—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]

Through asceticism man becomes immaterial. Obviously, one aspiring to a higher, spiritual goal must abstain. If someone practices abstinence in order to lose weight, he is only caring for the well-being of his body. Then his asceticism resembles yoga. Unfortunately, the issue of asceticism has been cast aside even by people of the Church. They say, “I need to eat my food, to enjoy this and that, for God created everything for us.” Do you know what an archimandrite told me once at a dinner he prepared for us? I couldn’t force myself to eat any more because of how much I’d already eaten. He noticed and said, “Whoever destroys the temple of God, ‘him shall God destroy’”! [2] “Perhaps you have it backwards?” I told him. “Is this referring to asceticism or debauchery? The passage refers to those who destroy, who obliterate the temple of God with debauchery or with intemperance; it doesn’t refer to those who practice asceticism out of love for God.” And look: he then proceeded to comfort his own thoughts by saying, “We need to eat, so as not to destroy the temple of God”!

Someone else, after a visit to a certain monastery, told me, “I went to a monastery and the monks were sick from all their fasting. Their vats of oil were untouched. Father, they practice fasting and vigil!” What can you say? Such people don’t want to suffer at all. They eat their food, their fruit, their sweets, and afterwards, so as to justify themselves, they reproach those who practice asceticism. They haven’t experienced the spiritual joy of asceticism. Someone else will tell you, “I need to drink this much milk. I’ll fast during Great Lent, but afterwards I’ll make up for it, because I need a lot of calcium.” It’s not that his body needs it, but that he feels entitled to it; his thoughts are thus put at ease that it’s OK, that it’s not a sin. [3] Goodness, even thinking in this way is a sin. How far will a man’s logic go? He does fine during the fasting periods prescribed by the Church, but don’t lament what you are deprived of during the fast. Tell me, how can the Holy Spirit remain after such things?

See what philotimo some family men have! Once, a very simple man with nine children went to confess. His spiritual father then told him to commune. “Me? How can I commune?” he said. “We put a little oil on our food on strict fast days because my children and I work.” “How many children do you have?” his spiritual father asked him. “Nine.” “How much oil do you put on the food?” “Two spoonfuls.” “And how much of these two spoonfuls is your portion my poor child?” his spiritual father replied. “Now go and commune!” Between the eleven of them they ate only two spoonfuls of oil, and his thoughts troubled him!

Translation by Fr. Luke Hartung from the book Family Life [in Greek], by Elder Paisios the Athonite, published by the Sacred Hesychastirion of St. John the Evangelist, Souroti, Greece (2002).