Episode 45 -- Spiritual Combat c27 -- Summary of the Groups the Devil Attacks

Having learned how to have peace of heart, do we need to be concerned about any other enemies? Yes!

One of the key lessons of the Spiritual Combat concerns our main spiritual enemy. Our main enemy, from one perspective, is ourselves, that fallen part of ourselves that keeps trying to rely on its own strength. When Our Lord tells us to pick up our cross daily and follow him (Luke 9:23), he is talking about our being a fallen child of Eve. I, in my weakness and tendency to all evil, am my own cross! But the Lord is with us. He alone can enable us to pick up our cross and follow Him.

At the same time, however, we must remember our other spiritual enemy, the devil. In this episode's reading, chapter 27, Fr Scupoli very briefly introduces us to the 4-5 main ways the devil attacks different groups of people depending on their spiritual stature. The chapter is short, but important for what follows.

—> Did you find the last chapter helpful? Here is a summary of last night’s reading in terms of Q & A.

1. Should the number of times we fall make us lose confidence in God? NO!
2. Will the devil be happy that we practice Fr Scupoli’s method of humble confidence after sinning? NO!
3. Is a single performance of his method sufficient? NO!
4. If I have lost peace of soul after sinning, should I raise my mind to heaven? YES!
5. Does Fr Scupoli ignore the need for confession after we have regained our peace of soul? NO!

How beautiful this chapter is. How wise Fr Scupoli is to tell us how to regain peace of soul: forget for a moment your sin and concentrate on God’s goodness and his mercy and his desire for your salvation. Then, with peacefulness, return to your sin and go to confession!

For a longer treatment of this spiritual secret, read the last chapters of the very short, Treatise on the Peace of Soul (chapters 14-15).