Saint Luke the Surgeon -On the Slaves of Sin and the Servants of Virtue

 Saint Mary Of Egypt

“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient servants, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become servants of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as servants to righteousness leading to sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become servants of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6, 16-23).

             I shall try, as far as I can, to explain to you these words of the great Apostle. The essence of the matter, here, lies in his view on enslavement to sin and service to righteousness. Let us look at these words carefully. “Just as, formerly, you had subjected your whole being to the passions and actions contrary to the divine will, with the result that you lived in opposition to God’s commandments, so, now, you have to subject your whole being to the divine will, in order to be closer to God”.

            The mind which governs us and which is what distinguishes us from dumb beasts can be made into a slave of sin, if we use it not to learn the will of God and His law, but to think of ways of committing injustice, duplicity and hostility towards our neighbour. If we focus on hedonistic pleasures, if we behave with hatred and conceit towards our neighbour, then our eyes will certainly become organs of sin. If we direct our hearing towards gossip, passing judgment on others, idle chatter, vain words and flattery, then they, too, will become organs of sin.

            And what can we say about our hands? How often do we extend them in order to swindle someone else, to steal something or, much as I hate to say so, to murder someone. And our legs? The legs of so many unfortunate people often lead them into robbery, or they make all haste to get to the “assemblies of the impious”. Bare legs provoke bodily desire. And as for the main organ of sin and impurity, I’m ashamed even to talk about it.

            We make even our hair, our teeth and our nails into organs of sin. Women use complicated coiffures and hair ornaments in order to interest men and attract them. When people quarrel, they can scratch each other, or even bite with their teeth. So all the parts of our body can become organs of sin and we devastate our souls if we misuse them.

            It’s possible, though, to use the parts of our body for good rather than evil. Let’s turn our attention to learning the will of God and the law of Christ, studying the works of the blessed fathers and great hierarchs and learning from them the ways of the righteous. May our eyes be forever turned, in the mind, to the most venerable cross of Christ, to the contemplation of divine beauty in the created world and may our hearts be moved by observing our good and striving brothers and sisters who are following the path of kindness and mercy.

            If we use our hands to distribute alms abundantly to the poor and weak among us, will they not then become a natural organ of righteousness? Our feet and legs can also become beautiful in accordance with the words of Saint Paul: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news” (Rom. 10, 15).

            All our works, our words and our thoughts, good and bad, inevitably leave traces deep in our souls. And, in fact, when they’re repeated regularly, they gradually alter our spiritual and also our corporeal nature. Those unfortunate people who have made their bodily parts the organs of sin really do become slaves to sin. Since they don’t try to resist their impure impulses, they give in to them and satisfy them. In this way they destroy their own will and become slaves to sin. Slaves don’t have a will of their own, but follow the will of their owners.

            On the other hand, blessed are those people who use their members to perform works that are righteous, good and pure; they receive the aid and grace of God, and, slowly but surely, become servants of righteousness, servants of God.

            These powerful words were addressed by Saint Paul to the Christians of Rome, who believed in God and changed their way of life, abandoning the manner in which they’d lived formerly, which had been sinful and prodigal. In the first chapter of his epistle, he reminds them that, until they came to know Christ, “they were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, and ruthless”. (Rom. 1, 29-31).

            These words of Saint Paul are not concerned only with the idolaters of Rome, but with all impious people, in every age and every nation, who don’t think about truth and goodness. But if only they turn to God and make the parts of their body organs of righteousness, then the fruit of this change will be sanctity and, in the end, eternal life, of which Christ, our most merciful and most compassionate God, will make us worthy- all of us who repent. Amen.

Saint Luke The Surgeon

Source-Pemptousia.com

Elder Paisios-On Sin And The Devil (Part 1)

When We Sin We Give Rights to Temptation 

 
There is so much demonic influence in the world  today. The devil is roaming free because people have given him the right to do so and they are vulnerable to horrific attacks by him. Once someone rightly said: "In the old days the devil was preoccupied with human beings; not anymore. He shows people the way, tells them 'farewell', and off they go." It's terrible! You see, when the demons wanted to enter the swine in the country of the Gadarenes, they asked for Christ's permission - since the swine had not given the devil an excuse, he did not have the right to possess them. Christ allowed this to happen so that the Israelites, who were forbidden from eating pork, may be punished.

- Geronda, some people say that the devil does not exist.

- I know; someone told me that I should take out of the French translation of Saint Arsenios the Cappadocian all references to demonic possession, because Europeans will not understand it; they don't believe in the existence of the devil. You see, they explain everything with psychology. But if they took to psychiatrists the possessed of the Gospel there would be no end to electroshocks. Christ has removed from the devil the right to do harm. The devil can harm us only if we allow him to have power over us. Those who do not participate in the Mysteries of the Church give rights to temptation and become vulnerable to demonic influence.

- Geronda, in what other ways can one give rights to the devil?

- Rationalism, contradiction, stubbornness, willfulness, disobedience, and insolence all are qualities of the devil. People are vulnerable to the degree that they have these qualities. But when the soul is purified, the Holy Spirit enters a man and fills him with Grace. On the contrary, when it is infected with mortal sin, the unclean spirit dwells in him. When, again, the soul is not mortally infected, then, it is merely under the influence of the evil spirit.
It is unfortunate that nowadays people don't want to curb their passions and their will; they do not accept anyone's advice. From this point on, they speak with insolence and reject the Grace of God. As a result, anything they undertake does not prosper because it is subject to satanic influences. Man is beside himself because the devil directs him from the outside. The devil is not inside the man, God forbid, but even from the outside, he can take over and run a person's life.

