The demonic stronghold-The characteristics of pride

One of the foremost experts on the depths of the human spirit, St. Isaac the Syrian, says in his 41st homily: “The one who has come to a realization of his sin is higher than the one who raises the dead through prayer; whoever has been able to see his own self is higher than the one who has been granted the vision of angels.” It is for the purpose of self-knowledge that we will examine the matter we have stated in the title.

Pride, and egotism, and vanity, to which we can add - haughtiness, arrogance, conceit - are all different varieties of one basic manifestation - “turning towards oneself.” Out of all these words two have the most concrete meaning: vanity and pride; according to the “Ladder” they are like youth and man, seed and bread, beginning and end.

The symptoms of vanity, this initial sin: intolerance of criticism, a thirst for praise, a search for easy paths, constant orientation upon others - what will they say? how will it appear? what will they think? Vanity sees an approaching audience from afar and makes the wrathful - affectionate, the irresponsible - serious, the distracted - concentrated, gluttons - temperate, and so on - all of this while there are observers around..

The same orientation upon an audience explains the sin of self-justification, which often creeps unnoticeably even into our confession: “I am no more sinful than the rest…. only insignificant sins…. I have not killed anyone or stolen anything.”

The demon of vanity is overjoyed, says St. John of the Ladder, seeing our virtues increase: the more successes we have, the more food for vanity. “When I keep fast, I am vain; when I hide my spiritual labors - I am vain over my piety. If I dress pleasingly, I am vain, and if I put on old clothes, I become even vainer. If I begin to speak - I am consumed by vanity, if I keep silent - I become still vainer. No matter how you turn this prickly plant - it always has its thorns sticking upward.” As soon as a kind feeling or a sincere movement arises in a man’s heart, immediately there appears a vain backward look at oneself, and thus - these most precious movements of the soul disappear, melt like snow under the sun. They melt, which means they die; which means that because of vanity the best in us dies; thus we kill ourselves with vanity and we replace a real, simple and good life with phantoms.

 Increasing vanity gives rise to pride.

Pride is supreme self-confidence, rejecting all that is not of itself, it is a source of rage, cruelty and malice, a refusal to accept God’s help, a “demonic stronghold.” It is an “iron curtain” between ourselves and God (Abba Pimen); it is an enmity towards God, the origin of all sin, it is present in every sin. Every sin constitutes a willing yielding of oneself to one’s vice, a conscious flouting of God’s law, an audacity against God, although “the one who is subject to pride is desperately in need of God, for no man can save such a one” (“The Ladder”).

Where does this vice came from? How does it begin? What does it feed on? Through what stages does it pass in its development? What are the characteristics by which one can recognize it?

The latter is particularly important, because a proud person usually does not see his sin. A wise elder once counseled one of his monastics to shun pride, but the latter, blinded by his intellect, replied: “Forgive me, father, but there is absolutely no pride in me.” The wise elder said to him: “There is no better proof of your pride, child, than such an answer!”

In any case, if a person finds it hard to ask forgiveness of others, if he is easily offended and mistrustful, if he is rancorous and judgmental of others, - all of these are undoubtedly signs of pride.

In the “Homily against pagans” of Saint Athanasius the Great there are the following words: “Men have fallen into self-desire, preferring to contemplate themselves rather than divinity.” This brief definition reveals the essence of pride: man, for whom until now the center and the object of desire was God, has turned away from Him, has fallen into “self-desire,” has come to love himself more than God, has preferred self-contemplation to divine contemplation.

In our life this turning towards “self-contemplation” and “self-desire” has become part of our nature and can often be seen in the mighty instinct for self-preservation, both in our earthly and our spiritual life.

Just as a cancerous growth often begins with a bruise or a continuous irritation of a certain spot, so the spiritual illness of pride often begins either with a sudden shock (for example, due to some calamity), or from a continuous massaging of one’s ego due to success, good fortune, the constant exhibition of one’s talents, etc.

Often you are dealing with a so-called “temperamental” individual, passionate, talented, easily fascinated. Such a person is like an erupting volcano, with his ceaseless activity preventing both God and men from getting near to him. He is full of himself, totally absorbed in himself, intoxicated with himself. He does not see or feel anything except his burning talent, from which he derives great enjoyment and satisfaction. One can hardly do anything with such people until they become played out, until the volcano becomes extinguished. Such is the danger of all talented and gifted people. Talent should be balanced by deep spirituality.

Otherwise, in reverse cases, in situations of great sorrow - there is the same result: the person becomes totally absorbed in his misfortune, in his eyes the surrounding world becomes dull and dark; he cannot think or speak of anything except his sorrow; he wallows in it, he finally holds onto it as the only thing left to him, as the only reason in life.

Often this turning towards oneself becomes developed in people who are quiet, submissive, taciturn, whose personal life had been suppressed from childhood, and this “suppressed subjectivity compensates itself by engendering a tendency towards egocentrism” (Jung, “Psychological types”) in the most diverse manifestations: quickness to take offence, mistrust, coquetry, seeking of attention, and even in the form of direct psychoses such as persecution mania, megalomania, etc.

Thus, a concentration upon oneself leads a person away from the world and from God; he becomes chipped off, so-to-speak, from the general tree trunk of world-outlook and turns into a shaving curled around an empty spot.

 The progression of the spiritual illness

Let us try to outline the major stages of the development of pride, from slight self-satisfaction to extreme spiritual darkness and total destruction.

At first it is seen as frequent attention to oneself, almost normal, accompanied by a good mood bordering on flippancy. A person is satisfied with himself, laughs a lot, whistles, hums, snaps his fingers. He likes to appear original, to amuse others with paradox and wit; he exhibits unusual tastes, is capricious in food. He willingly gives advice and amicably interferes in the affairs of others; he unconsciously manifests his exclusive interest in himself with the following phrases (interrupting the conversation): “no, let me tell you,” or “no, I know a better story,” or “I have the habit of….,” or “I usually follow the rule of….”.

At the same time he is greatly dependent on the approval of others, depending on which he either blossoms or fades and becomes sour. In general, however, at this stage his mood remains fairly bright. This form of egocentrism is usually characteristic of youth, although it is sometimes seen in adults.

Such a person is lucky if at this stage he encounters serious concerns, especially for others (marriage, a family), a job, a project. Or if he becomes entranced with religious life and, attracted by the beauty of spiritual endeavour, realizes his spiritual poverty and becomes desirous of the aid of grace. If this does not occur, the illness progresses further.

There appears in him a sincere belief in his own superiority. Often this is expressed through irrepressible verbosity. What else is verbosity if not, on the one hand, an absence of modesty, and on the other hand - a delight in one’s own self? The egoistic nature of verbosity is not lessened by instances of discussion of serious topics; a proud person can easily prose on humility and silence, can glorify fasting, can debate on the merits of good works versus prayer.

Self-assurance quickly turns into a passion for ordering others around; such a person imposes his will upon others (but is intolerant of his own will being imposed upon), takes charge of others’ attention, time, efforts, becomes impudent and obnoxious. His affairs are important, the affairs of others are of little value. He tries to do everything, interferes in everything.

At this stage the proud person’s mood begins to spoil. In his aggressiveness he naturally meets with opposition and rebuffs; he becomes irritable, stubborn, peevish; he becomes certain that no one understands him, even his spiritual father; his conflicts with the world increase and the proud person makes a final choice: “I” against others (but not yet against God).

