Roman Chatolichism is Heresy (false belife) ,removal or fall from the true and holy faith of Christ

 

"PARTIAL GRACE"

Icon of numerous heresies and demons attacking Ark of Salvation (Orthodox Church)

In recent times, a strange teaching about "partial grace" has appeared, which is represented in non-Orthodox confessions and sects as stunted remnants of the first unified and collegial Holy Church.
The teaching of "partial grace" is similar to the teaching of relative truth in philosophy, which in its logical sequence leads man to agnosticism and skepticism. So, "partial grace" is incomplete, imperfect grace, i.e. delusion or deception of Satan.
Grace is eternal divine power and energy, flowing from the bosom of God's being. It is the unreal light from Tabor in which Christ showed his divinity.

The Orthodox Church, following the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas and the Hesychast of Athos, confirmed at a whole series of local (regional) councils in Constantinople (convened on this occasion in the 14th century), called grace the power of God. Can God be crippled, limited and partial? Another thing is that grace can appear in different actions and properties, but in its natural indivisibility it is absolute. According to Roman Catholic teaching, grace is created and appropriate to God's action. Therefore, it is an official force, not converted, turned towards the world by the attitude or desire of God. Grace is called divine and if, in addition, it is limited and imperfect, God himself is limited and imperfect, and that is already a false god. That's why to recognize grace from non-Orthodox confessions, but not God's and not absolute, but some other - means to attribute pseudo-divine power to their cults.
To talk about the operation of one and the same grace in different confessions means to equate Orthodoxy with heresy or heresy (see: Heresy or heresy - St. Ignatius Brjančaninov ) and destroy the very concept of the holy Orthodox Church of Christ. There is another variant of liberal theology: to allow God's absolute grace to work in different confessions, but heresy creates obstacles for people to adopt this grace, and they join it only partially, to the extent that their creed is closer to Orthodoxy. But here the question arises: is grace saving for them in such a case? If so, then why did the Holy Church of Christ carefully guard itself from all heresies and heresies, and especially from the heresy of Roman Catholicism or papism?

For then it follows that the word "heresy" loses its sinister meaning altogether, and becomes something called a "second-rate truth" (as merchants say, second-rate fresh produce that does not smell very nice, but can still be eaten).
Nevertheless, the Holy Orthodox Church of Christ teaches that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth who cannot operate in the field of spiritual lies. And heresy is a metaphysical lie. Let us give an example: the heretic Apollinarius taught that Christ received a human body and soul, with the exception of the human mind, which replaced His divine mind. Regarding this teaching, Saint Gregory of Nyssa says: "If Christ does not have a human mind, then my mind is not healed either, if Christ is not a perfect man, then, therefore, I am not saved."
Heresy is an intellectual and dogmatic sin, a mental rot, a lie of reasoning in which the blessing of the mind and soul by God's grace is impossible. A mind that believes in a lie as in truth, opposes the operation of grace. Salvation itself is a synergy of grace and the human will that is obedient to grace. The blessing of the mind is possible with the synergy of theological truth, in which the mind and grace of God are included, and this synergy is possible only with the existence of dogmatic truth if the small mind of man is included in the great mind of the holy Church of Christ: And we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). Belief in a lie equates the mind with lies, therefore excluding the synergy of knowledge and grace. Therefore, the mind of a heretic remains without true knowledge, i.e., foolish. What then does grace act on, what does it bless?
If the soul is foolish, i.e., without Truth in itself, then such a soul does not have its function.

The discussion about the fact that there is grace in heresy, but the heretic cannot receive it, is more like the story of the fox and the stork: food is on the table, and the guest remains hungry.
And in general, the teaching about partial and incomplete grace causes confusion. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Orthodox Church (in the person of the apostles and disciples of Christ) received that fullness of grace that made her one with the heavenly Church and gave her the right to be called the Body of Christ the Savior. Man's approach to grace can be, and in essence always is, incomplete, because of his limitations, imperfection and sinfulness. But here it is not imperfect grace, but man. Eternal life itself is an eternal filling with grace, regardless of man's imperfections and limitations.
If grace is partial, stunted and scarce, then it can save only partially, but the Orthodox Church does not know such partial salvation, and does not recognize a third state after death, apart from Heaven and Hell. If we judge the action of grace according to the external fragmentary similarity of non-Orthodox confessions with Orthodoxy, then we will get a picture of grace as a material but refined energy, like some kind of electricity. Certain conditions were met - the machine worked, and current flowed through the wire. The farther the denomination and sect from Orthodoxy, the worse the quality of the conductor and the less strong the current voltage. Here God is excluded as the head of the Church, here the Church turns from a living unique organism into hesychasm, perhaps better than the others, but not the only one. Acknowledging the effectiveness of the secrets practiced in different confessions according to their "similarities" with the Church turns mysticism into magic, and magic is the subjugation of essence to form.

Theosophy talks about the fact that no religion has the fullness of truth, but only relative truth - therefore, it flattens religions in some kind of imperfection. And the heresy of ecumenism, i.e. Ecumenism, being a partial case of theosophy, in its radical form talks about the fact that no religion is perfect, so confessions should learn from each other, and in its "liberal-half-hearted" form it allows certain confessions to have some advantages (among them Orthodox , who participate in the Ecumenical Movement, believe, of course, that Orthodoxy is the greatest form of Christianity). If it is assumed that this is really so, and the difference between Orthodoxy and non-Orthodoxy is reflected in a greater or lesser degree of grace, then the entire history of the Holy Church of Christ up to the 20th century represents either a misunderstanding or a flagrant sin against love. Should heretics be anathema because grace works less in them? However, to allow such an understanding – means to renounce the very concept of the Holy Church as the mystical Body of Jesus Christ the Savior and to transform it into a human society, like a club, party or association.
If salvation is possible in other confessions, then the anathema pronounced by the Holy Church to heretics, and which is repeated every year on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, more like fratricide. Why did the ancient Holy Church cut off heretics from her body as completely sick members? Did she have less love than the modern ecumenists of today? The apostle of love, St. John the Evangelist, forbade Christians to introduce heretics into their homes and even greet them: If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or greet him (2 John 1:10), and yet he was the most beloved disciple of Christ the Savior. So , Orthodox Christian love is something else, not liberal indifference towards religion, which hides its indifference towards the Truth under the cloak of love.
The greatest of the God-pleasing, Saint Anthony the Great, came out of the desert to expose the Arian heresy. Saint Nicholas showed special zeal for holy Orthodoxy at the First Council of the Church. Can you imagine a council of the Church of Christ at which Saint Nicholas and Arius, holding hands, exclaim slogans of today's ecumenists and declare that we should pay more attention to what unites and less to what divides?
The first-supreme apostle Peter astonished the gnostic Simon Magus with his prayer to death. How can such an action of the first-supreme apostle be transferred to the "gentle" ' the souls of today's ecumenists - liberals who follow with admiration the rituals of the godless dancers - shamans during the ecumenist council?!
If in the Orthodox Church of Christ there is fullness of grace, and in heresy there is partial grace, then it comes to pass that grace is divided and that the greater grace casts anathema on the lesser. And the anathema pronounced by the Holy Church is a picture and image of the Last Judgment. Then another puzzling question arises before us: why was the non-Orthodox confessions given “incomplete, partial grace”, if not for salvation – that is, for great condemnation? Then it turns into the punishment of God, then it will be better for the ungodly than for the non-Orthodox who perish with such “grace”. The Holy Church equally honors the martyrs who took upon themselves death, both for refusing to offer sacrifice to idols, and for refusing to become non-Orthodox, i.e., to enter into union. In addition, the Church does not care what religion the apostate will accept, because the sin of suicide is equally terrible regardless of whether he poisoned himself, hanged himself or threw himself off a cliff.
The question can also be posed like this: are non-Orthodox Christians at all? If Christianity means faith in Christ the Savior, then they are Christians. And if Christianity is understood as the mystical reflection of the image of Christ in the human soul and communion with the Holy Spirit, then this is possible only in the holy Orthodox Church. Some claim that Monophysitism is a heresy, since it was condemned at the Fourth Council of the Church, and Roman Catholicism cannot be called a heresy since the apostasy of the Roman Patriarchate occurred after the church councils, so the above question remains open. This evidence seems astonishing to us, because Protestantism appeared even later, and according to this logic, Protestants are not heretics. And such sectarian organizations as "Jehovah's Witnesses", "The Salvation Army", in whose metrics the 19th century is depicted, are therefore also not heresies because the church councils could not subject their teachings to anathema?! As for the specific heresy of Roman Catholicism, the synodal conclusions often repeated the prohibition of the Symbol of Faith (Creed) as the basis of dogmatic unity. In this, Roman Catholicism already opposed itself to the holy catholic Church. At the Orthodox councils and councils of the Eastern Patriarchs, Roman Catholicism was called Latin heresy and papism. ( See: ''Circular Letter of the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church to All Christians'', 1848, signed by the Eastern Patriarchs and their Synod - Circular Letter of the Orthodox Eastern Patriarchs against the Letter of Pope  Pius I X ) 

