In the book The Spiritual Combat, Lorenzo Scupoli gives us a plan to become holy. He says we must fight against our bad habits (passions) and grow in good habits (virtues). This is the “royal road” to heaven. In this article we are going to focus on the teachings in chapters 33-37 of The Spiritual Combat.

Scupoli counsels against dividing the practice of virtues among different days of the week, assigning patience to Monday, charity to Tuesday, and so forth. Instead, he urges us to identify our most persistent passion and direct all our spiritual energy toward conquering it and acquiring its opposite virtue.

St. Francis de Sales said, “We must specially examine ourselves as to the vice which most easily besets us. Some are prone to pride, some to sensuality, some to anger, some to slothfulness. We should know ourselves, and attack the enemy where he is strongest against us.”

St. John Climacus said, “Let us concentrate all our strength on cutting down the most troublesome passion, for by conquering this one, we shall find it easy to master the rest.”

This works because all good habits are related. St. Gregory the Great said that “all virtues are connected with each other; whosoever has one, has all; and whosoever has not one, has none.” We are not just trying to be “better people.” Our goal is to love God more than anything else.

Scupoli warns that in the spiritual life we cannot just stand still. We should never set fixed timelines for achieving virtue. If we stop moving forward, we will start moving backward. St. Bernard said that to not go forward is to go back. It is like rowing a boat against a river: if you stop rowing, the water will carry you away.

But here is a happy secret: as you keep going, the journey gets easier. At first, it feels hard, but slowly you become stronger and feel a quiet joy. Even if you don’t see it, God is changing your heart while you pray.

The culmination of this path is a state where virtue flows naturally. The soul, having conquered its passions, dwells in harmony with God’s will. The heart becomes a temple that burns day and night with the love of God.

Scupoli says there are two types of spiritual work:

  1. Bodily disciplines, such as fasting or vigils, must be acquired gradually to avoid burnout. St. Benedict and St. John Cassian both cautioned against excessive rigour that might break the body and hinder spiritual duties.
  2. Internal virtues, such as humility, patience, and the love of God, demand aiming for perfection from the start. We cannot settle for being “moderately” patient; these virtues of the heart require total commitment immediately. For example, we cannot say, “I will be a little bit patient today.” We must try our best to be fully patient right now. Even if we fail, our goal must always be to love God perfectly.

To stay strong, Scupoli suggests “arrow prayers.” These are very short prayers you can say anytime, even when you are busy. For example: “Lord, help me!” or “My God, I love You!”

Jesus taught Venerable Consolata Betrone (1903-1946) this beautiful prayer: “Jesus, Mary, I love you, save souls!” 

When a line of a Psalm or a brief prayer rises up in the middle of exhaustion, we invite the Spirit to plant God’s own language inside our poverty. These prayers keep the fire alive when we feel cold and the praise alive when we feel mute.

Scupoli also says we should not run away from people or things that annoy us. If you want to be patient, you need people who test your patience. If you want to be humble, you need situations that make you feel small. These hard times are like a school where we learn to be like Jesus. The only exception is when we experience temptation of the flesh. In those cases, we should run away immediately!

Growing in goodness is hard work. It requires us to check our hearts every day and carry our cross. But really, it is about falling in love, not with ourselves, but with God.

The holy teachers tell us that Jesus did not call people who were perfect or “strong”. He called people who were broken and knew they needed help. The spiritual masters of the texts entitled Philokalia teach that our “wounds” and failures are often the doors through which grace enters. We give God our weakness, and he gives us his strength. Holiness is the beautiful result of a heart that lets God’s love lead the way.

Let our light shine before others.

