STS. BARSANUPHIUS AND JOHN-On Struggles Against the Sexual Passions

The question of Abba Dorotheus to the Great Elder:
-- Q: I am being strongly attacked by sexual passion; I am afraid that I may fall into despondency, and that from the infirmity of my body I will not be able to restrain myself; pray for me, for the Lord’s sake, and tell me, my Father, what I should do?
A: Brother!  The devil, out of envy, has raised up warfare against you.  Guard your eyes and do not eat until you are full.  Take a little wine for the sake of the body’s infirmity of which you speak.  And acquire humility, which rends all the nets of the enemy.  And I, who am nothing, will do what I can, entreating God that He might deliver you from every temptation and preserve you from every evil.  Do not yield to the enemy, O brother, and do not give yourself over to despondency, for this is a great joy to the enemy.  Pray without ceasing, saying: “Lord Jesus Christ, deliver me from shameful passions,” and God will have mercy on you, and you will receive strength by the prayers of the Saints.  Amen.
-- Q: The same brother, being attacked by the same sexual passion, asked the same Great Elder to pray for him and to tell him how to distinguish whether a man is being tempted by his own lusts or by the enemy.
A: Brother!  Without labor and contrition of heart no one can be delivered from passions and please God.  When a man is tempted by his own lust, this may be known from the fact that he is careless about himself and allows his heart to reflect about what he has done before; and then a man himself draws passion unto himself through his own lust.  His mind, being little by little blinded by passion, begins, unnoticeable for himself, to pay attention to someone for whom he feels attraction, or to speak with him, and he finds occasions on which to converse with him or to sit with him, and by all means he strives to fulfill his desire.  If one allows thoughts to pay heed in this, warfare will increase until a fall, albeit not in body but in spirit, in agreement with thoughts; and it turns that such a man lights the fire himself in his own substance.  But a sober and prudent man who desires to be saved, when he sees from what it is that he suffers harm, carefully preserves himself from evil remembrances, is not drawn into passionate thoughts, avoids meetings and conversations with those for whom he feels attraction and avoids every occasion for sin, fearing lest he himself ignite a fire within himself.  This is the warfare which proceeds from one’s own lust, which a man brings on himself . . .
Tame your steed with the bridle of knowledge, lest, looking here and there, he become inflamed with lust towards women and men and throw you, the horseman, to the ground.  Pray to God, that He may turn “your eyes, lest they see vanity” (Psalms 118:37).  And when you will acquire a manful heart, warfare will depart from you.  Cleanse yourself, as wine cleanses wounds, and do not allow stench and filthiness to accumulate in you.  Acquire weeping, so that it might remove from you freedom (looseness) in your relations, which destroys the souls that adopt it.  Do not throw away the implement without which fertile land cannot be worked.  This implement, made by the Great God, is humility: it uproots all the tares from the field of the Master and gives grace to those who dwell in it.  Humility does not fall, but raises from a fall those who possess it.  Love weeping with all your heart, for it also is a participant in this good work.  Labor in everything to cut off your own will, for this is accounted to a man for sacrifice.  This is what is meant by: “For Thee we are mortified all the day, we are accounted as sheep for slaughter” (Psalms 43:22).  Do not weaken yourselves by conversations, for they will not allow you to prosper in God.  Firmly bridle the organs of your senses: sight, hearing, smelling, taste, and feeling, and you will prosper by the grace of Christ.  Without tortures no one is a martyr, as the Lord also has said: “In your patience possess ye your souls” (Luke 21:19), and the Apostle says, “in much endurance, in sorrows” (II Corinthians 6:4).
-- Q: Pray for me, my Father, I am very much disturbed by thoughts of sexual sin, despondency, and fear; and a thought says to me that I should converse with a brother to whom I feel attracted when I see him, lest by my silence I give him occasion for suspicion.  I feel likewise that the demons are somehow pressing me, and I fall into fear.
A: Brother!  You are not yet instructed in warfare with the enemy, which is why there come to you thoughts of fear, despondency, and sexual sin.  Stand against them with a firm heart, for combatants, unless they labor, are not crowned, and warriors, unless they show the King their skill in battles, do not become worthy of honors.  Remember what David was like.  Do you not also sing: “Test me, O Lord, and try me, kindle my inwards parts and my heart” (Psalms 25:2).  And again: “If a regiment arm itself against me, I will hope in Him” (Psalms 26:3).  Likewise, concerning fear: “For if I should go in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me” (Psalms 22:4).  And concerning despondency: “If the spirit of the powerful one should come upon thee, do not leave thy place” (Ecclesiastes 10:4).
Do you not wish to be skilled?  But a man who is not tested by temptations is not skilled.  It is battles that make a man skilled.  The work of a monk consists of enduring battles and opposing them with manfulness of heart.  But since you do not know the cunning traps of the enemy, he brings thoughts of fear and weakens your heart.  You must know that God will not allow against you battles and temptations above your strength; the Apostle also teaches this, saying: “Faithful is the Lord, Who will not leave you to be tempted more than you can bear” (I Corinthians 10:13).
Brother!  I also in my youth was many times and powerfully tempted by the demon of sexual sin, and I labored against such thoughts, contradicting them and not agreeing with them, but presenting before my own eyes eternal tortures.  For five years I acted thus every day, and God relieved me of these thoughts.  This warfare is abolished by unceasing prayer with weeping.
And the fact that the demons are pressing you proceeds from their envy; if they could, they would chase you out of your cell also; but God does not allow them to take possession of you, for they do not have authority for this.  God could swiftly relieve you, but then you would not begin to oppose another passion (when it comes).  May the demons not weaken you so as to turn your attention to a brother (to whom you are attracted), or to converse with him; but If you should happen unexpectedly to come together with him, against your desire, restrain your glance with fear and decency and do not listen attentively to his voice.  And if this brother, out of ignorance, should himself begin to speak with you or sit next to you, then skillfully avoid him, but not suddenly, rather with decorum.  Say to your thought: “Remember the terrible Judgment of God and the shame which will then overtake those who are attracted by these shameful passions.”  Compel your thought, and you will receive help, by the prayers of the Saints, and God will have mercy on you.  Do not be a child in mind, “but a child in malice” (I
Corinthians 14:20); in mind, O brother, be perfect.  Pay heed to yourself, as to how you will meet God.  Amen.
-- If you wish to be delivered from shameful passions, do not behave with anyone familiarly, especially with those toward whom your heart is inclined by a lustful passion; through this you will be delivered also from vainglory.  For in vainglory is involved the pleasing of men, in the pleasing of men is involved familiarity of behavior, and familiarity of behavior is the mother of all passions.
-- Q: What should I do, my Father?  I suffer from sexual passion.
A: As much as you can, wear yourself out, but according to your strength; and have hope not in this, but in love from God and in His protection, and do not give yourself over to despondency, for despondency serves as the beginning of every evil.
-- Q: What do the words you have spoken mean: “See to it, lest you be drawn away by a thought of sexual sin?”
-- A: This happens not only with regard to sexual passion, but in other cases also.  The mind is subjected to this as a consequence of distraction, and when this happens a man should cry out to himself, saying: “O Lord!  Forgive me for the sake of Thy holy Name; I have been subjected to this for my negligence.  Deliver me from distraction and from every net of the enemy; for Thine is the glory unto the ages.  Amen.”  And let the following be for you the sign by which you may know that you are drawn away: if one is speaking with others and his mind is distracted here and there, it happens that when he speaks of one thing his thought passes over to something else; this is what it is to be drawn away.  Likewise, if anyone is doing something and passes over in thought to something else; in his forgetfulness he either ruins what he is doing or does something more than necessary, and this is likewise (a case of) being drawn away.  In the same way a sexual thought draws us away.  It happens that one is conversing with another, and if the enemy succeeds in drawing his mind away from God-pleasing sobriety, then, as a consequence of distraction, a sexual desire appears in the mind.  And this is likewise a drawing away, because it has happened not from reflection or remembrance, but a man is drawn away by it out of forgetfulness.  And such a one is like a traveller who, by reason of grief that comes upon him, goes away from the straight road and finds himself on another road.  But coming back to himself, a man should call out to himself, according to what has been said above, and hasten to God’s mercy.  The Lord is merciful and will accept him like the prodigal son; we know with what mercilessness He accepted the latter.  But when this warfare arises in the mind even without distraction, one must be sober, not take enjoyment of such thoughts, no tarry in them, but all the sooner hasten to God the Master.  

