels of Heaven and the prayers of the Saints, who fight for us.
By this consideration, have so many feeble women been enabled to overcome and conquer, all the power and wisdom of the world, all the assaults of the flesh and all the fury of hell!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in QUOTES on FREEDOM, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), QUOTES on Will (Sensual or Inferior), SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 5 February – Of What Must be Done, When the Superior Will Seems to be Wholly Stifled and Overcome

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Thought for the Day – 5 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XIV: … Of What Must be Done, When the Superior Will
Seems to be Wholly StifLed and Overcome,
by the Inferior Will and by Other Enemies

“If, at times, the Superior Will should seem to you, powerless to resist the Inferior and, its other enemies because, you do not feel within you an effectual will opposed to them, yet stand firm! and do not leave the field – for you must always account yourself victorious, until you can clearly perceive that you have yielded.

For, inasmuch as our Superior Will has no need of the Inferior for the production of its acts, without its own consent, it can never be compelled to yield, however sorely assaulted.

For God endowed our will with such freedom and such strength that were all the senses, all evil spirits, nay, the whole world itself, to arm and conspire to assault and oppress it, with all their might, it could still, in spite of them, will or not will, all that it wills or wills not and that, how often soever, whensoever, howsoever and, to what end soever it should please!

And, if at any time, your foes should so violently assail and press upon you as almost to stifle your will, so that it seems to have no breath to produce any opposing act of volition, yet, do not lose courage, nor throw down your arms but make use of your tongue in your defence, saying:
“I yield not, I consent not”
like a man whose adversary is upon him and holds him down and who, being unable to reach him with the point of his sword, strikes at him with the hilt and, as he tries to make a spring backwards to wound his enemy with the point, so do thou take refuge in the knowledge of yourself, the knowledge that you are nothing and can do nothing and with faith in God, Who can do all things, strike a blow at this hostile passion, saying:
“Help me, Lord! help me, O my God! help me, Jesus, Mary! that I
may not yield to this enemy!”

You may also, when your enemy gives you time, call in your reason to assist the weakness of your will, by meditating upon various points, the consideration of which may give it strength and restore its breath, to resist the enemy.
For example:
You are, perhaps, under some persecution or other trial, so sorely tempted to impatience that your will, as it seems to you, cannot, or at least, will not, endure it.
Encourage it, then, by discussing with the reason such points as the following:

  • Consider, firstly, whether you have given any occasion for the evil under which you are suffering and so, have deserved it; for if you have done so, every rule of justice requires of you, to bear patiently the wound which, with your own hand, you have inflicted on yourself.
  • Secondly – If blameless in this particular instance, think of your other sins, for which God has not yet chastised you and for which you have not, as you should have, duly punished yourself.
    Seeing, then, that God’s mercy changes your deserved punishment which should be eternal, into some light affliction which is but temporal, you should receive it, not willingly only but thankfully.
  • Thirdly – Should your offences against the Divine Majesty, seem to you to be light and, the penance you have endured for them, heavy. (a persuasion, however, which you should never allow yourself to entertain!), you must remember that it is only through the straight and narrow gate of tribulation that you can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
  • Fourthly – That even were it possible to enter there by any other way, the law of love forbids you, so much as to think of it, seeing that the Son of God, with all His friends and all His members, entered into that Kingdom by a path strewn with thorns and crosses.
  • Fifthly – That which you have chiefly to consider, on this and all other occasions, is the Will of God, Who, for the love He bears you, views. with unspeakable complacency, every act of virtue and mortification which, as His faithful and valiant soldier, you perform in requital of His love for you.

And of this be assured, that the more unreasonable in itself the trial seems and the more ignominious, by reason of the unworthiness of those, from whom it comes and so, the more vexatious and the more difficult to be borne, so much the more pleasing will you be to the Lord, if, in things so disordered in themselves and, therefore, so bitter and repugnant to you, you can approve and love His Divine Will and Providence, in which all events, however adverse, are disposed, after a most perfect rule and order.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in QUOTES on ENEMIES, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on KINDNESS, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on Will (Sensual or Inferior), The FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES: JUSTICE, PRUDENCE, TEMPERANCE, FORTITUDE, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 3 February – Of the Acts to be Performed in order to Acquire Habits of Virtue (Part THREE)

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Thought for the Day – 3 February – 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 Three)

“Lastly — to adorn and perfect your soul in the habit of all the virtues, exercise yourself in the inward practices directly opposed to all your disorderly passions.

