Lectio et Oratio

Episode 13 -- Treatise on Peace of Soul c10.1 -- Emotional Disturbances of Peace

What should I do when emotional disturbances, disgust, and irritation robs me of peace of soul?

Chapter 10 takes up the issue of emotional trials that threaten our peace of soul. Fr Scupoli does not deny that these afflictions will happen. He does not blame us when they happen. He makes a simple suggestion for how to respond to these special crosses allowed by God for our greater good.

Episode 12 -- Treatise on Peace of Soul c9.2 -- Great Obstacle to Peace of Soul - Attachment to Self

In chapter nine of this episode, we see that the main enemy of peace of soul is over reliance on self. St Peter is the great example of this. He promised Our Lord that he would die before denying Him. And yet, that very night, St Peter denied knowing Christ three times. The fundamental problem in the spiritual life is attachment to our own wills, attachment to self. Yes, we need to be detached from the things of this world. We cannot make anything of this world into our ultimate good. But whenever we love something too much, we love it for someone. That someone is ourselves!

Episode 11 -- Treatise on Peace of Soul c9.1 -- Relying on the Eucharist, Not the Self

How does the Eucharist give us help?

Chapter 9 begins with a warning about self-reliance from the example of St Peter. Our true reliance must be on the almighty power of God received in the Eucharist.

 

Episode 10 -- Treatise on Peace of Soul c8 -- The Blessed Sacrament

In this episode we see how much we need to love the Eucharist. We see how we can prepare better for Mass and how to act after receiving the Eucharist.

Episode 9 -- Treatise on Peace of Soul c7.3 -- Seeking God on His Terms

Besides the intellectual pursuit of God, how else do we look for Him?

In this episode we will finish reading chapter 7 of A Treatise on Peace of Soul. Besides the intellectual pursuit of God, we must look for him by meditation, prayer, and reading. But when we find him, when He communicates Himself to us, we must stop and enjoy His presence. We need to look for Him according to His path for us and His plans for us. We must be on guard against creating imaginary obligations that do not actually lead us to God. Only by following the path He gives us individually will we find true peace of soul.

We saw last episode that the soul can and should look for God by an intellectual pursuit. God gave us minds to know the truth. We should seek to know and to understand the highest truths, the truths about God. We honour Him by using the intellectual abilities that He gave us. You will know the truth, Jesus said, and the truth will set you free. Knowing truths about God sets us free from idols that we have created and from false ideas of God we have learned from others and our upbringing. But we search for God to find Him. We are made to enjoy the presence of the Lord!

Episode 8 -- Treatise on Peace of Soul c7.2 -- Intellectual Pursuit of God

How do we both wait on the Lord and seek the Lord? (continued)

In this episode we will be reading more from chapter 7 of A Treatise on Peace of Soul. Fr Scupoli encourages the practice of using our minds, our intellects, to seek God, to pursue Him. Fr Scupoli gives us three warnings about mistaken ways of thinking about God: using purely human concepts, using comparisons that limit God’s unbounded greatness, and thinking of God as able to be divided. He then encourages us to ponder God’s immensity, unity, and power. Fr Scupoli thinks that we can form a limited, but fruitful notion of God. He gave us minds to know Him with and to ponder his omnipresence and his presence in our souls. Remember: God enjoys dwelling in us. The One we are seeking is already present within! Finally, Fr Scupoli shows us the goal of seeking God. The goal is finding and enjoying Him!

Episode 7 -- Treatise on Peace of Soul c7.1 -- Tears, Gentleness, Waiting on the Lord

How do we both wait on the Lord and seek the Lord? 

In this episode we read about the need to wait on God to show Himself to us. Before he discusses the use of understanding in searching for God, Fr Scupoli describes and encourages the practice of what can rightly be called contemplative prayer, that is, an infused wanting of God and loving attention to the Lord. We have to make time for Him. We have to “waste time” with him. But we cannot force this mysterious gift of prayer. Let us ask the Lord for it and welcome the loving awareness of His presence that he sends us. The path to finding God, however, is not one of exaggerated human effort. We should not try to make ourselves feel His presence by our own efforts. We should not try to force ourselves to weep. We must seek him in reading and meditation. We must do his will. We must not refuse Him and ask for the grace to follow his will.

