Overview of Spiritual Warfare - Saint John Cassian the Roman — Part 10

THE BATTLE WITH THOUGHTS AND THROUGH THEM WITH EVIL SPIRITS, WHICH ACCOMPANIES ALL OTHER BATTLE AND OUTSTANDS THEM ALL

Question: And, despite all my care, I see no success in establishing attention. The mind cannot possibly keep itself from wandering. Even when you feel that the heart is compassionately directed to a certain insight, the mind imperceptibly descends and with great speed falls into its usual wanderings. Countless times every day the mind is prey to its wanderings. Moreover, it is seized with despair that it will never achieve the desired correction of its impotence. It acquires the idea that the exertion of attention for the sake of this work is a useless effort, since the soul is rushing at every moment with rapid flights to distraction. Drawn by the fear of God to spiritual insight, the soul, however, before it is established, immediately loses sight of everything. Even if you anticipate its intention to wander and catch it at the very beginning, dragging it to the perspective from which it has begun to deviate, intending to bind it, as with some chains, with the greatest tension of the heart's attention, it still, during the very effort over it, manages to slip out of the inner sanctuary faster than an eel from the fisherman's hands. In this way, striving every day with all diligence to guard the thoughts, and seeing no success, you reluctantly come to the conclusion that the wanderings of thoughts do not originate from us, but from nature itself.

Answer: It is not safe to draw conclusions so quickly, that is, before the work has been properly examined. Because of our own impotence or inability to succeed in something, we should not think that others cannot achieve success either. This would be the same as if someone, not knowing how to swim and stay afloat, concluded that no one's body can stay afloat in water and that, therefore, no one can swim. Since his body, due to its weight, cannot stay afloat in water, and since everyone's bodies are like his, he concludes that the very nature of the body is not capable of swimming. However correct such a conclusion may seem to him, experience does not justify it. So is our judgment. Our mind by its nature cannot be empty. Unless he has carefully prepared objects in advance in which to practice his movements and in which he is constantly interested, he will inevitably fly everywhere because of his mobility, until by long practice and constant habit (which you call vain effort) he learns from experience that he must prepare in his memory the material around which to revolve in his tireless flights, and that through constant abiding in effort he will gain the strength to repel the contrary persuasions of the enemy by which he was previously distracted, fearlessly remaining in the desired state of undisturbed and inner peace. Accordingly, the instability of the disorderly wandering of thoughts is not to be attributed to the nature of man, or to God, its Creator. For the word of Scripture is true: God made man good, but they (i.e., people) search out all kinds of thoughts (Eccl. 7:30). Accordingly, the quality of thought depends on us. And, the Psalmist says: Blessed is the man whose counsel is in you, he has set it in his heart to go upward (Ps. 83:6). You see that it is in our power to place in our hearts either the ascent, that is, the thoughts that reach God, or the descent, that is, the thoughts that bring us down to earthly and bodily things. If thoughts were not in our power, the Lord would not have rebuked the Pharisees: Why do you think evil in your hearts (Mt 9:4). And through the prophets He would not have commanded: Put away your evil thoughts from before my eyes (Is 1:16), and: How long will evil thoughts dwell within you (Jer 4:14).
It is true that many vain thoughts disturb us against our will and deceive us almost without our knowledge. They enter us imperceptibly and cunningly. And, not only are we unable to prevent them, but we also notice them with great effort. However, everyone can accept them or reject them if, with God's help, they invest care and effort. Their emergence does not depend on us, but their rejection or acceptance lies in our will. After all, even in the development of thoughts, not everything should be attributed to their attack, or to the spirits who take care to sow them. On the contrary, it also depends on us, if not always, then for the most part, whether we will correct the quality of our thoughts, and whether we will take care that spiritual-holy thoughts sprout in our hearts instead of carnal, earthly thoughts. Bad thoughts are diminished and appear less frequently in one who is intelligently and diligently instructed in the Holy Scriptures, practices the Psalms and the singing of church hymns, performs the feat of fasting and vigil, remembers the future, that is, the Kingdom of Heaven and the fire of hell, and all the works of God. On the contrary, evil thoughts multiply in one who is interested in worldly cares and bodily works, and engages in vain and empty conversations.