Would you attain, for instance, to the perfection of patience?
On receiving any insult which tempts you to impatience, it will not be enough to exercise yourself in the three modes of warfare above described [see Part One link below], you must do more — even willingly accept and love the indignity you have endured; desiring to submit to it again, from the same person and in the same manner — expecting and disposing yourself to bear, still more difficult things.

These contrary acts are needful to our perfection in all the virtues, because, the exercises of which we have been speaking, manifold and efficacious as they are — will not suffice to eradicate the roots of sin.

Hence (to pursue the same example) although, when we receive an insult, we do not yield to the impulse of impatience but, on the contrary, resist it by the three methods above described, yet, unless we accustom ourselves, by many and repeated acts of the will, to love contempt and rejoice to be despised, we shall never overcome the sin of impatience which springs from a regard for our own reputation and a shrinking from contempt. …

I would add to all that has been said, that if the virtue in which you are exercising yourself, so requires, you must also practice exterior acts conformable to the interior — as, for instance, words of love and meekness and lowly services rendered to those who have, in any way, thwarted or slighted you.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/01/25/thought-for-the-day-25-january-of-the-way-to-resist-the-impulses-of-sense-part-one/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/02/thought-for-the-day-2-february-of-the-way-to-resist-the-impulses-of-sense-part-two/

Posted in QUOTES on Will (Sensual or Inferior), THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli, The WILL of GOD

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

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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

Posted in QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on VIRTUE, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), QUOTES on Will (Sensual or Inferior), SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 24 January – Of the Diverse Wills in Man and the Warfare Between Them (Part Two)

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Thought for the Day – 24 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

XII: … Of the Diverse Wills in Man
and the Warfare Between Them (Part Two)

“But let no-one imagine it possible to persevere in the exercise of true Christian virtues, or to serve God as He ought to be served, unless he will, in good earnest, do violence to himself and endure the pain of parting with all pleasant things whatsoever, whether great or small, around which his earthly affections are entwined!

Hence it is that so few attain to perfection; for after having, with much toil, overcome the greater vices, they will not persevere in doing violence to themselves, by struggling against the promptings of self-will and an infinity of lesser desires.
They grow weary of so unremitting a struggle; they suffer these insignificant enemies to prevail against them and so to acquire an absolute mastery over their hearts!

To this class belong men who, if they do not take what belongs to others, cleave with inordinate affection, to that which is lawfully their own.
If they do not obtain honours by unlawful means, yet they do not, as they should, shun them but, on the contrary, cease not to desire and sometimes, even to seek them in various ways.
If they observe fasts of obligation, yet they do not mortify their palate in the matter of superfluous eating, or the indulgence in delicate morsels.
If they live continently, yet they do not renounce many indulgences which much impede union with God and the growth of the spiritual life and which, as they are very dangerous, even to the holiest persons, and most dangerous to those, who fear them least, should be as much as possible avoided by all.
Hence all their good works are performed in a lukewarm spirit and accompanied by much self-seeking, by many lurking impefections, by a certain kind of self-esteem and by a desire to be praised and valued by the world.

Such persons not only fail to make any progress in the way of salvation but rather, go backwards and are, therefore, in danger of relapsing into their former sins because they have no love of true holiness and show little gratitude to their Lord, Who rescued them from the tyranny of the devil.

They are, moreover, too blind and ignorant to see the peril in which they stand and so, falsely persuade themselves, of their own security.
And here we discover a delusion which is the more dangerous because, it is little apprehended.

Many who aspire to the spiritual life, unconsciously love themselves far more than they ought to do and, therefore, practice for the most part, those exercises which suit their taste and neglect others, which touch to the quick those natural inclinations and sensual appetites, against which they ought, in all reason, to direct the full strength of the battle.

