—Geronta, you once had told us: “A blockade is needed in spiritual warfare.” What did you mean?
—In a war they try to blockade the enemy. They surround him, confine him within the city walls, and deprive him of food. Then they cut off his water: for if the enemy is left without basic supplies and ammunition, he will be forced to surrender. Therefore, I mean to say that in the same way, with fasting and vigil, the devil is disarmed and retreats. “Through fasting, vigil, and prayer, thou didst receive heavenly gifts…”, as the hymn says. [1] Read more →
Through Asceticism, Man Becomes Immaterial (Part II)
I know a layman who became holy with the asceticism he practiced. Yes, not many years ago there was a man and his son who worked for years on the Holy Mountain. Later, a good job opportunity presented itself back in his homeland, and the man decided to leave and take his son with him so that the entire family could be together again. His son, however, had been greatly affected by the ascetic life of the monks; and remembering the worldly life with its many pressures, he didn’t want to follow his father and return to the world. “Father, since you have other children,” he told him, “leave just one of them in the Garden of the Panagia.” Because he insisted, his father was forced to leave him. That little warrior was illiterate, but he was very softhearted and had much philotimo and simplicity. He considered himself totally unworthy to become a monk because he thought that he wouldn’t be able to fulfill his monastic duties. Read more →