Overview of Spiritual Warfare - Saint John Cassian the Roman — Part 3

FIGHTING THE EIGHT MAIN PASSIONS

Depicting the struggle with the eight main passions, we will describe their properties, show their causes, and suggest appropriate remedies against them.

BATTLE WITH BELLY PLEASURE

The first battle we must enter into is the battle with the indulgence of the stomach, or with the passion of overeating.
As for the method of abstinence in food, or fasting, there cannot be a rule that is the same for everyone, since not everyone has the same strength of body. This virtue is not performed only by the strength of the soul, but must also be in harmony with the strength of the body. Not everyone can fast for a whole Sunday. Some cannot go without food for more than two or three days, and for some it is difficult to last until sunset. Also, not everyone can eat nutritious vegetables, herbs, or dry bread. In addition, some need 800 grams to be satisfied, while others feel burdened if they eat 400 grams or 200 grams. However, all who abstain should have one goal, namely, to receive food according to the measure of their physical strength, and not fall into overeating. For the soul is exhausted not only by the quality of food, but also by the quantity, kindling in it the harmful fire of sin.
No matter what food one may eat, the stomach will produce the seeds of carnal lust, and the mind, overwhelmed by the weight of food, will no longer be able to properly steer the rudder of judgment. The mind is not only intoxicated by excessive use of wine; even the abundance of all kinds of food usually makes it shaky and wavering, and deprives it of pure and blameless thoughts. The cause of the debauchery and destruction of the inhabitants of Sodom was not only drunkenness with wine, but also overeating. Listen to how the Lord rebukes Jerusalem through the prophet: This is the iniquity of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters lived in luxury, in abundance of bread, and in ease, but they did not help the poor and needy (Ezek. 16:49). Why did your sister Sodom sin, if not because she ate her bread to her fullness and overeating? They were inflamed by such overeating of bread with the unquenchable ardor of carnal lust, and were, by the judgment of God, burned from heaven with sulphurous fire. If, in this way, only the intemperance in the use of bread due to the passion of overeating plunged them into the abyss of debauchery, what can be said of those who, in the flourishing health of the body, allow themselves to eat meat and drink wine in immoderate quantities, using them as much as their self-pleasing lust whispers to them, and not as much as the weakness of the body requires.

The Holy Fathers establish as a measure of abstinence that we should stop eating the food that we need to receive in order to maintain the life of the body while we still have the desire to eat. Judging by this, even a physically weak person can demonstrate the virtue of abstinence in perfection just as much as a strong and healthy person, that is, if he tames the desire to eat by force of will when the earthiness of the body has no need for it. For the Apostle Paul also says: Do not turn the care of the body into lust (Rom 13:14). He did not completely forbid us to take care of the body, but only commands that we do not have lust in doing so. He rejected lustful care of the body, but did not exclude the reasonable, necessary care for life. First, he forbade us from falling into destructive acts of lust through indulging the body, and second, he allowed that the body, weakened by unreasonable severity, does not prove powerless to carry out our spiritual interests and efforts.
Accordingly, the measure of abstinence should be determined by the judgment of each person's conscience. Everyone is obliged to determine for himself how much to abstain, or how much abstinence is necessary to combat the disturbances of the body. Fasts, prescribed by the constitution, should certainly be observed. However, if we do not observe abstinence in food after them, their observance will not lead us to perfect purity. Starving in fasts lasting several days will bring only short-term exhaustion and fatigue of the body, but not the purity of chastity, if it is followed by overeating the body to satiety, because the purity of the soul is inseparably connected with the starvation of the stomach. The permanent purity of chastity does not exist for one who cannot maintain a permanent evenness of abstinence. Strict fasts remain useless if they are followed by excessive indulgence in food, because their fruit will quickly be driven out by the passion for pleasing the stomach. Therefore, it is more reasonable to eat moderately every day than to have occasional long and extremely strict fasts. Excessive abstinence can not only shake the steadfastness and firmness of the soul, but also make the performance of prayer lifeless due to the weakness of the body.