The soul becomes dark and cold, becomes the abode of arrogance, contempt, anger, hate. The mind becomes obscured, the differentiation between good and evil becomes muddled, becomes replaced by the differentiation between “mine” and “not mine.” He escapes from all obedience, is intolerable to all segments of society; his purpose is to propagate his own views, to vanquish and shame others; he hungrily seeks fame, even notoriety, revenging himself upon the world for its lack of acknowledgment. If he is a monk - he leaves his monastery which has become intolerable to him, and seeks his own paths. Occasionally this force of self-assertion is directed towards material acquisition, a career, social and political activity; sometimes, if there is talent, it is directed towards creativity, and in such a case, through pushiness, the proud person can even achieve some measure of success. On these same grounds schisms and heresies are created.

Finally, at the last stage, the person separates from God. If previously he sinned out of mischief and mutiny, now he allows himself everything: sin no longer bothers him but becomes a habit; if he feels easy about anything at this stage, it is his easy relations with the demons and his easy access to dark paths. The state of the soul is dismal, hopeless, totally isolated, but at the same time there is a sincere conviction in the rightness of his path and a feeling of complete safety, despite the fact that he is being rushed on black wings to perdition.

 In truth, such a state of mind does not differ greatly from madness.

At this stage the proud person lives in a state of total isolation. Look at how he talks, argues: he either does not hear at all what others say to him, or hears only that which coincides with his own views; if something is said to him contrary to his opinions, he becomes angry as though he were greatly offended, and viciously refutes everything. In those around him he sees only those qualities, which he himself had imposed upon them, so that even in his praises he remains proud, self-centered, impervious to objectivity.

Characteristically the most prevalent forms of psychological illness - megalomania and persecution mania - spring directly from “increased self-awareness” and are totally unthinkable in individuals who are humble, simple and self-sacrificing. Even psychiatrists believe that paranoia is based upon an exaggerated awareness of one’s own self, a hostile attitude towards others, a loss of normal ability for adaptation, an irrationality of beliefs. A classic paranoiac never criticizes himself, in his own eyes he is always right and he is sharply dissatisfied with the people around him and with the conditions of his life.

Here is a perfect illustration of the depth of St. John of the Ladder’s determination: “Pride is extreme poverty of the soul.”

A proud man suffers defeat on all fronts:

Psychologically - anguish, gloom, barrenness.

Morally - solitude, the drying up of love, anger.

Physiologically and pathologically - nervous illness and madness.

From a theological point of view - the death of the soul preceding physical death, the experience of hell while still in this life.

In conclusion it is natural to pose a question: how to struggle against this illness, how to oppose the destruction which threatens those who follow this path? The answer springs from the essence of the question: first of all - humility; then - obedience, in increments - to loved ones, to elders, to the laws of the world, to objective truth, to beauty, to all that is good within us and around us, obedience to the law of God, and finally - obedience to the Church, its rules, its commandments, its mystic sacraments. And to achieve this - follow that which stands at the beginning of the Christian path: “Whosoever wishes to follow Me, must renounce himself.”

Renounce himself…. and must continue renouncing himself every day; every day a person must take upon himself his cross - a cross of enduring affronts, placing oneself last, suffering sorrows and illnesses, silently accepting abuse, offering total and unconditional obedience - immediate, voluntary, joyous, fearless, constant obedience.

And then the path into the kingdom of peace and profoundest wisdom, which destroys all passions, shall become open to him.

Glory be to our God, Who opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble!

Protopriest Alezxander Elchaninov.

Beware of Teaching Children Pride...

Most of us parents are very proud of our children.  We are continually reinforcing their accomplishments with praise and telling them how wonderful they are.  But is this healthy for them?  This is a question that surely will draw much discussion and differing viewpoints.
Here is what Elder Paisios has to say,

 

Many parents, thinking they dearly love their children, end up destroying them without realizing it.  For example, a mother, who excessively loves her daughter, tells her while holding her in her arms: "I have the best child in the world."  Therefore, from a very young age (when a child is unable to realize it and react against it) the child acquires a haughty mind-set and believes she is a nice person.  As a result, she is unable to sense the lack of God's presence and his benevolent power in her life and of course, cannot learn to ask for Him.  Consequently, she develops a self-confidence as stiff as marble, which often never goes away, since, as the time goes by, it becomes very difficult to get rid of it.

The challenge of a parent is to help their child develop a healthy self-esteem which includes humility, while teaching them that all comes from God.  Truly, we are all God's children and everything we have and can do comes from Him.  It is important to remember to thank Him for the gifts He gives us and our ability to develop and apply them.  Pride develops when we think our accomplishments are all our doing or that we are inherently better than others.

How about the extreme emphasis on sports and it competitiveness?  A recent survey showed that those who participate in the major sports of baseball, basketball or football are more likely to cheat in school.  These activities which emphasize personal accomplishment independent of God can lead our children away from God making it more difficult for them in later life to repent and come closer to God.

We as parents have an awesome responsibly.  First we have to develop humility ourselves.

Elder Paisios says,

 

Parents must look after their spiritual life, because apart from themselves, they are also responsible for their children.  Of course, they have the excuse of having inherited their negative traits from their own parents; they have no excuse, however, for not trying to get rid of them, once they become aware of their existence.

Work continually on your own relationship with God and you will continually become a better parent.

 

Source

Elder Arsenie of Romania- On Getting rid of one's pride

A hideous and impure passion! All evil catches a fish in this murky water! God does not even want to hear about a proud person! He takes all grace away from him, so that he might stumble—maybe then he will become humble, as the Scripture says (cf. 1 Pet. 5:5).

He abandons him, and that person becomes a great abomination; He takes from him all sense of beauty, leaves him to roam around in chaos, in all manner of filthy back alleys of the world. He has no image, or likeness, or healthy reason. The holy fathers say truly, “Wherever there was a fall, pride first did its work.” No other passion will liken you to a devil like pride.
 

All passions can, let’s say, be excused due to nature and bad life circumstances; but pride cannot be justified by anything! It has an unbearable insolence—it attaches itself to any virtue if it can, and it even hides behind humility, which serves as its shield. We see this very often, and to prove what I am saying, it is as one father said: “That proud one is so humble!”

Because it is so dangerous and so broadly present in all ages and ranks, it would be good if no one would disdain any person, no matter how unimportant he may be—for Christ is within him—and would even ask his opinion, even if it is for a lark. This would be the first step, one length along the path of the Gospels.

It would be good to ask everyone’s opinion, no matter who you are; for who knows? After all, God’s grace rests more often upon the simple and unnoticed. Make a prostration, as they say, if only for the sake of humbling the body—for this also shows good manners—and you will see how much you need these people with whom God has assigned you to live. You will see, and will be convinced in life that wisdom really does abide more in places where there is humility—for God is there.

Lucifer fell irreparably; his grandiose fall happened due to one word only: “I”. Having fallen, he became an adversary for eternity, an abomination of desolation. Let no one be deceived, thinking that without true purification in the only water of humility he can enter into the Kingdom from which the angels fell!

These are, in brief, my thoughts and exhortations about this, so that one might realize that God created us beautiful only for Himself!

~Elder Arsenie of Romania

-Saint John Of Kronstadt-On Pride

Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and gave life to the fallen. O abyss of humility! Adam and Eve lost themselves through gluttony, the Lord fasted and died for them, in order to give them life. They were disobedient, Christ fulfilled obedience.

Excerpts from the diary of St. John of KronstadtOn Pride

We are invited to join the company of the cherubim, seraphim, thrones, dominations, angels, and archangels — to take the places of the proud, fallen spirits. These grew proud and said within themselves to God: How wilt Thou repair our loss, which is unbearable, and felt by Thee, as the Most Wise, Who dost not suffer any want nor any discordance in Thy world? And the Lord, in answer to this, and to the humiliation of the Devil, was pleased to create man out of the earth, and to fill the loss in the angelic world, occasioned by the fall of the proud spirits, by earthly beings; and this infinite shame forms the infinitely great punishment of the proud spirits, and therefore they make use of all their infernal powers for the destruction of man. In order to show His great love, and for the greater shame of the Devil, the Lord took upon Himself the earthly body of man, in order to rescue him from the power of the Devil.

