Σᾶς ὁμιλεῖ ὁ αὐτόματος τηλεφωνητὴς τῆς γιαγιᾶς:
-Καλημέρα, αὐτὴ τὴ στιγμὴ ἀπουσιάζω, παρακαλῶ ἀφῆστε τὸ μήνυμα μετὰ τὸν χαρακτηριστικὸ ἦχο beeeeeppp ...
- Ἐὰν εἶσαι ἕνα ἀπὸ τὰ παιδιά μου πίεσε 1 ἢ 2 (ἀνάλογα ποιὸ παιδὶ εἶσαι) καὶ στὴ συνέχεια χρησιμοποίησε τὶς ἑπόμενες ἐπιλογὲς:
-ἐὰν θέλεις νὰ κρατήσω τὰ παιδιὰ πίεσε 2
-ἐὰν θέλεις νὰ σοῦ πλύνω τὰ ροῦχα καὶ νὰ σιδερώσω πίεσε τὸ 3
-ἐὰν θέλεις νὰ κοιμηθοῦν τὰ παιδιὰ ἐδῶ πίεσε 4
-ἐὰν θέλεις νὰ πάρω τὰ παιδιὰ ἀπὸ τὸ σχολεῖο πίεσε 5
-ἐὰν θέλεις φαγητὸ νὰ στείλω στὸ σπίτι πίεσε 6
-ἐὰν θέλεις νὰ ἔρθεις νὰ φᾶς ἐδῶ πίεσε 7
-ἐὰν χρειάζεσαι λεφτὰ πίεσε 8
-Ἐὰν θέλεις νὰ μὲ καλέσεις γιὰ δεῖπνο ἢ νὰ μὲ πᾶς στὸ θέατρο ἁπλὰ ἄρχισε νὰ μιλᾶς !!!!!!!!!!!
Ὁρισμένες φορὲς οἱ γονεῖς, μετὰ ἀπὸ μία ἐπώδυνη πορεία, φθάνουν στὴν ἀπόφαση τοῦ διαζυγίου. Οἱ συνθῆκες δὲν εἶναι εὔκολες γιὰ κανένα καὶ κανεὶς δὲν βγαίνει ἱκανοποιημένος ἀπὸ ἕνα διαζύγιο.
Ὅταν οἱ γονεῖς φθάνουν σ' αὐτὴ τὴν ἀπόφαση πρέπει νὰ σκεφτοῦν τὸν ἀντίκτυπο ποὺ θὰ ἔχει στὰ παιδιὰ καὶ πῶς προτίθενται νὰ τὸν ἀντιμετωπίσουν. Τὸ διαζύγιο εἶναι ἀπὸ τὶς χειρότερες ἐμπειρίες στὴ ζωὴ ἑνὸς παιδιοῦ καὶ τὸ ἂν θὰ προκαλέσει ψυχολογικὰ προβλήματα ἤ ὄχι ἐξαρτᾶται ἀφ` ἑνὸς μὲν ἀπὸ τὴν προσωπικότητα τοῦ παιδιοῦ καὶ ἀφ` ἑτέρου ἀπὸ τὸ χειρισμὸ τῶν γονέων. Οἱ γονεῖς ἔχουν τὴν ὑποχρέωση νὰ προστατεύσουν τὸ παιδὶ καὶ νὰ τὸ ἀπομακρύνουν ἀπὸ τὶς συγκρούσεις καὶ τὶς βίαιες καταστάσεις ποὺ πιθανὸν ὑπάρχουν στὴν οἰκογένεια.
Ἡ τραυματικὴ ἐμπειρία τοῦ διαζυγίου ἔχει ἄμεσα καὶ ἔμμεσα ἀποτελέσματα. Τὰ ψυχολογικὰ προβλήματα ἐκδηλώνονται κυρίως ὅταν τὸ παιδὶ βρίσκεται στὸ μέσον τῆς σύγκρουσης, ὅταν εἶναι μάρτυρας σὲ σκηνὲς ἐχθρότητας μεταξὺ δύο ἀνθρώπων ποὺ ἀγαπάει καὶ πρέπει νὰ ἀποφασίσει ποιὸς ἀπὸ τοὺς δύο ἔχει δίκιο. Ἡ ψυχικὴ ἔνταση τοῦ παιδιοῦ εἶναι πολὺ μεγάλη ὅταν ἀποτελεῖ μέρος τῆς διαμάχης τῶν δύο ἐμπόλεμων γονέων καὶ σημεῖο ἀναφορᾶς γιὰ τὶς κατηγορίες, ποὺ οἱ γονεῖς ἐκτοξεύουν ὁ ἕνας ἐναντίον τοῦ ἄλλου γιὰ ἀδιαφορία, ἐγκατάλειψη, ἀνεπάρκεια ἢ μεροληπτικὴ στάση. Συχνὰ ἐπίσης τὸ παιδὶ χρησιμοποιεῖται γιὰ τὴ ρύθμιση οἰκονομικῶν διαφορῶν μεταξὺ τῶν δύο γονέων.
Μελέτες δείχνουν ὅτι τὰ παιδιὰ ἐλπίζουν στὴν ἐπανασύνδεση τῆς οἰκογένειας ἀκόμη καὶ μετὰ ἀπὸ 10 - 15 χρόνια. Στὴν ἐνήλικη ζωὴ τους ἔχουν μειωμένη ἱκανότητα νὰ διαμορφώσουν σταθερὲς σχέσεις μὲ πρόσωπα τοῦ ἄλλου φύλου. Τὸ παιδὶ τοῦ διαζυγίου ἔχει πολλὲς πιθανότητες νὰ γίνει ἕνας ὀξύθυμος, ἀνασφαλὴς καὶ ἐπιθετικὸς ἐνήλικος.
