Daily Writing
| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
|
June 30, 2009
|
July 1st Holy
Spirit Novena |
The Novena Rosary
Mysteries |
Florida Retreat
July 2nd - July 5th
1:30pm & 6:20pm each day
Given June 29, 2009
Matthew 8: 18-22
When Jesus saw the crowd all about him he gave orders to leave for the other side. One of the scribes then came up and said to him, ‘Master, I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus said, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.’Another man, one of the disciples, said to him, ‘Lord, let me go and bury my father first.’ But Jesus said, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.’
Simplicity in our lives
Prayer — time for Jesus
Genesis 21: 5, 8-20
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham gave a great banquet on the day Isaac was weaned. Now Sarah watched the son that Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. "Drive away that slave-girl and her son," she said to Abraham, "this slave-girl's son is not to share the inheritance with my son Isaac." This greatly distressed Abraham, because the slave-girl's child too was his son, but God said to him, "Do not distress yourself on account of the boy and your slave-girl. Do whatever Sarah says, for Isaac is the one through whom your name will be carried on. But the slave-girl's son I shall also make into a great nation, for he too is your child." Early next morning, Abraham took some bread and a skin of water and, giving them to Hagar, put the child on her shoulder and sent her away. She wandered off into the desert of Beersheba.
When the skin of water was finished she abandoned the child under a bush. Then she went and sat down at a distance, about a bowshot away, thinking, "I cannot bear to see the child die." Sitting at a distance, she began to sob.
God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven. "What is wrong, Hagar?" he asked. "Do not be afraid, for God has heard the boy's cry in his plight. Go and pick the boy up and hold him safe, for I shall make him into a great nation." Then God opened Hagar's eyes and she saw a well, so she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
God was with the boy. He grew up and made his home in the desert, and he became an archer. He made his home in the desert of Paran, and his mother got him a wife from Egypt.
God calls and we are to answer
God wants our response
We have a free will
Matthew 9: 28-34
And when Jesus reached the house the blind men came up to him and he said to them, ‘Do you believe I can do this?’ They said, ‘Lord, we do.’ Then he touched their eyes saying, ‘According to your faith, let it be done to you.’ And their sight returned. Then Jesus sternly warned them, ‘Take care that no one learns about this.’ But when they had gone away, they talked about him all over the countryside.
They had only just left when suddenly a man was brought to him, a dumb demoniac. And when the devil was driven out, the dumb man spoke and the people were amazed and said, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.’ But the Pharisees said, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he drives out devils.’
God calls us to grow in
perfection
Matthew 5: 48
You must therefore be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’
Conversion —
Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady says
CONVERSION
Dying to self
Jesus died on a cross
though He was wounded
all over — He went
to the bitter end
Jesus carried our sins to the
end
December 19, 1996
Mary: My dear children, I give to you, my Son, Jesus, born in a stable in Bethlehem on Christmas morn. He is the Almighty God, the Light of the World.
I appear to you, my children, on a (former) bank in Florida. You have made money your god! Do you know how cold are your hearts? You turn away from my Son, Jesus, for yor money. Your money is your god.
I am Mary, your Mother. I do not appear as I once appeared to you. I am asking you today to circulate my message given on a tape on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12, 1996. Please circulate this tape now. Give it to as many people as you can. I am Mary, your Mother. Please circulate my Rosary Book.
end of December 19, 1996
Money should be used for the
honor and glory of God
Using it to help build God's Kingdom.
People do not recognize
attachment to money as
as attachment many times
To be attached to pleasures of the
earth
Luke 12: 16-21
Then he told them a parable, ‘There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, "What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops." Then he said, "This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time." But God said to him, "Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?" So it is when someone stores up treasure for himself instead of becoming rich in the sight of God.’
There is perfect poverty, chastity and
obedience in heaven
Jesus wants us to follow in
His footprints
Take up our cross and follow
Jesus
Genesis 3: 19
By the sweat of your face
will you earn you food,
until you return to the ground,
as you were taken from it.
For dust you are
and to dust you shall return.