Would a beggar, who is fed upon crumbs from his master's table, be proud of being fed upon his crumbs? What is there for him to be proud of? Of his poverty? The beggar is myself, the master is the Lord; the crumbs from His table are all beneficial and natural gifts.

When you are slandered, and therefore grow disturbed and sick at heart, it shows that pride is in you, and that it must be wounded and driven out by outward dishonour. Therefore do not be irritated by derision, and do not bear malice against those who hate you and slander you, but love them as your physicians, whom God has sent you to instruct you and to teach you humility, and pray to God for them. "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you."[131] Say to yourself, "It is not me that they slander, but my evil passions; not me that they strike, but that viper which nestles in my heart, and smarts when anybody speaks ill of it. I will comfort myself with the thought that, perhaps, these good people will drive it from my heart by their caustic words, and my heart will then cease to ache. "Therefore, thank God for outward dishonour: those who endure dishonour here will not be subjected to it in the next world." She hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins."[132] "Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou also hast wrought all our works for us."[133]

Keep a strict watch against every appearance of pride: it appears imperceptibly, particularly in time of vexation and irritability against others for quite unimportant causes.

 When the foolish thought of counting up any of your good works enters into your head, immediately correct your fault and rather count up your sins, your continual and innumerable offences against the All-merciful and Righteous Master, and you will find that their number is as the sand of the sea, whilst your virtues in comparison with them are as nothing.

Irritability of temper proceeds from want of self-knowledge, from pride, and also from the fact that we do not consider the great corruption of our nature, and know but little the meek and humble Jesus.

A proud man, at the time when other people are speaking of any other person's virtues, is wickedly afraid lest this person should be superior to him in virtues, and should eclipse him, for the proud man considers himself above all, and does not think it possible to find similar or higher virtues in others. The rivalry of others is a great misfortune to him.

Take away from each one the visible thing which he loves above all; ask or take away money from the covetous, dainty food from the glutton, his prerogatives from the ambitious and proud man, call him by an evil name, and you will see what constitutes the hope of each one, what treasure, what passion is his! O, what shameful passions one sometimes meets with!

In the present time learned men have erected, and are erecting, an enormous idol, and command all to worship it, worshipping it themselves also. This idol is the literature of denial, the impure spirit moving us, the proud, impious, unbelieving intellect. The Devil is cunning, O how cunning! He has invented even in Christianity a refined idolatry, corresponding with the direction and spirit of the age and with the degree of its mental development. What an evil, crafty being! How he perverts poor humanity that has withdrawn itself from hearty faith in Christ! How powerfully he draws men into hell by means of ropes woven by the men themselves! My God! my God! He destroys us by means of our own intellect, which ought to lead us to the eternal, living God! With our own ladles he draws for us the deadly water of worldly, elementary, and vain wisdom, and gives us and other men to drink of it, instead of the living water of the Word of God! And we drink and drink of it, without suspecting that it is the water of death.

When we speak of the God of glory, of His will, of His law, then we must entirely forget our own glory and be completely absorbed in the contemplation of the glory of God or of His most wise, all-gracious will. At such times we should not think of our own imperfections, which the Devil puts into our mind and feeling in order to lower us in our own eyes and to plunge us into false shame, despondence, and despair. We must remember that there is no perfection in anything upon earth, nor in any earthly glory: " For we know in part, and we prophesy [preach] in part."[863] And he who is ashamed and blushes for his imperfection is ashamed of a phantom, appearing to him in his own imagination, and is proud of his imaginary perfections.

Being covetous, sensual, and proud, we often look contemptuously upon them, cry out at them — the meek lambs — get out of temper, not wishing to understand that hunger, want of clothes, boots, urgent demand for the rent of their miserable lodgings, force them to beg importunately of us. Is it not they that cry unto the Lord against us in the words of the prophet David: "Our soul is filled with the scornful reproof of the wealthy, and with the despitefulness of the proud"? [695] And certainly, sooner or later, the voice of their complaint shall reach heaven.

"Every valley" and dale "shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight . . . and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."[560] The valley and dale are humble hearts. The mountain and hill shall be brought low — that is, proud men who think highly of themselves, and despise the lowly and humble. So it is: the Lord unceasingly acts through the spirit of righteousness and mercy in the hearts of men, humbling the proud by various worldly circumstances — by maladies, losses, humiliations from other people, and exalting the humble.

Man, in his present state, is wholly permeated with pride, wickedness, unbelief, doubt, incredulity, disobedience, heedlessness, malice, fornication, envy, covetousness, avarice, slothfulness, sometimes cowardice, despondency, theft, falsehood, and blasphemy. What a great labour lies before every Christian man to cleanse himself from all the impurity and corruption of the passions!

Grant, Lord, that I may ever love each of my neighbours as myself, and not be angry with them for any cause, and not serve the Devil in this way. Grant that I may crucify my self-love, pride, covetousness, incredulity, and other passions.

When a man is about to pray, he must humble his proud heart, must cast away earthly vanity from it, and must bring into it living and undoubting faith.

Pride is of the demon; malice is of the same demon; envy of the same demon; the abomination of fornication is of the same demon; enforced blasphemy, of the same demon; enforced doubt in the truth, of the same demon; despondency, of the same demon; the passions are various, but the same Satan acts in all of them; the passions are various, but they are, all together — the barking of the same Satan, only in different tunes; and the man, when subjected to them, is one and the same spirit with Satan. When you are subjected to the malicious and furious violence of the passions, and to the harassments of the Devil, during the fulfilment of various works for God, accept these sufferings as sufferings for the name of Christ, and rejoice in your sufferings, thanking God; for the Devil is preparing for you, without knowing it himself, the most shining crowns from the Lord! Amen. We must absolutely resist the Devil.

There is absolutely nothing for a Christian to be proud of in accomplishing works of righteousness, for he is saved, and is being constantly saved, from every evil through faith alone, in the same manner as he accomplishes works of righteousness also by the same faith. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that (faith itself) not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast."[533] So that no one can be proud of anything.

From what do blasphemy and contempt of the spiritual Word proceed? From the pride of our heart; from the presumption and satiety of our intellect.

When we hear anything bad said of anyone, then, inwardly comparing him with ourselves, we say in our heart: "I am not such; I am perfection in comparison to him," and thinking thus of ourselves and inwardly judging others, we are delighted at our superiority over others. This is the pride of Satan; this is the stench of the carnal, sinful man. May such thoughts flee from the soul! Let us consider ourselves as the worst of all men! Let us sigh when we hear anything bad said of anyone, and say to ourselves: "We are worse, a hundred times more sinful, than this man," and let us pray from our whole soul for the convicted brother.

The evil spirits fell through pride and malice: there is a lesson for all men in this; that is, to humble themselves before their Creator, to consider themselves as nothing, to ascribe everything to the Creator, and to live solely by the Creator and by fulfilling His will. And — how wonderful are Thy works, Lord! — that which Satan was not able and did not desire to attain, with all his wisdom, was attained by the Virgin from a perishable but spiritually immortal race; the most holy Virgin Mary attained unexampled humility, attained the highest holiness. "Hail, Thou that art highly favoured: the Lord is with Thee."[737] "For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden."[738] Likewise, all of us being of ourselves mere littleness, must constantly and deeply humble ourselves before the Creator, having recourse in everything to His mercy.

