Are There Any Sins That Cannot be Forgiven?

 

Orthodox Christians believe the only unforgivable sin is the rejection of God's mercy and forgiveness. This is often referred to as "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit." This rejection signifies a deliberate and persistent refusal to accept God's love and forgiveness. The Church teaches that as long as a person remains unrepentant and unwilling to seek forgiveness, their sins cannot be absolved.

Through the sacrament of Holy Confession, it is believed that all sins, no matter how grave, can be forgiven. This sacrament is where believers confess their sins before a priest and receive absolution. When a person confesses their sins to a priest, they are opening up to God's presence and seeking reconciliation. The priest, as a representative of the Church and in the person of Christ, listens attentively and provides guidance and counsel, helping the penitent understand the nature of their sins and offering advice on how to grow in their spiritual life.

After the confession, the priest, by the authority given to him by the Church, offers the prayer of absolution. The absolution is the work of the Holy Spirit (grace), a formal act of God's forgiveness, acknowledging the penitent's repentance and expressing God's mercy and forgiveness. 

The priest does not himself have the power to forgive sins, but acts as an instrument through which God's grace and forgiveness are imparted.

Jesus granted authority to the apostles to forgive sins (John 20:22-23) which has been passed down to the bishops and priests through the laying on of hands in the sacrament of Holy Orders. This unbroken chain of succession is seen as preserving the apostolic authority and ensures the continuity of the Church's teachings and sacraments. This is know as Apostolic succession.

Forgiveness does not negate the consequences of our actions in this earthly life. There may still be temporal consequences or effects of our sins that we have to face. However, in terms of our relationship with God, Orthodox Christians believe that sincere repentance and acceptance of God's forgiveness restore our communion with Him.

The Orthodox Church encourages believers to continually seek forgiveness and repentance throughout their lives. 

In summary, while the Orthodox Church believes that all sins can be forgiven through repentance and God's grace, the rejection of God's mercy and refusal to seek forgiveness are seen as the primary obstacles to forgiveness. The emphasis is on the importance of genuine repentance through the sacrament of Holy Confession based on a sincere desire to reconcile with God. In this way all sins are forgiven.

Christ said, “every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven” (Matthew 12:31)

Resisting Evil

Jesus seems to present us with conflicting views on how to resist evil. The first view is found in His Sermon on the mount. He says,

You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I tell you not to resist an evil person. 

But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 

If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.

And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 

Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. (Matt 5:38–42)

He is telling us not to harbor any vindictiveness or engage in any form of revenge for evil done against us. This was a significant change from the teaching of the Old Testament when the advice was, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” He wants us to eliminate the evil in our hearts and to respond with love not causing any further spread of evil.

A Christian must practice forgiveness. We must rid ourselves of all negative thoughts harbored against our neighbor. We are to seek an inner peace, one free of any evil thoughts, a peace that leads us to a unity with Christ. To be united with God we cannot harbor any vindictiveness or hatred of any form.

Jesus desires a peace free of evil that is different than what we normally think of as elimination of any conflict. The peace He desires is one that brings us closer to Him. One free of evil. We are to reject any peace that does not do this. Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matt 10:34). This kind of peace is not one that compromises any of His teachings. We cannot accept peace with Satan, atheists, apostates or malicious heretics. We can’t have friendships with thieves, murderers, rapists nor perverts, or anyone who consciously breaks the law of God. We need to understand the difference between the need for forgiveness of sins committed against us and the need to correct evil we see external to us,

From His statements many erroneously conclude that Jesus was telling us to avoid resisting any evil. Today there is a common misunderstanding that a Christian should forgive everything to avoid conflict, but ignore forgiveness of offensive he incurs personally. We tend to passively accept behaviors in society that are clearly sinful in terms of the Gospels. This includes widespread use of hate speech and foul language, violence, tolerance of liberal sexual norms, and discrimination. There is even a tendency to ignore governmental actions and regulations that are intended to suppress evil on our society. Laws are even being proposed to legitimize evil acts under idea of personal freedom. Archbishop Averky says, “such people completely ignore the whole series of places in Scripture where it clearly speaks of the necessity to take decisive measures for suppression of evil.”

Are we to act to stop evil we see in others? Think about the action Jesus took when he found the commercial activity and the moneychangers operating in the sacred Temple grounds. He used a whip to chase them out and overturned their tables. This was pretty violent. This raises the question about how we are supposed to act when we see evil in our world. Archbishop Averky says, “Every type of such evil should be immediately thwarted with the most decisive measures, even including the sacrifice of oneself in an unequal struggle.” But when and how?