When divine Grace "departs" from a man, he becomes worse than the devil. For, there are things that the cunning devil himself will not do; instead, he will urge men to do them for him. He does not, for instance, commit crimes; he has man do them for him. That is how people end up being possessed.

Confession Deprives the Devil of His Rights

If people only went to a Spiritual Father to confess their sins, the demonic influence would cease, and they would be able to think more clearly. Nowadays, they can-not even think because of demonic influence. Repentance and confession deprive the devil of his rights over us.

Recently, a sorcerer came to the Holy Mountain and blocked the road with sticks and nets, near my Kalyvi. Anyone passing through there, who had not been to confession, would have been harmed and would have no idea why. As soon as I saw them, I crossed myself, went through and broke the spell. Later on, the sorcerer came to my Kalyvi and told me about his evil schemes and burned his books. The devil has neither power nor dominion over those who have faith, go to Church regularly and receive Holy Communion. He just barks a little "arf, arf!" like a dog without teeth. But he has great power over one who has no faith and gives him the excuse to take over. He can lynch him and tear him to pieces with his teeth. The devil's authority upon a soul depends on the rights this soul has granted him.

Even when a soul dies in good order, as it rises to Heaven, the devil follows behind. It's like a train moving with tremendous speed, while dogs are running after it and in front of it, barking and occasionally some of them getting run over. But if one is not in good spiritual order, the train cannot go with speed, because its wheels are damaged, dogs will enter through its open doors and bite some passengers.

When the devil has been allowed to acquire great rights over a man and has him in his grip, the cause that will bring his power to an end must be found. Otherwise, no matter how intensely the others pray for someone, the devil will not leave him. The devil will cripple a man. Priests may do exorcisms over and over again, but the possessed man ends up paying the price since the devil will then torture him even more because of the exorcisms. Unless we repent and go to confession, and destroy the rights that the devil has over us, he will not go away and we will always be troubled. As long as the devil has these rights, he will not go away even if one reads and rereads exorcisms for days, weeks, months or years.

The Devil Will Not Approach a Pure Creature of God


- Geronda, why am I  overwhelmed by passions? 

If one gives in to temptations, he is seized by the passions. What God wants from you - which is for your benefit too - is to take your passions and throw them at the devil's face. Turn your anger, your stubbornness and so on against him. Or, what is even better, "sell" your passions to the devil and use the money to buy "stones" to throw at him and keep him at a distance. Most often, we human beings allow the enemy to harm us by giving him all kinds of excuses either through carelessness or through proud thoughts. The devil can even take advantage of the will naturally have greater authority over him. The devil acquires more and more rights.
- Geronda, suppose a person who has lived carelessly by giving the devil authority over him decides to start a new life, by putting things in order and living carefully, will that person be fought by the devil? -

 When these people turn around, God gives them strength, illumination and divine consolation to get them started. But as soon as the struggle begins, the enemy will fight them fiercely. At that point patience and perseverance is needed. Otherwise, how can the passions be uprooted? How can the old man shed his garment? How can pride go away? This is how we realize that we can do nothing on our own, and we humbly ask for God's mercy; it is then that humility comes. The same happens with someone who wants to give up a bad habit, for instance smoking or drugs. At first, he feels happy with his decision and throws them away. Then, he sees other people smoking, drinking or whatever and a fierce battle begins. If he overcomes the temptation, he turns his back to the habit without difficulty. All of us need to resist a little. The devil does his job; shouldn't we do ours?

We Should Not Start a Conversation With the Devil 

All of us have some inherited weaknesses but these cause us no harm. For instance, one may be born with a little mole on the face. A mole might make someone look beautiful, but if it is scratched it might also cause cancer. We should not let the devil scratch our passions. If we let him do that, "cancer" may occur.

- Geronda, the demons scare me.
- What are you afraid of? The devil has no power. Christ is All-powerful. The tempter is rotten. Don't you wear a cross? The devil's weapons are weak. Christ has armed us with His Cross. Only when we abandon our spiritual armour is the enemy strong. An Orthodox priest had only to show a small cross to a sorcerer and the demon he had invoked started trembling.

- Why is the devil so afraid of the Cross?
- Because when Christ received the spitting, the blows and the beatings, the kingdom and the power of the devil were crushed. How wonderful is the way in which Christ defeated the devil! "The devil's dominion was crushed with a reed," used to say a Saint. When Christ was given the last blow with a reed, at that very moment, the devil's power was destroyed. In other words, patience is our spiritual defence and humility our greatest weapon against the devil. The greatest balm that Christ's sacrifice on the Cross gave us is the crushing of the devil. After the Crucifixion of Christ, the devil is like a snake with no fangs, with no poison; he is like a wild dog without teeth. All poison was removed from the devil; all teeth were removed from the wild dogs that are the demons. So, they are now disarmed, while we are armed with the Cross. There is nothing, really nothing that the demons can do to a creature of God when we ourselves don't hand over rights to them. They only make noise; they have no authority over people.

- Geronda, did the demons become so ugly when they fell and from angels they became demons?

- Of course! And it's like they have been struck by lightning. When lightning strikes a tree, doesn't it turn into a charred stump? The demons look like that. For a while, I used to say to the devil, "Come by so that I can see what you look like and avoid falling into your hands. Just a look is enough to see how evil you are. Should you get me, there's no telling how much I will suffer." 