On the manifestation of the pride of Satan in men. — Pride generally shows itself chiefly in the fact that the man who is infected with it makes himself equal to all, or at any rate to many, who are his superiors in age, power, abilities, and cannot bear to be considered beneath them. If a proud man is a subordinate, he does not respect his chief as he ought, does not like to salute him, does not respect his orders, but fulfils them unwillingly, only out of fear. He makes himself equal to all educated people, and does not acknowledge anyone's superiority over himself, or only acknowledges the superiority of a very, very few indeed. If he is a learned or even an unlearned son, he does not pay due respect to his parents and benefactors, especially those who are simple and rough, considering them equal to or even lower than himself. You must take the utmost care not to compare yourself with others in any respect, but always to put yourself below others, although you may really be better or equal to others in some respects. Everything good in us comes from God and is not our own. " And that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."[860] "All these worketh that One and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will."[861] And how can we be proud of the good that does not belong to us and equal ourselves to those who have been placed by God and general confidence higher than us? "Therefore, sit not down in the highest room, lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden. For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and He that humbleth himself shall be exalted."[862]

 Value highly, and always preserve Christian meekness and kindness, mutual peace and love, crushing by every possible means the impulses of self-love, malice, irritability, and disturbance. Do not be disturbed and angered, when anybody tells you a falsehood to your face, or claims any unjust pretension, or speaks offensively, or boldly detects any of your weaknesses or passions, the wrongfulness of which, through your self-love, you did not suspect. Always first coolly reflect over what your opponent says to you, as well as over your own words and conduct, and, if, upon an entirely impartial consideration of your words and actions, you find them just, then let your conscience be at rest, and do not heed the words of your adversary, either remaining silent before him, or showing him his error quietly, gently, in all kindness of heart; but should you find yourself guilty of that, which your adversary detects in you, then, putting aside self-love and pride, ask pardon for your fault, and endeavour to correct yourself in future. We are often angry with straightforward, frank people for openly disclosing our iniquities. We ought to value such people, and forgive them, if by their bold speaking they break down our self-love. They are, in a moral sense, the surgeons who cut off, with a sharp word, the rottenness of the heart, and through arousing our self-love, they awaken, in the soul deadened by sin, a consciousness of sin and a vital reaction.

A malicious, proud man is ready to see only malice and pride in others, and is glad when any of his acquaintances, especially those who live happily and richly, but are not dear to his soul, are badly spoken of by others; and the worse they are spoken of the more he rejoices that others are bad, while he himself is perfection in comparison to them; and he is ready to perceive only evil in them, and to compare them to demons. O, malice! O, pride! O, want of love! No, you must seek, even in the malicious man, something good, and rejoice at this good, and speak joyfully of his good qualities. There is nobody in whom there is not some good; cover the evil that is in him with good, and pray to God for him, that God may "make the evil be good in His benevolence."[748] Do not be an abyss of evil yourself.

Our self-love and pride manifest themselves especially in impatience and irritability when some of us cannot bear the slightest unpleasantness intentionally, or even unintentionally, caused us by others; or obstacles lawfully or unlawfully, intentionally or unintentionally, opposed to us by men, or caused by the objects surrounding us. Our self-love and pride would like everything to be as we wish, that we should be surrounded by every honour and comfort of this temporal life; would like all men, and even — how far is pride carried! — all nature itself, to speedily and silently obey a sign from us; whilst, alas! we ourselves are very slow to faith and to every good work — slow to please the one Master of all. Christian! you must absolutely be humble, meek, and long-suffering, remembering that you are clay, dust, nothingness; that you are impure; that everything good that you have is from God; that your life, your breath and everything you possess are God's gifts; that for your sins of disobedience and intemperance you ought now to redeem your future blessedness in Paradise by the long-suffering which is indispensable in this world of imperfections and innumerable transgressions of the fallen men living together with us, and forming the numerous members of the one sin-sullied human race." Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."[453] He who is impatient and irritable does not know himself and the human race, and is unworthy of the name of Christian. In saying this, I pronounce judgment against myself, for I am the first of those who are afflicted with impatience and irritability.

In order to rule others, we must first learn to rule ourselves; in order to teach others, we must acquire knowledge ourselves. If I do not know how to control myself, if there is not in me the spirit of self-command, the spirit of meekness, holiness, love and righteousness, then I am a bad director. If I am the sport of every kind of passion, it is better for me not to undertake to rule others, so as not to do greater harm than good, both to myself and to them.

Should thoughts of self-praise, of self-satisfaction, occur to you, say: "I myself am nothing; all that is good in me is accomplished by the grace of God." "What hast thou that thou didst not receive?"[675] "Without Me ye can do nothing."[676] Should the thought of despising any of your neighbours, or of your family occur to you, say: "The entire man is the beautiful work of God's hands; everything in him is very well ordered." For "it was very good."[677]

"Glory to Thee, most Holy, consubstantial, life-giving, and undivided Trinity."[871] Most Holy Trinity! teach me how to despise all earthly things, teach me to lay my peace, satisfaction, and blessedness in Thee alone! And in order that I may not be puffed up on account of the merciful attention of the most Holy Trinity to me, and of the salvation granted unto me, may I remember that the Holy Trinity is mercifully attentive to every worm, to every little bird! Let me also remember that some Christians who have done many mighty works in the name of God will some day hear from the Lord the words: " Depart from Me, I know you not,"[872] on account of their un-evangelical life. Most Holy Trinity! preserve me from pride, and teach me humility! Thou hearest me and savest me, mercifully and speedily, I may become proud through such mercy. I may turn Thine infinite goodness and mercy into a pretext for self-praise, as though I myself were worthy of such attention, as though I had done some good. Protect me, most Merciful Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, "under the cover of Thy wings," from every sin.

Spiritual pride also manifests itself by insensibility to our sins, by the Pharisee's self-justification and self-praise, by insensibility to God's mercies, by ingratitude to God for all that is good, by not feeling the need of praising God's greatness. All those who do not pray to the Almighty God, "to the God of all spirits and of all flesh,"[1069] to their Life, do not pray by the reason of their secret pride.

Watch your heart during all your life — examine it, listen to it, and see what prevents its union with the most blessed Lord. Let this be for you the science of all sciences, and with God's help you will easily observe what estranges you from God, and what draws you towards Him and unites you to Him. It is the evil spirit more than anything that stands between our hearts and God; he estranges God from us by various passions, or by the desires of the flesh, by the desires of the eyes, and by worldly pride.

It is for this reason that we see that sinners very often do not even think of their conversion, and do not consider themselves to be great sinners, because their eyes are blinded by their self-love and pride. And if they do consider themselves sinners, then they give themselves up to the most terrible despair, which overwhelms their mind with thick darkness and greatly hardens their heart.

If you wish to correct anyone from his faults, do not think of correcting him solely by your own means: you would only do harm by your own passions, for instance, by pride and by the irritability arising from it; "but cast thy burden upon the Lord,"[75] and pray to God "Who trieth the hearts and reins,"[76] with all your heart, that He Himself may enlighten the mind and heart of that man. If He sees that your prayer breathes love, and that it really comes from the depth of your heart, He will infallibly fulfil the desire of your heart, and you yourself will soon tell, seeing the change that has taken place in him for whom you have prayed, that it is the work of "the right hand of God, the most High."[77]

When you see faults and passions in your neighbour, pray for him; pray for everybody, even for your enemy. If you see that your brother is proud and stubborn, and behaves proudly either to you or others, pray for him, that God may enlighten his mind and warm his heart with the fire of His grace, and say: "Lord, teach meekness and humility to Thy servant, who has fallen into Satan's pride, and drive from his heart the darkness and burden of the evil one's pride."

This is why Christ, the Saviour, and the Christian religion command everyone to have that meekness and humility which do not allow the spirits of evil and pride, seeking the death of all and each one, to work in the hearts of true Christians. The Lord says: "Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart."[241] The wrath of man is a terrible unnatural phenomenon in a man; it is often aroused in the heart by the most unimportant causes — mostly through the self-love or pride concealed in our heart. We must remember that "The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." (James i. 20.)

