Guarding Toward Dispassion

•St. Luke the Evangelist (14:27): “Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
•St. Peter of Damascus: “I have found altogether in the Holy Scriptures 228 virtues and 298 passions.”
•St. Mark the Ascetic & St. Philotheus of Sinai: “ First there is provocation; then a coupling with provocation; then assent to it; then captivity to it; then passion grown habitual and continuous. This is how the holy fathers describe the stages through which the devil gets the better of us.”
•St. Maximos the Confessor: “If you make provision for desires of the Flesh (Rom 13:14) and bear a grudge against your neighbor on account of something transitory, you worship the creature instead of the Creator.”
•Ilias the Presbyter: “Passion is removed from the soul through fasting and prayer; self indulgence through vigil and silence; impassioned craving through stillness and attentiveness. Dispassion is established through the remembrance of God.”

St. Hesichios the Priest; 8th/9th Century (On Watchfulness and Holiness)

Through his incarnation God gave us the model for a holy life and recalled us from our ancient fall. In addition to many other things, he taught us, feeble as we are, that we should fight against the demons with humility, fasting, prayer and watchfulness. For when, after his baptism, He went into the desert and the devil came up to Him as though He was merely a man, He began His spiritual warfare by fasting and won the battel by this means - though, being God, and God of gods, He had no need of any such means at all.

I will now tell you in plain, straightforward language what I consider to be the types of watchfulness which gradually cleanse the intellect from impassioned thoughts. In these times of spiritual warfare I have no wish to conceal beneath words whatever in this treatise may be of use, especially to more simple people. As St. Paul puts it" 'pay attention, my child, Timothy, to what you read' (1 Tim 4:13).

One type of watchfulness consists in closely scrutinizing every mental image or provocation; for only by means of a mental image can Satan fabricate an evil thought and insinuate this into the intellect in order to lead it astray.

A second type of watchfulness consists in freeing the heart from all thoughts, keeping it profoundly silent and still, and praying.

A third type consists in continually and humbly calling upon the Lord Jesus Christ for help.

A fourth type of watchfulness is always to have the thought of death in one's mind.

These types of watchfulness, my child, act like doorkeepers and bar entry to evil thoughts. Elsewhere, if God gives me words, I shall deal more fully with a further type which, along with the others, is also effective: this is to fix one's gaze on heaven and to pay no attention to anything material.

When we have t osome extent cut off the causes of the passions, we should devote our time to spiritual contemplation; for if we fail to do this we shall easily revert to the fleshly passions, and so achieve nothing but complete darkening of our intellect and its reversion to material things.

Eusebius' account of the African Martyrs

Eusebius, the Archbishop of Caesarea, lived between the year 260-339 AD. He is considered the Father of Ecclesiastical History. In his life, Eusebius bore witness to many things; the Apostolic Hierarchy of the Church, the Roman Persecutions, Constantine's Edict of Milan, and the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea (325 AD). For those who have never read an account of Christian Martyrdom this is mandatory reading. In this chapter, Eusebius gives a graphic first-hand account of African and Palestinian Christians Martyred at the hands of the Romans under Diocletian. It stands as a reminder that death and the sufferings which precede it are not always the great evil we think them to be. His testemony also reminds us that the God fo the Universe is faithful in His Grace and Great Love for humanity. All we have to do is remain faithful to the end - if we are ever called to such an end, I pray with earnest, may we be blessed by such Grace! The following is taken from Book 8: Persecutions from Diocletian to Maximian, in his epic "The History of the Church."

Egyptian Martyrs of Phoenicia, in Egypt itself, and in the Thebais

At any rate we know of them who became shining lights in Palestine, and we know those at Tyre in Phonecia. Did any man see them without being amazed at the merciless floggings and the endurance displayed under them by these truly astounding champions of pure religion; at the ordeal with man-eating beasts which came directly after the floggings, when they were attacked by panthers, bears of different kinds, wild boars, and bulls goaded with red-hot irons; at the unflinching courage of these noble people in the face of every one of the beasts? When these things were going on I was there myself, and I witnessed the ever present Divine Power of Him to whom they testified, Our Savior Jesus Christ Himself, visibly manifesting itself to the martyrs. For some time the man-eaters did not dare to touch or even approach the bodies of God's beloved, but rushed at others who were apparently irritating and proviking them from the outside; only the holy champions; as they stood naked, and in accordance with their instructions waved their hands to attract the animals to themselves, were left quite unmolested: sometimes when the beasts did start towards them, they were stopped short as if by some divine power, and retreated to their starting point. When this went on for a long time it astounded the spectators, so that in view of the ineffectiveness of the first a second ant third beast were set onto one and the same martyr.