Excerpts taken from, Elder Paisios ,Spiritual Counsels Vol 1 "With Pain And Love For Contemporary man"

St Anastasios of Antioch-On Which Sins Do Not Obstruct Us From Divine Communion

“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.”I Corinthians 11:28


"MANY are they who, communing rarely, collapse into sins; but others again, partaking more frequently, guard themselves often from much evil, since they fear Holy Communion (“the condemnation of the Eucharist”).

Thus, if, being human, we should err by certain small and forgivable sins—for instance, should we be carried away by our tongue, our hearing, or our eyes; or, being deceived, should we fall into vainglory, sorrow, or anger, or other such things—, let us reproach ourselves and let us confess our sinfulness before God, and so let us partake, believing that Holy Communion is for the remission of our sins and our purification.

If, on the other hand, we should commit heavy sins that are evil,carnal, and impure, and we are resentful of our brother, let us not dare approach the Divine Mysteries until we have repented of those sins.

Thus, because we are carnal and weak people, infected by many sins, God has given us various sacrifices for the remission of our sins,the which, if we offer them to Him, cleanse us and make us fit to partake.

For this reason, almsgiving is a “sacrifice” which purifies man from sins. There is another salvific “sacrifice” for the remission of sins,about which the Prophet David says: “A pleasing sacrifice unto God is a man’s humble disposition and spirit; a heart that is humble and broken by compunction, God never despises.”If we offer those “sacrifices” unto God, even should we have small failings as humans, we will be made capable of approaching Holy Communion with fear and trembling, compunction, and the confession of our sinfulness, just as the woman with an issue of blood approached Christ with weeping and trembling.

For there are sins unto death ("deadly" sins), and there are sins unto repentance ("pardonable" sins). And there are sins unto healing. But genuine repentance is able to heal all things.

For one is the forgiveness which he receives who approaches the Mysteries with fear and trembling, confessing his sinfulness, and, with contrition, partakes; and another is the punishment which he receives who partakes without fear and with contempt. Unto those who partake unworthily and disdainfully, not only is the remission of sins not given, but the Devil pounces on them even more.

And all those who partake with fear not only are sanctified and receive the remission of sins, but the Devil is expelled from them."

*Source: Αγιος Κυπριανος, No. 258 (January-February 1994),
pp. 202-203

It Is ''Fashionable to Sin '' By Elder Paisios

Geronta=Elder

- Geronda, did you tell anyone that there’s going to be a war? That’s what we heard. Is it true? I have not said anything of the sort, but people come up with things. Even if I knew something, to whom would I say it?
- Geronda, war is such a barbarous thing.
- If people did not have the «courtesy» of sin they would not have reached this barbarous state. Even more barbarous is this moral degradation. People’s bodies and souls are falling apart. Someone told me, «They call Athens a ‘jungle’ but no one is leaving the city. Every one calls it a ‘jungle’ and yet everyone still gathers there.» Human beings have come down to the level of animals. You know what animals do when they enter the stable; they defecate and urinate… Then, as the manure ferments, they feel warm and don’t feel like getting themselves out of there. The same happens with human beings; they feel the comfort of sin and don’t have the heart to leave. They smell the stench, but they stay anyway. You see, if someone were to come inside the stable he would not be able to stand the stench; but those who have got used to it are not bothered.
- Geronda, some people say that it’s not only today that people are sinning; this has been going on ever since ancient Rome.
- Yes, but the Romans were idolaters. And when the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, he was writing to bap­tized idolaters who had gone back to their bad habits.1 We should not take as example a decadent era. Today, they have taken sin and made it fashionable. Have a look at us, an Orthodox Nation and yet, we are in such a state! Imagine how other nations must be! And the worst thing is that today, that the sin has become so fashionable, if people see someone who does not go with the flow, avoids sin and is pious, they consider him old-fashioned and backward. For them not to sin is considered an insult and to sin is considered progress. And this is the worst thing of all that could happen. If today, all those who live in sin would only acknowledge their condition, God would have mercy on them. Instead, they justify the unjustifiable and they glorify sin. This is the greatest blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: they take sin to be progress and morality the status quo. For this reason, the wages of those who struggle in the world and maintain a pure life are great and of great worth.
In the old days, if one were a pervert or a drunk, they would be ashamed to appear in public because people would scorn them. A woman who had strayed even a little did not dare to come out of her house; and in a way, this was a sort of restraint. These days, if someone is upright, say a young woman who lives a life of piety, people will say, «Look at how she lives.» Back then, when lay people sinned, poor souls, they felt their sinfulness, bowed their head a bit and would not mock one who lived a spiritual life. On the contrary, they actually admired them. Today, people have no sense of their guilt and there is no respect. All standards have been leveled. And people make fun of those that don’t live a worldly life.
The Checks of Conscience
Although France is an advanced nation – it’s not un­derdeveloped – recently, eighty thousand people convert­ed to Islam.2 Why? Because they have turned sin into a fashion. You see, they are bothered by their conscience, they know that something is wrong and they want to set their conscience at ease. And just like the ancient Greeks made up the twelve gods in order to justify their passions, these people seek a religion that would put their souls to rest. Islam is, in a way, the best suitable solution.