You do not want to pray for the man whom you hate and despise; but you must do so against your wish, and have recourse to the great Physician, because you yourself are spiritually sick of the malady of malice and pride; your enemy or the one whom you despise is also sick; pray that the meek Lord may teach you meekness and patience, that He may teach and strengthen you to love your enemies, and not only your well-wishers; that He may teach you to pray sincerely for the evilly-disposed as well as for the well-disposed.

Be as kind, meek, humble, and simple as possible in your intercourse with all, considering yourself not hypocritically inferior to all in respect to your spiritual condition; that is, more sinful and weaker than all. Say to yourself, "Of all sinners I am the first." From pride proceeds self-sufficiency, coldness, and insincerity in our behaviour to our inferiors, or to those from whom we do not expect to obtain any advantage.

Humility destroys all the snares of the enemy. Ah! how much secret pride there is in us. This, we say, I know; this I do not need; this is not for me; this is superfluous; in that I am not a sinner. How much sophistry of our own!

Look upon a spiteful, proud, presumptuous man as you would upon the wind, and do not be offended at his malice, pride, and presumption, but be calm in yourself. The enemy purposely irritates you, kindling the fire of the human passions, or arousing in your heart various suspicions of an evil nature and imaginary fancies.

He who is infected by pride is inclined to show contempt for everything, even for holy and Divine objects: pride mentally destroys or defiles every good thought, word, act, every creation of God. It is the deadly breathing of Satan.

It is the evil spirit more than anything that stands between our hearts and God; he estranges God from us by various passions, or by the desires of the flesh, by the desires of the eyes, and by worldly pride.

During prayer, and when reading God's Word, we must reverence every thought, every word, as the Spirit of God Himself, the Spirit of Truth. We must extirpate doubt and contempt for the Word as a poison of the spirit of falsehood; and as doubt and contempt are the fruits of self-conceit and pride, we must eradicate pride, and be like infants, lisping in their simplicity before God — like infants, who know and say only that which their parents have taught them, and who do not hear or know any suggestions different to those of their parents, and do not even wish to listen to or know them.

 Do not be vexed with those who show pride, or malice, effeminacy, and impatience in their intercourse with you or others, but, remembering that you yourself are subject to the same and greater sins and passions, pray for them and be meek with them. "If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens [if anybody has offended you, and it is hard for you, bear this], and so fulfil the law of Christ."[685]

You do not want to pray for the man whom you hate and despise; but you must do so against your wish, and have recourse to the great Physician, because you yourself are spiritually sick of the malady of malice and pride; your enemy or the one whom you despise is also sick; pray that the meek Lord may teach you meekness and patience, that He may teach and strengthen you to love your enemies, and not only your well-wishers; that He may teach you to pray sincerely for the evilly-disposed as well as for the well-disposed.

The kingdom of life and the kingdom of death go side by side. I say go, because they are spiritual. The Chief of the first — that is, of the kingdom of life — is Jesus Christ, and those who are with Christ are undoubtedly in the kingdom of life; the chief of the second — that is, of the kingdom of death — is the prince of the powers of the air — the Devil, with the spirits of evil subject to him, of which there are so many that their number far exceeds the number of all men dwelling upon earth. These children of death, the subjects of the prince of the air, are in constant stubborn warfare with the children of life — that is, with faithful Christians — and strive by every crafty means to win them over to their side, through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, because sin and crime are their elements, and through sins, if we do not repent of them, we pass over to their side; whilst those to whom sins form as though an every-day requirement, who drink in iniquity like water, are not disturbed by the spirits of evil, because they already belong to them as long as they live carelessly in regard to their souls. But as soon as they turn to God, acknowledging their sins, both voluntary and involuntary, the war bursts forth, and the hordes of Satan rise up and carry on an unceasing fight. You see by this how necessary it is to seek Christ, as the Chief of the kingdom of life, and the Conqueror of hell and death.

Is the fact of a man's character or temper not agreeing with ours, of his not showing much indulgence to our pride and in general to our passions, of his not having the same disposition of spirit as ours, a reason for us to hate him? Has not everybody his own freewill, his own character, temperament, habits, passions, and ways? Ought we not to be indulgent to everyone, to respect everyone's personal freedom, which even the Lord Himself does not violate?

Grant, Lord, that I may ever love each of my neighbours as myself, and not be angry with them for any cause, and not serve the Devil in this way. Grant that I may crucify my self-love, pride, covetousness, incredulity, and other passions.

 Pride is of the demon; malice is of the same demon; envy of the same demon; the abomination of fornication is of the same demon; enforced blasphemy, of the same demon; enforced doubt in the truth, of the same demon; despondency, of the same demon; the passions are various, but the same Satan acts in all of them; the passions are various, but they are, all together — the barking of the same Satan, only in different tunes; and the man, when subjected to them, is one and the same spirit with Satan. When you are subjected to the malicious and furious violence of the passions, and to the harassments of the Devil, during the fulfilment of various works for God, accept these sufferings as sufferings for the name of Christ, and rejoice in your sufferings, thanking God; for the Devil is preparing for you, without knowing it himself, the most shining crowns from the Lord! Amen. We must absolutely resist the Devil.

Spiritual pride manifests itself by the fact that a proud man dares to make himself a judge of religion and of the Church, and says: " I do not believe in this, and I do not acknowledge this; this I find superfluous, that unnecessary, and this strange or absurd." Spiritual pride also manifests itself in boastfulness, in the proud man's pretended knowledge of everything, whilst in reality he knows very little or his spiritual eyes are entirely blind. "That is not worth reading," he says; " it is all well known; these sermons are not worth reading; they contain the one same thing which I already know.'' Human pride also manifests itself to a great extent when an ordinary mortal dares to compare himself with God's saints, and does not see their great and wonderful perfections acquired by their own exploits, with the assistance of the grace of God; perfections which God Himself has crowned and glorified in them. Such a man says: " Why should I reverence them, and especially why should I pray to them; they are men like me; I pray to God alone?" And he does not consider that God Himself commanded us to ask the prayers of the righteous for ourselves. " For him will I accept."[1068]

 Our Lord Jesus Christ's purpose for us is to drive away from our hearts falsehood (flattery), pride, and diabolical malice, and to implant in the place of these His truth, love, meekness, and humility.

 When we hear anything bad said of anyone, then, inwardly comparing him with ourselves, we say in our heart: "I am not such; I am perfection in comparison to him," and thinking thus of ourselves and inwardly judging others, we are delighted at our superiority over others. This is the pride of Satan; this is the stench of the carnal, sinful man. May such thoughts flee from the soul! Let us consider ourselves as the worst of all men! Let us sigh when we hear anything bad said of anyone, and say to ourselves: " We are worse, a hundred times more sinful, than this man," and let us pray from our whole soul for the convicted brother.

 You do not receive from God what you ask Him, because you do not put aside the abomination of idolatry: the service of your belly. You pray to the true God, but you serve the god belly. "No man can serve two masters."[1153] Cease to serve the idol, the belly, and then trust to receive from God that which you ask Him. Else you pray to the true God and serve a false God. Ask Him if He can give you what you ask. Or you serve the demon of extortion, and therefore the true God, Whom you neglect and forsake, does not fulfil your prayers. Or else you serve the idol of pride and vanity, and this idol takes possession of your heart as other idols do, and therefore the Lord does not listen to the prayers of an idolatrous heart. "They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and hewn them out cisterns, broken cisterns"[1154] ; well, then, drink out of these cisterns — dead, dark water. "Dark water and thick cloud."[1155]

 Spiritual pride also manifests itself by insensibility to our sins, by the Pharisee's self-justification and self-praise, by insensibility to God's mercies, by ingratitude to God for all that is good, by not feeling the need of praising God's greatness. All those who do not pray to the Almighty God, "to the God of all spirits and of all flesh,"[1069] to their Life, do not pray by the reason of their secret pride.

