Hatred for the demons is very beneficial and helpful for our salvation,
and it is appropriately suited for the work of virtue. Unfortunately, we are
unable to nurture and increase this hatred within us like a good offspring
because the evil spirits disperse it and invite the soul to become friends
again. Thankfully, the Physician of our souls cures this friendship (rather,
this gangrenous illness) by temporarily abandoning us...Then the soul
regains its original hatred for the demons, and it learns to say as David to
the Lord, "With perfect hatred I have hated them" (Ps. 138:22). For he who
sins neither with actions nor with his mind indeed hates the demons with
perfect hatred. This constitutes an unmistakable marker of the foremost
and highest degree of dispassion.
(Evargios the Solitary)
"Not everyone who calls me Lord, Lord will enter into the Kingdom of
Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father," said the Lord (Mt. 7:21).
The will of the Father is this: "All ye who love the Lord, see to it that ye hate
evil" (Ps. 96:10). So then, in addition to saying the Jesus Prayer, let us
despise evil thoughts, and, behold, we have done the will of God.
(St. Hesychios the Priest)
Despise the demons with resentment...God neither created nor
made any evil. Certain people incorrectly maintained that a few of the
passions exist naturally within the soul. However, they failed to realize that
we ourselves have converted the characteristic features that are part of our
human nature into passions. For example: Anger exists innately within us
to be used against the serpent [i.e. the devil]; however, we use it against
our fellow man...We also received enmity, but to use it against the enemies
of our soul.
(St. John Climacos)
