OUR PREPARATION FOR TEMPTATION
I. _A Double Weapon_
If we have the right spirit of solicitude about our temptations, it
will arm us with a double weapon against Satan which he will have no
power to break. We are told that we are to watch in prayer,--_vigilare
in orationibus_.[1] It is the command given by our Lord to his
disciples in the Garden in the hour of the power of darkness: "Watch ye
and pray lest ye enter into temptation."[2]
St. Paul, also, in his exhortation to the Ephesian Christians to "put
on the whole armour of God,"[3] does not regard it as enough to give
the great list of virtues with which they are to be panoplied. The
loins must indeed be girt with truth; the breastplate of righteousness
must be buckled on and the sandals of the preparation of the gospel of
peace; while above all else there must be the shield of faith; and the
great catalogue of {76} the Christian soldier's equipment ends with the
helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.
But this armour is not sufficient for the warfare. Complete as it
seems, something else is necessary to insure the victory; and so the
great Christian warrior, who himself had "fought a good fight,"[4] adds
something more, namely, watchfulness and prayer,--"_Praying_ always,
with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and _watching_
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."
How strong are his words, poured forth with such impetuosity of
expression as to seem to a superficial reader to be almost
tautological,--"praying with all prayer and supplication." How
careful, too, is he to remind us that this prayer and supplication must
be "in the Spirit," in response to the Spirit's impulse, and with the
right judgment that He alone can give, and which He will give only to
those who ask Him "nothing wavering."[5]
Nor will prayer alone suffice. There must be a "watching thereunto
with all perseverance"; not relaxing our vigilance, but maintaining it
to the end. Neither is the soul to grow faint in its watch, nor
imagine, in regard to any point, that careful guard is no longer
necessary.
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The word "thereunto" calls for comment. Does the vigilance enjoined
apply only to the work of prayer which has just been mentioned, or does
it reach back to the whole category of duties included in putting on
the armour of God? At first glance it might seem inadequate to make it
refer only to the all-embracing duty of prayer, but if we comprehend
fully all that prayer means, we shall see that it is not necessary that
we should directly connect the injunction to vigilance with anything
else.[6] If we are keenly vigilant to pray as we ought in the power of
the Spirit concerning truth and righteousness, faith and salvation, and
all else that the Apostle has been describing, nothing will be wanting
to us as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. How truly did a Kempis catch
the thought which the Holy Spirit had given the great Apostle when he
paraphrased our Lord's command in the words, "Be watchful in prayer."
Let us consider, then, this twofold weapon with which God will arm us,
for we note that they are not two separate weapons. Our Lord said,
"Watch ye and pray," and the blessed a Kempis gives us, as we have just
seen, the true commentary on the command in the paraphrase, "Watch in
prayer."
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Vigilance without prayer would be to learn of the danger, and yet fail
to guard against it. To pray without vigilance would be to expect God
to work some miracle for us, to protect us when we ourselves had done
nothing to employ the means He places in our hands for forestalling and
defeating Satan. In short, it would be a sin of presumption. So one
cannot avail without the other.
With this understanding clear in our minds, let us proceed to examine
the relation of vigilance and prayer to temptation.
II. _The Spirit of Vigilance_
"_Watch._" This implies much more than a mere guarding ourselves in a
general way. It means that a systematic and regular guard is to be
kept over our _whole life_, over _all_ our senses and faculties, over
_all_ circumstances and conditions so far as we can by any means direct
them.
Here again we may find our illustration in the world about us.
Approach the camp of a well disciplined army. How quickly you are
challenged. Seek to enter it on any side, and a sentinel, alert and
suspicious, keeps you at a distance. The foe may be hovering in the
darkness of the neighbouring forest, or he may be a hundred miles away,
but this makes no difference in the vigilance of the guard. They take
{79} no chances. The enemy is abroad, and no man sleeps on his post.
Nor is it the known weak points only, or only the side from which the
attack is expected, that receives attention. Everywhere strict
watchfulness is maintained, while the threatened points are doubly
sentinelled.
We have in this the picture of what the watch about the beleaguered
soul should be. The soul that means to give a good and generous
service to God must guard itself at every point. How frequently, when
attention is called to some sin, do we think, "Oh, that is not my
weakness," or, "That would constitute no temptation to me whatever."
Vain, boasting spirit!--trusting to escape from evil by merely natural
means! How Satan gloats as he marks one point that is being left
unguarded, and waits, alert and observant, for a favourable opportunity
for attack. Through long time, months and years it may be, he
maintains a steady, subtle work of suggestion, leading the mind little
by little, unconsciously because no guard is kept, into an attitude
where the temptation we boastingly defied will prove a terrible foe
before whose sudden onslaught we shall go down in grievous and
ignominious fall.
If in truth God has spared us the fall into some sin that happens in
the lives of those about us, our safety will lie not in
self-congratulation, {80} but in humble thanksgiving that only through
the mercy of God have we been spared this stain. "But for the mercy of
God, there goes John Bradford," exclaimed a rugged old Christian as a
condemned murderer passed by on his way to death.