The activity of our mind can be compared to a millstone that is quickly turned in a circle by a violent stream of water. Moved by water, it cannot stop turning. However, it is in the power of the miller whether to grind wheat, grain or tares. So too, our mind in the present life cannot be empty of the flow of thoughts, since it is constantly moved by streams of impressions directed at it from all sides. However, it depends on our will and decision which of them to accept. If, as has been said, we are constantly interested in the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, if we fill our memory with spiritual subjects, and if we have a desire for perfection and a hope for the attainment of future bliss, spiritual thoughts will arise in us, and our mind will move in constant thoughts about the subjects in which we have immersed ourselves. However, if, due to carelessness and indolence, we are interested in objects of passion and empty talk, or worldly and vain cares, thoughts will also be born in us, according to their fruits, like chaff, and very harmful work will be delivered to our heart, according to the words of the Savior: For where the treasure of your deeds and your care is, there your heart will necessarily be also (Mt 6:21).
It should be known that there are three sources of our thoughts, namely God, the devil, and ourselves. God deigns to visit us with the illumination of the Holy Spirit, arouses in us either zeal for greater progress, or contrition for slow progress and indulgence in laziness and carelessness, reveals to us the secrets of heaven, and turns our intentions to better works. Thus the Lord inspired Artaxerxes to seek the book of the chronicles from which he learned of the good deeds of Mordecai, and immediately changed his former cruel decision to destroy the Jewish people (Esther 6). Thus the apostles were promised: For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks through you.(Mt 10:20).
From the devil are thoughts that try to stumble us, arousing in us a passionate pleasure, or with the most cunning cunning presenting evil under the guise of good. For he transforms himself before us into an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). Thus he put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray the Lord (Jn 13:2), and of Ananias to lie to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3).
Thoughts arise from ourselves when we naturally remember what we have seen, heard, or done.
We should always keep this threefold cause of the arising of thoughts in mind and judge the thoughts that arise in the heart according to it. Accordingly, we should also relate to them. In this sense, we should imitate the experienced money changers who know exactly how to recognize whether it is gold, whether the coin is made of pure gold, or of copper resembling gold, whether it bears the image of the king and is legally represented, and whether the coin has a legal weight. Something similar in the spiritual sense we should do in relation to thoughts. First, we should comprehensively examine whether what has entered our heart is true or not. For example, if a teaching is proposed to us, we should examine whether it has been purified by the divine fire of the Holy Spirit, or whether it belongs to Jewish superstition, or whether it comes from an inflated worldly philosophy and only wears a mask of piety. By doing so, we will fulfill the apostolic instruction: Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.(1 John 4:1), and we will be out of danger of departing from the Truth. Those who did not take care to fulfill this precaution, were subject to a miserable apostasy from the faith. Sweet-talking seducers first attracted them to themselves with some pious feelings and reasonings, consistent with the holy faith, as with the brilliance of gold. Then they taught them wisdoms contrary to faith. Deceived by the original appearance, they did not subject them to a comprehensive examination. Having thus received false copper money for gold, they fell into heretical errors. Secondly, we should carefully consider whether we hear a false interpretation of Holy Scripture. For it may happen that it, imitating the pure gold of the true understanding of the words of God, tries to deceive us with the appearance of a precious metal to accept it with an admixture of copper of a falsely attributed meaning. Thus Satan tried to tempt the Savior Christ Himself. Thus he tempts us all, though not without success as with our Lord. Thirdly, we should be on our guard in every way lest the enemy, by distorting the precious teachings of Holy Scripture with cunning interpretations, succeed in leading us to an improper application and use. By covering up the deception by appealing to a tradition supposedly derived from the elders, he is as if illegally placing the royal seal on counterfeit money. He succeeds in this when he deceives us into tireless labors that are beyond our strength, into excessive vigils, into prayers without any order, into inappropriate reading. By seducing us with an alleged good, he leads us to an end that is harmful to the soul. He urges us to make unnecessary visits to drive us out of solitude and deprive us of blessed solitude or a life of silence and peace. He advises us to take upon ourselves the care of pious helpless women to ensnare us with disastrous cares. He encourages us to desire the priesthood under the pretext of teaching many and distracts us from our humble vocation. All such advice, disguised under the cover of charity, piety and higher progress, leads the inexperienced into deception. Outwardly they resemble the money of a true king, although they were minted by false spiritual smiths, and not by truly Orthodox experienced Fathers. They were minted by insidious demons to harm and ruin. The saying of Ecclesiastes can be perfectly applied to them: There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the bottom of hell (Prov. 16:25). The last (fourth) observation of the experienced money changer concerns the examination of the weight of a coin. We will carry it out in our spiritual activity when we place the work that the thought advises us on the scales (bench) of conscience, and with all severity examine whether it has real weight, that is, whether it is heavy with the fear of God, whether everything in it is according to its meaning and significance, whether it is not made light by external appearance and novelty, whether its weight has not been diminished by vanity and whether it has not been destroyed by human glory. Having weighed and examined it by the testimonies of the apostles and prophets, we are obliged to accept it as in agreement with them, or to reject it with all severity as contrary to them and destructive to us.