One of the things God wants of us is to love our neighbour. Two nights ago, we read all about the need for prudence in guiding our love for our neighbour. We must love our neighbour as ourselves. This means we must have true love for ourselves. You and I, individually, must want to praise God, to enjoy Him in heaven, and to follow His will. If you and I imprudently try to help others when God is not asking this of us, we run the risk of losing our own spiritual lives. Fr Scupoli gives some good advice in this area.

Episode 6 -- Treatise on Peace of Soul c6 -- Prudence, Serenity of Soul, Helping Others

How does one combine helping our neighbour and maintaining peace of soul?

We saw in chapter five that heavenly peace requires our desires to be conformed to God’s will. Peace is the fruit of being aligned with God. When we desire things outside of his will, our souls cannot have peace. The question then arises: how zealous should we be for helping our neighbour? Very zealous. We cannot love God and be one with Him without loving those he created and shed his blood for. At the same time, however, helping our neighbour has special challenges. Unless we are guided by prudence, practical wisdom, we will end up hurting our own souls. Chapter six helps us avoid those dangers.

Fr Scupoli does not hide from us what ultimate union with God will demand. He showed us last episode in chapter 5 that our desires are like chains. Our desires can enslave us. These chains will keep us from running after, flying up to, the Lord in freedom. At the end of the chapter, Fr Scupoli says that we have to pray, pray for the Lord to give us wings to fly. We must want what He wants for us and in the manner he wants. Our Lord said, “I did not come to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.” But we cannot force our hearts to this conformity to His will. We have to gradually accustom ourselves to preferring His will. One of the best helps is to seek a spiritual father and learn to obey.

Episode 5 -- Treatise on Peace of Soul c5 -- Keeping Our Soul Disengaged and in Solitude

If we truly desire to become holy and peaceful, what must we do next?

Fr Scupoli reminds us in chapter 5 of A TREATISE on PEACE of SOUL of what we must desire above all else: God. The reason we want to seek this heavenly peace is because we want to be united to God. But we cannot make God show Himself to our souls. We cannot force a greater awareness of his Presence. What can we do?

1. Wait! Wait with confidence.

2. Pray for a desire for Him alone.

3. Learn the value of not pleasing ourselves.

4. Follow the advice of your spiritual father.

5. Keep our will free for what God wants.

6. Desire things in such a way that if we do not get what we desire, we will not be troubled.

7. Beg the Holy Spirit to give us a desire for holy solitude with God.

Chapter 5 is a most demanding chapter as it sets before us a great ideal, the ideal of a soul burning with desire for God.

We saw last episode that the peace of soul that God wants to give us is something that can grow and deepen. We are on a PATH, Fr Scupoli insists, a path towards heavenly peace. The path has major warning signs. If we keep going down this path, we will encounter neglect from others, contempt, being forsaken. We will be stripped at times of human companionship and will experience affliction. Why? God is leading us mysteriously to converse with Him alone and to depend on His presence. He is leading to the point where His will is what matters most to us. There are pitfalls on this path that we may fall into: indiscreet zeal, secret faults, failures to be humble, temptations to sin. But if only we stay on this path, we will find a "peace that surpasses all understanding" (Philippians 4).

Episode 4 -- Treatise on Peace of Soul ch4 -- The Path to Heavenly Peace

Is there an even higher, more sublime, peace of soul than I have now obtained?

Fr Scupoli turns in chapter 4 of A TREATISE on PEACE of SOUL to an even higher form of inner peace. He speaks of Heavenly Peace. The Path to this higher peace is a path of enduring affliction in the proper manner. God leads us to this peace by leading us to rely on Him alone.

Last episode we spoke about the need to guard our peace of soul by carefully rejecting whatever tends to depress and disconcert us. We need prudence to know what we can handle and what we cannot. The Lord is building a great masterpiece in our souls. He is building a spiritual mansion for His own indwelling. Where the Holy Spirit is, there is peace.

Episode 3 -- Treatise on Peace of Soul c3 -- Building a Peaceful Interior Habitation by Degrees

Can this peaceful heart be produced all at once?

