On Spiritual loveliness

By St. Gregory of Sinai

A great adversary of truth, dragging many today to destruction, is delight. Through it, a dark ignorance has reigned in the souls of the spiritually lazy, separating them from God, so that they do not know whether there is a God who enlightens us and incites us to activity, or they believe in Him only (theoretically) through a word not confirmed in practice, not in deed. Such people attribute the testimonies of God only to the ancients, excluding His presence and manifestation in their time. They attribute the testimonies of God from the Holy Scripture to other authors who are not the true ones (they dispute their authenticity – editor’s note), thus blaspheming His Name. They explain the Scriptures only sensually, not to say in a Jewish way, completely denying the active knowledge of piety. They reject the awakening and transformation of the soul here through the power of the resurrection, and they themselves foolishly strive to “rest” in the graves. Three passions are associated with this kind of spiritual charm: unbelief, treachery, and negligence. They give rise to one another and mutually support each other. Unbelief is the teacher of treachery, and treachery is a companion of negligence, which leads to complete laziness. Or vice versa – negligence gives rise to treachery, treachery is the mother of unbelief, since everyone is treacherous and unfaithful, and the unfaithful has no fear of God. From the lack of fear of God arises negligence – the mother of spiritual negligence, because of which we do not strive to achieve good, but commit all kinds of evils.

True knowledge of God and true knowledge of the truth is concluded in the perfect orthodoxy of dogmas.

I would like you to know exactly about the charm, to protect yourself from it, so that, being misled by ignorance, you do not harm and destroy your soul.

The freedom of choice in man very easily inclines him to communicate with enemies (demons – b. ed.), especially with the inexperienced as they are most persecuted by them. In the vicinity of the novices or the presumptuous, demons usually spread the nets of destructive thoughts and dreams and prepare the ditches of their downfall, since their (soul) city is also under the power of foreigners (unclean spirits – b. ed.). And we should not be surprised if we see one of the inexperienced fallen into temptation or into a delirium of the mind, or deceived, or accepting something foreign to the truth, or speaking inappropriate things due to inexperience and ignorance. Or how another, expanding in his reasoning about the truth, speaking ignorantly and without realizing it, one thing for another, is not able to correctly say how things really are. Such a person can frighten many with his severity, and on true ascetics he can cause ridicule and reproaches by his madness.

And there is nothing surprising in the fact that some beginner, after much labor and diligence, falls into delusion.

The remembrance of God, or intelligent prayer, is an activity higher than all others. Together with the love of God, it appears as one of the main virtues. But he who wants to approach God with shamelessness and impudence and who strives to acquire Him within himself, such a one is easily defeated by demons because he seeks to reach his goal prematurely, presumptuously and boldly, not in accordance with his personal spiritual state, dragged by vanity.

It is the nature of the strong and the perfect to always fight against demons themselves and to constantly extend against them the spiritual sword – the word of God (see Eph. 6:17). And you, if you remain in silence and expect to be with God, never accept anything sensual or spiritual that presents itself to you outside or inside, even if it is the image of Christ or an angel-like, or the appearance of a saint, or if some light shines and is imprinted in your mind. The mind itself has the ability to dream. It can easily build the images of the things it strives for and cause harm to the unwary within. Thus the memory of good and evil usually suddenly forms mental images and leads to daydreaming. Hence a person becomes a dreamer, not a prayerful person. Therefore, be careful not to harm yourself by hastily believing something on the strength of your passion, even if it seems good to you, without first asking and carefully examining it.

God is not angry with the one who, being careful in himself to avoid spiritual deception, does not accept any signs, even if they may be from God, if he has not first asked the experienced. Such a one rather receives God’s praise as prudent and wise.

Moreover, not everyone should be asked, but only the one to whom the spiritual instruction of others is entrusted, who is distinguished by his virtuous life and, according to the Scripture, being poor, enriches others (see 2 Cor. 6:10). It has happened that not a few inexperienced leaders have harmed many foolish people, for which they will be judged after death.

The right to spiritual guidance does not belong to everyone, but only to those to whom the gift of divine discernment has been given, or, as the Apostle says, the discerning of spirits (see 1 Cor. 12:10), and who separate with the sword of the word what is bad from what is good.

To attain the truth and to be pure from the filth that is incompatible with grace is a labor of no small importance, because the devil usually presents his charms in the form of truth, especially to the novices, and transforms his cunning into a spiritual form. Therefore, the one who strives for pure prayer approaches the questioning and advice of the experienced with great trembling and deep sorrow for his own sinfulness, constantly lamenting his sins, with sorrow and fear of the torments of hell, falling away from God and eternal separation from Him. When the devil sees someone who lives with this weeping, he does not stay with him long, because he is afraid of the humility produced by weeping.