Again, our vigilance must be especially directed against the
temptations to which we have already yielded. When a sin has once
found entrance, it is easy for it to enter again, not only because
experience of the sin itself makes it attractive, but because
psychologically it is easy to do the thing we have done before. In my
self-examination to-night I find that a certain sin has been committed.
Let me mark it over against the morrow that the temptation, if it
recur, may be stamped out quickly, lest the fault entering often become
habitual, and a binding chain of besetting sin be forged about my soul.
Similarly must we guard the particular faculty that we find has led us
into sin. Is it pride of intellect, the desire to show what little we
know, the instinctive tendency to monopolize conversation, or to
instruct and correct others? Or is it a weakness that has its seat in
our affections, a tendency to condone sin in those we love, or a
critical spirit against those for whom we have no natural affinity? Or
perhaps it is a sin of speech; {81} the unkind word we so easily speak,
the idle boast of our own achievements; or the sin of idle
conversation, the "objectless" talk that occupies so much of our
conversation with others, and which our Lord so terribly condemned.[7]
Although no sin may have been committed, yet an oft-recurring
temptation is always to be diligently watched. It indicates that
Satan, who generally knows us better than we know ourselves, has reason
to believe that here is a weak point in our armour; or that he thinks
that God might, for some reason, be particularly dishonoured by our
commission of the sin suggested at some special time or place.
Vigilance, too, must be kept regarding occasions of sin. For this
reason we should practise not only daily examination of conscience that
we may learn wherein we have failed, but we should begin each day with
an anticipation of possible happenings. Where do I expect to go? Whom
shall I see? What duties are to be performed which may occasion
temptation? Perhaps I know that, if the expected routine of the day be
not disturbed, I shall go to a certain place and shall meet certain
people. The last time I was in that place something occurred which
caused me to sin. Is the occasion of that sin still there? {82} If
so, I must note it, and be most guarded concerning it. Perhaps I shall
meet a certain person who irritates and annoys me. This, too, I must
note, and forestall by some prompt word or act of charity, before the
temptation has time to present itself.
III. _Prayer and Temptation_
All this vigilance will, however, avail nothing unless it be combined
with prayer. The good soldier in the field does not depend upon
himself, but is constantly referring to headquarters for instructions,
and this reference on the part of the soldier in the armies of the
Kingdom is what we call prayer.
We must, however, get beyond the narrow and inadequate notion that
prayer is confined to formal acts of praise, thanksgiving, confession,
and petition. These are real and essential parts of prayer, and we
have need of them as we shall see; but they are not all.
Every act of directing the human will towards the will of God is prayer
in its truest and most comprehensive sense. Every longing of the heart
for God, every effort to identify ourselves with Him, our wills with
His will, though there be neither word, nor even thought, definitely
framed, is prayer. Our spoken prayers may have prayed {83} themselves
away; the mind and body may be so wearied that formal acts of prayer
are a burden to the flesh, and well-nigh impossible. But these are not
necessary if we are keeping our hearts turned towards Him, and are
striving, even though at times we may not appear to succeed, to
maintain, around and within, that atmosphere of loving devotion which
is the Christian's way of keeping open the lines of communication with
his base of supplies.
Our first duty in prayer, as a preparation over against temptation, is
to address ourselves directly to the case in hand, and, pleading our
own nothingness, to ask God to go with us through the day to defend and
succour us. Pray about the particular occasion of sin that may seem
imminent; pray with especial earnestness as we approach it more nearly.
But the prayer must not be for ourselves alone. If there are others
involved we must pray for them, that they too may be controlled by the
Holy Spirit.
If the occasion we are approaching is one that is dangerous because we
have before yielded to Satan, no prayer can be of greater effect than
an act of contrition for the past sins, the commission of which is now
involving us in renewed peril. Every act of contrition purifies the
soul more and more, and adds to the strength with which {84} we are to
meet the confident enemy on the scene of his former victory, but this
time to put him to flight. "_Amplius lava me_,"--Wash me more and
more,--was the cry of the Psalmist in his great prayer of penitence.[8]
Here we cannot fail to consider the particular strength which comes
from the greatest prayer of contrition,--sacramental confession and the
absolution which follows. If the anticipated occasion be one of
possible mortal sin, and if the sin of the past has been grievous, the
best preparation will be the seeking of absolution in the tribunal of
penance. Every sacrament brings its own particular grace, and the
special grace of absolution is a power infused into us which will apply
to the especial need of our souls. Satan has at some time been able to
effect an entrance at some point; again he draws near to assault the
absolved soul, confident that he will find the same avenue open. To
his chagrin, however, he finds it not only closed, but fortified with a
special gift of strength from God; and, fearing the shame of a defeat,
he will often withdraw without attacking.