As Orthodox, we believe that the teaching of "relative grace" entails the teaching of relative salvation.
Are the Mysteries celebrated in non-Orthodox confessions? If they are, then they are strange mysteries that do not save. A mystery that has not been adopted by man does not bring him closer, but rather distances him from God; it can serve more as a sign of future punishment.
What then is at work in these confessions, what kind of power? We think that there is a unified field of spiritual inspiration. There can be strong emotions, deep meditations that reach intellectual ecstasies, and stigma: there can be spiritual love that manifests itself in the feat of self-sacrifice. But there is no life of the Spirit there - everything is swallowed up by the soul. Why did the Holy Fathers forbid Christians to pray in pagan chapels and in heretical buildings, making no distinction between participation in pagan and heretical rituals and prescribing the same punishments? Because paganism or paganism means the absence of the truth of Christ the Savior, and heresy is an imitation of the truth, and every imitation is a spiritual lie.
The determination with which the Holy Church of Christ forbade praying together with pagans, heretics, schismatics and all those who are separated from her, testifies to the fact that this is not a simple "pedagogical" principle, but a realistic view that outside the Holy Church there is and cannot be salvation. Praying with heretics is a voluntary entry into that realm of spiritual passions and dark forces that reach for the kingdom of the Logos, beyond the secular border of the Church. Praying with heretics and pagans nourishes doubts about the existence of the one true holy Church. The Church is the mystical body of God. Only through the Holy Orthodox Church can the true image of Christ be reflected in the soul of man; in other confessions this image is corrupted and changed, although it bears the same name.
Belief in the salvation of other religions or only in the possibility of partial sanctification in them constitutes a special ecclesiological polytheism.
Grace, which is present in the Church, acts through priests. Grace itself can be called the spiritual substance of the Church. The canons of the Council forbid taking a blessing from heretics, since "blessing a heretic is gibberish." The Fathers of the ancient Church already said: "To whom the Church is not a mother, God is not a Father."
Eternal life is an eternal refuge of grace, which begins here on earth and has no end. God the Father can be approached only through Jesus Christ in the grace of the Holy Spirit.

