Recently I spent sometime with fellow member, Josephite, in reacquainting myself with a retreat given by Saint Elizabeth of the Holy Trinity to her Carmelite community shortly before her death at the beginning of the 20th century. Commentary was provided by a Dr. Anthony Lilles. I concluded that my prayer life had not progressed much since the first time I had discovered this online gem. On Father's Day last month here in the USA, my caring wife, Geralyn, gifted me with a summary of Teresa of Avila's The Interior Castle, entitled The Devil in the Castle by Dan Burke. One purpose of his book is to provide a synopsis of the 7 mansions so as to help assess, for someone like me, in which mansion my prayer life is situated. I founded it painfully helpful. I can honestly say that my current mansion of residence, at best, is the Third. Hopefully eating humble pie will point the way to a humility, which will lead me further into the Heart of Christ. If anyone benefited from my reflections in the recent St. Elizabeth thread, it only shows God can extract some good, even from a the well-intentioned fool. Anyway, The Devil in the Castle is a great tool and is well worth acquiring! It is recommended by Bishop Athanasius Schneider. Safe Under Mary's Mantle!
I have been reading , , 'The Devil in the Castle', for sometime now. But I am afraid I am not so good at serious reading as I once was. I get tired and give up too easily. One thing reading the book is that the devil is not random or illogical in whom or in what way he attacks people. He is a Master Strategist and General. It seems to me at earlier stages he wishes to remain hidden. In later stages of the Spiritual Life when Faith grows stronger he need no longer hide and so comes out more into the open. But in all things Christ has placed Satan and the Demons under His Feet as Slaves. Christ won the Final Victory at Calvary. Everything else is just a mopping up operation. I wouldn't go thinking about Satan too much, I think unless I had a specific Ministry in the Field.
