Overview of Spiritual Warfare - Saint John Cassian the Roman — Part 4
FIGHTING WITH THE SPIRIT OF FORNICATION
According to the tradition of the Fathers, the second battle in our country is the battle with the spirit of fornication. It is daily, fierce, and longer than the others. Very few are those who completely overcome it. It begins to appear from the first age of maturity and does not cease before the victory over the other passions. Since the method of attack is twofold and the weapons for the fight are twofold, therefore the weapons of defense should also be twofold. To achieve perfect purity or innocence, physical fasting alone is not enough; more important than that should be penitential contrition of spirit and constant prayer against a completely impure spirit. These should be accompanied by constant teaching in the Holy Scriptures combined with mental activity, physical labor and manual labor that keeps the heart from wandering and brings it back to itself, and above all, true and deep humility without which no passion can ever be conquered.
The transformation of this passion is conditioned by the perfect purification of the heart, from which, according to the word of the Lord, the poison of this disease is released: For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications (Mt 15:19). Accordingly, it is necessary to purify first that from which the source of life and death flows, as Solomon says: Above all else, guard your heart, for from it are the issues of life (Prov 4:23). For the body obeys its will and authority. Of course, the law of ascetic scarcity of food must be followed with all care so that the body, satiated with an abundance of food and opposing the commands of the soul, in its madness does not overthrow its leader, that is, the spirit. However, if we put the entire essence of our activity only on exhausting the body, without at the same time fasting the soul from other passions, and are not interested in the lesson in divine or other spiritual activities, we will not be able to reach the peak of true purity. For in that case, what is domineering will defile our body, which can be clean. Therefore, according to the Lord's instructions, we must first cleanse the inside of the cup and platter so that the outside may be clean also (Mt 23:26).
Other passions, among other things, are usually purified in communication with people and in everyday affairs or actions. They are somehow cured by the very discomfort and boredom of falling into them. Thus, for example, the impulses of anger, humiliation and intolerance are cured, in addition to a lesson from the heart and vigorous attention, by visiting brothers and by frequent provoking of the passions themselves. For, since they are provoked and expressed more often, they are more often revealed and therefore more quickly cured. This disease, in addition to the exhaustion of the body and contrition of the heart, also needs solitude and distance from people so that, after the causes for its fatal feverish inflamation are removed, a state of perfect recovery is reached more quickly. Just as it is beneficial for those suffering from some disease not to have harmful foods placed before their eyes, so that a deadly desire does not arise at the sight of them, so silence and solitude are very helpful in the persecution of this disease or lust. Being removed from external provocations by various persons and things, the sick soul ascends more freely towards the purest mental perception, by which it can more easily remove the contagious excitement of lust at the root.
It is one thing to be continent, and another to be chaste, and to attain an unclouded state of rational purity and virginal innocence. This virtue is attributed only to those who are blameless in soul and body, such as, for example, in the New Testament, both Johns (the Forerunner and the Evangelist), and in the Old: Elijah, Jeremiah, and Daniel. It can justly be considered that those who, after the fall, through long ascetic labors and zealous supplications for the lost, have reached a state of purity and purity of soul and body, and who feel the sting of the body not so much due to the attacks of shameful lust as due to the movements of nature, stand on their level. Such a state is extremely difficult to achieve among many people, and perhaps even impossible! Let each one find out this for himself through the examination of his own conscience, and let him not expect our reasoning to inform him. We do not doubt that there are many who abstain, who sometimes pursue and overcome the rare or daily attacks of the flesh by fear of eternal fire, sometimes by desire for the Kingdom of Heaven. The elders, or spiritual Fathers, believe that it may happen that they are not completely distracted and overcome by passionate irritations, but that they are still not safe from attacks and wounds. For he who fights inevitably sometimes experiences agitation and wounds, although he often conquers and overcomes his opponent.
If, with the apostle Paul, we are to legitimately perform a spiritual feat (2 Tim 2:5), let us strive with all diligence to overcome this completely unclean spirit, and not by our own strength, since human effort is powerless, but hoping for help from the Lord. For the soul will not be freed from this passion that does not give up trying to defeat it until it becomes aware that successfully waging the battle is beyond its powers, and that, unless it is supported by the help and intercession of the Lord, it cannot possibly maintain victory with its own strength and zeal.