It allows them to take as many women as they want for wives, it promises in the next life «mountains of rice, lakes of yog­urt and rivers of honey»! And no matter what their sins are, once their dead body is washed with hot water, they are cleansed! They go to Allah clean! What else could they ask for? It’s all so convenient. But these French con­verts will not find rest. Although they are trying, they will not find rest because the passions can never be justified.No matter what people do, even if they are insensitive, heartless and soulless, they will not find peace and rest. They try to justify the unjustifiable, but inside they are tormented and agitated; that is why they are constantly craving entertainment, listening to loud music, getting drunk, and watching television. They want distraction in order to forget because their conscience bothers them. They can’t even rest when they sleep. You see, there is the conscience. The first «Holy Scripture» that God gave to Adam and Eve was conscience, and we inherit it from our parents like a photocopy. Not matter how hard we may try to run over our conscience, it is still there checking on us. That is why people say, «This thing is eating him up.» Indeed, there is nothing sweeter than having a clear conscience. One feels like he has wings; he soars.
Separation From God Is Hell
I cannot remember even a day without divine con­solation. Sometimes, of course, interruptions occur and I feel bad. Then, I can understand how horrible are the lives of most people, who live without this consolation because they have distanced themselves from God. The more one distances himself from God, the worse things become. One may have nothing else, but having God is all that he needs. That’s it! Even if one has everything but lacks God, in his heart he will be tortured. That’s why it is important to get as close to God as possible. It is only next to Him that we can find true and eternal joy. We taste bitter poison when we live apart from sweet Jesus. When a sinful man becomes a man of God again, a prince, he is fed with divine pleasure, with heavenly sweetness and feels the delight of Paradise; though he lives on earth, he gets to taste the joy of Heaven. Every day that goes by, his joy grows bigger and he gets to wonder if there is in Heaven something higher than what he experiences here on earth. Such is his situation, that he cannot do any work; his knees bend over like candlesticks from that di­vine warmth and sweetness while his heart leaps and tries to shatter its thin cage to run away, because earth and all earthly things appear to be worthless.
In the beginning, man had communion with God. Later, however, when he moved away from the Grace of God, he was like someone who used to live in a pal­ace and then was banned from it and now views it from a distance and weeps. Just as a child suffers away from its mother, man also suffers when he is distanced from God. We are tormented. Separation from God is hell. The devil has managed to distance people from God so much that they have reached the point of worshiping statues and sacrificing even their children to them. It’s a horrible thing! Where do the demons find all these deities? The god Chemosh! Just hearing his name is enough.3 But the devil is the most tortured being of all because he is the farthest removed from God, from Love. When love de­parts, hell sets in. What is the opposite of love? Evil and malice; evil equals suffering.

One who has distanced himself from God becomes prone to demonic influence, while the other one who is close to God receives divine Grace. He who already has God’s Grace will be given more. And he who has only a little and scorns it, he will lose it all.4 The Grace of God is missing from most people today because by sinning they throw away whatever small portion of it they may have. And when divine Grace is gone, the demons rush at human beings and take possession of them.
Depending on their distance from God, people are in constant pain in this life and will be in eternal pain in the other life. For the taste and joy of Paradise begin, to an extent, in this life, depending on how much one lives according to the will of God. Either we shall experience a portion of the heavenly joy here on earth and will then go to Heaven, or we shall experience a portion of hell here and, God forbid, we shall end up in hell. Paradise is good­ness. Hell is malice and evildoing. When we do something good, we feel joy. When we do something wrong, some­thing evil, we suffer. The more good one does, the more joy he feels. The more one causes harm, the more his soul suffers. Can a thief feel any joy? He cannot. But the one who does good, he feels joy. Even if one finds something on the street and keeps it for himself, he will not find rest. Although he doesn’t know to whom it belongs, nor has he harmed anyone or stolen it, he cannot find peace. Im­agine if he had actually stolen it! Even when we receive something, a gift, we still do not feel the same joy that we do when we give. How then could someone who steals or takes away unjustly, feel joy? That is why one can look at people who live unjust lives and see on their faces so many grimaces!
The Boss You Work For Will Pay Your Wages
People who live away from God are always without consolation and are doubly tormented. If one does not believe in God and in the future life, he is not only de­prived of divine consolation but also brings eternal con­demnation upon his soul. The boss you work for will pay your wages. If you work for the devil, he will pay you by making your life miserable here on earth. If you work for virtue, Christ will pay you. And the more you work for Christ, the more you will shine and find bliss. But we say, «Am I a fool to work for Christ?» Isn’t this horrible that we do not recognize Christ’s sacrifice for humanity? Christ was crucified to save us from sin, to cleanse man­kind. Look at what Christ has done for us. What have we done for Him?
People want to sin, but they also want God to be good to them. He should keep forgiving us while we continue to sin. We want to do whatever we like and we want Him to forgive us. He is supposed to forgive us no matter what we do. People don’t have faith in God and they rush to commit sin. All that is evil begins from lack of faith. Peo­ple don’t believe in eternal life and for this reason noth­ing stops them; they treat others unjustly, they abandon their children… The things that take place …, so many grave sins. Not even the Holy Fathers had foreseen such sins in the Sacred Canons. It’s like Sodom and Gomorrah when God had said, «I don’t believe that such sins exist; I should go and see for myself.»5
If people don’t repent and return to God, they will lose eternal life. Man must be helped in order to feel the deeper meaning of life, to come to his senses and to ex­perience divine consolation. The goal is to rise spiritu­ally, not simply to avoid sin.


l.Cf. Rom 1:24-32.
2. This was said in November of 1988.
3. Chemosh was a god of the Moabites, descendents of Moab, the oldest son of Lot (Cf. I Kg 11:7). In Greek, the word sounds like the noun chamos(χαμός) that means loss, doom, desolation or things going out of control.
4. Cf. Lk 19:26.
5. Cf. Gen 18:21

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. Tikhon of Zadonsk-On The Spiritual Blindness of Sin

By St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

Whatever physical darkness is for the eyes, so is sin for the human soul. The spiritual darkness so darkens and blinds the eyes of the soul, that the sinner walks like the blind: he doesn't know where the path leads him; he doesn't see before him the torment of an eternal death in which he might fall; he doesn't distinguish vice from virtue, evil from good, truth from lies, true good fortune from evil fortune, and, thus, seeing he does not see and acts by touching like the blind.

