DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS!

One of them, by the name of Thomas, was not with them when Jesus Christ appeared before them in a house whose doors were locked. When Thomas arrived, everyone told him with the liveliest joy about this appearance of Christ; but in vain did they assure him: we have seen the Lord. Thomas decisively declared: unless I see on His hands the wounds from the nails, and place my finger into the wounds, or my hand into His ribs, I will not believe. A day passed, two days, a whole week, but the distressed Thomas’ doubt remained unresolved: Thomas was still tied down by his disbelief, remaining set in his opinion. After eight days passed, and all the disciples were together and Thomas with them, and when the doors were likewise locked, Christ suddenly stood among them and said: “Peace be unto you!” Then, turning to Thomas, He said: “Extend thy finger and test My hands, extend Thy hand and place it in My ribs, and do not be an unbeliever, but a believer.” Then Thomas cried out to Him with awe and piety: “My Lord and My God!”

The demonic stronghold
(On pride)

Part 2 – The progression of the spiritual illness

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A proud man suffers defeat on all fronts:

Psychologically – anguish, gloom, barrenness.

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

Physiologically and pathologically – nervous illness and madness.

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

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

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

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

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

Protopriest Alexander Elchaninov

* * * 

On the same day, July 21/8, the icon of the Kazan Mother of God is venerated.

THOUGHTS ON A CHRISTIAN FAMILY
By Elder Paisius the Athonite

The children
(Continuation)

Just pray for the grace of God to act. Now, when your child is already grown up, there is only one thing you can do: show your love and pray to God to act for the benefit of your child, because if you, the parent, treated him with love and kindness, then no matter where he goes, no matter with whom he interacts, at a certain moment he will see that the atmosphere outside the family is unhealthy, and that everywhere people are hypocritical and out for gain. In this way your child will return home naturally. But if there is quarreling, anger, offensive language at home, then his heart will have no desire whatsoever to return. O, how attentive we must be, because these teen years need only love and prayer.

Be careful when you exhibit – albeit unconsciously – special love for one of your children and spend time with him exclusively, perhaps because of his illness or handicap. This may cause a serious trauma in the heart of your other child, who will probably be consumed with jealousy. At this point you will have great psychological problems in your relations with your children, and if you do not pay attention to this, you will do great harm both to your children and to yourself. And you shall be entirely to blame. Thus, pay attention!

The elder wrote to a brother in Christ: “Concerning your child, of whom you wrote to me, I am of the opinion that a stern attitude towards him will make him even worse. Talk to him of good things and in a kind manner, and afterwards do not put pressure on him, but just show him how you grieve that he has chosen another path. Fulfill your responsibility by giving him advice, and then entrust your child to God.

I believe that your effort will have great results if it is accompanied by prayer. If, when you suffer from your child’s excesses, you start putting pressure on him, there will be no result, because the child is agitated by the flesh and the devil, who is attacking him. Perhaps everything will pass of its own accord. Do not be upset, things will later get better. Try as much as possible not to push the child away from you, so that he would not break off and run away from the family, because later it may happen that he will not want to return because of his egoism, and you will lose him for good.

In general, do not be upset: God will not abandon your child. And God will not judge the sins of current children on an equal footing with the sins of the children of our entire epoch.”

When children behave poorly, it is preferable to scold them in the morning, so that they will have the whole day in front of them and will be distracted by other impressions. If you scold them in the evening, their mind will be clouded, which can lead to even more stupid behavior.

Children should be treated with kindness, because modern children are filled with egoism and do not react at all to scolding. If we begin to scold them, their soul immediately becomes filled with bad thoughts. They cannot understand that we scold them for their own good, because we love them. We must “bind” our children to God and nurture within them the understanding that it is necessary to do good.

If very young children die, they go straight to heaven, for they are comparable to angels. And when their parents die in turn, these little angels welcome their parents with lighted candles. The father and the mother receive a spiritual reward for these angels. And, conversely, if a child grows up and chooses the wrong path for himself, his parents suffer greatly.

Small children are like angels, but when they begin to attain a certain age, at which an element of sensual pleasure appears, they become like wild animals.

Small children should be brought to communion regularly in order to be sanctified, because they are unfortunately growing up in a bad, spiritually unhealthy atmosphere.

Parents who have retarded children should not be upset over it, because such children are already saved. The parents must even rejoice that their children are going to heaven without any difficulty. What else can parents wish for their children, when they are guaranteed entry into heaven? If they look at this matter in such a spiritual manner, they will both gain great benefit for themselves and will have a spiritual reward.

Of great importance in a child’s life are familial inclinations. If the child’s parents are cunning, so will the child be shrewd and cunning. Once I met a boy who had lurid photographs in his pocket. I offered him to give them to me in exchange for a chocolate for each one. The boy firmly refused to give me the photographs, preferring the sinful sweetness of voyeurism to happiness with a small chocolate bar.

Man gives flesh to his child. God gives the child a soul. When the child grows up, the parents resign their responsibilities. God gives each baptized person a guardian angel, who helps the person all throughout his life. Why do we hesitate to place ourselves in God’s hands? Thus we must take care of our children up to a certain moment. Afterwards we entrust them to God for the future. And the guardian angel always remains at their side.

Even a small child, who is still not qualified for spiritual endeavors, is able to vanquish the devil through humility. The devil, of course, is quite strong, but at the same time quite rotten. He easily overcomes giants, but can himself be overcome by a child.

(To be continued)

Continuation. Beginning see here.

(To be continued)

Father Seraphim Rose

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!

We kindly ask you to help us, dear brothers and sisters, and may the All-merciful Lord Himself reward you a hundredfold for your generosity and concern for His abode! Please send all contributions to the church address, marked for the “Renovation Fund.” Thank you and God bless you!

Transfiguration of our Lord Russian Orthodox Church 2201 E. Baltimore St., Baltimore, MD 21231 USA

With love in Christ,
Rector Ioann Barbus