09-01-2021, 08:09 AM
Fr. Lorenzo Scupoli (1530-1610) was the author of The Spiritual Combat, one of the most important works of Catholic spirituality. In 1589 in Venice the first edition of the work of his life was printed. At once it gained huge esteem and became a bestseller. The Combat is a practical manual of living. At first it teaches that the sense of life is incessant fighting against egoistic longings and replacing them with sacrifice and charity. The one who does not do this loses, and suffers in Hell; the one who does it, trusting not in his own, but God's power, triumphs and is happy in Heaven. The work of Scupoli analyses various usual situations and advises how to cope with them, preserving a pure conscience and improving virtue. It emphasizes also the boundless goodness of God, which is the cause of all good. What is bad originates from the human who rebels against God.