The Spiritual Combat, The Peace of the Soul, and Thoughts on Death

First published in 1589, Father Lorenzo Scupoli’s “The Spiritual Combat, The Peace of the Soul, and Thoughts on Death” is a classic Catholic text on spiritual discipline. Scupoli’s work was commercially successful and was highly influential soon after it was published. Prominent religious figures such as St. Francis de Sales recommended that everyone under his direction read it every day as he did. Father Scupoli believed that in one’s daily life one must “fight or die” in a spiritual sense. The battles against vice, passions, impurity, and sloth must be fought constantly if there is to be victory of the spirit and soul. Father Scupoli intended that his work be a practical guide to daily living and shows how to replace the egotistical longings of the mind with charity, sacrifice, and discipline. A true believer must trust fully in God’s power and His infinite goodness in order to find eternal life in Heaven. Father’s Scupoli’s work continues to resonant with the faithful and spiritual today as he found lessons in common, timeless human events, and he shows how the faithful may cope with these challenges and remain virtuous and pure of mind.