Μιὰ ἀπὸ τὶς σημαντικότερες παραμέτρους, ποὺ καθορίζει τὶς ἐπιπτώσεις τῆς διάλυσης τῆς οἰκογένειας στὰ παιδιά, εἶναι ἡ στάση τῶν γονέων πρὶν καὶ μετὰ τὸ διαζύγιο. Τὸ πρῶτο ἐρώτημα ποὺ συνήθως τίθεται ἀφορᾶ στὴν ἀνακοίνωση τοῦ διαζυγίου. Οἱ ἐξηγήσεις ποὺ θὰ δοθοῦν στὸ παιδὶ θὰ πρέπει νὰ εἶναι ὅσο τὸ δυνατὸν πιὸ κοντὰ στὴν ἀλήθεια. Τὰ παιδιὰ μικρῆς ἡλικίας ἔχουν τὴν τάση νὰ ἑρμηνεύουν τὰ πάντα μὲ ἐπίκεντρο τὸν ἑαυτό τους. Ἔτσι συχνὰ βιώνουν τὸ διαζύγιο ὡς ἐγκατάλειψη, ἀπόρριψη ἢ ἐνοχοποιοῦνται ὅτι εἶναι κακὰ παιδιὰ καὶ ὁ γονιὸς ποὺ ἔφυγε δὲν τὰ ἀγαπᾶ. Τὰ μεγαλύτερα παιδιὰ μποροῦν νὰ καταλάβουν τὶς δυσμενεῖς συνέπειες ποὺ ἔχει γιὰ τοὺς ἐνήλικες ἕνας ἀποτυχημένος γάμος καὶ νὰ ἀντιληφθοῦν τοὺς πραγματικοὺς λόγους τοῦ διαζυγίου. Σημαντικὸ εἶναι ἡ ἐπαφὴ μὲ τὸν γονιὸ ποὺ φεύγει νὰ συνεχίσει νὰ εἶναι συχνὴ καὶ καθορισμένη. Τὸ παιδὶ ποὺ περιμένει τὸ γονέα, ὁ ὁποῖος δὲν ἔρχεται, βλέπει τοὺς φόβους ἐγκατάλειψης νὰ ἐπιβεβαιώνονται καὶ βυθίζεται σὲ πραγματικὴ ἀπελπισία
Ἡ μόνιμη κατοικία τοῦ παιδιοῦ θὰ πρέπει νὰ εἶναι στὸ σπίτι τοῦ ἑνὸς γονιοῦ. Τὸ νὰ μοιράζει ἐξίσου τὸ χρόνο του σὲ δύο σπίτια τὸ ἀποστερεῖ ἀπὸ κάθε ἔννοια μόνιμου δικοῦ του χώρου καὶ τὸ κρατάει σὲ διαρκῆ σύγχυση. Ἂν ὑπάρχουν ἀδέλφια δὲν θὰ πρέπει νὰ χωρίζονται τὶς μέρες τῶν ἐπισκέψεων. Τὴ στιγμὴ τοῦ διαζυγίου τὰ ἄλλα μέλη τῆς οἰκογένειας γίνονται ἀκόμη πιὸ σημαντικά. Οἱ σχέσεις τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἰσχυροποιοῦνται καὶ τὰ ἀδέλφια προστατεύονται μεταξύ τους ἀπὸ τυχὸν αὐθαιρεσίες τῶν γονέων καὶ ἀπὸ τὸ ἄγχος τοῦ ἀποχωρισμοῦ.
Τὰ ζητήματα πειθαρχίας εἶναι ἕνα ἄλλο θέμα ποὺ δὲν πρέπει νὰ παραβλεφθεῖ γιὰ τὰ παιδιὰ τοῦ διαζυγίου. Ὁ γονιός, μὲ τὸν ὁποῖο μένουν μαζί, ἔχει συνήθως τὴν τάση ὑπερπροστασίας καὶ χαλάρωσης τῶν κανόνων πειθαρχίας γιὰ νὰ ἁπαλύνει τὸν πόνο καὶ τὸ στρὲς τοῦ παιδιοῦ. Τὰ περισσότερα παιδιὰ ἔχουν ἀνάγκη ἀπὸ σταθερὰ ὅρια καὶ κανόνες πειθαρχίας. Σὲ μιὰ φάση τῆς ζωῆς τους, ποὺ νοιώθουν ὅτι τὰ πάντα ἀλλάζουν γύρω τους, ἡ πειθαρχία ἀποτελεῖ ἀσφαλῆ βάση γιὰ νὰ μπορέσουν νὰ κυριαρχήσουν στὸ ἄγχος τους καὶ νὰ συνεχίσουν νὰ τὰ καταφέρνουν στὶς σχολικές τους ἐπιδόσεις καὶ τὴν κοινωνική τους ζωή.
Σημαντικὸς παράγων γιὰ τὴν ψυχικὴ ἰσορροπία τοῦ παιδιοῦ καὶ τὴ φυσιολογική του ἐξέλιξη εἶναι ἡ αἴσθηση συνέχειας. Οἱ δύο γονεῖς, παρ` ὅλο ποὺ δὲν συνεχίζουν τὴ ζωή τους ὡς ζευγάρι, θὰ πρέπει νὰ συνυπάρχουν καὶ νὰ παίρνουν κοινὲς ἀποφάσεις γιὰ θέματα ποὺ ἀφοροῦν στὸ παιδί.
The Original Sin and the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the paradise of Eden. Man's sin was that he turned away from God and trusted the devil. Consequently the Lord has allowed for us to see what the snake really is and how much it is NOT to be trusted.
All of us encounter suffering in our lives. Sometimes we deserve to suffer, sometimes we do not. Curiously enough, our sufferings force us to reflect upon both their nature and origin; suddenly a world of questions and outlooks appear in front of us.
Suffering is closely connected to the so-called issue of evil in our lives. Where does the evil come from? For this reason, we have to describe the Orthodox perception of the world, based on the Holy Scriptures and Tradition. These two sources exist in unity; they are not religious systems, but a description of the divine economy in the life of the Ecclesiastical community.
The Uncreated God creates the Creation out of non-existence. Creation, being a non-existence, participates in the divine energies and becomes an existence. In the biblical narration about the creation of Man, the Lord breathed into the nostrils of Man a breath of life. That is how Man became a living soul. We can draw a parallel with our breathing – Man breathes and connects to the air, so he lives. The entire Creation is quickened by the divine energy. In the first three chapters of Genesis, the creation of world, the issue of the forefathers’ sin and the evil are being depicted. It is noteworthy here, that all creation is described as “very good”.
Although all creation is good, this good is relative and is not perfect. Creation happens to be in a constant motion towards perfection. The Lord created Man according to His image and likeness and placed him to lead all creation.The “image” is a connection of Man with God, the “likeness” is a constant motion and alteration towards perfection.
So, we can say that creation and the created ones, have the possibility of alteration to good (from non-existence to perfection) or towards evil (from being to non-existence). The cause of evil, as well as a cause of good is: the possibility of Man created, to alteration (good or evil) and his will (freedom).
Some consider evil as a punishment for a violation of the juridical world order. Thus, in its time, Western Scholasticism came to a conclusion that Satan happens to be the punishing tool in the hands of God. But this is not correct because people often suffer without being guilty at all. Orthodoxy considers evil as a sickness. Evil has no hypostases, substance, it is not a thing, because everything God created is “very good”. Evil is parasitizing upon the hypostases of good and although it is non-existent, it provokes sufferings to all good creatures. So, George Herbert’s “Hell is full of good meaning and wishings” is very actual in this context. St. John of Damascus says that good is the beginning and the end of all, including evil.We act wishing good and receive the deformed good – which is evil.
