A collection of teachings of the holy fathers and devotees of piety. About evil spirits and their influence on people
By committing unrighteous acts throughout his life, a person moves away from God and falls into the net of evil spirits, sometimes without knowing it. Salvation in such a situation can be prayers from evil spirits.
How to protect yourself and your family from evil spirits?
Unfortunately, a person often finds himself in situations where despair and anger settle in his heart, the power of temptation is much stronger than his will, and delusion leads him into the darkness of unbelief. And then the army of evil spirits draws the sinner into the kingdom of darkness, distracting him from the purity of his soul, tempting him and leading to the fall.
In contrast to the Kingdom of Darkness, our Lord created a refuge where every sinner can repent and find protection from the devil - the Church, where a repentant can cleanse himself by saying a prayer against evil spirits and restore the purity of his soul.
Evil spirits and evil spirits, according to the conviction of the clergy, cannot resist the image of the cross and the sign of the cross, losing their strength and power over a person. This happens in conjunction with reading a prayer from evil spirits, which strengthens a person’s faith.
Soul Salvation
It would be difficult for a person to fight evil spirits alone, so the Lord gave him helpers. The first of them is his son, who atoned for our human sins by walking the path to Golgotha. Therefore, when fighting evil spirits, our aspirations should be addressed specifically to him, the son of God, Christ.
The second is the Sacrament of Baptism. By performing this sacrament, a person’s soul is freed from all sins and is reborn. However, after Baptism, a person must remember the power of evil spirits and not give in to temptation.
How to protect yourself?
Evil spirits act on the sly, laying invisible networks for people. Often there are people who are popularly called possessed: the devil takes possession of them and completely changes the appearance and behavior of the sinner. You can protect a person in the Church by performing a special ritual and reading prayers from an evil spirit.
People often complain about the actions taking place in their own apartment: strange noises are heard, things disappear, furniture moves, and the child is tormented by nightmares. In this case, it is necessary to read a prayer against evil spirits in the apartment in order to rid it of uninvited and dark guests.
Powerlessness, incomprehensible weakness, and sometimes illness - such signs are typical when you have been damaged or the evil eye has been cast on you, which is also a weapon of evil spirits. As in previous cases, the best protection and healing in such a situation are prayers from the evil spirit.
Prayer "Our Father"
The most powerful prayer against all evil spirits is the “Our Father”:
Our Father who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Prayer from evil spirits to Seraphim of Sarov
Oh, great servant of God, venerable and God-bearing Father Seraphim! Look down from the glory on high upon us, the humble and weak, burdened with many sins, your help and consolation to those who ask. Reach out to us with your compassion and help us to preserve the commandments of the Lord immaculately, to firmly maintain the Orthodox faith, to diligently offer repentance for our sins to God, to gracefully prosper in piety as Christians and to be worthy of your prayerful intercession for us. To her, Holiness of God, hear us praying to you with faith and love and do not despise us who demand your intercession: now and at the hour of our death, help us and protect us with your prayers from the evil slander of the devil, so that those powers do not possess us, but yes With your help, let us be worthy to inherit the bliss of the abode of paradise. We now place our hope in you, merciful father: be truly a guide to salvation for us and lead us to the unevening light of eternal life by your God-pleasing intercession at the Throne of the Most Holy Trinity, may we glorify and sing with all the saints the venerable name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever centuries. Amen.
Prayer against the Antichrist and evil spirits
Orthodox prayer to the Holy Archangel Michael from evil spirits in the apartment
Deliver me, Lord, from the seduction of the godless and evil-cunning Antichrist who is coming, and hide me from his snares in the hidden desert of Your salvation. Grant me, Lord, the strength and courage to firmly confess Your holy name, so that I will not retreat from the fear of the devil, and may not renounce You, my Savior and Redeemer, from Your Holy Church. But grant me, Lord, day and night to cry and cry for my sins, and have mercy on me, Lord, at the hour of Your Last Judgment. Amen.
Probably, we all often come across the opinion that dark forces act on a person in connection with or witchcraft. At the same time, few people pay attention to the real impact that a person is exposed to outside of any connection with magic. This means that it is important to have a correct understanding of the dark forces themselves and the ways they influence people.
Who are demons?
These are personal, endowed with reason, ethereal beings who have fallen away from God and formed a special world hostile to everything good. Having lost the spiritual Heaven, they are in the celestial or aerial sphere (see: Eph. 2:2) and turn their evil attention to the world of people.
They have a certain power in this world, since the crown of creation - man - in the Fall gave way to his place as the king of the world to the evil deceiver. In this regard, it is clear that dark forces are capable of causing some harm. So, in the Holy Scripture, in the book of Tobit, it is said about the demon Asmodeus, who killed seven husbands in turn, for whom Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, was married off (see: Tob. 3: 8). The book of Job tells how, under the influence of the devil, fire, which seemed to come down from heaven, burned the flocks of sheep that belonged to Job along with the shepherds (see: Job 1: 16). Due to the obsession of dark forces, a hurricane also began, destroying the house where Job’s children had gathered, so that they all died (see: Job 1: 18-19). True, there is one peculiarity in this story. All the disasters that happened to his family were allowed by God, who agreed to allow such demonic sabotage to test the righteous (see: Job 1: 6-12).
This is what is important to focus on. Although the influence of demons on the world in terms of the power of their destruction can be incredibly powerful, they themselves are dependent on God and can act only when God allows. From the Gospel we know that even in order to enter the pigs, demons were forced to slavishly ask permission from the Savior (see: Matthew 8:31). Saint John Chrysostom explained about this:
“Demons do not even dare to touch pigs without His permission... Everyone knows that demons hate us more than dumb animals. Consequently, if they did not spare the pigs, but in one instant cast them all into the abyss, then all the more would they have done this with the people possessed by them, whom they dragged and dragged through the deserts, if God’s Providence had not curbed and deterred their further aspirations."
This means that the true basis for our spiritual life should not be the fear of fallen forces, but the fear of God, the fear of falling away from Him through our sins, through which we become more accessible to the direct influence of the fallen angels.
The world of fallen spirits is invisible to us, but is capable of manifesting its existence. Moreover, this manifestation often happens exactly where a person does not expect it at all, for example, in emerging thoughts, internal movements of the soul, desires. The life of the holy martyr Juliana tells how one day during prayer the devil appeared to her in the form of a bright angel and urged her to make a sacrifice to demons. The Lord strengthened Saint Juliana, so that she remained above his temptations. The demon confessed to the holy saint:
“I am the one who once advised Eve in paradise to transgress the commandment of God to her destruction. I inspired Cain to kill his brother Abel. I taught Nebuchadnezzar to place a golden image in the field of Deira. I deceived the Jews to worship idols. I made the wise Solomon mad by arousing in him a passion for wives. I inspired Herod to kill infants, and Judas to betray the Teacher and hang himself. I'm hooked And d to stone the Jews by stoning Stephen, moved Nero to crucify Peter upside down and behead Paul with the sword. I have deceived many and subjected them to disasters.”
Evil spirits are capable of putting thoughts into us that we perceive as our own. These are all those thoughts that lead to sin and prevent you from turning to God. Dark demons try to influence the will, arousing vicious desires in us, muffle the voice of conscience in us, calling us to enjoy all earthly blessings, and after reckless consumption, when the entire emptiness of a godless life is revealed, they bring despair to the soul.
It is naive to think that demons influence people necessarily in the form of creepy ghosts
It is naive to think that demons influence people necessarily in the form of creepy ghosts or in terrible forms of possession. Their influence on people can be very diverse and not always outwardly terrifying. For example, the truly terrible thing they do is that demons prevent a person from turning to God, to living according to the Commandments of the Gospel. “To everyone who hears the word about the Kingdom and does not understand, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart” (Matthew 13:19), - the Lord in the parable depicted the state of those people who heard the gospel, but did not show zeal for it in time. A person does not even suspect that the once heard word of Truth, which lay on his heart, but was not realized in life, was stolen by the evil one. For unbelievers, according to the words of the Apostle Paul, “the god of this age (that is, the devil. - O. V.D.) blinded their minds, so that the light of the gospel would not shine on them” (2 Cor. 4:4). This is expressed in the inability to see and perceive the Truth of spiritual life, and preferring to it the dead treasures of the earthly world.
Demons, like competent psychologists, examine us, what we are most susceptible to, and with this they tempt us most of all. The Lord says: “Watch and pray, so that you do not fall into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). Without inner vigilance and constant turning to God, it is impossible to recognize the machinations of the evil one.
Demons, to put it in worldly terms, work individually with each person, according to his weaknesses and preferences. They seduce some with carnal pleasure, others with a thirst for honor and glory, and others with the opinion of themselves as a very virtuous person. According to Abba Evagrius, “of the unclean demons, some tempt man as a human being, while others alarm man as a dumb animal. The first ones, having come, put into us thoughts of vanity, or pride, or envy, or condemnation, which do not concern any of the dumb; and the latter, approaching, arouse anger or lust not according to their nature, for these passions are common to us and the dumb and are hidden in us under the rational nature (that is, they stand below it or under it).”
St. Anthony the Great taught that every Christian who succeeds in spiritual life is first tempted by demons through evil thoughts. If the ascetic turns out to be firm, then they attack him through dreamy ghosts. Then they take on the guise of soothsayers, so that the ascetic believes them as if they were predicting the truth.
“Therefore, when demons come to you at night, want to announce the future or say: “We are Angels,” do not listen to them; because they lie. If they praise your asceticism and please you, do not listen to them and do not get close to them at all; it is better to seal yourself and your house with a cross and pray.”
If the fallen angels see that a person wants to achieve incredible self-development and perfection, then they are happy to help him discover all the “hidden possibilities” in himself, so that the greatness of the newly-minted psychic can surprise and captivate the hearts of many others. And if a person turns to an occultist in order to remove damage, they politely remove their own slander from him, as if showing that magic and extrasensory perception are truly good for people.
The famous Bulgarian fortuneteller Vanga is a vivid example of demonic seduction
A striking example of such seduction is the famous Bulgarian fortuneteller (1911-1996). Like many other similar people, the emergence of Vanga’s special abilities was preceded by trauma: when twelve-year-old Vanga was returning to the village with her cousins, a terrible hurricane lifted her into the air and carried her far into the field. There she was covered with branches and sand, Vanga’s eyes hurt, and soon she went blind. After some time, she discovered “extraordinary” abilities. She could tell a person his past, reveal details that even loved ones did not know, determined people’s illnesses, and often predicted the future. She herself considered her abilities to be a gift from God.