If gentle admonitions fail to correct the bad situation what do we do? This is where the role of legitimate authorities comes in. We must be careful in intervening ourselves because we may not have the needed skills and powers of Spirit that Christ has. Scripture also tells us to respect authority. In such cases we need to honor and call on those assigned to keep civil order, our policemen and women, our armed forces and other authorities involved in our system of justice. Paul tells us, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.(Rom 13:1) Today the authority of those charged with keeping civil order is widely challenged. We shouldn’t be overly influenced by the few bad actors we see in the media. View then as part of God’s plan.

Further, we should not harbor a criminal. It is a matter of loving our neighbor. To protect one who does evil only allows evil to be perpetuated in the future. There must be consequences for actions against God and civil order. We must turn those who commit crime over to the authorities. This protects others. It’s a matter of love.

When we see a person in despair, however, we must take a modified view. If there is a person starving who steals some bread it is time for compassion and help. Remember how David stole the sacred bread from the temple due to hunger (1 Samuel 21)? In this case we do as the Lord says, and give him more than he asks, if he demands your outer garment give him your shirt also.

When our Lord tells us to resist evil think first that His words are being directed toward our personal feelings of vindictiveness and any desire for revenge. He does not forbid the struggle against evil in general. But the best way to eliminate evil is to,eliminate it in ourselves. If everyone were to do this we would have a peaceful loving world.  To engage in a broader exterior struggle requires that we have a pure heart, one free from personal bias or any hostile feeling toward the person. That we are united with Him and able to do His will as directed by the Holy Spirit. We cannot risk acting out of a need for revenge or any kind of personal gain. St John of Kronstadt: Do not confuse man, the image of God with the evil that is in him, but love the man and pity him. Our battle against evil cannot in any way be vindictive. The right to vengeance belongs only to God.  Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath: for it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay,” says the Lord (Rom 12:19). Remember that God is the Master and when we are properly prepared He may call on one of us to act. 

Our primary focus must be on our personal efforts to uproot the evil in ourselves. To be capable of participating in this larger general battle against evil we need to have God’s grace working in us. All action must be undertaken only to bring others closer to a union with God. It must be His will to act. Our main effort should be to purify our own soul so we can become like Christ. We must expose the self-asserting pride in us, embrace and Gospel love, guard our heart from all evil thoughts, forgive others for any offenses against us, repent. All this is nurtured by our Orthodox way of life: Daily prayer, fasting, worship, participation in the sacraments, reading Scripture daily, helping others, and spiritual fellowship. 

Reference: The Struggle for Virtue, chapter 8, Archbishop Averky

Ten Points for living an Orthodox Life

  

“Consciousness of sin is your point of contact with God”

In Psalm 37 (38) we experience the nature of the true repentance King David offers to God. He is able to see the depths of His sinfulness and how awful it must look in the eyes of God. He even compares it to a pus filled festering wound. He is not referring to a physical wound but the wound in his soul. Seeing the loving nature of God David holds nothing back in his examination of his fallen condition. He pleads with humility for God’s help.

Archimandrite Amilianos of Simonopetra on Mt. Athos offers us an outstanding commentary this Psalm (Psalms and the Life of Faith, p 223). Here are a couple of quotes from His commentary:

“Consciousness of sin is your point of contact with God”

"No one can comprehend his sinfulness, no matter how great it might be, unless he has glimpsed the holiness of God.”

As you think about these two comments you can see how sin, in his eyes and those of the great king David, are quite different from our normal view of sin. Mostly we think of sin as breaking a commandment of God, like breaking a law. But David is giving us an example, along with the the commentary of Aimianos, that there is much more to understanding sin.

What does it mean when we say, "sin is the point of contact with God?” Doesn’t this imply a personal relationship with Him? Our true sinfulness is normally suppressed deep in our subconsciousness because most of us think of ourselves as “good” people. But, no! Deep down inside there is a festering sore in our soul. When we uncover this we do so in relationship with our God. Bringing us into contact with Him, we see Him as a loving God who will forgive and heal. Because of His love, we can see the level of perfection that is in God Himself. We realize that we are far from our potential. We are humbled in front of God. We eagerly seek mercy and healing.

