Extracts from the holy fathers against lust, lust, drunkenness and gluttony, and on asceticism
Against lust:
"The temple of God is holy: and this temple is you." (1 Cor. 3:17)
Let us strive for purity even to death and be kept from any impurity that is not characteristic of nature, according to the words of the firstborn among the prophets - Moses. In particular, let us beware of debauchery. The angels fell and were cast out of their state of glory and honor, allowing their eyes to gaze unacceptably. There is nothing worse than looking lustfully at a woman. Many perished because of women ... Do not be slaves to nasty passions below natural, nor shameful lusts that are so vile before God. Write the name of God on your hearts; let the voice in you ceaselessly ring out: "you are the temple of God" (1 Cor. 3:16) and the place of the Holy Spirit. A person deceived by impure lust is like dumb beasts before God, devoid of all consciousness. Reverend Anthony Great.
Fornication is intensified from five reasons: from idle talk, vanity, a lot of sleep, from a tendency to beautiful clothes, from satiety. He who wants to remove from himself the abuse of fornication, let him be kept from the above-mentioned reasons for it ... for passions hold on to one another, like links in a chain. Reverend Abba Isaiah.
The Apostle said: "Fornication and all uncleanness and covetousness should not even be called among you, as is fitting for the saints" (Eph. 5: 3). Fornication is a sin committed by the body. Uncleanness is a passionate touch of one's own and another's body, laughter and free treatment of others. A monk must maintain continuous sobriety, so as not to faint in attention, so that the passions do not harm him in any way. Sayings of nameless elders.
Fornication first ignites in the soul of a voluptuary, and then produces bodily corruption. Saint Gregory of Nyssa.
The spirit of fornication is not limited to subjecting one person to dishonor; his comrades immediately join him; feasts, drunkenness, shameful stories and an obscene woman who drinks together, smiles at one, seduces the other and inflames everyone to the same sin, is this infection really small, is such a spread of evil unimportant? Saint Gregory of Nyssa.
A woman who dresses up in order to arouse the lust of the intemperate is already committing adultery in her heart. Saint Basil the Great.
The fornicator harms himself, he pierces himself with the arrow of dishonor. The thief decides to steal in order to feed the body, and the fornicator takes care of robbing his own flesh. The covetous person is encouraged to steal by the thought of self-interest, while fornication is detrimental to the purity of the body. The glory of another causes suffering to the envious, but the fornicator himself commits his own dishonor. For what is more dishonorable than the burden of the fornication of a garment? Saint Gregory of Nyssa.
"If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will punish him" (1 Cor. 3:17), - says the Holy Scripture ... Resist the demon of fornication vigorously; do not agree to be carried away by thought, because coals are kindled from a spark and bad wishes multiply from a bad thought. Try to destroy the memories of them too. Monk Ephraim the Syrian.
Adultery is rooted out in himself by one who turns his eyes downward and his soul toward the Lord. Monk Ephraim the Syrian.
Those who commit adultery feel ashamed if even one person sees them; in what shame should they appear there, when heaven and earth gaze at them? Monk Ephraim the Syrian.
Completely remove from you adultery, for they will cast those who remain guilty of them into the pit of destruction. Monk Ephraim the Syrian.
If a prodigal passion is struggling with you, depress your body with exploits, falling down before God with humility, and you will find peace. Venerable Abba Isaiah.
If you feel a prodigal battle in yourself, then incessantly depress yourself with vigilance, hunger and thirst, humbling yourself before everyone. Venerable Abba Isaiah.
Woe to the fornicator who defiles the wedding garment! With shame he is driven out of the royal bridal chamber. The Monk Nilus of Sinai.
It is in your power to either feed [the demon of fornication] with obscene deeds, or with anger put him to flight with prayers, psalmics, fasting, vigils. The Monk Nilus of Sinai.
The pillar rests on the foundation, and the lust rests on satiety. The Monk Nilus of Sinai.
Adultery ... violates the condition of marriage, humiliates the nobility of children, dissolves family ties and upsets all human life.
We move away from God not by place, but by deeds. For the former is impossible, as the prophet says: "Where will I go from Thy Spirit, and where will I flee from Thy presence?" (Psalm 139: 7). But sins separate us from God. Saint John Chrysostom.
He who looks at a woman lustfully, whether he is a layman or a monk, will be equally punished for adultery. Saint John Chrysostom.
When a husband turns his heart to another, then, being divided in his soul and already ruled by the devil himself, he fills his house with all sorrow. And if the wife is carried away by a similar passion, then everything turns upside down. Saint John Chrysostom.
The temptations of this sin are strong, and nothing excites (adolescence) more than this passion. Therefore, we will shield them (young) from everywhere with advice, admonition, fear and threats. Saint John Chrysostom.
Why are you staring at someone else's face? Why are you striving into the abyss? Why are you plunging yourself into the net? Shield your eyes, shield your vision, lay the law in your eyes, listen to Christ, Who, threatening, equates a shameless look with adultery. Saint John Chrysostom.
What is the use of pleasure if it ... exposes incessant fear, eternal torment? Isn't it much better, having slightly abstained from the power of your thoughts, to be rewarded with eternal joy than to suffer endlessly for a little pleasure from vicious wishes? Saint John Chrysostom.
He who loves to look at beautiful faces, most of all, kindles the flame of passion in himself and, making the soul a prisoner of passion, soon begins to fulfill the wish. Saint John Chrysostom.
If you want to look and enjoy the gaze, then constantly look at your wife and love her; no law forbids it. If you look at someone else's beauty, you will offend both your wife, turning your gaze away from her, and the one you are looking at, because you touch her contrary to the law. Saint John Chrysostom.
Don't say: what if I gazed at a beautiful woman? If you commit adultery in your heart, you will soon dare to commit it in the flesh. Saint John Chrysostom.
Fornication finds a helper in the property of the body .... Where fornication, the devil dwells there. Saint John Chrysostom.
Do not offend yourself, man, do not reject the whole armor of the Holy Spirit, so that your enemies do not easily defeat you; take the shield of repentance, and repel the arrows of lust. Saint John Chrysostom.
Avoid fornication that defiles our soul and body; fornication, which removes us from God and from the saints; fornication, which has prepared for us an eternal and unquenchable fire. Saint John Chrysostom.
[Adultery is] a consequence of vanity, sensual inflamedness and excessive voluptuousness. Saint John Chrysostom.
Fornication makes people dishonest, pitiful, ridiculous and despicable among people, does what the enemy could do. And often fornication plunged into disease and danger. Many even died at the hands of harlots. Saint John Chrysostom.
Avoid adultery, remembering that by falling into it, you simultaneously become a breaker of the law, and kill your body, and dishonor yourself, and torment your soul, and dishonor your race, and anger God. Saint John Chrysostom.
If your brother has seduced, do not revile him with offensive words, do not mock him. You will not do him any good, but you will only harm him. Saint John Chrysostom.
Think, how can a fornicator enter the church after fellowship with a harlot? How will he stretch out his arms to the sky, with which he hugged her? How dare he pray with the lips with which he kissed the harlot? Saint John Chrysostom.
If it were only bodily impurity, you could, as you should, purify yourself by washing. But since the fornicator has defiled and made the whole soul unclean, let him seek such a cleansing agent that could wash away its defilement. And if he does not do this, then even if he emanated from all the river sources, he will not be able to remove even the smallest part of this sin. Saint John Chrysostom.
Better, of course, not to be familiar with this vile sin at all. But if anyone has slipped, let him continue to use such means that can eliminate the very essence of sin, promising never to fall into this sin again. If we, in sinning, although we condemn the committed sin, but again take it for the same, then we will not be of any benefit from cleansing. Saint John Chrysostom.
We are faced with a feat against the spirit of fornication, this fight is longer than others, constant and cruel. In it, very few win a perfect victory. Beginning to disturb from a young age, it does not stop until other passions are conquered. Since the attack is twofold, on the body and on the soul, then it is necessary to resist with two weapons, otherwise it is impossible to win only if both the body and the soul fight together. Bodily fasting alone is not enough to acquire or maintain the purity of chastity, unless a broken spirit and constant prayer against this unclean spirit precede. Then you need a prolonged meditation on the Holy Scriptures with spiritual understanding, work and handicrafts, curbing the fickle wanderings of the heart. And first of all, true humility must be put into the foundation, without which no vice cannot be overcome.
If we want to legally strive for spiritual struggle and defeat the unclean spirit of fornication ... we must rely not on our own strength (for this cannot be done by human effort), but on God's help. For the soul inevitably suffers attacks from this passion until it realizes that it is waging a war that exceeds its strength, and cannot win through its own diligence and labor, unless it is backed up by the help and protection of the Lord.
Correction of this vice-fornication mainly depends on the perfection of the heart, from which, according to the word of the Lord, sickness proceeds ... (Matt. 15, 19). Therefore, first it is necessary to cleanse the heart, which contains the source of life and death, as Solomon says: "Most of all that is preserved, keep your heart, because from it are the sources of life" (Proverbs 4:23). For the flesh is subject to his will and power, and therefore with special zeal one must observe a strict fast, so that the flesh, resisting the suggestions of the soul, by outraging, does not expel its ruler-spirit. However, if we attach all importance only to taming the body, and the soul does not also abstain from other vices and is not occupied with divine reflection, then we will in no way be able to ascend to the very top of true integrity when the main thing in us is to violate the purity of the body. So, according to the Lord, we must first cleanse "the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside of them may be clean as well" (Matt. 23, 26). Venerable John Cassian the Roman (Abba Kheremon).
There should be no doubt that the passion of fornication and uncleanness can be destroyed in us, because the apostle commanded to cut them off in the same way as covetousness, idle talk, ridicule, theft, the cutting off of which is convenient. Venerable John Cassian the Roman (Abba Kheremon).
But for all of us who fight with all our might against the spirit of fornication, victory is not to expect a means (to victory) from our efforts [but from God]. Venerable John Cassian the Roman (Abba Kheremon).
He who, through bodily labors and sweat, wages war with this rival (the prodigal demon), he is like one who has bound his enemy with a weak rope ... He who fights against him with abstinence and vigilance is like one who has surrounded his enemy with iron chains ... Who is armed with humility, anger and thirst , he is like one who killed his opponent and buried him in the sand.
Do not think to cast down the demon of fornication with objections and proofs, for he has many convincing excuses, for he fights against us with the help of our nature. Venerable John Climacus.
He who attempts to satisfy prodigal abuse by abstinence alone is like a man who thinks to swim out of the abyss by moving one hand. Combine humility with abstinence, for the former is useless without the latter. Venerable John Climacus.
This demon (prodigal) more carefully than all others watches for an opportunity to catch us, and when he sees that we cannot pray against him bodily, then he especially attacks us. Venerable John Climacus.
Our inhuman enemy and teacher of fornication instills that God is loving to mankind and that He will soon forgive this passion as natural. Venerable John Climacus.
The devil, out of jealousy, raised a fight against you. Take care of your eyes and do not eat until you are full. Drink a little wine, and then because of the weakness of the body, if necessary. Acquire the humility that breaks all enemy networks. The Monk Abba Dorotheos.
“But I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, apart from the guilt of fornication, gives her an excuse to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Matthew 5:32). Moses commanded that he who hated his wife should divorce her, so that something worse would not happen, because the hated one could be killed. But such a husband was obliged to give his wife a divorce, which was called a vacation pay, so that ex-wife did not return to him and there would be no confusion if he began to live with another ... The Lord does not violate the Mosaic Law, but corrects it and forbids the husband to hate his wife without guilt. If he leaves her for a good reason, that is, for adultery, he is not subject to condemnation, and if not for adultery, then he is subject to court, because by this he forces her to commit adultery. But he also becomes an adulterer who takes her, because if no one took her, she, perhaps, would return to her former husband and submit to him ... And a Christian should be a peacemaker for strangers, especially for her own the wife that God united to him. Blessed Theophylact.
But maybe someone will say: what an offense to Christ God from the fact that someone defiles his body with a prodigal sin? Indeed, this is a great offense to Him, for the body of every Christian is not his, but Christ's, according to the words of Scripture: "You are the body of Christ, and individually you are members" (1 Cor. 12:27). And it is not fitting for you to defile and defile the body of Christ with carnal, voluptuous deeds, except for legal marriage. For you are the house of Christ, according to the apostle: "The temple of God is holy; and this temple is you" (1 Cor. 3:17); and would not he who wanted to drive the owner out of his own house inflict the greatest offense on him? Yes, I would. And the master driven out of his house would take a sword or something else and raise a rebuke against the one who drove him out. Likewise, Christ the Lord, driven out by us from ourselves, from His own house, by our wicked carnal deeds, suffers an offense from us and takes the sword in hand to repay us for His offense.
Let us see how displeasing to the Lord is everyone who does not fight the passions of his body, does not win, but loves them, who does not quench the fire of lust in himself, but kindles it even more, attracted by voluptuousness, as the Scriptures say: “everyone is tempted, being carried away and being deceived by his own lust "(James 1:14).