Who exactly revealed to her the secrets hidden from mere mortals?
Vanga explained to her niece Krasimira Stoyanova that she sees higher powers as transparent figures, like human reflections in water, but more often hears their voice. Krasimira Stoyanova wrote several books about her aunt and in one of them she reports the following:
“I was 16 years old when one day in our house in Petrich Vanga spoke to me... only it was not her voice. There was an impression that it was not she, but some other person who was speaking through her lips. The words I heard had nothing to do with what we had talked about before. It was as if some unknown person had intervened in our conversation. I heard: “Here we see you”... - and then there followed a full report of what I had done that day up to that moment. After a short pause, Vanga sighed and said: “Oh, my strength has left me”... - and again returned to our previous conversation. I asked her why she suddenly began to describe my day, but she replied that she did not describe anything, but repeated what she heard. Then she sighed: “Oh, these are forces, small forces that are always nearby. But there are also big ones who command them. When they decide to speak through my mouth, I feel bad, and after that I can’t come to my senses for the whole day.”
The feeling of oppression that Vanga herself admits unmistakably indicates that dark spirits appeared to her, who are capable of telling people things that are inaccessible to ordinary knowledge. Krasimira Stoyanova gives various details about how Vanga communicated with the other world. In general, these are typical mediumistic experiences that have been known for many centuries: “Only sometimes we could not understand why our aunt turns pale, why she suddenly feels bad and a voice suddenly comes from her lips, striking us with its strength, unusual timbre, words and expressions , which are not in Vanga’s usual dictionary.” “And suddenly she spoke to me in an unfamiliar voice, which sent shivers down my spine.”
One of the enemy’s favorite suggestions is suspiciousness
Of course, this type of seduction is exceptional. Usually people stumble over the smallest things: to better arrange earthly life, forgetting about their own immortal soul; elevate yourself and your successes to the first place, completely ignoring the sorrows and suffering of your neighbors. The goal of the devil is to sow anger, self-justification and distrust of God in people. One of the enemy’s favorite suggestions is suspiciousness: a person invents whole stories for himself in connection with individual circumstances of his own life, and in illnesses and failures he sees not a manifestation of God’s Providence, but a magical obsession of an ill-wisher.
But there is one truth that is worth knowing. What harms the soul most is irreconcilable hostility towards other people, and it is this that most often makes one think about witchcraft on the part of one’s enemy. Usually a distant relative, neighbor, or co-worker is suspected of corruption or witchcraft. Thus, a fearful occult worldview is created in which personal troubles are combined with resentment against the supposed ill-wisher; as a result, Christianity is forced out of our everyday, everyday life by thoughts of conspiracies and the search for magical protection from them.
Elder Paisius the Holy Mountain has very useful advice for those who believe that they have been “jinxed”
Elder Paisius the Holy Mountain has very useful reasoning in this regard:
“And what evil do mediums, psychics, “clairvoyants” and the like do to people! Not only do they siphon money out of people, they also destroy families. For example, a person goes to a “clairvoyant” and tells him about his problems. “Look,” the “clairvoyant” answers him, “one of your relatives, a little dark, slightly taller than average, has cast a spell on you.” A person begins to look for which of his relatives has such characteristic features. It is impossible that none of his relatives were at least a little like the one the sorcerer described to him. “Ah,” says the man, having found the “culprit” of his suffering. “So that means she put a spell on me!” And he is overcome by hatred for this woman. And this poor thing herself does not know at all the reasons for his hatred. It happens that she did him some favor, but he seethes with hatred towards her and does not even want to see her! Then he goes to the sorcerer again, and he says: “Well, now we need to remove this damage from you. To do this, you will have to pay me some money.” “Well,” says the confused man, “since he found who damaged me, I must reward him!” And he forks out. Do you see what the devil is doing? He creates temptations. Whereas a good person - even if he actually knows for sure that someone did something bad to someone else - will never say this to the victim: “So-and-so did something bad to you.” No, he will try to help the unfortunate person. “Listen,” he will tell him, “don’t accept different thoughts. Go and confess and don’t be afraid of anything.” Thus he helps both one and the other. After all, the one who has harmed his neighbor, seeing how he behaves towards him with kindness, thinks - in the good sense of the word - and repents.”
It turns out an amazing thing: the real attack of the enemy is not someone’s witchcraft or damage, but the opinion that the misfortune that happened was brought upon you by witchcraft. Regarding all the temptations of fallen angels in general, I would like to recall the words of Holy Scripture: “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him with firm faith, knowing that the same sufferings happen to your brothers in the world. May the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered for a short time, perfect you, establish you, strengthen you, and make you steadfast. To him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen" (1 Pet. 5:8-11).
The word of Archbishop Luke, delivered on August 12, 1956 in the Alushta church after the liturgy.
The life of all those blessed people who loved our Lord Jesus Christ with all their hearts and steadily follow Him along the narrow and thorny path that begins at the narrow gate - the life of these blessed ones is full of struggle. What kind of fight? Not a struggle with flesh and blood, but with a much more difficult struggle - with the spirits of evil in high places. Blessed are they who will overcome this hard, hard, incessant struggle.
[The fight] with the spirits of evil in high places is a much more difficult struggle. Blessed are they who lead this struggle. And with what tears will we weep for those who do not believe... who do not want to know anything about this struggle, about the spirits of evil in high places who laugh at our faith in unclean spirits? With what tears will we pay for them? And yes, of course - for demons, for the devil himself, it is extremely beneficial that they should not be believed in, that they should never be thought about, that they would never feel their proximity, for a secretive, unknown enemy is much more dangerous than a visible enemy.
Listen to how the holy Apostle Paul speaks about these spirits of wickedness in high places, about the fight against them:
“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places.” .
Oh, how huge is this accursed demonic army! Oh, how immeasurable is their black crowd! - steadily, tirelessly, day and night, striving to seduce us, all of us who believe in the name of God, onto the path of unbelief, to seduce us onto the path of evil and wickedness!
One Gadarene demoniac had a whole legion of demons!
This army is called demonic, called by the terrible name of the enemies of Christ, the enemies of God. And these enemies of God, countless, make it their only task, day and night, to destroy us, to push us onto the path of evil, onto the path of unbelief, onto the path of wickedness.
Just as in the countless host of good and holy angels there are nine ranks: there are the highest ranks - principalities, powers, thrones, powers, dominions; there are lower ranks - archangels and angels; so in the whole host of the spirits of evil in heaven, there are also the same higher and lower ranks, there are also principles and powers that St. Paul speaks of.
These highest ranks are fighting with the most steadfast, with the most faithful servants of Christ - with the saints, with the righteous. And this task is difficult, extremely difficult, for in the name of Christ the saints and righteous repulse all their attacks.
There are also demons of average strength who constantly fight with us - with imperfect, weak Christians. The fight against them is very difficult, very difficult, for the mind of these angels of Satan immeasurably exceeds our human mind, for they do not sleep or eat, and devote all the time of their lives only to the evil work of destruction and seduction of good people.
There are also small demons, whose task is not difficult, for they are busy only with pushing further and further into the darkness those unfortunates who loved darkness more than light, untruth than truth.
How can we, overwhelmed by such a scourge, how can we, who are surrounded by such a demonic army from all sides, how can we fight it, where can we get the strength to fight it? Saint Paul gave us the answer to this; listen to him further:
“My brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the might of His might; put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” .
Not with our own strength, not with our own mind, not with our diligence and desire for victory can we fight and defeat this accursed black, dark army, but only with the power of God, but only with His help, and we ourselves are powerless.
And in order for us to understand this well, Saint Paul compares our battle with an army of ethereal forces, with that struggle, with the situation in which the ancient warriors found themselves.
He says that we must gird our loins with truth, just as warriors in the ancient times of their battles with enemies tightly girded their loins, just as everyone going on a long journey, a difficult and dangerous path, girds his loins tightly. They girded themselves with leather belts. But we do not need leather belts, but we need a completely different girdle - the girding of our loins with truth, God’s truth, for only with truth can we defeat all the untruths of the accursed army of demons. Only the truth! For the main and only weapon of the demonic army against us consists in untruth, in lies, which constitute their true essence, their spiritual essence. Only when our loins are girded with God's holy truth, only when we constantly remember that we should not rest, should not stop, should not hesitate on our way, only when our loins will always and everywhere tightly girded with the truth of Christ, only then will we conquer, defeat the damned, defeat the enemies of God and our enemies. And the holy apostle adds that we especially need to remember this on an evil day, on a day when evil, all kinds of evil, multiply and multiply around us.
And the holy apostle goes on to say that we must put on armor, just as the former warriors put on metal, iron and copper armor, and put on chain mail to protect from wounds, so we must also put on armor, but in a different, completely different one. armor, for no copper or iron armor is terrible for the spirits of evil in the heavenly places; they can freely injure us, enclosed in such armor. We need a different armor - the armor of truth. We need our bodies to be clothed with God’s holy and pure truth, and not with metal chain mail. And we can acquire this truth only by tirelessly observing the commandments of Christ, by tireless prayer. And only for this tireless work of God will we receive the armor of truth.
And the apostle goes on to say that the legs of the mortal warriors were protected by metal armor. Do we need this armor? Is it necessary to have iron so that our legs are protected from the machinations of the enemy? No, no, absolutely not needed! For if our feet are always directed towards the path of peace, if we use all the speed of our feet to preach the gospel of peace everywhere, if we deserve to have the blessed word of the great Apostle Paul applied to our feet “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of peace, those who bring good news” . And if our legs are so beautiful, and if they always rush to where our help is needed, help to the unfortunate, sick, crippled, helpless people, if we always rush to the advice of the righteous and move away from the advice of the wicked, then no metal armor we will not need it, then our feet will be protected by the power of God and no evil will touch them.