The second quote says that no one can comprehend their sinfulness unless they have "glimpsed the holiness of God." What does this imply? To know our sinfulness we cannot simply go down a check list of sins and identify our sins and expect God to heal us. We need to have our inner heart enlightened by God. Only when we have known the nature of His holiness can we truly see how sinful we are. This is not a negative thing that will throw us into despair, because, as we see His holiness, we will also see His infinite mercy, His unconditional love that never wavers. It is this love that enables us to see what we have hidden deep in our subconscious mind.

So what are we to do to come closer to God? We must seek to know His holiness so our true sinfulness can be revealed to us. It takes more than a surface self-reflection to get to the root of our fallen nature. This is why the saints are always talking about how sinful they are. As we come closer to God, we come to  know our potential and what is necessary to be united with Him in eternal life. The Orthodox Way of life will lead us to this deeper understanding if we follow it out of obedience at first and then out of our love for God.

Saint Theophan says, ”The awakening of the sinner is that act of divine grace in his heart, the consequence of which he, as one awakened from sleep, sees his sinfulness, senses the danger of the situation, begins to fear for Himself and to care about deliverance from his misfortune and salvation….

The door to conversion may be opened only under the condition that the spiritual way of life be revealed to the sinner’s consciousness in its full light, and not merely revealed, but that it touch the heart. (Path to Salvation, pp 102 & 103 )

Saint Poprhyrios says, “The love of God transforms everything; it sanctifies, amends and changes that nature of everything.” (Wounded by Love, p100)

Do we know our sinfulness?

King David committed horrible sins, adultery and murder (2Sam 11:2-27), but was not aware of how sinful he was until the profit Nathan came to him and told him a story that paralleled David’s life.  When Nathan told David a story of a supposed subject in his kingdom, that was actually a disguised story of David’s life, David severely condemned this person seeking to punish him. He asked Nathan for his name. Then when Nathan told him that he, David, was this person, he was awakened, he then condemned himself and sought God to help him repent (2Sam 15). This why the theme of many of his psalms are about repentance.

Are we like David, blind to our sinfulness? Who’s is your Nathan? How well do you know your sinfulness? Are you denying that you too are a sinner? 

Knowing our sinfulness is knowing ourselves. Not knowing our sinfulness is a common spiritual ailment. I have experienced this many times. Before I was a practicing Orthodox I was into various contemplative practices  I was also busy with my career and family, thinking every success was the result of my own efforts. There was no room for God. My contemplative efforts were simply to relieve stress.  At some point I discovered the Jesus prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ son of God have mercy on me a sinner.” It fit the passage meditation practice I had learned from an Indian teacher. But I made one change, I dropped the phrase, “I am a sinner.” Why? Because I did not know myself. I was like David, asleep, unaware about the nature of my separation from God even though I would attend Church regularly. I saw myself as a good person.

It took a number of years to break this shield and to see the depth of my sinful nature. It was after I began to learn about the Orthodox way of life. At first Confession was like going to the judge and pleading to have my case dismissed. But eventually, after experiencing the receptiveness of my confessions, I began to see the patterns controlling my inner being. To break this control I first had to learn more about the nature of God. I had to learn that God was love and he was merciful to those who recognized the nature of their condition and desired to change basic patterns of behavior in their life. I needed to learn that He was not a God seeking to punish me, but a God who had open arms to embrace me and to help me become more like Him. That He was all powerful and someone who could help me, like a loving father with his child.

At first I dealt with specific issues like judging others and anger. There would be cycles in this uncovering of sin. Recognition of one sin and it’s recurring pattern would lead to efforts to make changes in my life. Then there would follow periods where I was again blind to my sinfulness. Then I would beg God to help me see myself again as a sinner and eventually a new pattern would emerge. As this continued I came closer and closer to my basic issue, self-centeredness, my pride. When this became clear I was devastated because I was able to see the way I had lived my whole life in sin. Confession became more and more powerful.  The more I understood myself, the more God helped me.

We know that Christ came to save not the righteous but sinners (1Tim 1:15). He shows us that when we repent, sinners, publicans, and harlots easily enter into paradise (Mt 21:31), like David the adulterer and murderer. The main issue we face is pride. It underlies all sin. It, along with superficial piety, blocks us from seeing our sinfulness.

Seeing our sinfulness is more than acknowledging a particular sin, but is seeing that every aspect of our life is entangled with sin.

Archimandrite Aimilianos says: What does it mean to be a sinner? It doesn’t mean simply that I’ve committed a particular sin, but that my entire being, every aspect of my self, is entangled in sin, for in sins did my mother conceive me (Ps 51:7). From the very moment of my conception, long before I was born, before I ever had an opportunity to commit any kind of particular sin, I existed in a mode of fallen nature, in the fallen Adam, and as such I opened my eyes on a world adrift in evil and wickedness (1 Jn 5:19).