from “Saints Barsanuphius and John: Guidance Toward Spiritual Life,” trans. by Fr. Seraphim Rose, (Platina, California: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1990), pp. 71 - 76, 113, 126-127  (selections).

The Passion of Homosexuality according to St. John Chrysostom

By Archimandrite Sarantis Sarantou, parish priest of the Dormition of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church in Marousi, Greece; published on the official website of the Holy Metropolis of Kifisia, Amoros and Oropos on June 16^th, 2013.

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

[Rom 1:26-27]

† † †

Our holy Apostle Paul, according to the Holy Fathers, is the voice of Christ, and divine Chrysostom is the mouth of Apostle Paul. Commenting on the very important epistle to the Romans, St. John Chrysostom gives a divinely inspired analysis of homosexuality, among other issues.

All passions degrade humanity, but especially the mania of men for men. He summarily characterizes homosexuality as an unforgivable passion; this is not just because it really is, but also because the entire male personality becomes so distorted that a chronic allegiance to this abomination sets in; it thus becomes an immensely difficult passion to restrain by the fallen.

The golden words of Chrysostom are remarkably balanced. His unshakable logic, which he uses to spiritually support his flock, is universally acknowledged to be inspired by the Holy Spirit. Not even foreign rationalist Protestant researchers challenge him. It is precisely his rock of faith and deep love in Christ that are needed for all of us, in these difficult days that we are going through; thus, it is vital that we very carefully listen to him. Here is the order he chose for his compelling argument:

1. The holy Apostle first places the entire problem of homosexuality on a spiritual basis. In the twenty-fifth verse of the Epistle to the Romans of chapter one, he writes: They changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever... The divine Chrysostom points out that there was a distortion in the creation of God. God did not prevent the natural relationship between the sexes, so they "justifiably" fall into the strange madness of males having left the natural use of the female.