Following the above mentioned, let us examine the Biblical Narration about the forefathers’ sin. Sin happens not only because of the free will of Man, but also because of temptation. Thus, the ancient serpent, Satan, tempts Eve to trespass the commandment of abstention of the tree of “knowledge of good and evil”. Man lived in paradise between “the tree of life” and “the tree of knowledge of good and evil”. We have to remark that there was no prohibition on eating the fruit of the tree of life, it became unavailable to Man later, after the sin. “The tree of knowledge of good and evil” is a malfunction between the direct connection with the Lord and the knowledge of the reality of creation, which is decay and destruction. Thus, the ancient serpent, Satan and a tempter, offers to Man, represented by Eve, the inborn desire and purpose of Man, given by God – to become god, by grace.
He says to Eve “ye shall be as gods”.Here we have a good (to say the least, an inborn!) desire. But the price is to break the direct communication with God (stepping away from the tree of life) and coming into direct communication with the possibility of decay and destruction of the reality of the creation (communion with the tree of knowledge of good and evil).
The consequences of communion with the knowledge of good and evil are as follows: hiding from the presence of the Lord, justification without repentance and heritage of decay and death. Let us take a short deviation, in order to mention that Man himself, freely hid himself from the presence of the Lord, before the Lord “expelled” him from paradise. This indicates that the communication with God was ceased by the initiative of Adam. The Lord has nothing to do with the ceasing of communication between Man and God.That is why the juridical pattern – guilt-punishment, in the light of above mentioned, seems to be at least weak.
As we mentioned before, the fall of the forefathers happened not only because of their free will. Man becomes a victim of the extraneous power, which tradition calls Satan or the Devil, having an ongoing struggle with him. Hence, after all the justification the Lord heard from Adam, who laid the blame upon his wife (and the Lord himself, who gave to him this wife!), and Eve, who laid the blame upon the serpent – the Lord defines to Man the way of his salvation. First of all, it is a struggle between the descendants of the serpent and those of Man. The Church calls it the first Gospel. The woman is Mother of God and her descendant is Christ who will “bruise” Satan and his servants – the descendants of the serpent. We must note that enmity and struggle are closely connected with the salvation of Man, i.e. the Lord does not define the struggle for the sake of a struggle, but this struggle bears fruit.
Next, we have a very valuable Narration connected to our theme – the meaning of suffering and sorrow in our life. The Lord says to the woman that the she will bear children in sorrow. In the Gospel, the Lord clarifies this point. The sorrow transforms into joy. The birth of human beings into the world is a victory over death and salvation of human kind of death. Hence, we can call these sufferings “resurrecting”. It is most clear that sufferings are closely connected to the healing of the whole situation and to salvation.
In the end of the third chapter of Genesis, the Lord says that because of the forefathers’ sin, the earth is cursed. Man has to work hard, in sweat and sorrow for his bread. Thus, the creation, this second body of Man, having not freedom, its own will, mechanically follows Man and becomes a subject to decay and destruction.
Regarding the above mentioned, we can conclude that evil, suffering, decay, destruction and death, entered our life as a consequence of the forefathers’ sin and exist together with our unceasing post-forefathers’ sins. But all these are closely connected to our salvation. Salvation is a comeback to direct communication of Man with God. Out of chaos and destruction, Man returns to divine harmony through repentance.
In the Gospel according to Luke, the Lord asks about the Galileans who were executed by Pilate, whether they were sinners above all the Galileans. Nay – says the Lord, but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. So, the way to salvation is repentance.
Repentance is not our farfetched image of a sinner (“I am the worst”), but it is a door out of chaos to harmony. Usually, repentance follows humbleness. Pride is a fantasy about ourselves. Humbleness, in contrast to pride, is a logical evaluation of our state. It is a door out of fantasy to existing reality.
To clarify, let us parallel pride, fantasy, humbleness and repentance with the evangelical parable about the prodigal son. The younger son, asks from father, his part of the inheritance, leaves the family home and in a “far country”, rejecting abstention, he wastes all his fortune by living a riotous life. Here, it is clear that he estimates the situation incorrectly; he is proud of himself that he is grown up and can get by, by himself. He is living in a fantasy not connected to reality. Then a famine happened in that far country and he has to find a job – to feed swine in order to survive somehow. He would be glad to fill his belly with the husk that swine ate, but he could not. Here, we have suffering – this is a fruit of pride, fantasy and breaking of connection with father. We have to notice here, that in this case, the sufferings and shortages sobered him up. The prodigal son gets humble, he estimates his condition rationally. Based on facts, he figures out that he cannot do everything by himself, that by breaking communication with his father, he came to hunger. So, he decides to repent and to say to his father: “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants”. Next, he uses repentance practically; he goes to his father and asks for forgiveness; he enters into communication with him. That is how he gets rid of sufferings and shortages.
In conclusion, we can say that sufferings are a part of our fallen reality. In our freedom, following the example of the Lord, we can follow the sufferings to reach resurrection or eternally get firm in evil. We have to always remember that our struggle is against temptation, against the spirit of evil. These are not medieval concepts, but an everyday reality. So, we cannot count only upon our free will, it could be substituted, but upon the Lord. Sufferings could be humiliating and sobering, they can place us in front of our way to be healed. The way of healing lies through humbleness, repentance and of course, prayer, i.e. through communication with the Lord, to Him is glory unto the ages. Amen.
Starkoff Serapheim Fr.
O God, Creator of all things!
Adding mercy upon mercy, Thou hast deemed me worthy of being a mother; Thy goodness hath endowed me with children so that I may say: these are Thy children! For Thou hast given them life, breathed an immortal soul into them, given them a new birth in a life that is according to Thy will, Thou hast adopted them and received them into the bosom of Thy Church.
O Lord, preserve them in Thy grace, and until the end of their lives deem them worthy of receiving the Holy Mysteries of Thy covenant.
Illumine them with Thy truth.
Let Thy Name be holy in them and through them.
Help me by Thy grace to rear them for the glory of Thy Name and for the benefit of their neighbor.
Give me strength and patience to do this, O Lord, and guide me.
Teach me to plant in their hearts the root of true wisdom – Thy fear.
Endow them with the light of Thy wisdom which governs all things.
Let them learn to love Thee with all their souls and all their thoughts.
Let them cleave unto Thee with all their heart and fear Thy words for as long as they live.
