The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
The following excerpt is meant to be a Screwtape Letters’ type of writing. It;s written from the perspective of the demon. Because of this, “the enemy” is actually God. In this letter, Slubgob, a senior demon, tells his colleagues about a group that came back from a retreat and how to attack.
I decided to tackle the spiritual warfare that comes with after something like a retreat and how the “spiritual high” can be attacked. Hopefully by knowing the enemy’s strategy of attack, you can know how to counterattack and stay close to God.
My fellow guttural, diabolical, and foul beings,
I write to you today because your new assignment is a group of humans that have just returned from a retreat. Unfortunately for us, some have reached what they call a “Spiritual High” which is when they are on fire and passionate for their faith. This may seem like we have lost them to our enemy, but fear not, for we can get them back.
When they return back to their daily lives, we first must remind them how mean this world can be. When they return home, influence them to get angered and discouraged when they first encounter conflict. This could be from their family, work, school, etc. This is vitally important since some have returned feeling joyous and expect everything to be easy now.
Have them fail to realize that this is actually a test and trial of their newly strengthened faith. Do what you can to make sure that they don’t realize that their Faith does not make things easy but possible. The effects of the “Spiritual High” will wear off eventually, just give it time.
But what of the ones whom did not reach this “Spiritual High”? It is simple, convince them that it is either their fault and/or that the enemy favors others more. They will not then realize that the enemy loves them regardless and has placed a trial among them to see if they still love Him without those good feelings.
Actually, we must be careful, for out of this comes stronger souls that can be vessels for the enemy’s spirit. Remember, if these souls pass this trial with the enemy’s help, they are truly a terrible threat to us. But don’t let them know that.
Their prayer life is also very important to attack. As that wretched woman from Avila said, “It is an exchange between friends.” If they keep a consistent prayer life, they can hang on to that and endure whatever we throw at them. Remember also that a lot of these humans base their faith on feelings, which is dangerous for them but good for us. Eventually, they will become tired of prayer, and that is when we attack!
Convince them that it’s no problem to skip one day of prayer so it becomes easier for us to tempt them. They lose their rock of prayer for one day will become 2, then 3, then 4, and so on.
If they have decided to practice those beads of woe in veneration of the one we hate and fear than most, STOP THEM. Convince them it will take too long or remind them how tired they are. Tell them that they should rest first so they can pray it more devoutly. The more they put it off, the less likely they will pray that devotion which hurts us so badly. Once they do not have a set daily time that they pray, it becomes easier to get them not to pray.
Eventually, the time will come when our temptations finally wear at them and they will fall. This will be a most joyous moment for us, but the battle isn’t over. They can always return to the enemy and be cleansed with his mercy. This is why we must get them to believe that they have failed and their sin has doomed them.
Make sure that they stop praying by telling them that the enemy doesn’t want to hear their prayers. If they don’t believe this lie, they then still have that relationship with the enemy and they can still overcome us and become stronger than before! They’ll soon start thinking that all the bad things that has happened is punishment from the enemy instead of a test of faith. If they become convinced the enemy is against them, then they are with us without knowing it.
In the end, do not worry my friends. We will eventually get them back if their seeds of faith are born on rocky soil. They will grow but as soon as a heavy storm comes, they will not overcome since they have no roots to hold them tight.
Your diabolical superior,
Slubgob
