Overview of Spiritual Warfare - Saint John Cassian the Roman — Part 5

FIGHTING WITH THE SPIRIT OF SILVER LOVE

The third battle that lies ahead of us is the battle with the spirit of avarice, or with a passion that is foreign and uncharacteristic of our nature. It arises in monks from the despondency of a weakly energetic soul that is not properly organized, and for the most part from a poorly placed renunciation of the world, the basis of which was not ardent love for God. The movements of the other passions seem to have their beginning within us, as if they were implanted in human nature and somehow anchored in the body. Since they are simultaneous with our birth, the passions anticipate with their movements an indicator of the ability to distinguish good from evil. They can only be defeated by long-term effort. This disease, or avarice, comes later and approaches the soul from without. For this reason it can be more easily removed and expelled. However, if it is neglected due to negligence and once released into the heart, it becomes the most destructive of all. It is then the most difficult to drive out of all, since it becomes the root of all evils (1 Tim 6:10), serving as a source of awakening various passions.
If it seizes power over the despondent and cold soul of a monk, this passion first incites him to a small income, describing to him with striking images some supposedly just and reasonable reasons for which it is necessary for him either to save some money when renouncing the world, or to acquire it after renouncing. “What is given in the monastery,” she complains, “is not enough for a healthy and strong body. What will you do if physical illness occurs, and you have nothing to help yourself in your weakness? The monastic means of support are too meager, and the care for the sick is too great. You will have to die in a miserable way if you do not have something of your own that you could use to restore your physical health. Even the clothes given to you by the monastery are not enough. Therefore, you must have something with which you can buy yourself another one. After all, one cannot spend one's entire life in the same monastery. Therefore, unless you prepare money for your travel expenses and transportation across the sea, you will not be able to move when you want, and, squeezed by extreme poverty, you will constantly lead a life of hard work and misery without any success.''
When such thoughts occupy his mind, the monk begins to think about how to acquire at least one coin. With this aim in mind, he looks for some work, which he does with all diligence, without the knowledge of his spiritual father. Then, having secretly sold what he has made with his hands and received the desired money, he, in fear for it, ponders where to put it, or to whom to entrust it for safekeeping. At the same time, he has already begun to be gnawed by an even more burning concern about how to double the money, and he frantically makes important plans about what he would buy for it, and what new benefit he would gain from the purchased. And, when this desire also comes true, an absolutely insatiable greed for gold will appear, which will then flare up stronger and stronger, in accordance with the amount of income, because with the multiplication of money, the frenzy of passion for it also increases. Like embers on embers, other anxious thoughts come: he is promised a long life, old age and various long illnesses are predicted, which in old age cannot be endured unless enough money is prepared in his youth. Thus the unfortunate soul, being bound by the bonds of this serpent or avarice, is more and more inflamed with the desire to multiply the ill-begotten accumulation of wealth, giving birth to a contagion within itself which, like fire, devours it more and more strongly. Being entirely imbued with a selfish thought, it turns its heart's gaze to nothing except the source from which it could obtain money with which it could free itself as quickly as possible from the burden of monastic austerity. If some hope of obtaining money arises, it does not hesitate to do anything: neither lies, nor slander, nor theft, nor breach of fidelity. In a word, gold and the expectation of profit in everything becomes to it a god, as the belly is to others. Foreseeing the deadly poison of this disease, the Apostle Paul called not only the root of all evils, but also the service of idols, saying: Mortify also covetousness, which is idolatry (Col 3:5).
There are three kinds of this disease, which all the Fathers condemn with equal disgust. The first, whose perniciousness we have already described, deceives some unfortunates and convinces them to accumulate what they did not have before, when they lived in the world; the second encourages them to desire again and to recover what they left at the beginning of their renunciation of the world; the third arises from a bad beginning of monasticism, that is, from an imperfect renunciation of everything, and it does not allow those whom it succeeds in infecting with coldness of soul to completely free themselves from all worldly possessions, frightening them with future poverty and disturbing them with unbelief: then, due to the retention of money and other possessions, which they were obliged to leave behind when renouncing the world, it does not allow them to attain evangelical perfection. And, in Holy Scripture, we can find examples of the condemnation of these three kinds of fall, with the severe punishments that accompany them. In his desire to obtain what he did not have before, Gehazi not only did not deign to obtain the grace of prophetic office that he should have received from his teacher by hereditary precedence, but he was also struck with leprosy because of Elisha's curse (2 Kings 5:21-27). In his desire to recover the money that he had thrown away when he followed Christ, Judas fell into betrayal of the Lord and lost his apostolic rank. Moreover, he did not end his life in a common way, but by a self-violent death (Matthew 27:5). Having retained a part of what they possessed, Ananias and Sapphira were punished with death by the words of the apostles (Acts 5:1-11).