Every success in virtue is a work of the Lord's grace. And the overcoming of every passion is His victory. All the more so is this work, that is, the achievement of purity and the overcoming of lustful passion, a special grace and gift, as is confirmed by the opinion of the holy Fathers and the experience of purification from passion, according to the testimony of those who have deigned to acquire it. For not feeling the sting of the flesh is, in a way, the same as dwelling in the body and leaving the body, and being clothed in the body and being outside nature. Therefore, a person cannot soar on his own wings to such a heavenly height of perfection, unless the grace of the Lord draws him out of the earthly mud with the gift of purity. For people in the flesh are not so successfully like angels by any virtue, imitating their life, as by the gift of the grace of purity. By it, although they live on earth, according to the Apostle Paul, they have a life in heaven (Phil. 3:20). By it, those in mortal bodies already possess what is promised to the saints in the future life after the putting off of the corruptible body.
Hear what the apostle Paul says: Everyone who strives abstains from all things (1 Cor 9:25).
In our spiritual struggle, the apostle sets for us as a model the runner who fights in the racetrack. For the sake of success in the struggle, he abstains not only from forbidden food, drunkenness and other foolishness, but also from idleness, idleness and laziness. By constant training and insight into the work, he takes care to develop his strength and acquire skill. He leaves all care and sorrow about life and other works, tormenting himself only with the care of success and the crown of victory. He takes special care to keep himself pure from bodily defilement, not to deceive himself even in sleep with any shameful fantasies, so as not to diminish the strength gained after a long time and great care. From this you can see everything that the spiritual bearer of the struggle should do. You can also see that for success in spiritual activity, you too must first preserve purity and innocence. Accordingly, purity is also necessary in the external worldly competitions for corruptible wreaths. How much more infinitely necessary is it in our spiritual inner striving for heavenly wreaths? What is required of us is not only external purity from bodily sin, or involuntary defilement, but especially internal purity of thoughts and feelings. We must in every way preserve the very recesses of the heart pure. What they, or the runners on the racetrack, want to have only physically, we must possess in the depths of our conscience, in which our Lord observes everything, even the smallest movements of our free will. Accordingly, what we are not allowed to do publicly, we must not allow to arise even inwardly through careless thoughts, and with what is shameful before men we must not defile the heart through secret consent. Because, it can be hidden from people, but not from angels and from the almighty God himself, from whom no secret can be hidden.
The sign and measure of the perfection of acquired purity is the absence of any fanciful image (picture) even when we are resting or sleeping soundly. If it does appear, in such a state it still remains powerless to initiate any movements of lust. For such movements serve as a sure sign that the soul has not yet reached perfection, although they are not counted as guilt and sin. As soon as fanciful images (pictures) succeed in producing such discomfort, it is obvious that passion has not yet been completely eradicated.
The quality of thoughts that are not guarded quite diligently during the day is manifested during the night's tranquility. Therefore, when the aforementioned discomfort occurs to us, we should not blame sleep, but inattention in the previous time. In this we should see the manifestation of a disease that is hidden within and which was not first born by the night watch. It only brought it to the surface of the skin, at the time of the body's strengthening by sleep, while it was, in fact, located in the inner threads of the soul. We lit the inner flame of passion ourselves, feeding on bad thoughts all day long. And physical diseases are not born when they are visibly manifested, but they are formed earlier, from food that is harmful to health and from which bad juices accumulate.
Knowing better than anyone the nature of his creation, God himself, the creator of the entire human race, directs the treatment to the causes of the origin of this terrible disease and says: Anyone who looks at a woman with desire for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Mt 5:28). In remarking on the voluptuousness of the eyes, He yet more exposes the inner feeling which is ill-used by their service of seeing. In fact, the heart that is sick and wounded by the arrow of lust looks with desire, and the gift of seeing good that the Creator gave it, according to its passion, turns to serving bad deeds, with the sense of sight bringing to light the disease of voluptuousness hidden in it. This is why the salutary commandment is addressed to the one whose passion results in evil wounding through seeing. Because it is not said: "Guard your eyes in every way", but: Above all that is guarded, guard your heart (Proverbs 4:23).