But whoever wants to stubbornly resist his passions for the love of Christ, how can he overcome them? By killing yourself. "Put to death," says St. Paul, "your earthly members" (Col. 3: 5). Such was this holy ascetic, who said to himself: "I subdue and enslave my body" (1 Cor. 9:27). And no one can otherwise conquer his flesh, overwhelmed by passions, but by mortifying it ... Everyone himself can see enough in the lives of the saints how many exhausted themselves with various mortifications, quenching in themselves the flame of carnal lust. Suffice it to say that he who has killed his passions is a good ascetic and a bloodless martyr. Saint Demetrius of Rostov.Fornication is poison that mortifies the soul Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
Whoever fornicates denies Christ. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
The sin of fornication has the property that it unites two bodies, although not legally, into one body. For this reason, although he forgives immediately after repentance and confession, under the indispensable condition that the repentant leave him, but the cleansing and sobering of the body and soul from prodigal sin requires a long time for the connection and unity established between the bodies ... and those who infected the soul, became dilapidated and destroyed.
In the New Testament (the sin of fornication) received a new weight, because human bodies received a new dignity. They have become members of the Body of Christ, and the violator of purity is already inflicting dishonor on Christ, dissolving union with Him ... The love-lover is executed by spiritual death, [from him] the Holy Spirit retreats, the sinner is recognized as having fallen into mortal sin ... the pledge of imminent death ... if this sin is not cured in due time by repentance.
It is very important to preserve the body from falling into fornication, but this alone is not enough for God-loving purity that sees God. We have an indispensable duty to cleanse the very soul of voluptuous thoughts, dreams and sensations. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
Bodily lust fades away from confession more than from fasting and vigilance. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
The Law of Moses forbade adultery. The Lord forbade carnal lust. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
Vanity in relation to true glory is fornication.
Those who have not yet acquired true heartfelt prayer are helped (in the struggle with the prodigal demon) by suffering in bodily prayer ... Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
The gratification of carnal lusts makes a particularly heavy impression on us. The Fathers call them defilers of the spiritual temple of God. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
It was never so timely as in that period to instill in Gentile Christians abstinence from fornication, because the corruption of pagan morals never reached such a degree as in that period. The Jews, one cannot but tell the truth, of all the tribes could be considered the people of the purest morality, but they did not view this sin as a crime against morality, because such a view was established only by Christianity. As for the pagans, even Socrates did not consider fornication to be reprehensible, and Cicero argued that not one of the moralists even thought of imposing a prohibition on this matter. The view of the sensuality of the ancient man has changed in the new due to the purity that breathes and which every page of the New Testament instills. The basis for such a change in outlook is the highest moral truths taught to the world in the teachings of the Lawgiver and the Lord. But the duty of justice requires giving thanks to the one whose teaching was a broad explanation of these great truths - the Apostle Paul. If the insane waste of the precious gifts of life should be considered a terrible disaster for individuals and nations, if debauchery is a curse and shame, eating at the root of human happiness much faster than all other vices, and if, on the contrary, the blush of modesty on young cheeks is considered one of the most precious accessories of youth, then a true benefactor, under the influence of the spiritual and moral teachings of which these truths were sown and grew in the hearts of young men of every Christian country, one should be recognized who, under the influx of the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, with greater clarity, with greater calmness, with great conviction, than anyone else, explained the vileness, humiliation, infectiousness of sin, through the body that betrays and spreads its poison to the soul, which also has that special property that destroys the soul of more than one person, but makes him responsible before God for blocking the path to salvation other personalities. Barsov M.V.
In Lower Egypt, there was a certain hermit who was famous because he was silent alone in a cell in a desolate place. According to the action of Satan, a certain woman of depraved behavior, having heard about the hermit, said to the young men she knew: "What will you give me if I depose your hermit?" They agreed to reward her generously. She went out in the evening, as if she had lost her way, came to the hermit's cell, knocked on the door. He came out, seeing her, was embarrassed and asked: "How did you come here?" She feigned tears and replied: "I lost my way." Having compassion on her, he led her into the vestibule in front of the cell, and he himself entered the cell and locked the door behind him. But she began to shout: "Abba! Beasts will eat me here!" He was again embarrassed, but at the same time he was afraid of the Judgment of God for his cruel act and said to himself: "Where did this attack come from for me?" Opening the door, he led her into the cell. Then the devil began to kindle his heart with the arrows of lust. Realizing that the devil was at work here, the hermit said to himself: "The path of the enemy is darkness, and the Son of God is light." With these words, he lit the lamp. Feeling that lust is kindled more and more, he said: "Since those who satisfy lust will go to torment, try yourself, can you withstand the eternal fire?" With these words, he placed one of the fingers of his hand over the fire of the lamp. The finger began to burn, but he did not feel pain due to the extraordinary ignition of carnal passion, and until the daybreak he burned all his fingers on his hand. The woman, seeing what the hermit was doing, seemed to be petrified with horror. Early in the morning the aforementioned young men came to the hermit and asked him: "Did a woman come here late at night?" He replied: "She came. Here she is, sleeping there." The young men, coming up to her, found her dead and said: "Abba! She is dead." Then he, opening the little robe, in which he was, showed them his hands: "This is what this daughter of the devil did to me. But the Scripture says that one cannot repay evil for evil." After praying, he raised the dead woman to life. She repented and spent the rest of her life piously. Puffiness.
A disciple of a holy elder was overcome by the spirit of fornication, but with the help of the grace of God he courageously resisted the foul and unclean thoughts of his heart, very diligent in fasting, prayer and handicrafts. The blessed elder, seeing his intensified deed, said: "If you want, son, I will pray to the Lord that He will take away the abuse from you." The disciple replied: "Father! Although I work, I see and feel good fruit in myself: because of this battle, I fast more and more practice in vigils and prayers. But I ask you: pray to the merciful Lord to give me strength to withstand the abuse and to strive legally. " Then the holy elder said to him: "Now I have learned that you have correctly understood that by this invisible battle with the spirits, through patience, the eternal salvation of your soul is accomplished." Puffiness.
A certain brother had the abuse of fornication. He went to the elder and told him about his thoughts. The elder instructed him, comforted him and let him go in peace. The brother, feeling the benefit, returned to his cell. But then the abuse came again. He again went to the elder and did this several times. The elder did not insult him, but instructed him not only not to go into relaxation, but, on the contrary, to come to him every time, denouncing the enemy when he begins to attack. Thus, the elder said, the enemy, being exposed, will retreat: nothing is so contrary to the spirit of fornication as when his business is opened, and nothing brings him such joy as when the thoughts he brings are hidden. Puffiness.
Once the devil erected such fleshly warfare in the arduous body of Saint Ignatius that he, being burnt by this hellish flame, fell to the ground and lay for a long time like half-dead, then he came to his guardian Elder Akaki and, explaining his misfortune to him, asked him for consolation. The good old man, as befits him, consoled and confirmed him with divine words and examples of holy men. After that blessed ascetic came to the church, took the icon of the Mother of God in his hands and kissed it, with tears asking the Ever-Virgin to help him in trouble and deliver him from this intolerable battle and the devil's obsession. The Blessed God did not leave her slave to be tempted more than he could: by the grace of the Mother of God, he was surrounded by a certain ineffable and indescribable fragrance, and from that time this deadly battle left him. Athos Patericon.
Against lust:
Many who are tempted by voluptuousness commit fornication with thought; preserving the virginity of the body, they corrupt the virginity of the soul. Beloved! It is necessary to renounce the delight in prodigal thoughts and dreams, from communication with them and attention to them, according to the instruction of Scripture: "Most of all that is kept guard your heart, because from it are the sources of life" (Proverbs 4:23). Avva Gerontius.
Keeping the heart from sinful thoughts is the primary reason and essence of salvation. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
“But I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Jesus Christ forbids here not every desire, but the desire that is born in us from the view of women. For he who loves to look at beautiful faces predominantly ignites the flame of passion within himself, makes the soul a captive, and after that he soon begins to make a wish ... by lust ", that is, someone who produces desire in himself, who, without any compulsion, draws this beast into his calm heart; this no longer happens from nature, but from negligence ... That is why the Savior did not at all forbid looking at women, but only forbade looking at them with lust. Saint John Chrysostom.
“If your right eye tempts you, pluck it out and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not your whole body was cast into Gehenna” (Matthew 5:29). The Savior did not speak these words about the members. He never condemns the flesh, but everywhere he accuses a corrupted will. It is not your eye that looks, but your mind and heart look through it. If the soul is directed to other objects, the eye often does not see the objects in front of us. Therefore, not everything must be attributed to the action of the eye. If Christ spoke of the members, he would not speak of one eye, the right, but both. Because if someone is seduced with the right eye, he is undoubtedly seduced by the left. So why did the Savior only mention the right eye and the right hand? Because you know that it comes not about members, but about people who have a close relationship with us. So, if you love someone so that you rely on him as on your right eye, and recognize him so useful that you consider him for your right hand, if he corrupts your soul, then cut off such a person from yourself. Saint John Chrysostom.
Prodigal lust must be suppressed by memory, which for this sin greatly torments and torments the conscience. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
"Everyone who looks at a woman ... has already committed adultery with her" (Matthew 5:28). What if, living in society, one cannot but look at women? But it is not just "who looks at a woman ... commits adultery," but "who looks with lust."
Look - look, and keep your heart on a leash. Look through the eyes of children who look at women purely, without any evil thoughts. Women should also be loved, because they are not excluded from the commandment of love for neighbors, but with pure love, which thinks about the soul and spiritual kinship, among other things ... In Christianity, as before God, "there is no male or female" ( Gal. 3:28), and in the mutual relations of Christians. In all respects, you will say it is difficult. Yes, there is no struggle without struggle, but struggle presupposes the unwillingness of evil; unwillingness by the merciful Lord is imputed to purity. Bishop Theophan the Recluse.The holy fathers praise certain persons who are glorious in their Christian life, which consists in the fact that they were resurrected before the General Resurrection. What is the secret of such a life? In that they have assimilated the characteristics of life after the Resurrection, as indicated in the word of God, and made them determinative in themselves. Future life appears to be detached from everything fleshly: there they neither marry nor encroach, they will not eat dead food there, and the body itself will receive the spiritual.
So, whoever lives detached from everything fleshly, he receives or regains in himself the elements of the future life after the Resurrection. Get to the point where everything flesh is frozen in you, and you will rise before the Future Resurrection. The way to this is indicated by the apostle when he says: "walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16). And it certifies that this path can certainly achieve the desired: "he who sows to the Spirit from the Spirit will reap eternal life" (Gal. B, 8). Bishop Theophan the Recluse.
Against drunkenness:
If a lot of wine is drunk, it becomes like a tormentor who burst into the fortress, who from its height produces incessant rebellions in his soul, without denying himself any unlawful demand, but first of all, having enslaved reason, mixes and frustrates the entire conscious order of life: the voice makes it loud, arouses obscene laughter, rash anger, unbridled lust, a fierce and frenzied passion for all lawless pleasure. Saint Basil the Great.
Drunkenness is the beginning of atheism, for it darkens the mind, by which God is usually most cognized. Saint Basil the Great.
The Lord accepts the fasting person inside the sacred fences, but does not allow the drunkard there, as bad and alien to the shrine. Saint Basil the Great.
Avoid drinking so that it no longer separates you from God. Saint Basil the Great.
Drunkenness gives no place to the Lord, drunkenness drives away the Holy Spirit. Saint Basil the Great.
Fasting and prayer will not enter a soul defiled by drunkenness. Saint Basil the Great.
Drunkenness is enmity against God. Saint Basil the Great.
Drunkenness is the mother of vice, resistance to virtue; it makes the courageous timid, the chaste - lustful, does not know the truth, takes away prudence. Saint Basil the Great.
Drunkenness is a voluntarily called demon, invading the soul through voluptuousness. Saint Basil the Great.
Wine drowns reason and mind and stirs up passions and lust. Saint Basil the Great.
Do not drink wine to the point of ecstasy, so as not to be deprived of Divine joy. Venerable Abba Isaiah.
He who spends his time in drunkenness, revelry and gorging, he has fallen under the cruel power of the devil. Saint John Chrysostom.
Drunkenness is the root of all evil. Saint John Chrysostom.
A drunkard is a living dead. Saint John Chrysostom.
Drunkenness is a fall, deprivation of justification, a general shame of our kind. Saint John Chrysostom.
The main evil of drunkenness is that it makes Heaven inaccessible to the drunkard and does not allow the attainment of eternal blessings, so that along with the shame on earth, those suffering from this ailment and in Heaven await a grave punishment. Saint John Chrysostom.
Drunkenness does not come from wine - and wine is created by God ... but a vicious will produces drunkenness. Saint John Chrysostom.