HIGHER SERVICE TO HUMANITY

The basis of Christian morality is love, union with justice. Saint Dionysius the Areopagite writes that salvation requires a proper goal, a worthy object, and pure means, i.e., the unity of goal and means.
Justice is a property of love as its outer covering. Love is the content of justice, its life. Without justice, love turns into blind passion, without love, justice becomes a harsh punishment.
Theologians, revealing the symbolic meaning of the Cross, said that here we see the union of justice and mercy.
We may object that the evangelical commandments of love and justice are accepted by all confessions and sects. Why does Orthodoxy consider that only it preserves this teaching in its pure and unadulterated form? Don't Roman Catholicism and Protestantism have an extensive network of charitable organizations on all continents? Haven't they shown the world self-sacrificing missionaries? This question is very important, and it is necessary to consider it not in terms of social reflection, but in its mystical depth.
We will begin with the fact that Roman Catholicism considers the tragedy of man's fall into sin and its consequences differently from Orthodoxy.
According to Roman Catholic teaching, sin deprived man of supernatural grace and thus completely introduced a certain disharmony into his psychological life, but the natural powers of the soul remained intact. In this way, passions are viewed not as a disease of the soul, but as an excess and abuse. Such teaching conceals the catastrophic consequences of sin, deprives the spiritual struggle with sin and demonic power of that intensity, constant feats and vigilance, which are characteristic of Eastern asceticism.
The teaching about constant inner prayer, about the eradication of passions, about repentance or conversion as the basis of spiritual life, is supplanted by external feats and social service. This becomes especially obvious through a comparison of Orthodox and Roman Catholic monasticism as the main indicators of the church spirit.
Monasticism in the East is, first of all, an inner life, renunciation of the world, a striving for constant communion with God. Roman Catholic monasticism is an expression of social service to the Church, and since its methods are diverse, then monasticism (uniquely in the East) in the West created a multitude of orders, i.e. monastic institutions with different rules. In the Roman Catholic Church, monastic asceticism immediately took the form of order and work, that is, organization. Roman Catholicism considers the natural powers of the soul to be inviolable, and begins its sermon with an appeal to love. But love without first purifying the mind from pride and the heart from passion, which is the love of the soul and not of the spirit. It can be fiery and strong, beautiful and emotional; it can carry within it much concern for the suffering of others and tenderness, but it is an earthly love, based on solidarity and debt, it is diluted with sentimentality and is prone to affectation.
Pravoslavlje započinje propovijed pozivanjem na pokajanje ili obraćenje. Samo dugim putem očišćenja duše od grijeha budi se čovječji duh i srce osjeća ljubav i patnju kao novi život, kao osjećaj ni s čim usporediv, kao djelovanje samog Boga u srcu čovjeka. Ta ljubav je lišena potresnih emocija, ona je tiha i duboka, njena osobina je ljubiti Boga svim srcem svojim, a ljude kao sliku i priliku Božju. Duhovna ljubav je djelovanje milosti jer nosi u sebi Božju svjetlost preobraženja i obasjava svijet odbljescima te svjetlosti.
Ovdje se pod riječ ''ljubav'' mogu svrstati razna stanja. Ljubav zavisi od čovjekovog pogleda na svijet, od podviga njegove vjere, od mjere očišćena njegova srca, od prebivanja u Crkvi tj. uključenosti u njenu mistiku i asketiku. Sveti apostol Ivan evanđelist nazvao je Boga ljubavlju: Bog je ljubav (1 Iv 4,8); Krist je rekao da Bog jest Duh: Bog je duh (Iv 4,24). Najviši oblik ljubavi je duhovna ljubav sačuvana u životu svete Crkve. Pravoslavlje uči da Kraljevstvo Božje nije od ovog svijeta, dok je zemaljski put – samo put, pa je ono ''Kraljevstvo …'', slobodno od svjetskih predstava i predrasuda, od njegovih sklonosti i običaja.
Rimokatolička crkva hoće da izgradi Kraljevstvo Božje na zemlji. Ona je široko otvorila svoja vrata za svjetsku kulturu, za svjetsku umjetnost; ona nastoji da iskoristi dostignuća nauke i filozofije, da proširi utjecaj na politiku, da razradi socijalna pitanja. Zato pojmovi istine i pravde dobivaju strateški karakter, težeći da Crkvi pruže svjetsku kulturu; rimokatolicizam pada samo pod utjecaj te kulture, gdje je umjesto pravde – nešto slično pravdi, gdje je istina povezana s evolucijom Crkve, tj. nosi relativan karakter postupnog procesa. Za pravoslavlje su istina, Krist i Crkva živo mistično Tijelo Krista. Prema pravoslavnom učenju, Crkva je uvijek imala i ima punoću Duha Svetoga, te su kriteriji istine u pravoslavlju čvrsti i nepromjenljivi.
Što se pak tiče protestantskog svijeta, on se odrekao asketizma drevne Crkve, i zato su ljubav, istina i drugi dojmovi za njega postali subjektivni psihološki ogledi i osobne predstave. Udaljivši se od jedinstvene Crkve još dalje od rimokatolicizma, on je izgubio sve subjektivne kriterije. Njegova mistika se zatvorila u krugu individualnih ogleda. A, treba znati da mistika bez askeze lako prelazi u vizionarstvo ili magiju.
Rimokatolicizam i protestantizam dali su svijetu što su oni imali. Pokušali su i pokušavaju da patnja i nesreća na zemlji bude što malje. Ali siromašnih, gladnih i bolesnih nije manje; a ako se govori o duševnim bolesnicima, onda ih je više – pate i bogati i siromašni, čitav svijet sliči na obnaženi nerv, koji se skuplja u grozničavom bolu. Divno je djelo utješiti čovjeka koji je izgubio nadu, nahraniti gladnoga, ukazati pomoć bolesnom, a to neće pomoći da se izvede čovječanstvo iz ćorsokaka u koji je upalo – da se zaustavi proces moralne i duhovne atrofije, da se odstrani katastrofa prema kojoj vuče, izgleda, čitav tok ovozemaljske povijesti.
Pravoslavlje nosi u sebi snagu koja može da se suprotstavi svjetskom zlu, svjetlost koju nije shvatio i odbacio je zapadni svijet, označivši je nazivom ''hereza palamita''(učenje sv. Grigorija Palame). Ova svjetlost askeze i sagledavanja čini čovjeka sretnijim usred svih patnji, slično Kristu kad je sišao u pakao i ispunio radošću duše umrlih.
Drevni kršćanski pisci, a među njima i oni koji su pripadali zapadnom svijetu govorili su da je jedino dobro Bog, jedino zlo – grijeh, sve ostalo su međuprostori stanja i situacija. Zato pravoslavlje sa svojim promatračkim karakterom, učenjem o unutrašnjoj molitvi i samoći, vrši najveće služenje čovječanstvu, ono čuva Taborsku svjetlost, otkriva put za stjecanje te svjetlosti.

NA ŠTO TREBA PRAVOSLAVNI OBRATITI PAŽNJU U RAZGOVORU S KATOLIKOM?

The Apostolic Church, according to its structure and self-expression, is a congregational Church. The Parliament, as the highest representation of all members of the Church, realizes the principle of its unity. Even in apostolic times, differences in some questions concerning missionary work among the Gentiles were not resolved by a single vote of the Apostle Peter, but were decided by the council. It is characteristic that at the first Apostolic Council in Jerusalem, Bishop Jacob, not Apostle Peter, presided, and Jacob presented the Council's conclusions in his final speech. The very character of the Apostolic Council testifies to the fact that in the ancient Church, the decision of the council stood above the authority of any apostle. If there was a principle of ecclesiological monarchism in the ancient church - the primacy of the sinless by the actions of the leader, then the idea of ​​a council as such would be unnecessary and meaningless: for all questions of a dogmatic and moral character it would be enough to turn to the Pope of Rome - the "bishop of bishops", the vicar Christ on earth. Having adorned the Roman Pope with superhuman qualities of sinlessness in acts of faith and morality, Roman Catholics cannot explain the contradictions in papal bulls and appearances, such as the denial of Christ by one of the popes (he later repented and became a martyr) and how Pope Honorius received the Monophysite heresy ( for which he was condemned at the Sixth Council of the Church). The Church does not recognize "intellectual sinlessness" that would depend on rank and place of living. The Holy Spirit testifies through the mouth of the prophet David, that every man is a lie (Ps 115, 2). The truth was expressed in all its fullness by the Holy Church of Christ in its conciliar unity. In other words, the purity of faith is in the unity of love.
Filioque is a heresy from a dogmatic point of view (two exits, i.e. the coming forth of the Holy Spirit), and from an ecclesiological point of view - it is a violation of conciliar unity; from the moral side - the manifestation of the spirit of arrogance. The symbol of faith or Creed was established at the First and Second Councils of the Church as a solid basis of Christian belief.
Church councils forbade changing, shortening the Creed or making any additions to it. The Roman Church committed a sin against the unity of the Church by changing the Belief and thereby opposing itself to the holy conciliar Church.
Provincialism is seen in the fact that a part puts itself above the whole, for example: a province stands up for the whole state. The Roman Patriarchate, with a unilateral act of dogmatic dictation, placed its decisions above the decisions of church councils and moved from the principle of love to the principle of leadership.
In its historical being, Roman Catholicism constantly modernizes the Roman Catholic Church itself, adapting it to the ever-changing world, its culture and ideologies, ideas and tastes. That is why the Roman Catholic Church is increasingly acquiring the character of a useful (utilitarian) organization. Here, mysticism degenerates into aestheticism, and asceticism is replaced by charity and sociology.