Therefore, I exhort and counsel you, to be in love with pain and difficulty — for they will bring with them, that which is the end and object of the whole struggle — victory over self!

The more deeply you shall be in love with the difficulties encountered by beginners in virtue and in war, the surer and the speedier shall be the victory and, if your love be to the difficult and the toilsome struggle, rather than to the victory and the virtue to be attained, you shall, the more speedily obtain, all you desire!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/01/23/thought-for-the-day-23-january-of-the-diverse-wills-in-man-and-the-warfare-between-them/

Posted in "Follow Me", GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, QUOTES on CREATION, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The REDEMPTION, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 22 January – Of Inclining the Will to Please God in All Things

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Thought for the Day – 22 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

XI: … Of some Considerations which May Incline
the Will to Seek to Please God in All Things

“Furthermore, to incline the Will more readily to seek God’s honour
and glory in all things, always remember that, in many and various ways, He has first loved and honoured you!

In creation: — by creating you out of nothing after His Own Likeness and all other creatures for your service.
In Redemption: — by sending, not an Angel but, His Only-begotten Son, to redeem you, not with the corruptible price of silver and gold but with His Precious Blood and, by His most painful and ignominious death.
Remember, that every hour, nay, every moment, He protects you from your enemies, fights for you by His grace, offers you continually, in the Sacrament of the Altar, His well-beloved Son, to be your food and your defence; are not all these tokens of the inestimable regard and love borne for you by the Infinite God?

It is not in man to conceive, on the one hand, how great is the value which so great a Lord sets upon us poor creatures, in our loneliness and misery and, on the other, how great the return we are bound to make to His Supreme Majesty, Who has done so many and such great things for us.

For if earthly lords, when honoured even by poor and lowly men, feel bound to honour them in return, how should our vile nature demean itself towards the Supreme King of Heaven and earth, by Whom we are so dearly loved and so highly prized?

And besides all this and before all things, keep ever vividly in mind that the Divine Majesty is infinitely worthy to be loved for Himself alone and to be served, purely for His own good pleasure.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 21 January – Of the Exercise of the Will (Part Three)

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Thought for the Day – 21 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

X: … Of the Exercise of the Will and the End to
which all our Actions, whether Interior
or Exterior, Should Tend (Part Three)

“… For he, who acts only as moved by God and with a view to please Him alone, desires not one thing above another.
He wishes only to have, what it pleases God he should have and, at the time and in the way which may be most agreeable to Him and, whether he have it or not, he is equally tranquil and content because, in either case, he obtains his wish and fulfils his intention which is, nothing else but simply, to please God.

Therefore, recollect yourself seriously and be careful always, to direct every action to this perfect end.

And although the bent of your natural disposition should move you to do good through fear of the pains of hell or hope of the joys of paradise, you may even here ,set before you, as your ultimate end, the will and pleasure of God, Who is pleased that you should enter into His Kingdom and not into hell.
It is not in man, fully to apprehend the force and virtue of this motive; — for the most insignificant action, done with a view to please God alone and for His sole glory, is (if we may so speak) of infinitely greater value than many others, of the greatest dignity and importance, done without this motive.
Hence a single penny given to a poor man, with the sole desire to please His Divine Majesty, is more acceptable to God, than the entire renunciation of all earthly goods — for any other end, even for the attainment of the bliss of Heaven; an end in itself, not only good but supremely to be desired.

This exercise of doing all things with the single aim to please God alone, seems difficult at first but, will become simple and effortless by practice, if, with the warmest affections of the heart, we desire God alone and long for Him as our only and most perfect good; Who deserves that all creatures should seek Him for Himself and serve Him and love Him above all things.

The deeper and more continual our meditations are upon His infinite excellence, the more fervent and the more frequent will be these exercises of the will and we shall thus, acquire more easily and more speedily, the habit of performing every action from pure love for that gracious Lord, Who alone is worthy of our reverence and love.