Endow me with the reason to implant in them the conviction that true life consists of respecting Thy commandments, that labor fortified with piety offers all that is needed in this life and unutterable blessedness in eternity.
Reveal to them the understanding of Thy law.
Unto the end of their days let them labor feeling Thy omnipresence at all times.
Embed in their hearts hatred towards all unlawfulness.
Let them be faultless in Thy ways.
Let them always know that Thou, o All-Merciful God, are zealous in Thy laws and justice.
Preserve them in chastity and trembling before Thy Name, that they may not shame Thy Church by their behavior, but that they should live according to Her commandments.
Give them zeal in their desire for useful learning and enable them to do every good deed.
Let them acquire a proper understanding of things needed for their everyday life, illumine them with the knowledge of things beneficial for the human race.
O Lord, teach me to implant with a permanent seal in their hearts and minds the wisdom to flee from friendship with those who live not in fear of Thee, wisdom to decisively turn away from every relationship with the lawless.
That they may not listen to evil talk.
That they heed not imprudent people.
That, led by evil examples, they stray not from Thy path.
That they not be discouraged in that sometimes, in this world, the way of the lawless is crowned with success.
O Heavenly Father!
Help me by Thy grace to be watchful at all times that I may not scandalize my children with my actions, but that I may, ever bearing in mind their behavior, dissuade them from misconceptions, correct their errors, restrain their stubbornness and self-will.
That they may not gravitate toward pride and reckless deeds.
That they may not be carried away by mindless thoughts.
That they do not follow their desires.
That pride does not infect their thoughts.
That they not forget Thee and Thy law.
That lawlessness does not destroy their minds and health.
That sins do not make feeble their spiritual and bodily strength.
O righteous Judge, Thou who chastiseth offspring unto the third and fourth generation for the sins of their fathers, avert such vengeance from my children, punish them not for my sins, but sprinkle them with the dew of Thy grace, that they may advance in virtue and holiness, that they may grow in Thy benevolence and in the love of pious men.
O Father, plentious in mercy!
According to my motherly feelings I would that my children enjoy an abundance of earthly treasures, I desire that they be blessed by the dew in the heavens and by the good things of the earth, still, let Thy holy will be with them!
Administer their destiny according as Thou pleasest.
Deprive them not of their daily bread.
Endow them with time sufficient for the acquisition of blessed eternity.
Be merciful unto them, when they sin before Thee.
Judge them not for the sins of youth and ignorance.
Make contrite their hearts should they oppose the leading hand of Thy goodness.
Chastise them and caress them, direct them on the path that is pleasing to Thee, but turn not Thy face away from them.
Accept with gracious mind their prayers, and grant them success in every good deed.
Turn not away from them in times of sadness, lest they be beset by temptations that surpass their strength.
Let the shadow of thy Grace fall upon them, let Thy angel walk with them and keep them from all calamities and evil ways.
O All-merciful God!
Make me a mother who rejoices in her children, let them be my happiness in all the days of my life and my support in my old age.
Deem me worthy to stand with them before Thee on the day of Thy dread judgement and with unworthy courage say: “Here I am and my children which Thou hast given me, O Lord!”
That together with my children I may glorify Thy unspeakable goodness and Thy eternal love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The Lord never ceases calling us to Himself: “Come unto me, and I will give you rest.” He nourishes us with His most precious Body and Blood. In His mercy He schools us by His Word and the Holy Spirit. He has revealed His mysteries to us. He lives in us and in the sacraments of the Church, and leads us to where we shall behold His glory. But this glory shall each man behold according to the measure of his love. The more a man loves, ardently does he set his face towards God, yearning to be with the Beloved Lord, and therefore will he approach the nearer to Him; while the man who loves but little will have but little desire for the Lord, and man who does not love at all will neither wish nor aspire to see the Lord, and will spend his life in darkness.
St. Silouan the Athonite
“Now crisis, (judgment) is upon this world;” (John 12, 31)
The crisis of the whole world is this.
The crisis of each and every one of us, is this.
Whether we like it or not,
whether we believe in God or not,
whether we are in His Church
or in a false, heretical dogma,
a deceiving denomination,
whether we are Popes, Patriarchs,
Archbishops, Bishops, Priests,
Monks, Married or lay, dedicated or missionaries,
we are all subject to this divine, pre-eternal
and eternally ongoing valid law:
“Do God’s will or do your own will.”
This is the Divine Sword that Christ came to use.
This is the discriminating Fire that Christ already lit.
God or “mammon”, our will or His, either one or the other!
And the exact judgement that we will definitely face,
will be exclusively, collectively and entirely
based on this and only this :
“Did we do God’s will or did we do our own will?”
Our own will covers everything ungodly,
everything sinful, illegal and independent.
God’s will includes everything blessed,
everything He asked us to do in His love
everything that is pleasing to Him
everything that is beneficial for our eternal soul
and contributing to our salvation.
No special theology is needed, to understand this preliminary and primary belief and dogma of doing God’s will. Even the “simple” Lord’s Prayer, instructed to us by Christ Himself, begins with the very core principal request: ‘Yennithito to thelima su’, Your will be done! The very first thing that Christ urges us to ask for, is not health, not wealth, not progress, not prosperity, but to ask God so that He can help us to do His will.
“To do God’s will” is the centre of salvation, it is the holy of holies. To do God’s will is the most sacred aim of every faithful and every soul who claims to believe in God and love God. “If you love Me, do my will!” (John 14, 15). To do God’s will is the ultimate of all gifts, the spiritual peak of all blessings. To do God’s will is the actual, literal “kingdom of heaven!” Christ urges us to “seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and then everything else will be added” This righteousness is an interpretation of God’s kingdom, that is why Saint David the Psalmist exclaims: “Blessed be You, oh Lord, teach me Your judgments (Your Will).” (Ps. 118, 12) Christ means and implies that:
· we should first be genuinely interested in being very well taught and deeply educated in what exactly is God’s will,
· we should readily be wanting from the heart to do God’s will
· if we don’t want this eagerly, then we can somehow force ourselves to do so, and
· then we will experience the kingdom of heaven.
All Saints who experienced this kingdom and were elevated to great heights of holiness, primarily achieved this, because they enforced God’s will. They also forced themselves and grasped this grace by “force” – “The kingdom of heaven experiences violence, and men of violence take it by force.” (Math. 11, 12) If we find ourselves not being interested or not wanting to do God’s will, then we should “force” ourselves, just like we force an infant to take its necessary medication when it refuses. This blessed “violence” is only done against our own will, against our ego and our evil self, but never against others. We can never and should never force others, but “whoever wishes in free will” may follow God’s will. (Mark 8, 34) Whoever decides to follow his own will does not glorify God but glorifies himself and the devil.