From the book:  The Secret of Salvation -  Archimandrite Rafael Karelin 

The meaning of Spirtual Father

 

Icon of Spiritual Orthodox Father

To their great regret, today's Orthodox believers have almost forgotten what a clergyman means, i.e. what a spiritual life means, because nowadays there are almost no real clergymen. With them, at best, the term "confessor" has been retained, which most often means the competent parish priest, i.e. priest, to whom individuals occasionally go to confess their sins, usually before Holy Communion. But the concept of a priest is much broader than the concept of a confessor. The confessor can be any priest who listens to the sins and reads the prayer of absolution during the confession. And that's where his activity ends. And a priest is something completely different. According to the words of the Apostle Paul, a clergyman often gives birth to his spiritual children in labor pains, nurtures and raises them, leads and directs them until the image of Christ is formed in them:  My little child, whom I give birth to again in labor until Christ is formed in you  (Gal. 4,19).

  Considering that this is the situation regarding clergy, today's Orthodox Christians are completely decapitated and do not  serve their purpose, i.e. they are not  the salt of the earth  (Mt 5:13) nor  the light of the world  (Mt 5:14). Due to the lack of priests and spiritual training, they are not properly taught and do not know enough about their Orthodox faith, i.e. they are not properly and necessary formed as believers and therefore are not able to live it and testify before people. They are lukewarm or indifferent believers and as such completely unacceptable to the Lord because he says about them:  I know your works, you are neither cold nor hot. O that you were cold or hot! But because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth  (Revelation 3:15-16). 

  The question immediately arises here, who is to blame for such a state of today's Orthodox Christians?! The answer is completely clear, first of all, the pastors, i.e. clerics of the Holy Orthodox Church, to whom the faithful are entrusted, are to blame because they do not teach them enough, i.e. well, and do not take care of their Christian development. Right after the shepherds, of course the believers are also to blame because they themselves are not taught and perfected in the truths of the holy Orthodox faith. Remaining thus insufficiently instructed in the holy truths of salvation, they become lukewarm or indifferent believers and as such do not serve their purpose, i.e. they are not  the salt of the earth  or  the light of the world . 

  In Orthodox spiritual literature, priest is a word that is encountered very often, in fact under various synonyms: "Geronda" (Greek), "Old Man" (Russian), "Abba" (Old Arabic), "Priest", "Spiritual Father", etc. But all these terms mean more or less the very essence of the word spiritual. And, a clergyman is exactly that person, mostly in the rank of monk (most often a monk-priest), who is spiritually very strong, who is based on the Lord Jesus Christ, on the Holy Fathers and in the tradition (tradition) of Orthodox spirituality, and as such is able to help to other people, spiritually regenerates or gives birth to other persons. That is why he is a "spiritual father", and all those whom he leads on the path of salvation are his spiritual children.

  Therefore, a spiritual person not only gives birth to his spiritual children, but also constantly guides them on the path of spiritual life and growth. The priest does not choose his spiritual children, he is not the one from whom the initiative originates, but who, with his personality, his spiritual power, radiates spiritual light, with which he attracts to himself souls thirsty and longing for God and a sublime spiritual life. Just like a light bulb, shining in the darkness of the night, attracts various insects that squirm (fly) around it. 

  A priest, although he mostly lives in one place, often in the desert, as was St. Anthony the Great (Hermit) or as many priests on Mount Athos are today, he lives in his asceticism and asceticism, in prayer and fasting, in spiritual contemplation and insight into the depths of the divine, but it cannot remain hidden from the eyes of the world, like that city "on the mountain that stands", about which the Holy Scriptures speak.

  Therefore, the priest cannot hide even if he wanted to. It is found by all those who want progress in spiritual life and who strive to achieve and realize the goal and purpose of their existence. Therefore, the priest does not impose himself on anyone. He is like a clear mountain spring. He offers himself to all, is open to all, and anyone who wants can approach him to get drunk and quench his spiritual thirst. 

  The priest is above all a man of prayer and full of reason, i.e. he has the power of reasoning. That is why he never tries to force his way into our soul. He waits patiently for the soul of his spiritual child to open up to him in sincerity, confession and trust, because that is the only way he can act and help. Just as they often taught, and acted in practice, great spiritualists, who extremely valued and respected every personality, every human being, and said "that every human soul should be approached gently", not to hurt it, not to try to help it violently , i.e. only as much as the soul asks for.

  So, the spiritual man does not run around the world and the people to "search" and "collect" spiritual children for himself, to "save the world", as today many tend to ask of spiritual people. The priest lives his spiritual life and waits to be found by those who need him, whom God directs to him. To such he becomes a spiritual father, and they become his spiritual children.  Amen!

Sorrow and grief of Orthodox Christians

 

Sinners being punished and tourtured by Demons of Hell

True Christian Orthodox piety is a virtue that is immensely dear to God, therefore it is necessary to know what the virtue or virtue of piety is, because there is only one true one, and there are many false and empty ones. If we do not know the true one, we can easily be deceived and go in the wrong direction and end up in superstition.

  Everyone shapes piety according to his own imagination and nature. Whoever adheres to fasting will be considered pious if he fasts, regardless of the fact that his heart is full of wickedness. Out of caution, such a person will not dare to dip his tongue in wine or even water, but will dip it without hesitation in the blood of his neighbor, gossiping and slandering him. And another will think that he is pious because he says all the prayers every day, although immediately after that he showers his household and neighbors with insulting, insolent and unjust words. 
  One person gladly and often gives alms to the poor, but he never manages to open his heart and find the gentleness with which to forgive his enemy. Another, on the other hand, forgives his enemy, but is ready to repay debts to creditors only if the court forces him to do so. They all consider them pious people, but they are by no means so. 
  When King Saul's men came to the house looking for David, his wife Michal put a statue in the bed, dressed it in David's clothes, and convinced them that David was lying sick and asleep. Likewise, many people cover themselves with some external works that befit holy piety, and those around them believe that they are truly pious and spiritual, when in fact they are only ordinary statues and shadows of piety. 
  True and living piety is true love for God. This piety is what the Lord Himself commanded the Orthodox Christian, saying: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind  (Luke 10:27). It is not just any love, because the love of God that adorns our soul is called grace, and through it we are pleasing to God. When it gives us the strength to do good, it is called mercy, and when it reaches perfection and not only leads us to do good in this sense, but also encourages us to act carefully, often, and readily, it is called piety. 
  Sinners do not fly to God, but walk on the earth and seek earthly things. Honest people who have not yet attained piety fly to God on the wings of good deeds, but rarely, slowly and with difficulty. On the contrary, the truly pious fly to God often, quickly and high. In short, piety is nothing other than spiritual agility and vitality by which love works in us, or through it we do everything skillfully and from the heart. Just as love prompts us to fulfill all of God's commandments in every respect, so too piety prompts us to fulfill them quickly and diligently. Therefore, one cannot be considered either good or pious who does not fulfill all of God's commandments, because to be good one must love God, and to be pious one must also be lively, that is, quick and diligent and ready for works of love. 