A drunkard is worse than a possessed one: we all feel sorry for the possessed one, but we are indignant and angry with the drunkard. Why? Because the one has an illness from the devil's misfortune, and this one - from infirmity; in that - from the intrigues of enemies, in this - from the intrigues of their own thoughts. Saint John Chrysostom.
Drunkenness is a misfortune that is laughed at, a disease that is bullied; arbitrary insanity, which is worse than insanity. Saint John Chrysostom.
A drunkard is unpleasant for friends, ridiculous for enemies, despised by subordinates, disgusting for a wife, unbearable for everyone ... Saint John Chrysostom.
It is especially difficult that drunkenness, full of so many evils and giving rise to so many misfortunes, is not even considered by many to be their fault. Saint John Chrysostom.
A drunken man does not know how to dispose of his speeches with reasoning, does not know how to arrange the wealth of thoughts ... he spends and overthrows everything. Saint John Chrysostom.
The drunk is more pathetic than the dead. The dead are insensitive and cannot do either good or evil, but a drunk man is capable of doing evil and, having buried his soul, as in a grave, in the flesh, he mortifies his body. Saint John Chrysostom.
Even a drunkard cannot take advantage of pleasure, because pleasure is in moderation, and in immoderation - insensibility. Saint John Chrysostom.
Drunkenness is always evil, but especially on Holy Holidays. Here, along with sin, there is also the greatest insult and humiliation of Divine things; there may be double punishment for this. Saint John Chrysostom.
Drunkenness in itself can serve instead of any punishment, filling souls with confusion, filling the mind with darkness, making a drunken prisoner, exposing countless diseases, internal and external. Saint John Chrysostom.
Whether anyone has acquired chastity, modesty, decency, or meekness, or humility - all this drunkenness plunges into a sea of wickedness. Saint John Chrysostom.
Drunkenness ... this is a diverse and many-headed beast ... here fornication grows in him, there - anger; here is the dullness of mind and heart, and there is shameful love. Saint John Chrysostom.
The drunkard cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven. And what am I saying: Kingdoms! The drunkard does not see real objects either. Drunkenness turns days into nights, light into darkness; drunk, looking with all his eyes, does not see what is under his feet. Saint John Chrysostom.
The temple of God is those in whom the Spirit of God dwells. The temple of idols (and the devil) are those who defile themselves with drunkenness and intemperance. Saint John Chrysostom.
Christ wants to dwell with you, and you trample on Him with gusto and drunkenness. Saint John Chrysostom.
Wine, like everything created by the Creator for our benefit, is good, "for every creation of God is good," says the apostle, "and" nothing is reprehensible if it is received with thanksgiving "(1 Tim. 4: 4). And in the book of Genesis it is written: "And God saw everything that He had created, and, behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). "Wine is good for a person's life if you drink it in moderation ... A delight to the heart and consolation to the soul - wine, used in moderation at the right time," says Sirach (Sir. 31, 31, 33), infirm. That is why the apostle wrote to Saint Timothy: "Henceforth drink more than one water, but use a little wine, for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments" (1 Tim. 5, 23). That is why Saint Paul forbids not to drink wine, but to get drunk: “Do not get drunk with wine” (Eph. 5:18). For one thing is to drink wine, another is to get drunk with wine. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
The cause of drunkenness, like other sins, is an evil and unrestrained heart, idleness, frequent feasts, companies, increased meals, communication with the wicked and intemperate. Frequent repetitions generate passion and evil custom. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
Drunkenness is the fault of many grave sins. It gives rise to quarrels, fights with subsequent bloodshed and murder, foul language, blasphemy, blasphemy, annoyance and resentment to others. It teaches to lie, flatter, rob and kidnap, so that there is something to satisfy the passion. It ignites anger and rage. It leads to the fact that people wallow in the mud like pigs in a swamp - in a word, it makes a person a cattle, a verbal one - dumb, so that not only internal state but also external human species often changes. Therefore, Saint Chrysostom says: "The devil loves nothing more than luxury and drunkenness, since no one fulfills his evil will like a drunkard." Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
A drunken person is capable of all evil, goes to all sorts of temptations. The one who so treated him becomes a participant in all his iniquities, since a sober one would not accept such temptations. If even a small spark of reason shines in a sober person, then in a drunken person it is completely extinguished. Although the sober one is attracted by the lust for lawlessness, the conscience arms itself and resists, and so it takes away from lawlessness, and in the drunken lust prevails, and the conscience weakens. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
From these caring and poisonous treats, a person falls into a passion of drunkenness, in which he becomes so stiff that he cannot free himself from it. And it often happens that in this disastrous insensibility, his life also ends without hope of salvation. For this death and his alleged benefactor, or rather; villain, will be condemned. Because whoever opens the way to death is guilty of this death. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
Drunkenness is the cause of not only mental, but also temporary bodily evil, relaxes the body and leads to weakness. Therefore it is written: "Against wine do not show yourself brave, for wine has ruined many" (Sir 31, 29). Drunkenness leads to squalor and poverty. "The drunken worker will not get rich," says Sirach (Sir 19: 1). It takes away fame and a good name, on the contrary, leads to lack of glory, contempt and disgust, for people do not disdain anyone so much as a drunkard. A drunken man causes grief and sadness to his family, relatives, and friends, while he makes his enemies ridicule. Drunkenness makes its adherent incapable of any business, In whatever rank the drunkard may be, he will bring more troubles and misfortunes than benefit to society. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
Young people should not be allowed to drink anything intoxicating, because young people are more likely to get used to it, and what they learn in their youth, they will be addicted to this all their lives. They should not be allowed to hang out with drunkards and depraved ones. And those who have reached maturity do not need to drink wine unnecessarily. We must retire from bad companies and feasts. It must be reminded that it is very difficult to keep up with this passion. And many die from this very passion in soul and body. And those who are accustomed to this passion must firmly arm themselves against its torment, stand, not give in, pray and call upon God's all-powerful help. It is necessary to recall the troubles that happen from drunkenness and compare the state of a sober life with the state of a drunk. It should be reminded that many die drunk in their sleep and pass from this world to another without any feeling, and therefore without repentance. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
The wife of an employee, a certain Maria Gordeeva, told Archimandrite Kronid at the Trinity courtyard the following story about herself. “My husband,” she said, “did not stop leading a drunken life after marriage. He spent all his free time in crazy drunken orgies. Sergius of Radonezh. I prayed so fervently to him that tears poured out in a stream. Suddenly I see: my whole room was illuminated by an unearthly light. In this light, a wondrous old man of indescribable spiritual beauty and kindness comes to me ... Approaching, he said to me in a fatherly friendly manner: "Calm down , the servant of God Mary! Your prayer is heard, and your husband will not come to you drunk anymore. "I bowed at his feet. He blessed me and became invisible. A few minutes after this vision a sharp bell rang out in our apartment. I opened the door and saw my husband. But he He was not at all as violent as he had been before. Entering the hall, he knelt in front of me, sobbed and began to ask me for forgiveness for his crazy life and the torment inflicted on me. After that he became unrecognizable, completely sober and worthy. And 35 years of our further married life I lived with him in peace and harmony. " Trinity flowers.
Against gluttony:
The image of this passion, to which even a Christian of spiritual and lofty life necessarily obeys, is quite rightly designated by the likeness of an eagle. Although he soars above the clouds and hides from the eyes of people and from the face of the whole earth, but, at the request of the womb, he is forced to descend again on the lowlands, descend to the ground and feed on ... corpses. Likewise, gluttony can in no way be suppressed, like other vices, or completely exterminated, but only excessive excitements and desires can be limited and curbed by the strength of the soul. Abba Serapion.
If the defeated spirit of gluttony with his humility begins to flatter you, begging you to make him some indulgence, to reduce jealousy in abstinence and a measure of severity, do not give up in response to his obedience. Seeing that you have become a little calmer from bestial incitement, do not think that you are not in danger of attack, do not return to your former intemperance or the whims of gluttony. For the conquered spirit of gluttony says, as it were, "I will return to my house from whence I went out" (Matthew 12, 44). Then immediately the seven spirits - vices that come from him will be even angrier for you than the passion that you first conquered, and they will soon lead you to sins ... Therefore, we must try, having conquered the passion of gluttony by continence and fasting, not to leave our soul empty of necessary virtues, but carefully fill all the curves of our heart with them, so that the spirit of gluttony, upon returning, does not find us empty, not occupied with virtues, and, not content with opening the door for himself alone, he does not introduce seven passions into our souls, so that the latter will be worse than the former. For after this it will be more vile, dirtier that soul that boasts that it has renounced this world, while all eight passions reign in it. She will be subjected to a more severe punishment than when she did not pledge herself either with dignity or with a Christian name. For these seven spirits are therefore called the most evil of the spirit that had previously gone out, because the desire of the womb in itself would not be harmful if it did not introduce behind it other, more important passions, that is, fornication, love of money, anger, sorrow, despondency, vanity and pride which in themselves, no doubt, are harmful and disastrous for the soul. And therefore, one who hopes to acquire it by abstinence alone, that is, bodily fasting, can never achieve perfect purity, unless he learns that abstinence is necessary so that, after pacifying the flesh by fasting, he can enter into warfare with other passions. Abba Serapion.
We must first suppress the passion of gluttony, and the mind must be refined not only by fasting, but also by vigilance, and reading, and frequent contrition of the heart about what it recognizes itself as deceived or defeated, now lamenting from fear of vices, now inflamed with the desire for perfection and integrity. until, busy with such concern and reflection, he does not realize that eating is allowed not so much for pleasure as it has served him as a burden, and begins to consider it a more inevitable need of the body than of the desired soul. Engaged in this exercise of the mind and contrition, we suppress the lust of the flesh, intensified by the heat of food, and its harmful stings; Thus, the furnace of our body, which is kindled by the Babylonian king-devil, who constantly gives us reasons for sins and vices ... we can extinguish with an abundance of tears and hearty crying, until the fire of carnal lust is completely extinguished by the dew of God's grace that blows in our hearts ... Abba Anthony.
A sated womb gives rise to the seed of voluptuousness, and a spirit suppressed by the weight of satiety cannot have prudence. For it is not just the excessive consumption of wine that makes a person insane, but the immeasurable consumption of food also upsets, darkens him, deprives him of purity and integrity. Abba Anthony.
The first abuse, the first experience - in striving for perfection to destroy gluttony and gluttony. Not only the excessive desire for food must be suppressed for the sake of virtue, but the food most necessary for our nature must be taken not without heartbreak, as an opponent of chastity. And the course of our life should be established in such a way that at no time should we be distracted from spiritual pursuits, unless only when the weakness of the body prompts us to condescend to the necessary care for it. And when we obey this need, then, satisfying more need life, rather than the lust of the soul, we must hasten to leave it as a distraction from our salvific pursuits. For we can in no way despise the pleasures of real food, if the mind, surrendering to divine contemplation, does not enjoy the love of virtues and the beauty of heaven even more. And thus, everyone will despise everything present, as transient, when he continuously directs the gaze of the mind to the unshakable and eternal, and, while still in the body, he will contemplate the bliss of Eternal Life. Abba Theona.
Gluttony must be conquered not only for itself, so that it does not harm us with burdensome gluttony, and not only so that it does not kindle us with the fire of carnal lust, but so that it does not make us slaves to anger or rage, sadness and all other passions. Abba Theona.
Gluttony is divided into three kinds: one kind encourages eating before a certain hour; the other loves only to be satiated with any food; the third wants tasty food. Against this, the Christian must have threefold caution: to wait for a certain time for eating; do not get fed up; be content with all the most humble food.
Who stronger than a lion? But he too, because of his womb, falls into the net, and then all his strength does not serve anything. John Kolov.
If the water is divided into many channels, the whole land around them turns green; so, if the passion of gluttony is divided in your heart, it will give water to all the feelings, plant a forest of vices in you and turn your soul into a dwelling of animals. Saint Basil the Great.
If you possess the womb, you will dwell in paradise, and if you do not possess it, you will become the prey of death. Saint Basil the Great.
Avoiding immoderation in pleasure, the goal of eating food should be set not to pleasure, but to its necessity for life, for to indulge in pleasures means nothing more than making the womb your god. Saint Basil the Great.
Learn to keep the womb in a strong bridle: it alone does not give thanks for the benefits rendered to it. Saint Basil the Great.
Gluttony drove Adam out of paradise; it was also the cause of the flood at the time of Noah; it also brought down fire on the Sodomites. Although voluptuousness was a crime, the root of both executions came from gluttony. Saint John Chrysostom.
There is nothing worse, nothing more shameful than gluttony. It makes the mind fat; it makes the soul flesh; it blinds you and prevents you from seeing. Saint John Chrysostom.
Are we preparing to sacrifice ourselves that we are so fattening ourselves? Why are you preparing a sumptuous meal for the worms? Why are you increasing the amount of fat? .. Why are you making yourself useless? .. Why are you burying your soul? Why are you making her fence thicker? Saint John Chrysostom.