Nothing could be more amazing than the fearless courage of these saints under duress, the stubborn, inflexible endurance in youthful bodies. You would see a youngster not yet twenty standing without fetters, spreading out his arms in the form of a cross, and with a mind unafraid and unshakeable occupying himself in the most unhurried prayers to the Almighty: not budging in the least and not retreating an inch from the spot where he stood, though the bears and panthers breathing fury and death almost touched his very flesh. Yet by some supernatural, mysterious power their mouths were stopped, and they ran back again to the rear. Again you would have seen others - there were five altogether - thrown to an infuriated bull. When the others approached from outside he tossed them with his horns into the air and mangled them, leaving them to be picked up half dead; but when in his fury he rushed head down at the lonely group of holy martyrs, he could not even get near them, but stamped his feet and pushed with his horns in all directions. Provoked by the hot irons he breathed rage and threats, but divine providence dragged him back. So, as he too did his intended victims no harm whatever, other beasts were set on them. At last, when these animals had launched their terrible varied assaults, the martyrs were one and all butchered with the sword, and instead of being buried in the earth were given to the waves of the sea.

Such was the ordeal of the Egyptians who championed the Faith so gloriously at Tyre. But we should feel equal admiration for those of them who were martyred in their own country, where immense numbers of men, women and children, despising this transient life, faced death in all its forms for the sake of our Savior's teaching. Some were scraped, racked, mercilously flogged, subjected to countless other torments too terrible to describe in endless variety, and finally given to the flames; some were submerged in the sea; others cheerfully stretched out necks to the head's man's axe; some died under torture; others were starved to death; others again were crucified, some as criminals usually are, some with still greater cruelty nailed the other way up, head down, and kept alive till they starved to death on the very cross.

But words cannot describe the outrageous agonies endured by the Martyrs of Thebais. They were torn to bits from head to foot with potsherds like claws till death released them. Women were tied by one foot and hoisted high in the air, head downwards, their bodies completely naked without a morsel of clothing, presenting thus the most shameful, brutal, and inhumane of all spectacles to everyone watching. Others again were tied to trees and stumps and died horribly; for with the aid of machinery they drew together the very stoughtest boughs, fastened one of the Martyr's legs to each, and then let the boughs fly back to their normal position; thus they managed to tear apart the limbs of their victims in a moment. In this way they carried on, not for a few days or weeks, but year after year. Sometiems ten or more, sometimes over twenty were put to death, at other times at least thirty, and at yet others not far short of sixty; and their were occasions when on a single day a hundred men as well as women and little children were killed, condemned to a succession of ever changing punishments.

I was in these places, and saw many of the executions for myself. Some of the victims suffered beheading, others punishment by fire. So many were killed on a single day that teh axe, blunted and worn out by the slaughter, was broken in pieces, while the exhausted executioners had to be periodically relieved. All the time I observed a most wonderful eagerness and a truly Divine Power and Enthusiasm in those who had put their trust in the Christ of God. No sooner had teh first batch been sentenced, than others from every side would jump onto the platform in front of the judge and proclaim themselves Christians. They paid no heed to torture in all its terrifying forms, but undaunted spoke boldly of their devotion to the God of the Universe, and with joy, laughter, and gaity received the final sentence of death; they sang and sent up hymns of thanksgiving to the God of the Universe till their very last breath.

Wonderful as these were, far, far more wonderful were those who were conspicious in their wealth, birth, and reputation, and for learning and philosophy, yet put everything second to true religion and faith in our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. One was Philoromus, who had been entrusted with an important office in the imperial administration at Alexandria, and with his authority and Roman rank had a military bodyguard and conducted judicial investigations every day. Another was Phileas, Bishop of Thmuis, a man esteemed for his patriotic activities and public services, and for his works as a philosopher. Great numbers of relations and friends implored them, as did prominent officials, and the judge himself appealed to them to pity themselves and spare their wives and children; yet all this was not enough to make them yield to love of life and despise our Savior's warning about confessing and denying him. So many with philosophic determination, or rather with heartfelt devotion and love of God, they stood like rocks against all the judge's threats and insults, and were both beheaded."