Does he live in good fortune? He becomes violent, as an untrained and unrestrained horse, and does not see that with this good fortune God draws him to Himself as a father of a little child draws an apple. Will misfortune visit him? He grumbles, is indignant and blames, that as if he told a lie; he makes complaints and says a malicious word: "Am I a liar? In what have I sinned? Am I really more sinful than others? Am I worthy of this? Does my work deserve this?" He justifies himself, being full of every kind of untruth; he cleanses himself, being all besmirched; he considers himself unworthy of temporal punishment, but worthy of the eternal; he praises his merits, which stand for nothing.

All of creation, the heaven, the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth and its fulfillment, as if by mouth "tells of the glory of God" (Psalm 16:2); but the blind sinner does not feel the majesty of His glory and does not tremble. God, both through creation and by His word, reveals Himself for everyone; but the sinner, like a deaf person, does not hear His word and does not recognize the Lord. He hears the name of God, but he does not recognize God: he hears the voice of the Lord only with carnal instead of spiritual ears, and therefore, "hearing he does not hear and seeing he does not see".

When God is preached by His holy word, then His sacred will is also preached; but the sinner doesn't know it and does not make it his own. His omnipotence and majesty is preached, before which the sinner is not humble. His righteousness is preached before which the sinner is not afraid and does not honor. His truth is preached before which the sinner does not believe. His omnipresence is preached, before which the sinner does not show reverence. He does not show it because does not recognize Him. His most wise reason is preached, in which the sinner does not discern. His highest holiness is preached which the sinner does not honor. His supreme authority is preached which the sinner does not obey. His awesome glory is preached which the sinner does not honor. His timeless goodness is preached, in which the sinner makes no effort to participate. His fearful judgment is preached before which the sinner does not tremble, and so forth. Thus, the sinner is like "the man out of his mind who cannot know, and the stupid who cannot understand" (LXX Psalm 91:7) God and the acts of God.

And not only in relation to God, but also in relation to his neighbor, i.e. to any human, the blind man is a carnal and unenlightened man. We see that a person does evil to his neighbor, which he himself does not want; and does not do good to him, which he himself wants. We see that he is indignant and angry at the one who offends him; he abuses, abases, blames, discredits, lies about him, steals, kidnaps, takes away that which is his, and does other offenses; but he himself does such evil, or repays evil with evil, and is not ashamed and does not sense this. On the other hand, he wants his neighbor to be merciful to him and not leave him in need, for example: to quench his thirst and to give him drink when he thirsts, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger into his home and to comfort the sick and visit those in prison and do other works of mercy for him. All of this he wants, this truth is indisputable, but he himself does not want to do the same for a neighbor. We see that this evil is self-love, an untruth and blindness in Christians, who either silently pass by his neighbors living in misery as if not seeing them, or is ashamed to ask: "what can I do for him?" Many have plentiful food and a magnificent table for themselves, but do not care about a hungry neighbor; others wear all kinds of expensive clothes, and do not care about their naked neighbor; others build rich, large and tall houses and decorate the rest of the building, but for their neighbor who does not have a place to lay his head and to rest they do not care; they have silver, gold and other riches, comfortable for soul and life, that is kept whole and is saved, but there is no care for their neighbor who is burdened with debt and it is torment or prison for him for his shortfalls or sitting debts and suffering. We see this self-love and untruth in Christians: for not only they do evil, but also they don't do good for their neighbors, there is the untruth.

But, what it is even worse, we see that many Christians are not ashamed and are not afraid to steal, to kidnap and to be cunning, to flatter, to lie, to deceive, to slander, to scandalize, to denounce, to abuse, to commit adultery and make other offenses against their neighbor that they themselves would not want. All this comes from blindness.

How to Soften our Heart...

 

A hard heart is one that does not fully recognize our true condition and the danger we are in. The best way to begin change this condition is to remember our eventual fate. Saint Theophan give the following advice:

Say to yourself 'Alas, so will come death.' Another man you know dies; any time it could be your hour. Do not estrange yourself from this hour of death. Convince yourself that the angel of death has already been sent; he is coming, and draws near. Or imagine yourself to be a person who stands with a sword drown over his head , ready to cut it off. Then imagine clearly what will happen at the time of death or after words. James tells us: The judge standeth before the door (James 5:9) At this moment yo will be faced alone with all your sins. There is a choice you are making. It is one between eternal life in paradise or hell. One promises blessedness and the other torment. Will you know God and be accepted or not know Him and be rejected? Theophan says, "Feel all this vividly and force yourself to remain in it until you are filled with fear ind trembling."

Next, he suggest that you turn to God and place yourself before Him. Imagine you sinful nature standing before God and wonder if your presence will be offensive. Will you be able to face Him or will you turn your back on Him?