In order to preserve the purity of the soul and body, it is not enough to abstain from food alone; other spiritual virtues should be added to it. First, humility should be learned through the virtue of obedience, contrition of heart, and exhaustion of the body. Possession of money should not only be avoided, but the very desire for it should also be uprooted. For it is not enough not to have it (which is mostly out of necessity), but one should not even allow the very desire to have it if it were offered to us by chance. Also, the vehemence of anger should be subdued, the weight of sadness should be overcome, vainglory should be despised, the loftiness of pride should be trampled down, and the inconstancy and wandering of the mind should be tamed by constant remembrance of God. We should always strive to bring our hearts back from imaginative wanderings to the contemplation of God. For the cunning enemy will try to sneak into the hiding places of the heart to distract our minds from contemplation.
He who is unable to tame the appeals of the stomach's pleasures will never be able to overcome the lust that is inflamed. The purity of the inner man is known by the perfection of this virtue. For no one will believe that in a fight with the strongest opponents he can compete who is overcome by the weakest in a small skirmish.
Therefore, we must first crush the lust of the stomach's pleasures, and lighten our mind not only by fasting, but also by vigils, reading, and constant contrition of heart, remembering all that we have been deceived and defeated by, sometimes sighing with a sense of horror at the multitude of sins, sometimes burning with a desire for perfection and purity. And we must bring it to such a point that, constantly occupied with ascetic labors and thoughts, even the taking of food itself does not consider so much a permitted object of pleasure as a burden imposed in the form of punishment, which should be approached more as something inevitable for the body than something desired by the soul. If we strive to be steadfast in such spiritual care and contrition, we will soon tame the lust of the flesh (which reaches its utmost frenzy if we load it with food), and dull its deadly sting. Thus, with abundant tears and constant weeping from the heart, we will extinguish the furnace of our flesh, which the king of Babylon, that is, the devil, has kindled in us, through arranging occasions for sin and arousing passions. With these, like adding oil and pitch to a furnace, he makes us burn more strongly (unnecessarily), until the grace of God, by stirring up the dewy spirit, completely extinguishes the flame of fleshly lust in our hearts. Accordingly, our first struggle consists in extinguishing the lust for abundant nourishment and pleasing the stomach by the desire for perfection. Therefore, not only should we overcome the desire for abundant food by contemplating virtue, but we should also receive the very food necessary for our nature as useless for chastity with careful caution from the heart. We should organize the transience of our life in such a way that we do not at any time separate ourselves from spiritual pursuits, except when the weakness of the body forces us to take necessary care of it. Even when we submit to this necessity, satisfying the needs of life rather than being slaves to the desires of the soul, we are obliged, as soon as possible, to leave it, considering that it is an act that distracts us from salutary pursuits. Even at the time of receiving food, we should not separate ourselves from these pursuits. For we will by no means be able to refrain from enjoying the dishes offered unless the soul, having fixed its attention on divine contemplation, at the same time delights in the love of virtues and the beauty of heavenly things. And in general, a person will be able to despise everything present as corruptible if the gaze of the mind is inseparably fixed on incorruptible and eternal goods. Thus, while still in the body, he will taste with his heart the bliss of the future life.
Having overcome with such a disposition the lust of pleasing the belly and abundant food, now no longer as servants of the flesh, we will be considered worthy to enter into a higher battle, that is, to confront the unclean forces (spirits), which usually enter into battle personally only with the victors. In this way, overcoming the desires of the flesh shows itself to be the most solid foundation of all battles. Without overcoming his flesh, no one can fight properly. And whoever does not fight properly will not be crowned.
Do you want to hear the true fighter of Christ, who fights according to the lawful rule of warfare: So I do not run as uncertainly; I do not fight as one who beats the air; but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, so that, having preached to others, I myself should not be disqualified (1 Cor 9:26-27).