Having put before us the untold consolations that can be ours if we pay attention to the movements of our hearts, Fr Scupoli turns in chapter 3 of A TREATISE on PEACE of SOUL to those who are impatient to obtain such a peaceful heart. He uses the Scriptural analogy of a building to help us understand the process involved. What is the foundation of this spiritual building? Can we put up a large building in a day? Who is the ultimate Architect of the building that is our spiritual lives? Let us remember St Philip Neri’s advice: “Saints are not made in four days.”

Last episode Fr Scupoli encouraged us not to be afraid of the attention, toil, attacks, and inward chaos we must endure. He proposed that wonderful results await those who strive after a peaceful heart through careful and gentle attention to their feelings. He exhorted us to pray in the most difficult times, if we want to regain serenity of heart. He showed us that living in the world with jobs and business affairs does not rule out having a peaceful heart. As long as we are not too eager to be finished with our duties or in a pointless hurry, we can carry out these tasks with God before our minds. The ultimate secret to serenity of heart is staying close to God and remembering His Holy Presence.

Episode 2 -- Treatise on Peace of Soul c2 -- Acquiring Serenity of Soul

What kind of care is needed to produce a wonderful tranquility of heart?

In chapter 2 of Treatise on Peace of Soul, Fr Scupoli encourages the following:

1. Mild, peaceful, constant attention to the feelings of the heart
2. Being ready: much toil is necessary to gain serenity of heart.
3. Prayer will be necessary to regain peace, especially in times of great turmoil.
4. When at work and very busy, calmly attend to business affairs
5. Watch out for too rigid a schedule and too great eagerness to be done.
6. Keep before us God’s holy presence.

In this episode we will read about how Fr Scupoli develops these basic pieces of advice for gaining and maintaining serenity of heart.

Last episode, we read the opening chapter of this new little book, Treatise on Peace of Soul. It was one of the favourite books of Dom John Chapman, OSB, one of the great guides in the 20th century on the beginning stages of contemplative prayer. In chapter 1, Fr Scupoli places great emphasis on the importance of the human heart. The human heart, the centre of the human person, is where we decide for or against God, where we love God and are loved by Him. Our first obligation, Fr Scupoli writes, “is to direct the heart to place its affection in proper things, that exterior acts might flow from interior dispositions of the heart.” External practices will not help us grow in the spiritual life unless they flow from a heart that is at peace with God. Fr Scupoli stresses mildness, gentleness in our efforts to quiet our hearts.

Episode 1 -- Treatise on Peace of Soul c1 -- Importance of the Human Heart

Why is it so important to guard the human heart?

We begin a new book! Besides The Spiritual Combat, Fr Lorenzo Scupoli wrote a little masterpiece, A Treatise on Peace of Soul. This new book is much shorter, 15 chapters. The first chapter is about the place of the human heart in the spiritual life. What did God make the human heart for? And how must it be guarded?

Episode 107 -- Spiritual Combat c66 -- Illusions from the Devil at the End of Life

If the devil cannot make us vain by reminding us of our good deeds, what last trick might he try?

If the devil has not been able to make us lose faith, fall into despair, or become vain, he has one last trick up his sleeve. He will sometimes use his angelic power to produce images or visions or illusions. He will transform himself, as it were, into an angel of light, and try to deceive us with these imaginary visions. Instead of being humble, a person becomes so fascinated at being a “visionary.” But Fr Scupoli warns us about how the devil uses this tactic to lead us astray. He gives us a few pieces of advice on what to do when such things happen to us. His advice is useful not only for the end of our lives, but at other periods too.

The Lord wants us to desire union with Himself by faith, hope, and charity. Fr Scupoli suggests, like St Philip did, the distrusting of these visions. If a vision is really from God, he will find a way to convince us after we have tried to ignore it!

As we saw last episode, vainglory is the third tactic of the devil as death approaches.

Glory is not always bad.

• Glory = the recognition, the manifestation, the showing forth of someone’s excellence, greatness, goodness.

