Overview of Spiritual Warfare - Saint John Cassian the Roman — Part 13

ON THE DEGREES OF PERFECTION OF SPIRITUAL LIFE WITH REGARD TO THE MOTIVES FOR IT

Three motives urge people to suppress their passions: fear of future hellish torment or fear of the severity of the law in the present; hope and desire to obtain the Kingdom of Heaven; and finally, love of virtue or love of goodness. The Proverbs speak of fear leading us to hate impure evils: The fear of the Lord hates iniquity (Prov. 8:13). That hope also keeps us from giving in to passions is evident from what has been said: No one who trusts in Him will be put to shame (Ps. 33:23). It is said of love that it does not even fear the fall into sin: Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:8). For this reason the Apostle Paul places the entire work of salvation in the acquisition of these three virtues, saying: And now abide faith, hope, love, these three (1 Cor. 13:13).
By instilling in us a fear of future judgment and torment, faith draws us away from filthy passions; By drawing our minds away from the present by the expectation of heavenly rewards, hope leads us to despise all bodily pleasures; by igniting in us with its fire the love of Christ and of progress in spiritual virtues, love moves us to turn away with perfect hatred from everything that is contrary to them. Although they lead us to one goal, that is, they move us to abstain from everything forbidden, all three virtues differ greatly from each other in the degree of their dignity. The first two are characteristic of people who strive for progress, but have not yet acquired love in their hearts, while the third belongs exclusively to God and to people who have renewed the face and likeness of God in themselves. For only God does everything well out of his love, and not for fear or reward. The Lord created everything for himself , says Solomon (Prov. 16:4). For by His gentleness He pours out every good thing abundantly upon the worthy and the unworthy, since, as an eternally perfect and by its nature unchangeable gentleness, He can neither be embittered by offenses nor provoked by human iniquity.
Therefore, he who desires perfection must, from the first stage of fear, which is properly called servile fear, ascend the path of hope. Here man already becomes like a hired hand, and no longer a servant, since he acts in expectation of a future reward. Although he no longer fears the punishment for sins, since he is convinced of forgiveness, and although he expects to receive a good reward, since he is aware of his good deeds, he has not yet arrived at the disposition that is proper to the son. For the Son, in fact, does not hesitate in the slightest in his conviction that everything that belongs to the Father is also his, since he is completely convinced of the Father's generous benevolence towards him.
Therefore, we must accelerate our progress so that, through love that never ceases, having entered the third step of sons who consider all that belongs to the Father as their own, we may be worthy to receive the face and likeness of the heavenly Father and, following the example of His true Son, to say: All that the Father has is mine (Jn 16:15). The Apostle Paul also confesses this about us, saying:For all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours (1 Cor 3:21-22). The Savior's commandment also calls us to such a likeness to God: Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5:48). In those who are still in the state of servants and hirelings, the disposition towards good is sometimes interrupted, namely, when the soul, due to the cooling of its feelings, or due to its absorption in worldly pleasures and joys, ceases to be inspired by the fear of hell or the desire for future goods. Accordingly, we cannot attain true perfection unless we love God, moved only by a loving longing for Him. For He also loved us first only for the sake of our salvation. Therefore, we should take care that with fiery zeal we ascend from fear to hope, and from hope to the level of love for God, or love for the virtues themselves, with full spiritual fervor. Having acquired such attachment to good, we will be able, as far as human nature is able, to abide firmly in Him.