In the deep psyche of the homosexual world there is an autonomy of individual and selfish choice against the truth of God, a deep preference towards falsehood. It is for this reason that the way homosexuals display and advertise their "diversity" is very provocative. Arrogant attitudes and cocky appearances are displayed on television, and inaccuracies and falsehoods are spread about their demonic way of life. This is exactly why St. John Chrysostom boldly states: "Their ideology is satanic, and their life demonic." Thus, God abandons these people, who twist the truth concerning the creation of man and present falsehood with offensive boldness, namely that their perversion is an issue of genes or free sexual choice. And, "when God abandons, everything is turned upside down." A person’s entire mental state is flipped, his entire psychology and bodily existence transgress towards a psychopathological state. And it is exactly for all these reasons that the problem of homosexuality is primarily of a spiritual nature.

2. Moreover, says St. John Chrysostom, God put before them, the homosexuals, the "world" and "the mind of man." The vast majority of people accept, admit and deterministically are given over to the physical attraction between sexes and enjoy a lawful and proper relationship. This is what is meant by the "world." The prototype of the "mind of man," from his initial creation (and as implanted by his Creator), can distinguish the natural relationship of man and woman and takes rest in it. The other mental choice is one characterized by a voluntarily intentional misunderstanding of what is natural; its resulting impact is quite tragic. Man is dragged into the most dishonorable of passions, rejecting natural relations with a woman and frantically seeking to be satisfied through another man, autonomously, selfishly, without any preconditions, and entirely unblessed. This is why according to the holy Father this passion is unforgivable, because homosexuals do not engage in the natural human experience and the God-given inclination of the mind.

It is very sad today that young boys and girls are lured into silly and provocative so-called "homosexual programs" on television that selfishly allege to want to "break away," as they say, from their traditional parents, some of whom cannot hide the panic before such havoc "choices" of their sons or daughters. No news channel lately mentions, however, the ever lurking dangers of the AIDS disease. As a matter of fact, what were frequently reported news stories have nowadays completely disappeared.

3. What is even more dishonorable and disgraceful for mankind is that this degrading passion has infected women in equally frightening proportions. Even though they should be ashamed, today under the propaganda of the New Age, women find themselves more empowered than men, becoming more confused and callous than ever, while concurrently insisting upon their God-creating power of motherhood. The divine Father relies on the archetypal creation of the couple, as is divinely inspired and emphatically recorded in the Old Testament book of Genesis. God’s intent has been defiled; man, as the wise head, first and foremost ought to help woman think wisely and act correctly. Instead, he drags her to the godless and inhuman passion of sodomy. From the outset in Paradise, he degenerates this blessed relationship with abominable hostility. Though man was appointed a teacher of woman, and woman a helpmate of man, in the end they ended up outside the Church and outside the blessing of God, hostile on many levels and partaking in the shameful works of darkness.

4. The divine Chrysostom claims that prudence according to Christ dictated that the holy Apostle Paul was to speak humbly, candidly and chastely, but his words must also sting the ears of his audience. The divine Father says: "He does not say that they were enamored of, and lusted after one another, but, ‘they burned in their lust one toward another’." The verb "burned" does not denote a strong erotic desire, but indicates an unrestrained and unsatisfied burning. This vague verb is passively used to signify the constant unsatisfied erotic homosexual desire among women. Later he uses it towards men to complete the word "unseemly," thus indicating the violation of God’s law and the insult done to the male sex as well as the opposite sex. Homosexual acts by both sexes demean, for these relationships are completely perverted. They transgress God’s elect laws for natural eroticism, bringing shame to their own and to the opposite sex which they despise. It is for this reason that they are completely abandoned by God, reaching the worst, the most unheard of and lamentable, supposedly erotic sexual behaviors.

According to St. John Chrysostom, not even wild animals go beyond their heterosexual boundaries. They live according to their erotic nature and compulsion which was granted to them by the Creator, for the purpose of perpetuating their species. A relative reduction in their ferocity is achieved during commingling, a certain intimacy, tameness and relief.

5. According to the in the image and likeness creation of the first couple by the personal will of God, they should have lived in perfect marital unity. This most philanthropic will of the Triadic God was envied by the devil and, when presented with the opportunity (and ever since the time of the fall of man) he has zealously pursued unforeseen obstacles in every married couple, for the sole purpose of overwhelming this blessed union. As an extreme consequence of this deep hatred towards mankind, there has appeared among men and women this disgraceful and ingrained passion of homosexuality; consequently, those men and women who are subdued to this evil passion do not come forward to the blessed sacrament of Marriage and thus exclude themselves from the divine plan of creation, which is fulfilled in the birth of children. (Ed., with the recent legalization of "marriage" among homosexuals, the plans of the evil one are reaching new levels of "legalized immorality.")

