Rules for discernment of spirits, 1^st Week

[323-327]

10. When one enjoys consolation;
11. Humility in consolation and courage in desolation;
12. The enemy conducts himself as a woman;
13. He may also be compared in his manner of acting to a false lover;
14. The conduct of our enemy may also be compared to the tactics of a leader.

St. Ignatius was not content with giving a set of rules to distinguish good and evil spirits in their influence on the soul. He carried the discernment to its natural conclusion by offering a definite plan of action, or reaction, once the spirit is recognized. In “the Screwtape’s Letters,” Lewis describes this spiritual battle in a very precise way. As an example, I am going to read few paragraphs from the second chapter. We have to keep in mind how the oldest devil names each character: “The Enemy” is God; “The Father below” is Satan; “Wormwood” is the addressee, an inexperienced devil, whose uncle is trying to educate in the art of temptation; “the patient” is a soul, a man who tries to be good.

“My dear Wormwood, I note with grave displeasure that your patient has become a Christian. Do not indulge the hope that you will escape the usual penalties…In the meantime we must make the best of the situation. There is no need to despair; hundreds of these adult converts have been reclaimed after a brief sojourn in the Enemy’s camp and are now with us. All the habits of the patient, both mental and bodily, are still in our favor. One of our great allies at the present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners…fortunately, it is quite invisible to these humans. All your patient sees is the half-finished, sham Gothic erection on the new building estate. When he goes inside, he sees the local grocer with rather an oily expression on his face bustling up to offer him one shiny little book containing a liturgy which neither of them understands…. When he gets to the pew and looks round him, he sees just that selection of his neighbors whom he has hitherto avoided. You want to lean pretty heavily on those neighbors…Provided that any of those neighbors sing out of tune, or have…odd clothes, the patient will quite easily believe that their religion must therefore be somehow ridiculous. At his present stage, you see, he has an idea of “Christians” in his mind, which he supposes to be spiritual but which, in fact, is largely pictorial.

Never let it come to the surface; never let him ask what he expected them to look like. Keep everything hazy in his mind now, and you will have all eternity wherein to amuse yourself by producing in him the peculiar kind of clarity which Hell affords. Work hard, then, on the disappointment or anticlimax which is certainly coming to the patient during his first few weeks as a churchman. The Enemy allows this disappointment…in every department of life it marks the transition from dreaming aspiration to laborious doing. The Enemy takes this risk because He has a curious fantasy of making all these disgusting little human vermin into what He calls His “free” lovers and servants – “sons” is the word He uses, with His inveterate love of degrading the whole spiritual world by unnatural liaisons with the two-legged animals…But also remember…if once they get through this initial dryness successfully, they become much less dependent on emotion and therefore much harder to tempt.”

So accurate and so true. Let us read now the last 5 rules for the 1^st week.

 Tenth and Eleventh Rule Nos. 323 and 324

323:   In a period of consolation a man should think about his conduct in the distress that will ensue, building up his strength afresh for that experience.

324:   When experiencing consolation, he should be careful to keep himself humble and modest, recalling how worthless he is in times of distress, when he is without the favor of this comfort. Contrariwise, a man who is in a state of distress should reflect that he can do a great deal with the grace that is sufficient to withstand all his enemies, finding strength in his Creator and Lord.

A Spanish mystic, was one day following the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her and congratulated her on making the exercises, which Our Lady herself had given to St. Ignatius. The Archangel added: “Mary herself lived these rules during her life.” Someone who does not know the life of the Blessed Virgin, who has not meditated on it, or who does not understand the Exercises may think that it is an exaggeration. But if one contemplates carefully, it is clear that she did behave in this way. Take the Visitation. Her old cousin said to her, “And whence is this that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?” What was Mary’s reaction? She directed the glory to God: “My soul doth magnify the Lord… the Almighty hath done great things in me…,” and she humbled herself as much as she could: “He hast regarded the humility of His handmaid” (literally, “His slave”). Let us make sure to remain humble when all is going well.