There is a great difference between one who, through fear of hell or hope of a future reward, extinguishes the flame of passion in himself, and one who, out of a feeling of God's love, turns away with hatred from vice and impurity itself, who preserves in his heart the good of purity out of love and attachment to purity, who does everything out of love for virtue, and not out of fear of torment, and who does not look to what is promised to us in the future, but nourishes himself with a conscious tasting of true goodness. In such a state, a person will not allow himself to take advantage of an opportunity for sin, even if no one sees him. He will not even want to secretly defile himself in his thoughts with sinful pleasure. For he nourishes in his heart a true love for virtue and does not accept into his feelings anything that is contrary to it, but turns away with hatred from everything similar. He who, with the help of fear, refrains from giving in to the deceptions of passion, after removing the barrier of fear, again approaches what he loves. For this reason, he will not always be steadfast in his virtue, and will never be at peace from the struggle with passions. He will never be able to acquire the firm and permanent inner peace that purity provides. Where there is no peace from battle, occasional wounds cannot be avoided. No matter how experienced he is in battle, no matter how bravely he fights, even if he often inflicts mortal wounds on his enemies, a man sometimes cannot escape the enemy's blade. On the contrary, he who has overcome every rebellion of passion, but enjoys firm peace, having become devoted to virtue itself. He will steadfastly preserve the state of good order by which he is completely absorbed and to which he is completely devoted, being convinced that there is nothing more fatal than the loss of purity. Respect for the people present will not in the least increase his honor, nor will his loneliness diminish it. Namely, he always and everywhere carries with him the judge not only of his actions, but also of his thoughts, that is, his conscience. He is primarily concerned with pleasing the One who, as he is convinced, can neither be bypassed nor deceived, and from whom man cannot hide.
He who, hoping for God's help and not for his own zealous efforts, is deigned to reach the level of perfection, passes from the state of a servant in which fear acts, and from the state of a hired hand in which the motive of service is not the inner goodness of the one who acts, but the expectation of reward, to the state of adoption in which there is neither fear nor desire for reward, but only love that never ceases. He who through such love renews in himself the image and likeness of God, will delight in good already according to the disposition of his heart towards himself. Having acquired patience and meekness, which are somewhat similar to God's, he will no longer be angry at any vices of those who sin. On the contrary, he will pity them and suffer with them in their weaknesses, and will pray for their pardon, remembering that he himself was enslaved by similar passions until the mercy of the Lord saved him. He knows that he was freed from the bonds of bodily life not by his own efforts, but by the grace of God. Therefore, he understands that he should not show anger towards those who have sinned, but rather a suffering that enables him to sing to God in a peaceful mood of heart: You have broken my chains; I will offer you a sacrifice of praise (Ps 115:7), and again: Unless the Lord had been my helper, my soul would have quickly gone to hell (Ps 93:17). Being in such a humble state of mind, he is able to fulfill the following commandment of evangelical perfection: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you (Mt 5:44). In this way, he was worthy to receive the reward promised for the fulfillment of this commandment, namely, to be worthy not only to bear the image and likeness of God, but also to be called the son of God: That you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun shine on the evil and on the good; and gives rain on the just and the unjust (Mt 5:45). Having become aware of what love he had attained, blessed John says: That we may have boldness in the day of judgment; for as He is, so are we in this world (1 Jn 4:17). For how else could man, who is by nature weak and feeble, be like Him, if not by extending the benevolent love of his heart to the good and the bad, the just and the unjust? Accordingly, he who wants to attain true adoption should do good to God out of devotion to good itself. About this the Apostle Paul preaches: No one who is born of God commits sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God (1 Jn 3:9), and again: We know that no one who is born of God sins; but he who is born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.(1 John 5:18). This should be understood only for mortal sins, and not for every kind of sin. Indeed, even the saints themselves cannot avoid small sins that occur in words, thoughts, desires due to ignorance, forgetfulness, some extreme, or unexpected event. Although they differ from the sin that is called mortal, they are still not without any guilt and reproach. Accordingly, he who acquires love for good and becomes an heir of God, receives the mercy and long-suffering of the Lord (Col 3:12) and prays even for his persecutors themselves, saying similarly to his Lord: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Lk 23:34). And, an obvious sign of a soul that has not yet been cleansed from dirty passions is the lack of a sense of compassion for the sins of others, as well as the pronouncement of a strict judgment about them.

