March 3

You, of course, know how the spiritual life goes. When someone yields to passions then he doesn’t see them in himself, and he doesn’t restrain himself from them because he lives in them and with them. But when the grace of God moves him, he becomes aware of his passions and his sins, confesses them, repents, and makes the decision to abstain from them. The struggle begins.

At first a person wages war against deeds, but when he rids himself of these he starts the struggle against bad thoughts and feelings….although he doesn’t commit them any more, his soul still thinks of them with enjoyment….the attention which he pays to himself continuously reveals to him the whole tangled web of sinful thoughts which swarm in him. Discovering this disorder, he begins to drive away bad thoughts and to suppress passions. He learns to discern which thought is passionate, as well as how it begins, steals up, attracts and captivates the soul.

At the same time, he learns how to vanquish it, drive it away and extinguish it. The struggle continues–more and more passions get forced out of the heart….Forced out!

~St Theophan the Recluse

 

March 2

It is true that the world’s charms are close to you, but that does not mean that you should be captivated by them. When a temptation comes, must you necessarily succumb? When you meet an enemy, must you surrender to him just because you have met him? It is the same with you: Let the world display its charms before you; you should see in them only a reason for repulsing it, for fighting and overcoming, not for being captivated by it….

Every time you come across a temptation, overcome it; don’t indulge yourselves and succumb, and soon you will become experienced…how does a warrior acquire skill? By often engaging his enemies.

~St Theophan the Recluse

 

March 1

All distress begins from thoughts. Thoughts begin to wander; they arouse suspicion, mistrust, and condemnation, slacken the work, and produce discord and disobedience. Therefore one must keep watch and not allow them to wander at their own will. Those who control their thoughts have everything in order. The ascetic practice of keeping thoughts under control is called mental vigilance.

One cannot live without thinking, because the mind is given to us for this purpose. But we may have good, bad or idle thoughts. Keeping vigilance over our mind consists in casting away bad or idle thoughts and keeping only the good ones which are in accord with the will of God and His holy commandments, and doing this in every action or situation which may occur.

The measure of good thoughts is the word of God. In every case, keep your thoughts in accordance with Holy Scripture. If you do so, you will have order in your mind; and if your mind is in order, so will be your actions, and you will have harmony among yourselves.

~St Theophan the Recluse

February 28

Accustom yourself to the labor of prayer, drawing near to the House of God….prayer is the proof of accomplishment and the means of progress. The more intensive is your prayer, the more pure is your soul. A flaming prayerful spirit is the result of its communion with God, Who is Himself fire and kindles the spirit of everyone who comes in contact with Him…..

go from praying both day and night while standing or kneeling, to staying with all your heart before God in constant prayer.

~St Theophan the Recluse

 

February 26

We ought to learn the virtues through practicing them, not merely through talking about them, so that by acquiring the habit of them we do no forget what is of benefit to us. ‘The kingdom of God’, as St Paul says, ‘resides not in words but in power’ (1 Corinthians 4:20).

For he who tries to discover things through actual practice will come to understand what gain or loss lies in any activity that he pursues, as St Isaac says; and he can also give advice to others, for he has often suffered and has thereby gained experience.

For some things, St Isaac tells us, appear good, but conceal no small harm; while others appear bad, but contain within themselves the greatest profit.

~St Peter of Damaskos

February 21

Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;

When you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you;

The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.  Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;  you shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am’.

If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday.

The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

~Isaiah 58:6-11

February 19

Even if you had the wisdom of Solomon, the faith of Abraham, the patience of Job, the fiery spirit of David, it would still be little in comparison to what still must be acquired. Conscious of this, those great righteous men said of themselves: I am earth and ashes; not a man but a worm, a defamation of men and the humiliation of the people….

When you have this feeling, then you will have a feeling of need and crisis; and when you have that, you will have a need for prayer. If this need would remain permanently in your soul, it would teach you further through the very work of prayer. Necessity teaches everything.

The need for prayer teaches one to pray. Where can one get wisdom and quick understanding? Either in solitude or at common prayer, in the cell or on the road, in church, at the table or at your handiwork….

Just don’t think that the act of prayer is somehow complex and confusing. When a child wants to eat he comes to his mother and says, ‘Give me some bread.’…the same goes for prayer to God….

When you feel the need, come and tell the Lord about it with a simple heart.

~St Theophan the Recluse

 

February 17

I marvel at God’s wisdom, at how the most indispensable things–air, fire, water, earth–are readily available to all. And not simply this, but things conducive to the soul’s salvation are more accessible than other things, while soul-destroying things are harder to come by.  For example, poverty, which anyone can experience, is conducive to the soul’s salvation; while riches, which are not simply at our command, are generally a hindrance.

It is the same with dishonor, humiliation, patience, obedience, submission, self-control, fasting, vigils, the cutting off of one’s will, bodily enfeeblement, thankfulness for all things, trials, injuries, the lack of life’s necessities, abstinence from sensual pleasure, destitution, forbearance–in short, all the things conducive to the spiritual life are freely available. No one fights over them.

On the contrary, everyone leaves them to those who choose to accept them, whether they have been sought for or have come against our will. Soul-destroying things, on the other hand, are not so readily within our grasp–things like wealth, glory, pride, intolerance, power, authority, dissipation, gluttony….people struggle greatly for these things, but only a few attain them, and in any case the benefit they confer is fleeting….they bring….all manner of distress.

None the less, it is not the thing itself, but its misuse, that is evil.

~St Peter of Damaskos