  Since love for God is a high degree of love, it not only prompts us to readily and diligently fulfill God's commandments, but, moreover, prepares us to do our best by doing good deeds, even though they are not commanded by anything, but only recommended or inspired. Just as a man who has just recovered from an illness walks slowly and heavily, only as much as he needs, so too a sinner who is just recovering from his injustice walks as God commands him, but slowly and heavily, until he reaches piety. Only then, like a completely healthy man, does he not only walk but also run and leap along the path of God's commandments, and even progress and run along the paths of heavenly counsels and inspirations. Finally, the difference between love and piety is like the difference between flame and fire. Love is a spiritual fire that, when it flares up strongly, becomes piety. Piety adds to the fire of love only that flame that makes it quick, active, and diligent, not only in fulfilling God's commandments but also heavenly counsels and inspirations.

  The Nature and Excellence of Piety 

  Just as those who wanted to dissuade the Israelites from entering the promised land, told them that the land devoured its inhabitants, or that the air was so foul that man could not long live there, that its inhabitants were monsters that devoured other men like locusts, so the world, as much as it could, slanders holy piety, portrays pious people as figures with angry, sad, and mournful faces, and cries out that piety makes people melancholy and unbearable. But just as Joshua and Caleb assured us that the promised land was not only good and beautiful, but that its possession would be sweet and pleasant, so the Holy Spirit assures us by the mouths of all the saints and by the mouth of the Lord Himself that a godly life is sweet, happy, and harmonious. 
  The world sees the pious fasting, praying, and enduring insults, helping the sick, giving to the poor, watching, taming anger, restraining and smothering their passions, renouncing bodily pleasures, and also performing other works that are inherently bitter and severe, but it does not see that inner and heartfelt piety by which all these works become pleasant, sweet, and easy. Pious souls find much bitterness in their exercises and physical penances, but by performing them, they transform all this into sweetness and sweetness. Fire, the wheel, and the sword were fragrant flowers to the martyrs, because piety adorned them. If piety can make the most terrible tortures, even death itself, sweet, what can it do for virtuous works?
  Sugar sweetens unripe fruit, and removes the indigestibility and harmfulness of overripe. Piety is the true spiritual sugar that takes away the bitterness from physical penances and the harmfulness from consolations. She delivers the poor from misery, the rich from excess, the oppressed from despair, the happy from pride, the lonely from sorrow, and the social from debauchery. In winter it is fire, and in summer dew. A pious man knows how to rule in abundance and endure poverty. In piety, honor and contempt are equally useful, and joy and pain are received almost equally with the heart; in short, she fills us with a wonderful sweetness.
  Now let us look at Jacob's ladder (for it is a living picture of the pious life): the two poles between which one climbs and on which the ladder rests are prayer that invokes the love of God and the sacraments by which it is given to us. The ladders are nothing other than the different degrees of love by which we climb from virtue to virtue, now descending in acts of help and support to our neighbor, now ascending in contemplation, to union in the love of God. Now let us look at those on the ladder. These are people with angelic hearts or angels with human bodies; they are not young, but they look that way because they are full of strength and spiritual agility. They have wings to fly, so they soar to God through holy prayer, but they also have feet to walk with people in a holy and loving relationship; their faces are beautiful and joyful because they receive everything with kindness and love; they are barefoot, bare-handed and bare-headed because they have in mind, they do everything, only to please God. The rest of their bodies are covered with beautiful and light garments, because they use worldly things, but quite purely and sincerely, taking only as much as their circumstances require. Behold, such are pious souls. 
  Piety is the sweetest sweetness and the queen of virtue, because it is perfect love. If love is milk, piety is the cream; if it is a plant, piety is its flower; if it is a precious stone, piety is its shine; if it is a precious ointment, piety is its fragrance, a sweet fragrance that strengthens people and delights angels.

  Piety is appropriate for all callings and occupations

  . Creating the world, God commanded plants to each bear fruit after its kind. Thus He commands Orthodox Christians, who are the living plants of His holy Orthodox Church, to bear the fruits of piety, each according to his own rank and calling. Piety should be practiced differently by a nobleman, a craftsman, a servant, a prince, a widow, a maiden, a woman. In addition, the practice of piety should be adapted to the strength, work, and duties of each individual. Would it be proper for a bishop to live in solitude like a hermit? Would it be good for a husband and wife to be careless of property like a monk or a religious, for a craftsman to spend all his days in church like a religious, and for a religious to expose himself, like a bishop, to all kinds of hardships in the service of his neighbor? Would not then piety be ridiculous, disorderly, and intolerable? And yet such an error is common, and the world does not or does not want to distinguish piety from the imprudence of those who think they are pious, and therefore it murmurs and scolds piety that is opposed to such disorder. 
  If it is true, piety does not spoil anything but perfects everything, and when it is an obstacle to someone in the performance of their duties, it is certainly wrong. Aristotle says: "The bee takes honey from flowers without causing it any harm, leaving it whole and fresh as it found it." True piety does more, it does not spoil anything in any calling or work, but, on the contrary, beautifies and adorns them. Just as every precious stone thrown into honey becomes more brilliant, but according to its color, so every man becomes more pleasant if he combines his calling and piety. It alleviates family worries, the love of husband and wife becomes more sincere, the ruler is served more faithfully, and every job is sweeter and more pleasant.
  It is an error and a heresy to try to banish piety from the barracks, the workshop, the court, and the family. It is true that purely contemplative, monastic, or religious piety cannot be practiced in these classes. But, besides these three pieties, there are many others that will perfect people in worldly situations. Thus, in the Old Testament, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, David, Job, Tobias, Sarah, Rebecca and Judith, and in the New, St. Joseph, Lydia and St. Crispin were completely pious in their workshops; St. Anne, St. Martha, St. Monica, Aquila, Priscilla in their families; Cornelius, St. Sebastian and St. Maurus in the army; Constantine and Helena on the throne. It has happened that many have lost their perfection in the solitude so suitable for perfection, and many have preserved it in the noise of the world so unsuitable. St. Gregory says: "Lot was so pure in the city, but he becomes defiled in solitude." Wherever we are, we can and should long for a perfect life.

  To enter and progress in piety, a guide, i.e. a spiritual father, is needed.