Strive to do everything in opposition to that which the bodiless enemy wishes you to do. He incites you to pride, to self-glorification, and to judging your brother — you must humble yourself to the ground and ashes, judge yourself as severely as possible, and praise your brother in your heart. Should your brother, through the action of the enemy, behave proudly and maliciously to you — you must behave humbly and lovingly to him.

Do not be dead at heart, do not let your heart incline to slothfulness, to spiritual sleep, and to hardened unfeelingness; otherwise woe to you, when its disposition is such during God's service, which requires labour both of heart and mind. Uproot from your heart, by every means, both bodily and spiritual pride, which resists the Holy Spirit; it lies imperceptibly hidden in your heart, and clearly shows itself in your intercourse with your fellow-men, or during prayer.

 On the manifestation of the pride of Satan in men. — Pride generally shows itself chiefly in the fact that the man who is infected with it makes himself equal to all, or at any rate to many, who are his superiors in age, power, abilities, and cannot bear to be considered beneath them. If a proud man is a subordinate, he does not respect his chief as he ought, does not like to salute him, does not respect his orders, but fulfils them unwillingly, only out of fear. He makes himself equal to all educated people, and does not acknowledge anyone's superiority over himself, or only acknowledges the superiority of a very, very few indeed. If he is a learned or even an unlearned son, he does not pay due respect to his parents and benefactors, especially those who are simple and rough, considering them equal to or even lower than himself. You must take the utmost care not to compare yourself with others in any respect, but always to put yourself below others, although you may really be better or equal to others in some respects. Everything good in us comes from God and is not our own. " And that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."[860] "All these worketh that One and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will."[861] And how can we be proud of the good that does not belong to us and equal ourselves to those who have been placed by God and general confidence higher than us? "Therefore, sit not down in the highest room, lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden. For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and He that humbleth himself shall be exalted."[862]

When reading certain truths, do not say: "This is not new; this I know; I said this myself also." All this is diabolical pride. Such a frame of mind savours of the following sophistry: "I know everything, good and evil." It almost signifies: " I am omniscient." And many people do not read sermons and religious books because they think that they know all that is written there — that all that is written there is a repetition of what has been known to them long ago; whilst worldly books, in which, indeed, there is always the one same empty worldly vanity, they read willingly, and sometimes several times over. O, impure flies that feed upon carrion!

The Word of the Lord is deed, life, being. From Him Who exists comes existence; from the Life, life; from the Truth, truth; whilst from the Devil, who fell through his illusive pride, who wished to appropriate to himself the impossible, and who fell away from life and truth, come illusion, falsehood, and death from death.

How can the love of God, the kingdom of heaven, be in you when in your heart reigns earthly love — sensuality, cupidity, and pride? It is impossible, until you have "crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts;"[691] "for no man can serve two masters;"[692] and "whosoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."[693] "Love not," it is said, " the world, neither the things that are in the world... For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father... And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."[694]

Every man on earth is sick with the fever of sin, with the blindness of sin, is overcome by the fury of sin; and as sins mostly consist in malice and pride, it is necessary to treat everyone who suffers from the malady of sin with kindness and love. This is an important truth, which we often forget. We often, very often, act in opposition to this truth; we add malice to malice by our anger, we oppose pride to pride. Thus, evil grows within us and does not decrease; it is not cured, but rather spreads. Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon mankind!

The Christian has no reason to have in his heart any ill-feeling whatever against anyone — such ill-feeling, like every other evil, is the work of the Devil; the Christian must only have love in his heart; and as love cannot think of evil, he cannot have any ill-feeling against others. For instance, I must not think that anyone else is evil or proud without having positive reasons to think so, or I must not think that it will make him proud if I show him respect, or that if I forgive him he will again offend me and will mock at me. We must not let evil in any form nestle in our heart; but evil generally appears in too many forms.

We draw near to God mostly in time of affliction, from which no one can save us but God, to Whom we then turn with our whole heart, and thus approach Him sincerely; whilst we go far from God in times of ease and abundance of earthly blessings, which make the old carnal man proud of himself, and — especially when he thirsts for riches, glory and distinction, and has attained all these — he loses faith from his heart and forgets God, his Judge and Recompenser, forgets the immortality of his soul, and his duty to love God with all his heart and his neighbour as himself.

The insensibility of the heart during prayer to the truth of the words of the prayer, proceeds from the heart's unbelief and insensibility, of its sinfulness, and these, in their turn, emanate from a secret feeling of pride. In accordance with the measure of his feelings during prayer a man recognises whether he is proud or humble; the more feeling the more ardent the prayer is, the more humble he is; whilst the more unfeeling and cold it is, the prouder he is.

When reprimanding your subordinates for their faults, care fully restrain yourself from anger, irritation, and disturbance, and be gentle, full of love, dignified and quiet. If the subordinate you have to correct takes offence, gently observe to him that you have no intention of offending and irritating him, that you sincerely wish him well, and that he should be orderly in his work, and that it is not him that you are annoyed with, but the disorder that he occasions. Do not offend his pride and dignity by exalting yourself in his eyes and lowering him. If you have this weakness (pride) yourself, better leave the correction of another and first cure yourself: "First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."[1323] In the opposite case you will only irritate your brother, and not do him any moral good. Be gentle and indulgent to others when you hear of their faults, remembering that you, too, have similar or greater faults. You reprove another, for instance, for drunkenness; but if you drink yourself, or even if you do not drink, but indulge yourself with dainties, are given to gluttony, surfeiting, then you sin as much as he does. Correct yourself of your gluttony, and then you will be able to speak strongly against drunkenness in others. You accuse another of negligence in his service, but perhaps you yourself are also negligent. " Physician, heal thyself."[1324]

 Footnotes

[75] Psalm lv. 22.
[76] Psalm vii. 9.
[77] Psalm lxxvii. 10.
[131] St. Matthew v. 44.
[132] Isaiah xl. 2.
[133] Isaiah xxvi. 12.
[241] St. Matthew xi. 29.
[453] Galatians vi. 2.
[533] Ephesians ii. 8, 9.
[560] St. Luke iii. 5, 6.
[675] 1 Corinthians iv. 7.
[676] St. John xv. 5.
[677] Genesis i. 31.
[685] Galatians vi. 1, 2.
[691] Galatians v. 24.
[694] 1 John ii. 15-17.
[695] Psalm cxxiii. 4.
[737] St. Luke i. 28.
[738] St. Luke i. 48.
[748] From the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.
[860] Ephesians ii. 8, 9.
[861] 1 Corinthians xii. 4, 11.
[862] St. Luke xiv. 8; xviii. 14.
[863] 1 Corinthians xiii. 9.
[871] Exclamation at the beginning of Matins.
[872] St. Matthew vii. 23; xxv. 12.
[1068] Job xlii. 8.
[1069] Prayer from the Office for the Burial of the Dead.
[1153] St. Matthew vi. 24.
[1154] Jeremiah ii. 13.
[1155] Psalm xviii. 11.
[1323] St. Matthew vii. 5.
[1324] Luke iv. 23.


Excerpts compiled from: My Life in Christ or Moments of Spiritual Serenity and Contemplation, of Reverent Feeling, of Earnest Self-Amendment, and of Peace in God, St. John of Kronstadt.

St.Nikodemos The Hagiorite-Our severe judgment of others comes from a high opinion of ourselves and the instigation of the devil. How to overcome this tendency

Saint Nikodemos The Hagiorite

 

 Unseen Warfare

Self-love and high opinion of ourselves give birth in us to yet another evil which does us grievous harm; namely, severe judgment and condemnation of our neighbours, when we regard them as nothing, despise them and, if an occasion offers) humiliate them.
This evil habit or vice, being born of pride, feeds and grows on pride; and in turn feeds pride and makes it grow. For every time we pass judgment our pride takes a step forward, through the accompanying effect of self-importance and self-gratification.