To become united with God, to become a true son of His, we need to know ourselves and know the loving nature of God. Then we will want to run to Confession, to follow the ascetic disciplines of the church, daily prayer and fasting, and go to Liturgy early to hear the prayers at Orthros and to receive Him in Communion by partaking His Body and Blood offered in the Divine Liturgy. 

When awake to our sinful nature we will no longer go to confession for relief, but to be rescued from this sinful condition, to be liberated, so God can lead us to paradise.

References: Psalm 37 (38), Psalms and the Life of Faith, by Elder Archimandrite Aimilianos, p 191-260

On Pride

Pride is a sin I wrestle with. It’s a serious sin because it is known to be the root cause of other sins and separates us from God. Below are some thoughts on pride by Church fathers and others to help us understand this common sinful tendency.

Saint John Climacus says pride is:

“the source of anger, the gateway of hypocrisy.”... It involves “the shameless parading of our achievements, complacency, and unwillingness to be found out.” “The proud man wants to be in charge of things.” “A proud man despises the meek.” “Pride makes us forget our sins...” “Pride leads to unholy thoughts.” “It ends with the spurning of God's help, the exalting of one's own efforts and a devilish disposition.” “I have seen people who speak aloud their thanks to God but who in their hearts are glоrifying themselves.” “Blasphemy is the child of dreadful pride.”

Saint John of Kronstadt says,

When we hear anything bad said of anyone, then, inwardly comparing him with ourselves, we say in our heart: "I am not such; I am perfection in comparison to him," and thinking thus of ourselves and inwardly judging others, we are delighted at our superiority over others. This is the pride of Satan; this is the stench of the carnal, sinful man. May such thoughts flee from the soul! Our self-love and pride would like everything to be as we wish, that we should be surrounded by every honor and comfort of this temporal life; would like all men, and even — how far is pride carried! — all nature itself, to speedily and silently obey a sign from us...Spiritual pride also manifests itself by insensibility to our sins, by the Pharisee's self-justification and self-praise, by insensibility to God's mercies, by ingratitude to God for all that is good, by not feeling the need of praising God's greatness. Spiritual pride also manifests itself in boastfulness, in the proud man's pretended knowledge of everything, whilst in reality he knows very little or his spiritual eyes are entirely blind. "That is not worth reading," he says; " it is all well known; these sermons are not worth reading; they contain the one same thing which I already know.'' 

Saint Tikhon writes:

A proud man seeks honor, glory and praise by every means. He complains, he is displeased, he curses when deprived of honor and leadership. He begins labors that are beyond his strength which he is not able to manage. Out of self-will he interferes in the affairs of others. He desires to direct everyone...He boasts of himself shamelessly and exalts himself. He looks down on and humiliates other people. He does not submit, he does not obey his authorities and his parents. The goods they have they ascribe to themselves, to their own efforts and labors, and not to God. He greatly dislikes reproach and admonition. He is impatient, is displeased, complains and even curses when in destruction, in contempt, in misfortunes and calamities. He displays haughtiness and is somewhat pompous, etc. in word and deed.

So what is pride? Jesus told us to love others as we love ourselves. Is this love of ourselves pride? Prof. Paul Sands wrote an excellent article on this topic. He points out that the word “pride” has many different meanings. We often confuse it with “self-respect.” While pride that is to be avoided includes a feeling of superiority, self-respect does not. This is what Jesus meant when he says “as we love ourselves.” He means the proper regard for oneself as a human being. Self-esteem is another good concept that differs from the kind of pride we are to avoid. Self-esteem involves the proper judgement of our capabilities that Paul labels “sober judgement” (Rom 12:3). Neither should pride be confused with “feeling proud” of others when they do good. When we feel  proud of our children’s accomplishments this is an expression of our love. But in feeling proud of our own accomplishment can involve the dangerous notion of superiority. To avoid the sin of pride we must alway recognize God’s action in our lives. Remembering that we are His creation, made from the earth. In His eyes we are all equal, but He gives us differing gifts. We are expected to use them for the benefit of all, to do His will. When we lose this connection for our accomplishments and think everything is achieved only by our own will we are guilty of pride. If we attribute our achievements to the work of the Holy Spirit then we avoid the sin of pride. Paul’s says, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Gal 6:14) In Philippians 2:16 he says, “as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.” Legitimate, godly pride has nothing to do with ourselves. (Romans 15:17)

Sinful pride blocks us from loving our neighbor by comparing ourselves to them, criticizing them, and feeling better than them even in little ways. We criticize others often because it makes us feel better than the other. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector provides an example, showing how destructive it can be to relationships: 

"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess'" (Luke 18:11-12). 

