Verba comfortatiua Christi ad sponsam in timore positam, quod non debeat timere de hiis que vidit et audiuit, quia Spiritus sancti sunt; et quomodo Dyabolus per serpentem et leonem, consolacio Spiritus sancti per linguam designantur; et qualiter sit opponendum Dyabolo.
The Deception of the Enemy
Christ warns against the Devil's attempts to corrupt the Holy Spirit's consolation through pride and vainglory.
The Son says: "Why are you afraid and anxious because the Devil inserts certain things into the words of the Holy Spirit?" Have you ever heard of anyone keeping their tongue intact after placing it between the teeth of an enraged lion? Or has anyone ever drawn the sweetest honey from a serpent's tail? Certainly not. But who is the lion or the serpent, if not the Devil—the lion because of his malice, the serpent because of his cunning? And what is the tongue, if not the consolation of the Holy Spirit? For what is it to put your tongue between a lion's teeth, if not to speak the words of the Holy Spirit—who appeared in the form of a tongue—for the sake of human favor and praise? So, anyone who speaks God's praises to please people is surely bitten and deceived by the Devil, because those words, even though they are God's, don't come from the mouth of God's charity, and the tongue—that is, the consolation of the Holy Spirit—will be taken away from him.✦
The Protection of Divine Love
True detachment from the world and focus on God creates a sanctuary where the evil spirit cannot enter.
But anyone who desires nothing except God, and for whom all worldly things are a burden, doesn't care to see or hear anything except what is of God. When their soul rejoices in the infusion of the Holy Spirit, such a person cannot be deceived, because the evil spirit yields to the good spirit and doesn't dare to draw near to them. And what does it mean to suck honey from a serpent's tail, if not to hope for the consolation of the Holy Spirit amidst the suggestions of the Devil? That's impossible, because the devil would let himself be killed a thousand times over rather than offer a single word of comfort to a soul whose path is leading toward the end of life.
Standing Firm Against Temptation
God encourages the soul to remain steadfast, using divine love and obedience as an impenetrable shield against the Devil.
So, don't be afraid. For God, who began this good work in you, will bring it to a good end. Still, you should know that the devil is like a dog off its leash; when he sees you aren't filled with the Holy Spirit, he runs at you with his temptations and suggestions.1 But if you confront him with something difficult—something that makes his teeth ache or go numb—he'll immediately back away and won't be able to harm you. In truth, what is a stronger defense against the Devil than divine love and obedience to God's commands? When the devil sees this perfectly in you, his teeth—that is, his efforts and his will—will be immediately frustrated, because he sees that you would rather suffer any hardship than go against the commandments of God.2
Read the original Latin
Filius loquitur: "Cur times et sollicitaris ex eo, quod Dyabolus immittit aliqua in verba Spiritus sancti? Numquid aliquando audisti illum conseruare linguam suam sanam, qui eam misit inter dentes leonis commoti?
Aut numquid aliquis quandoque suxit mel dulcissimum de cauda serpentis? Nequaquam. Sed quis est leo vel serpens nisi Dyabolus, leo propter maliciam, serpens propter astuciam? Quid vero lingua nisi consolacio Spiritus sancti?
Quid namque est linguam ponere inter dentes leonis nisi verba Spiritus sancti, qui in specie lingue apparuit, propter fauorem et laudem humanam dicere?
Ergo quicumque laudes Dei ad placendum hominibus loquitur, hic utique mordetur et decipitur a Dyabolo, quia verba illa, quamuis sint Dei, non procedunt de ore caritatis Dei, et lingua, scilicet consolacio Spiritus sancti, auferetur ab eo.
Qui vero nichil desiderat nisi Deum, omniaque mundialia sunt ei molesta, nec corpus affectat videre nec audire nisi que sunt Dei,
animaque eius in infusione Spiritus sancti letatur, hic talis decipi non potest, quia spiritus malus cedit spiritui bono nec audet ei appropinquare.
Quid vero significat mel de cauda serpentis sugere nisi consolacionem Spiritus sancti de suggestionibus Dyaboli sperare?
Quod nequaquam fieri potest, quia Dyabolus se magis millies occidi permitteret quam unicum verbum consolatorium daret anime, cuius exitus tenderet ad finem vite.
Ergo noli timere. Deus enim, qui incepit bonum tecum, perficiet usque ad finem bonum. Verumptamen scito, quod Dyabolus est quasi canis dimissus de copula, quando videt te non esse in infusione Spiritus sancti, currens ad te cum temptacionibus et suggestionibus suis.
Sed si opposueris ei aliquod durum, quod dentes sui vel doleant vel obstupescant, statim resiliet a te nec nocebit tibi.
Quid vero est durum opponendum Dyabolo nisi caritas diuina et obediencia mandatorum Dei?
Que cum videbit Dyabolus perfecte in te, statim dentes eius, id est conatus eius et voluntas frustrabitur, quia considerat te omnia contraria magis velle pati quam mandatis Dei contraire."
Scripture echoes
- ↩Acts.2.3 — And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed, and it sat upon each one of them.
Notes
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