EUSEBIUS - The History of the Church - Penguin Classics - Copyright G.A. Williamson 1965 - Revisions & new editorial matter copyright Andrew Louth 1989

From the Confessions of St. Augustine

“Urged to reflect upon myself, I entered under your guidance into the inmost depth of my soul. I was able to do so because you were my helper. On entering into myself I saw, as it were with the eye of the soul, what was beyond the eye of the soul, beyond my spirit: your immutable light. It as not the ordinary light perceptible to all flesh, nor was it merely something of greater magnitude but still essentially akin, shining more clearly and diffusing itself everywhere by its intensity. No, it was something entirely distinct, something altogether different from all these things; and it did not rest above my mind as oil on the surface of water, nor was it above me as heaven is above earth. This light was above me because it had made me; I was below it because I was created by it. He who has come to know the truth knows this light.”

O eternal truth, true love and beloved eternity. You are my God. To you do I sigh day and night. When I first came to know you, you drew me to yourself so that I might see that there were things for me to see, but that I myself was not yet ready to see them. Meanwhile you overcame the weakness of my vision, sending forth most strongly the beams of your light, and I trembled at once with love and dread. I sought a way to gain the strength which I needed to enjoy you. But I did not find it until I embraced "the mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who is above all, God blessed for ever." He was calling me and saying: "I am the way of truth, I am the life." That by your wisdom, through which you created all things, might provide milk for us children.

Where did I find you that I came to know you? You were not in my memory before I learned of you; where then, did I fond you that I came to know you, if not within yourself far above me? We come from you and go to you, yet no place is involved in this process. In every place, O Truth, you are present to all at one and the same time, though we seek your counsel on different matters. You respond clearly, but not everyone hears clearly; all ask what they wish, but do not always receive the answer that they wish. Your best servant is one who is intent not so much on having their petition answered, as rather, on willing whatever they hear from you.

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and you burst my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled by blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.”

St. Augustine, “Confessions,” Bk. 7, 10, 18; 10, 27.

Pseudo Dionysius: The Mystical Theology

Chapter 2: How one should be united, and attribute praises, to the Cause of all things who is beyond all things.

"I pray we could come to this darkness so far above light! If only we lacked sight and knowledge so as to see, so as to know, unseeing and unknowing, that which lies beyond all vision and knowledge. For this would really be to see and to know: to praise the Trancendent One in a trancending way, namely through the denial of all beings. We would be like sculptors who set out to carve a statue. They remove every obstacle to the pure view of the hidden image, and simply by this act of clearing aside (denial) they show up the beauty that is hidden.

Now it seems to me that we should praise the denials quite differently than we do the assertions. When we made assertions we began with the first things, moved down through intermediate terms until we reached the last things. But now as we climb from the last things up to the most primary we deny all things so that we may unhiddenly know that unknowing which itself is hidden from all those possessed of knowing amid all beings, so that we may see above being that darkness concealed from all the light among beings."

Pseudo Dionysius, the Complete Works © 1987, Paulist Press

St. John Climacus (579-649 AD) - Various Texts

From Step 1 (on Renunciation of Life)
- Some people living carelessly in the world put a question to me: "How can we who are married and living in the world amid public cares aspire to the monastic life?" I answered: "Do whatever good you may. Speak evil of no one. Rob no one. Tell no lie. Despise no one and carry no hate. Do not separate yourself from Divine Liturgy. Show compassion to the needy. Do not be a cause of scandal to anyone. Stay away from the bed of another, and be satisfied with what your own wives (or husbands) can provide you. If you do all this, you will not be far from the Kingdom of Heaven."

From Step 4 (on Obedience)
- "The Devil cannot act contrary to his own will. Those living a negligent life, whether alone or in community, should convince you of this proof. And if there is a temptation on us to move from a place, let that be proof that our life there is pleasing to God. War against us is proof that we are making war."
- "I have seen innocent lovely children come to school for wisdom, education, and profit, and learn only cunning and vice through the contact they make with other students. The wise man will understand what I'm saying."

From Step 15 (on Chastity)
- "The effort of bodily prayer can help those not yet granted real prayer of the heart. I am referring to the stretching out of the hands and beating of the breasts, the sincere raising of the eyes heavenward, deep sighs and constant prostrations. But this is not always feasible when other people are present, and this is when the demons particularly like to launch an attack and, because we have not yet the strength of mind to stand up against them and because the hidden power of prayer is not yet within us, we succumb. So go somewhere apart, if you can. Hide for a while in some secret place. If you can, lift up the eyes of your soul, but if not, the eyes of your body. Stand still with your arms in the shape of a cross so that with this sign you may shame and conquer your Amalek. (Exodus 17:11) Cry out to God, Who has the strength to save you. Do not bother with elegant and clever words. Just speak humbly, beginning with, "have mercy on me, for I am weak." (Ps 6:3) And then you will come to experience the power of the Most High and with help from heaven you will drive off your invisible foes. The man (or woman) who gets into the habit of waging war this way will soon put his (or her) enemies to flight solely by means of spiritual resources, for this is the reward God likes to bestow onb those who put up a good struggle, and rightly so."