When we are prideful in a sinful way we forget that God created us equal, in His image and likeness, and we begin to credit ourselves for our accomplishments and develop a feeing of superiority over others. 1 Corinthians 4:7 states, “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” Our sinful pride tempts us to be self-sufficient rather than God reliant.

Prideful people who see themselves as superior to others are described in the following ways: “stuck up”, they “look down their noses,” we say they live in “an ivory tower,”  as acting “high and mighty,” or puffed up”, “inflated” with self-importance. The proud assert their opinions while discounting and ignoring those of others. They seek to glorify themselves, and fantasize their own greatness.

Shyness is another kind of pride. A person who seems reserved and does not speak out much may also suffer from pride. We tend to be shy because we fear that others will find out how imperfect we are. When shy we link our self-esteem with an idealized view of ourselves. We fail to see that being God’s children we are equal in His eyes, but, because we have differing gifts, we have also weaknesses, that this is normal. We shouldn’t fear having weaknesses or compare ourselves with others. When you can see you own weakness and not fear exposing them you will also praise the gifts that others have. The proud person will see their shyness as a virtue rather than a form of sinful pride that we must overcome.

Prof Paul says there are three kinds of pride. Vanity, conceit and arrogance. Vanity is a preoccupation with appearances. Conceit is having an exaggerated opinion of your good qualities and achievements. It presupposes a superiority over others so everything about one’s self tends to be exaggerated and one criticizes the abilities of others to inflate their own superiority. Arrogance is the feeling of superiority. Arrogance needs no comparison to others. It’s beyond conceit. Those who suffer from this madly of pride cause all kinds of trouble by overestimating their own abilities and knowledge. They tend to set unreasonable goals and disregard normal limits. They will make poor judgements as they pursue goals to glorify themselves without having adequate knowledge, resources or planning.

Pride is a way people compensate for low self-esteem. In such cases people will develop an imaginary, idealized and unrealistic view of themselves. They suppress weaknesses and exaggerate their skills. This can cause psychological problems like depression when they cannot live up to this ideal image. They tend to minimize their failures or blame someone else or the circumstances. It’s too painful for them to admit mistakes or failures. Any form of criticism is defended against. 

Those with pride often find themselves in the midst of self-made controversies. Wanting to be first or recognized above others can lead to quarrels, envy, and even resentment. Remember when the disciple of Jesus were quarreling? 

At that time, Jesus and his disciples came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me." (Mark 9:33-41)

Having wealth can also exaggerate the notion of superiority, leading to expectations of special privileges, or not having concerns about needs of others with less resources or poor. They may even blame them of being lazy. In the Parable of the Sower, it is said: "And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in; it chokes the Word, which becomes unfruitful" – Mark 4:19.

The most dangerous aspect of pride is that it separates us from God. A proud person sees himself as being self-sufficient, knowing even more than God. It is only their own mind that has truth. He believes only in his own skills and way of life. Everything he has or achieved is seen through his self-will. God is distant and unnecessary. The problem of God for one with pride is that God is someone who is superior. It destroys the self image of self-sufficiency. They become their own God.

Think about what Jesus has taught and how difficult His teaching is to accept for one suffering from pride. He said that we can only save our lives by losing them (Mat 10:39; 16:25; Mk 8:35; Luke 9:24), he also told his followers to “take up their cross” and “deny themselves” (Mk 8:34; cf. Mt 16:24; Lk 9:23). Jesus calls His followers to follow Him alone and to put their trust in Him and have faith in the Kingdom to come. His way of life always exemplified humility and obedience to the Father.

St. Macarius wrote about the main signs that humility or pride is present in a person: 

“Let the following be for you a sign of humility or pride: the latter blames, reproaches, and sees blackness in others, while the former sees only his own bad state and doesn’t dare to judge anyone.”

Elder Ephriam on  answering the question, “When can we realize that we have egotism?

