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(see also: Doing, Enemies, Thoughts). Do not be faint-hearted because you have been overcome by warfare: this leads to spiritual testing, or experience, and to humility. 76. If you find that further stay in the Old Ladoga St. Nicholas Monastery is impossible for you due to the intensified warfare until your strength is exceeded, then the Lord, for whose sake I advised you to stay and resist the warfare, bless your “exodus” and “entry” into another monastery, where you could find saving “pasture” in spiritual peace. But let your outcome be in the Lord. It will be such when you accomplish it with humility, blaming only yourself, citing only your weakness as the reason for the outcome, and reproaching yourself for not being able to act as the Holy Fathers recognize as the best, that is, to withstand and defeat spiritual battles on the spot. Then your entrance into another monastery can attract the blessing of the Lord, “who does not despise the broken and humble in heart,” but “resists the proud”! 80. There is an irreconcilable war, there are incessant battles, bloody battles between the Israelis and foreign peoples. Among the foreigners, the giants, the sons of Anak, rise up against the Israelites - sorrows that bring us into fear, into relaxation, into despair. The spy of Israel - the mind - announces about them to the soul and its powers: “We saw the giants, the sons of Anak, and we ran before them like giants, and so we ran before them” (Num. 13:34), “we cannot come out against this tongue, for there is one stronger than us” (Num. 13:32). Exactly! Thinking based on the ordinary course of things, thoughts that are actually and uniquely human, bring “the horror of the land, which they saw, to the children of Israel” (Num. 13:33). But a true Israelite, faithful to God, is guided by faith in God, he is fully equipped. “My enemies will marry,” he exclaims, “and I will suffer, and will not return until they die: I will offend them, and they will not be able to stand, they will fall under my feet... And I will wear out like dust before the wind, like the clay of the paths I will smooth out” (Ps. 17:38-39,43). – In this war, many and subtle reflections are not approved, which the mind, relying on itself, on its strength, on the number and height of its knowledge, strives to oppose to the pressing crowds of foreigners. “The sons of Ephraim are barking and shooting bows,” the Prophet proclaims, “returning on the day of battle” (Ps. 77:9). Human thought cannot resist the dense hordes of foreigners! If they knock him down, argue with him, create indignation in their minds, confusion in their thoughts, then victory is on their side! For sure success in the invisible battle with the princes of the air, with the spirits of evil, the dark rulers of the world, you need to take up the weapons supplied by faith, supplied by the violence of the preaching of Christ. “Man is more wise than God, and man is more powerful than God’s weakness” (1 Cor. 1:25). The path and teaching of faith seem strange and terrible to the carnal mind, but as soon as a person sees through experience, sees with an inner spiritual sensation the power of faith, he immediately and joyfully surrenders to its guidance, as if he had unexpectedly found an invaluable mentor, he repels with contempt the human wisdom rejected by God. These are the weapons that the holy violence of Christ’s preaching hands over to the servant of Christ to fight the sons of Anakim - dark thoughts and feelings of sadness that appear to the soul in the form of terrible giants, ready to erase it, devour it: 1st – words: “Thank God for everything.” 2nd – words: “Lord! I surrender to Your holy will! Be Your Will with me." 3rd – words: “Lord! I thank You for everything that You have been pleased to send to me.” 4th – words: “I accept what is worthy according to my deeds; remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom.” These short words, borrowed, as you see, from Scripture, were used by the venerable monks with excellent success against thoughts of sadness. The fathers did not enter into any reasoning with the thoughts that appeared, but as soon as a foreigner appeared before them, they grabbed the wonderful weapon, and they were right in the face, in the jaws of the foreigner! That is why they were so strong, they trampled all their enemies, they became confidants of faith, and through faith - confidants of grace, the arm of grace, they accomplished supernatural feats. When a sad thought or longing appears in your heart, begin with all your soul, with all your strength, to pronounce one of the above-mentioned sentences, pronounce it quietly, slowly, without getting excited, with attention, in the hearing of you alone - say it until the foreigner is completely gone, until your heart is notified of the coming of God’s gracious help. She appears to the soul in the taste of comforting, sweet peace, peace in the Lord, and not for any other reason. In time, the foreigner will again begin to approach you, but you will again take up arms and, as the brilliant commander Caesar bequeathed to his warriors, aim straight at the enemy’s face: blows to no part of the body are as severe and unbearable as to the face. Do not marvel at the strangeness and insignificance of David’s weapons! Put them to work and see a sign! These weapons - a club, a stone - will accomplish more work than all the collected thoughtful judgments and research of theologians, theorists, and tellers of letters: German, Spanish, English, American! The use of these weapons will gradually transfer you from the path of reason to the path of faith, and this path will lead you into the vast, wondrous land of the spiritual. There is a meal of hidden manna; According to the testimony of Scripture, Christ allows only winners to it. You have been brought into an invisible war in order to have the opportunity to become a winner and, with the dignity of a winner, to inherit spiritual treasures. Yet this is brought to you by Christ, who loved you, clearly distinguishing you among “His.” 114. We must defeat battles in their place, and not by leaving a place, which only makes the battles stronger. Ascend into yourself, try to see the many sins of yours, and the sins of your neighbor will diminish in your eyes. Take advantage of the solitude and comforts of an attentive life, given to you by God's mercy, to cry over your sins. Remember in your prayers those who have offended you, so that you may be healed of the terrible disease of enmity towards your neighbor. 