Flee from gluttony, which generates all vices, removes us from God Himself and brings us down into the abyss of destruction. Saint John Chrysostom.
You are promised Heaven and the Kingdom of Heaven, and you, submitting to the violence of the womb, do not you endure everything and neglect the promised? This is true shamelessness. Saint John Chrysostom.
Whoever indulges in food eagerly undermines the strength of the body, as well as reduces and weakens the strength of the soul. Saint John Chrysostom.
There is, say, some pleasure in satiety. Not so much pleasure as trouble ... Satiety produces ... worse (than hunger). Hunger in a short time exhausts and brings the body to death ... and satiety, eating away at the body and producing putrefaction in it, exposes it to a prolonged illness and then a grave death. Meanwhile, we consider hunger intolerable, and we strive for satiety, which is more harmful than it. Where does such a disease come from in us? Where does this madness come from? Saint John Chrysostom.
Just as a ship, loaded with more than it can accommodate, sinks under the weight of the cargo, so the soul and the nature of our body: taking food in excess of its strength ... overflows and, unable to withstand the weight of the load, sinks in the sea of death and at the same time destroys the swimmers, and the pilot, and the navigator, and the sailors, and the load itself. As is the case with ships in this state, so it is with those who are jaded: no matter how quiet the sea, not the skill of the helmsman, not the multitude of shipmen, not the proper equipment, not the favorable time of the year, nothing else benefits the ship overwhelmed in this way "so and here: no teaching, no admonition, [no reproof of those present], no instruction and advice, no fear of the future, no shame, nothing else can save the soul overwhelmed in this way. Saint John Chrysostom.
Gluttony destroys all that is good in a person. The Monk Nilus of Sinai.
If you hope to withdraw to God, then listen to my advice and quench the fury of gluttony, thereby weakening the incitement to voluptuousness in yourself - this sets us up to eternal fire. Rev. Isidore Pelusiot.
Neglect tasty foods, because they will soon turn into nothing, and during the meal they have a great price. Eating them in excess of the need now gives rise to diseases, and in the future will subject them to responsibility at the Court. Rev. Isidore Pelusiot.
See that satiety and gluttony do not drive you to a passionate fury and you do not become carried away by these two young unbridled horses. Rev. Isidore Pelusiot.
Those who consume food in excess and the need for food offend with satiety, dull the senses and, without noticing it, lose even the very enjoyment of food from excess in pleasure. Rev. Isidore Pelusiot.
If you defeat [the womb], this mistress, then every place will help you to acquire dispassion, but if she possesses you, then until the grave you will be in poverty everywhere. Venerable John Climacus.
He who desires many and different foods is a glutton, even if he eats only bread and drinks only water because of his poverty. Venerable Simeon the New Theologian.
It is impossible to fill the flesh to its fill with food, and spiritually enjoy intelligent and divine blessings. For to the extent that a person works his womb, to such an extent he deprives himself of the taste of spiritual blessings. And on the contrary, the extent to which someone begins to refine his body, in proportion to that, he can be saturated with food and spiritual comfort.
Let us be afraid lest we, having surrendered to gluttony, lose the promised blessing and inheritance from Heavenly Father. Saint Gregory Palamas.
He who nourishes the body without abstaining from food and drink will be tormented by the spirit of fornication. The Monk Abba Theodore.
Run your life with your mind from a young age and remember what you ate and drank for a long time. More than once you ate and drank enough, but all this passed as if it had never happened, and now there is no memory of it and there is no benefit from it. For both then and now, although you will enjoy all the foods and drinks, you will receive nothing more than harm, and for every instance of pleasure there is a heaviness in the soul and a renewal of passions. Therefore, do not wish here to reward yourself in this way, but place all your hope in heavenly. Saint Demetrius of Rostov.
Gluttony is nothing more than a bad habit, a reckless, unsatisfactory gratification of a natural desire damaged by abuse. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
From pleasing the womb, the heart is burdened, coarse, hardened; the mind is deprived of lightness and spirituality; man becomes carnal. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
Weakness and darkness, communicated to the body by abundance and indiscriminateness in food, are gradually communicated by the body to the heart and heart-mind. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
The root of all sins ... is the love of money, and after the love of money ... gluttony, the strongest and most abundant expression of which is drunkenness. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
If you please the womb and nourish yourself excessively, then you will plunge into the abyss of prodigal filth, into the fire of anger and rage, you will burden and darken your mind, you will bring your blood to heat. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
About asceticism
A Christian Needs Unceasing Feat
Asceticism ... is imitation of all the commandments of the Lord and keeping them; it is not angry, not arrogant, not greedy, not reckless, not proud, obedient, it serves everyone, completely shuns the perishable, is in communion only with the spirit; he has a grateful tongue, a useful prayer, he does everything out of obedience ... Rev. Isidore Pelusiot.
The labor of planting the Word of God in the heart requires such efforts that it is called a heroic deed. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
Love for deeds is hatred for passions; on the contrary, laziness and indolence easily induce passions into the soul. Puffiness.
If a person does not shed sweat in deed for the achievement of every virtue, he will not be able to enter into the rest of the Son of God. Puffiness.
Prudent dejection of oneself by exploits frees one from vices - the consequences of previous negligence. Puffiness.
A person, while in the body, should not and cannot trust himself. He is incapable of immutability. He needs to be in constant exploit. Venerable Abba Isaiah.
Step on the path leading to Heaven; take the narrow and narrow path, walk along it, exhausting and enslaving your body to the spirit. Saint John Chrysostom.
He who serves the Lord only when he is safe does not show great love and does not purely love Christ. Saint John Chrysostom.
Although we must relate everything to God, we ourselves must be active, take upon ourselves labors and deeds. Saint John Chrysostom.
Seeing hope ahead of you, do not neglect work. Where feats are, there are rewards; where there are wars, there are honors; where there is struggle, there is a crown. Saint John Chrysostom.
Having decided to serve God, abide in the fear of God and prepare your soul not for peace, inaction and pleasure, but for temptations and grief. Venerable John Cassian the Roman.
Although Christ, who is always with people, does everything in them, but they, for all their weakness, do a great job just to keep Christ in themselves, because all the cunning and all the wiles of the devil are directed to tempt them to be rejected from hands of Christ and dispose them to speak or think in self-imminence, that it was we by ourselves and by our own efforts engendered such and such a good thought or said a reasonable word. Venerable Simeon the New Theologian.
Devotion - the sacrifice of the flesh to God
Those who ascend in this life will have to fight not with people, but with demons and disembodied forces. That is why their leader is not a man, not an Angel, but God Himself. And the weapons of these warriors correspond to the nature of the battle: they are made not of leather and iron, but of truth, righteousness, faith and wisdom. Saint John Chrysostom.
The Christian feat, which happens not against flesh and blood, but against the spirits of wickedness (Eph. 6, 12), consists in humility, in contempt for vain glory, in patience and meekness, rejecting oneself, crucifying the flesh with passions and lusts, in courage when tempted. When Christians do this, they do not yield their place in the battle to their enemy, the devil. This is how all the saints fought and received the crown of righteousness from the Ascetic Jesus Christ. And we must follow them, beloved Christian, if we want to have a part with them in the Kingdom of Christ. Otherwise, they will not recognize us that we are Christians, and Christ does not recognize us as His own, for we do not have His sign, that is, the patience of the cross, under which His faithful servants ascend. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
Our flesh, which rises up against our spirit and fights us with bodily members, as instruments, and wants to kill our faith, is then sacrificed by Christians when they mortify their members that are on earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust and covetousness, which is idolatry, according to the apostle (Col. 3, 5); When they cleanse their heart and circumcise it by circumcision not made by hands; when they cleanse the mind from vain thoughts, from evil, proud undertakings and godly intentions; turn away the will from evil lust and subjugate it to the will of God; they drive out malice and all indecency from memory, turn away their eyes, "so as not to see vanity" (Ps. 119, 37); turn their ears away from slander, slander, seductive songs; keep the tongue from slander, condemnation, slander, curses, blasphemy, profanity, idle talk and other evils ... (Rom. 6, 13). Let them direct the mind to meditation on the wonderful works of God, to the growth of His glory, the benefit of one's own and one's neighbor; will - to please the will of God; the heart is for the love of God and love for one's neighbor; tongue - to the glorification and glorification of the name of God, to the building up of one's neighbor; eyes - to the contemplation of God's wondrous creation and in the creation - the Creator; ears - to hearing the word of God, the glory and praise of God. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
Beware of every sin, lest you perish. There can be no Christian without a good conscience. It is better for a Christian to die than to sin and to placate and irritate his conscience. This feat against sin is needed by all Christians who want to be saved. But, Christian, smash the lawless "baby" while he is small, so that he does not grow up and kill you (Ps. 136: 9). Kill lust, so that it is not fulfilled with deeds, kill a small anger, so that it does not turn into rage and anger ... Kill all evil, until it is not enough, so that it does not grow and ruin you. This feat is difficult, truly difficult, but necessary. Strive, then, so that Christ the Ascetic will give you the crown of life. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
Those who live in the wilderness and in solitude have both a great zeal for piety, as well as a greater temptation from the devil. And the more someone tries to please God, the more temptations the devil inflicts on him. Church history testifies to this enough, but those who fight against this enemy and strive for salvation will also learn this by themselves. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
Physical exploit gradually cleanses the soul from passions and acquaints it with the spirit of the Gospel. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
(Physical feat) is essential for driving out the passions by actions opposite to the demand of the passions; it is necessary for planting virtues in the heart as directed by the gospel. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
In the life of our venerable father Elijah the hermit we read: “He became a monk in his youth, went to a distant desert, spent seventy years in it and never left it. The path to his cell was so narrow that he could hardly walk along it, because sharp stones surrounded her. Elijah was sitting in such a cramped cave that one could hardly see him. He was one hundred and ten years old. The fathers said about him: "No one remembers that he ever left his cell to the nearest mountain ". As an old man, he ate in the morning and in the evening three biscuits and three berries of olive, and in his youth he ate food only once a week. To the monks who came to him, for the sake of their spiritual benefit, he said the following:" Do not give yourself into the power of Satan ... He has three powers that come to a monk before every sin. The first is oblivion, the second is laziness, the third is lust. If he finds oblivion on a monk, laziness arises in him, lust increases from laziness, and a person falls from lust. If anyone accepts the fear of God, laziness flees from him and evil lust is not conceived in him. And then Satan will not defeat us and lead us into sin, and we will be saved by the grace of God. " Prologue in teachings.
Abba Athanasius said: some say that now there is no deed of martyrdom. Not fair. You can enter into a martyrdom under the guidance of conscience. Die to sin, mortify your earthly attachments and vices, and you will be a voluntary martyr. Martyrs fought with tormentors, kings and princes; and you have a tormentor who torments you - the devil, you have princes who persecute you - demons. Once upon a time, temples and altars were erected to the devil and the demons; abominable idolatry was offered to every false idol; understand that even now there can be a temple and an altar in the soul, there can be a mental idol. The temple is insatiable voluptuousness, the altar is voluptuous lust; idol-spirit of lust. "The one who works for fornication and carried away by voluptuousness has rejected Jesus, worships an idol, has in himself the image of Venus - an abominable fleshly passion. And yet: if someone is conquered by anger and rage and does not cut off these violent passions, he has denied Jesus, has Mars as his god, has subjugated himself Another covetous man: shutting his heart to his brother and not mercy on his neighbor, he denied Jesus, serves idols, has the idol of Apollo in him and worships the creature, leaving the Creator. The root of all sins is the love of money. and will be saved from violent passions, then you trampled on idols, rejected evil, became a martyr and confessor. Puffiness.
The goal of an ascetic life is the salvation of the soul
The ascetic life has one goal - the salvation of the soul. Saint Basil the Great.
He who has endured thousands of deeds for the sake of virtue and to acquire it with an abundance of tested himself in labors, he will live to the end ... Saint Basil the Great.
If the ascetic seeks rewards here for his labors and merits, he causes regret, for, receiving a temporary reward, he loses the eternal. Saint Basil the Great.
Ascetic, wait for the One who exalts, and do not be faint-hearted in the present. For you are a fighter and doer of Christ, having agreed to spend the whole day in the struggle and endure the heat of the whole day. Why then, having not yet fulfilled the measures of the day, do you demand repose? Wait until evening, the limit of life here, and then the Householder will come and count your payment. Saint Basil the Great.
Your feat is temporary, but your reward and praise are eternal; your labor is short, and peace and perfection do not grow old. Monk Ephraim the Syrian.
He who envies his brother's successes excommunicates himself from Eternal Life, and he who helps his brother will be his accomplice in Eternal Life. Monk Ephraim the Syrian.
