“The second: in persons who are going on intensely purifying their sins and rising from good to better in the service of God our Lord, the method is contrary to that in the first rule. For then it is proper to the evil spirit to bite, sadden, and place obstacles, disquieting with false reasons, so that the person may not go forward. And it is proper to the good spirit to give courage and strength, consolations, tears, inspirations and quiet, easing and taking away all obstacles, so that the person may go forward in doing good” (St. Ignatius).
“in persons who are going on intensely purifying their sins and rising from good to better in the service of God our Lord.”
- “going on intensely purifying their sins:” moving away from sin “intensely,” that is, with constancy & generosity (not perfectly).
- “rising from good to better in the service of God our Lord:” moving toward God, rising, keep getting up and trying again.
Once we decide to prioritize prayer and discipleship above worldly pursuits (what Ignatius calls “people of the second week”), the spirits work on us in the opposite ways.
“the evil spirit”
- His action to those in service of God is to “bite, sadden, and place obstacles, disquieting with false reasons.” The bad spirit tries to “bite” away at your peace, joy, and zeal. He wants to “sadden” you with discouragement by “placing obstacles” in your path to give you a million excuses for why you cannot continue forward to a life of holiness. Since he is a “liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44), he will “disquiet you with false reasons” as to why you can’t or shouldn’t do God’s will.
- “The evil spirit will find ways to undermine our resolve to prioritize prayer and discipleship, intending not only to set us back to where we were before, but also to discourage us, undermine our trust in God, and push us back even further than where we were before we embarked on the journey to deepen moral conversion.” – Fr. Spitzer, Resisting Temptation and Moral Conversion, 11
- His goal is “so that the person may not go forward.”
“the good spirit”
- The good spirit’s action to those moving towards God is “to give courage and strength, consolations, tears, inspirations and quiet, easing and taking away all obstacles.” The good spirit freely “gives” you a variety of gifts, including (1) strength and courage so that you can say with St. Paul: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13), (2) consolation and tears – a lively sense of God’s closeness and love, (3) inspirations – clarity regarding how to “go forward doing good,” (4) quiet – a heavenly peace and interior calm. This is good news! Although the enemy intensifies his efforts to prevent us from going forward, “the Holy Spirit will also intensify his efforts to inspire, guide, and protect us, particularly when we resolve to prioritize divine pursuits over all worldly concerns” (Fr. Spitzer).
- See Rule 3 for more on consolations and tears.
- The good spirit desires to “ease and take away all obstacles.” Why? His goal is so that “you can go forward to doing good” and God’s will in a life of holiness.
Example: St. Augustine’s conversion story (click here for more)
The bad spirit: “They plucked at my garment of flesh and whispered, “Are you going to dismiss us? From this moment we shall never be with you again, forever and ever. From this moment you will never be allowed to do this thing or that, for evermore….” (VIII.11), “These voices … no longer barred my way, blatantly contradictory, but their mutterings seemed to reach me from behind, as though they were stealthily plucking at my back, trying to make me turn my head when I wanted to go forward. Yet in my state of indecision, they kept me from tearing myself away, from shaking myself free of them and leaping across the barrier to the other side, where you were calling me” (VIII.11).
The good spirit: “I had turned my eyes elsewhere, and while I stood trembling at the barrier, on the other side I could see the chaste beauty of Continence in all her serene, unsullied joy, as she modestly beckoned me to cross over and to hesitate no more. She stretched out loving hands to welcome and embrace me, holding up a host of good examples to my sight. With her were countless boys and girls, great numbers of the young and people of all ages…. She smiled at me to give me courage, as though she were saying, “Can you not do what these men and women do? Do you think they find the strength to do it in themselves and not in the Lord their God? … Why do you try to stand in your own strength and fail? Cast yourself upon God and have no fear. He will not shrink away and let you fall. Cast yourself upon him without fear, for he will welcome you and cure you of your ills” (VIII.11).
St. Augustine captures the radical change that happens in a person from the 1st Rule to the 2nd Rule: “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.”
Summary of first 2 Rules
See the inverse workings of the good spirit and the bad spirit in both cases. Rule 1 – picture cartoon person with horns; Rule 2 – picture cartoon person with halo.
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