  The young Tobias' father sent him to Rages. He said to his father: The way is completely unknown to me . And the father answered him: Just go and look for someone who will lead you . 
  Therefore, if we want to follow the path of piety, we need to look for a virtuous man, i.e. a spiritual father, who will guide and direct us. This is the admonition of admonitions. 
  The Holy Scripture teaches: A faithful friend is  a strong shield, and whoever finds him has found a treasure . A faithful friend is the medicine of life and immortality; those who fear God will find him . These divine words mainly refer to immortality, for which it is necessary to have that faithful friend who, with admonitions and advice, guides our actions and thus protects us from the snares and traps of the evil one. In troubles, sorrows and failures, he will be a treasury of wisdom for us, a medicine that will brighten and comfort our hearts in spiritual illnesses; he will protect us from evil and make our good better, and when weakness overtakes us, he will not let us die but will heal us. But who will find such a friend? Wisdom answers:  Those who fear God, i.e. the humble who fervently desire to progress spiritually. For it is very important to walk this holy path of piety with a good leader, i.e. a spiritual leader, to pray to God with great fervor to grant us a leader, i.e. a spiritual leader, after His own heart, and let us not doubt: if He needs to send an Angel from heaven, as He did to young Tobias, He will send us a good and faithful one. 
  For us, that should always be an angel. Once we find a spiritual leader, let us not consider him an ordinary man, let us not trust in him and his human knowledge, but in God who will help us and speak through that man because He will put into his heart and mouth what is good for our happiness. Let us listen to him as an angel who came down from heaven to lead us to heaven. Let us speak to him openly, completely sincerely and faithfully, let us clearly show him our good and evil, without dissimulation and without hesitation. In this way, the good in us will be strengthened, and the evil will be corrected and healed. He will strengthen and strengthen us in trouble, and in comfort he will correct and soothe us. Let us have complete trust in him, with holy reverence, so that respect does not diminish trust or trust respect. Let us entrust ourselves to him as a daughter to her father, and let us honor him as a son sincerely and completely honors his mother. In short, this friendship should be firm and tender, completely holy, completely consecrated, completely divine and completely spiritual.
  And therefore: out of ten thousand, let us choose one, because there are fewer capable of this service than we can even imagine. A priest should be full of love, knowledge and prudence, and it is dangerous if even one of the above is missing. Let us ask God for him, and when we receive him, let us bless God, let us be steadfast and not seek other leaders, but let us go with simplicity, humility and trust, and our journey will be completely happy.

  First of all, we must cleanse the soul  . Flowers have covered the earth , said the holy Bridegroom, it is time to cleanse and prune . Are not good desires the flowers of our hearts? Therefore, as soon as it appears, one should take up the sickle and resolutely cleanse the conscience from all dead and unnecessary deeds. If a foreign woman wanted to marry an Israelite, she should take off her slave clothes, trim her nails and shave her hair to the bare skin. And, the soul that longs for the honor of becoming the bride of the Son of God should take off the old man and put on the new, should reject sin, circumcise and shave off all obstacles that distract her from the love of God. Our healing begins when the unhealthy juices are removed from us.

 
  St. Paul experienced perfect purification in an instant, and so did St. Magdalena, St. Pelagia and some others. But such a purification is miraculous and extraordinary in grace, as is the resurrection from the dead in nature, so we should not seek it as such. Of course, purification and healing, whether physical or spiritual, happens little by little, gradually, more and more, painfully and over time. The angels on Jacob's ladder have wings, but they do not fly, but ascend and descend in order, rung by rung. The soul that enters into piety from sin is like the dawn, which dispels the darkness not at once, in an instant, but little by little. There is a wise saying:  The best way to heal is slowly . Illnesses, whether physical or mental, come quickly, on horseback or in a carriage, and leave on foot and slowly. You need to be brave and patient in this undertaking. Oh, what a sad sight are the souls who are disturbed and upset when they see that despite their occasional exercise in piety they still have many imperfections, so that they become discouraged in spirit and are almost overcome by the temptation to leave everything and return. But, on the other hand, is it not in What great danger is there for souls who, by a completely opposite temptation, convince themselves that they have been cleansed of their own imperfections since the first day of purification, and believing that they were perfect even before they were even created, fly away without wings? How great is the danger they are in if they plummeting back to the ground only because they had escaped the doctor's hands too quickly!  Ah, do not rise until the dawn breaks , says the prophet,  rise only when you have rested ; and he himself did so, and although he had already washed and cleansed himself, he prayed that is increasingly washed and purified.
  The purification of the soul cannot and must not be completed until the end of life. Let us not be troubled, therefore, by our imperfections, for our perfection consists in suppressing them, and we could not suppress them if we did not see them, nor overcome them if we did not find them. Our victory is not in not feeling them, but in overcoming them. we do not accept them, and we do not accept them as long as they bother us. In practicing humility, it is sometimes necessary to be wounded in this spiritual battle; but we are not defeated until we lose our life or courage. Imperfections and small sins cannot rob us of spiritual life. It is lost only through mortal sin. Therefore, let us not allow them to rob us of courage.  Save me, Lord , says David,  from timidity and discouragement . In this fight, fortunately, we always win as long as we want to fight.

  First we must cleanse ourselves from mortal sins

  First, we need to cleanse ourselves of sin, and the means for this is the sacrament of confession or penance. We need to find a worthy confessor, and before that, take a booklet for examining our conscience so that we can confess properly. We need to read this booklet carefully and think about point by point what we have sinned since we know ourselves until now, i.e. we need to make a life confession. If we do not trust our memory, we should write down everything that comes to mind. When we have thus gathered all the bad juices of our conscience, we should hate them and reject them with the greatest disgust and aversion of our heart, keeping in mind these four things: that because of our sins we have lost the grace of God, abandoned our part of Paradise, deserved eternal torment in hell, and renounced the eternal love of God.
  As can be seen, here we are talking about the confession of our entire life. It is clear that such a confession is not always absolutely necessary, but it will still be very useful at the beginning of cleansing from sins. It often happens that the regular confessions of those who lead an ordinary worldly life are full of great shortcomings. They are often very poorly prepared or not prepared at all, and they do not even have the necessary contrition. Thus, it can happen more than once that one goes to confession with a secret will to sin again, that one does not avoid sinful occasions or take advantage of what is necessary to improve one's life. In all such cases, general confession is necessary for the salvation of the soul. In addition, general confession encourages us to know ourselves, awakens in us shame for our past life, encourages us to admire the merciful God who has patiently waited for us, makes our hearts humble, cheers the soul, awakens in us good decisions, gives our spiritual father the opportunity to advise us as appropriately as possible, and opens our hearts to confess our sins with confidence in subsequent confessions. Therefore, when it comes to the general renewal of our hearts and the complete conversion of our souls to God through a pious life, a general or life confession is completely justified and we should wholeheartedly recommend it to our neighbors.

  One should cleanse oneself of the inclination to sin 

  . All the Israelites did indeed come out of Egypt, but not all of them did so willingly, which is why many in the desert regretted that they did not have Egyptian onions and meat. Similarly, there are penitents, or penitents, who do indeed get rid of sin, but do not reject their sinful inclinations. They promise not to sin again, but they do so somewhat reluctantly, because they cannot bear to deprive themselves of and guard against sinful pleasures, and they turn to sin like Lot's wife to Sodom. They abstain from sin like sick people who do not eat melons because their doctor threatens them with death if they eat them, and yet it is difficult for them not to taste them, they talk about it and argue whether they should, they would like to at least smell them, and they consider those who are allowed to eat them happy. Thus these weak and sluggish abstain from sin for a while, but they regret it. They would like to sin without being condemned, they speak of sin with delight and pleasure, and they consider those who sin happy.
  A man decided to take revenge, but changed his mind after confessing. Some time later, among his friends, he talks about his quarrel with pleasure and says that he would do anything if he did not fear God. He says that God's law that requires forgiveness is difficult. He says: "Oh, if only God had allowed revenge"! Who still does not see that this poor man got rid of his sins, that he really came out of Egypt, but his heart is pulling him there, to eat the onions and garlic that he used to eat! So does a woman who has gotten rid of sinful love, but she is still glad to be worshiped and courted. Alas, what doom threatens such people!
  When we decide to live devoutly, it is not enough to just abandon sin, but we need to cleanse our heart of every sinful tendency, because on the one hand we are in danger of falling again, and on the other hand, these poor tendencies constantly weaken our soul and make it so empty that it cannot do good deeds quickly, diligently and often, and that is the essence of true piety. Souls who have renounced sin and still have such inclinations resemble pale maidens. They are not sick, but all their actions are sick; they eat without running, sleep without rest, laugh without joy and drag without going. Likewise, the aforementioned souls do good, but so weakly that all their already few and weak good deeds do not bear fruit.