Lastly, in order to achieve the attainment of this divine motive, I advise you to seek it of God by importunate prayer and to meditate frequently upon the innumerable benefits which He, of His pure and disinterested love, has bestowed upon us.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/01/19/thought-for-the-day-19-january-of-the-exercise-of-the-will-part-one/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/01/20/thought-for-the-day-20-january-of-the-exercise-of-the-will-part-two/

Posted in GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The BEATITUDES, The HEART, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 20 January – Of the Exercise of the Will (Part Two)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 20 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

X: … Of the Exercise of the Will and the End to
which all our Actions, whether Interior
or Exterior, Should Tend (Part Two)

“I will now show you a way to avoid this way which would impede you in the path of perfection and to accustom yourself to Will and to Do all things as moved by the Spirit of God and with the pure intention of honouring and pleasing Him alone, Who desires to be the one End and Principle, of our every word and action.

When anything presents itself to you as if willed by God, do not permit yourself to will it until you have first raised your thoughts to Him, to discover whether He wills you to will it and because, He so wills it and to please Him alone.
Let your will, then, being thus moved and attracted by His, be impelled to will it because He wills it and solely to please and honour Him.

In like manner, if you would refuse things which are contrary to God’s will, refuse them, not until you have first fixed the eye of your mind upon His divine will, Who wills that you should refuse them ,solely to please Him.
Know, however that the frauds and deceits of wily nature are but little suspected; for, ever secretly seeking self, it often leads us to fancy that our end and motive, is to please God when in reality, it is far otherwise.
Thus, when we choose or refuse anything for our own interest and satisfaction, we often imagine that we are choosing or refusing it, in the hope of pleasing, or in the fear of displeasing God.
The true and effectual remedy for this delusion, is purity of heart which consists in this — which is indeed the aim and object of all this spiritual warfare — the putting off the old man and the putting on the new.

And to this end, seeing you are full of self, take care in the beginning of every action, to free yourself, as much as possible, from all additions of anything which seems to be your own will.
Choose nothing, do nothing, refuse nothing, unless you first feel yourself moved and drawn thereto, by the pure and simple Will of God!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/01/19/thought-for-the-day-19-january-of-the-exercise-of-the-will-part-one/

Posted in QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on JUDGING, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on REASON/INTELLECT, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 18 January – Of another Danger from which the Understanding must be Guarded

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Thought for the Day – 18 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

IX: … Of another Danger from which
the Understanding must be Guarded,
that it may Exercise a True Judgement (Part Two)

“By following these instructions you will avoid many dangers; for when the wily serpent sees the will of those, who are aiming at the spiritual life, to be strong and resolute, he attacks their Understanding, that so he may master both the one and the other.
He often, therefore, infuses lofty and curious speculations into their minds, especially if they be of an acute and intellectual order and easily inflated with pride and he does this, in order that they may busy themselves in the enjoyment and discussion of such subjects, wherein, as they falsely persuade themselves, they enjoy God and, meanwhile neglect to purify their hearts and to apply themselves to self-knowledge and true mortification.
So, falling into the snare of pride, they make an idol of their own understanding!

Hence, being already accustomed to have recourse, in all circumstances, to their own judgement, they come gradually and imperceptibly to believe that they have no need of advice or control from others.
This is a most perilous case and very difficult to cure, the pride of the understanding being more dangerous than that of the will; for when the pride of the will is once perceived by the understanding, it may, in course of time, be easily remedied by submission to those to whom it owes obedience.
But how, or by whom, can he be cured, who obstinately believes his own opinion and judgement, to be worth more than that of others?
How shall he submit to other men’s judgement, which he accounts to be far inferior to his own!

The Understanding is the eye of the soul, by which the wound of the proud Will, should be discovered and cleansed; if that eye, then, itself be weak and blind and swollen with pride, by whom shall it be healed?
And if the light become darkness and the rule faulty, what will become of the rest?

