Elder Ephraim of Vatopaidi
Q. What are sinful thoughts and what are their spiritual substance?
A. They are thoughts
opposed to God's will and operate in the area of the human intellect
either by their own will or not. The mind is restless and it either
produces thoughts or external factors are continuously displayed on the
screen of the mind.
Q. Where do such thoughts come from?
A. Their source is either
the passionate heart of man or demons themselves. Christ Himself
reveals: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery,
sexual immorality, theft, false witness, blasphemy" (Matt. 15:19).
The passions of man are produced
and fed with sinful thoughts. Demons are certain beings that feed on
excessive hatred for humans and impinge in any way the salvation of man.
Their main job is to sow evil, wicked, vile, sinful, blasphemous
thoughts in the intellect of man.
There are of course divine
thoughts as well whose source are in God Himself and the Saints, who
encourage the sinner to repentance, and bring consolation in any way to
those who are troubled, illuminating the virtuous so that "they can know
the deep things of God" (1 Cor. 2:10).
The spiritual advancement of man
appears primarily in the quality of one's thoughts. We must cultivate
the pure, holy and divine thoughts. We must make our mind into a factory
of good thoughts, as the blessed Elder Paisios would say.
Q. How do we identify these thoughts and how do we distinguish them from sinful thoughts?
A. Only with watchfulness (nipsis)
can we observe the mind, and be careful to identify our thoughts.
Watchfulness is temperance, the attention I impose on my mind.
This is achieved by invoking the
all-honorable, majestic and sweet name of our Christ. The prayer, the
"Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me", is the greatest weapon against the
demons and passions, and it is able to uphold the mind that is
controlled by and observes the thoughts.
Thoughts are like airplanes that
fly in the air. It doesn't depend on us if airplanes fly continuously
in the air. It does depend on us and we must not allow thoughts to land
within us, to accept them, to give them consent.
Q. What is the difference between desire and thought?
A. Desire is the mood we
have to do something, to ask for something is a movement of the heart,
while thought moves in the area of the intellect.
First we desire and after this
desire it is expressed internally through thoughts. Desire is the
beginning, the root. By cutting off sinful desires we are essentially
freeing ourselves from sinful thoughts.
This is why our Lord emphasized:
"But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman with desire has
already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt. 5:28). He
wanted to cut off the root of the passions.
Saint Gregory Palamas says that
the intellect of the believer who struggles in prayer is easily purified
of thoughts, just like the heart of a person (which is the power that
produces thoughts), cannot be purified unless all the other powers of
the soul, the appetitive and spirited, are purified.
Q. Must we confess all of our thoughts?
A. The thoughts that come
into our minds daily by the thousands are countless. Most of these
thoughts are vain, vile and sinful. The demon knows his job well and
cultivates these thoughts. We are liable only when we consent to them,
when we implement these thoughts into practice.
Depending on what spiritual
state a person is in, so they are judged on how they deal with their
thoughts. For example, for the perfect, who have perfect spiritual
knowledge and supervision of thoughts, consent to a sinful thought is
sinful. For someone who has now begun the spiritual life it may not be
sinful.
The person who struggles
correctly confesses their thoughts that do not cease to press on them,
which through prayer and struggle alone cannot be resisted. It is not
possible for someone to confess all their thoughts. This is
psychological illness. Many come to confession with a notebook in which
is written their thoughts, hundreds of thoughts that pass daily through
their intellect. This is not right. They not only tire the
Confessor/Spiritual Father but they themselves do not benefit. This is
not observing one's thoughts, it is not a fruit of watchfulness and
spiritual progress, but it is a situation of illness.
Q. Can we come to the Holy Chalice in a situation where right before Divine Communion there comes to us a sinful thought?
A. Of course we come
forward. What do we read from Saint John of Damascus right before Divine
Communion?: "I stand before the doors of Thy temple and I still do not
forsake my wicked thoughts."
The war with thoughts is
described by the Fathers as difficult. In this particular case we need
to have contempt for this thought because it was brought by the enemy to
rob us of the blessing of Divine Communion. Unless it is a thought
connected with a deadly sin that has not been confessed, though I think
such a thought would not battle us at that moment, since it would
already be rebuked by our conscience.
Q. Are there certain pernicious thoughts that lead to spiritual death?
A. Yes, the thoughts of
despair and hopelessness. These thoughts, say the Fathers, are like
cutting off the head of a struggler. The believer must never forget the
love and mercy of God our Father no matter what depth of sin they have
fallen into. They must never forget that hope exists and repentance
exists.
Christ did not come to judge the
world but to save the world. Christ accepted the repentance of the
thief, the villain on the cross who was at the throes of death, saved
him, and placed him in Paradise.
Q. Should couples confess to one another the thoughts they have towards each other?
A. I think not. It is
better to say their thoughts to their common spiritual father. Be aware
that the devil, from the moment when certain people are united with the
crowns of marriage, has placed upon them a target to separate them at
some point. This is why there is a war that unfortunately most couples
do not recognize. While the beginning of marriage is all milk and honey,
and love united them both, but then disagreements begin, and quarrels,
and "I don't like you", and "I don't love you". All this is war.
Why? What happened after ten
years of marriage or more and the one doesn't love the other? It is
better in the beginning for a couple to address such problems to their
common spiritual father, who through the illumination of the Holy Spirit
will guide them accordingly and with his prayer will banish the demonic
energy that has come between them to separate them. And by God I am not
saying that couples should not discuss things between each other, as
this is essential for there to be unity and love, but do not tell each
other your sinful thoughts which are sowed by the devil.
Q. How can we fight against thoughts?
A. With watchfulness and the prayer "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me". Saint John of Sinai in his book The Ladder
says: "The name of Jesus plagued our enemies." Our enemies are our
passions, our sinful thoughts, the demons. There is no more effective
way, than when the prayer is said with self-reproach and pain of heart.
If you see a thought persists
despite your effort and prayers and does not leave you alone, then it is
good to bring this thought to confession. Confession is practical
humility, and "God gives grace to the humble" (Jam. 4:6). The shame we
feel before our spiritual father through the confession of this sinful
thought, will justify us before God and God will relieve us from the
energy of this passion, this sinful thought.
It is also very good to cultivate good thoughts and despise the sinful ones, or bad thoughts, but this requires much diligence.
The contempt we show towards bad
thoughts sown by the devil will make the same devil deflate, be
trapped, to flee, because the devil is arrogant, and he wants us to care
for him and be occupied with him, and he cannot tolerate being
despised.
If you can cultivate in this
way, it is the most bloodless, as Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyva would
say. Let us ask for peace, joy and the love of Christ and not care for
our evil selves, our passions, our sinful thoughts. Let us turn our face
- our whole being - towards Christ and seek His face, His mercy. Thus
slowly, without realizing it, we will be sanctified, and the old man
with its desires and thoughts will flee, which bothered us, and we will
be clothed with the new which is "created by God" (Eph. 4:24).
Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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