This is a common experience with those who habitually frequent the
tribunal of penance. How many times have we had many and grievous {85}
falls into some particular sin; we make a good confession and go away
not only cleansed, but strengthened by the grace of absolution; and
after some days or weeks we begin to realize with a sense of joyful
surprise that the temptation which a little while ago was constantly
appearing seems to be entirely withdrawn. The occasion may arise, but
the soul feels no drawing to that in which it had before sinned. It is
the operation of the special grace of absolution, a grace which cannot
be had other than through the Sacrament of Penance, whatever other
great graces God may give us in reward for true contrition of spirit.
It is important that the work of prayer in preparation for temptation
should cover every point. As we have already thought in connection
with watchfulness, nothing must be done in the natural spirit; no
temptation can be overcome by means of dependence on anything else but
the gifts of divine grace. "Not by might, nor by power, but by My
Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts."[9]
It is a part of the Faith that we can do nothing pleasing to God in the
natural spirit. Nothing can be acceptable with Him, nothing can draw
from Him the graces we need, save what is done {86} through the power
and influence of the Third Person of the Ever-Blessed Trinity.
The Apostle says that no man can do so simple a thing as to "say that
Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost."[10] So it is the Holy Ghost
Who is to be our guide and protector. Do we pray to the Holy Ghost?
We pray often to the Father; frequently, perhaps, to God the Son, but
how much is prayer to God the Holy Ghost neglected amongst Christians!
And yet He alone is the agent of the Godhead in the Church. His is the
work of sanctification, as the Father's is the work of creation, and
the Son's that of redemption. No grace comes to us save through the
Spirit. Everything that comes into our lives from God, whether by
means of prayer or sacrament, faith or good works, comes through the
personal action of the Holy Ghost.
Therefore in preparing for temptation let us look to Him and pray to
Him in all things; and thus "strengthened by His Spirit in the inner
man,"[11] we can go forth to the day's conflict, knowing that the
assaults of Satan and the occasions of sin can only bring us new
opportunities of victory that will merit us the crown of life which is
promised to them that overcome.
In the midst of this prayer in preparation for {87} temptation we must
expect to find ourselves the objects of Satan's peculiar malice. All
prayer is a challenge to him, but none so much as the prayer by which
we are gaining new force and resource to employ against him.[12]
In this, as in all else, we see how carefully Satan conducts his
warfare. If it were possible to do so, what leader would fail to
attack his enemy when he was in the very act of laying in new supplies
of food and ammunition upon which to subsist, and with which to fight?
Lastly, in the very moment of temptation our prayers must be strong and
unceasing. The more the temptation increases, the more fervently--yea,
desperately--must we pray, crying out as a drowning man might call to
the only one from whom he could expect help.
But, says one, there's the rub. How can I pray when a thousand
distractions are thrust in so powerfully from every side? We are to
find the answer to such questions in our Lord's {88} hour of deepest
temptation in Gethsemane where we are told that "being in an agony, he
prayed more earnestly"[13]--literally, more intensely.
Let the intensity of our prayer keep pace with the intensity of
assault. We can more than defeat Satan if at such times we compel
ourselves to pray with greater care and exactness, framing with
extraordinary care the very words we are speaking to God, and if our
perturbation be such that we can find no words to utter, let us not
grow faint, but remember that this was precisely the case with our Lord
in His Agony, when He prayed over and over again, "saying the same
words."[14]
By his constant effort to interfere with our prayers, especially in
seasons of trial and temptation, Satan gives his testimony to the
efficiency which we shall acquire if we are earnest in our work of
preparation for the battle. He fears it with a fear born of long
experience. "Grievous indeed to us," says St. Bernard, "is the
temptation of the enemy, but far more grievous to him is our
prayer."[15] He has through all the ages contended against the grace
and strength of God as he found it in its manifold forms in the Saints.
He sees the history of the spiritual {89} warfare repeating itself in
us, and surely it should be a source of rejoicing to us that he should
count us as foes to be feared, as he feared in other days, or in our
own time, the great Saints and warriors of the Kingdom of God.
[1] _Imitation_, I, xiii.
[2] St. Mark xiv, 38.
[3] Eph. vi, 11-18.
[4] 2 Tim. iv, 7.
[5] St. James i, 6.
[6] See _The Speaker's Commentary_, in loc.
[7] St. Matt. xii, 36.
[8] Ps. li, 2.
[9] Zech. iv, 6.
[10] Cor. xii, 3.
[11] Eph. iii, 16.
[12] "St. Thomas and many other grave doctors say that it is by reason
of the war that the devil is accustomed to make against those that are
in prayer, that the Church, directed by the Holy Ghost, ordains that we
should begin all the canonical Hours with this verse, 'O God, make
speed to save me: O Lord, make haste to help me.' Whereby we implore
God's assistance in prayer against the snares and temptations of the
enemy."--Quoted by Rodriguez, _Christian Perfection_.
[13] St. Luke xxii, 44.
[14] St. Matt. xxvi, 44.
[15] St. Bernard, _Serm. in Dedicat. Eccles._, III.
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