Spiritual Warfare and the Screwtape Letters – Something The Devil Does Not Want You to Hear

With Halloween just around the corner you might be turning your attention to thoughts of spiritual warfare and those dark realities of our fallen world and the spiritual realm. If you have never read the Screwtape Letters, there is no better time. I suspect you will be surprised at how relevant it is to your own spiritual life. Here’s a taste of what you will find… Before you push play, make sure you have your sound turned up – even better with headphones. You are about to get a behind the scenes look into the brilliant work of a good friend on this classic work on the topic of spiritual warfare.

If the name Andy Serkis doesn’t ring a bell, he was the voice of Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies. Just in case you are unfamiliar with the book itself, it is a humorous and evil correspondence between the a senior demon known as Screwtape, and his apprentice Wormwood, whose assignment is to deliver a particular human’s soul to hell. If this sounds interesting and you would like to purchase the book, just click here. However, you might find this audio dramatization produced by Paul McCusker and featuring Andy Serkis even more interesting. As you can see, Andy’s portrayal of Screwtape is absolutely chilling.

Please forward this post on to your friends – its a great Christmas idea too!

How can I receive the gift of discernment?

Q: Dear Father Edward, how can I receive the gift of discernment? I have prayed and continue to do so, but I am not sure what comes from the Lord versus what is coming from me. Is there anything else that I should be doing?

A: Like Solomon who requested the gift of wisdom, you are asking for a good thing. Discernment is the ability to recognize what the Lord wants us to do. It can be a difficult process. One reason is because God often speaks in “a tiny whispering sound” (1 Kings 19:11-12). We might prefer that he speak loud and clear, but God in his wisdom often uses a soft voice. He makes us strain to hear him — and that helps keep us humble and attentive.

Another complication with discernment is that it involves spirits that act upon us. Spirits can come from various sources. They can come from us (our passions, our interests, our prejudices). They can come from the world, as when fame or fortune holds an unhealthy allure. Some spirits come from God or through his angels; these are the spirits we want to follow. There are also spirits that come from the devil. These are the dangerous ones that lead us into making bad choices. The devil often likes to deceive us by disguising evil inspirations as good ones. He might, for instance, tempt us to cheat on taxes (an evil) because it will help us pay off our credit card debts (a good). Or he might inspire us to think we are above temptation, so that we (foolishly) put ourselves in the near occasion of serious sin. Or he might play on our pride, convincing us that we know better than the Church about a moral issue.

How does someone sort through all of this? There are several ideas that can help. The first is: God always inspires us to do good. He never inspires us to do something evil. He won’t inspire a married couple to use contraception as a means of family planning, for instance. Nor will he inspire someone to deliberately skip Mass on Sunday. God will inspire us to be more charitable, more prayerful, more sacrificial for the good of others. He might even allow us to feel sadness for past sins that are already forgiven, with the idea that such an emotion might prompt us to a deeper sense of gratitude for his mercy. The devil, in contrast, might stir sadness in us in order to push us into despair and scrupulosity.

Another idea that can help us is that discernment requires action. That is, we need to do something, to take steps forward. Here, I’ll assume that you are asking for discernment regarding a specific course of action, that you want to know what you should do. You are already doing the best first step: You are praying. That’s an excellent start. Prayer well done puts us in tune with the Holy Spirit. It helps us to listen to his voice, which can be subtle.

Next, do some research. Ask yourself if a course of action you are considering is objectively good or at least morally neutral. If a course of action would violate Church teaching, then it is obviously not a genuine inspiration from God (as in the above-mentioned case of a couple using contraception). If the course of action involves a complicated moral issue (for instance, withdrawing a feeding tube from a terminally ill family member), you should seek the advice of someone trained in Catholic moral theology or bioethics. This could be a solid priest, a good confessor or spiritual director, or a theologian or bioethicist who is faithful to Church teaching.