The whole of the Satanic law is this: “Do what you want” – “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law” (The Book of the Law, by Aleister Crowley). Crowley was mostly known as “the Great Beast”, due to the fact that the was a self-declared Satanist, despite any failed attempts to deny this and pseudo claims that “he only borrowed various terms and notions from various religious sources because he liked to be defiant, sarcastic or witty, only for the purpose of shocking and disturbing people”, though this excuse in itself is a disturbing statement indeed. Even the very own biographer and literary executor of Aleister Crowley, John Symonds, reveals to us and writes: “Crowley’s philosophy takes a bit from here and a bit from there… but… he was more a Satanist than anything else. ‘I serve my great Master Satan’, he wrote in one of his franker confessions, ‘and that august Council composed of Beelzebub, Lucifuge, Asmodeus, Belphegor, Baal, Adrammelech, Lilith and Nahema.’” (John Symonds, The Great Beast).
Aleister Crowley is the author of “The Book of the Law”. He is also the founder of the Global Religion “Thelema” which is in fact a transliteration of the common Greek noun “thelima”, “will”, “desire” = thelisi, pothos, and also from the verb “thelo”, to will, to have desire, purpose. Aleister Crowley developed this satanic religion under demonic inspiration and evil mixture of included notions from Eastern and Western Mysticism (a diplomatic disguise word for “demonism”) ideas from Yoga, Occultism and especially from the Hebrew Qabalah… (another promoted fashion by celebrities).
All followers of Crowley and his “Thelema” religion, are called “thelemites” and are fanatically, passionately instructed to “seek out and follow their own will, their own desires, even (in extent) the will of God’s opponent, the devil” by restoring “devil worship” through “Magick” (Magic with a “k”), a term that Aleister Crowley formulated as being different to the magic of the occult and defined it as “”the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will”, including both “mundane” acts of will as ritual magic…” (Book of the Law). Crowley regarded this “Magick” as “the essential method for a person to reach true understanding of the self and to act according to one’s true will” (truly demonic will) which he also considered as the reconciliation “between freewill and destiny”, which in God’s eyes, is the enmity of God and the reconciliation between paranormal activity and demonic phenomena dominating the lives of those who embrace such mystic philosophy.
We must be extremely cautious on what role models we expose our children. Their “fruits” of the lives of these celebrities have a lot to reveal to us. A simple search on Wikipedia shows “Aleister Crowley was also bisexual, a recreational drug experimenter and a social critic. In many of these roles he ‘was in revolt against the moral and religious values of his time’, espousing a form of ‘libertinism’ based upon the rule of “Do What Thou Wilt”. Because of this, he gained widespread notoriety during his lifetime, and was denounced in the popular press of the day as “the wickedest man in the world!”
Another satanic law being outlined is that “there is no God but man”, therefore, man replaces God and places himself in his position and role of God, in every aspect of life. This is the spirit of the Antichrist. Anyone who does not believe in God, automatically constitutes himself as god and deifies his own human personal will as “divine” will. Anyone who does not believe in God and stubbornly follows his own will, in fact, subconsciously declares the existence of God and verifies the narration of the fall of the “protoplasts”, the first created ones, Adam and Eve. There, Satan, embodies the snake, and this is what “Avatar” means, “an evil embodiment”, an unlawful “inter-course with humans and extra terrestrial (demonic) beings”, an “incompatible interlink”, and “cloning” into a “new creation”, a “new being”, or to be “Born Again” in a redeeming way.
All of the above terms, some of them biblical too, reveal the evilness of our antichristian age. There is so much profound Satanism in all aspects of our life, in Cinema, on daytime television, even within children’s stories, comics or toys, that it is just not funny at all. What is even more weird is that people are not reacting at all to this profound, preoccupying, predominant evilness. They are getting accustomed to it.
And this is the greatest trick and deception of the devil, to make you believe that he “does not exist” and that all this occultist imagery and staggering, petrifying witchcraft (such as “Harry Potter”, Halloween and the subtle, suspicious Avatar which are all full of evil representation, satanic depictions & subliminal messages) is supposedly just symbolism at its best.
The aim of the devil is make people, even the elderly, even young kids, through cinema movies, television, video clips and video games, to make them get used to these images, to get them acquainted with these evil notions and ideas and gradually become familiarised to any demonic representations and ghostly activity, so when it all actually happens, when Satan arrives and his super “god-man” Antichrist appears in person, in real, they will not be afraid, shocked or surprised. They will follow him because they will be subjected to his comforts, conformed to his convenient enterprises and slaves to the rhythm of their own will in tune to the will of Satan.
One of the most astonishing, most powerful and ever awakening questions that I ever received by a young child whilst I was teaching in Class and narrating the fall of Adam and Eve, was: – “Sir, wasn’t Eve surprised at all that the snake actually spoke?”…
Wow!!! What a simple but unusual observation! What a remarkable theological truth! It sounds so logical, yet it is so revealing. Eve was not surprised because she was used to it, she was familiarised with the fact that the snake, and all other animals spoke and had a very individual way of communication with Adam and Eve, as friends to friends. This communication stopped after the fall, after the sever distortion of nature, due to the severe breaking of that relationship, due to the satanic law of ignoring the will of God and following the will of our own sinful self.
A final chapter in this indispensable yet inexhaustible topic is, that once we establish that we need to do God’s will, we then need to establish:
· what exactly is God’s will
· how is it expressed, how is it channelled to us humans, and
· how are re-assured that we are doing God’s will?
We really don’t need to perplex, jeopardize and deceive ourselves with any special mystical insights, philosophical or metaphysical paths, para-psychological practices which can never direct us to the will of God but to the will of Satan. It is such a simple process to learn the will of God that I will present it in point form, for testimony and peace of mind:
· Wanting to do God’s will, presupposes a preliminary faith in God. We firstly need to establish the existence of God, by readily wanting to believe in Him in advance and sternly examining our heart to see if we are actually prepared to proceed in such enormous leap. All stumbling blocks and vast hindrances must ruthlessly be identified, severely battled and effectively removed. If we are utterly bound by logic and ego, if we are biased and proud, sarcastic or negatively disposed to the issue of God’s existence, then we will never succeed and there is no point in being curious or testing the field.
· We must begin through Him and intensely honestly pray to Him, asking God to “help and boost our unfaithfulness”.