Therefore, resist this dangerous pride betimes, before it penetrate into the marrow of your bones.
Blunt the acuteness of your intellect, willingly submit your own opinion to that of others, become a fool for the love of God and you shall be wiser than Solomon!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/01/17/thought-for-the-day-17-january-of-another-danger-from-which-the-understanding-must-be-guarded/

Posted in GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on JUDGING, QUOTES on REASON/INTELLECT, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 16 January – Of the Hindrances to a Right Judgement

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Thought for the Day – 16 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

VIII: … Of the Hindrances to a Right Judgement
and of the Method to be Adopted,
in order to Understand them Properly

“The cause of our not rightly judging all these things and many others, is, that we conceive a love or hatred of them at first sight.
Our understanding (reason or intellect) is thus darkened, so that it cannot judge of them correctly.
Lest you fall into this delusion, take all possible care to keep your will pure and free from inordinate affection for anything whatsoever!
When any object, then, is presented to you, view it with your understanding and consider it maturely, before you are moved by hatred to reject it, if it be a thing contrary to your inclinations, or by love to desire it, if it be pleasing to them.
For thus the understanding, being unclouded by passion, will be free and clear and able to perceive the truth and to judge the evil which lurks behind delusive pleasure and the good which is veiled under the appearance of evil.

But if the will be first inclined to love or hate anything, the understanding will be unable to exercise a right judgement upon
it.
For the affection which has thus intruded itself so obscures the understanding, that it views the object as other than it is and, by thus representing it to the will, influences that faculty, in
contradiction to every law and rule of reason, to love or hate it
inordinately.
The understanding is gradually darkened more and more and, in this deepening obscurity, the object appears more and more hateful or lovely to the will.

Hence, if this most important rule be not observed, these two faculties, the understanding and the will, noble and excellent as they are, will soon sink, in a miserable descent from darkness into thicker darkness and from error, into deeper error.

Guard yourself most vigilantly, then, from all inordinate affection for anything, whatever, until you have first tested it by the light of the understanding and chiefly, by that of grace and prayer and by the judgement of your spiritual father.
And this is to be observed most carefully with regard to such outward works as are good and holy because, the danger is greatest here, of delusion and indiscretion.
Hence you may here receive serious injury from some circumstance of time, or place, or degree, or regarding obedience — as has been proved by many, who have incurred great danger in the performance of commendable and holy exercises.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on PRESUMPTION, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SELF-DISTRUST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 13 January – Of the Error of Many, Who Mistake Faint-heartedness for a Virtue

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Thought for the Day – 13 January – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

V: Of the Error of Many, Who Mistake
Faint-heartedness for a Virtue

“Many also deceive themselves in this way, they mistake the fear and uneasiness which follow after sin, for virtuous emotions and know not, that these painful feelings spring from wounded pride and a presumption which rests upon confidence in themselves and their own strength.
They have accounted themselves to be something and relied unduly upon their own powers.
Their fall proves to them, the vanity of this self-dependence and they are immediately troubled and astonished, as at some strange thing and are disheartened at seeing the prop, to which they trusted, suddenly give way!

This can never befall the humble man, who trusts in his God alone and in nothing, presumes upon himself.
Although grieved when he falls into a fault, he is neither surprised nor disquieted, for he knows that his own misery and weakness, already clearly manifested to himself, by the Light of Truth, have brought all this upon him.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in CONFESSION/PENANCE, QUOTES on PRESUMPTION, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SELF-DISTRUST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 12 January – How a man may know whether he is active in Self-Distrust and Trust in God

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 12 January – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

IV. How a man may know whether he is active
in Self-Distrust and Trust in God

“The presumptuous servant, often supposes that he has acquired
Self-Distrust and Trust in God, when the case is far otherwise!
And this will be made clear to you by the effect produced on your mind by a fall.
If you are so saddened and disquieted thereby, (a fall) as to be tempted to despair of making progress or doing good, it is a sure sign that your trust is in self and not in God.
For he who has any large measure of self-distrust and trust in God, feels neither surprise, nor despondency, nor bitterness, when he falls; for he knows this has arisen from his own weakness and want of trust in God.

On the contrary, being, rendered, thereby, more distrustful of self, more humbly confident in God, detesting above all things, his fault and the unruly passions which have occasioned it and mourning, with a quiet, deep and patient sorrow, over his offence against God, he pursues his enterprise and follows after his enemies, even to the death, with a spirit more resolute and undaunted than before.