  How to eradicate inclinations

  To do this, the second cleansing, we first need to understand the great evil that sin brings us. Then we will feel deep and contrite remorse. Even if it is small, and especially if it is combined with the sacraments, repentance sufficiently cleanses us from sin. If it is great and contrite, it also cleanses us of the remaining sinful tendencies. Even a little hatred or malice deters us from associating with people we hate. If the hatred is deadly and fierce, not only will we avoid the hateful man, but we will not tolerate his allies, relatives, friends, or even his image or anything of his. Likewise, the penitent, i.e. the penitent, whether he has a weak hatred for sin, whether he repents only weakly, even if it is true, will really decide that he will not sin again. But, when he hates sin with great and contrite repentance, then he renounces not only sin but also all sinful circumstances that spring from sin or lead to sin. That's why we need to repent as much as we can for everything related to sin. That's how Mary Magdalene, having converted, hated sin and sinful pleasures so much that she never even thought about them again, while David asserted that he hated not only sin but also all sinful ways and paths. In this way, the soul is rejuvenated and prepared for the love and grace of God. Amen!

In regards to Satan and how we can beat him

Satan is an active evil creature, completely destructive and mischievous by nature. He is a fallen angel of perverse intelligence that is vastly superior to human. According to the words of the Holy Scriptures, Satan like a roaring lion roams around in search of someone to eat and is like a tied dog that barks and bites only those who approach carelessly. The strong is with the weak, and the coward is with the strong.
   Orthodox Christians should not be afraid of Satan, but  should  only despise him and not pay attention to him, ie they should not fall for his tactics by which he wants to lead them to pronounce a curse on him and to return evil with evil and not with kindness and love.   

 When Satan torments us in various ways, it is a good sign because then he is outside us and  not inside us and he has not yet fully mastered our soul . What should frighten us  is Satan's peace and agreement with the sleeping soul that he then completely seduced, put to sleep and caught in his net. At that time,  we are not even  aware that it is a false peace, that is, that Satan has mastered  the dream and convinced  us  that we are living completely correctly. So deceived and trapped, we have no idea that in our everyday life we ​​are doing our human will and not God's will. 

   We have an example of such persuasion, deception and entrapment in the Gospel with the apostle Peter, who was misled by Satan and convinced of the correctness of his words when, after the Lord's words,  in which  the Lord indicated in his disciples that he would be killed and resurrected on the third day, he confidently said To the Lord:  May God be merciful to you, Lord! God forbid! Such a thing must not happen to you  (Mt 16:22)!
   When speaking these words, the apostle Peter was sure of the correctness of his intention and that he was doing God's will, not his own human will. He was convinced that his intention was good and completely justified. However, the Lord immediately grounds him and lets him know that he is in great error with the words:  Satan, get out of my sight! You are a scandal to me, because your thoughts are not God's, but human  (Mt 16:23)!
   According to the above-mentioned arrogant example of the apostle Peter, many of the Orthodox Christians nowadays  do not see  in their arrogance  and are not  aware that they are doing  their human and not God's will. Seduced by Satan, he lives in  his false peace and in his arrogant belief that  he is completely  correct in his relationship to God and his neighbor. As such, it does not leave  even the slightest possibility that you may not be  justified in your Christian life, that is, in your intentions and actions.

The reason for such behavior is the fact that they completely religiously illiterate and not sufficiently  educated in the Christian doctrine promoted by the Holy Orthodox Church. Since you have not mastered  the necessary saving Christian Orthodox knowledge due to your arrogance, i.e. carelessness and laziness, it is quite clear that you do not know  the way in which you can oppose  Satan, that is, you do not know the  means of salvation that are  at their  disposal and at hand. Only  when  they know the  effective means, that is, if  the Holy Spirit  has given them  the necessary knowledge and other gifts, can they  properly oppose Satan and win the battle with such a superior and cunning enemy,  and  be convinced that in their relationship to God and their neighbor they perform a  salutary duty God's, not your destructive human and pagan will.
   So,  if  we have the necessary Christian Orthodox knowledge and if we are led by the Holy Spirit, we immediately and forcefully reject all the proposals of the great evil magician that are part of his secret philosophy of seduction. The evil sophist knows well the secret of seduction, but if we are well taught, we know better than him, that is, guided by the Holy Spirit, we know how we can resist him and defeat him.  As such  we well know that although Satan can perform tricks and evils of every kind, his power cannot always and everywhere advance as he would like. Satan is not all-powerful and without limits, but he is weakened, limited and bound by a chain that God holds in his hand.
   Among the criteria that  allow us to distinguish the evil actions by which Satan attacks the soul, it is necessary to mention his cunning, which he uses to make the soul that loves God fall into his evil and destructive net, that is, what makes the soul disobey its confessor and his spiritual guidance transforming skillfully into an angel of light. The action of Satan is different from the action of grace, while grace enlightens and comforts,  Satan torments and disturbs the soul.
   If we are  well taught, we know the way in which we can weaken the evil enemy. Therefore, when  we are  attacked by Satan,  we immediately seek refuge in God through prayer , believing in Him and expecting every good and help from Him.  No matter what the cost, let's not willingly think about what Satan insists on.  It should be clear to us that only and only then if we resist the intentions and tactics of Satan with God's help can we win the battle with him.
   Furthermore, if we are well taught  then we know that we are obliged to remove the fears, distorted thoughts and sympathies in ourselves that see in our soul only arrogance, lack of humility, fall, evil passions, because this is a trap and a tactic of Satan, set with the precise aim of making our good and virtuous soul lose courage, causing him to stop on the path of love. The Lord Jesus Christ is then always close to us and will not allow us to be a victim of the enemy, especially if we have devoted ourselves to  Him in a special way, then Satan will never achieve victory.