When one of our brothers makes a comment to us or when the elder reproaches us or points out one of our faults. If you feel bothered, upset, full of turmoil, dismay, distress, and anger internally, you can gage the corresponding size, depth, and length of egoism that exists within you. When someone is humble he accepts advice, criticism, and insults....At last, we must recognize our problem, we must acknowledge that egoism exists within us, and we must take a stance and put up a fight against it. When others point out mistakes and try to correct us, we should blame ourselves, accuse ourselves, scourge ourselves internally, strike our ego, take full responsibility, justify the person who corrected us and give thanks to God for attempting to cleanse us....We must fight against egoism, this evil wickedness, armed with the Jesus Prayer. The words “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me,” should not stop day and night, if possible,

Here is a list of questions to evaluate the condition of pride created by Fr. William Casey. 

• In your heart of hearts, do you see yourself as being better than others because of who you are, what you have, or what you know?
• In conversation with others, do you always seem to bring the subject back to yourself?
• Do you always seem to talk about yourself, your interests, and your affairs?
• Are you overly concerned about what people think of you?
• Are you always trying to make yourself look good in the sight of others?
• Are you always ready to stretch the truth — lie, that is — if that’s what it takes to build yourself up?
• Do you always have to be right and hate to be contradicted?
• Do you hold on to your own opinions even when they are proven to be wrong?
• Do you find it easy to dissent from the teaching of the Church on faith and morals?
• Do you think that you know better than the Holy Spirit, the Holy Scriptures, the whole Church, and the whole company of the saints? (Bonus question: Are you ready to bet your immortal soul on that?)
• Are you ultra-sensitive to criticism, and do you struggle to accept even mild fraternal correction?
• Do you find it easy to gossip?
• Do you take satisfaction in hearing somebody else being torn down?
• Do you jump on every chance to point out the faults and the mistakes of others?
• Do you find it hard to forgive even the slightest offense?
• Do you always feel a need to get even, and are always ready to hold a grudge?
• Do you organize your life for the sake of appearances, and do you always feel the need to be noticed?
• Do you perform your good works in order to win the praise of others, like the Pharisees who preferred the praise of men to the glory of God?

The opposite of pride is humility. To overcome pride we need to develop this virtue. This will be our next topic.

References:

The Deadly Sin of Pride, Family and Community ministries, by Prof. Paul Sands of Baylor University, George Truett Theological School.

The Danger of Pride and the Power of Humility, by Fr. Willian Casey, https://catholicexchange.com/the-danger-of-pride-and-the-power-of-humility

Journey to Heaven by Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk

My Life in Christ, by Saint John of Kronstadt

If Life is Good - Why Repent?

The reality is that most people are indifferent about their salvation. They are satisfied with life and see their situation as good even though they may face some difficulties. Those they attribute to lack of their own efforts or blame someone else. Their focus is on external things: their occupation, their pleasures, good sex, good food, luxuries of home goods, a bigger home, a fancy car and so forth. All these they feel they are able to get through their own efforts. In their view, what is the need for God? The challenges of this life consume their energy and attention. There is no time or reason to worry about salvation. Some dutifully profess they believe in God, attend Church occasionally, but they do not pray, fast or read scripture daily. They enjoy novels instead or the latest TV series that are streamed by various internet services. They are satisfied surfing social media and getting and giving likes on Facebook or Instagram. Since these are easy to get and give, why bother to develop deep friendships that take up their time? Their life is characterized by Martha whom the Lord told, “you are worried and troubled about many things” (Lk 10:41).

All this activity of life is driven by an unknown but constant unquenchable thirst. The desire to achieve, to be liked, to posses more material things, etc.  Because of this underlying force one can spend their entire life “in sweat, toil and great labors: busing themselves with various occupations in which they hope to find a way to quench this unquenchable thirst” (St Theophan the Recluse p 95-6). Such a person lacks God’s grace and is not really connected with God. Instead they only “dwell on themselves, and make self the main goal of their life and activity” (St Theophan the Recluse p 95).

Saint Theophan puts it this way:

The emptiness that has formed inside them because of their falling away from God causes and unquenchable thirst inside them that is vague but constant. The person has become a bottomless abyss. They make every effort to fill this abyss, but cannot see or feel it getting full. Thus, they spend their entire life in sweat, toil and great labor; they busy themselves with various occupations in which they hope to find a way to quench their unquenchable thirst. These occupations take up all their attention, all their time and all their activity. They are the highest good, in which they live with their whole heart. Thus, it is clear why a person who makes self their exclusive goal is never themselves; instead, everything is outside them, in things wether created or acquired by vanity. They have fallen away from God, who is the fullness of everything. (St. Theophan the Recluse p 95-6)

Saint Theophan give us three “fiends of many cares”:

1. Emptiness of the mind: This is a mind that has forgotten God who is everything. It “gives rise to care and trouble about learnedness, inquisitiveness, questioning and curiosity.”
2. Emptiness of the will: One deprived of possession by God who is everything. “This creates desire for many things, the longing to possess many things, so that everything is in our control…Self interest.”
3. Emptiness of the heart: One deprived of the enjoyments of God. This “forms a thirst…, a search for an infinite number of objects in which we hope to find pleasure for our senses, both internal and external.”