Oh, to those who renounced the world, but were then overcome by unbelief, fearing to be left without all earthly possessions, it is mysteriously written in the book of Deuteronomy: Whoever is fearful and fainthearted, let him not go to battle, but let him go and return to his house, lest he make his brother's heart as his own (Deut. 20:8). What is more evident than this prophecy? Is it not obvious that the Holy Scripture wishes them better not to lay the foundation of such a calling, nor to take upon themselves its name, so that they may not disturb others by their words, bad example, and unfaithful fear and distance them from evangelical perfection. Therefore, they are commanded to leave the battle and return to their homes, since no one can fight the Lord's battles with a divided heart. For a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). The Gospel story tells of a king who set out with ten thousand against another who had twenty thousand soldiers. Not hoping to succeed in a conflict with him, he, while he was still far away, sent to ask for peace, clearly not wanting to start a fight. Penetrating into the meaning of this story, we come to the conclusion that it is better for the above-mentioned persons not to begin renouncing the world at all, than, having begun, to be unable to endure it diligently and with complete accuracy, and thus expose themselves to great danger. For, as the Wise One says, it is better not to promise than to promise and not fulfill.(Eccl. 5:4). It is well said here that one goes with ten thousand, and another with twenty. For the number of passions that attack us is greater than the number of good dispositions that fight for us. But no one can serve God and mammon (Mt. 6:24), and no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God (Lk. 9:62).
Such people try to justify a similar tendency to greed by the authority of Holy Scripture. Interpreting it incorrectly, they are happy to twist and change according to their own desire the thought of the apostles, and even the Lord himself, not adapting their lives or minds to the meaning of Scripture, but doing violence to Scripture according to their own desire to please themselves. Wishing to show that in the present case also the Scripture agrees with their opinion, they say: " It is written : It is more blessed to give than to receive " (Acts 20:35). Understanding these words in a wrong way, they think that they completely nullify the force of the saying in which it is said: If you want to be perfect, go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me (Mt 19:21). They think that under such an excuse they do not have to leave their wealth. They declare themselves more blessed than those who left it because they are able, as if they were secured by their former possessions, to share the surplus with others. They are, in fact, ashamed to accept, with the apostle Paul, glorious poverty for the sake of Christ, and do not want to be content with the labors of their hands and the meager sustenance of a monastery. They are left with one of two options: either to become aware of their self-deception and the fact that they have never renounced the world, since they are partial to former wealth, or to throw away and distribute everything, if they wish to test the monastic vocation in action and through effort, so that, not keeping anything with themselves that they have renounced, they may, together with the Apostle Paul, boast of hunger and thirst and of enduring cold and nakedness (2 Cor 11:27).
There is a saying circulating of St. Basil, Bishop of Caesarea, addressed to a senator who was overcome by the cold in question, that is, who, saying that he had renounced the world, kept some of his property with him, not wanting to support himself by the labor of his own hands, nor to train himself in true humility through deprivation in everything and the laborious effort of monastic submission. "And you have lost the rank of senator," he said to him, "and you have not become a monk."
Therefore, if we wish to lawfully perform the feat by a spiritual feat, let us also drive out from our hearts this pernicious enemy. Victory over him is not so great, but it is very dishonorable and ugly to be defeated by him. For to be defeated by a stronger one is painful because of the fall and lamentable because of the lost victory, although the defeated one finds some consolation in the awareness of the strength of the opponent. However, if defeat is suffered by a weaker opponent and in a fight that is not difficult, the humiliating shame will cause much greater pain than the pain of falling, and the shame will be much heavier than the damage caused.
The final victory and perfect triumph over this enemy can be expected only when the conscience of the monk is not defiled by the possession of even the smallest coin. Therefore, it is impossible for one who has been carried away by even the smallest monetary gift and who has once received the root of the lust of greed into his heart not to be immediately inflamed with the fire of longing for greater things. And the soldier of Christ will be victorious, free from all danger and inaccessible to the attack of passion, until this most inconvenient spirit sows the seeds of its lust in his heart. In all kinds of passions, it is most important to watch out for the head of the serpent. However, especially in relation to this passion, one should be very careful and not allow its head to penetrate the interior. For, if it is allowed inside, it will, feeding on its own matter and growing stronger, ignite a great fire of its own accord. Therefore, one should not only fear the possession of money, but the desire itself should be completely removed from the soul. And one should not so much avoid the deeds of avarice as cut off its passion by the root. For the lack of money will not bring us any benefit if the desire to possess it remains in us.
It is possible that even someone who has no money will be enslaved by the disease of avarice. The act of deprivation of everything will not bring any benefit to someone who cannot cut off the passion of greed. For he delights in the act of impoverishment, but not in the virtue of poverty itself, and with sorrow in his heart he reconciles himself to a heavy necessity. For just as the Gospel declares some who are undefiled by the flesh to be impure in heart (Matthew 5:28), so also those who are not at all burdened by the weight of money can, in heart and mind, be condemned along with the lovers of money. They simply did not have the opportunity to acquire, but they had the will to acquire, which in the eyes of God always has greater importance than necessity. Therefore, we should take care in every way that the fruits of our labors do not go to waste. For it is worthy of pity to suffer the consequences of deprivation and impoverishment, and that the fruits are lost due to the fruitless sinful desire of the will.
