Fr Ripperger on Attachments

Fr Chad Ripperger is one of the few exorcists who have been called to a public ministry of care for souls in the battle against demons and sin. He appears in many YouTube videos, always with something to say that is worth hearing. In this talk he explains the Catholic understanding of detachment, which requires an understanding of attachment, one of the primary subjects discussed in The Ascent of Mount Carmel by St. John of the Cross.  

Fr. Ripperger covers the topic thoroughly. He starts with a metaphysical definition of attachment: A quality in one of the faculties by which it is fixed on or inclined toward a particular object to a particular degree.  He follows Aquinas in categorizing the faculties as appetite, will, and reason. This psychological model of the human person is superior to modern models, which often disregard or at least downplay the intellect’s most important function: to seek the truth.

Fr. Ripperger mentions St. John of the Cross and his teachings several times (21:53, 26:03, 28:25, 29:15), on the way attachments hinder growth in holiness, even attachments to spiritual things. 

Fr. Ripperger also makes the astute observation that the presence of attachments in your life affects the tendency to suffer from distractions in prayer.   As St. John of the Cross explains in The Ascent of Mount Carmel, we all have certain natural appetites, which are affections for certain things, such as particular food or drinks, pastimes, friendships, social groups, possessions, etc. This means that my thoughts will often stray towards those objects. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a candy bar right now? Or, I may be in anxiety about whether my favorite team might lose. Or I might regularly fall into frustration and resentment because my house isn’t as big or as nice as the one down the street. The practice of detachment means disciplining yourself so you don’t go get the candy bar, or sweat over your team’s upcoming game, or fume about your house. You pass over those things, by an act of the will, and maintain your focus on what matters. By this habitual process, and assisted by grace, the clamoring of the appetites tends to diminish over time. One of the ways you experience this change is by a decrease in distractions during prayer, simply because the appetites have become disciplined to keep quiet and do what they’re told. So, mortify the appetites and your prayer life will improve.

This talk is a great help if you’re struggling with the right way to think about breaking attachments.