Therefore, we should constantly observe all the hiding places of our heart, and with vigilant attention follow the tracks of those who enter, lest some mental beast, or the lion or the dragon itself, sneak in and, secretly sealing the fatal footsteps through our carelessness, open the way for others to enter the hiding places of our heart. By thus cultivating the soil of our heart every moment and every minute with the evangelical plow, that is, with the constant remembrance of the cross of the Lord, we will be able to destroy the dens of deadly beasts and the hiding places of poisonous snakes, and to drive them out of ourselves.
The image of the perfect mind (which has power over its thoughts) is beautifully presented in the face of the evangelical centurion. The moral strength that does not allow all thoughts to deceive us, but, according to its own judgment, receives good things and expels the contrary without any effort, is described in the story about him by his words (which, of course, should be understood in a figurative sense): For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me, and I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it (Mt 8:9). If we courageously fight against disorderly inner movements and passions, if we subject them to our authority and our judgment, if we extinguish the lust that arises in our body, if we keep the disorderly crowd of thoughts under the yoke of the rule of reason, if we expel the crowds of evil enemy forces from the borders of our hearts with the saving sign of the Lord's cross, we would be introduced to the rank of captain in the spiritual sense. Because of such triumphs and victories, we too will rise to the height of his dignity and have commanding authority and strength. In it, we will no longer be attracted by thoughts that we do not want, but only by those that we spiritually delight in. Then we will be able to dwell in them and cling to them. We will command evil persuasions with authority: "Depart," and they will depart. In the same way, we will call good thoughts: "Come," and they will come. And we will show our servant, that is, our body, what it needs for purity and self-control, and it, declaring complete obedience, will do everything without any resistance, no longer provoking evil desires contrary to the spirit.
But how can we achieve this? This will come of itself if we are closely united with God. Then He will already work in us. The apostle Paul assures us of this, saying: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down thoughts (2 Cor. 10:4). No matter what we do to overcome our thoughts, we will not succeed until God Himself begins to work after uniting with us. Then even our weak means will become strong and all-conquering, destroying the strongholds of the enemy and defeating and expelling all thoughts. And the prophetic word will be fulfilled in us: Let the weak say, "I am able" (I have strength), and let the meek be strong (Joel 3:10-11), and what the apostle Paul says about himself: For when I am weak, then I am strong.(2 Cor 12:10). For then the power of God will be made manifest in our weakness (2 Cor 12:9). Accordingly, with all the will of our hearts we should direct ourselves to union with the Lord, so that what the blessed David inquired about may be fulfilled in us: My soul clings to you. And your right hand holds me (Ps 62:8). And each of us will begin to sing with him: How good it is for me to be near God (Ps 72:28). Of course, this requires constant effort and toil. But without them there is no success in any work. All the more so should we not expect it without them in such an important work. The perfection of any virtue cannot be achieved without effort, and no one can achieve peace of mind without the utmost effort of the heart. The word of the Lord directly applies to this: The kingdom of heaven is conquered with effort, and the ascetics seize it (Mt 11:12). In order for our spirit to attain to the perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:13), and to become one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor 6:17), it is necessary that it should always be vigilant with great effort and be untiring in zeal. Having arrived at this, it can already solemnly rejoice with the apostle Paul: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13).