• Vain = empty/pointless

• There is nothing wrong, in itself, with knowing another’s goodness or even one’s own goodness. In heaven, we will know the full truth of ourselves and others. Glory becomes vainglory when we do one of the following:

1. Seek glory, recognition, for something we do not really have!

2. Seek glory, recognition, for something that is not really great at all, something very small and fragile…

3. Seeking recognition from someone whose judgement is very poor and uninformed.

4. Seeking recognition, glory, admiration, but not REFERRING it to the honour of GOD and the salvation of others.

At the end of our lives, let us not focus on the good works we have done as though we are the primary AUTHOR.

1. God has done these things through us. They are HIS. Why pretend that these good works are really mine alone?

2. Our contribution is fairly small! Why focus so much on it?

3. Our own judgment is poor. We are bad judges in our own case! Why try to impress ourselves?

4. Whatever we have done is meant to honour God and help others get to heaven.

What the devil tries to do is to make us focus on ourselves too much. The good news is the way in which the Lord gradually frees us from our bad self-love. He allows this self-love to fade away. He enables us to love ourselves with charity, as He loves us, as vital members with unique missions of his Mystical Body.

Episode 106 -- Spiritual Combat c65 -- Remedies for Temptations to Vainglory at the End of Life

If the devil cannot make us despair at the end, what else will he try?

Chapter 65 of The Spiritual Combat goes along with chapter 64. If the devil cannot make us despair of our sins, he wants to make us rest in our good deeds. The third tactic of the devil at the end of our lives is to make us puffed up with our own importance and presume that we have done great things on our power. Fr Scupoli has sound advice on how to counter this temptation.

We saw last episode how the devil’s second tactic can be turned against him. When our remembrance of our past sins causes us despondency and discouragement, let us humble ourselves all the more. Let us remember that as soon as we turn to Christ for forgiveness, we should have great confidence in his infinite mercy. Our trust in not in ourselves and our own unaided power, but in the power of His precious Blood. From our side of things, eternal damnation would be just. But the Lord’s infinite mercy must be our hope. Even if we feel or imagine that God has rejected us, our faith and hope and love lead us to trust in His merciful Love. Despair comes from focusing on ourselves. Hope comes from knowing His Power.

Episode 105 -- Spiritual Combat c64 -- Temptations to and Remedies for Despair at the end of Life

When our past sins rise up before us at death, what should be our reaction?

In the hour of death, the devil will try to make us despair, that is, to lose hope in our salvation and God’s merciful power. How? By throwing in our face our past sins. We will see in this episode that recollection of past sins is generally a grace from GOD. But we know a tree by its fruits. God brings our sins to our memory to lead us to humility, compunction, and trust in God’s mercy. The devil does so to make us despondent. We will see tonight what to do when the devil tries to turn past sins against us. Fr Scupoli suggests a radical abandonment of ourselves to the infinite power and mercy of God.

We saw in our last episode that the first tactic the devil likes to use at the hour of death is to attack our faith. Faith is the foundation of the spiritual life. Faith is the surrender of ourselves to God and His plan. The devil will try to make us confused about what God has told us about himself. Fr Scupoli insists that we should not respond to the evil except by affirming our WILL to die in the Catholic faith. We must not dispute with him. We must ignore arguments and scripture passages he presents. Let us focus our hearts on Christ crucified and the Church formed from his opened side on the Cross. We know that the Church is the bride of Christ and speaks for Him. In the Church we have found the truth. Where else is there to go?

Episode 104 -- Spiritual Combat c63 -- Attacks on Faith Just Before Death

What is the devil’s first way of attacking us at the hour of our death?

The final four chapters of The Spiritual Combat deal with the four methods the devil uses to tempt us at the hour of our death.

Chapter 63 — Challenges our FAITH

Chapter 64 — Tries to make us DESPAIR

Chapter 65 — Tempts us to VAINGLORY

Chapter 66 — Fills us with ILLUSIONS

In this episode's reading we focus on the ways to counter temptations to faith at the end of our lives. Just as the devil tempted Eve by leading her into a discussion about what God said and then sowed doubt in her mind, so the devil comes at all of us in a similar way. Let us not engage him in discussion!