I would that these things were well considered by certain persons, so-called spiritual, who cannot and will not be at rest, when they have fallen into any fault.
They rush to their spiritual father, rather to get rid of the anxiety and uneasiness which springs from wounded self-love, than for that purpose which should be their chief end, in seeking him, to purify themselves from the stain of sin and to fortify themselves against its power, by means of the most Holy Sacrament of Penance!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PRESUMPTION, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SELF-DISTRUST, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, The GOOD SHEPHERD, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 11 January – Of Trust in God – The FOUR WAYS

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Thought for the Day – 11 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 First Two Weapons
of the Spiritual Combat

II: Of Trust in God (Confidence) The FOUR WAYS

“And this also may be accomplished in four ways:

  • FIRSTLY, by asking it of God.
  • SECONDLY, by gazing, with the eye of faith, at the Infinite Wisdom and Omnipotence of God, to which nothing is impossible or difficult and confiding in His unbounded goodness and unspeakable willingness, to give, hour-by-hour and moment-by-moment, all things needful for the spiritual life and perfect victory over ourselves, if we will but throw ourselves, with confidence into His Arms.
    For how shall our Divine Shepherd, Who followed after His lost sheep for three-and-thirty years, with loud and bitter cries, through that painful and thorny way wherein He spilled His Heart’s Blood and laid down His life — how shall He refuse to turn His quickening glance upon the poor sheep, which now follow Him in obedience to His commands, or with a desire (though sometimes faint and feeble) to obey Him!
    When it cries to Him piteously for help, will He not hear and laying it upon His Divine Shoulders, call upon His friends and all the Angels of Heaven to rejoice with Him?
    For if our Lord ceased not to search most diligently for the blind and deaf sinner, the lost drachma of the Gospel, till He found them — can He abandon him, who, like a lost sheep, cries and calls piteously upon his Shepherd?
    And, if God knocks continually at the heart of man, desiring to enter in and sup there and to communicate to it, His gifts, who can believe that when that heart opens and invites Him to enter, He will turn a deaf ear to the invitation, and refuse to come in?
  • THIRDLY, the third way to acquire this holy confidence is, to call to mind that truth so plainly taught in Holy Scripture — that no-one, who trusted in God has ever been confounded.
  • The FOURTH which will serve, at once, towards the attainment of self-distrust and of trust in God, is this — when any duty presents itself to be done, any struggle with self to be made, any victory over self to be attempted, before proposing or resolving upon it, think firstly upon your own weakness; next turn, full of self-distrust, to the Wisdom, the Power and the Goodness of God and in reliance upon these, resolve to labour and to fight generously.

Then, with these weapons in your hands and with the help of prayer (of which we shall speak in its proper place), set yourself to labour and to strive.
Unless you observe this order, though you may seem to yourself to be doing all things in reliance upon God, you will too often find yourself mistaken; for so common, is a presumptuous self-confidence and so subtle, are the forms it assumes that it lurks almost always, even under an imagined self-distrust and fancied confidence in God.

To avoid presumption, as much as possible and in order that all your works maybe wrought in distrust of self and trust in God, the consideration of your own weakness must precede the consideration of God’s Omnipotence and both, together, must precede all your actions!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/01/10/thought-for-the-day-10-january-ii-of-trust-in-god-confidence/

Posted in GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on STRENGTH, SELF-DISTRUST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 10 January – II: Of Trust in God (Confidence)

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Thought for the Day – 10 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 First Two Weapons
of the Spiritual Combat

II: Of Trust in God (Confidence)

“Self-distrust, necessary as we have shown it to be in this conflict, is not alone sufficient.
Unless we would be put to flight, or remain helpless and vanquished in the hands of our enemies, we must add to it perfect trust in God and expect from Him alone, succour and victory!
For, as we, who are nothing, can look for nothing from ourselves but falls and, therefore, should utterly distrust ourselves; so, from our Lord, may we assuredly expect complete victory in every conflict.
To obtain His help, let us, therefore, arm ourselves with a lively Confidence in Him.
And this also may be accomplished in four ways: … [Be here tomorrow, God willing] ”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, SELF-DISTRUST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 9 January – Distrust of Self – FOUR METHODS,