Therefore, all our attention should always be directed to quickly returning the thoughts from their wandering and circling to the remembrance of God. He who wants to erect and build a dome-shaped roof accurately, with a strip steadily draws a circle from the center, thus achieving the same roundness everywhere. Whoever tries to complete the work without this help will not be able to achieve the correct roundness without error, even if he possesses great skill, since he will not be able to determine with a single glance how much he has deviated from the circle. Likewise, if our spirit does not establish within itself, as an immovable center, the beloved memory of God, so that, secured by it, it visits all its works and labors at every moment, so that by it, as by a test, it determines the quality of its thoughts and deeds (it accepts some and rejects others), and by it, as by a true compass, it gives direction to everything it does, it will never be able to build the spiritual edifice as it should, the architect of which is the Apostle Paul (1 Cor 2:10). It will then not be able to give the house the beauty of which the blessed David, desiring to present it to the Lord in his heart, says: Lord, I love the beauty of your house, and the place where your glory dwells (Ps 25:8), but will unwisely build in its heart an ugly house, which is unworthy of the Holy Spirit and which is always prone to collapse. And it will not be glorified by the indwelling of the blessed inhabitant, that is, the Holy Spirit, but will submit to a sad collapse.
The dark forces act on us primarily through our thoughts. Of course, it would be easier for us to deal with them if we were not constantly and in large numbers surrounded by enemies who do not wish us well. However, this should not be feared. It is true that enemies constantly besiege us. However, they only sow and arouse evil in us, without having the power to force us to do it. For if they were given the power to forcibly drag us into evil, and not only to persuade us to do it, no man would be able to avoid the sin that would correspond to the sinful desire that they would kindle in our hearts. However, we see that they are given the opportunity to arouse us, just as we are given the power to repel them and the freedom to agree with them. And why should we be afraid? After all, to those who fear their violence and attacks, on the other hand, we propose God's protection and God's help, which is stronger than them, as it is said: For greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). His intercession fights for us with a power that is incomparably greater than that with which the enemy rises up against us. For God not only inspires us to good works, but also supports and brings them to completion. He sometimes draws us to salvation without our will and knowledge. Therefore, it is obvious that the devil can deceive only those who give him their consent of their own will. Sirach clearly expressed this in the words: Judgment on evil deeds is not swift. Therefore the heart of the sons of men does not fear to do evil (Sir 8:11). It is obvious that everyone sins because, when evil thoughts attack him, he does not immediately resist them with opposition. For it is said: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
Someone may have a question about the way in which evil spirits enter into communion with the soul. They imperceptibly converse with her, sow in her whatever they wish, see her thoughts and movements, and use them to her detriment. However, there is nothing unusual in this. A spirit can enter into communion with a spirit and covertly influence it, encouraging it to do what it wants. For, between them, as between men, there is a certain similarity and affinity by nature. But it is perfectly impossible for them to enter into one another and for one to dominate the other. This can only truly be attributed to God.
The above does not contradict what happens to those who are tormented by demons, that is, when they are possessed by unclean spirits, they say and do what they do not want to, or are forced to utter words that they do not understand. However, it is certain that not everyone is influenced by spirits in the same way. Some are so overcome by them that they are not at all aware of what they are doing or saying, while others are aware and later remember what happened. Both are due to the influence of an unclean spirit. However, it should not be thought that, by uttering words and speaking through the mouth of the one who is suffering, he permeates the very essence of the soul or that he merges with it and clothes himself with it. They cannot do this. This actually happens in the following way: by seizing the organs through which the soul acts, and imposing an unbearable weight on them, the unclean spirit covers the rational feelings of the soul with a terrible darkness and interrupts their activity. This, however, as we see, sometimes happens from wine, and from fever, and from excessive cold, and from other diseases that come from without. Lest the devil should think of doing the same to blessed Job, having gained power over his body, the Lord threatened him with a special commandment, saying: Behold, I deliver him into your hands, but only spare his soul (Job 2:6). He seems to say: "Only do not make him foolish, do not disturb the seat of his soul, do not attack his reason and do not injure his organ of reason, for with it he must oppose you."
