THE
VSP WEAPON SYSTEM
FOR SPIRITUAL COMBAT
The VSP Weapon System for Spiritual Combat
is a three dimensional and integrated weapon system to help you
establish yourself in Jesus and to fight evil both in your own heart
and in the world around you.
V + S + P = Powerful Spiritual Weapon System!
Virtue
Virtue, as you may know, is a habit of doing good.
It comes from the Latin word vir meaning “man”
and is also used to convey “manliness” or “power”.
Virtue is a habit, that is, a virtue is not something we do now
and again, but it is something that we do regularly, even without
thinking about it. When we begin to work on developing a virtue,
we do have to pay attention and focus on it during the day, but
after a while it becomes part of our daily routine. It becomes a
habit. Virtue is developed by effort, patience, and much grace from
the Lord. One grows in virtue by choosing to exercise a virtue in
a particular situation. Virtue is gained in the doing of
it.
The Four Cardinal Virtues
which we know through reason are Justice
(living in right relationships with God and neighbor),
Prudence (doing what is right in a particular circumstance),
Temperance (moderating our desires and appetites,
e.g. food, computer or TV time, etc.), Fortitude
(following through on good things even when it’s difficult).
Read more here:
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Catholic Encyclopedia
The Three Theological Virtues
We only know through faith are Faith, Hope
and Love (also called Charity).
It is important to remember that these theological
virtues cannot be produced on our own. They are first and foremost
a free gift, a grace from the Lord with which we then accept and
appropriate in our lives. The Catechism states, “Faith is
the virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has
said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief,
because he is truth itself. By faith ‘man freely commits his
entire self to God’” (#1814). In faith man gives his
entire self over to God, his intellect, will, feelings, desires
and body – everything. To be salvific, faith must be a living
faith, that is, a faith that is lived out in good works, and not
a dead faith. Holy Scripture tells us in the Letter of James
that faith without works is dead. Thus, this important virtue must
be linked to the virtues of hope and love. “Hope,” as
the Catechism states, “is the theological virtue by which
we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness,
placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on
our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit”
(#1817). This virtue “keeps man from discouragement; it sustains
him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation
of eternal beatitude” (#1818). Faith and hope lead to the
ultimate virtue of charity or love. Charity “is the theological
virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and
our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God” (#1822).
Read more here:
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Catholic Encyclopedia
Other
important virtues are Honesty and especially Chastity
Honesty is the virtue by which we
are truthful in our speech and writing. It means that what we say
corresponds to the truth. Jesus told us that He is the truth (Jn.
14:6). Honesty means more than outright lying. We can act against
honesty by gossiping (exaggerating faults to make someone look worse),
or by boasting (exaggerating one’s strengths to make one look
better). Often one can experience much pressure from friends at
school to act dishonestly in conversation or to cheat in his schoolwork.
The decision to be honest in these situations calls for much courage
and sometimes downright heroism.
Read more here:
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Chastity is the virtue by which our
powers of life and love are always placed in the service of love.
Jesus tells us in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the pure in
heart for they shall see God” (Mt. 5:8). Through His death
and resurrection, Jesus has freed us from the slavery to impurity.
Our bodies are no longer simply ours, they are temples of the Holy
Spirit. St. Paul tells us, “Do you not know that your body
is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?
You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God
in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Chastity makes sure that a
man always acts lovingly toward others in his body and never uses
other people for his own pleasure. Chastity means treating women
with honor and respect. With the virtue of chastity, one can always
look upon others as a real person and not as an object. A way of
thinking about chastity is being truthful with one’s body
just has honesty is the virtue of being truthful in speech. Chastity
also demands that one avoid bad language, dirty jokes or innuendo.
Developing the virtue also means avoiding impure images in advertising,
magazines or online. This virtue is essential in the spiritual combat
yet it often takes much grace, effort and time to attain a deep
grounding in this virtue. Sometimes one has already fallen into
sins of impurity even before knowing the freedom that chastity gives.
No matter where one is, he can start anew with the Lord Jesus. He
makes us pure in heart.
The
Sacraments
The Sacraments comprise an essential
dimension to the Spiritual Combat because in the Sacraments we receive
sanctifying grace! This is God’s own power at work
within us. The Sacraments communicate Divine power to our souls.
Wow! Can you imagine that this weapons system is powered by an infinite,
divine power? Because of Original Sin and concupiscence (the constant
“drift” or “undertow” toward doing what
is evil) we need help from the Lord. Without grace, we cannot do
anything good. Here we focus especially on the Sacraments we can
receive more than once: Confession and Holy Communion. Surely Baptism
and Confirmation in a way “set us up” by grounding us
in Jesus, yet Confession and Holy Communion are there for us in
the day-to-day fight against evil. I strongly suggest that one receives
Holy Communion at least on Sunday, if not during the week, and to
go to Confession at least once per month. When a man is discerning
his vocation, I suggest that he go to Confession every 2-3 weeks.
It can be especially helpful to go to confession to the same priest
so that he gets to know your soul.
Read more here:
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Catholic Encyclopedia
Prayer
Prayer is our vital, daily and intimate contact
with the Lord. It entails the lifting of our hearts and minds to
Him who is with us throughout the day. Prayer is more about listening
than speaking to Him. A man must be praying if he wants to know
his vocation. Much can be learned about prayer in the Catechism,
and please feel free to look at the other prayer hints on this website.
Examples of prayer are Eucharistic Adoration, Lectio divina with
Holy Scripture, the Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, etc. But
the most important thing about prayer is to JUST DO IT.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Catholic Encyclopedia
The Quiet
of Prayer
Lectio Divina
Holy
Rosary
Chaplet of
Divine Mercy
Other Prayers
I would also suggest that on read Peter Kreeft's
great introductin to prayers, Prayer for Beginners