If your situation involves a prudential decision (for example, whether to accept a new job and move your family across the country), then you could try weighing the pros and cons of each option. Take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. On one side write “Pros.” Then list the arguments in favor of a course of action. On other of the sheet write “Cons.” Then list the arguments against that course of action. Give a numerical weight to each pro and con, from 1 to 10. “Separation from extended family” might rate a 10. “Having to leave a nice climate” might rate only a 3. At the end, add up the pro and con sides. If the pro side wins, go on to the next logical step. “OK, Lord, I think that maybe I should take this path. If you don’t want me to do it, please let me know your will somehow.” Then start making preliminary steps in that direction. Good decisions bring us peace and serenity. If we decide one way, and then find ourselves agitated or uneasy, then maybe we should stop, regroup, pray more intensely, and consider another option. If a decision will affect other people, we should dialogue with them if possible and get their input. Anything that builds unity among people will help to clear the path for the Holy Spirit to work his wonders.

Yours in Christ, Fr Edward McIlmail LC

Introduction to Spiritual Warfare – Part IV – Getting Down to Action

Q: Dear Father John, I have been working on my prayer life consistently for a few years. During this time I have been on retreats and other similar activities. I have noticed a strange pattern: the conservative groups I have had contact with talk a lot about spiritual warfare, but the less traditionalist groups don’t. Until now, I haven’t paid much attention to the discrepancy. But lately I was wondering if maybe I should look into it – maybe understanding it better will help me grow spiritually?

A: I hope the first three parts of this series have succeeded in helping you understand the reality and nature of spiritual warfare. By now you may be piqued, though, at how theoretical it has been. That was necessary – no one can act intelligently without knowledge of the situation they are facing. But now it’s time to get practical. We know that our daily life as Christians consists in an ongoing battle, a steep climb beset with obstacles and enemies. The battle takes place in each person’s heart, where we make our decisions. In every decision, we can choose our personal, natural, and self-centered preferences, or God’s wise, redeeming, and often uncomfortable (for us) preferences. So, what can we do to defend ourselves against our enemies (the world, the flesh, and the devil), who are always trying to drag us away from God’s will and into the pit of self-will? Four things.

1) Steering Straight

First, we have to keep our mind clear. We have to stay focused on the truths that our faith reveals to us: the truth of heaven and hell; the truth of where happiness resides (in communion with God); the truth of whose voice is dependable (the voice of the Church); the truth of our own weakness and wounded nature… Jesus put it simply: “… You will come to know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

Our spiritual enemies obscure the truth. They hide part of it, or exaggerate another part of it. They put before our mind’s eye a false promise. We can only avoid being deceived if we are consciously, purposely, and regularly feeding our minds with the truth. If you are driving and take your hands off the steering wheel, what will happen? Sooner or later (probably sooner), the wheels will turn whichever way gravity, momentum, friction, and the road pulls them, and you will crash. You have to keep your hands on the wheel so as to keep heading in the right direction. You don’t necessarily have to grip the wheel with all your might (unless you are in the middle of a storm). You don’t necessarily even have to grip the wheel with both hands. But you have to keep steering, or the forces of entropy will steer you to destruction.

Keeping our minds clear is like keeping our hands on the steering wheel. We have to stay in touch with the sources of our faith: the Bible, the teaching of the Church, the writings of the saints and spiritual masters. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you spend four-and-a-half hours a day in the library. But it does mean finding and regularly dipping into the sources that explain our faith and apply it to our lives. It means finding dependable explanations of current events and issues, explanations that shed the light of God’s revelation on them. It means actively asking questions about what you believe and seeking the answers from trustworthy guides. It means study, reflection, discussion, and an active pursuit of deeper understanding. How sad it is to meet grown-up Catholics who know no more about their faith than they did when they received their first Communion as a child! How happy the devil is with such Catholics, because it’s so much easier for him to lead them astray with a skewed story on CNN about the Church, or an article in the New York Times, or a seductive work of spiritual distortion like The Da Vinci Code!

2) Keeping the Pedal to the Metal

Second, we have to keep our will in shape. We have all been wounded by original sin, and by our personal sins. And so we all can identify with St Paul when he says, “I do not understand my own behavior; I do not act as I mean to, but I do things that I hate” (Romans 7:15). Even when we know what our faith asks of us, we often find it hard to comply. The mind (the intellect) may see our destination clearly, but the will (our willpower) may resist (our enemies egg on this resistance). If we have our hands on the steering wheel, it does no good unless we also put our foot on the gas pedal.