Amos 8: 4-6, 9-12
Listen to this, you who crush the needy
and reduce the oppressed to nothing,
you who say,
‘When will New Moon be over
so that we can sell our corn,
and Sabbath, so that we can market
our wheat?
Then, we can make
the bushel–measure smaller
and the shekel–weight bigger,
by fraudulently tampering
with the scales.
We can buy up the weak for silver
and the poor for a pair of sandals,
and even get a price
for the sweepings of the wheat.’‘On that Day–
declares the Lord Yahweh–
I shall make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
I shall turn your festivals into mourning
and all your singing into lamentation;
I shall make you all wear sacking
round your waists
and have all your heads shaved.
I shall make it like the mourning
for an only child,
and it will end like the bitterest of days.‘The days are coming–
declares the Lord Yahweh–
when I shall send a famine on the country,
not hunger for food, not thirst for water,
but famine for hearing Yahweh’s word.
People will stagger from sea to sea,
will wander from the north to the east,
searching for Yahweh’s word,
but will not find it.
Psalm 119: 2, 10, 20, 30, 40
Blessed are those who observe his instructions,
who seek him with all their hearts,With all my heart I seek you,
do not let me stray from your commandments.My heart is pining away with longing
at all times for your judgements.I have chosen the way of constancy,
I have moulded myself to your judgements.See how I yearn for your precepts;
in your saving justice give me life.
June 30, 2009
1st Readings Today
Genesis 19: 15-29
When dawn broke the angels urged Lot on, "To your feet! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city."And as he hesitated, the men seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters — Yahweh being merciful to him — and led him out and left him outside the city.
When they had brought him outside, he was told, "Flee for your life. Do not look behind you or stop anywhere on the plain. Flee to the hills or you will be swept away." "Oh no, my lord!" Lot said to them, "You have already been very good to your servant and shown me even greater love by saving my life, but I cannot flee to the hills, or disaster will overtake me and I shall die.That town over there is near enough to flee to, and is small. Let me flee there — after all it is only a small place — and so survive."He replied, "I grant you this favor too, and will not overthrow the town you speak of. Hurry, flee to that one, for I cannot do anything until you reach it." That is why the town is named Zoar.
The sun rose over the horizon just as Lot was entering Zoar. Then Yahweh rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire of his own sending. He overthrew those cities and the whole plain, with all the people living in the cities and everything that grew there. But Lot's wife looked back, and was turned into a pillar of salt.
Next morning, Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood before Yahweh, and looking towards Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole area of the plain, he saw the smoke rising from the ground like smoke from a furnace.
Thus it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he did not forget Abraham and he rescued Lot from the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities where Lot was living.
Don't look back
Be obedient
Obedience is what God wants —
Lot's wife looked back and she was
turned into a pillar of salt —
God overthrew the cities where Lot
had been living —
God gives us mercy if we pray for mercy and try to please Him
Our hearts are to be true —
Not lying to ourselves about our wrong
doings —
Matthew 8: 23-27
Then he got into the boat followed by his disciples. Suddenly a storm broke over the lake, so violent that the boat was being swamped by the waves. But he was asleep. So they went to him and woke him saying, ‘Save us, Lord, we are lost!’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened, you who have so little faith?’ And then he stood up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. They were astounded and said, ‘Whatever kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?’
Angels tell Lot and wife to leave
Lot doesn't want to leave
Lot objects to angels' message
Strong instruction don't look
back
But Lot's wife looked back and
she turned into a pillar of salt —
We are not to look back
God the Father sent Jesus, the Savior
We look forward to second coming —
to glory of God
Don't look back
Confession — don't look back
Don't give into old habits —
in us - we give into.