Twelfth Rule No. 325

325: The enemy is like a woman, weak in face of opposition, but correspondingly strong when not opposed. In a quarrel with a man, it is natural for a woman to lose heart and run away when he faces up to her; on the other hand. If the man begins to be afraid and to give ground, her rage, vindictiveness and fury overflow and know no limit. In the same way, it is typical of the enemy to collapse and lose heart, his assaults turning tail, when a man who is training himself in the spiritual ways faces up to the enemy’s assaults, doing the precise opposite of what is suggested. On the other hand, if the retreatant begins to feel panic and to lose heart at these assaults, there is no animal on earth so savage as is the enemy of our human nature in the ever-growing malice with which he carries out his evil plan.

St. Augustine has a famous saying which sums up the devil’s play; “Latrare potest, mordere non potest nisi volentem.” He is able to bark, but not to bite unless allowed to. If you have ever lived in a rural area, you may have some experience with dogs. You find a dog charging you, barking furiously. What should you do? If you run away, the dog will certainly bite you. What must you do? Face him calmly without showing that you are afraid. The dog, vexed at seeing you calm, will lower his head, diminish his barking and turn tail. If, however, you had shown any fear, in as much as he feels you hesitate, he will become more ferocious and bite you. Never forget the principle:

IN THE PRESENCE OF A TEMPTATION, DO NOT BE DISTURBED, NEVER CHANGE YOUR RESOLUTIONS.

Fourteenth Rule No. 327

327: Or, again, he acts like a military commander in his attempts to over-come and seize the object he has set his heart on. An officer in command of any army takes up a position, makes a reconnaissance to discover the strength and disposition of troops in a fortified post, and launches his attack at the weakest point. Similarly, the enemy of our human nature makes a tour of inspection of our virtues – theological, cardinal and moral. Where he finds us the weakest and most defective in what pertains to our eternal salvation, he attacks at that point, seeking to overthrow us.

A commander-in-chief who wants to attack a town sends in his spies first, to find the weakest and least fortified point before he decides where to attack. Likewise, the devil “roams about us,” as St. Peter says, looking for our weak points in order to attack. Thus, we can know ahead of time where he will strike. You like to be lazy… or you are imprudent, you read anything indiscriminately… you do not select your friends carefully, etc. How many calamities have started by slight imprudence!

There are people filled with great qualities and virtues. They only had a very small fault. They are a little too sensitive to criticism. One day their parish priest reproaches them, with or without reason. They leave all, even the practice of religion! This is surely the work of the devil.

A doctor of a convent in Barcelona said one day to the Chaplain priest: “I do not understand. Here are women who have left fortunes, castles, etc., and yet they become attached to a small picture or get angry about a reproach. What is more, this hinders them in their sanctification!” Then, Fr. Vallet told the sisters: “I BEG YOU TO LOOK AND SEE WHAT YOUR HABITUAL VENIAL SINS ARE! IT IS BY THESE THAT THE DEVIL KEEPS A GRIP ON YOU. “

Thirteenth Rule No. 326

326: [The Devil] is also like a seducer in his desire to remain disguised and undetected. If that sort of schemer pays dishonorable court to the daughter of a good father or the wife of a good husband, he wants his words and suggestions not to be disclosed; he is greatly upset if the daughter or the wife tells the father or the husband about his deceitful words and his dishonorable purpose, since he easily recognizes that he will not then realize the plan he has embarked on.

On February 3, 1938, after Holy Communion, Jesus gave the following directions to Saint Faustina:

“First, do not fight against a temptation by yourself, but disclose it to the confessor at once, and then the temptation will lose all its force. Second, during these ordeals do not lose your peace; live in My presence; ask My Mother and the Saints for help. Third, have the certitude that I am looking at you and supporting you. Fourth, do not fear either struggles of the soul or any temptations, because I am supporting you; if only you are willing to fight, know that the victory is always on your side. Fifth, know that by fighting bravely you give Me great glory and accumulate merits for yourself. Temptation gives you a chance to show Me your fidelity.” [1560]

“And now (Jesus continues), I am going to tell you something that is most important for you: boundless sincerity with your spiritual director. If you do not take advantage of this great grace according to My instructions, I will take him away from you, and then you will be left to yourself…. Know that  it is a great grace on My part when I give a spiritual director to a soul. Many souls ask Me for this, but it is not to all that I grant this grace.” [1561]