All texts quoted from "John Climacus, the Ladder of Divine Ascent" Classics of Western Spirituality © 1982

Philokalia - Various Texts

Evagrios the Solitary on Prayer (Vol I)

A summary of what Prayer is…
–The Flower of Gentleness & freedom from anger
–The Fruit of Joy and Thankfulness
–The Remedy of Gloom and Despondency
–The ascent of the Intellect of God
–Undestracted, it is the highest intellection of the intellect.
–The Shedding of thoughts; material things and worldly cares
–More Divine than all of the virtues
–Hateful and offensive to demons

–Bread: food for the body
–Holiness: food for the soul
–Prayer: food for the intellect

Elias the Presbyter: Gnomic Anthology III (Vol III): "The three most comprehensive virtues of the soul are prayer, silence and fasting, Thus, you should refresh yourself with the contemplation of created realities when you relax from prayer; with conversaton about the life of virtue when you relax from silence; and with such food as is permitted when you relax from fasting."

St. Gregory of Sinai: On Commandments and Doctrines (Vol VI): "There are five ways in which the passions may be aroused in us and our fallen self may wage war against our soul. Sometimes our fallen self misuses things. Sometiems it seeks to do what is unnatral as though it were natural. Sometimes it forms warm friendship with the demons and provide it with arms against the soul. Sometimes under the influence of the passions it falls into a state of civil war, divided against itself. Finally, if the demons have failed to acheive their purpose in any ways just mentioned, God may permit them in their malice to wage war against us in order to teach us greater humility."

Two Lungs: Sacramental and Prayerful Reflections

St. Benedict (4th Century Latin Father): We believe that the divine presence is everywhere and that "the eyes of the Lord are looking on the good and the evil in every place." But we should believe this especially without any doubt when we are assisting at the Work of God. To that end let us be mindful always of the Prophet's words, "Serve the Lord in fear" and again, "Sing praises wisely" and "In the sight of the Angels I will sing praise to Thee." Let us therefore consider how we ought to conduct ourselves in the sight of the Godhead and of His Angels, and let us take part in the psalmody in such a way that our mind may be in harmony with our voice.

St. Gregory of Sinai (6th Century Greek Father): Nothing so converts anger into joy and gentleness as courage and mercy. Like a siege engine, courage shatters enemies attacking the soul from without, mercy those attacking it from within. (On Commandments and Doctrines - Philokalia Vol VI)

St. Symeon, the New Theologian (9th Century – Abbot of St. John Studious Monastery, Constantinople): You must confess all the secrets of your heart, all that you have done from your infancy until this very hour, to your spiritual father or to the abbot as if to God himself, the diviner of hearts and minds. Do this in the knowledge that John baptized with the baptism of repentance and that all came to him confessing their sins (Matt 3:16). As a result of this, your soul will experience great joyand your conscience will find relief, in accordance with the words of the Prophet “First declare your sins, so that you may be set free.” (Isaiah 43:26)

St. Thomas a Kempis (15th Century German Augustinian Monk): Give yourself to me and that is enough; apart from You there is nothing that can give me comfort. Without You I cannot exist, and without Your visits I am unable to live. I must therefore, come to You often and receive You as the medicine of salvation, otherwise, deprived of this heavenly food, I shall faint on the way. (From the Imitation of Christ on the Benefits Coming from Frequent Communion)

Note to the reader: The following post was written by Pope Shenouda III, the "Oriental Orthodox" Pope of Alexandria. Although not in Communion with either the Catholic or Orthodox Churches, I thought his comments on this subject were insightful and worth listening to. There is no heresy in the comments of his post.

H.H. Pope Shenouda III, Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria: Diabolic wars fight all; no one escapes them. When we speak of these wars, we mean the war waged by the devil and all his forces and supporters. Spiritual wars are allowed by God for our benefit, and for the crowns gained through them as one of the saints said “None shall be crowned except the one who conquers, and none shall conquer except the one who fights.” God intends by these wars to test the freedom of our will, and to give us the opportunity to deserve the riches of the heavens if we conquer. As for the devil, it is his nature to resist God’s Kingdom and fight those who seek it. He fights God in his children and accuses them as in the case of Job (1:2). He envies those who lead a life of righteousness so that they may not gain the divine blessing which he himself was deprived of.