Next, he suggest that you ascend in thought to Golgotha and crucify yourself. Think about all you have been given as a Christian: redeemed by His blood, cleansed by the Baptismal water, you have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, you have taken the Blood and Body of Christ at His table,. Imagine being on Golgatha. Will you be one who crucifies Him. Will you repent like the thief? Saint Theophan says. "Choose one or the other: either crucify Him, then perish eternally––or crucify yourself, and inherit eternal life with Him."

Next, he asks you to consider the sin that you hang on to and abhor it and reject it. realize that it is your sinfulness that separates you from God. Saint Theophan says, "It separates you from God, wreaks havoc on your soul and body, torments your conscience, brings upon you God's punishment in life and at death; and after death it sends you to hell, closing paradise to you forever."

Finally, he asks you to look at sin from the devil's point of view. Do you realize that when yo sin you are working for the devil who has done nothing for you? He befriends you through sin and entices you by promising sweetness and then he torments and tortures. Like eve in the Garden of Eden he will try to convince you that your sins are nothing. He is filled with glee when anyone falls in his traps of sin.
"When you will thus press into your heart one after another contrition-producing and softening feelings––little by little your heart will warm up and begin to move, and after it your enfeebled will will begin to strain itself and spring into action. As volts of electricity communicate certain tension and stimulation to the body, or as the cool, clean morning air communicates freshness and energy, so does this feeling that fills the soul awaken slumbering energy and renew the call and willingness to escape your dangerous condition. these will be the beginnings of your active care for you own salvation..." 

Ref: Path to Salvation pp 137-139

Reasons Why Our Intentions for a Holy Life Do Not Produce Results

The first and foremost reason why our intention to correct ourselves and lead a holy life remains without result lies in the fact that our intention is often too vague and indefinite.

A certain sinner, for example, says to himself: “It’s high time for me to stop sinning, time to mend my ways! I repent! I’ll stop sinning!” The intention is quite indefinite. And because of this, although it might be sincere, it is unreliable and may not achieve the desired correction.

He who has a sincere desire to amend himself must first of all determine exactly what it is that must be corrected. He must determine what his greatest sin is and what means he must use against it, and what dangers he must avoid so as not to fall into it again, since it has become a habit, a part of his life. All this thought and self-examination must come first and only then should a resolve be made, and that resolve should be specific as, for example: “Enough is enough! With God’s help I am no longer going to fall into such-and-such a sin; I’m going to break this bad habit; I’m no longer going to associate with those particular people who encourage me in this habit; I’m going to break off that unhealthy relationship; I’m going to use such-and-such means against this sin; I’m going to arm myself and muster all my forces against it when it begins again to tempt me.”

The same thing must also be said about the resolution to lead a righteous life. By no means is it enough to content oneself simply by stating the following resolve: “From this time forth I’m going to lead a God-pleasing life.” Such a resolution is not definite enough, and although it may have come from the heart, it is doubtful whether it will have any effect.

He who desires to abandon a life of sin and live a righteous life must first of all examine which obligations he has most difficulty in fulfilling and does not like to fulfill; what exactly hinders their fulfillment; what he must do, what means he must employ to fulfill them more readily. Having done this, he must make a specific resolve, as for example: “Now, with God’s help I will try hard to fulfill this obligation which until now I have done so poorly; I will apply myself to using such-and-such means towards its fulfillment. For example, when someone offends me I will be more patient; I won’t start using insulting and shameful language, or better yet, I won’t answer back at all; in such-and such company I’ll be more careful in what I say; at such-and-such times I’ll try to pray fervently, something I have not done up to now.., and so on.”

In general, the more definite one’s intention to change one’s sinful life and live righteously, the more it will suit the particular circumstances, the state of one’s soul, one’s relationship with others, etc., and the more hope there is of its bringing it into reality. When something is so definite one can more easily direct one’s thoughts and one’s strength to one subject and thus, of course, more easily achieve the desired goal.

Another reason why our good intentions fail, is because we do not hold firmly enough to our resolve. Scarcely two or three days pass by after our having made our resolution and we, in our normal daily routine of life amidst our worldly cares and pursuits, have already forgotten our intention, although at the time it was made with proper firmness of purpose. For this reason, if we truly wish our good intention to be realized, then each of us, every morning after our morning prayers, must immediately bring to mind and renew our resolution, saying in our hearts: “I promised God to turn away from this particular sin; I really wanted to fulfill this obligation; I must keep my promise!” Having renewed in this way our good intention, we must diligently pray to God that He would grant us the necessary strength to carry it out.

Likewise, our intention must be renewed in this way throughout the course of the day. And when evening comes, we should never go to sleep without having first examined our hearts to see how we have spent the day: did we keep our promise to God? And if it happens that we went against our resolve, against our promise, then we must immediately ask God’s forgiveness, and once again renew our resolve and carefully watch over ourselves. This is the way in which those people act who are concerned for the salvation of their souls, and in this way they attain salvation!

The third reason we fail in our intention to lead a better life, is our excessive fear of the difficulties connected with such an undertaking. A holy life is not attained without work, without sufferings and difficulties; it often takes a prolonged and fierce battle. We must withdraw from occasions to sin, of which there are so many. We must sacrifice various enjoyments which are so pleasant, abandon many worldly pursuits which make life interesting, and endure many unpleasant things which because of our self-love are often so difficult to bear.

For example, let us suppose that we resolved to withdraw from our natural inclination to become angry. In order to turn away from anger we must quietly endure a lot of what is to us almost unbearable, and to which our usual response would have been a stream of crude words; sometimes we must not justify ourselves even when we are in the right; often we must be silent when we feel the urge to speak; often we must give in to others even when the occasion does not demand it; we must often bear the offenses of others and not reveal our irritation; often force ourselves to patiently endure when we are slandered or laughed at like fools and cowards. All this we must endure if we truly desire to realize our intention to withdraw from anger.

