In Rule Thirteen, we learned the importance of bringing doubts or confusion into the light of wise counsel, so the enemy’s wiles can be exposed and God’s truth revealed. In the Fourteenth and final Rule of Discernment, St. Ignatius likens our soul to that of a fortress that the enemy attacks at the weakest point; we must, therefore, become proactive in building up and defending these places where we are most vulnerable.
The Fourteenth Rule: Likewise, [the Enemy] behaves as a chief bent on conquering and robbing what he desires: for, as a captain and chief of the army, pitching his camp, and looking at the forces or defenses of a stronghold, attacks it on the weakest side, in like manner the enemy of human nature, roaming about, looks in turn at all our virtues, theological, cardinal and moral; and where he finds us weakest and most in need for our eternal salvation, there he attacks us and aims at taking us (source).
We might remember that St. Ignatius lived in Spain in the 1500s, meaning he was surrounded by fortress-like towns and villages built in the style of Avila, Spain, or Mont Saint-Michel, France. We might also remember that St. Ignatius spent his young life as an ambitious army officer, meaning he was intimately familiar with the military strategies involved in attacking and defending such fortresses.
After St. Ignatius’ conversion, his understanding of the physical battlefield helped him become keenly aware of the spiritual battlefield. He was able to draw out powerful insights and parallels in how we must defend our souls. Hence, St. Ignatius illustrates the Fourteenth Rule by comparing the human soul to that of a fortress.
St. Ignatius knew that any wizened enemy wouldn’t risk attacking such a fortress at the strongest point; this would carry the highest risk of being thwarted. Instead, the enemy would prowl around the outer walls, stealthily scouting out the weakest point—perhaps a section with fewer guards, an area of stone beginning to crumble, or a back gate starting to rust. These are the weaknesses and vulnerabilities the enemy would plan to take advantage of in his attack.
Let us imagine, however, that the commander of the fortress anticipates an enemy tactic. Instead of resting on his laurels during a time of peace, the commander goes out with his soldiers and conducts a regular inspection of his fortress before the enemy ever arrives. The commander sees the area requiring more defenses and increases the number of soldiers defending that section. He also discovers the mortar that is beginning to crumble and the gate that’s beginning to rust. He sets to work not only repairing these weak points but fortifying them to make them even stronger than they were before.
In my time in the Army, we spent months of training doing just this: participating in “war games” with various soldiers pretending to be the enemy and devising different avenues of attack. It was the commander’s job—and my job as part of the commander’s staff—to anticipate these various forms of attack and learn not only to defend against them, but build up capabilities to prevent them in the future where possible. Both in the time of St. Ignatius and in modern conflicts, an enemy who finds no easy vulnerabilities must either give up and move on to a weaker target or risk heavy losses when attempting to attack a stronghold.
What does this all mean for the fortress of our souls?
The Lord is inviting us to regularly inspect our own fortress—our invaluable soul—to learn its vulnerabilities and build up our defenses with His help. This way, our areas of greatest weakness that the enemy regularly takes advantage of can become places of great fortification, strength, and redemption in the Lord. In Rule Fourteen, St. Ignatius intentionally highlights the enemy’s action of looking at our Theological, Cardinal, and Moral virtues until he finds where we are weakest and “most in need” for our eternal salvation. This means that shoring up these areas of weakness by building up our deficient virtues can be a truly expedient path for us to eternal salvation.
To inspect and fortify the fortress of our soul, we must study and know ourselves so that we can catch sight of our weaknesses and become proactive in addressing them. First and foremost, we must admit that are weak; that we are vulnerable, imperfect, and in need of a Savior. Then, we must become aware of and acknowledge our specific areas of weakness. These particular weaknesses might include habitual sins or deep wounds that feed certain fears or controlling behaviors. Once we discover and acknowledge these areas of weakness, we then must take action to address them if we hope to remain firm against the enemy’s attacks.
How exactly can we discover and address these weaknesses and vulnerabilities? Step one requires admitting that we are weak and in need of a Savior to help us heal. Step two is identifying our specific deficiencies. One helpful tool is a root sin inventory, such as this Root Sin Workbook developed by Dan Burke. We all have a tendency to sin because of our fallen human nature. This tendency presents more strongly in one area than another depending on our unique character, nature, and past wounds. The predominant root sins that affect us are: pride, where we put our own desires, needs, and opinions first; sensuality, where we put comfort and material things first; and vanity, where we put the esteem of others first. While we struggle with all these defects, one dominates our weaknesses more than the others.