Jesus is in boat, but if they drown
Jesus would be in the same
boat — Jesus calms wind and sea —
Apostles should focus on fact Jesus
could calm the sea
The priest said at Mass
To the ancients the sea could denote
evil spirits
Jesus can cast out demons —
Jesus will see the boat comes to
safe harbor
Jesus has the words of eternal life —
In the storm in the world today —
We have Jesus truly present in the
Eucharist through the consecrated
hands of our priests —
We see the boat on troubled waters —
Jesus calms the storm —
We see our struggling world —
We must pray for our Church who
can lead us in the troubled waters
in this world - of sin - of the influence
of the devil —
We know Jesus is the head of the Church —
Jesus is with us
We as members of the mystical body
of Christ can help strengthen
the world, the Church by
living more deeply as members
of the mystical body of Christ —
We must pray for our priests and the Church
pray for the members of the mystical
body to live deeply their calling —
commissioned in baptism —
God is with us
We must rely on God
Start these prayer chapters
Jesus died for us
Death - Resurrection
I unite to Jesus — unite to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
and pray to the Father, in the Holy Spirit, through
the intercession of Mary with all
the angels and saints — and the souls in
purgatory praying for the priests, the
Church and the world —
My dear Father, I offer You this day all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings, my every breath, my every heartbeat, my every thought, all my actions, in union with Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in the Holy Spirit. I pray the Holy Spirit is with me every second today, enlightening me to do the will of the Father and filling me with the fire of God's love.
I ask Jesus and Mary to be one in me in all that I do and I unite with all the angels and saints and souls in purgatory to pray continually to the Father for these intercessions, in this prayer, for this day.
For myself, I pray for grace-abundant grace, to know and love God more and more and to follow the will of the Father. I pray to the Holy Spirit to transform me in the heart of Mary to be more and more like Jesus. I pray that I can forever dwell in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. I pray for conversion of all those I hold dear who need conversion. I pray for each member of my family that they will be filled with Your abundant grace to grow in their knowledge and love of God.
I pray for all my friends that they will receive abundant grace to carry out the great plan of the Father, that they will grow forever closer to Jesus' Heart through Mary's heart, that we will all be led by the Holy Spirit to do His work, that we will, together, carry out the plan of the Father as He intends us to, to spread the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary's heart to this world.
Jesus, I pray for myself so the Holy Spirit descends upon me and opens my heart to Your love so I will grow more and more deeply in union with You. I pray that I do not worry what other people think but try always to please the Father and do His will. I pray that I may help lead many to Your burning love.
I pray for the following people in particular that they will be filled with the Spirit and grow deeply in their union with You, that they will receive abundant graces to know, love and serve You more. (Include special friends by name...)
I pray for priests the world over, for the success of the Priestly Newsletter, the Chapters and for the finances needed for the Newsletter. I pray for the circulation of the Blue Book messages, rosary meditations and tapes. I pray for all those involved in the publication of these messages.
I pray that You will shower Your abundant graces onto the priests reading the Newsletter the people reading and hearing the Blue Book messages and Rosary Meditations and all of Fr. Carter's publications.
We pray for the intentions we hold deep within our hearts, for our families and friends, for those requesting our prayers. We pray for children the world over and for the souls in purgatory. We ask God to shower His abundant grace on us and the members of our Shepherds of Christ chapter so that we may grow more and more in our knowledge and love of God.
We consecrate ourselves to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. We pray for Father Carter, for Father Smith, for Rita Ring, and for John Weickert, for all leaders and helpers in the Shepherds of Christ Movement, for Shepherds of Christ Ministries, and Our Lady of Light Ministry. We pray for all those who are working in these ministries.
We bind ourselves and our children and our friends to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We place the precious blood of Jesus on ourselves, and all we touch, so that we will be protected from the evil one. We pray to St. Michael to cast the devil into hell.
We love You, God, we love You, we love You. We beg that we may receive the grace to love You more and more deeply. We adore You, we praise You, our beloved Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
My dear Father, I offer you this day all my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings in union with Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in the Holy Spirit.
I unite with our Mother Mary, all the angels and saints, and all the souls in purgatory to pray to the Father for myself, for each member of my family, for my friends, for all people throughout the world, for all the souls in purgatory, and for all other intentions of the Sacred Heart.
I love You, Jesus, and I give You my heart. I love you, Mary, and I give you my heart.
A Prayer before the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
Let me be a holy sacrifice and unite with God in the sacrament of His greatest love.
