Spiritual warfare

The editor, Father Vincenzo Cosenza, offers us a version of this work in contemporary Italian, so ancient yet precious, so that it will not be lost forever but instead rediscovered. The Spiritual Combat is, in fact, a work composed in the 1500s by Father Lorenzo Scupoli: it is a text containing suggestions for fighting temptations, acquiring the habit of practicing virtues, and reacting to the sudden impulses of the passions; it offers guidance on combating negligence; it suggests what to do when we are wounded and how to control the tongue; and it includes warnings about the deceptions used by the devil to induce us to abandon the life that leads to virtue. The work proposes a spiritual combat that requires no spectacular heroism; it is “content” with practicing ordinary virtues. Whoever picks it up now joins the ranks of its countless readers. Father Vincenzo Cosenza’s careful version in contemporary Italian restores the book’s incredible relevance. Truly a masterpiece to rediscover!