There is a large number of good people who are captured in this way. They tend to see life as good as long as they are able to continue to gain more and more external things. When their desires cannot be met, they often fall into depression, anger, envy, and resentment. “This is the world of vanity, in which occupations, ways, rule, connections, language, diversions, amusements, concepts…are permeated by the spirit of these three fiends of many cares and trouble…” (St Theophan the Recluse p 97) Unfortunately, these people are blind to their condition. They are captured by this self striving, immersed in worldly things and the means to satisfy an unknown inner yearning. They are consumed with all their cares that their condition is invisible to them. They do not realize they are separated from God. They become satisfied with a declaration that they believe in God. They know the Lord’s Prayer by heart, but they do not see their sinfulness or realize how serious is this separation from God. They do not think about salvation or even their own mortality. The know the story of Jesus, His death and Resurrection, but it has little meaning in their daily lives.

The result is a blindness to human reality. Such a person is unaware of their sinfulness and what is needed for their salvation. They are not interested in discussions or activities that are spiritual in nature. Saint Theophan puts it this way:

“There is a blindness and insensitivity in the sinner. They do not see their own condition, and therefore do not sense the danger and therefore do not take the trouble to care to be delivered from it. The necessity to change and be saved does not even enter their mind. They have complete, unshakable confidence that they are at their proper station in life, want for nothing and must therefore leave everything the way it is. Therefore they consider any reminder about another kind of life to be superfluous for themselves; they do not listen, and cannot even understand what it is for. They avoid and shun it.” (Saint Theophan the Recluse, p 100)

In the next posting I will share how one can be awakened from this dangerous stupor.

Ref: The Path to Salvation, by Saint Theophan the Recluse, pp 95-101

Awakening Our Heart to God (1)

A Personal Note: I lived in this stupor until I was over 40 years old. I had no awareness of the deep nature of my sinfulness and how far I was separated from God. For me I was successful in my career, I had a good marriage and two beautiful children. My parents were healthy and my grandparents still living. All was good, very good. I assumed it was my good work that made this possible. I would go to Church periodically, but it was out of a sense of obligation to my in-laws and wife. There was not a spiritual connection in this. It was just something you did. There was never a feeling so committing a sin. Like I hear many parishioners say, “I have not killed any one. I have not stolen any thing, I have not committed adultery.” I was so self centered, to go in front of an authority person like a priest to confess would not have been possible. 

For a Healthy Soul

Jesus Christ provides us all the medicine we need for a healthy soul.  He gives us the proper prescription for every passion.

Saint Dorotheos says:

For vanity He gives the commandment regarding humility; for love of pleasure, continence; for avarice, charity; In brief, each passion has a suitable commandment that is the right medicine for it.

We have a good doctor.  He is experienced and has proven remedies. If we follow the doctor's direction there is no reason for having an unhealthy soul.  Our only problem is our own. We must be obedient and follow the Doctor's orders.

Saint Dorotheos asks,

Why do we waste our lives? We hear so many things but we do not care and are disdainful.

The way to salvation is given to us.  But do we want to be saved?  Do we care about our spiritual health?  Or, do we let our passions run wild unchecked. It's best to start while we are young because then the roots of our passions are shallow, but as we grow older they become very deep, forming habits that are hard to root out.

Saint Dorotheos advises,

A person should examine himself every evening as to how he spent the day and again every morning as to how he spent the night. Of course, he must repent about those matters in which he has sinned... Each one of us should say to himself, "Can it be that I have spoken and wounded my brother? Have I seen him doing something and judged him, humiliated or condemned him? Have I asked the cellarer for something and when he didn't give it to me, grumbled about him? Have I abused the cook and hurt him when the food was not well prepared or have I just been disgusted in my heart, and grumbled? Even if one complains to himself it is a sin.

Remember that both virtue and evil can become a habit if practiced continually. Depending on how we live our lives our habits can either condemn or comfort us.