And further the apostle says: take the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the kindled arrows of the evil one.The copper shield, a heavy large shield, was the main protection for the ancient warrior. Do we need such a shield, will it protect us from the arrows of our enemies and the enemies of God kindled by the hellish flames? Of course not, of course, a copper shield is nothing for them! We have another shield, immeasurably stronger - the shield of faith, our faith, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. For if we believe in Him with all our hearts, if we unswervingly keep His commandments, then He will always abide with us and we will be His friends according to His holy word, and faith in Him will protect us immeasurably more than any heavy copper shield.
And further the holy apostle says that we should cover our heads with helmets, like the ancient warriors. What helmets? - of course not copper, for they are nothing against enemy force. Not copper, not brass, I tell you, but completely different helmets. Which ones? Helmets of deep faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, deep love for Him, for He Himself said to us with His most pure lips: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in Me and I in him” . Lord, Lord! What other protection do we need, if You will remain with us, in us, in our minds and hearts, if You protect the corruption of our minds and hearts with Your constant presence in us, in our minds and hearts, what else do we need... well of course... of course comprehensive wisdom.
And if we are protected in this way, then all we have to do is take the double-edged sword into our own hands. How the ancient warriors took it into their hands. Listen now to what Saint Paul said about this two-edged sword:
“The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. It penetrates to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” .
So this is the kind of sword we need! The sword of the word of God, before which all demons and the devil himself tremble, for by the word of God they are all conquered, the damned. If we always wield this holy and powerful weapon - the weapon of the word of God, then we will not be afraid of any enemies. For all of them were defeated long ago by the crucifixion of Christ, for the head of the ancient serpent the devil was erased at the foot of the terrible Cross of Calvary.
Remember, remember all of you, my brothers and sisters, that on our own we cannot fight the spirits of evil in heaven, remember that we must place all our hopes only on the help of our Lord and God Jesus Christ, Who erased the head of God at the foot of His terrible Cross. ancient serpent. Amen.
Monastic work
Collection of teachings of the Holy Fathers and Devotees of Piety
... Chapter 6.
Fighting the spirits of evil in heaven and passions and acquiring virtues
(Eph. 6:12)
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spirits of wickedness in high places.Abbot Nikon
We must suppress the demonic properties in our soul, and plant the angelic ones, which are indicated in the Holy Gospel.St. Abba Dorotheos
The Law (Old) was intended to teach us not to do what we ourselves do not want to suffer; That’s why he only stopped us from doing evil. Now (in the New Testament) it is necessary to drive out the very passion that motivates us to do evil, the very hatred, the very lust, the very love of glory and other passions (of us) and from our very passions, from the worst deposits (located) in our inner man.St. Seraphim of Sarov
You need to train yourself in such a way that your mind seems to float in the Law of the Lord, according to the guidance of which you should organize your life.St. Mark the Ascetic
It is impossible to restore the image of God in oneself other than through the grace of God and faith, if a person with great humility abides with the mind in undistracted prayer.St. John Cassian the Roman
Three motives force people to suppress passions, namely: fear of hellish torment in the future, or fear of the severity of laws in the present; hope and desire to receive the kingdom of heaven; finally, love of virtue or love of goodness.St. Neil Sorsky
Those who have tasted immortal life in their dead body and even in this short-lived world have partly known the joy that is preserved in the Heavenly Fatherland, do not strive for the beauty and pleasures of this world and are not afraid of sorrows and attacks of evil, they dare to say with the apostle: Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:39). We, the indecent ones, are guilty of many sins and are filled with passions. We are not worthy to hear such words. But, trusting in the grace of God, we dared to bring these holy scriptures of spirit-bearing verbs in order to at least partially understand what kind of wretchedness we are overcome with and what kind of madness we entrust ourselves to, entering into quarrels with corruptible things for the sake of things and striving to prosper in the world, and thereby harming our souls . At the same time, we believe that we are doing good, and we consider it a praise. But woe to us that we do not know our souls, that we do not understand what life we are called to.St. Feofan the Recluse
Following the awakening of grace, the first thing that is presented to human freedom is a movement towards itself, which it accomplishes in three acts: 1) leans towards the side of good - chooses it; 2) removes obstacles, breaks the bonds that held a person in sin, expelling from the heart self-pity, man-pleasing, inclination towards the sensual and worldliness and, in their place, inciting ruthlessness towards oneself, lack of taste for the sensual, surrendering oneself to shame to everyone and moving one’s heart into the future age with a sense of wandering here; 3) finally, he is inspired to immediately embark on a good path, without easing himself at all, but keeping himself in constant some tension. Thus everything calms down in the soul. Excited, freed from all bonds, with full readiness to say to myself: I have risen, I am going! From this moment another movement of the soul begins - towards God. Having conquered himself, mastered all the outcomes of his movements, regained his freedom, he must now sacrifice all of himself to God.St. Isaac the Syrian
Without withdrawing from the world, no one can approach God. By removal I do not call relocation by the body, but removal from worldly affairs. The virtue of withdrawing from the world is not to occupy your mind with the world.Peace is a collective name that embraces what is called passions.
The world is carnal living and the wisdom of the flesh.
Theoliptus, Metropolitan of Philadelphia.
Removal from the world provides refuge in Christ. I call peace the love of sensual things and the flesh.St. Isaac the Syrian
It is harmful for a monk to see the world and worldly things.St. Anthony the Great
Moving away from the rumors of everyday life, go into solitude and you will become a wanderer. Sitting in a cell will be the same for you as going to a foreign place.St. John Climacus
Run away from those places that give you an opportunity to fall like a scourge, for when we do not see the forbidden fruit, we do not desire it so much.Having withdrawn from the world, do not touch it; for passions conveniently return again.
St. Seraphim of Sarov.
Passions are not quenched as long as we are surrounded by objects that excite passions.St. Barsanuphius and John
Run away from everything human and you will be saved.St. Anthony the Great
Do not abandon the will of God to fulfill the will of people.St. Tikhon Bishop Voronezh
Do not look at what others do, no matter who they are, but adhere to the one Word of God, and consider what it teaches.St. Barsanuphius and John.
Become dead to every man: this is what pilgrimage consists of.St. Neil of Sinai
Let anyone who hinders you in the acquisition of God and virtues be disgusting and hateful; with that “below and yes.”St. Abba Dorotheos
We have left the world, we will also leave our addiction to it. For passions again tie us to the world and unite us with it, even if they concern unimportant, ordinary and worthless things. But if we want to completely change and free ourselves from addictions, we will learn to cut off our desires, no matter how small things they concern. For nothing brings so much benefit to people as cutting off one’s will; and truly a person prospers from this more than from any other virtue. Meanwhile, such cutting off of your will and your desires can be minute by minute. Suppose someone is walking; the thought tells him: “Look here and there,” but he cuts off his desire and does not look. He met those talking; the thought says to him: “Say a word or two with them,” but he cuts off his desire and does not speak. He approached the kitchen, his thought said: “I would come in to ask what the cook is preparing, but he cuts off this desire and does not come in, and so on, and so on. By cutting off his desire in this way, he becomes accustomed to cutting it off, and starting from small things, he achieves that even in great things he cuts it off without difficulty and calmly; and so he finally begins to not have his own will at all, and no matter what happens, he is calm. Thus, by cutting off one’s will one acquires impartiality, and from impartiality, with the help of God, one ascends to perfect dispassion.St. Barsanuphius and John
To deny yourself and take up your cross means to cut off your will in everything and consider yourself to be nothing.
Staying in a cell, you cut off your will. And to cut off one’s will while being with people means to die for them and to be with them as if not existing. To have a will according to God, as the Apostle says, means to cut off the bodily will (Eph. 2, 3). And the will inspired by demons is to justify oneself and believe in oneself, and then (a person) is caught (by them).St. Ignatius Brianchaninov.
Crucify yourself on the cross of the commandments of the Gospel; keep yourself constantly nailed to it. During prayer, crucify yourself again, crucify yourself on the cross of prayer.St. Simeon the New Theologian
And those who move among crowds and spend their lives in the troubles of the world, if they behave as they should, gain salvation and are honored by God with great blessings for the sake of the faith that they show to Him, so that on the day of judgment they will have nothing to say in their justification. who do not achieve salvation because of their laziness and negligence.St. Abba Dorotheos
Let's take care of ourselves. Who will give us this time if we waste it in vain? Truly there will be a time when we will seek these days and will not find them. Abba Arseny always said to himself: Arseny, why did you leave the world?St. Ephraim the Syrian.
The first task of a monk is silence, that is, life spent without entertainment, away from all worldly cares, so that, having become above human pleasures, one can cleave to God. The second is proportionate fasting, that is, eating simple food once a day, and then not to the point of satiety. The third is proportional vigil, that is, using one half of the night for psalmody, sighing and tears. Fourth psalmody, that is, bodily prayer, consisting of psalms and kneeling. Fifth spiritual prayer, performed with the mind, removing from oneself every extraneous thought. Sixth reading the lives of the holy fathers and their words, completely removing one’s ears from strange teachings and from anything else, in order to overcome passions with the words of the fathers. Seventh questioning of the experienced about every word and undertaking, so that, out of inexperience and self-confidence, having conceived and done one thing instead of the other, they do not perish when the flesh begins to rebel, due to an evil slander. Therefore, everything must be dissolved in moderation, so as not to shake jealousy through excessive immoderation.St. Anthony the Great
A monk who strives for several days and then relaxes himself, then struggles again and is again careless, such a monk is as good as doing nothing and will never achieve the perfection of life due to a lack of constancy of zeal and patience.If we follow the royal path, we will never be carried away by our slanderers; neither on the right - to excessive abstinence, nor on the left - to negligence, carelessness and laziness.
St. Ephraim Sirin
The habit of relaxation will never allow you to acquire severity. She always creates and destroys, sins and repents.St. Isaac the Syrian
It is better to die in exploits than to live in failures.St. Feofan the Recluse
Such is the law: to resist oneself in bad ways and force oneself to do good things. This is what the Lord’s words mean, that the kingdom of God is in need and the needy delight it. Because of this, following the Lord is a yoke. If everything were done according to desire, what kind of yoke would there be in this?St. Gregory Sinait
Ascetics come to ancient dignity through two commandments: obedience and fasting; for from deeds contrary to them all evil entered into the race of mortals.St. Isaac the Syrian
Beware of idleness; because certain death is hidden in it and without it it is impossible to fall into the hands of those who seek to capture us. On that day God will judge us not about the psalms, not for our abandonment of prayer, but for the fact that by omitting this we give entrance to demons.St. Barsanuphius and John
If a person does not work according to his strength and does not add his own labor to the prayers of the Saints, then no one will receive any benefit from the fact that the Saints will pray for him.But although the sinner will work a little himself, he needs the prayer of the righteous.