Amidst all the difficulties of keeping oneself from anger or any other sin which manifests itself as particularly great, our soul often falls into despondency and all our strength seems to evaporate. In such cases we must immediately bring to mind various sacred truths and experiences which are able to restore our former spirit, our former strength, and give us hope of abandoning the sin from which we decided to turn away. Thus we must remember that no matter how weak a man is, with God’s help he can do and endure all things if only he truly desires and uses it; this is accomplished through the strength that is granted by God.

We must remember the millions of righteous ones, who have gone before us and their self-denial, patience and endurance which they left as an example for us and for the whole world. We must remember that, above all, God desires our correction, and because of this, knowing our weakness and our needs, He will unfailingly come to our aid if only we turn to Him with fervent prayer and make use of the means and the power which He has given to us.

We must remember that the difficulties which invariably accompany any important undertaking are intimidating only to the lazy and faint-hearted; that only the first steps along the path of correction are unpleasant and difficult; that the farther one goes along such a path the easier and less painful it becomes; that any victory which we gain over our enemy makes us much stronger and better able to endure any further onslaughts. We must more often remind ourselves of the feeling of peace and satisfaction we shall experience when in the last days and hours of our life we look back at our past, at the difficulties we have heroically overcome, at the many sufferings borne with Christian patience, at the countless temptations conquered by our love for God, at all the noble deeds which we performed in secret before God’s eyes alone, at all the favors which we showed our fellow man, at the faithfulness with which we fulfilled our obligations, often forcing ourselves to the utmost to do this.

Finally, we must more often remind ourselves that for all this we will be rewarded by so much in the life of the age to come that all the difficulties which we overcome here in this life, all the sufferings which we endure in this age for the sake of a righteous life, will appear to us much smaller; in fact, they will appear insignificant, in comparison with the heavenly rewards.

O, Almighty God! Now we count each minute of trial and suffering and we rarely consider the blessed eternity which delights the souls of Thy righteous and faithful servants. Brother! In your striving towards a God-pleasing life, when you weigh your earthly difficulties and grief, place more often on the scale this eternity! It will outweigh all your trials, all the pleasures of worldly pursuits, pleasures and enjoyments.

The fourth reason that our resolution to lead a better life often fails, lies in the fact that we want immediately to become saints. Many people, when they once feel an aversion to their sinful behavior, make a firm resolve to change their ways and place a good beginning towards this reform; but because this doesn’t happen as quickly as they would like, and whether by habit or rashness they often fall into their old sins, they lose heart and come to the conclusion that it’s impossible for them to change their ways.

Brother! Sister! People don’t become saints overnight. Our old man does not easily yield to being transformed into the new man. A big tree is not felled by a single stroke of the ax. So it is with each evil passion which’ is so firmly rooted in us. The way to perfection or to spiritual maturity is almost always unnoticeable, just as are so many things in nature.

A spiritual man passes through various stages of growth, just like the physical man. Much time is spent in childhood before reaching the fullness and strength of manhood. There is a long period of weakness, and only then does one become stronger and stronger, until finally one becomes a man. Only at this age is one capable of doing what is proper to a man. Likewise, a ripened ear of corn is at first only a seed, then a small blade of grass, then a stalk, and finally an ear of corn; but even this ear is not ripe all at once, but grows, then flowers, then it tassels and only then does it become ripe. The same is true of a righteous, life! Even the best man in the world does not suddenly become a saint. His perfection for the most part develops slowly and only little by little. Good earth which accepts into itself a good seed brings forth fruit, says the Lord, in patience. (Lk 8:15).

To fall, of course, is not good, and it were better not to; but he who falls and then quickly gets up, becomes wiser and more careful, renews his good intention, fervently prays to God for new strength to attain a righteous life. Falls are not such a hindrance for such a man on the path to perfection. At the time of his fall, when he falleth, he shall find a stay, i.e., strength (Sir 3:31) and like the Apostle Paul, strikes ahead towards the mark of the prize of the high calling, forgetting those things which are behind. (Phil 3:13).

The above, then, are some of the reasons why our good intentions to turn away from sin and lead a better life are often unfulfilled. Let us avoid these pitfalls; let us try to make our resolution as definite as possible; let us remember more often and continually to renew our decision, and let us not become faint-hearted if we do not at once reach perfection, but let us courageously surmount the difficulties we meet along the way in firm hope of God’s help.

From “The Conversations of Metropolitan Gregory of Novgorod,” translated from the monthly periodical of St. Panteleimon’s Monastery on Mt. Athos, January 1899, pp. 15-19.

The Great Wager between Believers and Unbelievers

By Photios Kontoglou, from his book Mystical Flowers, Athens, 1977

  

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On Pascha Monday night, after midnight and before going to sleep, I went out into the little garden behind my house. The sky was dark and covered with stars. It was as if I was seeing it for the first time. A distant psalmody appeared to be descending from it. My lips murmured, very softly: “Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship the footstool of His feet.” A holy man once told me that during these hours the heavens are opened. The air exhaled a fragrance of the flowers and herbs I had planted. “Heaven and earth are filled with the glory of the Lord,” I said.

I could have easily remained there alone until daybreak. I felt as if without a body and without any bond to the earth. Fearing, however, that my absence would disturb those within the house, I returned and lay down.