· We also approach holy men of God, saintly elders, ascetics or god-fearing priests who are renowned for their spirituality and ask them to pray for us and to fervently beseech God for a sign or a way in order for us to get closer to Him, even (most preferably) through a sacred revelation or a miraculous transformation (of course without ever expecting it or demanding it, this would be the worse…) We should never have the trivial, arrogant, cunning and conceited expectation of “God proving Himself to us if He exists”. He doesn’t need to do this, we cannot contest or provoke God, He will not be a “servant”of our impudent demands or contemptible commands. At the end of the day, it is not at all honourable and dignifying of us to have such supercilious and superficial thoughts, to have such reproachful poor mentality and place irrational preconditions. Faith starts from the heart, and comes from the heart. Faith is regenerated in a clean and humble heart that is free from prejudice, unfairness, ungodliness and idolatry.
· We then establish the reality of the God-Man Jesus Christ as a true historical figure. We perform a personal study of good faith, examining closely and deeply all external and internal testimonies, especially His Holy Scripture, and most preferably, the whole New Testament, with a spirit of humbleness and sinfulness. But we must be especially alert of the critical necessity of a guide, a mentor for the proper translation of Christ’s Teachings and His will contained within the Bible. That guide, is the Holy Church of God. Not any “Church” or any Christian Community that call themselves “Church”, but His One and Only True Living Church, His Holy Body of believers that are united in the One Truth, in the One Chalice and enjoy a common Sacramental Communion. The Great conquering truth is that, the basis of truth is not Holy Scripture in general, not any global modern translations and individual versions, not even the original Ancient Greek Text itself, but the nucleus basis of Truth is the Church Herself. The Apostles, the Church are the ones who produced the Bible and not the other way round.
· We therefore proceed to establish the fact that He created, He built His Church on the foundations of the Apostles, on the foundations of Truth. We search and examine to see which out of all these literally thousands of existing adversary “Churches” of today, have faithfully kept intact, unadulterated, incorrupt the teachings of Christ and of the Apostles. We look to see which preserves His Truth and which one maintains “Apostolic Succession”, that is, the authority of canonical priesthood traced back to the very Apostles, the validity of Sacraments and common global recognition through a Patriarchate Structure. Thus we attain a sound knowledge of the history of the Church of Jesus Christ, we closely observe all beliefs, all their items of faith, the actual content and nature of faith, and identify an official compilation, Symbol of Faith, their Creed, their dogma.
· We must then examine We also must learn the actual, specific, principal “Name” of the Church that helps it differentiate from other false, erroneous and deceiving groups: ORTHODOX, which means proper worship, true Faith, which has the wholeness of truth (not sporadically) and is intended for the whole world.
· If we are not members of that Orthodox Church, we become so by receiving a full canonical Baptism (not just Chrismation) regardless of what denomination we were in previously. If we are already members, then we are inactive and need to become more active in the faith and the life of the Church, to gradually get to know more about God so we can then learn what He wants. We will also carry out a further, extensive study on the Sacred writings of the Great Holy Fathers of the Church along with the close, in depth, imitating study of the Lives of Saints fundamental testimony and guidance of all recent Holy Elders & Newly Canonised Saints.
· It is highly imperative, of extreme critical importance that we find and submit to the mandatory discerning guidance of an experienced, canonical and wise Spiritual Father/Confessor. He will mainly assist us in knowing and doing God’s will. His role is exclusive but not autonomous or independent from us. Our elementary contribution is required which forms an indisputable precondition: A long term fast, fervent prayer and special spiritual exercise = “askisis”, and “kanonas” (atonement) needs to take place that will prepare the mind and constitute our heart to receive and perceive the will of God. We must at first note and always keep in mind, that it is not an easy task to “enter the mind of God” and “determine His will”. There are great ascetics, hermits, stylites, who went to gigantic and super-human lengths of askisis, not forty-day fast, or 40 consecutive Liturgies, but forty whole years on a pole, in a cave, in a desert, to find out the will of God, and even after that (!) were still not over-confident…
We are not trying to scare or perplex anyone. This is only mentioned so that no one falls in evil pride of claiming to be able to easily know, effortlessly determine or effect God’s will. The oceanic depth of the will of God first requires simple steps of floating, paddling, swimming then diving in head first or scuba-diving…
As an epilogue, I will try to simplify the Orthodox Dogmatic Theology concerning God’s will, by analysing this Divine dual, twofold will.
There are two different types of God’s Wills:
A) The “kat’ evdokian” will of God, implemented as “Akriveian”, and
B) the “kata parahorisin” will of God, carried out as “Economy”.
The preposition “Kata” means “according to”.
A) The term “Evdokian” means deep, revered pleasure, divine contentment, sacred satisfaction, and is usually implemented and referred to as “Akriveia” = accuracy, but not austerity with the extreme harshness, biased meaning of the word. “Akriveia” means correctness, exactness, precision in wanting to do the right thing, the right way. “Akriveia” means truth, truth means Orthodoxy, Orthodoxy means Christ Himself.
B) The term “parahorisin” means divine concession, condescending grant, tolerating compromise. In other words it simply means, Gods does not really want something, but allows it to happen, for educational and salvational reasons that we cannot ever see or perceive.“Economy” or “Oikonomia” is dispensation, exemption, leniency. It discloses a sense of compromise and should be executed under rare reasons and critical cases. “Economy” is divine philanthropy, a special allowance of forgiveness, a holy grant of compassion and sympathy. “Economy” should never be carried out at the expense of “Akriveia” = accuracy, or at the tragic sacrifice of dogma, nor should it ever be cunningly practiced as the norm, the usual, or become the standard way of doing things.
In our day and age, modern or worldly Christians will appeal and abuse the condescending, compromising will of God and take pleasure and comfort in the suspicious umbrella of always resorting and referring to the Second Will of God, the “kata parahorisin”, while always appealing to “economy”. Even Ecclesiastical Leaders of today, often cannot understand and undermine the Akriveian, accuracy of the Holy Fathers, and claim to now be better than them, appear more forgiving than them, and promote themselves as more tolerating than them, towards theological differences… (GOD FORBID!!!) Alimono.
Our perpetual aim, in all our “filotimo” (kind disposition, respectful approach of dignity, a term that Holy Elder & New Saint Paisios really loved using), should always be to desire the implementation of God’s good pleasing will, the “kat’ evdokian” thelema. Some of us though, sometimes in life, we need to go through the path of the condescending, granting will of God, the “kata parahorisin” thelema, and that’s ok, as long as we have honest intentions, “kali diathesi”, as long as our approach and appeal is genuine. God is the one Who examines hearts and test “kidneys” = good will, desires. In Jeremiah 17:10 we see this remarkable classification: “I the LORD search the mind and try the heart, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of their practices.”