I want to be one in Him in this act of love, where He gives Himself to me and I give myself as a sacrifice to Him. Let me be a holy sacrifice as I become one with Him in this my act of greatest love to Him.
Let me unite with Him more, that I may more deeply love Him. May I help make reparation to His adorable Heart and the heart of His Mother, Mary. With greatest love, I offer myself to You and pray that You will accept my sacrifice of greatest love. I give myself to You and unite in Your gift of Yourself to me. Come and possess my soul.
Cleanse me, strengthen me, heal me. Dear Holy Spirit act in the heart of Mary to make me more and more like Jesus.
Father, I offer this my sacrifice, myself united to Jesus in the Holy Spirit to You. Help me to love God more deeply in this act of my greatest love.
Give me the grace to grow in my knowledge, love and service of You and for this to be my greatest participation in the Mass. Give me the greatest graces to love You so deeply in this Mass, You who are so worthy of my love.
-Mass Book, December 27, 1995
July 2, 2009
TAKE, LORD, AND RECEIVE
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory,
my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have
and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O
Lord, I return it. All is Thine, dispose of it wholly
according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and Thy
grace, for this is sufficient for me.
Prayer from St. Ignatius
Lord, teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve;
To give and not to count the cost;
To fight and not to heed the wounds;
To toil and not to seek for rest;
To labor and not to ask for any reward,
Save that of knowing
that I am doing your will.
Prayer of St Ignatius
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from the side of Christ wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Permit me not to be separated from Thee
From the wicked foe defend me
at the hour of my death call me
and bid me come to Thee
That with Thy saints I may praise Thee
For ever and ever. Amen.
From The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius,
by Louis J. Puhl, S.J.
p. 12
23. FIRST PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION
Man is created
to praise, reverence and serve God
our Lord, and by this means to save
his soul.
p. 25
46. PRAYER. In the preparatory prayer I will beg God
our Lord for grace that all my intentions, actions,
and operations may be directed purely to the
praise and service of His Divine Majesty.p. 11
21. SPIRITUAL EXERCISES
Which have as their purpose the conquest of self
and the regulation of one's life in such a way that
no decision is made under the influence of any
inordinate attachment
Prayer for Union with Jesus
Come to me, Lord, and possess my soul. Come into my heart and permeate my soul. Help me to sit in silence with You and let You work in my heart.
I am Yours to possess. I am Yours to use. I want to be selfless and only exist in You. Help me to spoon out all that is me and be an empty vessel ready to be filled by You. Help me to die to myself and live only for You. Use me as You will. Let me never draw my attention back to myself. I only want to operate as You do, dwelling within me.
I am Yours, Lord. I want to have my life in You. I want to do the will of the Father. Give me the strength to put aside the world and let You operate my very being. Help me to act as You desire. Strengthen me against the distractions of the devil to take me from Your work.
When I worry, I have taken my focus off of You and placed it on myself. Help me not to give in to the promptings of others to change what in my heart You are making very clear to me. I worship You, I adore You and I love You. Come and dwell in me now.
-God's Blue Book, January 17, 1994
A Prayer for Intimacy with the Lamb, the Bridegroom of the Soul
Oh Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, come and act on my soul most intimately. I surrender myself, as I ask for the grace to let go, to just be as I exist in You and You act most intimately on my soul. You are the Initiator. I am the soul waiting Your favors as You act in me. I love You. I adore You. I worship You. Come and possess my soul with Your Divine Grace, as I experience You most intimately.
God wants intimacy with us
We have a wounded human nature
We must die to the ways that are
not likened to Him, disciplining
our wills.
When we do a retreat, in our daily lives —
we must discern the spirits —
The Holy Spirit leads us to peace and joy and
counsels us to do the will
of God.