A root sin inventory allows you to work through specific questions that help you identify your predominant fault. Once you’re aware of this main fault or root sin, you can set about learning how to “repair” it so you are less vulnerable to future attacks—step three.
Regular Confession and reception of the Eucharist while in a state of grace are always the most powerful aides in “repairing” our areas of weakness. Yet we also can take further targeted actions to fortify our weaknesses through God’s grace—so that over time, these places can become a point of God’s strength rather than our own weakness.
For every vice that makes us weak, there’s an opposite virtue that can make us strong. Identifying these opposing virtues can allow us to put them into action, directly pushing against our root sin. For example, the root sin of vanity causes one to constantly worry about others’ opinions and esteem. To combat this vanity, we might identify two opposing virtues: seeking God’s approval above human approval, and practicing self-acceptance within our true identity as a child of God.
Practical steps to build these virtues every day might include finding scriptures that support these virtues—such as Samuel 16:7 (“…man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart”), or Isaiah 43:4 (“you are precious in My eyes, and honored, and I love you”). Armed with these truths, a soul struggling with vanity can pray such verses on repeat, especially when faced with the near occasion of sin—be it an inner monologue while looking in the mirror, a lack of confidence in one’s work, or a fear of what others are thinking while attending an event.
Many canonized Saints when struggling against their predominant vice became celebrated for the exact opposite virtues. Few knew that St. Francis de Sales grew up with an excessively hot temper, but many came to know him for his graciousness and gentleness to all. St. Teresa of Avila spent 17 years of her religious vocation living in apathy and frivolity. Yet after a reversion at the age of 40, she reformed the lax Carmelite order, became a mystic, and is now the Doctor of the Church most known for her deep teachings on prayer.
God allows these disordered defects in our fallen human nature, for in our efforts to battle these vices, God can redeem our vulnerabilities to become our strongest areas of fortification in our souls—and by extension, the Church.
What to do when, though, when we discover an area of vulnerability and attempt to repair it, only to find that it keeps “crumbling?” This may be a habitual sin that we bring time after time to confession or the same desolating thoughts that we can’t seem to overcome. In these cases, it’s important to understand that sometimes a visible area of weakness is merely a symptom of a deeper problem under the surface. The wall may keep crumbling because there’s a sinkhole hiding underground, compromising the foundation.
We all have underlying woundedness that can compromise our spiritual foundation, presenting as symptoms that seem to stick around. For example, I have placed specific measures or “rules” around my phone to try and use it more temperately. These rules dictate where I place it so as not to check it while working, praying, or interacting with others. Each night, I conduct an examen to reflect on how well I followed these guidelines or how I fell short. When I do fall short, I know that the underlying temptation is not the phone itself; it is the vanity of seeking others’ opinions, and secondarily, escaping to an illusion of comfort when things seem difficult and demanding. Instead of just berating myself for trying to treat the symptom and failing, I can work on the opposing virtues for the root wounds of vanity and sensuality. Through years of deeper prayer and spiritual direction, I have discovered that these wounds stem from childhood traumas of rejection and fear of suffering. In response, I can be gentle with myself and lean on God’s merciful grace for healing. Practically, I can pray an aspiration that confirms my authentic identity as God’s child, or ask God’s help in seeking rightly-ordered recreation instead of anxiety-induced escape.
You can work with a mentor, spiritual director, or trustworthy Catholic counselor to identify your underlying woundedness, and come up with specific, effective tactics to address it. This deeper work can help you develop greater patience with yourself in the process, and transfer your focus from treating mere symptoms to healing the root cause through God’s strength.
Finally, Our Lady of Sorrows is an especially powerful help in discerning the underlying cause for any number of spiritual and temporal symptoms and difficulties. God communicates specific graces through His beloved mother under this title of Our Lady of Sorrows; graces that can help us to identify our blind spots. You are invited to ask her intercession often—for yourself and for others—in the areas of deeper healing, discernment, and freedom through growth in virtue.
This is ultimately what St. Ignatius’ Fourteenth Rule is about: discovering healing, hope, and freedom. In fact, this is the trajectory of all the Rules of Discernment. By becoming aware of the enemy’s actions and behaviors, we can more readily understand what is happening in our spiritual lives. In understanding, we can take proactive action against the enemy’s traps and pitfalls—learning to live more consistently in God’s freedom, peace, and grace all along the path to heaven.
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