Do you want to know what pernicious fruits this passion bears and what branches of other passions it releases from itself, to the destruction of the one who receives it and does not carefully remove it? Look at Judas, who was counted among the apostles! How it destroyed him with its poison because he did not want to trample on the deadly head of the serpent, catching him in the trap of his lust! Into what a deep ruin of transgression it threw him, teaching him to sell the Redeemer of the world and the Savior of the human race for thirty pieces of silver! He would never have been led to such an impious act of betrayal if he had not been infected with the disease of avarice. He would not have become guilty of murdering the Lord if he had not become accustomed to stealing the chest entrusted to him.
Here is the strongest example of the tyranny of this passion. Once a soul is seized, it no longer allows it, as we have said, to observe any rule of honesty, nor to be satisfied with any income. For the end of its fury is not achieved by acquiring wealth, but by stripping oneself of everything. And Judas himself was given the chest intended for distribution to the poor, so that, having satiated himself with an abundance of money, he could finally calm his passion. However, he was inflamed by the excessive arousal of passion, and not only secretly stole the chest, but also wanted to sell the Lord Himself. For the fury of this passion is not satisfied by any great wealth.
Knowing that he who has something for passion is not able to keep greed within decent limits, and that the end of passion is not a small or large sum, but a perfect renunciation of everything, the holy Apostle Peter punishes with death Ananias and Sapphira, who kept some of their property for themselves. And they perished for a lie because of greed, just as Judas executed himself because of the guilt of betraying the Lord. What similarity is there between them in transgression and in punishment!? There the love of money led to betrayal, and here to lies. There the truth is betrayed, and here the sin of lies is committed. The action of sin there and here is apparently not similar, but its goal is the same. He, in order to be delivered from poverty, again desired to have what he had renounced, and they, in order not to become miserable, tried to keep for themselves some of their property, which should have been faithfully offered to the apostles, or completely distributed to the brothers. And, in the first and second case, the same punishment of death followed because both sins grew from the same root of love of money. If (we will continue to consider) those who did not want to acquire what was other people's, but only to preserve their own, and who had no desire to acquire, but only to preserve, were pronounced such a severe sentence, what can be said of those who want to accumulate wealth that they never had, and who appear poor before men, while remaining rich before God because of the passion of greed.
The greedy should be considered lepers in spirit and soul, like Gehazi, who, desiring the corruptible money of this world, was struck with the contagious impurity of leprosy. By this he left us a clear example that the soul that is defiled by the transgressive passion of greed is defeated by the spiritual infection of passion, and that in the eyes of the Lord it has an impurity that leads to eternal damnation.
Therefore, if, striving for perfection, you have left everything and followed Christ, listening to His word: Go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me (Mt 19:21), why, having laid your hands on the plow, do you look back, and according to the words of the same Lord, become unprepared for the Kingdom of Heaven (Lk 9:62)? When you have already been placed on the roof, on the height of evangelical perfection, why do you go down again to your house to take something of what you previously so joyfully despised (Luke 17:31)? When you have already been placed in the field of virtue, why do you again strive to clothe yourself with the burden of worldly acquisitions, from which you freed yourself by renouncing the world? If then, being preempted by poverty, you had nothing to leave behind, all the more so now you should not acquire what you did not possess before. You, by the special free will of God, were prepared by poverty for renouncing the world, so that, unhindered by any chains of acquisition, you might come to Him more quickly. Besides, none of the poor should be humiliated because they have nothing to leave behind. For there is no one who has nothing to leave behind. He renounced all the possessions of the world who cut off the very passion for acquisition by the root.
We cannot preserve this virtue of non-greed or non-acquisitiveness whole and unimpaired unless we live in a monastery, and unless, according to the Apostle Paul, we are content with food and clothing (1 Tim 6:8).
Therefore, remembering the condemnation of Ananias and Sapphira, let us hesitate to retain something of what we are bound by the covenant to leave perfectly, intending to renounce the world. Fearing also the example of Gehazi, who was punished with incurable leprosy for the sin of avarice, let us fear to acquire what we did not have before. Also, terrified both by the crime of Judas and by his end, let us avoid with all our might the acquisition of money again, which we have renounced once and for all. Moreover, considering the mortality of our nature and the uncertainty of the hour of death, let us fear lest the Day of the Lord, which comes like a thief in the night, find our conscience defiled by the acquisition of even one coin. For, he alone will destroy all the fruits of our renunciation of the world and make what the Lord said to the rich man in the Gospel apply to us as well: You fool, this night I will require your soul from you; and whose will be those things which you have provided (Luke 12:20)!
Without thinking at all about tomorrow, let us never allow ourselves to stray from the monastic constitution. We will certainly never be able to do this, nor will we be able to live peacefully according to the rules of the monastic constitution, unless the virtue of suffering, whose source is none other than humility, is first firmly established within us.

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