Art. Schema-Archimandrite Zacharias
One of you once told me: “If you don’t sin, you won’t repent.” My children, this thought is bad, it can lead a person to sin. As if it was good that he sinned, at least he repented. No! There is nothing worse than sin. The devil gave birth to sin.St. Ephraim Sirin
The worst thing for a monk is to fall into sin; he consumes all his goodness like fire consumes straw.St. Barsanuphius and John
The sign of forgiveness of sins is to hate them and do no more. And when a person reflects on them and his heart delights in them, or he actually commits them, this is a sign that his sins have not yet been forgiven him, but he is still accused of them.St. Neil of Sinai
He who does not hate sin, although he does not commit sin, is counted among the sinners.St. Barsanuphius and John
If we do not repeat our previous sins, then we already have forgiveness from God for them, if only we do not doubt again.bl. Abba Zosima
All power lies in the aspirations of will. Ardent will in one hour can bring God more pleasing to Him than the labors of a long time without it. The will is sluggish and lazy, ineffective.St. John of Kronstadt
The good force, through my free and sincere prayer, always drives away the evil force, and the evil force is strong only because of the evil hiding within me.St. Barsanuphius and John.
No one will ever do good through evil, because he himself is overcome by evil: on the contrary, evil is corrected by good (Rom. 12:21).A person should only watch so as not to use or do something out of passion; and what he does out of weakness or need is not imputed to him either as sin or weakness.
St. Seraphim of Sarov
Asceticism requires patience and generosity: for love of peace is eradicated only by long-term hard work.Ancient Patericon
The elder was asked: “Why do demons rebel against us like this?” The elder replied: Because we rejected our weapons: dishonor, humility, non-covetousness and patience.St. Hesychius of Jerusalem
Equally darkening the soul are internal conversations with thoughts and external conversations and idle talk.St. Anthony the Great
Wherever you go, always have God before your eyes; Whatever you do, have evidence of it in the Scriptures; and no matter where you live, do not leave there soon.St. Isaac the Syrian
Fear your habits more than your enemies.St. Ephraim Sirin
Habit is second nature.Abbot Nikon
Fight with everyone, with the smallest sins. He who is unfaithful in small things is not trusted in big things.St. Abba Dorotheos
Beware, brethren, of despising small things, beware of despising them as small and insignificant; it is not small, for through it a bad habit is formed.Ilya the Presbyter and Ekdik
Do not bind yourself to the small, and you will not be enslaved by the big; for it does not happen that a greater evil is formed before a lesser one.St. Abba Dorotheos
An eagle, if it is completely outside the light, but gets entangled in it with one claw, then through this smallness all its strength is overthrown, and the catcher can capture it as soon as he wants. Likewise, the soul, even if it turns only one passion into a habit, then the enemy, whenever it pleases, overthrows it, since, due to that passion, it is in his hands.One great old man was walking with his disciples in a certain place where there were various cypress trees. The elder said to one of his disciples: “Pull out this cypress.” The cypress was small, and the brother immediately pulled it out with one hand. The elder pointed to him another one, larger than the first, and said: “Tear this one out too.” The brother swung it with both hands and pulled it out. The elder showed him another, even larger one. He pulled this one out too, but with great difficulty. Then he pointed to another, even larger one. The brother, with the greatest difficulty, first rocked it a lot, worked and sweated, and finally pulled this one out too. Finally, the elder showed him an even larger cypress. But the brother, although he worked hard and sweated over it, could not pull it out. The elder, seeing that he could not do this alone, ordered another brother to help him. And they both barely had time to snatch it away. Then the elder said to his disciples: “This is how the passions are; While they are small, then, if we wish, we can easily pluck them out; if we neglect them as if they were small, then they become stronger, and the more they become stronger, the more work they require from us, and when they become very rooted in us, then even with great difficulty we cannot alone pluck them out of ourselves unless we receive help from some saints who help us according to God.
Art. Schema-Archimandrite Zacharias
My children, take care of this great gift of God, your conscience, it connects us with heaven, it subjugates our weak, sinful will to the holy omnipotent will of God.St. Barsanuphius and John.
Those who have completely surrendered themselves to God do not care, but God does with them what pleases Him and is useful to them.St. Philotheus of Sinai.
Let us not deny the labors of bodily asceticism: for just as wheat comes from the earth, so from them grows spiritual joy and experience in goodness.St. John Chrysostom
When our bodies for carnal influences do not differ in any way from those lying in the grave, this is a sign that we have the Son within us, that the Spirit dwells in us.Theoliptus, Metropolitan of Philadelphia
If you do not defeat those who fight you through visible things, then you will not put the invisible attackers to flight.St. Neil of Sinai
Blessed is he who tramples on pleasures; for demons tremble at him.St. Ephraim the Syrian.
He who believes that his body will be resurrected takes care to cleanse it from defilement.St. Barsanuphius and John
Whoever wants to win, somewhat forces himself to fast or to watch, or to do any kind of work, such as: if someone, as usual, should not eat anything until the ninth hour, and weakness requires that he eat food at the third hour, then let him force himself to endure until the sixth hour. And the same should be done with regard to vigil; then forcing oneself will counteract the demonic action, and condescension will help bodily weakness. The same applies to other cases.Where there is battle, it is useful to oppress the body, even if it is in illness, so that, while helping the body, the soul does not fall into illness.
If you see lust arising in you, then despise the body. If you see that the body is sick and suffering, then warm and nourish it in the fear of God, so that it may serve you in your spiritual service.
St. Feofan the Recluse
The body must be constantly kept in line, like a soldier on parade, without allowing oneself to loosen its limbs, not only when walking and sitting, but also when standing and lying down.From a conversation with St. Seraphim of Sarov with N. A. Motovilov
When I was with Father Seraphim, he suddenly asked me:
What do you think, your love of God, is it enough for a monk to sleep six hours a day?
I answered:
Why did they go to the monastery then if they were going to sleep so much? Four hours of sleep is enough for them!
But, your love for God, if a monk who has naturally weak strength, forgive me, as you deign to say, sleeps for four hours, and the next day because of this he is weak, irritable with his brethren and incapable of any spiritual work; then will it be good? I think that it is better to let such a monk sleep for 6 or 7 hours, so that he will wake up vigorous and be able to do God’s work.
I’m saying this like this, your love for God, monks have different strengths, so I’m saying it so that you have accurate spiritual reasoning.bl. Diadochos
All bodily feelings resist faith, since the senses of taste seek only the present and inherent, and faith promises a wealth of future benefits.St. Theodore
Put a rein on all feelings so as not to enjoy the sensual.St. Barsanuphius and John
Strengthen your senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, and you will prosper through the grace of Christ.St. Neil of Sinai
Block your ears and eyes, because all the enemy's arrows enter through them.St. Ephraim the Syrian.
Reproach to a monk wandering eye.St. Feofan the Recluse
Repentant feelings are the hallmarks of true asceticism. Whoever turns away from them and avoids them has strayed from the path. In the position of starting a new life there was repentance; it must also grow and mature with him.Abbot Nikon
The Lord came to save sinners, but those who repent.St. Gregory Palamas
The very fact that the sinner is still alive serves for him, if he wishes to turn to God, as a guarantee that he will be mercifully accepted by Him.St. Tikhon Bishop Voronezh
Without knowledge of sin, true repentance does not happen: just as without knowledge of illness, healing does not happen.St. Mark the Ascetic
The work of repentance is accomplished by the following three virtues: purification of thoughts, unceasing prayer and patience with the sorrows that befall us.St. Isaac the Syrian
Until you have reached the realm of tears, your hidden things still serve the world, that is, you still lead a worldly life, and you still do God’s work as an outer man, but your inner man is barren; because its fruit begins in tears.Tears begin to flow because the birth of the spiritual baby is approaching.
St. John Climacus
He who truly seeks confirmation of the remission of his sins considers every day lost on which he does not cry, even if he has done some good on it.St. Barsanuphius and John
Crying washes everyone from their sins. But a person achieves crying through labor.Crying is sorrow for God, which is born of repentance.
St. Ignatiy Brianchaninov
For repentance brought through one’s own effort, God grants, in due time, grace-filled repentance and the Holy Spirit, having entered into a person, intercedes for him with unspeakable groanings: He intercedes for the saints in accordance with the will of God, which He alone knows.
St. Ambrose Optinsky
People who have sinned a lot should not think about pleasing the Lord, but first about repentance and receiving forgiveness and mercy.St. John Climacus
Let none of those who must cry over sins weaken their zeal for this, deluding themselves with such aspiration: at my exit (at the hour of death) I will receive notification of forgiveness. The unknown is not firmly true.Ancient Patericon
A monk, both in the evening and in the morning, must give himself an account of what he did not do that God wants, and did what he does not want, and thus, testing himself, repent all his life.St. Barsanuphius and John
Don't cry comes from tears, but tears come from crying.St. Ephraim Sirin
Protect yourself from what is opposite to virtue. If you are fasting and laughing madly, it is easy to stop you. If you cry during prayer, but in society you behave in a worldly way, then they will soon catch you in the saints. If, with chaste behavior, you are without liver, then you will not hesitate to fall. Repentance must be done with all the heart. The penitent must always be the same, namely, always be what he began to be. If anyone lacks anything, this is already a sign of imperfect treatment. If he changes, then he is exposed that a firm foundation of life according to God has not been laid in his heart. Such a person brings repentance, like a learning child, and like a beaten one, he cries out of need, and not out of will. Worldly laws correct behavior through fear, but do not change the disposition of the heart. So some people bring repentance with the ulterior, perhaps little-conscious, thought of sometimes placating sin.Some of the repentant return to sin again because they did not know the serpent convened within them, and if they knew, then they imperfectly cast it out of themselves, but allowed traces of its image to remain inside; and he soon, as if conceived in the womb, again restores the full image of his malice. When you see someone repenting and sinning again, understand that he has not changed in his mind; because he left all sinful urges within himself. The sign of one who brings firm repentance is a collected and stern lifestyle, putting aside arrogance, conceit, and also the eyes and mind are always directed towards the longed-for Jesus Christ with the desire, by the grace of Christ, to become a new person.