One Great New Saint of our times, indisputably equal to St Symeon the New Theologian, is Saint Athanasios Mytilineos the New Theologian. He whole-heartedly followed and accurately expressed God’s will from very young, in a very remarkable way:
“When I was very young, and others would tease me at school or question me why I prayed, why I fasted, why I remained a virgin, I humbly yet firmly and confidently affirmed: – ‘I am simply doing God’s will, I am doing what God wants, I am doing it because Christ asked me to do this for Him, for His favour. I thus found no ‘obligation’, no upset, no imposition, but an internal sacred compelling which makes us realise that “the yoke of Christ is easy and the burden is truly light.” (Math. 11, 30)
May we all refuse to be “thelemites of sinful ourselves” and persistently pursue to be thelemites of our glorious God. If we always want things to be done the right way, we thus want Orthodoxy. And if we want Orthodoxy, we have nothing to fear, because we are safely embracing and following the True Will of God!
Monk Nicodemus
Ὅταν θελήσεις νὰ κάνεις ἀρχὴ καλοῦ ἔργου, πρῶτα νὰ ἑτοιμάσεις τὸν ἑαυτό σου γιὰ τὴν ἀντιμετώπιση τῶν πειρασμῶν, ποὺ πρόκειται νὰ ἔρθουν ἐναντίον σου. Γιατὶ ὁ ἐχθρός, ὅταν δεῖ κάποιον ν᾿ ἀρχίζει μὲ θερμὴ πίστη μία θεάρεστη ζωή, συνηθίζει νὰ τοῦ ἐπιτίθεται μὲ διάφορους καὶ φοβεροὺς πειρασμούς, ὥστε νὰ δειλιάσει ἀπ᾿ αὐτοὺς ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ νὰ ἐγκαταλείψει τὴν καλή του πρόθεση. Καὶ παραχωρεῖ ὁ Θεὸς νὰ πέσει σὲ πειρασμοὺς γιὰ νὰ χτυπήσεις ἐπίμονα τὴ θύρα (τοῦ ἐλέους) Του καὶ γιὰ νὰ ριζώσει μέσα στὸ νοῦ σου, ἀπὸ τὸ φόβο τῶν θλίψεων, ἡ μνήμη Ἐκείνου, καὶ γιὰ νὰ Τὸν πλησιάσεις μὲ τὶς προσευχές, ὥστε ν᾿ ἁγιαστεῖ ἔτσι ἡ καρδιά σου ἀπὸ τὴν ἀκατάπαυστη ἐνθύμησή Του. Καὶ ὅταν Τὸν ἐπικαλεῖσαι, θὰ σὲ ἀκούσει. Καὶ θὰ μάθεις ἔτσι, ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς εἶναι αὐτὸς ποὺ σὲ λυτρώνει. Καὶ τότε θὰ νιώσεις τὴν παρουσία Ἐκείνου ποὺ σ᾿ ἔπλασε καὶ σὲ δυναμώνει καὶ σὲ προστατεύει. Γιατὶ ἡ σκέπη καὶ ἡ πρόνοια τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγκαλιάζει ὅλους τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. Δὲν γίνεται ὅμως ὁρατὴ παρὰ μόνο σ᾿ ἐκείνους ποὺ καθάρισαν τὸν ἑαυτό τους ἀπὸ τὴν ἁμαρτία καὶ εἶναι συνεχῶς προσηλωμένοι στὸ Θεό. Ἐξαιρετικὰ μάλιστα φανερώνεται σ᾿ αὐτοὺς ἡ βοήθεια καὶ ἡ πρόνοια τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅταν μποῦν σὲ μεγάλη δοκιμασία γιὰ χάρη τῆς ἀλήθειας, γιατὶ τότε τὴν αἰσθάνονται πολὺ καθαρά με τὴν αἴσθηση τοῦ νοῦ.
Μερικοί, ποὺ εἶδαν αὐτὴ (τὴ βοήθεια) καὶ μὲ τὰ σωματικά τους μάτια, ἀνάλογα μὲ τὶς δοκιμασίες, καὶ διαπίστωσαν ἔτσι τὴ συμπαράσταση τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὑποκινήθηκαν ἀπ᾿ αὐτὴ σὲ γενναῖες πράξεις, ὅπως μαθαίνουμε γιὰ τὸν Ἰακὼβ καὶ τὸν Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναυῆ καὶ τοὺς Τρεῖς Παῖδες καὶ τὸν ἀπόστολο Πέτρο καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἁγίους, ποὺ ἄθλησαν γιὰ τὸ Χριστό. Σ᾿ αὐτοὺς (ἡ θεία βοήθεια) ἦταν ὁλοφάνερη, ἔχοντας ἀνθρώπινη μορφή, δίνοντάς τους θάρρος καὶ προετοιμάζοντάς τους γιὰ τὸν ἀγῶνα τῆς εὐσέβειας. Ἀλλὰ καὶ στοὺς πατέρες, ποὺ ἔζησαν στὴν ἔρημο καὶ ἔδιωξαν ἀπὸ κεῖ τοὺς δαίμονες καὶ ἔγιναν κατοικητήρια ἀγγέλων, καὶ σ᾿ αὐτοὺς παρουσιάζονταν συνεχῶς οἱ ἅγιοι ἄγγελοι καὶ μὲ κάθε τρόπο τοὺς βοηθοῦσαν καὶ τοὺς συμπαραστέκονταν σὲ ὅλα καὶ τοὺς στήριζαν καὶ τοὺς λύτρωναν ἀπὸ τοὺς πειρασμούς, ποὺ οἱ ἄγριοι δαίμονες τοὺς προξενοῦσαν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ μέχρι σήμερα δὲν ἀπομακρύνεται ἡ βοήθεια τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀπὸ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ποὺ ὁλοκληρωτικὰ ἀφιερώθηκαν στὰ ἔργα ποὺ Ἐκεῖνος εὐαρεστεῖται, ἀλλὰ βρίσκεται κοντὰ σὲ ὅλους ὅσοι Τὸν ἐπικαλοῦνται.
ἀββᾶ Ἰσαὰκ
Εὔδηλον γὰρ ὅτι βιωτικαῖς προσηλωμένοι φροντίσι,
καὶ τὸν ἅπαντα λυμαινόμενον τῶν χρημάτων ἔρωτα σφοδρότερον ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀνάπτοντες,
τῆς καλῆς ταύτης ἀπελείφθησαν ἑορτῆς.
Ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ μὴ πάρεισιν, ἀναγκαῖον καὶ πρὸς ἀπόντας διαλεχθῆναι·
εὔδηλον γὰρ ὅτι δι' ὑμῶν ταῦτα ἀκούσονται τῶν παρόντων·
μέχρι πότε τῶν χρημάτων ἡ λύσσα;
μέχρι τίνος ἡ μηδέποτε σβεννυμένη κάμινος πάντα ἔπεισι καὶ καταφλέγει;
οὐκ ἴστε ὅτι αὕτη ἡ φλὸξ ἐκεῖνο τίκτει τὸ ἄσβεστον πῦρ;
αὕτη ἡ τηκεδὼν ἐκεῖνον γεννᾷ τὸν σκώληκα τὸν ἰοβόλον;
Εἰ δὲ καταφρονεῖς γεέννης,
καὶ οὐ διασείει σου τὴν διάνοιαν ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα διὰ τὸ μέλλειν ἔτι τὴν κόλασιν·
κἂν τὰ παρόντα πειθέτω σε.
Οὐκ ἔγνωτε οἷον τὸν καρπὸν ἡ φιλοχρηματία πρώην ἐπεδείξατο;
οὐ πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ὑμῶν ἐστι τὰ ὑπομνήματα;
οὐκ ἔναυλος τῆς τοσαύτης καταστροφῆς ἡ ἀπόδειξις;
Αγ. Ιωάννου Χρυσοστόμου
1. Οἱ ψυχὲς ποὺ ἀγαποῦν τὸν Θεὸ καὶ τὴν ἀλήθεια, δὲν ὑποφέρουν οὔτε τὴν παραμικρὴ ἐλάττωση τοῦ ἔρωτά τους πρὸς τὸν Κύριο. Ἀλλὰ καρφωμένες ὁλοκληρωτικὰ στὸ σταυρό Του αἰσθάνονται μέσα τους τὴν Πνευματικὴ προκοπή. Πληγωμένες λοιπὸν ἀπὸ τὸν πόθο Του, κι ἄν ἀκόμη ἀξιωθοῦν Θεία μυστήρια καὶ μετάσχουν εὐφροσύνης καὶ Χάριτος, δὲν ἔχουν πεποίθηση στὸν ἑαυτό τους, οὔτε νομίζουν ὅτι εἶναι τίποτε. Ἀλλὰ ὅσο ἀξιώνονται πνευματικὰ χαρίσματα τόσο ἐπιζητοῦν τὰ οὐράνια. Καὶ ὅσο περισσότερη προκοπὴ αἰσθάνονται, τόσο πιὸ λαίμαργες γίνονται γιὰ τὰ θεῖα. Καὶ ἐνῶ εἶναι πνευματικὰ πλούσιες, κάνουν σὰν νὰ εἶναι φτωχές. «Ὅσοι μὲ τρῶνε θὰ πεινάσουν κι' ἄλλο, καὶ ὅσοι μὲ πίνουν θὰ διψάσουν κι' ἄλλο», λέει ἡ Θεία Γραφή.
2. Αὐτοῦ τοῦ εἴδους οἱ ψυχὲς ἀξιώνονται νὰ λάβουν τὴν τέλεια ἐλευθερία ἀπὸ τὰ πάθη καὶ ν' ἀποκομίσουν τὴν ἔλλαμψη καὶ τὴν κοινωνία τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος μὲ τὴν πληρότητα τῆς Χάρης. Ὅσες ὅμως εἶναι ὀκνηρές καὶ ἀποφεύγουν τοὺς κόπους καὶ δὲν ἐπιζητοῦν τὸν ἁγιασμὸ τῆς καρδιᾶς ἀπὸ αὐτὴ ἐδῶ τὴ ζωή, ὄχι ἐν μέρει, ἀλλὰ ὁλοκληρωτικά. Αὐτὲς ἄς μὴ ἐλπίζουν νὰ κοινωνήσουν τὸ Ἅγιο Πνεῦμα καὶ ν' ἀπαλλαγοῦν ἀπὸ τὰ πάθη τῆς κακίας• αὐτὲς κι' ἄν ἀξιωθοῦν τὴ Θεία Χάρη, ἐπειδὴ ξεγελιοῦνται ἀπὸ τὴν κακία, ἀφήνουν κάθε πνευματικὴ φροντίδα, διότι ἀπολαμβάνουν ὀλίγη πνευματικὴ γλυκύτητα. Ἔτσι οἱ ψυχὲς αὐτὲς εἶναι εὔκολο νὰ πέσουν σὲ ἔπαρση, διότι δὲν ἀγωνίζονται νὰ φτάσουν τὴν τέλεια ἀπάθεια. Καὶ καθὼς ἀρκοῦνται στὴ λίγη αὐτὴ ἐνίσχυση τῆς Χάρης καὶ προκόβουν ὄχι στὴν ταπείνωση, ἀλλὰ στὴν ἔπαρση, ἀπογυμνώνονται κάποτε κι' ἀπὸ τὸ χάρισμα ποὺ ἔλαβαν. Γιατὶ ἡ ψυχή, ποὺ ἀγαπάει ἀληθινὰ τὸν Θεό, κι' ἄν ἀκόμη μυριάδες ἀρετὲς κατορθώσει, ἔχει τέτοια μετριοφροσύνη, σὰν νὰ μήν ἔχει ἀρχίσει ἀκόμη νὰ ζεῖ κατὰ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ νοιώθει ἀπληστία καὶ ἔρωτα γιὰ τὴ Θεία ἀγάπη ποὺ ἐμπνέει ὁ Δεσπότης Χριστός.
3. Στὰ πνευματικὰ αὐτὰ μέτρα οὔτε μονομιᾶς οὔτε εὔκολα μπορεῖ νὰ φτάσει κανείς, ἀλλὰ ἀφοῦ προηγηθοῦν πολλοὶ κόποι καὶ ἀγῶνες καὶ περάσουν χρόνια μὲ δοκιμασίες καὶ ποικίλους πειρασμούς, μέχρι τὸ τέλειο μέτρο τῆς ἀπάθειας. Ἔτσι, ἀφοῦ δοκιμασθεῖ μὲ πόνους καὶ κόπους καὶ ὑποφέρει μὲ γενναιοψυχία ὅλους τοὺς πειρασμούς ποὺ προξενεῖ ἡ κακία, ἀξιώνεται νὰ λάβει τὶς μεγάλες τιμές καὶ τὰ χαρίσματα τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος καὶ τὸν Θεϊκὸ πλοῦτο. Ἔπειτα γίνεται καὶ κληρονόμος τῆς Βασιλείας τῶν Οὐρανῶν.
Όσιος Μακάριος ο Αιγύπτιος
