Chase from our minds th' Infernal Foe

Veni Creator Spiritus Stanza 5

                    http://trendboiler.com/book/MTBybXdseA~~/Come-Creator-Spirit-Meditations-on-the-Veni-Creator 

Far from us drive the foe we dread,
and grant us Thy peace instead;
so shall we not, with Thee for guide,
turn from the path of life aside.

Our mortal foes afar repel,
grant us henceforth in peace to dwell;
and so to us, with thee for guide,
no ill shall come, no harm betide.
(a translation by Robert Bridges, from 1899)

Drive far away our wily Foe
And Thine abiding peace bestow;
If Thou be our protecting Guide,
No evil can our steps betide.
(Edward Caswall's 19th-century version)

Chase from our minds th' Infernal Foe;
And peace, the fruit of love, bestow;
And, lest our feet should step astray,
Protect, and guide us in the way.

(Tr. John Dryden)

http://www.rugusavay.com/john-dryden-quotes/

 http://alisonmorgan.co.uk/Cantalamessa%2003.htm

Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa OFM.Cap.. ....Preacher to the Papal Household.http://thefranciscanfamily.blogspot.in/2011/06/fr-raniero-cantalamessa-preacher-to.html

17. The enemy drive from us away

Jesus casts out demons ‘by the finger of God’ (Luke 11.20); ‘by the Spirit of God’ (Matt 12.28) – where the HS comes in, evil spirits have to go out. The more the devil is left out of the ambit of fiath, the more prevalent he becomes in the ambit of superstition. Origen and Aquinas were the 2 writers who did the most to build up a ‘theology’ of the devil – and the periods they represent were relatively free of ‘demonism’.

Three phases in the history of treatment of the devil:

1.       Represented as ugly, grotesque – eg Dante

2.       Represented as beautiful – eg Milton

3.       Not represented at all. Bultmann: ‘it is not possible to use an electric light or listen to the radio, nor is it possible to go to a doctor or make use of clinical remedies when you are sick, and at the same time believe in the world of spirits’.

In the lives of the saints it’s very different; the devil is forced to stand out against the light. Temptation of Jesus. Francis of Assisi: ‘if the brothers knew how many trials and how great are the afflictions the demons cause me, there would be not one of them who would not be moved to pity and compassion for me’.

Augustine: the devil delights in being blamed for something. In fact he actually wants you to blame him. He is more than wiling to listen to all your recriminations, as long as they keep you from making your own confession!.

Satan today is behind the fear and anxiety which dominates our age. The saints suffered fear at his coming – he gives present reality to the possibility that they too might, if they so willed, rebel as he did : and to lose God is to lose everything.

Caesarius of Arles: ‘the devil is bound, like a dog on a chain. He cannot bite anyone unless, having no concern about the danger, they go too close.. He can bark, he can whine and entice, but he can bite only those who go close an dlet him.’

Conversely, the HS frees us from all fear.

18. Peace then give without delay

The HS gives the peace of God.  Peace for the Christian occupies the same place as nirvana for the Buddhist – it points to the ultimate outcome of all things, the supreme achievement of the adventure of life and time. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit – Rom 8.6; Rom 114.17; Gal 5.22.

Augustine: ‘peace is the tranquillity of order’

Scripture speaks also of the ‘peace of God’ – eg Phil 4.7; Rom 15.33. Peace is not sth that God does, but sth that he is. Peace in the fullest sense is that which reigns in God.

Dante – in his will is our peace.

Peace comes down on a soul in the presence of the Spirit as quiet comes down on the field of battle after the enemy has fled.

19. With you as guide we avoid all cause of harm

The Spirit functions as guide

·          Pillar of cloud/fire

·          Jesus was ‘led’ by the Spirit into the wilderness

·          We are ‘led by the Spirit’, Gal 5.18

·          Luke wrote Acts to show that the same Spirit who guided Jesus is now guiding the church

·          Peter went to Cornelius and the pagans because guided by the Spirit to do so, Acts 10-11

The Holy Spirit guides us:

• Through conscience – cp Rom 9.1, ‘my conscience confirms it by the HS’

o         He teaches us; 1 Jn 2.27

o         Through inspiration/illumination

• Through the Church – eg the Spirit guiding the churches in Revelation

o         The Spirit helps us discern the signs of the times; between spirits, 1 Cor 12.10/1 John 4.1.

o         He guides the church sometimes directly, through revelations and prophetic inspirations; and sometimes in a collegial way, through discussion to a point of agreement – eg Acts 15.28, ‘it has been decided by the HS and by ourselves’.

o         He helps us distinguish the Spirit of God from the spirit of the world.

Ignatius Loyola suggested that in decision making we should settle on one choice and rest with it as if made, for a day or more, to test it.