Winning at Prayer and Holiness - Fr. Ripperger

This paragraph emphasizes the significance of maintaining a disciplined prayer life, suggesting that many people fail to advance spiritually due to a lack of consistency. The speaker, who is an exorcist, shares statistics from their community that indicate demons target individuals lacking in spiritual discipline. The importance of self-denial and daily practice is highlighted, along with the necessity of having a set time for prayer and taking inventory of one's spiritual life. The paragraph suggests that discipline in prayer can lead to recognizing and overcoming obstacles, including the influence of demons, and that external factors such as distractions must be managed to improve one's prayer life.

The speaker delves deeper into the concept of self-denial as a form of discipline, asserting that it is essential for spiritual growth. They discuss the process of eliminating defects and distractions to ascend in prayer, highlighting the importance of daily meditation and recognizing personal defects. The paragraph also touches on the role of grace in life, suggesting that prayer is a principal means of receiving it. The speaker explains how performing the actions of virtues, even without feeling them, can lead to an increase in those virtues, as God infuses them into the individual. This process requires consistency and fidelity to grace, which are key to spiritual advancement.

This paragraph discusses the perils of not being faithful to the graces received. The speaker explains that without perfect fidelity to grace, individuals may stall or regress in their spiritual journey. They describe the process of recognizing and acting upon God's promptings as crucial, using the metaphor of a dog trainer to illustrate how God reinforces good behavior with spiritual 'milk bone biscuits' or consolations. The paragraph also addresses the idea that God may remove these consolations to test an individual's love and commitment, emphasizing the need to love God beyond the consolations received.

The speaker explores the themes of sacrifice and fidelity as fundamental to spiritual growth. They argue that sacrifice is the opposite of sin and that through it, individuals detach from lesser goods to pursue a greater good, aligning with God's will. The paragraph also discusses the idea that distractions during prayer often stem from the world, the flesh, or the devil, and that these distractions must be overcome to advance spiritually. The importance of recognizing and following God's will, even in the face of temptation and difficulty, is highlighted as a key aspect of spiritual maturity.

In this paragraph, the speaker clarifies misconceptions about prayer, explaining that it is not merely a habit but an act within the virtue of religion. They discuss the importance of developing virtues such as sacrifice, almsgiving, and regular prayer to build a consistent relationship with God. The speaker also emphasizes the need for fidelity to grace in prayer and the pursuit of justice and charity in one's relationship with God. They argue that loving God and maintaining priorities aligned with spiritual growth are essential for overcoming obstacles in prayer and spiritual life.

The speaker focuses on the importance of fidelity to grace in advancing one's prayer life, suggesting that distractions and a lack of willingness to sacrifice are major obstacles. They discuss the idea that God uses various methods, including the removal of consolations and the introduction of trials, to test an individual's love and commitment. The paragraph also touches on the concept of signal graces, which are indicators of God's will and guidance in an individual's life, and the importance of recognizing and responding to these signs in pursuit of spiritual growth.

This paragraph delves into the concept of signal graces, which are indicators from God of His will and guidance. The speaker discusses different types of signal graces, including objective graces that are external events and subjective graces that are internal promptings. They explain that recognizing these graces is crucial for spiritual advancement and that they can come in various forms, such as desires for a religious vocation, the call to sacrifice, or even diabolic attacks meant to strengthen one's faith. The speaker emphasizes the importance of discerning these graces and aligning one's life with God's will as revealed through them.

The speaker discusses the role of temptation and trials as part of the spiritual journey, explaining that they can be a sign of God's work in an individual's life. They argue that moral virtues must be continually practiced and maintained, and that temptations can be a signal that God is working to increase one's virtue. The paragraph also touches on the idea that as individuals advance in virtue, they may become more spiritually blind, relying more on God's guidance and less on their own understanding of their spiritual state.

In this paragraph, the speaker emphasizes the importance of discerning God's grace, particularly when it comes in forms that may not feel comforting or pleasant. They discuss the need for humility and the development of virtues as a means to properly discern and respond to God's grace. The speaker also shares personal experiences of receiving grace that felt harsh but were ultimately purifying and transformative. They highlight the importance of recognizing that God's grace may come as a surgeon's knife, cutting away what is not in alignment with His will.

The speaker discusses the objective structure of the spiritual life and the importance of understanding and following this structure to advance spiritually. They emphasize that the spiritual life is not based on feelings or personal desires but on the development of virtues and the congruity of one's desires with their state in life. The paragraph also touches on the importance of studying the spiritual life and becoming more perceptive to God's grace, which can spur one on to achieve greater holiness and union with God.