St John Climacus refrains from suggesting rules and routines on praying, eating, sleeping, and working. “What matters for him is humility and purity of heart. […]
We must be watchful. “Watchfulness is a continual fixing and halting of thought at the entrance to the heart. Guard your mind and you will not be harassed by temptations. But if you fail to guard your mind, accept patiently whatever trial comes. Watchfulness when practiced over a long period, completely frees us with God’s help from impassioned thoughts, impassioned words and evil actions. . . This enables us to fulfil every divine commandment in the Old and New Testaments and bestows every blessing of the age to come. It is purity of heart, a state blessed by Christ when He says” ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ Purity of heart is the ground for the vision of God.” […]
We must not only watch what we eat, we must watch what we think, as we seek to conquer the next vice, the demon of unchastity and the desire of the flesh. St John Cassian teaches, “Bodily fasting is not enough to bring about perfect self-restraint and true purity; it must be accompanied by contrition of heart, intense prayer to God, frequent meditation on Scriptures, toil and manual labor. . . Humility of soul helps more than anything else. . . We must take the utmost care to guard the heart from base thoughts.” Contrition and humility comes from sincere confession and repentance. […]
John Cassian’s teachings in the Philokalia are a good summary of the Ladder of the Divine Ascent. His teachings on the Eight Vices are advice to those seeking salvation as monks, so we must discern how these teachings apply to those of us who seek salvation in the secular world; indeed, imagine what advice he would give to us living in the secular modern world to resist the vices of gluttony, unchastity, avarice, anger, dejection, listlessness, self-esteem, and pride.
The early Church Fathers always talk about fasting, the struggle against gluttony, as the first vice to conquer, once you conquer fasting, the other vices become easier to conquer. The spiritual life is about changing your habits, adopting good habits, discarding bad habits, indeed habitually seeking to change your daily habits for the good. […]
Evagrios compares the persistence of prayer to the seven years of labor by Jacob to gain the hand of Rachel, his gazelle, for Jacob so loved Rachel that the seven years he labored for her hand seemed to him to be but a day. On his wedding night Leah, her sister, was substituted for Rachel, and Jacob labored yet another seven years for the hand of Rachel. […]
He who attained spiritual knowledge and has enjoyed the delight that comes from it will no longer succumb to the demon of self-esteem, even when he offers him all the delights of the world; for what could the demon promise him that is greater than spiritual contemplation? […]
The demons tempt us through our passions, they tempt us through our perceptions, they tempt us through our memories of past pleasures that tempt us, through painful memories of those who have harmed us, and if this was true in the days of Evagrios, how much more true it is today when the media bombards us with images of pleasure and pain and cruelty. Evagrios warns us, “all thoughts producing anger or desire in a way that is contrary to nature are caused by demons.” If Evagrios could visit us today, what would he say about the wisdom of Christians attending church on Sundays and watching horror movies or violent movies on Friday nights? Are we inviting demons into our souls to tempt us, to crowd us the compassionate thoughts in our soul? We should guard ourselves against the demons of anger and rancor who seek for us to replay over and over in our mind the wrongs that others have done to us in the past. […]
Evagrios begins by quoting Jeremiah, “You shall not take a wife in this place.” The primary meaning of this verse is advice not to bear sons and daughters in time of war and troubles, but Evagrios interprets this allegorically, that we should not bear worldly thoughts and desires in our heart. These worldly thoughts and desires are weak and sickly and lead to death, and “have no place in heavenly life.” […]
St Anthony compares those who follow evil spirits to those who follow Christ. Those who follow the evil spirits show “tumult and confusion of thought, defection, hatred towards them who live a life of discipline, indifference, grief, fear of death, and disregard virtue.” But those who follow Christ have “joy unspeakable, cheerfulness, courage, renewed strength, calmness of thought, and boldness and love toward God.” […]
One day St Anthony went into church as this Gospel verse was being read:
Jesus said, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
Anthony perceived that this verse was directed at him, so he IMMEDIATELY gave the family land, his inheritance, and his other possessions to the poor, leaving some money for his younger sister.
Anthony was able to do this because his parents had departed. His younger sister was put in a convent to be raised, and we can surmise the convent was where she wanted to go, because if this was not the best place for her Anthony would have taken another path. No degree on saintliness on his part would have been worth the price of her unhappiness and her soul.
Immediately is a word you see quite often in the first Gospel of Mark. When should you repent and live a godly life? When should you start caring for your neighbor? When should you follow the way of the Lord? IMMEDIATELY. […]
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