6. According to St. John Chrysostom, homosexuals should be the most unhappy and pitiable of people even if they were successful in all other levels of life. But their self-awareness is so deficient and their conceit so inflated, that they consider themselves and put themselves forward as the happiest of all, while others, those who live normally, are according to them ill and oppressed. St. John Chrysostom unequivocally argues that they already live in hell existentially and certainly the fire of Gehenna awaits them. He has the deep and broad experience of the sacred confessional, in which, no matter how much they want to pretend, eventually they cannot hide their deep pain and blood which drips from every section of their heart. And when sincerity finds them during their confessions, they easily and willingly admit that this deceptive homosexual companionship has proven to be impossible and unrealizable.

So that the Saint becomes more believable, he describes two examples of two very strange people. Suppose I saw, he says, a young man running around naked besmeared with mire and exulting that he is clean and well washed. He also spoke of a young virgin, if she was enclosed in a house and condemned to have intercourse with an animal, and afterwards rejoiced in it. The one who compelled her, argued the Saint, is worse than a murderer because he ruined her soul and her body. How truly twisted man becomes when he distances himself from the true Triadic God and His saving Church!

Young people today (as well men and women of older age groups) are trapped in mindless ways, in the nets of charming people, who sneakily lead them into sodomy. There is no more terrible thing than such an attack, says the Saint. "And that you may learn what the real force of this is, if any one were to come and assure you that he would make you a dog instead of being a man, would you not flee from him as a plague? But, lo! You have not made yourself a dog, but an animal more disgraceful than this. For a dog is useful for service, but he that has thus given himself up is serviceable for nothing." If somebody threatened men that he could make them able to conceive, to become pregnant, to give birth, to go through the time of postpartum, what would you do, how would you react? Would you turn yourself upside down with your screams due to the strangeness of it, or would you bask passively, with fears and complexes? What is then your reaction my man, to all that you observe the homosexuals enable within your society?

7. In the inspired Old Testament, the terrible situation that was created in the society of Sodom and Gomorrah is described articulately and vividly, just before the pouring out of the just wrath of God and the complete destruction of these ancient cities that once flourished. Below we will provide excerpts that exemplify the level of alienation for any homosexual, as well as their erotic companions, and the entire social environment which tolerates, accepts or admits with every readily available communication means with them and cooperates accordingly at all levels of life. The defilement of it is contagious, if it is accepted for reasons of "politeness" so that we are not considered bigots. The "immune system" in Christ is sickened, the psychology of our youth is affected, and the demonic convention finds grounding to corrupt places, souls, mentalities, and easy companions.

Genesis 19:1-11

And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter. And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

Saint John Chrysostom persistently stands before the exemplary catastrophe of Sodom and Gomorrah and guides his flock through education to strengthen their moral immune system in Christ; he aims to accomplish this in a timely manner so that his spiritual children escape this defilement before it takes on epidemic proportions. The fiery rain of Sodom and Gomorrah was so catastrophic that it made their land barren and unable to produce anything that could contribute to new life flourishing, a new human society, a new civilization.

8. For educative purposes we should distinguish homosexuals who have not fallen into carnal sin, and those men or women who have "freed themselves from the taboos of the past" and are having carnal relations and perhaps have even entered into a modern homosexual cohabitation.

The first group struggle very hard to get rid of the demon of homosexuality. The demon engages into a fierce battle with the struggling homosexual, and his efforts are focused upon strong thoughts in the mind of the struggling man or woman, to blacken his or her soul and thus tear down his "competitor." The second, who have entangled themselves by consent in carnal homosexual sin, should ask with inner pain for the mercy of God, should go to confession frequently and with honesty, and eventually they will benefit from Divine mercy. They will accomplish, together with the Lord, in disbanding the "machinations of the enemy" and shake off the abominable carnal homosexual sin and thus annul the wiles of the devil. The support of a spiritual father beside them is needed, guiding them in Christ until they are able to understand that correction and the straight path is not impossible, for what is impossible with man, is possible with God.

I humbly agree that in this contemporary "sinful and adulterous" generation, in which homosexuality seems to be celebrated, spiritual fathers are the only ones who show true understanding to those who sin heavily, and they help them come to the knowledge of their situation, to repent, and to become living members of the Church and be saved.

9. It is understood that, in the circle of priests, homosexuality is unthinkable. Even the simplest carnal sins are obstacles to priesthood. The saints of our Church believe that even the smallest hair in the eye of a person causes tingling and pain and it takes many tears to remove it from the eye. It is likewise for any clergy candidate, and much more for the active clergyman; if there is the slightest carnal sin, he cannot rest in his priestly ministry, but is tormented and suffers.