126. It is better, said the Holy Fathers, to fight with feces, i.e. with fornication and gluttony, rather than with self-reflection, arrogance, pride and contempt. For these latter passions are subtle, creep into the mind imperceptibly, take the form of sound and righteous thoughts and can only be seen in the light of grace. 127. And if on the way to the Lord he needs to fight with sin, which hinders the blessed procession, let him fight courageously, let him draw blood, may he delight in victory and may he be numbered with the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors and other saints who inherited Heaven through many sorrows and deaths. Whoever has violated fidelity to God by falling into sin, restore this fidelity, prove it by fighting sin, throwing off the chains through victory, those chains with which sin fetters its captives, which hold the captives of sin in violent work for it. The feat of the body is weak against sin, the feat of reflection is insignificant - the feat of faith is strong! He is the confidant of victory! When you feel the invasion of sinful power, do not enter into negotiations with your adversaries, immediately open fire on them, strike them with thunder, scorch them with heavenly lightning. This fire, these thunders, this lightning is a prayer. Run to your cell, prostrate yourself before the icons, ask for help against sin, ask for victory over it. Both will be given to you from above. This image of the struggle against sin was given to the ascetics of Christ by the great ascetic Mary of Egypt. Read her life. 130. Saint John Climacus said in the 4th Degree: “The demon sometimes tries to defile novices with bodily impurities, and makes them hard-hearted, teaching them to be - beyond the ordinary - anxious, and sometimes makes them somehow dry and fruitless, lazy in prayer, drowsy and darkened, in order to tear them away from obedience, as if they had not received any benefit from it. feat; but also those who felt mental damage. He does not allow them to understand that the careful (which happens according to God’s Providence) taking away imaginary goods from us is very often the cause of the deepest humility.” What happens to novice monks also happens to monks in general who live for the sake of God. The enemy fights against them with various attacks in order to lead them into hopelessness and tear them away from the monastic life or plunge them into negligence. Particularly serious are the fornication warfare and stumblings caused by them, which are close to falls, as the Monk Isaac of Syria calls them. But the faithful servant and warrior of Christ in this battle proves his loyalty to Christ and faith in Him: he remains strong, even if he endures countless battles. Do the same. Say to the enemy: “I have surrendered to God and I resolve to generously endure all my failures, no matter how many there are and no matter how long they last.” 146. How you should not tell others your battles and spiritual temptations; So one should not listen to the scoldings and temptations of others. A particular reason for this is your strong, hot blood. You transmit strongly and perceive strongly. That is why you greatly shock others with your indignations, and you yourself are greatly shocked by their sorrows reported by others. The second reason lies in the general rule for all ascetics: spiritual warfare cannot be comprehended and explained by natural reason, because our entire nature is in decline. For this you need spiritual intelligence, i.e. appeared in man through the action of the Spirit. And therefore, only a spiritual person is able to listen to the scolding of his neighbor and give him saving advice, but someone kept in the darkness of passions is not yet capable of this. Shut up, shut up! First, we must keep silent, according to the advice of the holy Psalmist, about the blessings themselves, then we must not forbid our lips when in the instruction of the mind, i.e. in the thoughts constantly born in the mind, the divine fire will kindle. 157. ...If you happen to fall, be overcome, get carried away, be deceived, sin before God, do not give in to despondency and cowardice. The same transformative Old Testament says: “Speak to Joab (the leader of the Israelites): Let this word not be evil before your eyes, as the sword devours the wounded one time or another: strengthen the battle...” (2 Samuel 11:25). Be gentle with yourself, don't judge yourself. When you are defeated, run to God with repentance - and your victory will be forgiven, and you will again take the sword and slash: “strengthen the battle” - take the city with stubborn, constant war! The Lord came to call sinners to repentance, not the righteous! – You liken yourself to the blind man of the Gospel, crying out after the Savior and being rebuked... “Arise, be bold: the Divine Teacher is calling you... your faith will save you” (Mark 10:49,52). 158. You might be interested in: