{"id":156607,"date":"2015-10-07T07:40:48","date_gmt":"2015-10-07T12:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=156607"},"modified":"2015-10-06T09:40:14","modified_gmt":"2015-10-06T14:40:14","slug":"taking-a-lesson-from-c-s-lewis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/10\/taking-a-lesson-from-c-s-lewis\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking a Lesson from C.S. Lewis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"photo-1430747562296-5556d17a15a5\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no intention of explaining how the correspondence which I now offer to the public fell into my hands. There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.\u201d -C.S. Lewis<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My Dear Wormwood,<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m writing to you today to discuss a very important topic: leading those in ministry astray. This can apply to all who serve, whether it is clergy or lay, youth minister or core team volunteer, old or young, parish council member or retreat team participant. I know what you\u2019re thinking my nephew. Those in ministry who are frequenting the sacraments are getting grace from the Enemy, so that when they face our usual temptations of this day and age, they are able to withstand. While we may not get to them with tempting them to lie, cheat, and steal, there are certain weaknesses to which those in ministry are particularly vulnerable.<\/p>\n

The first thing you need to do, my Wormwood, is to narrow the vision of his ministry to a certain set of menial tasks. Paperwork, emails, and meetings should be what he sees himself doing the majority of the time. Cloud his mind with the weight of these activities, and make sure you never let him ever discover that when he asks the Enemy to be present in those things, He turns that work into a prayer. Let him believe that their organizing and planning are all he does, and allow it to drain the life out of them. This way, the minister will burn out, and if he doesn\u2019t leave soon enough, he will eventually turn away from faith all together, and we will have him. Let him equate ministry with relationship with the Enemy. Let him think that doing ministry is all he needs to do, and that he does not really need any prayer time. Be warned: once the minister has discovered that he can invite the Enemy into his work life and make every action a prayer and an offer of sacrifice, he will discover that it is life-giving, and we have lost him in this avenue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Continue reading at Collaborative Catholic Formation Ministries\u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

by Jennifer Masters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI have no intention of explaining how the correspondence which I now offer to the public fell into my hands. There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":193,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[927,452,511],"class_list":{"0":"post-156607","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"tag-c-s-lewis","8":"tag-christian","9":"tag-protestant","10":"entry","11":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101542,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/03\/review-cs-lewis-and-the-crisis-of-a-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":156607,"position":0},"title":"Biography, Theology, and You (Review: “C.S. Lewis and the Crisis of a Christian”)","author":"Lindsay Wilcox","date":"March 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I like C.S. Lewis a lot. He wasn't a Catholic, but he was a convert to Anglicanism, and more importantly, he was an incredible writer. I read The Chronicles of Narnia first, but when I entered adulthood, I discovered his apologetics works. I love them so much that I have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"\"If we find the gospel message to be true, we need to surrender to God and change our lives. For that reason\u2014whether or not the [C.S. Lewis] trilemma or some form of it works\u2014many will still never assent that Jesus is God.\" \u2014Gregory S. Cootsona","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/acnm_lewiscrisis.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":130041,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/07\/a-demons-memo-what-happens-when-you-return-from-a-retreat\/","url_meta":{"origin":156607,"position":1},"title":"A Demon’s Memo- What Happens When You Return From A Retreat","author":"Matthew Hartwick","date":"July 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The following excerpt is meant to be a Screwtape Letters\u2019 type of writing. It;s written from the perspective of the demon. Because of this, \u201cthe enemy\u201d is actually God. In this letter, Slubgob, a senior demon, tells his colleagues about a group that came back from a retreat and how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/stllewis-131x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":43135,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/12\/c-s-lewis-taught-grief\/","url_meta":{"origin":156607,"position":2},"title":"What C.S. Lewis Taught Me About Grief","author":"Britt Echtenkamp","date":"December 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cGrief is like a long valley, a winding valley where any bend may reveal a totally new landscape.\u201d \u2015\u00a0C.S. Lewis,\u00a0A Grief Observed Grief seems to me a confusing, unpredictable thing. You cry over someone's death, then laugh about the memories you shared. You have moments of soaring hope, and longer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27220,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/11\/review-the-problem-of-pain\/","url_meta":{"origin":156607,"position":3},"title":"The Answer to a Really Good Question (Review: “The Problem of Pain”)","author":"Lindsay Wilcox","date":"November 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Christianity is a faith of paradoxes. We are alive now, and then we will die (unless Christ returns before we die), but there is life after death. On Sunday, we officially begin to look upon the Virgin who will give birth to a son. By dying, Christ conquered death. Either\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/mary_sad-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":40802,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/07\/erroneous-eros\/","url_meta":{"origin":156607,"position":4},"title":"Erroneous Eros…","author":"Henry Cuellar","date":"July 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In the last column \u201cQuid Amor? (What is Love?)\u201d, I wrote about the different loves as explained by C.S. Lewis and by the Holy Scriptures. Love is so much more complicated than being a simple emotion without reason. According to Lewis there are four loves; Storge, Philia, Eros and Agape.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"cs lewis on love","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/cs-lewis-on-love.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":39009,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/04\/review-the-four-loves\/","url_meta":{"origin":156607,"position":5},"title":"What Love Really Means (Review: “The Four Loves”)","author":"Lindsay Wilcox","date":"April 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Love is complicated. After I came back to the Church, I realized that the world's definition of love wasn't going to cut it. I knew that it had to be more than just a feeling, but I was still confused. How could I define something so powerful, so sacred, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo by MiRo740.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/2080809712_1668b5a0cb_z-300x215.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/193"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156607\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}