Homosexuality is the greatest of sins, which irrevocably prevents one from entering priesthood (and of course the Church does not allow any homosexual to be elevated to priesthood, even if he has stopped the sin for years). St. Basil the Great considers homosexuality or lesbianism a beastly sin: "Abusers of themselves with mankind and with beasts, just as is the case with murderers, wizards, adulterers, and idolaters, are deserving of the same punishment" (Canon 7 of St. Basil the Great). Saint Gregory of Nyssa characterizes homosexuality as "unnatural" in his 4^th Canon. Saint John the Faster observes in his 19^th Canon, according to the compilation of The Rudder by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite, the following: "A boy who has been ruined by any man cannot come into the holy priesthood. For although on account of his immature age he did not sin himself, yet the vessel of his body was rent and became useless in connection with the sacred priesthood."

10. Unfortunately there exists within our Holy Orthodox Church an organized group of homosexual clergy. These men, by their provocative behavior and by their obscene insistence on mortally sinning, take others by the neck and drag them to hell from this life, preparing them, alas, for eternal hell, even though they ought to grab them from the abyss of destruction and reconcile them once again with Christ.

The psychology of clergy possessed by the deadly passion of homosexuality mutates essentially into having a persecution mentality by the Church. The residual, ingrained faint voice of their conscience cries out for them being on the wrong course and for their daily exemplification of a loud but degraded persona. Incredible nervousness bifurcates their personality, and there is obsessive antipathy towards specific individuals, terrible negligence in their liturgical and pastoral duties, disregard for their family (if by chance they are married), and a substantial annihilation of their angelic schema (if they are unmarried). Manic behaviors, with various sophistries regarding the sacred Canons and with hypocritical and pious excuses, they endlessly try to modernize the Church.

Unfortunately within such a group of homosexual clergymen there has developed an illusory and deceptive climate of supposed love and support for one another. Young inexperienced candidate clergy, if not guided by an experienced spiritual and pious Orthodox mindset, are likely to be ensnared by the exaggerated zealous protectionism indicated above. They are bound emotionally, and through a "friendship" with these patrons of theirs (and if there is some tendency towards homosexuality) they basically become victims of this homosexual network with devastating consequences, ultimately for the former and the latter. The evil of these organized groups, or the ones that are less methodical (i.e., more individualized), continues with scenarios and pitfalls set up across the world by the wicked and cunning serpent, the devil. If the candidate or young clergyman joins and stays within the circles of homosexuals, he will certainly suffer the consequences of the corresponding associative uniqueness of the homosexual circle as well as the terrible alienation against the measures and molds which experienced and knowledgeable homosexual patrons are imposing.

There are also rare exceptions of repentant or remorseful homosexual clergymen, who are suffering spiritually, psychologically, existentially and perhaps physically; nothing can grant them rest and quiet from the relentless torture of their conscience. If they do not deeply repent and give up their high pastoral office, they will never rest and acquire the inner experience of complete forgiveness by God.

11. The holy elder Paisios often spoke of the power of spiritual laws. Because homosexuality is an abominable sin before the Triune God and offends His all-wise and personal creative care for people, the counsel of God allows, in the operation of spiritual laws, to deregulate the immune system of the human body, resulting in dire health consequences, which in time often leads to death. Why does the media minimize the high risk of AIDS and over-advertise homosexuality? Or do they not know the exponential increase of bearers and patients of AIDS across the world?

Disappointing are the descriptions made to us in Holy Confession by homosexual patients with AIDS. Dissolved personalities, sad ruins struggling to survive, alternating heavy treatments, remorseful for reckless impassioned homosexual intercourse that have brought them down to pathetic skeletons. Avid seekers of perversion, they lured into demonic pleasure others as their supposed erotic partners, whom they initially completely trusted and in the end were left miserably cheated, all alone, in their existential loneliness.

For all of the above corruption to not occur, with its terrible pathogenesis and unimaginably tragic side-effects, St. John Chrysostom suggests active use of spiritual drugs in Christ. His primary therapeutic guideline is awareness of the omnipresence of God. Nothing destroys people more than unawareness and the criminal forgetfulness of God. But nothing saves him more than seeing the All-good Lord noetically, Who was crucified for us and rose from the dead, and to call upon His All-holy Name. Only in this way will the corruption of homosexuality be forgiven...

Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us...

Most Holy Theotokos, save us!

 

Source:www.orthodoxheritage.org/MOM%2008%202013.htm

St.Nikodemos the Hagiorite- On How to struggle against bodily passions

 Saint Nikodemos The Hagiorite

In struggling against bodily passions, my brother, a different method should be used than in struggling against the others. If you want things to proceed in the right order, know that you should do one thing before you are tempted by these passions, another thing during temptation and yet another when it is over.
Before temptation, attention should be concentrated on the causes, which habitually give birth to temptation or which excite passion. The rule here is to use every means to avoid all occasions, which may upset the calm of your body, especially meeting people of the other sex. If you are forced to converse with such a person, let the conversation be short, and preserve not only modesty but a certain sternness of countenance; let your words be friendly, but reserved rather than forthcoming.

‘ Never trust thine enemy’ (Ecclesiasticus xii. 10) says the wise Sirach. So never trust your body; for as iron produces rust by itself, so the corrupted nature of the body produces evil stirrings of lust. “For like as iron rusteth, so is his wickedness’ (Ecclesiasticus xii. 10). I repeat again, do not trust yourself in this respect, even if you no longer feel and have not felt for some time this sting of your flesh.