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Thought for the Day – 9 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 First Two Weapons
of the Spiritual Combat

I: Distrust of Self (Diffidence) FOUR METHODS,

“I, therefore, set before you FOUR METHODS, by the use of which, in dependence always on Divine grace, you may acquire this gift. …”

  • The FIRST is, to KNOW and consider your own vileness and nothingness and your inability, of yourself, to do any good, by which to merit an entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.
  • The SECOND is, CONTINUALLY to ASK such knowledge of the Lord in fervent and humble prayer; for it is His gift. And in order to reach its attainment, we must look upon ourselves, not only as destitute thereof, but as of ourselves incapable of acquiring it.
    Present yourself, therefore, continually before the Divine Majesty, with an assured faith that He is willing, of His great goodness, to grant your petition; wait patiently, all the time which His Providence appoints and without doubt, you shalt obtain it.
  • The THIRD is, to stand in FEAR of your own judgement about yourself, of your strong inclination to sin, of the countless hosts of enemies against whom you are incapable of making the slightest resistance, of their long practice in open warfare and secret stratagem, of their transformations into Angels of Light and of the innumerable arts and obstacles which they secretly spread for us, even in the very way of holiness.
  • The FOURTH is, whenever you are OVERTAKEN by any FAULT, to look more deeply into yourself and, more keenly, feel your absolute and utter weakness – for to this end did God permit your fall that, warned by His inspiration and illumined by a clearer Light than before, you may come to know yourself and learn to despise yourself as a thing unutterably vile and be, therefore, also willing to be so accounted and despised by others.
    For without this willingness, there can be no holy self-distrust which is founded on TRUE HUMILITY and experimental SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 
  • This self-knowledge is clearly needful to all who desire to be united to the Supreme Light and Uncreated Truth and the Divine Clemency, often makes use of the fall of proud and presumptuous men to lead to Itself; justly suffering them to fall into some faults which they trusted to avoid, by their own strength that they may learn to know and absolutely distrust themselves.
    Our Lord is not, however, wont to use so severe a method, until those more gracious means of which we have before spoken have failed to work the cure designed by His Divine Mercy.
    He permits a man to fall, more or less deeply, in proportion to his pride and self-esteem; so that if there were no presumption (as in the case of the Blessed Virgin Mary), there would be no fall.
    Therefore, whenever you shall fall, take refuge at once in humble self-knowledge and beseech the Lord, with urgent entreaties to give you Light — truly to know yourself and entire self-distrust lest you should fall again, perhaps into deeper perdition!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/01/08/thought-for-the-day-8-january-i-distrust-of-self/

Posted in GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, SELF-DISTRUST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 8 January – I: Distrust of Self

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 8 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 First Two Weapons
of the Spiritual Combat

I: Distrust of Self (Diffidence)

“So necessary is self-distrust in this conflict that, without it, you will be unable, I say, not to achieve the victory desired but even to overcome the very least of your passions!
And let this be well impressed upon your mind; for our corrupt nature too easily inclines us to a false estimate of ourselves; so that, being really nothing, we account ourselves to be something and presume, without the slightest foundation, upon our own strength.
This is a fault, not easily discerned by us but very displeasing in the sight of God.
For He desires and loves, to see in us, a frank and true recognition of this most certain truth — that all the virtue and grace which is within us, is derived from Himself alone, Who is the Fountain of all good and that nothing good can proceed from us, no, not even a thought which can find acceptance in His sight.

And, although this very important self-distrust is, itself, the work of His Divine Hand and is bestowed upon His beloved, now by means of holy inspirations, now by sharp chastisements and violent and almost irresistible temptations and by other means which we, ourselves, do not understand; still, it is His will that we, on our part, should do all in our power to attain it.
I, therefore, set before you four methods, by the use of which, in dependence always on Divine grace, you may acquire this gift. …

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli