The Spiritual Combat: Classic Edition

As a clarification of part of Chapter 19 of The Spiritual Combat by Lorenzo Scrupoli: How to resist the Lusts of the Flesh.As a clarification of part of Chapter 19 of The Spiritual Combat by Lorenzo Scrupoli:"Take, therefore, for your subject of meditation the Life and Passion of our Crucified Redeemer for this purpose. And if, during your meditation, the images of the same thoughts come before the mind's eye against your will, and molest you more than ever— as is frequently the case— do not therefore despond, nor leave off your meditation, neither turn your attention to these thoughts with a view to resisting them, but pursue it with all possible intenseness, taking notice of these thoughts, which in no sense belong to you. There is no better plan of resisting them than this, however frequently these assaults may come."~Scupoli, Lorenzo. The Spiritual Combat: Classic Edition (p. 29). Scriptoria Books. Kindle Edition.Should be: "do not therefore despond, nor leave off your meditation, neither turn your attention to these thoughts with a view to resisting them, taking notice of these thoughts, which in no sense belong to you, but pursue it with all possible intenseness.""but pursue it with all possible intenseness" refers to our meditation. In other words, do not leave off your meditation and prayer. So it is about not taking notice of those -by our higher mind unwanted and morally disapproved of thoughts- with the view of resisting them by taking notice of those thoughts that come before our mind's eye against our will, thoughts which in no sense belong to us anyway.Now that I've read it a third time I also would like to say this:This book makes one very self-conscious. Feeling completely inadequate and guilty. I can imagine it can make one feel very depressed and desperate, all of which is suffering.It does not say so openly, but those who have had a taste of union with God understand that the book is meant to make one realize how much God loves us, meaning how much He wills for us that also we would enjoy what He enjoys, a joy only God can enjoy, that in order to make that possible He gave us Himself so completely that He is now experiencing everything we experience, as each and every one of us. That compared to God's infinitely great happiness, experiencing being but an imperfect human, appearing in the sinful flesh and being judged as being but that, His divinity not recognized, is the passion and crucifixion God is undergoing in what Paul called "this body of death." Meaning "this human I seem to be, this cross."For balance I strongly recommend also reading the book:"Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre de Caussade (2010-04-01)"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FKT2XSC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1I also recommend the same work which is based a bit more on the original French text:"The Sacrament of the Present Moment"https://www.amazon.com/Sacrament-Present-Moment-Jean-Pierre-Caussade/dp/0060618116As a meditation and reminder I would like to share this with you who are reading this, for it is God Who is reading this now in human appearance, as He is appearing in this world as everyone's human appearance, and realizing that is the second coming and the resurrection of the spiritually dead, and the beginning of the ascension:"It is the One Who let Himself be spiritually tortured to death by taking on Himself this human experienceto give Himself and His Life to the human souls out of pure CharityWho is therefore experiencing this now in His appearance of this humanity."

This is a fantastic book. I believe it was St. Francis de Sales that carried this book with him and read from it DAILY. Once you read you will see why. We are all put in this world to be "tested by fire" (demonic temptations) in order to see if we have the "metal" (pun intended) in order to be accepted by God into heaven in order to accept our heavenly inheritance as sons of God.Enduring this sanctification process in this world is HARD and involves FAITH, and the resolve to DENY ourselves and the desires of the body. In order to accomplish this task, which on many days seems nearly impossible, our mind and spirit needs to be buoyed up by the spiritual instruction of those who have "run the same race" and overcome the fire. This book is just that. It is a book that you can read and get spiritual inspiration from EVERYDAY. As traditional Catholicism used to teach us, "we are merely pilgrims in this world on our way to our everlasting home". In the "armor of God" this is a very important weapon to have in your arsenal.

St. Francis de Sales employed this very helpful resource for striving for spiritual perfection, which begins by proving the need for a total distrust of one's self and reliance upon God. As you might expect, in striving for a true humility, Scupoli warns against any sense of self-satisfaction or achievement. So how does the soul navigate between its desire to please God and its awareness of its own progess and failures? A true spiritual guide can show us the way around the numberless pitfalls and snares; an indiscreet zeal, for example. Though published more than 400 years ago, but because man's nature is the same, and more importantly, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and always, these lessons handed down to us by Lorenzo Scupoli from 1589 (in over six hundred editions since the original) are a timely guide for the confused Catholic who seeks the salvation of his soul and that of his neighbor.

I enjoyed reading this book because it is written as a 'Spiritual Guidance book". He gives very good examples to follow even though it was written so many years ago. What I did not like was that he added on with answers to and from Sisters in a community. I would have preferred that he stopped after his first thoughts. I heard that he is known as a well known writer, and it is hard to find copies of his books.

Excellent book with much needed teachings. Scriptoria Books did a great job with formatting.

Im giving this a 4 because the size of the book is awkward. Very large and sort of like the size of a coloring book would be.

The Spiritual Combat though written centuries ago is packed in spiritual direction for our times today. This book ranks within my top five best spiritual book category mainly because it is so succinct offering insight into so many areas of our everyday spiritual warfare with directives on how to combat them. A must read for everyone interested in their journey to heaven.

This book on how to win against the evil one is a great tool for those who wish to advance spiritually. If ever your tempted to do evil, there is a mini course in this book to help you overcome the temptation. Saint Francis De Sales thought it so effective that he carried it with him for most of his life.

Having read and co-authored in excess of 300 books I was not expecting to find a 97 pages book where every single word is to be applied. God Almighty ! What a lesson, , different people place perfection in different practices. It is certain that they all equally deceive themselves. Since exterior works are nothing more than dispositions for achieving true piety, or the effects of real piety, it cannot be said that Christian perfection and true piety consist in them. They are, without doubt, powerful means for becoming truly perfect and truly holy. When used with discretion they are of unique value in supporting our nature which is always indifferent to good and inclined to evil; in repelling the attacks and escaping the snares of our common enemy; in obtaining from the Father of Mercies those helps that are so necessary for the faithful, and especially for beginners. They are, moreover, precious fruits of the consummate virtue achieved in truly holy persons. Such men chastise their bodies either in punishment for past offenses or for greater humiliation and subjection to their Creator. They seek solitude and observe silence that, withdrawn from the world, they may preserve themselves free from the least stain of sin, and speak only with Heaven and Angels. Their time is spent in works of piety and in the service of God. They pray and meditate on the life and Passion of our Redeemer, not through curiosity, nor for the sake of some sensible pleasure arising from this, but from a desire of knowing better, on one hand, the grandeur of the Divine Goodness, and on the other hand, the depth of their own ingratitude. They do this in order to increase their love of God and detestation of self, to follow their Lord in shouldering His Cross, and in renouncing their own will. They receive the Sacraments for no other reason than the honor of God, a closer union with Him and greater security from the power of the devil.

Brilliant, wouldn't be without it! I read a bit everyday as this is the real battle that all Catholics face - with the world, the flesh and the devil. Explains everything in how to combat this very real battle that is going on all around us in every minute of every day! And most importantly, how to retain the Victory and the Crown of Glory that those who don't give up will receive if they do what is required of them. Worth its weight in gold...

Every now and then one comes across a book that totally surprises you. This book did just that for me and has become a book that I always have with me. For every christian who needs a little help making sense of things every now and then, or wants to clear the fug of trite populist preaching and rediscover what is real and what is meaningful, this book is for you.

Looking for meaning in life? Here it is.

Very flimsy/thin covers. Most disappointing.