 For this thrice-cursed wickedness sometimes achieves in one hour or one moment what it has not done for many years, and always makes its preparations for attack silently. Know that the more the flesh pretends to be your friend and gives no cause for suspicion, the greater the harm it inflicts later, and often strikes to death.
All must fear people of the other sex, communion with whom is regarded as good in ordinary life, either because they are relatives,or because they are pious and virtuous, or because they have done you a favour and you fee] under the obligation to express your gratitude as often AS possible. You should fear this because, without fear and attention to yourself, such communion is practically always mixed with the pernicious sensory lust which, gradually .”and insensibly, steals into the soul to its very depths and so obscures the mind that a man thus infected begins to disregard all the dangerous causes of sin, such as passionate glances, sweet words on both sides, seductive movements and postures of the body and the pressing of hands. Thus he finally succumbs to the sin itself and to other snares of the devil, from which at times he never manages to extricate himself completely.

So, my brother, flee this fire, for you are gunpowder, and never dare to think in your conceit that you are damp gunpowder,moistened with the water of a good and firm will. No, no! Better think that you are as dry as dry and will catch fire as soon as you are touched by that flame. Never rely on the firmness of your resolve and your readiness to die rather than to offend God by sin.
For, although it can be assumed that this resolve makes your gunpowder damp, frequent communication and sitting together in private will gradually dry the moisture of your righteous will by bodily fire, and you will never notice how you are set aflame with bodily love to such an extent, that you will cease to be ashamed of men and to fear God,- and will disregard honour, life and all the tortures of hell in your longing to commit sin. So avoid in all possible ways:
(a) Communion with people, who can be a temptation to you, if you sincerely desire to escape the captivity of sin and paying its wages, which is death of the soul. The wise Solomon calls a man wise, who fears and avoids the causes of sin; and he calls foolish a man who, with great self-reliance, confidently neglects to avoid them, saying: ‘A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident” (in his actions) (Prov. xiv. 16). Did not the Apostle point this out when he advised the CORINTHIANS: “Flee fornication” (I Cor. vi. 18).
(b) Flee idleness and laziness; stand on guard watchfully, in all things peering closely at your thoughts, and wisely arranging and conducting the activities, demanded by your position.
(c) Never disobey your spiritual teachers and fathers, but obey them willingly in everything, executing their orders quickly and readily, and especially those which can teach you humility and go against your own will and inclination.

(d) Never allow yourself boldly to judge your neighbour; judge and condemn, no. one, especially for the particular bodily sin of which we are speaking. If someone has manifestly fallen into it, rather have compassion and pity for him. Do not be indignant with him or laugh at him, but let his example be a lesson in humility to you; realising that you too are extremely weak and as easily, moved to sin as dust on the road, say to yourself: ‘He fell today, but tomorrow I shall fall.’ Know that, if you are quick to blame and despise others, God will mete out a painful punishment to you by letting you fall into the same sin for which you blame others.
‘Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matt. vii. 1); you will be condemned to the same punishment, in order to learn from it the perniciousness of your pride and, thus humbled, to seek a cure from two evils: pride and fornication. Even if in His mercy God protects you from downfall and you keep the chastity of your thought inviolate, stop blaming others if you were blaming them, and instead of relying on yourself, be still more afraid and do not trust your own steadfastness.
(e) Pay attention to yourself and watch over yourself. If .you have gained some gift or another from God, or find yourself in a good spiritual state, do not in your vainglory accept vain illusions. about yourself, thinking that you are something and .imagining that your enemies would not dare to attack you that you abhor and despise them so much that you will immediately repulse them., if they dare to come near you. As soon as you think thus, you will fall as easily as an autumn leaf from a tree.
That is what you must do before the temptation of bodily passion assails you.

At a time of actual temptation, do as follows: hasten to discover the cause which provoked the attack and sweep it away immediately. This cause may be internal or external. External causes may be: undisciplined eyes, words sweet to the hearing, songs which delight your ears by their content or melody, fine garments made of soft materials, perfumes pleasing to the nose, free behaviour and conversations, physical touch and pressing of hands, dances and many other things. Remedies against these are:simple and humble attire, the will not to see, hear, smell, say or touch anything which may produce this shameful impulse, and especially avoidance of all intercourse with people of the other sex, as has been already said above. Inner causes are, on the one hand, ease and comfort of the body, when all bodily desires find full satisfaction; on the other—shameful thoughts, which either come of themselves brought by memories of things seen, heard and experienced, or which are excited by evil spirits.
As regards a life of physical ease and comfort, it should be hardened by fasts, vigils, sleeping rough, and especially by a great number of bowings and prostrations to exhaust the body, and by various other voluntary mortifications of the flesh, as advised and counseled by our wise and experienced holy fathers. The remedy against thoughts, no matter whence they come, is various spiritual exercises, compatible with your present state and dictated by it, such as: reading of holy and salutary books, especially of St. Ephrem the Syrian, St. John of the Ladder, the Philokalia and others of the same kind, devout meditations and prayer.
When shameful thoughts begin to assail you, pray thus: immediately raise your mind to our Lord, crucified for us, and call on Him from the bottom of your heart: ‘ My Lord Jesus! My sweetest Jesus! Hasten to help me and do not let my enemy ensnare me!’ At the same time embrace mentally (and also physically if there is one near you) the life-giving cross upon which your Lord was crucified, kiss often His wounds and say to Him with love: ‘Most beautiful wounds, most holy wounds, immaculate wounds! Wound my wretched and impure heart and do not let me offend and shame Thee by my uncleanness.” During the time when shameful thoughts of bodily lust multiply in you, your reflections must not be directed straight against them, though many advise this. 