Let our first and main task of preserving the purity of our hearts be to expel from our thoughts as quickly as possible the memory of the face of the female sex, even of a mother, sister, relative or holy woman, which sneaks into our minds through the subtle workings of the devil's malice. Otherwise, if we dwell on such thoughts for a long time, our enemy and deceiver can imperceptibly transfer our mind from these women to those through whom he could sow thoughts that are harmful to the soul. Therefore, taking care to fulfill the commandment: Above all that is guarded, guard your heart, we are obliged, according to the original commandment of God, to carefully watch the deadly head of the serpent (Genesis 2), that is, the beginnings of evil thoughts through which the devil tries to enter our soul. If, due to our negligence, its head penetrates our heart, we should be careful that its entire body does not follow it, that is, that from impure thoughts consent to sinful pleasure is not born. If it is released into the interior, the enemy will seize the soul and finally kill it with his deadly bite. All the wicked that spring up on earth, that is, the carnal feelings, we are obliged to destroy from the morning of their birth (Ps. 100:8), and to dash the sons of Babylon against the stone while they are still children (Ps. 136:9). For if they are not crushed while they are still tender and weak, they will, having grown up because of our negligence, rise up against us with great power, and will either destroy us or be defeated, although not without great sighs and efforts. For when the strong man, that is, our spirit, arms himself and guards his palace, that is, he guards the peace of our heart with the fear of God, his possessions are in peace (Luke 11:21), that is, the fruits of his labors and virtues, acquired after a long time. And when one stronger than him comes and overcomes him, that is, the devil through agreement with the thoughts he instills, he takes away all his weapons in which he trusted, that is, the memory of the Scriptures, or the fear of God, and divides what he has seized from him (Luke 11:22), that is, he scatters the habits of virtues with the vices that are contrary to them.
This , says Saint Paul, is the will of God, your holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:3). And, so that he does not leave in us any doubt or darkness of misunderstanding about what he calls holiness, whether it is justice, or love, or humility, or patience, since holiness is achieved by all these virtues, he further openly emphasizes: That you should abstain from fornication, and that each of you should know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in passionate lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5). See with what praises he exalts chastity, calling it the honor of the vessel, that is, our body, and holiness. Accordingly, he who dwells in the passion of lust is in a state of dishonor and impurity and his life is alien to holiness. A little further on, again calling chastity holiness, the apostle Paul adds: For God did not call us to impurity, but to holiness. Therefore, whoever rejects chastity rejects not man but God, who also gave his Holy Spirit to you (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8).
The apostle gave his command the greatest force and importance by saying that he who rejects it does not despise man, that is, him who commanded, but God who speaks through him, who has designated our heart as the temple of the Holy Spirit. See with what praises, even in simple words, he praises this virtue! First, he attributes holiness to it; then he establishes that by it the vessel of our body is freed from all impurity; next, that it will dwell in honor as a sanctuary when it casts out shameful impurity; and finally, that through it the Holy Spirit becomes the indweller of our heart, which is its highest privilege.
I will also cite another similar testimony from the same apostle. Writing to the Hebrews, he says: Make every effort to have peace with everyone and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Heb 12:14). And here he clearly confirms that without holiness, which he usually calls purity and purity of soul and body, it is impossible to see the Lord.
The more exalted and worthy of heaven the dignity of chastity is, the stronger the attacks of the enemy are. Therefore, we are obliged to adhere more strongly not only to physical abstinence, but also to contrition of heart, with constant sighs of prayer, so that the furnace of our flesh, which the king of Babylon constantly kindles with the ardor of carnal desires, we constantly quench and cool with the dew of the Holy Spirit descending into our hearts.
We will succeed in maintaining such a disposition if we always remember that God watches and knows not only our secret deeds, but also all our thoughts, both night and day, and if we believe that we will have to give him an answer for everything that is in our hearts, as well as for all our deeds and actions.
We should always observe a regular and moderate fast so that even during sleep we are not defiled by impure fantasies. For whoever violates a reasonable measure of severity in abstaining from food will inevitably later violate the measure of indulgence in the same way. And, with the change in the measure of food intake, the nature of our purity will inevitably change. In this, it is necessary to have constant humility of heart and patience, as well as careful distancing from anger and other passions during the day. For as soon as the fire of anger is kindled within us, the heat of lust will easily penetrate us. More than anything else, vigorous attention at night is necessary. For just as purity and attention during the day prepare for nightly purity, so night vigilance gives the heart and attention strength and virtue to stand against all impurity during the day.