In this way, the spirit somehow mixes with coarse and hard matter, that is, with the body, and this very easily. However, it does not follow from this that it can unite with the soul, which is also a spirit, so as to make it, like the body, the seat of its being. This is possible only for the Holy Trinity, who not only encompass every rational nature, but also permeate it. Only God is everywhere and in everything, so that He sees all our thoughts, all our inner movements, and all the secrets of our souls. And there is no substance hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and revealed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Heb 4:13). He justly searches hearts and minds (Ps 7:10).
But how do unclean spirits know our thoughts? They do not read them directly in the soul, but recognize them by their expression in external sensory expressions, that is, from our words and deeds. However, they cannot possibly penetrate thoughts that have not yet emerged from the interior of the soul. Even whether and how the thoughts that they themselves plant in us are received, they learn not from the soul itself, and not from the completely internal movements that secretly occur in it because of them, but from their expression outside the soul. Thus, for example, they know that a monk, in whom they have sown the thought of pleasing the stomach, has received the desire to please the stomach if they see that he has begun to look out the window at the sun, or that he is wondering what time it is. And it is not surprising that the forces of the air (demons) acquire such knowledge, when we see that even intelligent people manage to learn the state of the inner man by the eyes, face, and other external signs. Of course, those who, as spirits, are undoubtedly much more subtle and perceptive than men, can have all the more accurate knowledge.
It should be known that not all demons inflame all the passions in men, but that a certain spirit takes care of each one. For some of them delight in impure and shameful lusts, others love blasphemy against God, others in anger and rage, a fourth console themselves with sorrow, a fifth in vanity and pride. And each sows in the heart of man the passion with which it particularly delights. However, they do not all arouse their passions together, but alternately, according to the time, place, and suitability of the one being tempted.
Moreover, it should be known that they are not all equally evil and equally strong. Weaker spirits are released upon beginners and the weak. If they are overcome, stronger ones are sent. In this way, the soldier of Christ, in proportion to his progress and the increase of spiritual strength, must endure greater and greater struggle. And none of the saints could possibly bear the wickedness of such and so many enemies, or withstand their attacks and fierce fury, if our most merciful advocate Christ were not always present in our struggle, equalizing the strength of those who fight, repelling and taming the sudden attacks of the enemy and making an end of temptation, so that it can be endured (1 Cor 10:13).
Demons do not have the power to harm every man. This is clearly demonstrated by the example of the blessed Job, whom the enemy did not dare to tempt more than was permitted by the will of God. This is also testified by the confession of evil spirits, which is included in the Gospel stories: If you cast us out, let us go into the herd of swine (Mt 8:31). Therefore, without God's permission, they did not have the power to enter even into unclean and unreasonable animals. All the more so should we believe that they cannot enter into any man, created in the image of God, of their own will. For if they were given the power to tempt and embitter every man at will, none, not only of the young monks, but even of the perfect elders, would be able to endure life in the desert, being surrounded by crowds of evil enemies.
It is also known that unclean spirits enter the bodies of the possessed only after they have taken possession of their minds and thoughts. Having first deprived them of the fear of God, the remembrance of God, and spiritual instruction, they boldly attack them. And, since they are disarmed and deprived of God's help and protection, they easily defeat them. In the end, they establish a dwelling place for themselves in them, as in a place that has been given over to their power. Moreover, it is also true that they torment more severely, excessively, and disastrously those whom they have not conquered physically, but spiritually. These are precisely those who have been caught in the net of their passions and desires. For, according to the words of the Apostle Peter, by whom a person is conquered and enslaved (2 Pet 2:19).
Holy Scripture testifies that two angels, a good one and an evil one, are inseparably present with each of us. The Savior says about the good: See that you do not despise one of these little ones; For I tell you that their angels in heaven always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven (Mt 18:10), and blessed David: The angels of the Lord encamp around those who fear him, and deliver them (Ps 33:8). What is also testified to in the Book of Acts of the Apostles about Saint Peter: It is his angel (Acts 12:15). Both angels are spoken of at length in the Book of the Shepherd. If we consider the one who sought access to blessed Job, we will clearly understand that it was the one who always attacked him, although he could never induce him to sin. For this reason he asked the Lord for power over him, confessing that until then he had been defeated by the intercession of the Lord (who always protected him with his covering), and not by his own strength. And, of Judas it is also said: And let the devil stand at his right hand (Ps 108:6).