Do not attempt to picture in your mind the uncleanness and shame of the sins of bodily lust, nor the remorse of conscience which follows upon them, nor the corruption of your nature and loss of your pure virginity, nor the besmirching of your honour, and other similar things. Do not attempt, I say, to think of these things, for such reflections are not always a reliable means of overcoming bodily temptations and may only give strength to the attacks and, at times, lead to your downfall. For, although your mind remonstrates with the lust and mentally upbraids it, yet the thought dwells on its objects, to which the heart feels such predilection. 

So it is not surprising that while the mind is lavishly pouring out severe condemnations of these things, the heart delights in them and consents to them—which means inner downfall. No, you must think of such subjects as would screen off these shameful things and completely distract your attention from them, things which, by their nature, would have a sobering effect on your heart. Such subjects are the life and passion of our Lord Jesus, Who took on flesh for our sakes, the inevitable hour of our death, the terrible day of judgment and the various aspects of torment in hell.

If, as often happens, shameful thoughts should persist in spite of this, and should attack you with special force and impetuosity, fear not, do not stop reflecting as we have said, and do not attempt a direct attack on them to expose their shameful nature, Refrain from this, but continue to direct your whole attention to reflections upon the sobering and awe-inspiring subjects indicated above, without bothering about the shameful thoughts, as though they were not your own. Know that no better means exists of driving them away than disregarding and neglecting them. As often as possible, interrupt your meditation by this or a similar prayer: 

‘Deliver me, my Creator and Saviour, from my enemies, to the glory of your passion and your infinite mercy.” Conclude your meditation by a similar prayer,Take care not to cast the eye of your mind upon this bodily uncleanness, since merely visualising it is not without danger; and do not pause to converse with these temptations or about them, in order to find out whether consent to them had occurred in you or not.
Although such analysis may appear good, in actual fact it is a trick of the devil, who strives by this means to weigh you down, to cast you into faintheartedness and despair, or to make you dwell on these thoughts as long as possible, in order thus to drive you to sinful action, of this kind, or some other.
Instead of all such investigations of the thoughts which trouble you, go, confess all in detail to your spiritual father, and thereupon remain undisturbed in your heart and thought, untroubled by any questions, but content with the ruling of your father. Only, you must reveal to him everything, which has troubled and is troubling your mind and feeling in this temptation, concealing nothing and not letting your tongue be tied by shame, but humbling yourself in self-abasement.

For if, to gain victory, we need profound humility in all struggle with our enemies, how much more so at moments of warfare of the flesh? For in this case the very temptation is mostly either born of pride or is a reproof and punishment for it. Therefore St. John of the Ladder says that he who has fallen into fornication or some other sin of the flesh, had previously fallen into pride; and that his fall into sin was allowed, to humble him. ‘ Where a downfall has happened, there pride has dwelt before it; for pride comes before a fall.’ And again,‘Punishment for the proud is to fall’ (Chapter 23). When shameful thoughts are at last subdued and temptation ceases, you must do the following: however much you are convinced that you are now free from attacks of the flesh, and however sure you are of yourself, take every care to keep your mind and attention away from things and people, who were the cause of this upsurging of temptation.

Do not satisfy the impulse to see them, under the pretext that they are your relatives, or that they are devout and your benefactors. 
Admonish yourself with the thought that this too is a sinful blandishment of our corrupt nature and a net of our cunning enemy the devil, who assumes here the form of an Angel of light, in order to cast us into the darkness of which St. Paul speaks (II Cor. xi. 14).

Taken From the Book "Unseen Warfare "edited by Saint Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain, and Saint Theophan the Recluse

St. John Cassian-ON THE DEMON OF UNCHASTITY AND THE DESIRE OF THE FLESH

Our second struggle is against the demon of unchastity and the desire of the flesh, a desire which begins to trouble man from the time of his youth. This harsh struggle has to be fought in both soul and body, and not simply in the soul, as is the case with other faults. We therefore have to fight it on two fronts.

Bodily fasting alone is not enough to bring about perfect self-restraint and true purity; it must be accompanied by contrition of heart, intense prayer to God, frequent meditation on the Scriptures, toil and manual labour. These are able to check the restless impulses of the soul and to recall it from its shameful fantasies. Humility of soul helps more than everything else, however, and without it no one can overcome unchastity or any other sin. In the first place, then, we must take the utmost care to guard the heart from base thoughts, for, according to the Lord, out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, unchastity and so on (Matt. 15:19).