Do you see how he established the main work of warfare in himself, that is, in his body, as on some most solid foundation, and placed the entire success of the struggle solely on the exhaustion of the body and the subjugation of his body? Therefore, I , he says, so run, not as uncertainly . He does not run uncertainly who looks to the heavenly Jerusalem and has in it an immovable goal towards which he is obliged to direct the movement of his heart fearlessly. He does not run uncertainly who, forgetting what is behind, stretches forward to what is ahead, striving for the prize of the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:13-14). Always directing the gaze of his mind towards it, and pressing on with all the readiness of his heart, he exclaims with confidence: I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (2 Tim 4:7). Being aware that he had run with perseverance and zeal in conscience after the fragrance of the oils of Christ (Song 1:3), and that by exhausting his body he had successfully maintained victory in the spiritual battle, he says with confident hope: Now there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day (2 Tim 4:8). And, in order to reveal to us a similar hope of reward, if we imitate him in the feat of this aspiration, he adds: And not to me only, but also to all who love his coming (2 Tim 4:8). He solemnly declares that on the Day of Judgment we too can make ourselves partakers of his crown if, loving the coming of Christ, not only that in which he will appear to those who do not want it, but especially that in which he always goes to holy souls, we maintain victory in the battle through the mortification of the body. The Lord speaks of this final coming in the Gospel: I and my Father will come to him and make our abode with him (John 14:23). And again: Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me (Rev 3:20).
Moreover, saying: I so run, not as uncertainly, the apostle Paul not only describes the feat of running that he accomplished, which especially refers to the direction of the mind and the fervor of his spirit, with which he belonged to Christ with all his zeal, saying to his bride: I run after you and the fragrance of your peace (Song 1:3), and again: My soul clings to you (Ps 62:9), but also testifies that he also maintained victory in another kind of war, stating: So I fight not as one who beats the air; but I wear out my body and conquer it , which especially refers to the hard labors of self-control, to physical fasting and the exhaustion of the body. Here he presents himself as a vigilant fighter with his body, emphasizing that he did not give it the blows of self-control in vain. On the contrary, through the mortification of his body he succeeded in gaining the triumphant triumph, for having tamed it with the scourges of abstinence and exhausted it with the blows of fasting, he delivered to the victorious spirit a crown of immortality and an incorruptible palm. Do you see the lawful order of the struggle, do you notice the outcome of the spiritual conflict, that is, how the warrior of Christ, having maintained the victory over the rebel, that is, the flesh, and having thrown it under his feet as a great conqueror, rides in a victorious chariot! He does not run uncertainly, because he is confident that he will soon enter the holy city, the heavenly Jerusalem. So I fight in fastings, that is, in mortifying the body, not as one who beats the wind, that is, not as one who in vain strikes the blows of abstinence. For, by mortifying his body, he did not defeat the empty wind, but the spirits of wickedness that were attacking him. For he who says: Not as he that beateth the wind , understands that he does not conquer the empty and empty wind, but some who are in it. Having overcome this kind of struggle, that is, with the body, he, adorned with many crowns of victory, enters into battle again, and submits himself to the attacks of the most powerful enemies. And having conquered the first envious, he began with good hope to say: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph 6:12).