Keeping the will in shape requires self-discipline and self-governance. I wish there were a shortcut, but there isn’t. We have to discipline ourselves: use a budget; follow a personal schedule; go to bed at a reasonable hour so as to get up at a reasonable hour; eat and exercise healthily; keep our stuff (room, car, house, office, garage…) clean and in order; avoid over-indulgence in entertainment; do chores; don’t get distracted at work; avoid procrastination… Everything your mother taught you when you were growing up was steeped in wisdom. An ordered life is the backbone of a healthy will. This type of self-discipline, because it requires self-denial, can also be a fruitful source of penance. Sometimes we are attracted by exotic penances, like climbing the Holy Stairs on our knees. Nothing wrong with that. But the warp and woof of spiritual maturity are the quite unromantic realities of constancy and hidden sacrifice. These strengthen us, so that we can say yes to whatever our faith asks of us, no matter how wily our enemies get. Remember, it’s an ongoing thing – we will never be perfect at this here on earth; we will always be tweaking, adjusting, and recovering from bouts of disorder and laziness, but if the effort is constant, the fruits will be too.

Of course, we have to stay balanced. Some personalities tend to revere order for order’s sake, and they go berserk at the slightest alteration in their schedule or plans. They are constantly on edge, lest they arrive two minutes late, or lest the dishes don’t get done right away. If you have one of those personalities, you need to form your will in the other direction, disciplining yourself to relax and be flexible, to forgive and bear with the faults and personalities of others, without compromising the essence of an ordered, purposeful life.

3) Keeping the Gas Tank Full

Third, we have to keep our spiritual gas tank full of God’s grace. Jesus made this amply clear: “I am the vine; you are the branches… With me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The Christian life is a supernatural life. We have to do our part, because God doesn’t want us to be robots – he wants us to be friends. But our part is never enough. His grace is the lifeblood of spiritual maturity, wisdom, and lasting happiness. If you have your hands firmly on the steering wheel and your foot on the accelerator, you still won’t go anywhere if the car is out of gas.

We tap into God’s grace through regular and conscientious participation in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and confession (both of which make the devil furious and send him packing), and through prayer. And, in fact, a lively and growing life of prayer is the secret to a conscientious participation in the sacraments. If you aren’t cultivating a personal relationship with your Lord on a daily basis, listening for his words to you and speaking to him from your heart, even your sacramental life will begin to fall into routine. So your daily God-time is crucial. It is your lifeline. It is the one thing that you need to protect the most.

If you were the devil, you would do everything in your power to empty the gas tank of grace, wouldn’t you? Don’t let him. To this end, it is often helpful to be part of a small group (Bible study, prayer group, ecclesial movement…) that can supply some accountability in your spiritual commitments. Life in today’s world is just so busy, so noisy. It never has been easy to stay close to God all by oneself, and it is even harder now. To this end, we also need to take time for spiritual retreats, pilgrimages, and special liturgical celebrations. Our lives should be punctuated by objective encounters with God’s grace. That’s why he gave us the Church.

4) Don’t Be A Fool

Fourth, we need regular, strong doses of objectivity. In other words, we need to be told that we are fools, but God still loves us. The devil loves convincing people that their subjective point of view is sufficient for growth in holiness – they are called, eventually, heretics.

Do you remember the two disciples that abandoned the Apostles after Good Friday? They were walking home to Emmaus, and Jesus (now resurrected) fell in with them, but they didn’t recognize him. They told him all about the events of the Passion, and explained that they had been wrong (so they thought, subjectively) about Jesus being the Messiah, so now they were heading home to go back to their old lives. And Jesus’ first words to them were: “You foolish men!” He called them fools! And then he explained the bigger picture and put them back on track. It was the first spiritual direction after Christ’s resurrection. We need spiritual direction. Just as even the best athletes will never reach their full potential without a coach to push, guide, and motivate them, so we will never really get in spiritual gear if we try to direct ourselves. Which, by the way, is why we started this blog.

In conclusion, if someone tells you that spiritual warfare is irrelevant, you can confidently discard their input. And now I think you can see that yes, indeed, it is extremely useful for our spiritual growth to understand, and to reflect deeply upon, the reality and dynamics of spiritual warfare. I hope these posts have helped you to do that. Happy fighting.

Yours in Christ, Father John Bartunek, LC

PS: Our friends Circle Press are very excited about this new resource for spiritual development! Click on the ad below and use the promotional code SCREWTAPE to get a special discount just for our readers.