First, you need to practice your labors and acquire a crown in exploit, so that you can taste Divine grace in this way. The bitterness of achievement is replaced by the sweetness of repose, and the severity of life is replaced by grace. Monk Ephraim the Syrian.
If a person does not perform a proper bodily feat, then the true vision will not be revealed to him. Venerable Abba Isaiah.
When (the ascetic), through a satisfactory bodily achievement, subordinates the senses to the power of the spirit "and frees himself from passions, then true vision is revealed in all glory to the mind. Venerable Abba Isaiah.
If we do not find in ourselves the abundant fruits of love, peace, joy, meekness, humility, simplicity, faith and patience, then all our deeds were in vain and in vain. Venerable Macarius of Egypt.
Small deeds performed here (in a short life) give us great boldness (in the afterlife). Saint John Chrysostom
Many say that it is impossible to restrain our sinful inclinations, because we are already born with them. But I will tell you that this is not necessary. If we are forced to restrain ourselves, it only means that we are still sinners and have not made the decision to take advantage of the righteousness of Christ. God does not invite us to fight sin in our own strength. The secret to victory is it is the love of God that drives the love of sin out of our hearts, and vice versa. When we become righteous, our attitude towards sin changes, sin is no longer attractive to us and we are not attracted to it.
It is like it is difficult for a smoker to restrain himself from not smoking, but this is only as long as he remains a smoker. For an ordinary person, this is not difficult, he does not even need to restrain himself, because he simply does not want to smoke. It is just as difficult for a drunkard to restrain himself, but only as long as he remains a drunkard, but a teetotaler does not bother with this, because for him it is not a problem, for him drinking is disgusting and this is his natural state. It is difficult for an adulterer to keep himself in check and his thoughts in the right direction, but this is only as long as he remains an adulterer. For the righteous, it is the norm not to think about debauchery. So it is precisely for this state that we will strive with you.
The victory over sin has already been accomplished, and God wants to give it to each of us. We can become overcomers if by faith we accept this victory from the hands of Christ and begin to enjoy it. In other words, our victory over sin is possible only through action our faith. If there is no such action, there will be no victory. We need knowledge for motivation, in order to induce us to action: to resist sin and maintain the achieved positions.
The development of fornication and porn addiction, like any other addiction in the human heart, occurs according to the following scenario, and goes through seven stages of development. But in this article we will look at exactly this dependency:
- The reason for all addiction is a gaping void in the heart that only God can fill, and an irresistible need to fill it with some substitute for God.
It is formed when we we decide live without God.
- When we we look to sin and restrain indignation, in our hearts there is a gradual accustoming to sin and an inner agreement with it.
"When you gaze into the abyss for a long time, the abyss begins to peer into you." Seeing debauchery, we gradually begin to imagine ourselves in their place, and experience the same feelings.
- A trigger is being developed that launches our sinful fantasies leading to arousal.
Seeing a naked woman, we learned develop a thought what could have happened next in our scenario. Our brain completes the picture and launches associations, and our body at this time begins to automatically prepare for the alleged event.
- An irresistible desire appears finish what you started.
It seems that if we have already sinned a little, then nothing terrible will happen if we go a little further and finish what we started.
Moral forces disappear somewhere, melt before our eyes, and instead of them there appears an irresistible craving for easy enjoyment.
- Frequently repeated thoughts or actions develop a habit or a reflex, and addiction appears.
When we often do something, we begin to skip some difficult routine moments, as if skipping them on the fly, jumping over them, such as rethinking our actions, deciding to do or not do something, and why.
- Vaults are being formed, so that you can return to this as soon as possible.
Usually the best gets there, the most exquisite to which the heart has become attached and from which it is so difficult to get rid of. We hide it from everyone so that no one finds it and calm ourselves down: let it lie down for a while, but I don’t use it yet, so imperceptibly escape routes are formed.
- Excitement satiation works as a principle destroying mechanism, edge-erasing permissible.
In pursuit of pleasure, we begin to transfer the line from the impermissible to the permissible, because the previous one has already begun to pall, has become a habit and does not give as much pleasure as before. We begin to justify sin: why we do it or why. At this stage, there is stage of further decline and pushing back the boundaries of what is permitted - further destruction of internal principles.
But this is not a verdict. Jesus says, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). “The Lord God is truth” (Jer. 10:10).
The victory over fornication and porn addiction occurs in the reverse order:
1. The why question is often more important than the how question. Work on restoring principles, and acquiring a motive to adhere to these principles.
To overcome sin and addiction, it is necessary to understand that “everyone is tempted, being carried away and deceived by his own lust” (James 1:14). " Lust is a vicious desire. " The fascination and seduction of consciousness comes from the answers to the questions: “Why am I doing this? or why? and what does it give me? " and contains the power of desire itself, which suppresses our will.
The abandonment of sin and dependence is not complete without willpower. God bestowed upon man free will, and he has the right to dispose of it. The Creator respects our freedom and does not show violence, and therefore does not dominate our will, and will not do for us what we are obliged to do ourselves.
Will- this is purposefulness, a conscious desire to achieve a goal.
Willpower directly depends on the strength of desire. Therefore, the beginning of liberation from sin and dependence comes from the desire to leave it. At this stage, the answers are formed: why or why do I want to get rid of it... The answers to these questions should awaken in us a strong desire to get rid of sin, a desire stronger than the desire to sin, because our desire cannot be defeated by anything and nothing but other stronger desire.
It is important to remember that if there is no desire, then there is no incentive to act, and therefore most of victory depends precisely on this stage, all the other steps are just finalizing the touches.
So, let's ask ourselves the question: "Where do righteous desires come from?" And here it does not do without God because: “God works in you both will and action according to [His] good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). Therefore, in prayer we turn to Him: "God give me the desire to leave the sin of fornication and porn addiction (or any other attachment)."
True victory over sin and addiction can only be with God, and He is ready to give it to everyone who asks of Him. It so happens that God gives victory to those who know nothing about Him, but those who know and try to do without Him will be defeated.
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell ”(Matthew 10:28).
Scripture says that you can lose your soul: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it; What good is it to a person if he gains the whole world, but damages his soul? or what ransom will a man give for his soul? " (Matt.16: 25,26)
God says "love." He does not say, “wait until you have feelings,” and what kind of feelings can there be for enemies? Therefore, love is a principle. A person who does not know how to love is called a soulless person - a person who has lost his soul. After all, the totality of principles constitutes our character.
Honor, love and soul are interrelated concepts, and they are all based on principles. An unprincipled person is also called spineless, and such a person has nothing to save. That is why it is necessary to develop correct principles in life.
Addiction is giving yourself over to someone or something as a result of giving up personal responsibility.
The desire to transcend the prohibition generates fear, which is often confused with arousal. Both are not sins within the bounds of what is permissible. Fear stops us from rash actions. Excitement infuses color into our lives and colors our relationships. But just as paints that have no boundaries mix and turn into dirt, so relationships that are not limited by the framework of decency become criminal and ugly. Therefore, in order for our life to be beautiful as an elegant picture, let's draw some boundaries in it:
One woman is made for only one man and vice versa. And the first principle says: one man - one woman.
The second principle is don't steal. Virginity is synonymous with honesty and honor. See article: "". They don't lose their virginity, they give it away. Whoever has sex with a girl outside of marriage deprives her of her honor and dignity, dishonors her and himself, deprives her of self-respect and steals the future from both her and himself.
The third principle is not kill. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body of the soul, but who cannot harm, fear those who kill both soul and body. The fornicator destroys, kills not only his own soul but also the soul of the one with whom he commits adultery. When a girl has sex, then sinning with each new partner, she loses part of her soul and her heart stops loving. Many of them subsequently declare, "I feel like a used piece of meat."
Fourth principle: do not covet what belongs to others. Do not allow lustful thoughts to corrupt the mind and feelings, and do not lead another into temptation. It is always easier to push into the abyss than to pull out of it.
Do not defile. The first sexual contact in a woman's life leaves a certain imprint on her.
No hand can compare with the body of a loved one. No crutch can replace what is natural.
God provided that pleasure is a reward for hard work. If we start stealing the reward, then soon it will cease to bring us pleasure.
Stop and think, define your desires: "Do you want to be guided by the principles of love that God offers you?"
“Love is longsuffering, merciful, love does not envy, love is not exalted, is not proud, does not rage, does not seek its own, does not get irritated, does not think of evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; Covers everything, believes everything, hopes everything, endures everything. Love never ends. (1 Cor. 13: 4-8)
Think the same way: "why do you want to do this and not otherwise?"
And here's my example of why. Because:
I want an eternal relationship, not a temporary one. I want not to waste myself on trifles, but to be with my loved one forever, forever.
I want to be clean, honest and not ashamed afterwards. I want to have dignity and self-respect, to respect others and to be respected.
I want to love and be loved, not just used.
I want to be faithful and not be betrayed.
I want to live and enjoy life, not steal pleasure.
I want to be healthy both morally and physically, and mentally and spiritually.
I do not want to be an instrument in the hands of Satan bringing pain, guilt and regret to others.
I want God to be pleased with me.
2. Decisive destruction of vaults or escape routes.
Many people ask the question: How did the Romans manage to conquer large and powerful states with such invincible tenacity? Why did they go and not lose battles when it seemed that the numerical superiority was not on their side? Very often they won not even because their army was better equipped or more seriously trained. The secret of their victory lay in the motivation of the warriors: they did not leave a path for themselves to retreat. When they crossed the river, they burned bridges behind them in the manholes of all the soldiers, and each of them understood that there were only two ways left: to die or to win, and they went and won.
The reserve is perhaps the most precious thing that you have, something to which your heart is stuck, that you leave for the very last moment somewhere in a secluded corner, thinking what if it will give you a ride. But it is he who acts as an anchor, preventing you from going further, he constantly pulls you and your thoughts back. You need to break firmly with your past and get rid of everything that may even indirectly remind you of it. Let the words of David: "I will not lay things obscene in my eyes," become your motto.
3. Addiction is not a sentence. Breaking old habits and forming new ones.
A habit or addiction is formed or destroyed in just 21 days.
The main thing is to overcome the critical period or, as it is also called in the treatment of addicts, the withdrawal period. During this time, the body gets used to living without sex, after which it will not be required beyond efforts for this.
For example, if you pick out a sore all the time, it will never heal. And if you do not touch it, then after a while you will forget about it. This is a physiological feature of the body - the less a person has sex, the less he wants, only it does not work right away.
The easiest way to do this is when you change one habits for others. And here self-development, finding interests and doing what we love can help us.
4. Thought precedes action. Working on thoughts. Restoration of moral strength.
Losing the fight with sin, the sinner begins to hate himself (I never want to see). This condition drives many to suicide. Therefore, at this stage, we begin the stage of self-acceptance.
It is very important to create a mental image of the ideal person we would like to become.
Start accepting yourself not as an orphan left to perish in sins and sores, but as a child of God, beloved and respected, whose freedom God values, and whose moral strength He is ready to support even at the cost of His life.
We cannot prevent birds from flying over our heads, but we can prevent them from building nests on our heads. It's the same with thoughts. We are able to prevent bad thoughts from getting into our heads, but we can disagree with them and prevent them from taking root there.
Ideally, you need to stop thinking about what leads us to sin. But sometimes it comes across obsessive thought which is not easy to get rid of. And the best way to stop thinking about it is to switch to something else and start thinking about something else. And this will help us practical acceptance of righteousness in Christ ... He bequeathed to us something that we ourselves would never have been able to achieve, but not so that this gift would lie somewhere on the shelf, but so that we would use it. And for this, let's move on to a practical task:
The first step is to try to imagine yourself as if you have never sinned before God.
Secondly, try to feel this state, what is it in itself, and how do you feel at the same time?
And thirdly, try to stay in this state as long as possible.
5. Fantasy is a tool that you need to learn how to use.
“And both were naked, Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Gen. 2:25). If Adam and Eve had not sinned, then all people, just as they would not wear clothes and as the Papuans would not be ashamed of each other. They would get used to seeing it and treat it as commonplace.
Sin begins with mental agreement with it, therefore, it is very important to be honest with yourself, so as not to fuel lust, and not to inflame it with sinful fantasies, that is, fantasies where we agree with sin.
As long as we resent sin, as long as sin does not silence us, as long as we persuade the sinner not to sin, even if only mentally, we are on the right side.
The fight will end when we stop resisting, when we decide to surrender, and only we decide when it happens. The war is not lost as long as there is resistance, and therefore continue to resist sin with all your soul, all your thoughts and all your strength, and may you gain victory.
“When I say to the wicked:" You will die by death! "And you will not admonish him and speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way so that he may live, then that wicked will die in his wickedness, and I will require his blood from your hands ... But if you admonished the wicked, and he did not turn from his iniquity and from his wicked way, then he will die in his iniquity, but you saved your soul ”(Ezek. 3: 18,19).
We can wait for years to introduce ourselves suitable occasion to prove ourselves, but just at this moment we may not be ready. Our fantasies can accelerate the process of either our downfall or recovery.