For the soldier of Christ, as long as he is in the body, there is never a lack of opportunities to obtain crowns for warfare. On the contrary, the more he is crowned with the successes of his victories, the stronger the order of battle lies before him. For, against him, the victorious soldier of Christ, who has conquered and subdued his body, a crowd of opponents, an army of enemies, are raised up, being irritated by his victories. This happens so that the soldier of Christ, softened by the tranquility of peace, may not begin to forget the glorious battles of his warfare, and so that, relaxing from idleness, in a sense of security from the enemy, he may not lose the readiness and courage to display the victorious heroism that is worthy of the highest rewards. Accordingly, if we do not weaken, but grow in strength and courage, and want to achieve the highest triumphs of victory, we must in the same order go through the battles of asceticism, that is, first of all, accomplish what we could say with the apostle Paul: So I fight, not as one who beats the air; but I wear out my body and conquer it , and then, when we win that battle, to enter into the one after which we can again say with the apostle Paul: For we do not wrestle against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places . For we cannot possibly enter into battle with them unless we have conquered the flesh. We will never be worthy to try the battle with spirits if we are equally overcome in the battle with the flesh and defeated in the battle with the belly. And then the apostle Paul will justly rebuke us: No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man (1 Cor 10:13).
A monk who wants to achieve the feat of internal struggle should first determine for himself that, before the time of taking food determined by the constitution and common to all, that is, outside of meals, he will in no way take any food or drink, no matter what pleasure and sweetness otherwise tempts him. Also, after the meal is over, let him not dare to do anything like that, not even to the smallest extent. Likewise, he should adhere to the time and measure of sleep that are established by the constitution. And, passions of this kind should be cut off with the same zeal with which we cut off lustful passion. For how will he quench the ardor of bodily desire who cannot subdue the abundant desires of the stomach? And, how will he be able to overcome secret passions, which spring up without any witness, who cannot tame visible and small passions?
We should fear the enemy within ourselves, not the external adversary. For there is a constant internal struggle going on within us. If we win there, all external struggles will become null and void. For the soldier of Christ, everything will become peaceful and everything will obey him. We will have no need to fear the enemy from without if what is within us, having been conquered, obeys the spirit. We should not believe that for us, to achieve perfection of heart and purity of body, fasting alone, consisting in abstaining from visible foods, is sufficient. No, to this should be added fasting of the soul. For it too has its harmful foods. Having become fat from them, it can fall into the abyss of sensuality without an abundance of physical food. Its food is condemnation, and a very pleasant food at that. Anger is also its food, although not so easy, but at times harmful, even deadly. Envy is the food of the soul, which poisons its juices and constantly torments it with sorrow for the happy successes of others. Vanity is also its food, which temporarily delights it with a pleasant taste, but later makes it desolate, naked and devoid of all virtue, leaving it barren and incapable of bearing spiritual fruits. It not only deprives it of the reward for great labors, but also attracts great punishment. Every lust and lust of an unstable heart is a kind of grazing of the soul in a kind of pasture that nourishes it with harmful foods, and which makes it not a partaker of heavenly bread and solid food. By abstaining from all this in our holy fast, according to our strength, we will make the observance of a physical fast purposeful and fruitful. For the exertion of the body, united with contrition of the spirit, represents the most pleasing sacrifice to God, because it will build a temple worthy of His holiness in the pure and beautifully decorated recesses of the heart. However, if, while fasting physically, we are caught in the net of the most destructive passions of the soul, the exhaustion of the body will not bring us any benefit, because then we will remain defiled in our most precious part, that is, we will remain defective in that part of our nature which in the true sense can become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. For the dwelling place of God and the temple of the Holy Spirit is not a corruptible body, but a pure heart. Therefore, when our outer man fasts, we should also abstain from harmful food in the inner man. We should especially present him pure to God, so that we may be worthy to receive Christ as a visitor, as the apostle Paul advises: That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Eph 3:16-17).
Food should be chosen that calms and does not arouse the passions of the flesh, that is easily obtained, and that is in accordance with the general custom and usage of the brothers. Indulging the stomach is manifested in three ways: one encourages us to receive food before the time established by the constitution; the second encourages us to overeat and fill our stomachs with food regardless of its quality; the third encourages us to be satisfied only with completely delicious and exquisite dishes. Therefore, against indulging the stomach, a monk should observe a threefold rule: first, to wait for the times established by the constitution to begin the meal; second, not to give in to the desire to overeat; and third, to be satisfied with simple and cheap food. And, what is not in accordance with general custom and usage in relation to food, the most ancient tradition of the Fathers does not approve, since it is defiled by vanity and boasting. We have not seen any of those who were distinguished by the gift of knowledge and judgment, and of those whom the grace of God has set forth as the brightest lights for imitation, abstain from eating bread, which is considered simple and cheap. And conversely, we have never seen any of those who used herbs, vegetables, and fruits of trees to be among the most experienced men, or to have been deigned to be granted the grace of judgment and knowledge.