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由軟弱至剛強：神修戰鬥的計劃

在「神修戰鬥」(The Spiritual Combat)一書中，斯庫波里神父(Lorenzo Scupoli)為我們提供了一條成聖之路。他指出，我們必須與自己的惡習 (偏情)作戰，並在善行(德行)中成長。這是一條通往天國的「王者之路」。本文將聚焦於「神修戰鬥」第 33 至 37 章的教導。

斯庫波里神父提醒我們，不要分配一週不同的日子去修不同的德行，例如星期一練習忍耐、星期二練習愛德等等。他反而鼓勵我們找出自己最頑固的惡習，把所有靈修力量集中在征服它，並培養與之相反的德行。

聖方濟沙雷說：「我們必須特別檢查自己最容易陷入的惡習。有些人容易驕傲，有些人容易感官放縱，有些人容易憤怒，有些人容易懶散。我們應該認識自己，並在敵人最強攻擊我們的地方的反擊。」聖若望克利馬古也說：「讓我們集中全副力量，先砍除那最令我們困擾的偏情；因為一旦戰勝了這一項，其餘的便容易克服。」

這之所以有效，是因為一切德行彼此相連。聖額我略一世曾說：「諸德彼此相通；擁有一德者，便擁有眾德；缺少一德者，便無任何德行。」我們的目標並非只是成為「更好的人」，而是要讓我們愛天主超越一切。

斯庫波里神父警告，在神修生活中，我們不能止步。我們不應為達到德行設定期限。如果不再前進，就會開始後退。聖伯爾納鐸說，不前進就是後退。這就像逆流划船：一旦停止划槳，水流便會把你帶走。

但這裡有一個令人欣喜的秘密：只要持續前行，旅程會變得愈來愈容易。起初很艱難，但慢慢地你會變得更堅強，並感受到一種安靜的喜樂。即使你看不見，天主也在你祈禱時悄悄改變你的心。

這條道路的高峰，是靈魂能自然而然地活出德行。當人戰勝了自己的偏情後，便與天主的旨意和諧一致。此時，人的心成為一座聖殿，晝夜燃燒著對天主的愛火。

斯庫波里神父指出，神修有兩種類型：

  1. 身體的操練 – 如守夜、禁食 – 必須循序漸進，以免過度疲憊。聖本篤和聖若望格西安都警告過，過度嚴苛會損害身體，反而妨礙神修。
  2. 內在的德行 – 如謙遜、忍耐、愛天主 – 則必須從一開始就以完美為目標。我們不能滿足於「稍微」忍耐；這些心靈的德行要求我們立即全心投入。例如，我們不能說：「今天我忍耐一點點就好。」我們必須盡力在當下完全忍耐。即使失敗，我們的目標始終是完美地愛天主。

為了保持剛強，斯庫波里神父建議使用「箭禱」。這些是非常短的祈禱，即使忙碌時也能隨時誦念。例如：「主，請幫助我！」或「我的天主，我愛祢！」耶穌曾教導真福孔索拉塔貝特羅內（1903–1946）這句美麗的祈禱：「耶穌、瑪利亞，我愛祢，請拯救靈魂！」當聖詠的一句話或一段短禱在疲憊中浮現，我們便讓聖神在我們的貧乏中種下天主的語言。這些祈禱在我們感到冰冷時保持火焰，在我們無言時保持讚頌。

斯庫波里神父也說，我們不應逃避那些讓我們煩躁的人或事。如果你想學習忍耐，你需要那些考驗你忍耐的人；如果你想學習謙遜，你需要那些讓你感到渺小的情況。這些困難就像一所學校，使我們學會像耶穌一樣。唯一的例外是肉身的誘惑 – 在這種情況下，我們必須立刻逃離。

在善德中成長，確實是一條艱辛的道路。要求我們每日省察內心，並背負自己的十字架。然而，從根本來說，這是一段愛的旅程 – 不是愛自己，而是愛天主。

聖德導師們告訴我們，耶穌所召叫的，並不是那些已臻完美或自認堅強的人；祂所呼喚的，是那些破碎、並深知自己需要救助的人。聖愛靈修事工(Philokalia) 的靈修大師教導我們：人的「傷口」與失敗，往往正是恩寵進入的門扉。我們把自己的軟弱交給天主，而祂則以祂的力量回報我們。聖德是一顆任由天主的愛引領前行之心所結出的美麗果實。