Since we value and think of ourselves so highly, we naturally look at others from on high, judge and despise them, for we seem to ourselves far removed from such faults as we think others possess. And here, seeing our evil disposition, our ever-wicked enemy stands by watchfully and, opening our eyes, teaches us to keep a sharp watch for what others say and do. From these observations he makes us draw conclusions as to their thoughts and feelings; and, on these suppositions, form an opinion of them, generally not good, exaggerating this supposed defect into a deep-rooted feature. These judges do not see and realise that the very origin of their judgment, the suspicion of wrong in others, is impressed on the mind by the action of the enemy, and then fanned by him into a conviction that they are actually such, although it is not so at all.
So, brother, since the enemy watches you constantly, waiting for an opportunity to sow evil in you, be doubly watchful over yourself, lest you fall into the nets spread for you. As soon as he shows you some fault in your neighbour, hasten to repel this thought, lest it take root in you and grow. Cast it out, so that no trace is left in you, and replace it by the thought of the good qualities you know your neighbour to possess, or of those people generally should have. If you still feel the impulse to pass
judgment, add to this the truth, that you are given no authority for this and that the moment you assume this authority you thereby make yourself worthy of judgment and condemnation, not before powerless men, but before God, the all-powerful Judge of all.
This reversal of thoughts is the strongest means, not only for repelling accidental critical thoughts, but also for completely freeing yourself of this vice. The second method, equally very strong, is never to let go from your mind the memory of your own wickedness, your unclean and evil passions and actions, and correspondingly to hold on to the constant realisation of your own unworthiness. 

You will certainly find in yourself no small number of such passions and passionate actions. If you have not given up and shrugged your shoulders, saying: ‘Come what may”, you cannot help caring about finding a cure for these ills, which are killing you. But if you act sincerely in this, you should have no time free to concern yourself in the affairs of others and to pass sentence on them. 

For then, if you let yourself do this, the sayings will keep ringing in your ears: “Physician, heal thyself” (Luke iv. 23). “First cast out the beam out of thine own eye” (Matt. vii. 5).
Moreover, when you judge severely some wrong action of your neighbour, you must know that a small root of the same wickedness is also in your own heart, which, by its passionate nature, teaches you to make suppositions about others and to judge them. “An evil man out of the evil treasure” (of the heart) “bringeth forth evil things ‘ (Matt. xii. 35). But an eye, that is pure and without passion, looks too without passion on the actions of others, and not with evil. “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil” (Habakkuk i. 13). 

Therefore when the thought comes to condemn another man for some fault, be indignant with yourself as a perpetrator of the same actions and guilty of the same fault; and say in your heart: ‘ Unworthy as I am, how can I raise my head to see the faults of others and accuse them, when I am submerged in the same sin and my trespasses are even greater?’ By doing this you will turn against yourself the weapon, which evil thought urges you to use against another; and instead of wounding your brother you will put plasters on your own wounds.
If the sin of your brother is not hidden but obvious to everyone, try to see its cause, not in what the wicked passion for judging suggests, but in what a brotherly feeling towards him may indicate, and say to yourself: since this brother has many hidden virtues, so, to protect them from being harmed by vainglory, God has allowed him to fall into the present sin, or to stay a short time in this unbecoming guise, so that he should appear unworthy in his own eyes and, being despised for it by others, should gather the fruits of humility and become even more pleasing to God; in this way the present instance will do him more good than harm. 

Even if a person’s sin is not only obvious, but very grievous and comes from a hardened and unrepentant heart, do not condemn him, but raise your eyes to the wondrous and incomprehensible judgments of God; then you will see that many people, formerly full of iniquity, later repented and reached a high degree of sanctity, and that, on the other hand, others, who were on a high level of perfection, fell into a deep abyss. Take care, lest you also suffer this calamity through judging others.

So stand always on guard in fear and trembling, fearing more for yourself than for others. And be assured that every good word you may utter for your neighbour, and every rejoicing for his sake is the action and fruit of the Holy Spirit in you, whereas every bad word and scornful condemnation comes from your evil nature and suggestions of the devil. Therefore, when you are tempted by some wrong action of your brother, do not let your eyes sleep until you have driven this temptation from your heart and wholly made peace with your brother.

Taken from "Unseen Warfare" By St Nikodemos The Hagiorite

St Macarius the Great- The gifts of grace are preserved by a humble mind...

HOMILY 6: The gifts of grace are preserved by an humble mind, and a ready will; but destroyed by pride and sloth.

1. THE souls that are lovers of truth and of GOD, and desirous to put on CHRIST completely, though they may suffer in some measure a state of emptiness; yet being wholly nailed to the cross of CHRIST, they perceive, day after day, an experimental sense of their advances towards the spiritual Bridegroom. And being wounded with an heavenly desire, and hungering after righteousness, they have an insatiable longing for the Spirit to shine out upon them. And though they are thought worthy to receive, through faith, the knowledge of Divine mysteries, or are made partakers of the gladness of heavenly grace, yet they have no confidence in themselves: but the more of spiritual gifts they enjoy, the more insatiable is the heavenly desire they are filled with; the more they are sensible of the spiritual progress in themselves, the more hungry and thirsty are they after the increase of grace; and the richer they spiritually are, by so much the more do they seem to themselves to be in want, and are carried out with a spiritual desire after the heavenly Bridegroom, as says the wise man, a They that eat me shall yet be hungry, and they that drink me shall yet be thirsty." 2. Souls like these, that have a fervent and insatiable love for the Lord, are thought worthy of the redemption from vile affections, and receive the irradiation and presence of the Holy Spirit, which is unspeakable, and the mystical fellowship in the fullness of grace. But as many souls as are destitute of manly vigor and activity, are still but as in the flesh, having never entertained any hopes of receiving the sanctification of their heart through patience and long- suffering, nor of enjoying the fellowship of the Spirit, with the utmost sensation and assurance: these, after having been once thought worthy of Divine grace, have yet been insensibly circumvented by the evil one, and so have given themselves over to carelessness and remissness. And the reason is evident; after they have received the grace of the, Spirit, and actually enjoyed the comfort of grace in rest and spiritual sweetness, they trust in it; they are lifted up, and take no farther care, being neither of a contrite heart, nor humble mind; neither have they waited with all diligence and faith, to be perfectly filled with grace but instead of that, they were full, they were completely satisfied, and rested in the first consolation of grace. The progress such souls made tended more to elevation than humility; so that they were stripped again of that very gift, which before was vouchsafed to them, through their careless contempt of any thing farther, and the vain swelling of their own opinion.

3. The soul that is truly a lover of GOD, and a lover of CHRIST, though it does righteous works without number, demeans itself however, as if it had wrought just nothing at all, through the insatiable love it bears to the Lord. And though by fastings and by watchings it has even macerated the body, it applies itself to the pursuit of the virtues still, as if it never had begun before to take the least pains about them. Though it has been thought worthy of the several gifts of the Spirit, or favored with revelations and heavenly mysteries; yet, by reason of its immense love for the Lord, does it seem to itself as if it had just nothing in possession: but hungering and thirsting through faith and love, it is carried on insatiably in the persevering spirit of prayer-to the mysteries of grace, and to every degree of virtue. And being wounded by the heavenly Spirit, continually exciting an inflamed desire after the heavenly Bridegroom, and longing to be completely admitted to the mystical and inexpressible communion with him in the sanctification of the Spirit; having the face of the soul unveiled, and looking with a steady eye upon the heavenly Bridegroom, face to face, in the light which is spiritual, and not to be expressed; it mixes with him in all the fullness of assurance; becomes conformable to his death, ever waiting in the abundance of desire to die for the sake of CHRIST, and expecting to obtain, under the conduct of the Spirit, an entire redemption from sin, and the darkness of the affections that being purified by the Spirit, sanctified in soul and body, it may be made a vessel clean prepared for the susception of the heavenly ointment, and the residence of CHRIST, the true and heavenly King. And then is the soul filled with the heavenly life, and becomes the pure habitation of the Holy Spirit.

