My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE
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SPIRITUAL WARFARE AND SUFFERING
By Dr. Harry Bousalis
In the words of Saint Silouan--and this is the first quote on your handouts if you want to follow along-he wrote:
"I began to beseech God for forgiveness and He granted me not only forgiveness but also the Holy Spirit, and in the Holy Spirit, I knew God. The Lord remembered not my sins, and He gave me to love people, and my soul longs for the whole world to be saved and dwell in the Kingdom of Heaven."
This is one reason why so many people are attracted to the Orthodox Christian faith. They're coming to realize that the Saints give guidance on how we're supposed to base our life in Christ, and through the example of their lives and the testimony of their teachings, the Saints embody man's True spiritual potential: what we can become. The importance of appropriate guidance in the spiritual life is immense. In the present day, the need for True Orthodox Christian spiritual teaching is especially crucial in the face of the influx of these numerous pseudo-Christian religious movements that are invading our society. Under the guise of offering a Christian spirituality, there are many deceivers today that are leading even well-intentioned believers astray from the authentic Apostolic message of the Gospel. In this, the teaching of Saint Silouan is especially relevant because it manifests our spiritual tradition to contemporary society...
"...According to Saint Silouan and our entire Orthodox Christian Holy Tradition, spiritual life entails spiritual warfare. This is the primary point that we have to fully acknowledge and accept as we try to live our lives in Christ. For the majority of believers, this spiritual warfare refers primarily to the encounter with evil thoughts. For example, Saint Philotheos of Mt. Sinai teaches:
"It is by means of thoughts that the spirits of evil wage a secret war against the soul, for since the soul is invisible, these malicious powers naturally attack it invisibly."
Saint Silouan states succinctly, he says, "The enemy uses intrusive thoughts to deceive us." Elder (Geronda) Sophrony also refers to this same teaching. He quotes directly from Saint Paul, who writes:
"We wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
And then Elder Sophrony continues, "This spirit of wickedness in high places rushes to attack the contrite heart and mind now stayed on God. Brazenly, it invades us, creating the impression that the thoughts and the feelings brought by the enemy (Satan) are our own. Indeed, after the fall (he says) there is something in us that does not respond to demonic suggestions."
Certainly, in cases of more advanced ascetics, direct encounter with demons may occur, but most of us believers, however, we struggle with the Enemy (Satan) in more of an indirect way, by confronting and combating those intrusive, those annoying, and those sinful thoughts that attack us all. Now, it cannot be said that every sinful thought comes from the enemy. The human mind, itself and on its own, maybe that can be a source as well. Obviously, regardless of where they come from, the enemy (Satan) is going to exploit these thoughts. The enemy (Satan) works against us by assaulting us through the manipulation of our thoughts. To know the enemy is half the battle. Saint Silouan stresses the vital role of the Holy Spirit in recognizing the enemy, recognizing these intrusive thoughts.
So the question arises: just exactly what are these thoughts, and how are they to be defined? In the original Greek, the term is "logismos." Do we have "logismos" in modern Greek? "Logismos": you've ever heard that term? What do you think a logismos is?
Logismos: it's one word. In Greek Patristic literature, the term is usually found in the plural, logismoi, and used with negative connotations in Patristic literature. This is a technical term, not so much in modern Greek; a Patristic (Holy Fathers), theological term. The word is often accompanied by an adjective such as "evil" or "passionate," or "sinful" logismoi. This shows the unfavorable sense with which the Holy Fathers used this term. When translated into English, this Patristic term is often rendered as "evil thoughts," and it's this particular meaning that will be implied whenever I refer to this term "logismoi."
Saint Silouan refers to "logismoi" as "inner voices" or "suggestions" that tempt us and incite us to sin. He also refers to them as "another mind" in conflict with our own. In this way, the strategy and deceptive techniques of the enemy are seen more clearly as he aggressively tries to get inside our minds, inside our heads, inside our hearts.
Logismoi, or these evil thoughts, may be manipulated to stir up anxiety and anger aimed at those people whom we're closest to, and this often includes, relatives, fellow members of a parish community, as well as those whom we are sacramentally linked or have sacramental or spiritual bonds, even our own clergy and others who work for the Church. Yeah. Whether well-founded or not--and usually they are not--these logismoi can end up as passions or extreme anger, or even hatred, directed towards innocent victims of ours. I think every one of us knows the reality of contending against the wide variety of these intruding thoughts.
Question: Don't you think that the devil, when someone commits their life to Christ, goes after that person?
Answer: Yes, when you commit yourself to Christ when you become a monk or study, go to a seminary, become ordained, you are waging war. You have declared war against the Evil One.
You think it's you? Think it over? It's done? It's just beginning.
It's just like Sunday. We all get up to go to work, we all get into the movies on time. We don't go to movies late; we go to the movies on time. If we have a dinner reservation, we're on time, but on Sunday...The devil attacks us because he doesn't want us to go and be in communion and he doesn't want us to go and be close to Christ. So we don't like to say, "Satan" we don't' like to say, "the devil", we don't like to acknowledge him, because we feel icky saying, "Satan, get thee behind me," it's an icky thing.
So rather than a direct confrontation, he'd rather be behind the scenes and plant these thoughts and seeds in our heart, these logismoi that continually bombard us throughout the day. This warfare wages throughout our entire lifetime; it's a life-long struggle. Saint Silouan emphasizes this point quite often. He writes, for example, "The soul's war with the enemy (Satan) continues until death." Elsewhere he stresses how "our battle rages every day, every hour." He also highlights the severity of the matter. In common military warfare, there is a possibility that the human body can be wounded or may die, but in spiritual warfare, there's even more danger, because the human soul may perish.
For those of us committed to Christ, the spiritual struggle cannot be avoided, and this holds true regardless of our level of spiritual progress. In fact, the battle against evil thoughts intensifies the further we advance spiritually. In this way, we mature, and this is how we participate more fully in the life in Christ.
These thoughts or these logimsmoi, they'll come and go. This is unavoidable. We cannot control their coming, but we can control their expulsion. It's up to us whether or not we allow them to stay. Saint John Cassian draws attention to this particular point. He writes:
"It is impossible for the mind not to be troubled by these thoughts, but if we exert ourselves, it is within our power either to accept them and give them our attention, or to expel them. Their coming is not within our power to control, but their expulsion is."
(To be continued)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George