The Seven Spiritual Weapons :: essays research papers

When people give their lives to Christ Jesus their hearts are changed and their soul becomes alive with the Holy Spirit. Once a life is saved, is life relaxed and easy for it is saved from the pit of hell? Of course not, Christians are faced with temptations from Satan and his demons. Temptations are brought upon us for us to make the choice of whether or not to fall into temptation or not. In the book The Seven Spiritual Weapons, Catherine of Bologna lists seven spiritual weapons to conquer enemies of God. These seven tools are to enhance our personal walk with Jesus Christ. Catherine wrote this work in fear of divine condemnation. She felt if she was silent about the delights of others she would be condemned. She felt it was her spiritual duty to do God's will and to encourage her fellow sisters of the monastery to fight the enemies of God. The first spiritual weapon Catherine describes is Zeal, that is solicitude in doing good. God condemns those that are lukewarm and negligent in the way of God. Enemies will see people doing good and will try to corrupt them by persuading them to do too much. Catherine reveals that there is as much danger in too much as in too little. People may try to do good deeds and wind up performing them in excess of what is good for the glory of God. 'So exercise all the virtues in proper measure that the weapon of true and diligent discretion may be exercised by us for our salvation and for the praise of Christ.'; Catherine portrays that it is very important for people to practice all virtues with discretion, for as to not over do it. The Holy Spirit inspires good inspirations in people, and then leaves the choice for each person to make and act upon. We must not let the time the Holy Spirit has given us pass by without the choice being made to follow Christ Jesus. Catherine's second spiritual weapon is Mistrust of Self. She describes this as believing that no one can do anything good by oneself, without the help of Christ Jesus. Do not trust in yourself for you shall surely fall to the enemy. It is in a person's nature to try to do things by his or herself, but the Lord says, 'Without me you can do nothing'; (Jo 15:5).