4. But these are heights which the soul does not reach all at once;, but through many labors and conflicts, with variety of trials and temptations, it receives spiritual growth and improvement, till at last it comes to an entire exemption from its old affections; holding out, with a cheerful and noble obstinacy against every succeeding temptation, it is then thought worthy of great honors and spiritual gifts, and becomes an inheritor of the heavenly kingdom in CHRIST JESUS our Lord to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Source:http://www.elpenor.org/macarius/homilies.asp?pg=10

St.Nikolai Velimirovich-On Pride

"Pride goes before disaster,and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18).

Of all that exists on the four corners of the earth, what, O mortal man, can make us proud except stupidities and demonic illusions. Did we not enter into the world naked and wretched and are we not going to depart this world in the same manner? Everything that we have, did we not borrow it; and by our death, are we not going to return everything? Oh, how many times has this been said and overheard? The wise apostle says, "For we have brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it" (I Timothy 6:7). And, when we offer sacrifice to God of ordinary bread and wine, we say, "Thine own of Thine own, we offer unto Thee" (Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom). For nothing that we have in this world is ours: not even a crumb of bread nor a drop of wine; nothing that is not of God. In truth, pride is the daughter of stupidity, the daughter of a darkened mind, born of evil ties with the demons.

Pride is a broad window through which all of our merits and good works evaporate. Nothing makes us so empty before men and so unworthy before God as does pride. When the Lord is not proud, why should we be proud? Who has more reason to be proud than the Lord, Who created the world and Who sustains it by His power? And behold, He humbles himself as a servant, a servant to the whole world: a servant even to the death, to the death on the Cross!

O humble Lord, burn up within our hearts the devil's sowing of pride with the fire of Your Holy Spirit, and plant within it the noble sowing of humility and meekness. 

Taken from "The Prologue"

On the humility of St. Evdokimos of Vatopedi

  St. Evdokimos of Vatopedi

 (amateur translation of an excerpt from the Encomium of the Saint written by Fr. Meletios the Hierodeacon)

It appears that the Saint wanted to hide his virtue and his holiness so much that he wished to die by himself, fearing perhaps that the brothers of Vatopedi would find some sign of holiness and want to honor him. He desired this because he perceived being honored by men as a sin before God. So great was his humble attitude that all of the vain things of this life, honors and love of glory, he considered senseless. This is a great sign of his holiness. This alone is enough, without requiring any other indication, to believe that he is a Saint, and other miracles would be considered unnecessary.
  

Why, as someone says, does a life according to the will of God, “life for God” in other words, and without any miracles occurring, bring the crown of holiness? For in his life that is truly “for God”, he clearly wanted to hide while alive and dead, without revealing it to anyone. Because he feared perhaps that some sign would occur for others, something which is antithetical to the commandments of the Gospel. This was the fear of St. Evdokimos.
  

For it is a great commandment for one to hide his virtue. Most men wish to hide their sins and to proclaim their virtues, though they are baseless. According to the righteous word, we must flee from both. Hidden must be repentance, in other words the rebuttal of sins, as they themselves occurred in secret. And as someone sinned in secret, in secret he must have his struggles against them. For to proclaim, however, one's virtues, and to not reveal his sins is absurd. We are ashamed to reveal our sins in case we might appear culpable and humiliated. How do we not fear the sin of pleasing men with the promotion of our good deeds, which causes God to abandon our soul? If we reveal the sins of our soul to God alone, let us not proclaim our virtues to men. Because they will be seen as a reward for our wrestling against the passions, and we would thus loose our portion from God and become transgressors of His law.
  

St. Evdokimos, however, did not do thus. For having been found to preserve with exactness one commandment of the Gospel, did he not much more so keep the rest of the Gospel's commandments? From this alone is revealed how he ruled over the other moral passions. For to conquer love of glory and to hide one's virtues is truly a super-human commandment. For the love of honor and glory is implanted within [fallen] man, and they are uprooted with difficulty. This we see in the Saints who lived before him, as we read their lives. In other words, when they lived, they wished to remain unknown and to hide. After their death, however, they did not hesitate to reveal their holiness.

Something similar we read in the lives of St. Alexios the Man of God, and St. John the Hut-dweller, who left their parents signs that they might know them after their death.
  

St. Evdokimos, however, as we learned, conquered love of glory. Something which is even very difficult to those who have reached the height of virtue. Because it was not important to him to be seen by men as holy, but to be glorified by God. But someone might say: “You wish to show us that this new Saint of Vatopedi is higher than St. Alexios and St. John the Hut-dweller?” Not at all, most holy Fathers. Because in holiness there is no comparison. Do you know that, as it says in the Gospel: “In the house of my Father there are many mansions”, for I further know that all receive the same [reward].
  

What I am saying is that the divine Evdokimos was a most-exact keeper of all the commandments of God. He hid all of his virtues, because he feared the word of the Gospel, “do not be thought of...”, in other words do not do something to be seen by others. With keeping this word he conquered the greatest beast, “glory”, in other words vanity and love of glory, which calls all of us to esoteric agitation and great turmoils. This great beast, Evdomikos conquered and defeated. In what way? By always hiding and by never giving any sign of his holiness. In my opinion, this is the greatest triumph of virtue, because I see the passion of love of glory as unconquerable.
  

As you know, the once first of the Angels was filled with pride, and dared to say: “I will place my throne above the heavens, and I, myself will become the Exalted God.” Was he not put in danger by love of glory, which I named an unconquerable beast? And do not be surprised by the name. Because whether we call it haughtiness, pride, conceit, glory, manic-glory, work-for-glory, [doxarion], or love-of-glory, the name alone changes, but we are talking about the same passion. The difference us found in in the disposition in those that have it.
  

Did not Adam, for this glory, imagine that he would become equal to God? And if for this passion of glory angels became demons and devils, Adam won death, earthly and heavenly creation was troubled, and the all-consuming Hades was born...how is this passion of love of glory not great? For if the first angel and first man conquered this passion, the universe would not have been troubled, neither would death, which we tremble at and fear, endanger us with its sickle. On account of love of glory, did not all troubles of life enter the world? Most certainly! Because of this the first angel and the first man were conquered.

  

This, however, did not conquer Evdokimos, but he conquered it, because he hid his virtue and his holiness “as the apple of his eye”. He achieved great victory and became higher than the first angel and the first man. If we do not call Evdokimos holy and do not honor him, and do not glorify him as a Saint, I do not know who else to call, to honor or to glorify.
  

That his holy relic was granted a heavenly fragrance, after so many signs of his virtue, and after such a great victory against the devil, is another sign of his holiness to those who think about divine things, as a friend wrote who asked about St. Evdokimos. “However, he did not ultimately remain unknown to the end, because God glorifies those who glorify Him.” Would He therefore have glorified Adam and made the first angel incorrupt, had they not been conquered by love of glory? Of course he would have glorified them. But they lost the glory that they had, endangered by their love of glory.
  

Our St. Evdokimos fled from all love-of-glory throughout his whole life, and in his death, without wishing to be glorified from God. God glorifies all His saints to praise a life of virtue and godliness, and to censure a life of evil and passion.
 

     Source http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.ca/2011/10/on-humility-of-st-evdokimos-of-vatopedi.html