Sleep had not completely overtaken and I truly do not know whether I was awake or asleep, when suddenly a strange man rose up before me. He was as pale as a dead man. His eyes were wide open and he looked at me in terror. His face was like a mask, like a mummy’s. His glistening, dark yellow skin was stretched tight over his head, displaying the cavities of a dead person’s head. He did not look real – as if he was part of a painting. In one of his hands, he held some kind of a bizarre object which I could not make out; the other hand was clutching his breast as if he were suffering.

This creature filled me with great terror. I looked at him and he looked at me without speaking, as if he were waiting for me to recognize him, strange as he was. And a voice said to me: “It is so-and-so!” And I recognized him immediately. Then he opened his mouth and sighed. His voice came from far away; it came up as if from a deep well.

He was in great agony, and I felt pity for him. His hands, his feet, his eyes -- everything showed that he was suffering. In my despair, I was thinking of helping him, but he gave me a sign with his hand to stop. He began to groan in such a way that I froze. Then he said to me: “I have not come; I have been sent. I shake without stop; I am dizzy. Pray God to have pity on me. I want to die but I cannot. Alas! Everything you told me before is true. Do you remember how, several days before my death, you came to see me and spoke about religion? There were two other friends with me, unbelievers like myself. You spoke, and they mocked. When you left, they said: ‘What a pity! He is intelligent and he believes the stupid things old women believe!’”

“Another time, and other times too, I told you: ‘Dear Photios, save up money, or else you will die a pauper. Look at my riches, and I want more of them.’ You told me then: ‘Have you signed a pact with death, that you can live as many years as you want and enjoy a happy old age?’”

“And I replied: ‘You will see to what an age I will live. Now I am 75; 1 will live past a hundred. My children are free from any needs or wants. My son earns a lot of money, and I have married my daughter to a rich Ethiopian. My wife and I have more money than we need. I am not like you who listen to what the priests say: “A Christian ending to our life ...” and the rest. What have you to gain from a Christian ending? Better a full pocket and no worries ... Give alms? Why did your so merciful God create paupers? Why should I feed them? And they ask you, in order to go to Paradise, to feed idlers! Do you want to talk about Paradise? You know that I am the son of a priest and that I know well all these tricks. That those who have no brains believe them is well enough, but you who have a mind have gone astray. If you continue to live as you are doing, you will die before me, and you will be responsible for those you have led astray. As a physician I tell you and affirm that I will live a hundred and ten years ...’”

After saying all this, he turned this way and that as if he were on a grill. I heard his groans: “Ah! Ouch! Oh! Oh!” He was silent for a moment, and then continued: “This is what I said, and in a few days I was dead! I was dead, and I lost the wager! I was the confused one and now the horror was upon me! Lost, I descended into the abyss. What suffering I have had up to now, what agony! Everything you told me was true. You, dear Photios, have won the wager!”

“When I was in the world where you are now, I was an intellectual, I was a physician. I had learned how to speak and to be listened to, to mock religion, to discuss whatever falls under the senses. And now I see that everything I called stories, myths, paper lanterns, well, I now know that it is all true. The agony which I am experiencing now, and this is the truth I live in, it is like a worm that never sleeps; this is the gnashing of teeth.”

After having spoken thus, he disappeared. I still heard his groans, which gradually faded away. Sleep had begun to take over me, when I felt an icy hand touch me. I opened my eyes and saw him again before me. This time he was even more horrible and smaller in body. He had become like a nursing infant, with a large old man’s head which he was shaking.

“In a short time the day will break, and those who have sent me will come to seek me!”

“Who are they?” I asked.

He spoke some confused words which I could not make out. Then he added: “Over there, where I am, there are also many who mocked you and your faith. Now they all understand that their spiritual darts have not gone beyond the cemetery. There are both those who have done good to you, as well as all those who have slandered you. The more you forgive them, the more they detest you. Man is evil. Instead of feeling rejoice, kindness makes him bitter because it makes him feel his defeat. The state of these latter people is worse than mine. They cannot leave their dark prison to come and find you as I have done. They are severely tormented, lashed by the whip of God’s love, as one of the Saints has said [St. Isaac the Syrian]. The world is something else entirely from what we see! Our intellect shows it to us in reverse. Now we understand that our intellect was only stupid, our conversations were spiteful meanness, our joys were lies and illusions.”

“You, who bear God in your hearts, Whose word is Truth, the only Truth, you have all won the great wager between believers and unbelievers. This wager I have lost. I tremble, I sigh, and I find no rest. In truth, there is no repentance in hell. Woe to those who walk as I did when I was on earth. Our flesh was drunk, and we mocked those who believed in God and eternal life; almost everyone applauded us. They treated you as mad, as imbeciles. And the more you accept our mockeries, the more our rage increases.”

“Now I see how much the conduct of evil men grieved you. How could you bear with such patience the poisoned darts which came from our lips and which called you all hypocrites, mockers of God, and deceivers of the people. If these evil men who are still on earth would see where I am, if only they were in my place, they would tremble for everything they are doing. I would like to appear to them and tell them to change their path, but I do not have the permission to do so, just as the rich man did not have it when he begged Abraham to send Lazarus the pauper. Lazarus was not sent, so that those who sinned may be punished and those who went on the ways of God might be worthy of salvation.”

“He that is unrighteous, let him do unrighteousness yet more; and he that is filthy, let him he made filthy yet more. And he that is righteous, let him do righteousness yet more; and he that is holy, let him be made holy yet more” (Rev. 22:11).”

With these words he disappeared.