Open Mind or Guarded Mind?

I've been thinking lately about those who tell me to keep an "open mind" when it comes to other people's opinions or belief systems (even those of which I am in conflict) and the more I think of it, the more I think they're full of rubbish and clay.

I'm not sure where "open minded" philosophy came into being, but whoever developed it must have been a victim of severe heat stroke, head trauma, or underwent a mid-life-crisis of post-life-proportions.

It seems to me, that approaching an opposing (usually warped) opinion with an "open mind" is like allowing a Trojan Horse within my intellect whose occupants sole purpose is to lie in wait, then assault and kill me as I sleep.

A defender seeking survival of his or her civilization would never let a foreigner inside the walls without affirmation of friend or foe. The only way to combat the error of "open mindedness" is to approach opposing opinion with a "guarded mind;" not only is it more logical, it adds a measure of safety and increases the risk measure of ones own survival.

The probable tragedy of "open minded" acceptance of opposing opinion is not only completely irrational, it crosses into the realm of self inflicted libotomy or mutilation. It essentially means that I compromise my belief or abandon myself in some thing or some way of life that runs contrary to the Orthodox Teaching of the Catholic Church which comes to us from the Holy Spirit. In today’s world, this abandonment oft results at the expense of serious damage to the soul.

"Open minded" acceptance of opposing opinion should be approached with great caution:

If I open my door willingly and without thought of consequence to a complete stranger, I risk rape, murder, dismemberment, disposal and all ill accord due to such an act of insanity. Yet if, from behind my secure door, I guardedly execute pre-established protocols for responding to strangers who come calling, I greatly reduce the risk and/or threat of buggery, disembowelment, dismemberment and roadside disposal to myself and/or my family --thus-- increasing the assurance of safety for myself and my family.

"Open minded" acceptance of opposing opinion can be applied as a matter of physics:

An army of overwhelming force attacks a lightly guarded citadel. They break through a gate & hoard their way through as they gain entry into the city--slaughtering at will... it seems nothing can stop the onslaught. Suddenly, those in front realize the entry is nothing more than a dead end with two walls to their left & right and one wall in front of them. They try to stop, but the momentum of the mass of humanity behind them has no idea what's ahead. The law of inertia kicks in and in due course, the army slams into the wall as thousands are crushed & trampled by the force in the rear. The defending army, having the enemy boxed in, attacks from behind the walls of enclosure and repels the enemy.

It's the same way with dialogue: If there's no guard in place to challenge an opinion, weakness is exploited and the challenged is massacred.

For my part, if I don't know the topic, I try to keep my mouth shut. It's better to walk away with my integrity in tact than to hold position against someone knowledgeable on the subject--not to mention the fact that there's much to be gained by dissecting one's opinion for its constructive or destructive content.

It's generally understood that opinions expressed on realities such as abortion, sexual perversion & deviation, border control, homelessness, etc., set off nuclear explosions on approach or contact. To entertain issues with "an open mind" risks abandonment of ones sense of reason & logic--not to mention morality, virtue or faith. Although it's insane for a person to sacrifice their faculties on the altar of intellectual prostitution, its commonplace today--a total war... it's the Verdun of the final age.

Before Catholics enter into dialogue on such issues, they must first know what they're talking about and also must have reconciled that knowledge with catholic faith; between right & wrong, good & evil, true & false, fact & fiction. To do so prematurely without solid foundation does not allow an opposing "opinion" proper inspection, before entry into the mind's gate which ultimately leads to the citadel of the heart. When in doubt, default to church teaching.

A "guarded mind" is essential to all dialogue. It may be safe to "listen" to the opinions of others, but human "opinion" is oft a mixture of unproven "fact" and untested "truth" and oftentimes enters into conflict with the mind and the conscience - and further, the Church, which again has ALWAYS taught that it is guided and directed by the Holy Spirit. That said, recognizing that the opinion of others is sometimes healthful & most times toxic; it is always best to guard against matters of opinion with caution so one can control access to the doors of sanity so that the devil doesn't get "in" thus resulting in "in"sanity.

If you seek self destruction, approach things with an open mind... open the gates and be conquered. If you seek preservation, stay at your post.