We are told to fast not only to mortify our body, but also to keep our intellect watchful, so that it will not be obscured because of the amount of food we have eaten and thus be unable to guard its thoughts. We must not therefore expend all our effort in bodily fasting; we must also give attention to our thoughts and to spiritual meditation, since otherwise we will not be able to advance to the heights of true purity and chastity. As our Lord has said, we should cleanse first the inside of the cup and plate, so that their outside may also be clean (Matt. 23:26).

If we are really eager, as the Apostle puts it, to struggle lawfully and to be crowned (2 Tim: 2:5) for overcoming the impure spirit of unchastity, we should not trust in our own strength and ascetic practice, but in the help of our Master, God. No one ceases to be attacked by this demon until he truly believes that he will be healed and reach the heights of purity not through his own effort and labour, but through the aid and protection of God. For such a victory is beyond man's natural powers. Indeed, he who has trampled down the pleasures and provocations of the flesh is in a certain sense outside the body. Thus, no one can soar to this high and heavenly prize of holiness on his own wings and learn to imitate the angels, unless the grace of God leads him upwards from this earthly mire. No virtue makes flesh-bound man so like a spiritual angel as does self-restraint, for it enables those still living on earth to become, as the Apostle says, citizens of heaven (cf. Phil. 3:20). A sign that we have acquired this virtue perfectly is that our soul ignores those images which the defiled fantasy produces during sleep; for even if the production of such images is not a sin, nevertheless it is a sign that the soul is ill and has not been freed from passion. We should therefore regard the defiled fantasies that arise in us during sleep as the proof of previous indolence and weakness still existing in us, since the emission which takes place while we are relaxed in sleep reveals the sickness that lies hidden in our souls. Because of this the Doctor of our souls has also placed the remedy in the hidden regions of the soul, recognizing that the cause of our sickness lies there when He says: Whoever looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. 5:28). He seeks to correct not so much our inquisitive and unchaste eyes as the soul which has its seat within and makes bad use of the eyes which God gave it for good purposes. That is why the Book of Proverbs in its wisdom does not say: Guard your eyes with all diligence but Guard your heart with all diligence (Prov. 4:23), imposing the remedy of diligence in the first instance upon that which makes use of the eyes for whatever purpose it desires.

The way to keep guard over our heart is immediately to expel from the mind every demon-inspired recollection of women even of mother or sister or any other devout woman—lest by dwelling on it for too long the mind is thrown headlong by the deceiver into debased and pernicious thoughts. The commandment given by God to the first man, Adam, told him to keep watch over the head of the serpent (cf. Gen. 3:15. LXX), that is, over the first inklings of the pernicious thoughts by means of which the serpent tries to creep into our souls. If we do not admit the serpents head, which is the provocation of the thought, we will not admit the rest of its body—that is, the assent to the sensual pleasure which the thought suggests—and so debase the mind towards the illicit act itself.

As it is written, we should early in the morning destroy all the wicked of the earth (Ps. 101:8), distinguishing in the light of divine knowledge our sinful thoughts and then eradicating them completely from the earth—our hearts—in accordance with the teaching of the Lord. While the children of Babylon—by which I mean our wicked thoughts—are still young, we should dash them to the ground and crush them against the rock, which is Christ (cf. Ps. 137:9; I Cor. 10:4). If these thoughts grow stronger because we assent to them, we will not be able to overcome them without much pain and labour.

It is good to remember the sayings of the Fathers as well as the passages from Holy Scripture cited above. For example, St Basil, Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, said: I have not known a woman and yet I am not a virgin. He recognized that the gift of virginity is achieved not so much by abstaining from intercourse with woman as by holiness and purity of soul, which in its turn is achieved through fear of God. The Fathers also say that we cannot fully acquire the virtue of purity unless we have first acquired real humility of heart. And we will not be granted true spiritual knowledge so long as the passion of unchastity lies hidden in the depths of our souls.

To bring this section of our treatise to a close, let us recall one of the Apostles sayings which further illustrates his teaching on how to acquire self-restraint. He says: Pursue peace with all men and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). It is clear that he is talking about self-restraint from what follows: Lest there be any unchaste or profane person, such as Esau (Heb. 12:16). The more heavenly and angelic the degree of holiness, the heavier are the enemies attacks to which it is subjected. We should therefore try to achieve not only bodily control, but also contrition of heart with frequent prayers of repentance, so that with the dew of the Holy Spirit we may extinguish the furnace of our flesh, kindled daily by the king of Babylon with the bellows of desire (cf. Dan. 3:19). In addition, a great weapon has been given us in the form of sacred vigils; for just as the watch we keep over our thoughts by day brings us holiness at night, so vigil at night brings purity to the soul by day.

 From The Philokalia, Volume 1, pp. 75-77. This is excerpted from the treatise On the Eight Vices, written by St. John Cassian