achieve victory.
   Therefore, Satan cannot harm us more than the Lord Jesus Christ has allowed. The Lord does not allow the sharp north wind to blow over the small and weak spiritual garden  of our  soul, that is, he will not allow that dry north wind that dries the fields, leaving them barren and sad, to act. Satan is helpless against the children of God, and his hellish attacks make the soul dearer and closer to God. He is in the service of God's deliberate and hidden plan, which, unknown to him, has as its goal the sanctification of the soul and  the greater glory of God. Therefore, it is very important that we know all about the temptations of Satan, that is, that we know why God allows temptations and what is God's plan in allowing us to be tempted by Satan, which causes us to sin. This is where the Holy Scriptures help us a lot, which teaches:  My son, if you want to serve the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation. Strengthen your heart and be strong, and do not be rash when temptation comes  (Sir 2:1-2).
   The fact that  we are being attacked by Satan means that  we are  in God's service, and the more we become God's friends and members of  His family, the more   temptations will befall us  . Then we must  be brave and not be afraid. God is faithful and will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, but will join with our soul in the struggle so that we can endure and win the battle.
   Not only are we obliged to be brave and determined, but we should rejoice that in us there is an unmistakable sign that  we are  accepted by God, and because  we are  accepted by God, we need to be tested. Therefore, the multitude and variety of Satan's attacks must not diminish our joy because St. James claims:  Count it as complete joy, my brothers, when you fall into various trials, knowing that the trial of your faith creates steadfastness  (James 1:2-3)!
   The wisdom of God speaks, and we are obliged to know that blessed is the man who is put to the test and who suffers for justice, and not the one who remains calm and undisturbed:  Blessed is the man who resists the temptation, because when he proves himself tried, he will receive a crown - the life that God promised to those who love him  (James 1:12)!
   Unfortunately, these holy Christian Orthodox truths are difficult for the miserable and weak carnal nature of man, which flees from the cross and fears every shadow of evil. And precisely because of this weight, there is a great reward and joy that will be given only to those who persevere in enduring the shadows, worries, difficulties and fears of trials.
   We are also obliged to know that various trials are a fire that purifies our soul. Trials are blows of the hammer and chisel with which the Lord prepares the stones, that is, those chosen souls who will form part of the eternal city. And, this is not only the cleaning of stones, it is at the same time the cleaning of certain small pretensions that do not look like that to the human eye. It seems, at first glance, that these trials defile the soul rather than purify it ,  but it is not so, trials are like soap that when put on clothes seems to have soiled them, but when washed with water it really purifies them.
   Therefore, being tempted is an obvious sign that the soul is well received by the Lord. Trials are not punishments, but proof of love, and we are  obliged  to rejoice because they are a sign of divine favor. They are a sign that  God wants to test us  and strengthen us enough so that we can weave a crown of glory for ourselves.
   Furthermore, we are obliged to know the means by which we can defeat Satan by rendering him powerless. These means are found in traditional Orthodox asceticism, which, as far as this problem is concerned, has its roots in the Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Holy Fathers of the Holy Orthodox Church.
   Thus, that teaching says that in the first place is a humble prayer that should be continuous, i.e. constant, which reads: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" 
   To overcome the attacks of the enemy, we must be constantly armed with that so-called Jesus by prayer. All man's efforts are not enough to successfully oppose the tricks and attacks of Satan without God's help, which is obtained through the humble prayer of Jesus. Without God's help, man cannot uncover numerous lies that are disguised as aspirations for good and evil. Therefore,  we must  know that  we  need God's help in the fight against Satan and that  we  will never lack this help if we pray to God with the humble, fervent and reliable Jesus prayer.
   Therefore, in moments of greatest struggle and depression, we are obliged to take refuge in the Lord with the Jesus prayer so that we are not overcome by temptation. If  we are  tempted and attacked by various kinds of hardships, temptations and attacks by Satan then we should look to Heaven. In these trials, the Lord is so close to us that we have nothing  to fear , and let Satan wage his war, because without God's permission he cannot do anything bad to us. Jesus' prayer is the most powerful weapon that we constantly hold in our hands. With the power of this weapon, we will win all the battles that the evil enemy is waging against us . Therefore, the humble prayer of Jesus should be the first or basic action before all our life activities, it should be the soul of our soul.
   Further, in second place should be our humility!
   Our Jesus  prayer should be united, i.e. intertwined and enlivened by humility. In this way, we are not in danger of drowning in a stormy sea because if God resists the proud, then it is clear that He bestows grace on the humble man.
   When  we are  pressed by trials the way we can get God's help is the humility of our spirit. God's power can do everything, but the humble, suffering prayer of Jesus defeats even God himself. The evil enemy only defeats the conceited, that is, those who believe only in their arrogant strength, by which they fall into the most terrible abyss. Humility is Satan's greatest enemy, and the reason is quite obvious. She is the great opposite, that is, a sharp and silent rebuke to his savage arrogance. Satan fears and trembles before humble souls.
   In the end, or in the third place, there should be faith! It is 
   necessary  to emphasize that these are all listed above virtues must be based on the unshakable holy Christian Orthodox faith, firmly founded on the paternal and merciful goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ, on the certainty of His constant presence within the human heart, not to mention His boundless love that allows these transitory trials only for the good of His creatures.  Therefore , we are obliged to arm ourselves with trust in God, believing only in Him. It is necessary that we open our heart to the Lord with holy and infinite certainty, yielding to Him with filial surrender, surrendering ourselves completely to His divine heart, like a child in the arms of its mother, leaving everything to His care.
   God is faithful to his promises and will never allow a trial beyond our strength, because the apostle Paul says and teaches:  No trial greater than human strength has befallen you. God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength, but will give you a happy outcome together with the temptation, so that you can endure it  (1 Cor 10:13).
   Therefore, we must never for a moment believe that  the Lord will  allow you  a trial beyond our strength on the tiring path that leads to the heavenly Father. We must  blindly believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will  lead us  to victory with the ever-present help of grace. For this reason, we have the assurance that we will overcome the enemy because we are fighting with the help of the Lord and His divine strength. An unwavering faith in this promise is the most valuable help to persevere untiringly during the battle until we achieve the final victory.
   In the life of the covenant with God, we need to see life's reality in its entirety through the eyes of faith. In the light of God,  we are obliged  to know the secret of evil, that is, we are obliged to know everything about Satan and his seduction and the influence of sin in the history of individual nations and humanity.   We must not accept today's distorted theology of Satan, which is doing great harm to many souls today, creating discomfort and confusion in people's consciences.  We must not accept the speeches of those who do not believe in Hell and even less in Satan. It should be absolutely clear to us  that the existence of Hell is one of the truths of the holy Christian Orthodox faith and that Satan exists. A man who believes in the non-existence of Hell and evil spirits who cannot find their place in God's plan of creation has a belief that is contrary to the doctrine of the faith of the Holy Orthodox Church. Such a man stubbornly defends his views for reasons that suit him and is not aware that he is in a great delusion that is leading him to eternal ruin. He does not want to accept the existence of Hell and Satan because such a truth would require him to renounce the sin that overcomes, seduces and subjugates him.
   
   So, the main teaching that we must know about overcoming Satan is: humble and constant prayer of Jesus, spiritual guidance, expression of the virtues of the holy Christian Orthodox faith, possession of humility, trust in the Holy Trinity, devotion to Saint Michael the Archangel, the Guardian Angel and other angels, all To the Saints, a filial and devoted relationship with Mother Virgin Mary, honoring her with daily prayers.
   With all these means, we are obliged to add frequent access to the holy sacraments, especially confession, ie repentance, and above all the Holy Eucharist, which aims to introduce us to the mystery of the Risen Christ. By introducing the victorious Christ into the secret, we weaken Satan and his evil servants by means of the great power of the resurrection. Amen!