6. What you look at and imitate. What we most often look at is gradually and transforming.
The passion for pornography arose from another psychological disorder - the urge to peep. It is the possibility of spying on sex scenes with impunity that has given rise to such a complex, intractable problem.
“But with our open face, as in a mirror, beholding the glory of the Lord, we are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord's Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).
“Finally, my brethren, what is only true, what is honest, what is just, what is pure, what is pleasant, what is glorious, what is only virtue and praise, think about this” (Phil. 4: 8). When we think about this, our mind's eye is turned to that which is purely holy and perfect.
Imagine that your attention is a spotlight that you direct to highlight this or that picture, and no one except you can control it. At first, it will be difficult to direct it in the right direction, but over time, when the swing mechanism is developed, the control will become easier and more obedient.
7. Basic decision: Who is your God?
All the work done so far, although it will give a result, will not stay long if you do not fill the emptiness of the heart intended for God.
“To have spiritual life and strength, we must be in living fellowship with our Heavenly Father. Our thoughts can be turned to Him. We can meditate on His works, His mercy and blessings, but this will not yet be communion with Him in the full sense of the word. To have a real connection with God, we need to open our hearts to Him, to tell Him about our life.Open up to God your daily needs, joys and sorrows, worries and fearsyour sorrows and misunderstandings, misfortunes that can befall you, worries that disturb the soul, everything that confuses or worries you, your inner peace, in general, reveal to Him your whole life! You will not tire and burden Him with this.
In prayer, we open our hearts to God as a friend. This is not necessary because God does not know who we are, but to help us accept Him. Prayer brings not God closer to us, but us to God.
Let us also not think only about our needs, and forget about the benefits that we receive. All that we are enriched with should bind us with the bonds of love and gratitude to the heavenly Giver of all blessings.
The relationship between God and each person is so definite and complete, as if this person is the only soul on earth that Heavenly Father cares about and for which He gave His beloved Son.
God does not want His children, for whose sake the great feat of salvation was accomplished, to treat Him as if He were a demanding, demanding Lord. Our god best friend... When we gather for services, He wants to be with us, bless and comfort us, fill our hearts with joy and love. The Lord desires that serving Him should not be a heavy burden for His children, but that it should bring them pleasure and consolation. He wants those who come to the place of His worship to be able to carry away precious thoughts of God's care and love, so that they draw from this fellowship the courage and strength for daily work and, having received His grace, could act honestly and faithfully in everything.
We should remember every blessing we receive from God. And when we realize His boundless love, we will willingly give everything into those hands that were nailed to the cross for us ”(Path to Christ chapter 7).
Wellbeing
All this time, as I saw from your letters, you saw only disposition to you and goodwill ... But, apparently, prosperity in life alone cannot be useful to a person, but without shocks; since the always consumed sweet food can damage our bodily health, we must sometimes use wormwood bitterness, for the health of the body. So in a moral position, well-being alone introduces a person into arrogance and carelessness about his spiritual disposition, and therefore the Lord discreetly allows a person to taste the sorrows of sorrows, so that he has humble wisdom and does not hope for the strength and immutability of temporary good, and would resort to God in in our sorrows, for He Himself, through the Prophet, prompts us: “Call on Me in the day of sorrow; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me "" (Compare: Psalm 49, 15). Through sorrow and in faith we are affirmed, and human glory is imputed to nothing. But we must firmly believe that without the will of God we cannot will happen ... although we see the cause of the sorrows of our people, they are only instruments of the Providence of God, acting in the work of our salvation, and they can only do that to us that God permits ... (Venerable Macarius).
Well-being is surrounded by three dangers that must be avoided in every possible way: the first is exaltation, the second is luxury, and the third is unmerciful avarice. These closely connected vices with prosperity, as very contrary to God, can conveniently make a person unhappy in happiness itself, if he deviates into any of them (St. Anthony).
Blessing
It is very pleasing to God that what is done with blessing, therefore, you and I will live in such a way that every step of ours is blessed (Venerable Anthony).
I approve of your discretion that without blessing you do not enter into any relationship with others. You will do this, it will be easier to preserve and save yourself (Venerable Anatoly).
Without being blessed, nothing should be done. If worldly people in more or less important matters ask for advice from more experienced people, then all the more a monk should be in obedience (St. Barsanuphius).
You write that you did not dare, without my blessing, to bring the rosary made of dew incense to the Vladyka in your monastery. And it shouldn't. You should also not have given the Right Reverend a prosphora from yourself (St. Hilarion).
You write that, thinking everything over, you think that it is better to be blessed several times for the same deed, so that Mother somehow, having forgotten, does not think that the deed has been done, but without her blessing (this is good, so do it) ... And with regard to the fact that Matushka is dissatisfied with that, if out of trifles they are blessed, and if they are not blessed, then it is better that you be guilty of bothering you (Venerable Hilarion).
...<Нужно>contrive; sometimes, apparently, a good deed will appear, but evil done without blessing happens, and will serve to harm and confusion of the soul ... (Venerable Leo).
Bliss
Life is bliss, and not only because we believe in blissful eternity, but here, on earth, life can be blissful if we live with Christ, fulfilling His holy commandments. If a person is not attached to earthly goods, but relies on the will of God in everything, to live for Christ and in Christ, then life here, on earth, will also become bliss (St. Barsanuphius).
Near
You write, esteemed E.A., that K. is ill and afraid that she will not get sick anymore. This does not mean anything - a bodily illness, one must be afraid that mental ailments do not remain incurable, and you do not even want her to receive healing from these illnesses. Itself is proud, you want to confirm it in the same; you do not want to be rude to her, and you are worried that rude ignoramuses who, in your opinion, are inferior to her will command her. How you insulted me with this sim! - Whose student are you? Christ was humble, and he told us to learn from Him to be humble and meek, and you think others are inferior to her; this is the science of the resistance, and now you put your own pledge of pride in it. It is necessary to instill in her that she is the worst of all, and if she considered herself so, then before God she would be superior. God commanded to endure reproaches and vexations from every person from whom He will allow us to come, and you make an analysis: that they are below her, they are rude, and they, perhaps, are great before God. I see that you have no idea about spiritual life, that others think so. Here there are no nobles, no merchants, no peasants, but all about Christ are brothers and sisters, and the last will be the first, and the first will be the last (Venerable Macarius).
The will of God is visible in His commandments, which we must try to fulfill when dealing with our neighbors, and in case of non-fulfillment and transgression, bring repentance (Venerable Macarius).
Our salvation is in our neighbor, and it is commanded to seek not “our own, but the hedgehog of his neighbor” for creation (Phil. 2, 4; 1 Cor. 10, 24, 33) (Venerable Macarius).
Prodigal abuse
The lust of all is at war. And in ordeals, the demon of fornication boasts before all the princes of darkness that he gave the prey to hell more than anyone else. Be patient and ask for God's help. Talking to the sisters is good, but keeping silent is even better. And while reproaching oneself, praying for them is even better (Venerable Anatoly).
And that you are allowed by the permission of God to abuse of fornication thoughts, and especially the dreams of demonic ones, then do not be surprised at this that the all-evil enemy represents such stinginess in his dreams! But only, my beloved daughter, know that this letting go is not easy for you! But for the contempt of others, some of the weak-falling: apparently, in her thoughts she secretly condemned and blinked. And therefore, secretly and with the blessing of God, he departs not far from us, and the greedy enemy, seeing us defenseless, takes revenge on us and<повергает>into such vain and stingy thoughts and imaginations. But we, who were punished by this event and tired to the point of exhaustion, and as if wounded and wounded, will resort to the All-True Physician of our souls and bodies, our Lord Jesus Christ, as infants and who have experienced our weakness and insignificance! And yes, we ask the All-merciful God, that He Himself will take revenge on our rival, our seducer, the devil, for us weak and falling into his grief-filled nets. And may he keep us the weakest from all the arrows of the enemy (Venerable Leo).
Call upon the prayers of those who have ascended for purity, the holy Martyr Thomas, Saint John the Long-suffering, Saint Moses Ugrin and the prayers of the spiritual fathers and all mothers; and impute yourself to be the worst of all. During the struggle, all these means are useful ... N. say: when you put up with it, then the abuse will subside - sleep less, eat less, beware of idle talk, condemnation and not like being adorned with a good dress, keeping eyes and ears. These are all means of preserving; not yet allow thoughts to enter the heart, but when they begin to come, rise up and ask for help from God (Venerable Macarius).
Some live like cats, dogs, sparrows and other animals - they have darkness in their heads and hearts, and they, like madmen, do not think, nor do they know, and do not believe that there is God, there is eternity, there is death and physical and spiritual! Such people live and die like cattle - and even worse (Venerable Anatoly).
That the demon of fornication is fighting against you is not a miracle, he did not disregard Antony the Great either, and even more so with you. But that you are conquered and succumb to it mentally - this means that God leaves you for something. Its own volca is more convenient here for the devil of all. Yes, and your frankness is of a dubious nature ... First of all, and most of all, try to acquire humility, then God's help will not be far away! (Venerable Anatoly).
About<блудного>excitement - patience and self-reproach, and the humility of the father<иди>and ask for help for the patronage and prayers of the Monk Moses Ugrin, John the Long-suffering, the Kiev miracle workers and the holy martyr Thomas, and remember the hour of death, and for their prayers the excitement will calm down ... (Venerable Leo).
M., when she absolutely does not rely on keeping her doors with fences about her lips, (then) otherwise it is impossible for her to free herself from the embarrassment and torment of the most voluptuous incantations and thoughts of adultery, and from these - boredom and despondency, and then the most pernicious thoughts of despair (Venerable Leo) ...
You, daughter, are offended and faint-hearted, that you are conquered by fleshly inclinations ... But, O beloved daughter, we are not faint-hearted, lower yes we are embarrassed, although we fall, and, having called the Father and Mother's prayers to help, we will rise, and yes we suppose beginning, and let us curse ourselves, and knowing our comfort, ambition and weakness, and God Almighty and Humanitarian, at our request with humility and hope, will not shame in every way, but will create what has been accomplished and take revenge on our all-evil rival, and will raise us up, and affirm our weak forces will courageously stand against arrows and his violent slander! .. (Venerable Leo).
And that fornication has been erected on you or allowed to fight, I will also remind you of this with your love, in the 4th part of "Philosophy" in the Word of Reasoning, Saint Cassian the Roman writes the words of Saint Apollos to his desperate brother, who is going into the world, spoken: “ Do not marvel, child, despair below: I’m very old and gray-haired, and I am terribly cold from these thoughts. Do not despair because of a crust (dilution), heals not only by human diligence, but by God's love for mankind "... (Venerable Leo)
Why are you complaining about prodigal abuse and that you are often defeated, and because of this you often indulge in despondency, and that God announced to Mother to teach you 50 bows for each crawl, then although it seems to you a little bit ... but you remember your title novices and should not make up their minds in anything! But be content with what is commanded and go through the given with fear and tenderness, and the strength of our repentance consists not in quantity, but in quality! and contrition of the heart, but we have no authority over this either. But the Human-loving and Gracious Lord, according to His mercy, the tuna (gift) also grants us this, but as you and I have an inclination towards vanity and pride, and therefore we are not given the desired repentance and tenderness by you, and we owe all this with humility make up and consider yourself worse than all creation, and you will be at peace, and although I am profane and triumphant, I hope in the mercy of God, which will not allow you to fall into the depths of pernicious despair, but with His omnipotent right hand will rise and confirm future success and perfect salvation ( . A lion).
And how, out of your benevolence and unlimited faith in my accursed accursedness, did you deliberately ask me the poor-minded - how to warn yourself in such cases. But although it is extremely insufficient in such consequences to teach appropriate advice, but even then I am quite sure that your faith, which helps our lack, can propitiate the Great Lord, send invisibly help and sound reason from above.<к преподанной>your love, according to your desire: how to stay awake and protect yourself from the aforementioned seductive thoughts and outrageous dreams and demonic ones! I already told you that I am rude and inexperienced. But I remembered the blessed father of the late Fr. Theodore, and he of my thinness rather retells many tales of the holy fathers who lived in the Ukraine during the time of his blessed Elder Onuphrius ... of whom, as much as I can, with the assistance of the grace of the Lord, I am urged to write your love; and, first of all, my daughter, with the help of God, we must try in every possible way.<причины>cut off, (that is) in order only to heed himself and his salvation. And when someone comes to you and, although at the action and instigation of a common enemy, begins to utter empty words and ... events to you, then you, seeing its significance in your face, if you cannot shorten the conversation in reasoning of partiality, then you should try your ears to lay, or so that in one ear the word to receive, and in the other to release and mentally ask the Lord, in order to save us from such a soul-crushing poison; and when you begin to do this, and in other similar cases, and with the one that filled your ears with soulful stories and quibbles, we are obliged, according to the commandment of the Lord, to love and regret. And the absurdities she utters to despise and hate to the point of evil, and the goodness of the Lord grants you the feeling of being protected from condemnation; and remember the holy prophet David the verse to remember: "cleanse me from my secrets, and spare Thy servant from those who are strangers" (Psalm 18: 13). And since it has been said above, when we begin to protect ourselves from condemnation, the grace of God will persist with us, and insensibly affirms us and protects us, and invisibly reflects demonic actions and dreams. And inside us, it strengthens the spiritual strength, and the action of prayer revives, and the memory of death reminds us, and future creations and eternal torment! And with these emotional feelings, deeds, evil thoughts are struck and supplications are destroyed (Venerable Leo).