Philokalia
Saint Anthony (the Great) found no place for laughter in the life of the monk, and when his disciples asked him:
Are we ever allowed to laugh? Answered:
Our Lord condemns those who laugh when he says:
“Woe to you who laugh now! for you will weep and lament” (Luke 6:25).St. John Climacus
Let those who slavish passions and repent dare to dare! For if they fell into all the pits, and got stuck in all the holy places, and were afflicted with every disease; but upon recovery they will be luminaries and doctors, lamps and mentors for everyone, announcing the properties and types of each ailment and with their experience saving those close to the fall.St. Barsanuphius and John
It is good for a person to remember death in order to learn to know that he is mortal, and a mortal is not eternal, and someone who is not eternal will inevitably leave this age. Through the constant memory of death (a person) becomes accustomed to doing good voluntarily.St. Anthony the Great
Believe in yourself every day that this is one day left for you in this world, and you will save yourself from sins.St. Hesychius of Jerusalem
Let us, if possible, unceasingly remember death: for from this remembrance is born in us the putting aside of all worries and vanities, guarding the mind and unceasing prayer, impartiality towards the body and aversion to sin, and almost, to tell the truth, every virtue, living and active. , stems from it. Therefore, if possible, let us do this work as continuously as our breathing is continuous.Abbot Nikon
There is also a powerful means in the fight against all sin: as soon as you have fallen into a great sin, go and confess to your confessor. If you can’t do it right away, then at the first opportunity, in no case putting it off until tomorrow and beyond! He who often and immediately confesses sins proves that he hates sin, hates the captivity of the devil and is ready to endure shame during confession, just to get rid of and be cleansed from sin, and for this he receives from the Lord in the future complete victory, without gaining even in victory high opinion of oneself and pride.St. John Climacus
Demons usually inspire us either not to confess our sins to our father at all, or to confess them, but placing the blame of our sin on others.St. Neil of Sinai
Honor the priests, and resort to the good ones.St. Hesychius of Jerusalem
If our inner man is sober, then, according to the Fathers, he is strong to preserve the outer one. According to them, we and the villains-demons both commit sins together: those in thoughts or dreamy paintings depict sins only in their minds, as they want, but we sin both internally with thoughts and externally with deeds.St. Feofan the Recluse
Inside, dedicate every step to God. But steps must be guided by the commandments. Each case can be brought under a commandment and one can internally dedicate one’s action in Him to God. In this way, your whole life will be dedicated to God.St. John Cassian the Roman
Let us stop looking for the foundations of our unperturbed peace, internal outside ourselves, and expect that the infirmities of our patience can be helped by the patience of others. For just as “the kingdom of God is within us” (Luke 17:21), so are “a man’s enemies within his own household” (Matthew 10:36). And no one resists me more than my own feeling, which is the closest to me at home.St. Feofan the Recluse
The whole point of the matter is in the internal change, and according to these changes and according to the impulse on their part, the external must also change.
Grace is not tied to anything external, but descends only on the internal system.Philokalia
The inner structure of the mind is superior to bodily feats.St. Hesychius of Jerusalem
The image of external, sensory-bodily exploits is the Old Testament, and the Holy Gospel, which is the New Testament, is an image of attention or purity of heart.St. Simeon the New Theologian
As soon as a person’s soul has mentally manifested its will to consent to sin, then the devil, not even by the person’s will, entices him to sin by deed.St. Neil of Sinai
Believe that evil thoughts are the devil’s infestation; from this they will cease, and the sower will be put to shame.St. Anthony the Great
Let your soul be with the Lord at all times, but let your body be on earth like a graven image.St. John Climacus
Dedicate the firstfruits of your day to the Lord; for to whomever you give them first, the same will be given to him.St. Anthony the Great
Let each of you notice and record your actions and mental movements.St. Ephraim Sirin
Ask yourself every day: what passion have you conquered?St. Hesychius of Jerusalem
Among many other good examples, the Lord, when he began to raise Lazarus from the dead by “forbidding the spirit,” showed that we need to curb the soul with strict prohibition when it effeminately indulges in relaxing sensitivity and generally try to establish a tough attitude towards ourselves. a disposition that I mean self-reproach knows how to rid the soul of self-indulgence, vanity and pride.Callistus Tilikuda
In all your work according to God, every day, from morning to evening, let priority always be given to prayer; other works come only because of fatigue in prayer.St. Barsanuphius and John
The name of God, being called upon, kills all passions, although we do not know how this is accomplished.St. Isaac the Syrian
To be vindictive and to pray is the same as sowing on the sea and waiting for the harvest.St. Anthony the Great
As you walk along the road, do not turn to the right and to the left, but reread your psalms with attention and pray to God with your mind.
A monk sitting in his cell with closed lips and not remembering God is like a ruined house located outside the city, which is always full of all sorts of impurities; because whoever decides to remove uncleanness from his house takes it there.St. Barsanuphius and John
Passions are the same sorrows, and the Lord did not separate them, but said: “Call Me in the day of your sorrow and wear you out and glorify Me.” And therefore, in relation to any passion, there is nothing more useful than calling on the name of God. We who are weak can only resort to the name of Jesus, for passions, as it is said, are demons and go away (from calling on this name).St. Isaac the Syrian
It is better to avert passions by remembering virtues than by resistance.St. Feofan the Recluse
The prescribed struggle with passions is a mental one. And it is valid because, by not allowing passions to feed on anything, it thereby mars them. But there is also an active struggle against them, which consists in deliberately undertaking and doing things that are directly opposite to them.Abbot Nikon
You need to fight with all your might, you need to study the methods of fighting from the holy fathers, you need to foresee circumstances conducive to victory or defeat, and avoid the latter, and look for the former, and most importantly, when sinful thoughts arise, do not stop crying out to the Lord with all your heart for help, with the awareness of your powerlessness overcome sin yourself. Even if you fall into sin, even when you commit a sin, you must cry out to the Lord and, without being ashamed, present yourself mentally before God, saying: “Lord, you see what I am doing, have mercy on me, help me free myself from the power of the devil.”St. Hesychius of Jerusalem
We must give the three forces of the soul the correct movement, in accordance with their nature and in accordance with the intention of God who created them. Namely: the irritable force must be moved against our external man and against the serpent, Satan. The desired force must be directed towards God and virtue, and let us place the mental force as mistress over both of them, so that with wisdom and prudence it can order them, admonish, punish and rule over them, as a king rules over his subjects. The point of prudence is to always push our irritable strength towards internal battles and self-reproach; wisdom to strain our mental strength towards strict and continuous sobriety and spiritual contemplation; justice to direct the desired strength to virtue and to God; courage to control the five senses and restrain them so that they do not defile either our inner man or heart, or our outer or body.St. Maxim the Confessor
It is not food that is evil, but gluttony, not procreation, but fornication, not money, but the love of money, not glory, but vanity: and when this is so, then there is nothing evil in existence except abuse, which occurs from the negligence of the mind about the cultivation of nature (mental powers and their good direction).In everything we do, God looks at the purpose, whether it is for Him or for something else that we do it.
St. Barsanuphius and John
Every good deed that is not done out of love for God alone, but in which one’s own will is mixed, is unclean and unpleasant to God.St. Hesychius of Jerusalem
Without preserving the mind and purity of heart - which is what is called sobriety - it is impossible for the soul to achieve anything spiritual and pleasing to God or to get rid of mental sin, even if someone, through fear of torment, forcibly restrains himself from sinning in deed.However, those who, through some need, abstain from sin by deed, are blessed before God, Angels and men: because “those who force themselves (using effort)” are “the delighters of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew I, 12).
St. John the Ladder
Whoever overthrew the first three of the main passions (vanity, love of money, gluttony), he also overthrew the last five (fornication, anger, sadness, despondency, pride); but whoever neglects to overthrow the first will not defeat either one.St. Maxim the Confessor
It is more difficult to overcome the passions of the irritable power of the soul than the lustful one: that is why the Lord gave the strongest medicine against them - the commandment of love.St. Feofan the Recluse
Whichever thought comes out more often means that passion is stronger; start acting harder against that one.St. John Cassian the Roman
We need to wage war against these passions in such a way that everyone, having discovered which passion is especially harmful to him, primarily directs the fight against it, using every effort and care to monitor it and suppress it.
When such a fighter feels that he has freed himself from his primary passion, then he must again examine with full attention the recesses of his heart, so that, seeing what kind of passion he still has in him that is strongest compared to the others, he must especially use all spiritual weapons against it. By conquering in this way each time the primary passions in himself, he will sooner and more easily gain victory over the rest, the lower ones.St. Neil of Sinai
Do not turn the means against passions into passion. Many, shedding tears for sins, forgot the purpose of the tears and, becoming enraged, turned aside (from the right path or went crazy).St. Theodore Bishop Edessa
It is more convenient to cleanse an unclean soul than to restore a soul that has been cleansed and again wounded by the wounds of passions to health; for for those who have just renounced worldly bonds, no matter what sins they may fall into, the achievement of dispassion is more accessible; and for those who “have tasted the good words of God” (Heb. 6:5) and have already flowed along the path of salvation, and then again turned away to sin, access to dispassion is blocked by barely surmountable obstacles. This is due to an established sinful habit and an ingrained inclination to sin, no less because then the demon of habitual sin, spinning before the eyes of the mind, constantly presents it with images of its sin. However, the soul is zealous and hardworking and will easily accomplish this most difficult task, with the assistance of the grace of God, which is humanely long-suffering towards us.St. Abba Dorotheos
The monk's success is revealed in temptations.St. Tikhon Bishop Voronezh
Every temptation comes to us to tempt our heart and to know what is hidden in it: patience or anger, humility or pride, obedience or disobedience; and is like a mirror through which we look into our heart and consider what is in it; Otherwise we cannot know it, as deeply as it is.St. Isaac the Syrian
God does not take away temptations from His servants, but gives them patience in temptations, for their faith and surrender to His will.St. Abba Dorotheos
We only sin in temptations because we are impatient and do not want to endure minor sorrow or endure anything against our will, while God does not allow anything to happen to us beyond our strength.St. Barsanuphius and John.
