Elder Ephraim of Arizona
This confession of yours gave my soul
much joy, because God and the angels, who were awaiting it, rejoiced.
You succeeded in putting the devil to shame, who greatly rejoices when
someone hides his thoughts from his spiritual father. When a snake
leaves its lair, it rushes to hide somewhere because it feels as if it
will be struck – the same thing happens with a diabolical thought, which
is like a poisonous snake. When such a thought leaves a person’s mouth,
it disperses and disappears, because confession is humility, and since
Satan cannot even bear the smell of humility, how could he possibly
remain after a humble, sincere confession? My child, I wish you a good
beginning and cautious progress. Don’t be ashamed before me. Don’t see
me as a man, but as a representative of God. Tell me everything, even if
you have a bad thought about me, because I am experienced with demonic
influences, and I know how the devil fights man. I know that spiritual
children have simple hearts and that if evil thoughts come to them, it
is due to the devil’s malice and the spiritual child’s ego, who is
permitted to fall and have such thoughts against his Elder, so that the
spiritual child may be humbled more. Therefore, don’t worry. I will
always rejoice when you speak freely and sincerely to me, for without
frank confession, there will be no spiritual progress.
My child, have no worries. I have taken
up your burden. I only beg you to be at peace. Your words may be just on
paper, but I feel the power, the meaning, and the essence of what you
write; I enter into the spirit of your words. I entreat you to be at
peace from now on. You are forgiven everything with the confession you
made. Satan perceived your character and torments you, but without
anything serious having occurred. Everything you write (that is, the
thoughts that torture you) is a trick of the evil one to make you
despair, be distressed, and so forth. Throw everything that happened to
you into the depths of the sea. Map out a new course in your life. If
you keep thinking the same way, know that you will become the
laughing-stock of the demons. I beg you, just be obedient to me. After
your confession, everything has been forgiven, so let bygones be
bygones. Don’t scratch a wound that made you suffer so much. Don’t be
deceived by the thought that it is your fault. If you hadn’t taken him
to the doctors, etc., then such thoughts would rightfully fight you.
Whereas, as things are now, you have fulfilled your duty. God wanted to
take him, for a reason that only His infinite wisdom knows, while you
are thinking you killed him! Be careful with this thought, or else it
might lurk in your heart. It is a ruse of the devil to harm you, as he
knows how.
This skilled trickster has drowned in the depths of hell
countless multitudes with despair. When something happens and the devil
sees that a person is upset by it, his trick is to pile on a multitude
of supposedly legitimate thoughts in order to lead the poor person to a
great storm and drown him. (As the saying goes, a fox loves a scuffle).
And when the storm passes, he sees that he was in danger of drowning in
just a spoonful of water.
Humble yourself, and from now on
confess, for confession contains most holy humility, without which no
one is saved. The devil greatly rejoices when he manages to persuade a
person to hide diabolical thoughts. This is because he will achieve his
premeditated, soul-destroying goal.
I have written to you about the
conscience, that we must be careful not to do something that will make
it reproach and condemn us. Bear in mind that God sees everything and
that nothing is hidden from His eyes. So how could I tell lies before
God? Don’t you know that lies are from the devil, and that by not being
careful, it becomes a practice, then a habit, and then a passion, and
don’t you know that liars will not inherit the Kingdom of God? (cf. Rev.
21:8). Fear God. God is not pleased with material offerings when we
neglect attending to our inner heart. But it is necessary to do these
also without leaving the others undone. (cf. Mt 23:23). Attend to your
conscience, for we do not know the hour of our death. And if we do not
repay our creditor (our conscience, that is) everything we owe him, he
will accuse us vehemently, without holding back. Then – alas! – our
mouth will be silenced, not having any answer to give.
Every night, review how you passed the
day, and in the morning review how the night passed, so that you know
how your soul’s accounts are doing. If you see a loss, try to regain it
through caution and forcefulness. If you see a profit, glorify God, your
invisible helper. Do not let your conscience prick you for long, but
quickly give it whatever it wants, lest it take you to the judge and the
prison (cf. Mt. 5:25). Does your conscience want you to attend to your
prayer rule* and regain prayer? Give it these things, and behold, you
are delivered from going to the judge. Do not weaken the saving voice of
your conscience by disregarding it, because later you will regret it to
no avail.
Glossary:
* Prayer rule (κανών ) Α prayer rule
consists of the prayers and metanoias** (prostrations) which one does
daily, under the guidance of one’s spiritual father.
** Metanoia (μετάνοια) Ιn its primary
sense, «μετάνοια» (pronounced ‘meh-tah-nee-ah’) means repentance,
literally, ‘a change of mind’. However, it can also mean the specific
act of making the sign of the cross, followed by a bow either down to
the ground or to the waist. It is a gesture of reverence, worship,
respect, or repentance. A typical prayer rule includes a number of
metanoias done while saying the Jesus prayer. Some translators use the
word “prostration” for this term.
See to it that you are sincere in your
deeds as well as in your words, and especially in confession. For God
searches out the hearts and reins (Ps. 7:9), and nothing remains obscure
in the sight of His sleepless eye. Fear God; God is not mocked (Gal.
6:7); He is not fooled. He chastises severely when He does not see
sincerity; so be careful. When you are disobedient and commit a secret
sin, counteract it by openly revealing it in confession. Do not let your
ego overcome you and make you hide the truth and remain uncorrected and
passionate. Correct everything now if you want to see good days of
dispassion*** and peace.
*** Dispassion (απάθεια) Dispassion is
achieved when all three aspects of the soul (i.e., the intelligent,
appetitive, and incensive aspects ) are directed towards God. It is the
transfiguration of the passionate aspect of the soul (i.e., the aspect
of the soul which is more vulnerable to passion, namely, the appetitive
and incensive aspects ), rather than its mortification. Thus dispassion
in this context does not signify a stoic indifference, but rather, a
transfiguration and sanctification of the powers of the soul and
eventually of the body also.
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