You write that prodigal thoughts attack you, but from prayer you do not have the consolation that you had before, and you do not feel warmth. Forcing yourself to prayer as before, do not be discouraged and do not grow cold. Although you are sometimes defeated in thoughts, but again, with a new fervor of zeal and zeal, turn to God and in humility of spirit and trust in His mercy continue your usual home and church prayers, surrendering all of yourself to the will of God. Take care of your conscience and eyes, have the fear of God, more often think about death, about the Last Judgment and that if now you do not rule yourself in a godly good life, then after that you will completely weaken for good. Against lustful thoughts arm yourself with abstinence in food and sleep, try to always be in work and in action, and above all, have humility and self-reproach in everything and always, do not condemn anyone (Venerable Ambrose).
Pray from lustful passion to the Monk John To the much-gracious and holy martyr Thomaida, make three bows every day. Pray for those sisters to whom you have a dislike, inequality. As it is said: pray for one another, that you will be healed (St. Joseph).
Prodigal dreams occur at night in a dream ... When this happens, I have to put down 50 bows and read: "Have mercy on me, God" - psalm (50) (Venerable Anatoly).
When prodigal thoughts attack, pray to the holy martyr Thomais. And do the Jesus Prayer more strongly ... (Venerable Anatoly).
You are sick, and you hardly understand the cause of the disease. Frustration comes from frustration. Although you write about hobby in general, it is not clear, keeping silent, how you yourself kindled a fire in your Dubrov, not avoiding reasons, but voluntarily attracting them. Take a good look at yourself. It is dangerous to deceive yourself. I give you a reason to consider yourself - not everything is confused, it's time to get down to business in a real way (Venerable Ambrose).
You ask me to tell you the means of how to get rid of prodigal thoughts. Of course, as the holy fathers teach: the first thing is to humble ourselves, the second is not to look at either the deacons or the young children, and the third, most importantly, is to be patient (Venerable Anatoly).
At one time you are complaining about a neighbor who disagrees with you and about a prodigal passion. You are a wonderful girl! You are a foolish nun! It burns with fire on the right, and pours out on the left cold water... Yes, you foolish one, take water and fill the fire with it! That is, bear with the weak sister! And the passion of fornication will fade away. After all, this passion lives on and is supported by hellish oppression (setting fire) - pride and impatience! Be patient and you will be saved! Let the enemy and the flesh press you, but I will not stop repeating the Psalm word to you: "Be patient with the Lord, be of good courage and let your heart be strengthened, and be patient with the Lord!" (Ps. 26, 14) (Venerable Anatoly).
Why do you, daughter, complain, your fierce and fleshly passion has receded for a while, and the ailment of cowardice is most immersive in time, then, O mother and daughter, may your love be aware that the universal enemy, the devil, always changes his battles and intrigues, and so cunning and insidious deceptions of us, unskilful ones, deceives and conquers, and you do not assert that your rage and fleshly passion should be completely extinguished, but unless for a certain time you have been given a break for rest, and this is not the enemy who teaches the weak, but , by the mercy of God, the grace of God is invisible to us for the prayers of the Father and Mothers will help; and if God did not bless us, who were weak from these battles, invisibly protected and strengthened, then hardly anyone could keep himself in integrity (Venerable Leo).
Saint Mark the Ascetic says in his spiritual law: "the root of lust is the love of praise and human glory." Lust increases, as other holy fathers say, when a person loves bodily rest (in food, drink and sleep) and especially when he does not keep his eyes from seducing objects (St. Ambrose).
They are worried about inappropriate carnal abuse. Where there should be spiritual benefit for you, here the enemy contrives to erect a temptation for you. Despise it, because absurdity out of absurdities is such a suggestion as an enemy. You write that in this struggle it seems to you: someone is standing beside you. Such things happen when a person, during confession, either completely forgot some important sin, or did not know how to confess something as it should. Pray to the Queen Heavenly and the Guardian Angel to help you remember and confess this. Then the worthwhile dreaming will pass. You also need to humble yourself before God and people, considering yourself the worst of all. Because of carnal abuse, I find it inappropriate for you to go to Moscow for treatment. This will intensify this struggle even more. It is better to endure the suffering of illness to cleanse your sins. - This is more correct (Venerable Ambrose).
Sexual desire arising at a primitive biological level is usually called lust (in the language of psychology - sexual drive). Desire, which received its realization in concrete actions and got out of the control of reason, became obsessive, can be called sexual addiction ( prodigal passion). This includes not only masturbation, but also simply reading literature of the appropriate plan, watching pornography and other activities related to sexual arousal outside of marriage. From the point of view of the Bible and Church Tradition, all of these are undoubtedly sins of impurity, with numerous divisions. We will dwell in more detail on masturbation, as one of the most common forms of sexual behavior that underlies all other types and forms of sin in the field of gender.
V adolescence Physiologically, masturbation is usually associated with an excess of semen and hormonal processes, and from the point of view of psychology, it falls on the narcissistic period of personality development, when the adolescent's love is directed at himself. If masturbation has not become an addiction, usually after 20 years it disappears in boys, and in girls it can last up to 40 years.
Unfortunately, today the opinion is spreading according to which masturbation is a completely normal phenomenon, there are publications promoting it. Let alone sinfulness this phenomenon, these articles are silent about the fact that masturbation associated with pornography usually leads to a decrease in sexual desires and, as a result, dissatisfaction of the spouses, reduces the creative activity of the individual and often leads to a complex of guilt and depression. Compulsive masturbation (i.e., acquired the form of addiction) affects even the physical condition of the individual, including his external appearance... In the case of the fight against homosexuality, masturbation serves as a powerful anchor that tenaciously holds its master on the leash of unwanted feelings. I would not like to dwell here in more detail, since some readers know this from their own experience.
We will talk about a situation when masturbation has acquired the form of addiction, and a person constantly turns to this practice, cannot refuse it. First, we will consider the reasons for this behavior, then we will look at the mechanism of the development of addiction, and finally, we will determine the possible ways out of the situation.
What is masturbation in essence?
Many people notice that the desire to receive sexual satisfaction in an improper way (outside of marriage) arises precisely when we are upset about something, not confident in ourselves and afraid of failure in the future (anxious), resentful of someone, or simply physically exhausted. Someone resorts to masturbation just out of boredom and self-pity. Some use masturbation when they really want deep intimacy with someone (and not even bodily, but just to be together), but this desire, sometimes not obvious even for the person himself, remains unsatisfied. Often, compulsive sex is, in principle, a consequence of psychological and sexual trauma suffered in childhood, some defensive reaction to all forms of stress.
All the situations described above show one thing: a person resorts to this practice when his soul is bad, and in this way he tries to give himself at least a little relief, to make up or replace what he lacks.
However, it happens that the desire to turn to this is also associated with general intemperance, with an idle lifestyle, with the absence of what in the language of asceticism is called sobriety.
Why masturbation is becoming a problem
The problem, however, is that physical pleasure cannot replace a peaceful state of mind; after such behavior, a person tends to feel shame and guilt. To one psychological pain, he adds another. And then again and again.
As you can see, many of the problems that provoke unclean behavior are associated with the fact that a person does not feel very confident in society. Indulging his passion, he begins to avoid people even more, fearing that someone will find out about it. Relationships break down even more. He does not understand that it is the “easy solution” to masturbation that alienates him from his friends and makes him suffer even more. Finally, a person simply closes in on himself and no longer believes that someone wants to sincerely help him. He literally becomes a "slave to sin." The circle is closed. Such is the development of other sins associated with the sexual sphere.
The worst thing is that gross physical pleasure, not sanctified marriage union love, removes us from God. He who has saturated his soul with prodigal images either does not feel the need for God, or is afraid to turn to Him in his sin, or does not believe that such a conversion will have a result. Often he has no choice but to physical strength in order to get up to prayer.
Why, after all, does a person turn to this over and over again?
In a psychological sense, masturbation allows you to distract yourself from any thoughts at all and indulge in feelings, sensations, and thus, indeed, for a while, blocks the realization that a person has problems. Thus, masturbation does provide temporary relief in the form of detachment from reality.
At the same time, orgasm brings very great physical pleasure. The effect arises due to the fact that during a sexual act, the biochemistry of the brain changes, and a person feels pleasure and euphoria. These biochemical changes rebuild the structure of the neocortex connections, and a person literally gets used to living with other brains. Long absence sexual pleasure, as well as the absence of drugs, causes unpleasant sensations. Therefore, it can be difficult to move away from impure practices.
How to get rid of impurity
Sin is not in defilement - it is a consequence, but in laziness, condemnation, pride, carelessness.
Hieromonk Vasily, Optina New Martyr
Only if there is a memory of God in a person's heart, if the Holy Spirit lives in him, if Christian love has taken the place of lust, there will be no place for any sin. Therefore, we should no longer seek purity in itself, but seek God, His Presence, kindling faith, being comforted by hope, reaching love. Let us add, to seek in the Church, where there are centuries-proven methods of dealing with passions, and where the Savior of the world, Christ, is really present and acts.
Purity of heart, the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, active Christian love are, rather, the goals and result of life, but first a struggle is needed. It should be remembered that on our own we can only control behavior, but we are not able to eliminate the desire itself. By affirming this, we immediately avoid two extremes: to believe that nothing depends on us, that we are doomed to sin, and also to believe that we ourselves, without God's help, can succeed in freeing ourselves from this dependence and acquiring purity in thoughts.
Accordingly, we will offer here some specific tips for dealing with unclean practices (these tips can be applied to other forms of addiction - food, drug, entertainment, etc.)
1. For those who have even a little faith, it is necessary to begin the struggle with impurity by limiting their desires and forcing themselves to live with God. Let us point out the need for a humble prayer for the purification of the heart, for God's help in the fight against this sin, accompanied by a confession of one's own powerlessness. The usual ascetic means help: abstinence in food and drink, curbing the gaze, restricting sleep in combination with prayer and reading the Scriptures, but the constant memory of death and the humble patience of troubles and personal insults are especially helpful. A person who is constantly engaged in cleansing his conscience with tears of repentance simply does not linger in thoughts of pleasure. The effectiveness of these decisions is evidenced by the experience of the struggle with the prodigal passion of the ascetics of the Church.
2. Often, passionate thoughts (fantasies) originate in our past. And here you just need to ask God to show us not only the pleasure that we received last time, but also the pangs of conscience with which it was connected - to show the past without embellishment, in a real light. In fact, sometimes serious research into past trauma is required. In the literature, there are descriptions of cases when a person who worked as a child abuser, repented himself and forgave the offenders, got rid of many unclean practices.
3. We have already said that masturbation is often associated with anxiety and depression, and here the best way is to become an optimist. But let it not be the superficial optimism of popular psychology, but the optimism suffered in prayer, based on unshakable confidence in God and His love. We must understand that suffering and sacrifice are necessary for our growth, learn to accept troubles as the will of God, as His concern for us, to thank God more often and praise His mercy, and to believe that "everything works together for good." In fact, this is the Christian virtue of hope. Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov notes that the monks of antiquity used the following short prayer invocations to combat sorrow: “Glory to God for everything,” “Lord, I surrender to Thy holy will and wake Thy will with me,” “Lord, I thank You for everything that is to You. please send it to me "," I receive it worthy according to my deeds: remember me, Lord, in Thy Kingdom. " In cases of incitement to impurity, one should pray not that the Lord would not allow one to sin, but that he would accept this alarming situation with humility and calm down, then the desire will disappear. It should be remembered that sexual acting out can relieve pain, but only Christ can eliminate it. Some authors recommend using humor to ridicule the sad thoughts that arise, however, it seems that it will be no less effective to just sincerely pray a simple prayer, read the canon or the Psalter. In the book of Mario Bergner there is one piece of advice that helped him personally: "When you feel the urge to do this, instead, fall on your knees and pray." Mario went into the bedroom, went to bed - desires came, he jumped out of bed and prayed. Several times in the evening. Several dozen times a week. But soon he learned to pray and got rid of this passion.