No one should arbitrarily fall into temptation, but gratefully endure what befalls him by God’s permission.St. Theodore the Studite
Good is hard to acquire, but easily stolen from the inattentive.St. Abba Dorotheos Whoever does a deed pleasing to God will certainly be faced with temptation; for every good deed is either preceded or followed by temptation.
Abbot Nikon.
There is the devil and demons who, due to their extreme malice, want to destroy every person in every possible way. How do they do it? Here's how: they try to act on a person's passions and inflate them to such strength that they destroy the person.St. Gregory Palamas.
The devil does not want to allow a person to be satisfied with base lusts, since in souls prone to change, saturation usually produces a turning point in their attitude towards them.Elijah the Presbyter and Ekdik.
Demons first fight the soul with thoughts, not deeds, but the main thing, of course, is what they have in mind.St. Maxim the Confessor.
Evil spirits fight against us either with things, or with passionate thoughts about things; with things against those who move among them, and with thoughts against those who have withdrawn from things.St. Anthony the Great.
Resist the devil and try to recognize his wiles.St. John Climacus.
All demonic warfare comes from three main reasons: either from our negligence, or from pride, or from the envy of the devil.St. Seraphim of Sarov.
Without the knowledge of good and evil, we cannot comprehend the actions of the evil one.St. Maxim the Confessor
For five reasons, they say, God allows us to be fought against demons: the first reason for this is so that we, being fought and opposing, reach the ability to distinguish between virtue and sin; the second is so that we, having gained virtue through struggle and labor, have it firm and unchangeable; third, so that, having succeeded in virtue, we should not think highly of ourselves, but learn humility; fourth, so that having experienced by deed how evil sin is, they would completely hate it with hatred; finally, the fifth and most important is that, having become passionless, we do not forget our weakness and the strength of Him who helped us.St. John Climacus
In all the deeds with which we try to please God, demons dig three holes for us: firstly, they fight to hinder our good deed; secondly, when they are defeated in this first attempt, they try to ensure that what is done is not according to God; when they do not succeed in this intention, then, quietly creeping up to our soul, they please us, as if we were living in a manner pleasing to God.St. Ephraim Sirin
The enemy, if he could not bring someone down to evil and overthrow him with thoughts, then brings sorrow to that person in order to darken his mind, and then sow whatever he wants in him. And if even this cannot lead him to harm, then he gives him all the comforts of life; lifts him up and leads him into great seduction, which is more dangerous and worse than all passions, for it makes a person proud, drags him into the abyss of lust, drives away the memory of God, his weakness and the hour of death.St. Ignatiy Brianchaninov
Charm, when it approaches a person, whether through thought, or a dream, or a subtle opinion, or some phenomenon visible with sensual eyes, or a voice from heaven, heard by sensual ears, it always approaches not as an unlimited ruler, but as a seductress seeking consent in a person , from his consent the accepting power over him. Its action, whether it is inside or outside a person, is always an action from the outside; a person may reject it. Delight is always met initially by some doubt of the heart; those whom she decisively prevailed do not doubt about her. The charm of a person cut by sin never unites, does not stop the movements of the blood, does not instruct the ascetic to repentance, does not diminish him before himself; on the contrary, it arouses dreaminess in him, sets his blood in motion, brings him some kind of tasteless, poisonous pleasure, subtly flatters him, inspires self-conceit, establishes an idol in his soul.St. Hesychius of Jerusalem.
Demons always lead us into sin with false dreams.St. Gregory Sinait.
Everything that comes into the soul, the fathers say, whether it is sensual or spiritual, as long as the heart doubts it and does not accept it, is not from God, but is sent from the enemy.St. Barsanuphius and John
Everything of God is peaceful and useful and leads a person to humility and to condemn himself.Chronicle of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery.
The devil is not able and unable to appear in the image of the Mother of God, because She is “a demonic plague,” as the Holy Church sings about Her, so divinely pure in meaning.St. Mark the Ascetic
Before you destroy evil from yourself, do not obey your heart. For whatever is invested in it, such applications it requires.St. Barsanuphius and John.
Do not think that the devil has power over anyone: the cause of sin lies in our free will, and not in coercion from someone who supposedly received power (over us); a person is neither forced to salvation nor forced to sin. Did the devil deceive Eve with his power or with his advice? His power is nowhere to be seen; otherwise no one could avoid (sin) whenever he had power. We are like a free person who arbitrarily gave himself into slavery to another and in time comes to his senses and repents. But at the same time, if he does not resort to the Strongest of him (the enemy), he cannot deliver himself; and when he comes running, then (his imaginary master), knowing that he is not his own slave, does not dare to do anything to him for the sake of the Almighty.St. Theodore the Studite.
Don’t you know what kind of mania the devil is breathing against us? He attacks every person, and not just humble monks; he rejoices at the death of many, but does not enjoy it as much as when he manages to overthrow one monk. Why does he tirelessly beat, crouch and fight, as if to tear the obedient from obedience, the silent from silence, the pillar from the pillar, the hermit from the shutter, so that, after such a movement, he can then lead them as he wants: for those who remain motionless in their measures and in their places, performing virtues, they are elusive to the devil, being carried above his own.St. Theodore Bishop Edessa
It is the custom of the demons who always fight against us to put obstacles in the way of virtues that are feasible and easy to implement, and to put strong desires on those that are beyond our strength and timeless (which is not yet the time for us to take on), namely: they force those who succeed in communal obedience to do the works of those who are speechless; and silent people and hermits are encouraged to adhere to the rules of social life. They act in the same way in relation to every virtue. But let us not “understand their plans” (2 Cor. 2:11), knowing that everything done in its time and to its extent is good, but everything done immeasurably and untimely is harmful.St. Ephraim Sirin
Before lawlessness is committed, the enemy greatly disparages it in his eyes; It especially belittles the lust of voluptuousness, as if fulfilling it is the same as hanging a bowl of cold water on the floor. Thus, the evil one diminishes sin in the eyes of a person before it is committed; after committing a sin, the evil one increases lawlessness to the extreme in the eyes of the one who fell into it. This is what the evil one suggests to a person with the intention of throwing him into the depths of despair.ev. Neil of Sinai
When our thoughts exalt our ascetic labors, then, rejecting them with contempt, we will humiliate the soul; and when these labors are disparaged as serving nothing, then as much as we have, let us magnify Christ’s mercy.St. Barsanuphius and John.
If your mind is drawn into fornication, remind it of chastity; if he is carried away into gluttony, remind him of fasting; Do the same in relation to other passions.St. Ephraim the Syrian.
The devil, the evil lender, does not remind us of repayment; He narrows it generously and doesn’t want to take it back. He only seeks enslavement, but does not argue about duty; lends money so that we may become rich in passions, and does not exact what is given. I want to give it away, but he adds more to what was already there. When I force him to take it, I give him something else, so that it can be seen that I am paying him from his own loan. Burdens me with new debts, because the former passions are destroyed by others that were not there before. The old seems to have been paid; and he draws me into new obligations of passions and introduces new positions into me. Makes me keep silent about passions and not confess, and convinces me to strive for new passions, as if harmless. I get used to passions that were not there before, and, entertained by them, I come to oblivion about former passions. I enter into an agreement with those who come to me again and again I find myself in debt. I rush to them as to friends, and those who lent me again turn out to be my masters. I want to be free, and they make me a corrupt slave. I hasten to break their bonds and bind myself with new bonds; and trying to get rid of warfare under the banners of passions, because of their success and gifts, I find myself their steward.St. Macarius the Great
Those who do not seek the Lord with all their hearts, Satan does not tempt them openly, but secretly and insidiously destroys the souls of people with his lies, destroying and alienating them from God.Art. Macarius of Optina.
A person is given over to the reproach of demons for pride and a life contrary to the commandments of God.Abbot Nikon
When a person is at the very precipice, it is easy to push him and he will fall there. And when it’s far away, you have to drag it to the abyss, and during this time it can cry out for help. Therefore, it is always advised to move away from places where it is easy to fall into sin.Callistus Patriarch and Ignatius Xanthopoulos
Do not look for the reasons for temptations, where they come from, but only pray to endure them gratefully.St. Isaac the Syrian
The desire to be in communication and interaction with the world, to constantly talk and recklessly talk idle, to always look for news and even false prophecies, to promise much beyond one’s strength. And this is the essence of spiritual temptation.Philokalia
For those who live in solitude, the abuse from their spiritual feelings is stronger and more bitter than the abuse from their physical feelings.St. Barsanuphius and John.
Good warriors, even in times of peace, constantly learn the art of warfare, because times of battle do not allow one to conveniently learn what is necessary for warfare.St. Theodore the Studite.
Let him (the demon) seem to be coming at you and attacking you, or let your home be shaking and falling on you, do not be afraid, and everything will pass like a dream itself. This happens to those who are subjected to this because they are afraid of fear where there is no fear (Ps. 13:5).Art. Macarius of Optina.
If we recognize ourselves as sinners, then we must recognize ourselves as worthy of punishment, and when they are sent to us, then see in this the righteous hand of God, punishing us here in order to save us from eternal punishment; instead of grumbling, force yourself to humbly bow your neck under the strong hand of God and with a grateful heart send up prayers to Him for His love; for “The Lord punishes whomever he loves; and he beats every son whom he receives” (Heb. 12:6).St. Hesychius of Jerusalem
If you don’t want to suffer, don’t want to do evil either, because the former inexorably follows the latter. Whatever anyone sows, that will also be reaped. So, when we, voluntarily sowing evil, against our will reap (sorrowful), we must marvel at the justice of God.St. Maxim the Confessor.
Much of what happens to us happens to teach us, or to cleanse past sins, or to correct present negligence, or to prevent future falls.Abbot Nikon.