Is it possible to completely extinguish the fire of lust, the heat of which our body feels as inherent in itself? First, let us look at what the apostle Paul thinks about this: Mortify your members which are upon the earth (Col 3:5). What members does he command us to mortify? Of course, not to cut off hands and feet or any other limbs, but to remove the sinful body, which he speaks of in another place: In order to destroy the sinful body.(Rom 6:6), which, like every other body, has its members. It is these that he commands us to mortify. In the same place he lists which members these are. For, having said: Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth , he continues: fornication, impurity, passion, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry . The first member is fornication, or the sin of unlawful carnal union; the second fornication is impurity, which occurs without any contact with a woman during sleep, or during wakefulness; the third member is passion, which, being in the secret places of the soul, can be inflamed even without the action of carnal lust; the fourth member is evil concupiscence, which can refer not only to the aforementioned impure passion, but also to all destructive desires in general, and which is the disease of the depraved will; and the last member of the sinful body for the Apostle Paul is covetousness. The apostle advises that we should abstain not only from other people's things, but also generously despise our own, as indeed the first community of believers mentioned in the book of Acts of the Apostles did (Acts 4:32-35). From all that has been said, we can draw a conclusion: if many for Christ's sake have renounced their possessions, cutting off not only the possession of money, but also the very desire for it, from their hearts, it follows that in the same way it is possible to quench the burning of lust. For the apostle would not have united an impossible deed with the possible. Recognizing both as possible, he commanded that we mortify both. The apostle was so convinced of the possibility of eradicating lustful passion from our members that he commanded not only that we mortify it, but that its name should not even be mentioned among us: But fornication and all impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; neither shameful or foolish talking or jesting, whatever is indecent (Eph 5:3-4). Therefore there can be no doubt that the passion of fornication can be removed from our members. For the apostle commanded us to cut it off as well as greed, empty talk, and laughter, which are easier to cut off.
63. Moreover, we should know that despite all the rigor of abstinence, that is, hunger, thirst, vigils, constant labor, diligent reading of books useful for the soul, we cannot acquire the continuous purity of innocence, unless the special grace of God comes to our aid. Let everyone know that he is obliged to tirelessly practice the aforementioned feats only in order that, by patiently enduring the sorrows from them and drawing upon himself the mercy of God, he may merit God's gift of liberation from the struggle of the flesh and from the domination of overpowering passions, and not with the hope that by himself, through them, he will achieve the indestructible purity of bodily chastity, which he so desires and seeks.
Desires for present things cannot be overcome or rejected unless other, salutary desires are accepted in their place. Therefore, if we want to remove carnal desires from our hearts, we must plant spiritual desires in their place so that our spirit, always striving for their objects, has neither the desire nor the time to pay attention to the deceptions of fleeting earthly joys. When our spirit, through daily practice in spiritual activity, is established in the mood of renouncing everything, it will experientially understand the power of the verse that we all often repeat, although only a few, or rather experienced ones, understand it: I see the Lord always before me. He is at my right hand, that I may not stumble (Ps 15:8). Therefore, the power and meaning of this verse is understood only by one who, having reached the purity of body and spirit of which we are speaking, becomes aware that the Lord guards him at every moment so that he does not turn back to the former, and that his right hand, or rather, his holy deeds, are fenced off by Him. For the Lord is always present with His Saints, and not on the left, since a holy man has nothing on the left, or evil, but on the right. And for sinners and the impure He becomes invisible, because they do not have the right side, on which He is usually present.
There are many degrees of chastity, by which one ascends to perfect purity. I divide the ladder of such perfection of chastity into six degrees, which are actually passed imperceptibly, just as our body grows imperceptibly every day, and without our knowledge grows to its perfect form.
The first degree of chastity is present where the monk is not disturbed by bodily lust in the waking state; the second, where the mind does not dwell on lustful thoughts; the third, where at the sight of a woman he is not in the least disturbed by desire; the fourth, where in the waking state he does not allow even simple bodily movements; the fifth, where even the slightest consent to bodily action does not wound the mind in the case when reasoning or reading brings to mind the birth of a person; sixth, where even during sleep he is not disturbed by scandalous fantasies about women.
Complete, immaculate purity is distinguished from the beginnings of abstinence from lustful thoughts and movements by the perfect calming of bodily excitements and tranquility. Perfectly matured chastity always preserves the purity of body and soul unclouded and perfect. It is nothing other than holiness. This happens when the body, having ceased to lust against the spirit, begins to agree with its desires and virtue, and when both are united with each other in firm peace, and according to the saying of the writer of the Psalms, they begin to live together like brothers (Ps 132:1). Then God also dwells with them, since it is said that His place is in peace (Ps 75:3), that is, not in the noise of war and struggle with the passions, but in the peace of chastity and in the constant tranquility of the heart. Therefore, he who, through the quenching of bodily passions, deigns to acquire this place of peace, becomes at the same time the temple of God.
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