ON THE END OF PENITIONAL WORKS

Perfect repentance consists in no longer committing the sins for which we repent, and for which our conscience condemns us. The proof that we have made an effort to correct them and that they have been forgiven is their expulsion from our hearts and the very sympathy for them. Let everyone know that he is not yet freed from his former sins if, during the labors and sighs that he undertakes to correct them, scenes of sinful deeds, either those he himself has committed or similar to them, play out before his mind's eyes, and if, through the delight in the memory of them (not to mention the indecent objects themselves), he destroys the good inner mood of the soul. Therefore, let him who boldly strives for such correction consider himself free from his sins, and that he has received forgiveness for all that he has done before, only when he feels that his heart is not disturbed in the least not only by imagination, but also by their lures. Accordingly, the examiner of repentance and forgiveness sits in our conscience even before the Day of Judgment and while our stay in this body is still prolonged, revealing the remission of our guilt and announcing the completion of the smoothing by the manifestation of forgiveness. And, to express what I have said more convincingly, I add: we can believe that all the impurities of previous sins are forgiven us only when both the lustful desires and the passions themselves are expelled from our hearts.
Question: How can that holy and saving contrition and humility be born in us after this, which the penitent describes: I confessed my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity . I said: "I confessed my transgressions to the Lord," so that what follows can be truly and deservedly added to us: And you took away the guilt of my sin (Ps 31:5). Or, how, by spreading out our hands in prayer, will we be able to awaken in ourselves the tears of repentance that would be powerful enough to attract the forgiveness of our sins, like St. David: Every night I wet my bed. I water my couch with my tears (Ps 6:7), if we banish from our hearts every memory of our sins, although, on the contrary, the word of the Lord Himself commands us to keep it within ourselves: I am he who blots out your transgressions and your sins. And I will not remember them, but you remember them (Is 43:25)? For this reason, not only when I work with my hands, but also in prayer, I take special care to arouse in my soul the memory of past sins. In this way I am more successfully disposed to true humility and contrition of heart, and with the prophet I can boldly say: Look upon my humility and my labor, and forgive all my sins (Ps 24:18).
Answer: What has been said is about the completion of repentance and about the signs of the smoothing of conscience and justice. The remembrance of sins is very useful and necessary, although only for those who are still going through the feat of repentance. Beating their breasts, they should constantly say: For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.(Ps 50:5), and again: I will confess my transgressions, and I will be mindful of my sins (Ps 37:19). Accordingly, as long as we repent and as long as the memory of our former sinful acts still wounds us, it is necessary that the rain of tears, which is born from the knowledge of our guilt, extinguish the painful fire of the burning of conscience. In a person, through the action of deep humility of heart and contrition of spirit, with tireless penitential efforts and sighs, the memory of sins can be put to sleep and the sting of conscience can, by the grace of a merciful God, withdraw from the depths of the soul. Then it becomes obvious that he has reached the end of the purification, that he has deservedly received forgiveness for everything and has cleansed himself from the impurity of all his sins. However, such oblivion is achieved only by the purification of former sins and passionate passions, and by a perfect, that is, complete purification of the heart. It is certainly not attainable by any of those who, through laziness or contempt, do not care to purify themselves from passions, but only by those who, with bitter weeping and constant sighs, wash away all the filth of former impurities. After his labors, he can say to God with all the firmness of his soul: I confessed my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not hide (Ps. 31:5), and: Tears have been my bread day and night (Ps. 41:4), so that he may deservedly hear from the Lord himself: I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like the evening (Is. 44:22).
You said above that you especially call to mind former sins. This should not be done. Even if it arises against your will, it should be banished immediately, since it distracts the mind from pure contemplation, especially in one who lives in solitude, entangling it in the impurities of this world and choking it with the impurity of passion. For the recollection of what you have done in ignorance or lust for the prince of this world, even if no pleasure is stolen away by such a thought, can taint the air of the mind with a loathsome and unpleasant odor. For only the mental contact with former corruption can drive away the spiritual fragrance or the sweetness of the fragrant fragrance of virtue. Accordingly, from the memory of former passionate deeds, which touch our feelings, we should flee as an honorable and serious husband flees from the talk and embrace of a shameless and impudent wife. For unless he immediately withdraws from her suggestions and allows himself to linger even for the shortest time in dishonorable conversation with her (even if he rejects consent to shameful pleasure), he will by no means escape the condemnation of all passers-by for permitting something dishonorable and reprehensible. Therefore, when we are led into thoughts of this kind by contagious recollection, we should not dwell on impurity for a moment, but immediately depart from their conceits. For, seeing that we are interested in impure and shameful thoughts, the angels who pass by us will not be willing to say of us: The blessing of the Lord be upon you! We bless you in the name of the Lord.(Ps 128:8). It often happens that the inexperienced, while with a feeling of contrition examining his own failures, or the failures of others, himself is imperceptibly wounded by the thin arrow of lust and agrees with it. In this way, what was begun under the guise of piety ends in a shameful and disastrous conclusion. There are ways that seem right to a man, although their end looks to the depths of hell (Prov. 16:25).

Saint JOHN CASSIANS OF THE ROMAN

Short biography

St. John Cassian was born somewhere between 350 and 360, certainly in Gaul, near Marseille, to distinguished and wealthy parents, where he received a good scientific education. From childhood he loved a life pleasing to God, and in his desire to achieve perfection in it, he went to the East, where he entered the Bethlehem monastery and received monasticism. In the monastery he heard about the famous ascetic life of the Egyptian fathers, and he wished to see them and learn from them. After a two-year stay in the Bethlehem monastery, he set out for Egypt with his friend Germanus around 390.

Living in hermitages, cells, monasteries, among hermits, in solitude, they spent a full seven years there. They observed, studied and put everything into practice, becoming thoroughly acquainted with the ascetic life there in all its forms. They returned to their monastery in 397, and during the year they went again to the same Egyptian desert regions where they stayed until 400.
Leaving Egypt again, St. John Cassian and his friend Germanus set off for Constantinople, where they were very well received by St. John Chrysostom, who ordained St. John Cassian as a deacon, and his friend, who was older, as a priest in 400. When St. John Chrysostom was condemned to exile in 405, his loyal friends sent a certain number of representatives to Rome to represent the persecuted saint of God, among whom were St. John Cassian and his friend. Unfortunately, their venture was not successful.
St. John Cassian did not return to the East after that, but went to his homeland where, following the Egyptian model, he continued his ascetic life. After becoming famous for his holy life and teaching wisdom, he was ordained a priest.
One after another, disciples began to gather around him and soon an entire monastery was established from them. Following their example, a women's monastery was also established nearby. And, in both monasteries, a constitution was introduced by which monks in the Eastern, and especially in the Egyptian monasteries, lived and were saved.
The good organization of these monasteries in the new spirit and according to the new rules and the obvious successes of the ascetics there attracted the attention of many bishops and abbots of the monasteries of the Gallic region. Wishing to establish such an order in their own country, they asked St. Cassian to write for them the Eastern monastic constitutions and to present the very spirit of asceticism. He gladly fulfilled their request, describing everything in 12 books of rules and 24 books of conversations. St. Cassian died in 435. His memorial is held on February 29th.

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