When we cleanse ourselves through repentance, then we will see that the sorrows sent to us are a manifestation of the Lord’s mercy and love for us, we will understand that we need them more than any earthly blessings.St. Abba Dorotheos
This is the great love of God, brothers, that we are punished while in this world; but we, not knowing what is happening there, consider the things here to be grave. However, this is unfair. Don’t you know what is narrated in Fatherland? One very zealous brother asked a certain Elder:
Why does my soul desire death? The elder answered him:
Because you avoid sorrow, and do not know that the coming sorrow is much heavier than this one. And another also asked the Elder:
Why do I fall into carelessness while staying in my cell? The elder said to him:
Because you have not yet learned either the expected peace or the future torment. For if you knew this for sure, then even if your cell was full of worms, so that you would stand in them up to your neck, you would endure this without relaxing. But we, sleeping, want to be saved and therefore we are exhausted in sorrows; whereas we should thank God and consider ourselves blessed that we are privileged to grieve a little here in order to find peace there.St. John Climacus
Those who are weak in soul must recognize the visitation of the Lord and His mercy towards them from bodily illnesses, troubles and external temptations; those who are perfect know the visitation of God by the presence of the Holy Spirit in them and by the multiplication of their gifts.St. Barsanuphius and John.
Sorrows and temptations multiply when the Lord prepares His mercy for someone.No good deed is accomplished without sorrow, for it is opposed by the envy of the devil.
St. Ignatiy Brianchaninov
Sometimes the revolt of passions and the invasion of enemy thoughts is so strong that it leads to a great spiritual feat. This is the time of invisible martyrdom. We must confess the Lord in the face of passions and demons with prolonged prayer, which will certainly bring victory.St. Isaac the Syrian.
If you do not have the strength to control yourself and fall on your face in prayer, then cover your head with your mantle and sleep until this hour of (special) darkness passes for you, but do not leave your cell.Abbot Nikon.
The cup of suffering was given to Jesus Christ not by people, but by the Heavenly Father for the redemption of fallen humanity. And to all of us who want to be saved, the Lord gives the cup of sorrows, not people. If the Lord suffered for us, then tell me, how can we not suffer for our countless sins, which we also do not yet see?The only one of the entire human race, the most honest cherub and the most glorious seraphim without any comparison, the Mother of the Lord Himself, endured such sorrows, before which your most severe sorrows are nothing. Moreover, the Lord does not allow any temptations and sorrows beyond one’s strength.
In the parable about the owner who hired workers, it is said that those who came at the tenth hour will receive wages equal to those who worked the whole day and even earlier. This parable is applicable to us, modern monks and seekers of the Kingdom of God, who have spent the entire day of our earthly life carelessly. However, out of His extreme mercy, the Lord calls us in the last period of life to work in His vineyard by enduring old age, illness, the loss of loved ones or their suffering. If we bear these hardships without complaint, then this short-term suffering will be imputed to us, as laborers of the tenth hour, as if we had labored all our lives. Moreover, Anthony the Great, Abba Ischarion and others claim that those who are saved in the last times will be glorified above the ancient fathers.
We have now come to a period in the life of mankind when we can be saved solely by uncomplaining patience of sorrows, with faith in God and hope in His mercy. Now no one knows how to escape in other ways. There is only one single path left for our time: patience with sorrows. Venerable Isaac of Syria writes:
“More precious than any prayer and sacrifice before God are sorrow for Him and for His sake.” - And every sorrow that we accept without grumbling with the thought of a prudent thief, namely: that for sins, sorrows are sent for salvation and purification and, therefore, “we accept what is worthy of our deeds,” every sorrow with such an attitude towards it is imputed to sorrow for the sake of Gentlemen, our personal cross is transformed into the cross of Christ, and through it we are saved. “If we suffer with Christ, we will also be glorified with Him,” says the Apostle Paul.The prudent thief (the image of those who sin and repent) ended his life on the cross after prison. The thief who died also passed into eternal torment through torment on the cross. This is the image of all humanity.
Whoever wants to follow Christ to achieve the Kingdom of God must, with great and prolonged torment, suppress in himself all the bad manifestations of our “old man” and endure all kinds of sorrows and illnesses. The infinite wisdom of God sends each person his cross for healing and purification in accordance with his character, properties, and powers. If we bear our cross without grumbling, repent of our sins, without justifying ourselves, then, like a prudent thief, we will enter the Kingdom of God. If we grumble and blaspheme people and God, we will perish in even greater torment, without the hope of salvation that alleviates sorrow, like an evil thief. The choice is in our hands. We also need to be prudent. The cross is inevitable for everyone. Let us make it easier by faith in the Lord, the fight against sin, repentance, forgiveness of all neighbors, uncomplaining bearing of sorrows and prayer to the Lord. The love of God wants our salvation and does not allow sorrow beyond our strength and without extreme need. Sorrows are necessary, but a person can see their necessity only after significant purification of himself through repentance and abstinence from sins and reading the Word of God.
St. Macarius the Great
A Christian must have hope, joy and expectation of the future kingdom and deliverance and say: “If I am not delivered today, I will be delivered in the morning.”Ancient Patericon.
It is impossible for God and His holy Angels not to come to the rescue in temptations; just don’t stop calling on Him with humility.Abbot Nikon
Always ask for help from the Lord and Mother of God. Know firmly that if a person from the depths of his soul does not want to commit a sin, all hell will not harm him. Because God's help will be with him.St. Simeon the New Theologian
Anyone who wants to do good receives from God the power to do it in every place: both in the middle of the world and in silence.St. Seraphim of Sarov
One brother, as an edification to himself, asked him (St. Seraphim of Sarov):
Why do we, father, not have such a strict life as the ancient ascetics of piety led? ¶
Because,” the elder answered, “we do not have the determination to do so. If they had the determination, then they would live like the fathers who shone in ancient times with exploits and piety: because the grace and help of God to the faithful and those who seek the Lord with all their hearts is now the same as it was before: for, according to the word of God, Jesus Christ “The same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8).St. Isaac the Syrian
Like a handful of sand thrown into the sea, it is also the fall of all flesh in comparison with God’s Providence and God’s mercy.St. Nikita Stifat
Having fallen into the depths of evil, do not at all despair of the possibility of an appeal from there, even if you have fallen to the last stage of hellish malice. For if you have the foundation of piety, diligently laid before by active virtues, then, even if the temple you built on it from various stones of virtue was shaken, fell and was destroyed from top to bottom, to the very face of the most passionate land of evil, and then God will not forget your previous labors and sweats, as long as you carry a heart contrite over your falls, which, remembering the previous days, calls out to Him with sighs about your falls. Looking, he will soon look at you, “trembling at His word” (Isa. 66:2), invisibly touch the edge of your aching heart, and the foundation of virtue that you previously laid with your labors, taking under His cover, will give you strength, greater and more perfect than before. strength in the fiery zeal of a burning spirit so that through hard work you again acquire the deeds of virtue, destroyed by the envy of the evil one, and in the spirit of humility erect her house, brighter than before, for her eternal rest, as it is written (Ps. 131:14).St. Isaac the Syrian
As soon as someone realizes his weakness and really feels it; He immediately raises his soul from relaxation and reserves caution. But no one can feel his weakness unless even a small temptation, whether physical or mental, is allowed to strike him, and deliverance from it is not granted to him. For then he will clearly see the futility of his own efforts and measures, he will see that his caution, abstinence and protection of the soul, in which he hoped to find safety, did not bring any benefit, and that deliverance came in addition to all this. From here they get the confirmation that he himself is nothing, and that only God’s help saves.Whoever knows that he needs God’s help makes many prayers. And to the extent that he multiplies them, to that extent his heart is humbled. For everyone who prays and asks cannot help but humble himself.
No matter how quickly a person humbles himself, mercy immediately surrounds him. And then the heart feels Divine help and acquires a certain power of confidence (in God) awakening in it. And when a person feels that God’s help will really help him, then his heart is truly filled with faith.
St. John Cassian the Roman
Everyone knows that he must tirelessly practice the above-mentioned deeds only in order to patiently endure the sorrow of them, bowing to himself the mercy of God, to be worthy of the Divine gift of liberation from the battle of the flesh and from the domination of prevailing passions, and not in the hope that he himself through them he can achieve the indestructible purity of bodily chastity, which he so desires and seeks.No one can triumph over any passion until he is convinced that through his diligence or labor he cannot defeat it; although, in order to cleanse himself of it, he himself needs to remain day and night in all kinds of work and all kinds of care about this.
Every success in virtue is a work of the Lord’s grace, and overcoming every passion is His victory.
St. Ambrose Optinsky
Physical feats and labors are required only from those who are strong in body; for the weak, humility and thanksgiving are more useful. Humility can replace physical labor, which without humility does not bring any benefit.Abbot Nikon
Everything bad, all passions, all demonic intrigues, all sorrows and suffering - everything is overcome by humility.St. Barsanuphius and John
Passions burn out of humility, as if from fire.St. Ambrose Optinsky
Reasoning is the highest, and prudent silence is the best, and humility is the strongest; obedience, according to the word of the Climacus, is such a virtue without which none of those entangled in passions will see the Lord.St. Anthony the Great
He who has not yet tasted the sweetness of heavenly blessings has not yet clung to God with all his heart; That’s why it returns to the perishable. But until someone reaches such perfection, he must work for God out of submission to His holy will so that he and the Prophet say: “I was like cattle before You” (Ps. 73:22), that is, I worked for You like a cattle animal. .St. John Cassian the Roman
When you win victory over one or more passions, you should not be proud of this victory. Otherwise, the Lord, seeing the arrogance of your heart, will cease to protect and protect it, and you, abandoned by Him, will again begin to be outraged by the same passion that you conquered with the help of God’s grace.St. Theodore the Studite
Our fathers are truly marvelous, because, living in this flesh angelically with all dispassion, they pleased the Lord. But one should not only marvel at them, but also imitate them as much as possible; and imitate with reasoning, that is, the cenobit imitate the cenobit, the silent man the silent man, the hermit the hermit, the abbot the abbot. For what is the use of imitating someone who goes through life not in the same rank as us, but in a different one? We won’t get any benefit from this, but we will also encounter obvious harm. Many, out of love for God, abandoned their order of life and rushed to another, lost theirs, and did not receive what they wanted.St. Abba Dorotheos
In every task that comes your way, even if it is extremely necessary and requires diligence, I do not want you to do anything with controversy or embarrassment, but be sure that whatever work you do is great, as we said, or little, there is an eighth part of what is sought; and to preserve one’s dispensation, even if this results in failure to complete the work, is three-eighths and a half.St. John Climacus
Sometimes, due to weakness, one can choose to flee, so as not to die mentally.Experience has proven that for whatever sins, physical or mental, we condemn our neighbor, we ourselves will fall into them.
