Tag: ofthewaytoresistthesinsoftheflesh

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)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

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)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

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