We have a free will, we must discern
the spirits —
St. Ignatius says this in the Spiritual Exercises
we believe were given by Our Blessed Mother,
our spiritual mother —
The evil spirit wants to tempt us to give
into our wounded human nature —
tendencies toward impurities,
jealousy, anger, envy, lust, greed,
slothfulness, seeking dominance for
dominance sake —
Giving into these impure ways hurt our
relationship with God
We are miserable — the more we are not united
to God —
Some people have made themselves their own god —
the more we move away from God, the more
miserable we become because we
were created for God and in
that lies our joy, our happiness —
Song: God's Love
So St. Ignatius gives us the spiritual exercises —
We must discern
- if we are listening to the Holy Spirit guiding us to peace
and love and joy — unity, happiness in
our oneness with God
or
- if the evil spirit is tempting us to give
into our wounded human nature —
tendencies that take us away
from God — that we rebel against
God's will
We see with distorted vision —
We see God with distorted vision —
We see others with distorted vision —
We see ourselves with distorted vision —
Eyes of jealousy, impure habits we give
into inside us
We are on a journey to be converted —
to live to be more perfect like our
heavenly Father is perfect —
We were created in the image and likeness
of God —
God wants us to be as He intended us
to be — the ideal self —
The world, the Church and the individual
Christian are in the state of becoming —
We are to grow — always grow —
dying to those ways not likened to
God —
We can choose a little cubby hole, a
routine we feel comfortable with —
This can be a spiritual trap —
Look at the lepers in the Gospel —
God healed
We have lots of work to be likened more and
more like Jesus —
the person that settles in can be living
in a trap with rules of their own
making —
God tells us not to be lethargic, but to live —
That the lift of Christ is in us —
That we are on fire for love of God and
others and
answering our call from God —
In the spiritual life — you don't just
coast —
What spirit is filling you —
Excerpts of The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, by Louis J. Puhl, S.J. pp. 141-150
313. RULES FOR DISCERNMENT OF SPIRITS
IRules for understanding to some extent the different movements produced in the soul and for recognizing those that are good to admit them, and those that are bad, to reject them. These rules are more suited to the first week
314. I. In the case of those who go from one mortal sin to another, the enemy is ordinarily accustomed to propose apparent pleasures. He fills their imagination with sensual delights and gratifications, the more readily to keep them in their vices and increase the number of their sins.
With such persons the good spirit uses a method which is the reverse of the above. Making use of the light of reason, he will rouse the sting of conscience and fill them with remorse.
315. 2. In the case of those who go on earnestly striving to cleanse their souls from sin and who seek to rise in the service of God our Lord to greater perfection, the method pursued is the opposite of that mentioned in the first rule.
Then it is characteristic of the evil spirit to harass with anxiety, to afflict with sadness, to raise obstacles backed by fallacious reasonings that disturb the soul. Thus he seeks to prevent the soul from advancing.
It is characteristic of the good spirit, however, to give courage and strength, consolations, tears, inspirations, and peace. This He does by making all easy, by removing all obstacles so that the soul goes forward in doing good.
316. 3. SPIRITUAL CONSOLATION. I call it consolation when an interior movement is aroused in the soul, by which it is inflamed with love of its Creator and Lord, and as a consequence, can love no creature on the face of the earth for its own sake, but only in the Creator of them all. It is likewise consolation when one sheds tears that move to the love of God, whether it be because of sorrow for sins, or because of the sufferings of Christ our Lord, or for any other reason that is immediately directed to the praise and service of God. Finally, I call consolation every increase of faith, hope, and love, and all interior joy that invites and attracts to what is heavenly and to the salvation of one's soul by filling it with peace and quiet in its Creator and Lord.
317. 4. SPIRITUAL DESOLATION. I call desolation what is entirely the opposite of what is described in the third rule, as darkness of soul, turmoil of spirit, inclination to what is low and earthly, restlessness rising from many disturbances and temptations which lead to want of faith, want of hope, want of love. The soul is wholly slothful, tepid, sad, and separated, as it were, from its Creator and Lord. For just as consolation is the opposite of desolation, so the thoughts that spring from consolation are the opposite of those that spring from desolation.
