The Spiritual Combat has been changing lives for so many years..and still is today. Before reading this I had heard so much about it. Although I am not Catholic...I am a Christian, and looked very forward to benefiting spiritually from it's contents. This book has so greatly EXCEEDED my expectations...it is a book I will likely read many times over in my life time. Christ has granted brother Scupoli such divine wisdom and insight into the struggles each follower of Christ faces living in this world. I would have certainly given the book 5 instead of 4 stars, however I deducted one star only to point out that it can be a difficult read for the modern reader. I am not used to hearing Mary being addressed as the "Queen of Heaven" etc but these things can simply be overlooked. The book is also difficult to fully grasp at times because it has so much depth to it and the language used is very poetic and in some cases words are used that are not even familiar or used today. It is a beautiful piece of work and should be in every follower of Christ's library who is serious about weeding out sin...and all the hidden vices of man's own heart. With all it's spiritual insight...can become a useful tool in the believers life... and an inspiration to press on to greater purity & holiness!