THE FIEND OF HELL

The Fiend of hell with its two above servants can only be overcome by the Grace of God and the skill of the soul. 

The cunning and malicious fiend never attacks the soul directly; he slowly withdraws the weak soul from God, not directly by lust or worldly pleasures BUT slyly to grumbling and complaint, to grief, bitterness and pain, to impatience, wrath, melancholy, evil will, to hatred and envy.

It depresses us when things are done or said to us less lovingly or wisely than we would wish. And we begin to interpret the actions of others maliciously.

These thoughts destroy our fundamental peace and quiet; that's why we must resist and flee away from them vigorously. The three evil spirits wage this war against our souls. The flesh and the world cannot harm us without the Fiend's help. But the Fiend can harm us without the aid of the flesh and the world. A soul attacked by the Fiend will surely fall to the flesh and the world. 

The spirit of the flesh steals devotion away from the soul; the spirit of the world robs us of true joy; the Fiendish spirit takes away the best of all, charity, i.e. God.

The Cloud of Unknowing

(10-05-02)