318. 5. In time of desolation we should never make any change, but remain firm and constant in the resolution and decision which guided us the day before the desolation, or in the decision to which we adhered in the preceding consolation. For just as in consolation the good spirit guides and counsels us, so in desolation the evil spirit guides and counsels. Following his counsels we can never find the way to a right decision.
319. 6. Though in desolation we must never change our former resolutions, it will be very advantageous to intensify our activity against the desolation. We can insist more upon prayer, upon meditation, and on much examination of ourselves. We can make an effort in a suitable way to do some penance.
320. 7. When one is in desolation, he should be mindful that God has left him to his natural powers to resist the different agitations and temptations of the enemy in order to try him. He can resist with the help of God, which always remains, though he may not clearly perceive it. For though God has taken from him the abundance of fervor and overflowing love and the intensity of His favors, nevertheless, he has sufficient grace for eternal salvation.
321. 8. When one is in desolation, he should strive to persevere in patience. This reacts against the vexations that have overtaken him. Let him consider, too, that consolation will soon return, and in the meantime, he must diligently use the means against desolation which have been given in the sixth rule.
322. 9. The principal reasons why we suffer from desolation are three:
The first is because we have been tepid and slothful or negligent in our exercises of piety, and so through our own fault spiritual consolation has been taken away from us.
The second reason is because God wishes to try us, to see how much we are worth, and how much we will advance in His service and praise when left without the generous reward of consolations and signal favors.
The third reason is because God wishes to give us a true knowledge and understanding of ourselves, so that we may have an intimate perception of the fact that it is not within our power to acquire and attain great devotion, intense love, tears, or any other spiritual consolation; but that all this is the gift and grace of God our Lord. God does not wish us to build on the property of another, to rise up in spirit in a certain pride and vainglory and attribute to ourselves the devotion and other effects of spiritual consolation.
323. 10. When one enjoys consolation, let him consider how he will conduct himself during the time of ensuing desolation, and store up a supply of strength as defense against that day.
324. 11. He who enjoys consolation should take care to humble himself and lower himself as much as possible. Let him recall how little he is able to do in time of desolation, when he is left without such grace or consolation.
On the other hand, one who suffers desolation should remember that by making use of the sufficient grace offered him, he can do much to withstand all his enemies. Let him find his strength in his Creator and Lord.
325. 12. The enemy conducts himself as a woman. He is a weakling before a show of strength, and a tyrant if he has his will. It is characteristic of a woman in a quarrel with a man to lose courage and take to flight if the man shows that he is determined and fearless. However, if the man loses courage and begins to flee, the anger, vindictiveness, and rage of the woman surge up and know no bounds. In the same way, the enemy becomes weak, loses courage, and turns to flight with his seductions as soon as one leading a spiritual life faces his temptations boldly, and does exactly the opposite of what he suggests. However, if one begins to be afraid and to lose courage in temptations, no wild animal on earth can be more fierce than the enemy of our human nature. He will carry out his perverse intentions with consummate malice.
326. 13. Our enemy may also be compared in his manner of acting to a false lover. He seeks to remain hidden and does not want to be discovered. If such a lover speaks with evil intention to the daughter of a good father, or to the wife of a good husband, and seeks to seduce them, he wants his words and solicitations kept secret. He is greatly displeased if his evil suggestions and depraved intentions are revealed by the daughter to her father, or by the wife to her husband. Then he readily sees he will not succeed in what he has begun. In the same way, when the enemy of our human nature tempts a just soul with his wiles and seductions, he earnestly desires that they be received secretly and kept secret. But if one manifests them to a confessor, or to some other spiritual person who understands his deceits and malicious designs, the evil one is very much vexed. For he knows that he cannot succeed in his evil undertaking, once his evident deceits have been revealed.
327. 14. The conduct of our enemy may also be compared to the tactics of a leader intent upon seizing and plundering a position he desires. A commander and leader of an army will encamp, explore the fortifications and defenses of the stronghold, and attack at the weakest point. In the same way, the enemy of our human nature investigates from every side all our virtues, theological, cardinal, and moral. Where he finds the defenses of eternal salvation weakest and most deficient, there he attacks and tries to take us by storm.