Works of charity are to be preferred to fasting. We learned this from the Egyptian Fathers. For when we, desiring to learn the rules of these elders, came from Syria to Egypt, they received us with unusually lively warmth of heart. No matter where we passed, for our peace of mind they did not limit themselves to observing the time for receiving food fixed by the constitution, as we are accustomed to see in the Palestinian monasteries. On the contrary, they always permitted the use of food before the appointed time, except on Wednesdays and Fridays. When we asked why they so freely circumvented the rule of daily fasting, one of the elders answered us: "Fasting is always with me, but I cannot always have you with me. Moreover, fasting represents a voluntary sacrifice, which is very useful and always necessary, but the performance of works of love is an urgent requirement of the commandment. Therefore, by receiving Christ in you, I am obliged to feed Him. And when I see you off, I will be able to compensate for the deviation made for His sake by a strict fast. For the wedding guests cannot fast as long as the bridegroom is with them. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days" (Luke 5:34-35).
As the Holy Fathers say, extremes are equally harmful, namely, excessive fasting and overeating. We know some who were not conquered by pleasing their stomachs, but were overthrown by excessive fasting. They fell into the same passion for indulging their stomachs because of the weakness that came from excessive fasting.
We should take care not to take food before the appointed time or in excess, despite the desire for bodily pleasure, and to use it at the appointed time, even if we do not feel like eating. For both the excessive desire for bodily pleasure and the aversion to food are instigated by our enemy. Moreover, immoderate abstinence is more harmful than overeating. For from the latter, through repentance, it is possible to move on to right action, but from the former it is not.
Our ancient Fathers often reasoned about how to pass between the two extremes, maintaining reasonable moderation. They preferred bread to all types of food. As a measure for its use, they determined two not large loaves, weighing about 400 grams.
The general rule of moderate abstinence consists in this: that everyone, according to strength, condition of the body and age, eats as much food as is necessary for maintaining physical health, and not as much as is required by the desire for overeating. He who does not keep an even measure, but sometimes fasts excessively, sometimes overeats, harms both prayer and chastity: prayer because he cannot be strong from not eating, and due to weakness he tends to sleep, and chastity because the fire of bodily lust, which is inflamed by excessive use of food, continues to work even during a strict fast.
To use food moderately, according to the opinion of the Fathers, means to use only as much food daily as is necessary so that, even after finishing a meal, one still feels hungry. Such a measure will keep the soul and body in an equal state, and will not allow a person to fall into either excessive fasting that disturbs the body, or overeating that burdens the spirit.
We propose another salutary instruction of blessed Macarius, so that we may usefully conclude our book on abstinence and fasting with the opinion of the great father. He says that a monk should reasonably adhere to the act of fasting as if he were to remain in the body for a hundred years and to tame the movements of the soul, that is, to forget insults, to avoid sorrow, to consider suffering and deprivation as nothing as if he were to die the next day. This is in relation to the first, that is, fasting, a useful prudence for the soul is advised, which encourages the monk to always follow the path of equal severity in abstinence, which, even in the case of bodily weakness, does not allow him to pass from abstinence to excess, and in relation to the second, that is, the taming of the movements of the soul, a salutary generosity, with which he is able to despise not only what seems desirable in this world, but also misfortunes and sorrows, considering them harmless, remaining fearless and steadily directing the gaze of the mind towards that to which he expects to be called every day and every moment.

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