4. A regular Confession with a permanent confessor is also needed, if possible accompanied by the Communion. Revealing your sins to another person protects the heart from coarsening, and an experienced look from the outside helps to better understand how to deal with passions. In addition, we believe that the Lord Himself forgives sins in the Sacrament of Confession, and the Communion of His Body and Blood renews us and makes us like God, gives strength to fight and win. In general, a serious spiritual life over time completely transforms a person from the inside, which is reflected in the external appearance.
5. When we fill our life with activity, fill our needs: we will do what we love, we will lead a richer life in terms of communication with healthy and spiritual people (first of all, our loved ones), we will go in for sports so as not to envy others and improve the physical state, when we move from being obsessed with ourselves, on our pleasure, to living for the sake of others, and in the place of the idol of pleasure we put the thirst for God - we will be able to control this passion.
6. If we talk about the purely technical side of the issue, then you need to find activators of attraction and cut yourself off from the sources of temptation: pornography in all its forms, fetishes, incl. own body(for example, in front of a mirror or in a bathroom), associative components - gifts, music, places, memorable dates... You need to understand what situations provoke this addiction, and try to change the structure of your life so as to get rid of provocative situations (for example, change the daily routine or the schedule of the work week). Often you just need to plan your time in advance, not to put things off until later. do not get into disturbing situations that provoke acting out. It is necessary to impose restrictions on the use of alcohol, because it is in a state of intoxication that it is more difficult for a person to control his feelings, and alcoholism itself only deepens depression. However, here it should be borne in mind that giving up sin-provoking things is not a complete solution to the issue. It is necessary to change consciousness and life - then these hooks will not hook us.
7. Always for complete liberation a decisive step is required. As long as we at least theoretically admit the place of this passion in our hearts, it will not go away. We need to be firmly resolved to abandon passion, even be angry with it - how much can you torment us - and it will run away from us. Real repentance presupposes not lukewarmness, but real horror of sin and anger at passion, the will to leave it once and for all.
How to deal with bad thoughts (thoughts)
Correctly organized work, as the ascetic experience shows, allows you to achieve results in six months. Nevertheless, purity of thoughts cannot be acquired with the help of psychology or asceticism: “However, we should know that at least we observed all the severity of abstinence, namely: hunger, thirst, vigilance, constant work, and read with unremitting zeal; however, through these labors we cannot acquire a permanent purity of chastity, unless, constantly exercising in them, from the guidance of experience we do not know that purity is bestowed by the grace of the grace of God. Let everyone know that he must tirelessly exercise these exploits only in order for the sake of their sorrow, bowing the mercy of God, to be rewarded, by a divine gift, from the battle of the flesh and the dominion of prevailing passions "(St. John Cassian the Roman). Not by labor, but by humility, man inclines God to himself, it is important to remember.
Nevertheless, in the process of spiritual growth, even to the grave, thoughts can and, most likely, will arise, as many ascetics testify. That is why the Church has an experience of a concrete struggle with thoughts. First of all, thoughts need to be opposed by a combination of incessant prayer, reading and bodily labor, meditation on the texts Holy Scripture... A lighthearted attitude towards morning or evening prayer often leads to increased thoughts. For concentration during the day, you can use listening to audio recordings of Orthodox chants, the Psalms. The unceasing Jesus Prayer, according to the experience of the ascetics of the Church, gradually renews the consciousness and heart of a person, heals his emotional upset.
Unclean thoughts need to be cut off at the very beginning of their emergence, just don't even pay attention to them, not allowing an interview or even more so enjoying them. It is the delight, weak-willed submission to thought that gives rise to despondency. Long-term stay in this state without opening thoughts spiritual father- a big mistake, because this is a direct path to insensibility and despair. And the desperate ruins himself, as St. John Climacus. In the stories about the life of the first monks, there is a mention of how one monk eleven times approached his elder with a confession of thought, before his passion left him.
Sometimes you should pay attention to the origin of the prodigal thought: whether it is born from the inside, from the imagination, or comes from the outside, from sight and encounters with certain people... In the first case, bodily labor is useful; in the second, solitude and silence with attention are required.
The rule that Father John of Kronstadt advises to be guided by is not to mistake unclean thoughts for something of your own. Whether memories come from a sinful past, or whether fantasy takes the wrong course - these are not only the peculiarities of the functioning of our consciousness; by experience, behind all the unclean there is a wicked one who wants to instill the idea of our depravity, complete unfitness for God and the futility of any attempts to change. This is not true, God does not look at a person like that - He just believes in each of us, and does not allow temptations that we could not bear. Our contemporary Elder Paisiy advises to conquer bad thoughts not by contradicting them or even by prayer, but by good thoughts. Too often we focus only on the struggle with sin, and this sometimes petty struggle exhausts us - and instead of gaining humility, we become discouraged! Meanwhile, our main goal should not be negative, but positive - to be cognizant of the will of God, all-good and joyful for every person, and in perfection in virtue, fulfillment of God's righteousness.
Let us not faint in the hope that any problem in this life, including the problem of bodily and mental purity, can be solved with God's help, we will live in the Church, we will follow Christ, and then nothing will remain impossible for us.
Authors mentioned in the article:
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov(1807-1867) - bishop, mentor of Russian monasticism and pious laity; not only a talented writer, but also an ascetic and a deep, genuine mystic. I saw as my task the return of the patristic spirit to the Church of its time, from which many departed due to the lack of translations of patristic literature and the abundance of low-quality "mystical" (sometimes Masonic and spiritualistic) literature of the West. In this turbid stream of spiritual dreaminess, the saint very clearly stood up for the defense of genuine spirituality. Many saints were brought up on his creations.
Venerable John Cassian the Roman(about 360-435) - student and friend the greatest saint John Chrysostom, the interlocutor of the Egyptian desert fathers, who opened Eastern monastic spirituality to the West. For many centuries he became a model and authority for godly minded people. His ascetic creations are distinguished by their harmony and consistency of presentation, sometimes touching upon topics that would seem uncharacteristic for monks, for example, the well-known interview about friendship. It was with him that my acquaintance with the ascetic tradition of the Church began.
Holy Righteous Father John of Kronstadt(1829-1908) - popularly beloved pastor, organizer of the broadest social ministry, ardent prayer book and miracle worker, whose diary "My Life in Christ" speaks of a very close communication his souls are with God and the heavenly world and can be a great help for those who seek inspiration in God. Books about the life of Batiushka Bishop A. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky and Bishop. Veniamin Fedchenkova can be recognized not only the best biographies O. John, but also as a kind of textbooks on the spiritual life.
Venerable John Climacus(c. 570-649) - teacher of monasticism, abbot of the famous Sinai Monastery, author of The Ladder, the most authoritative and complete ascetic work. Of course, his work, although written in a somewhat difficult way, can become an invaluable guide to solving most mental and spiritual problems, and not only a reference book, but also a guide to salvation, immediately after the Holy Scriptures. Not a single work of a psychotherapist known to me can equal the Ladder in terms of the breadth of coverage of problems and the accuracy of recommendations.
Elder Paisiy Svyatorets (Athos)(1924-1994) - our contemporary, not falling into abstractions, but subtly feeling the problems of the time. Spiritual wisdom allows him to speak in such a way that a person feels that the advice was given out of love, with compassion, and one wants to follow such advice. Thanks to the availability of presentation, illustrative examples, his books are very easy to read and have already brought mental and spiritual benefit to many.
Hieromonk Vasily Roslyakov, Optina New Martyr- was ritually killed by a Satanist on Easter 1993, which is described in the book "Easter Red". His diary with short excerpts, the Penitential Canon compiled by him - these are textbooks in climbing the spiritual ladder of the Orthodox faith.
Mario Bergner- one of the leaders of the ex-gay movement, who talks about his path in the spiritual autobiography "Setting Life in Order"
Fornication is one of the seven deadly sins. We have collected the sayings of the saints and elders of the Holy Mount Athos about how dangerous this sin is and how to deal with it.
1. “The prodigal sphere is the force that moves the world. It determines almost all motives of a person. Only the slightest carelessness ... and you are in a whirlpool! Nobody is immune from it: neither illness nor age will give any guarantee. This is generally an almost uncontrollable attraction. Real magic that works subconsciously. Fornication is a force that governs the whole world ... It acts on men like a magnet of monstrous power, attracting all their spiritual forces, and for women - just uncontrollable magic that can cause almost unconscious gestures, elusive movements ... ". (Monk Simeon Athonite).
2. “The truth is recognized by all that lust is born from a view and vice versa: where there was no view, there will not be lust, as Sirach writes:“ Fornication of a woman in the exaltation of the fringe ”(Sire. 26, 11). That is why the eye is surrounded by centuries, so that, like a girl (in Greek - a pupil and a girl), it can hide from strangers in inner chambers". (Monk Nikodim Svyatorets).
3. “As in a fire, if someone who wants to extinguish it begins to somehow suppress the flame from above, he will not have time to extinguish it. If the combustible substance is rejected, the fire will immediately diminish and subside. Likewise, in relation to prodigal passions, if you do not dry up the source of thoughts inside with prayer and humility, but only arm yourself against them by fasting and mortifying the body, then you will work unsuccessfully. If you sanctify the source with humility and prayer, then you will impart sanctification to the external body. " (Saint Gregory Palamas).
4. “Every person accepts prodigal thoughts, receives wounds and wins in the struggle against them. If not, then it falls. This is the purpose of demons: prodigal sin is their complete victory for tens of years! They receive special rewards and promotions for this. The fact is that falling into fornication so strongly affects the soul that this wound is almost incurable. It is the mind that is amazed, it opens up to thoughts and becomes defenseless for tens of years ... We can say that fornication completely kills the soul. If anger destroys for a while, then fornication simply destroys. Fornication paralyzes the soul - not forever, but for some long time... ". (Monk Simeon Athonite).
5. “So, beware of gentle handshakes, because the feeling arising from touching, much more quickly draws you into sin. Know that it is difficult to free yourself from the passionate feelings that have arisen from touch, and listen to yourself with all your might. And the actions of other feelings are significant, although sometimes it seems that they are far from sin; touch is already the beginning of sin. Listen, so as not to approach with your hand or your foot close to the body of another, and even more so a young one. " (Monk Nikodim Svyatorets).
6. "Listen to what Paul says:" To avoid fornication, everyone should have his own wife. " Didn't say “to get rid of poverty or to acquire wealth,” but what then? So that we avoid fornication, restrain lust, live self-control and be pleasing to God, content with our spouse. This is the gift of marriage, its fruit and benefits. So, leaving more, do not ask for less: because wealth is much less than abstinence. Therefore, we alone need to get married in order to avoid sin and get rid of any fornication. Therefore, one must marry, so that marriage helps to exercise abstinence. " (Elder Joseph of Vatopedi).
7. “When carnal lust tempts us, the flesh is not always to blame. After all, carnal warfare can also come from thoughts of condemnation and pride. First, we need to find the reason for the temptation that has befallen us and then take the appropriate action. It is not necessary immediately, without understanding what the matter is, to resist carnal warfare by fasting, vigil and the like. " (Venerable Paisios Svyatorets).
8. “Because of fornication, this global Flood also came for those who were initially called“ sons of God, ”and fire came down from heaven on the Sodomites, and troubles befell the Israelites, who had sinned with the Moabites. Fornication was the reason for their destruction in many, and for us now, I think, is the reason for defeats from barbarians and all kinds of internal and external evils and misfortunes. " (Saint Gorigory Palamas).
9. “Civil marriage is nothing more than fornication. Only in the Sacrament of the Wedding do the spouses and their future offspring receive God's blessing. " (Elder Ephraim, the head of the Athonite skete of St. Andrew the First-Called).
10. “Remember constantly, with the invasion of prodigal thoughts, the emergence of their flow, especially when an obsession arises, it means that the secret exaltation began ... They are like companions. If we straighten ourselves in humility, thoughts will go away ... Chastity is great protection... A person who has not known fornication is not available to demons. Their intrigues are destroyed. Demons can only use the evil that you have known. They recognize by your reaction, but the main thing for them is to feel the energies of a person. And the purer his energies, the more inaccessible he is for attacks. They can't even come up. It breaks them, it hits them like an electric shock from a distance. " (Monk Simeon Athonite).
11. "Whoever walks in fornication is a common filth for the Church, and therefore everyone should turn away from such things." (Saint Gregory Palamas).
12. “The freedom to commit fornication, or to eat intemperately and drink, or to resent, to rape and kill, or something like that, is not freedom at all, but as the Lord said:“ everyone who does sin is a slave is sin. ” You have to pray a lot to get rid of this bondage. " (Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), disciple and biographer of the Monk Silouan the Athonite).
13. “The most widespread sin in modern society is carnal sin. […] The demon of carnal sin is doing evil work in the whole world, and the world has long since turned into Sodom and Gomorrah. Of course, most sins are done in secret, not overtly. If now such terrible carnal sins are clearly being committed, then imagine what more terrible ones are being committed in secret. Let him who understands understand ”. (Elder Ephraim, the head of the Athonite skete of St. Andrew the First-Called).