St. Anthony the Great
Do not trust yourself while you are in this body and do not consider anything of yours to be completely pleasing to God. >St. Vissarion
When someone lives peacefully, without war, then let him especially watch himself and humble himself before God; let him not imagine that he stands (strongly) and does not fall in the most violent way. For their conceit, many were condemned to battle.St. Neil of Sinai.
Always try to prosper according to God; for he who adds little to little in a short time gathers up good wealth, sought by all.St. Abba Dorotheos.
“Give blood and receive the Spirit,” that is, strive and you will gain skill in virtue.St. Neil of Sinai
Do not think of acquiring virtue without first fighting for it until you bled to death.St. Gregory Sinait.
One must understand and call actions according to the commandments good deeds, and good dispositions rooted in habit as virtues.St. Barsanuphius and John.
Just as there is one body, but many members, and if one member is missing, then the body is not perfect, so conclude about the inner man, whose members are many virtues.St. Abba Dorotheos.
How one should build a spiritual house, this can be learned from building a worldly house. He who builds a house builds walls on all four sides, and does not worry about just one wall; otherwise he will waste his costs and labor in vain. Likewise, a person who wants to create a spiritual home should not neglect any aspect of his building, but build it smoothly and consistently. This means what Abba John said:
“I want a person to acquire a little of every virtue every day,” and not as some do, who, holding on to one virtue and remaining in it, fulfill only that one, and do not care about the others.The spiritual house is built evenly and harmoniously on all sides in this way: First, the foundation must be laid, which is faith: for “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6). And then, on this basis, build the building evenly, namely: if obedience has happened, the stone of obedience must be laid; if you encounter grief from your brother, you must lay the stone of long-suffering; If the opportunity for abstinence presents itself, the stone of abstinence must be laid down. So from every virtue for which an opportunity presents itself, they must put a stone into the building and thus build it up from all sides, putting in the building either the stone of compassion, or the stone of cutting off one’s will, or the stone of meekness, etc. But with all this one must take care of patience and courage: for they are the cornerstones, with them the building is connected and wall is connected to wall, preventing them from bending and being separated from one another. Without patience and courage, no one can perform any virtue. This is why it is said: “Through your patience save your souls” (Luke 21:19).
St. Macarius the Great
Just as when cultivating a vineyard, all care and all labor are applied in the hope of fruit; if there is no fruit, the work is in vain; So, if we do not see in ourselves, by the action of the Spirit, the fruits of love, peace, joy, everything else listed by the Apostle (Gal. 5:22), and we are not able to recognize them in ourselves with all certainty and from a spiritual feeling, then it will turn out to be unnecessary the feat of virginity, prayer, psalmody and vigil.St. John Climacus
A sign that our work is pleasing to God is the progress in humility in beginners, the cessation of internal struggles in average ones, and the multiplication and abundance of Divine light in perfect ones.
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We have already talked about how the unique sermons of St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) were found, restored and published on the website in the article “Finding the Voice of the Holy Healer.” They published an article about him “The Holy Healer” and a sermon on the Transfiguration of the Lord.
– The life of all those blessed people who loved our Lord Jesus Christ with all their hearts and steadily follow Him along the narrow and thorny path that begins at the narrow gate, the life of these blessed ones is full of struggle. What kind of fight? Not a struggle with flesh and blood, but with a much more difficult struggle - with the spirits of evil in high places.
And blessed are those who wage this difficult, constant struggle against the spirits of evil in high places. This is a much tougher fight. Blessed are they who lead this struggle.
And with what tears will we weep for those near us who do not want to know anything about this struggle, about the spirits of evil in high places who laugh at our faith in unclean spirits? With what tears will we pay for them?
For, of course, it is extremely beneficial for demons, for the devil himself, that they should not be believed in, that they should never be thought about, that they should never be felt close to them. For a hidden, unknown enemy is much more dangerous than a visible enemy.
Listen to how the holy Apostle Paul speaks about these spirits of wickedness in high places, about the fight against them:
– Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places (Eph. 6.12).
Oh, how huge is this accursed demonic army! Oh, how immeasurable is their black crowd, steadily, tirelessly, day and night, striving to seduce us, all of us who believe in the name of God, onto the path of unbelief, to seduce us into the path of evil and wickedness. One Gadarene demoniac had a whole legion of demons!
This army is called demonic, called by a terrible name - the enemies of Christ, the enemies of God. And these enemies of God - countless - make it their only task day and night to destroy us, to push us onto the path of evil, onto the path of unbelief, onto the path of wickedness.
Just as in the countless host of good and holy Angels there are nine ranks, there are higher ranks: Principalities, Powers, Thrones, Powers, Dominions, and there are lower ranks: Archangels and Angels, so in the entire army of the spirits of evil in heaven there are also the same highest and lower ranks. There are also principles and powers that St. Paul speaks of.
These highest ranks are fighting with the most steadfast, with the most faithful servants of Christ: with the saints, with the righteous. And this task is difficult, extremely difficult. For in the name of Christ the holy and righteous repulse all their attacks.
There are also demons of average strength who constantly fight with us, with imperfect, weak Christians. The fight against them is very difficult, very difficult. For the minds of these angels of Satan immeasurably surpass our human minds. For they do not sleep and do not eat. And they devote all the time of their life only to evil deeds - destruction, seduction of the people of God.
There are also small demons whose task is not difficult. For they themselves are only engaged in pushing further and further into darkness those unfortunates who loved darkness more than light, untruth than truth.
How can we, overwhelmed by such a misfortune, how can we, who are surrounded by such a demonic army from all sides, how can we fight them? Where can I get the strength to fight them?
Saint Paul gave us the answer to this. Listen to him, brothers:
“My brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the might of His might.” Put on the whole armor of God, so that you can stand against the wiles of the devil (Eph. 6:10-11).
It is not with our own strength, not with our own mind, not with our diligence and desire for victory that we can fight and defeat this accursed black, dark army. But only by the power of God! But only with His help! And we ourselves are powerless.
And in order for us to understand this well, Saint Paul compares our battle with the army of those disembodied forces with that struggle, with the situation in which the ancient warriors found themselves.
He says that we must gird our loins with righteousness. Just as warriors in ancient times, before going into battle with enemies, tightly girded their loins. Just as anyone going on a long journey, a difficult and dangerous journey, girds his loins tightly, they girded themselves with leather belts. But we don't need leather belts. We need a completely different girdle. Girdling the loins with truth—God's truth. For only by truth can we defeat all the untruths of the accursed army of demons. Only the truth!
For the main and only weapon of the demonic army against us consists in untruth, in lies, which constitute their true essence, their spiritual essence.
And only when our loins are girded with God’s holy truth; only when we constantly remember that we should not rest, should not stop, should not hesitate on our way; only when our loins are always and everywhere tightly girded with the truth of Christ - only then will we win, defeat the damned. Defeat the enemies of God and our enemies.
And the holy apostle adds that we especially need to remember this on an evil day, on a day when evil, all kinds of evil, multiply and multiply around us!
And further the holy apostle says that we must put on armor. Just as the ancient warriors put on metal, iron or copper armor, and put on chain mail to protect them from wounds, so we must put on armor. But different, completely different armor! For no copper or iron armor is terrible for the spirits of evil in the heavens. They can freely wound us, enclosed in such armor. We need different armor.
Armor of truth! We need our bodies to be clothed with God’s holy and pure truth, and not with metal chain mail. And we can acquire this truth only by tirelessly observing the commandments of Christ, by tireless prayer. And only for this tireless work of God will we receive the armor of truth.
Do we need this armor? Are iron and copper needed to protect our feet from the snares of the enemy? No, no - absolutely not needed!
For if our feet will always be directed towards the path of peace, if we will use all the speed of our feet to preach the gospel of peace everywhere, if we deserve to have the blessed word of the great Apostle Paul applied to our feet:
– How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and good news! (Rom. 10.15).
Oh, if our feet were so beautiful! Oh, if they always rush to where our help is needed, help to unfortunate, sick, crippled, helpless people!
If we always rush to the advice of the righteous and stay away from the advice of the wicked, then we will not need any metal armor. Then our feet will be protected by the power of God, and no evil will touch them.
– Take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery arrows of the evil one (Eph. 6:16).
The copper shield, a heavy large shield, was the main protection for the ancient warrior. Do we need such a shield, will it protect us from the arrows of our enemies and the enemies of God kindled by the hellish flames? Of course not! Of course, a copper shield is nothing for them!
We have another shield. Immeasurably stronger. Shield of faith, our faith! Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ!
For if we believe in Him with all our hearts, if we unswervingly keep His commandments, then He will always abide with us. And we will be His friends, according to His holy word. And faith in Him will protect us immeasurably better than any heavy copper shield.
And further the holy apostle says that we should cover our heads with helmets, like the ancient warriors. What helmets? Of course not copper! For they are nothing against the enemy’s power. Not copper, not copper, I tell you! And completely different helmets.
Helmets of deep faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Deep love for Him. For He Himself said to us with His most pure lips:
- He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him (John 6:56).
O Lord, Lord, what more protection do we need if You abide with us, in us, in our minds and hearts? If You protect the corruption of our minds and hearts with Your constant presence in us, in our minds and hearts? What other help do we need? Oh, of course, that's enough! Oh, of course, exhaustively enough for us!
And if we are protected in this way, then all that remains for us is to take the double-edged sword into our hands, as the ancient warriors took it into their hands.
Listen now to what St. Paul said about this two-edged sword:
– The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword: it penetrates to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is a judge of the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb. 4:12).
So this is the kind of sword we need! The sword of the word of God, before which all demons and the devil himself tremble. For by the word of God all of them, the accursed, are overcome. And if we always wield this holy and powerful weapon, the weapon of the word of God, then we will not be afraid of any enemies. For they have all been defeated long ago by the Cross of Christ. For the head of the ancient serpent - the devil - was erased at the foot of the terrible Cross of Calvary.
Remember, remember all of you, my brothers and sisters, that on our own we cannot fight the spirits of evil in high places.
Remember that we must place all our hopes only on the help of our Lord and God Jesus Christ, Who at the foot of His terrible Cross erased the head of the ancient serpent.
Here you can hear a unique recording of St. Luke's sermon itself. And its text, read by People's Artist of Russia Vladimir Zamansky.
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