Last episode, Fr Scupoli showed how the moment of death is the most dangerous of all moments in the spiritual combat. All can be lost at the moment of death. This is why the devil likes to make a final assault on our souls. He makes one last desperate attempt to lead us from God. If we die in God’s grace, however, we are safe and secure eternally. What should we do to prepare?

1. Live the spiritual battle each day! (Training for the final test!)

2. Think about the significance of death — our door to eternity and God.

3. Imagine yourself alone at the point of death — what will be our regrets?

Episode 103 -- Spiritual Combat c62 -- Preparing for Final Assaults at the Moment of Death

What is the most important day in our spiritual warfare?

The Spiritual Combat teaches us how to overcome ourselves and temptations so as to live for God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each day is a battle. Each day requires vigilance and trust in God. But there is one day that is the most important day of battling. There is one day in which our eternal destiny is decided: the day of our death. In this episode's reading we will look at some advice on how to prepare for that great day.

Last episode, Fr Scupoli stressed our need to persevere until the end. As long as we do not give us, we will be saved. How can he be so sure? Christ is our Saviour. He has already won. In Him, we already won. As long as we stay on the battlefield, our enemies will be conquered. It does not matter how strong they seem right now. HE has overcome the world.

Episode 102 -- Spiritual Combat c61 -- Persevering until Death

Will my examination of conscience keep revealing unruly passions in my soul?

The final chapters of The Spiritual Combat discuss various requirements of the soldier of Christ. One of these requirements is perseverance. Perseverance in the spiritual battle is not itself one of the four main weapons, but a necessary condition for the use of the weapons. As long as we are in this life, we have to keep weeding the garden of our soul. God has not willed to remove completely the effects of original sin. In his wisdom, he allows us to be tempted by concupiscence, our tendency to sin, until we die. Thus, we must be resolved to fight, fight, fight. As long as we do not lay down our weapons, the victory is guaranteed. Why? Because our Captain, our champion, is Christ.

One of the other requirements that we looked at last episode is the examination of conscience each night. We must look over our day to see where we have sinned. We must especially look at the occasions of our sins. God wants us to learn from our sins. If only we could avoid the occasions, the persons, places, and things that cause us to fall, we would not fall so often! During Compline, the Church encourages us to make this examination of conscience. She wants us to ask pardon, to ask for light to know ourselves, and to ask for the grace to amend our lives. But let us never forget to give thanks to the risen Lord. Let us give thanks for any victory we have had today. How good the Lord is to us. Forgetting what lies behind, let us with St Paul, press forward to what lies ahead!

Episode 101 -- Spiritual Combat c60 -- Examining our Conscience

What is the best way to examine my conscience at night?

Throughout THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT, Fr Scupoli is convinced that we need to keep a close watch on ourselves and to place great confidence in God. His book is masterful in showing us the right way to react to our own faults. In chapter 26, he discussed a method of humble trust in God’s mercy whereby we do not allow our faults to pull us farther from God. We run back to him. At the same time, a daily examination of our faults is necessary, together with gratitude for the events of the day. Chapter 60 provides us with a framework for thinking about the day that has passed.

Last episode we read about the trial that many serious Catholics face, often in the early days of their deeper conversion, the problem of involuntary impure ideas and even hateful visions. The devil and our fallen human nature seem to conspire to scare us about the spiritual path we are following. In place of the sensible devotion we have been feeling, the soul experiences strange and unwanted ideas, even involving holy things. Such experiences are designed by the devil to make us think we have abandoned God and should return to our life of sin, symbolized by the slavery of the Israelites in Egypt. Just as God allowed the people of Israel to be tempted to return to slavery, Fr Scupoli singles out at least three reasons why God would allow us to undergo this trial.

1. They help prevent us from future NEGLIGENCE.

2. They lead us to closer UNION with God our loving Father.

3. They make us more aware of what our fallen human nature is capable of when unaided by GRACE.

Instead of being over anxious, we need to smile. The God who saved us from a life of sin can deliver us from this trial. Let us not spend too much time going over these thoughts. “In the battle for purity,” St Philip would say, “it is the cowards who win, those who flee.” Be humble and get your mind quickly to something non-sinful. Call a random friend. Organize one’s closet. Count your books!