Saint Dorotheos says,

We must struggle and pray to God, night and day, that we might not fall into temptation.  Even if, as humans, we are defeated and we fall into sin, let us try to get up immediately. Let us repent and cry before God's goodness. Let us be attentive. Let us labor and God, seeing our will and our contrition, will give us a helping hand and grant us His mercy.

Reference: Abba Dorotheos: Practical Teaching on the Christian Life, pp 179 - 187

How About Lying: Are There Good Lies?

Again, Saint Dorotheos offers us great insight, this time on the topic of lying.  He tells us there are three kinds of lies: 1) Lying in thinking; 2) Lying verbally; 3) Lying through one's own way of life.

The one who lies in his thinking is one who is always suspicious of other's actions. He thinks others are always doing things against himself. He says, "they are always talking about me." When he is spoken to he thinks its an attempt to bother him or criticize him.  He is always suspicious of others. He thinks others said or did this or that because of him. The problem is, nothing he thinks is true, its all based on his suspicion.  Saint Dorotheos tells us that from this comes "curiosity, slander, eavesdropping, quarreling and condemnation." How often have you caught yourself eavesdropping seeking to hear what others are saying thinking they may be talking about yourself. How often do you take the gestures or facial expressions of others to have a negative meaning about you? This is an often forgotten form of lying. There is no way we can know what the other person is really thinking.  Their expression may be due to their own difficulties, not yours.  How about when you see someone on the street and notice the way they dress and then make a judgement about them. You label them as lazy, delinquent, or even a prostitute. This is again a form of lying as you know nothing about these people and make up your own lies about them.  

Saint Dorotheos says,

"It is impossible to learn the state of a person's soul from that (their appearance). Therefore never trust your suspicions for evan a straight rule can be made crooked by a crooked one. Suspicions are not true and harm us... Nothing is graver that suspicions. They are so harmful that if we keep them for a long time, they begin to convince us that we clearly see things that do not exist and never happened."

Lying by words occurs when we make up excuses for our failures. Let's say you are too lazy to go to Church or any other event. You meet a friend whom you normally meet at this event and he asks you where you were. You reply with something like, "I didn't feel well," or "I had a fever," or some other excuse that is untrue. Another example Saint Dorotheos gives is one who wants something from another person.  He does not ask for it outright, but begins to ask in a round about way. He may say something like, "I suffer this and I need this."  All these sins arise from a dsire for our own pleasure.  We want to hide our passions, our selfishness, our ambitions or our laziness. So we make up excuses or lie about our motivations.

Now there is the case for a good lie.  If a friend's life is in danger because of someone who wants to hurt them and they come to you asking for the whereabouts of your friend, it may be proper to not tell this person where your friend is or to deceive him in some way. But we are to do this only when necessary.  Saint Dorotheos says, 

"He must do this rarely and with the fear of God, showing to them his intention and need, and then God will protect him because even this harms the soul."

The final category is the one who lives a whole life in lies. Saint Dorotheos says, 

"the person that lies his whole life is one who, while in reality is dissolute, feigns temperance, and being greedy, he speaks about charity and praises sympathy.  His is proud and admires humility." 

What we need to develop is true humility so we are free to confess our own weaknesses, admit our sinfulness and not hide them. This is the condition of those who say when discussing the importance of confession say, "I have not sinned, I have not stolen anything, I have not killed anyone, why do I need to confess." They lead a life of lies, not being honest about their true condition.  

When we have humility the Saint tells us that we are able and willing to accuse ourselves. With this honesty also comes sympathy for our neighbors.  We no longer have to justify our superiority over others by pretending to possess virtues we do not have. We all find ourselves doing this. Do we really think we can hide our true nature from others?  How foolish this approach to life is. I have caught myself so many times in this sinful condition. For me, pride is a hard condition to overcome.  Each time I catch myself, it is such a relief to admit my true poor condition and ask for the Lord's help to overcome it. If we are not truthful we gain nothing but an oversized ego that is based on lies.

Saint Dorotheos says,

Let us avoid falsehood, brethren, so as to be delivered from the evil one and let us struggle to obtain the truth so that we may be united with Him who said, "I am the truth" (Jn 14:6). Let God make us worthy of His own truth.

Reference: Abba Dorotheos: Practical Teaching on the Christian Life, pp161-166 

Mirrors for Repentance

We are all involved in a life long struggle against our sinful tendencies.  Our greatest challenge is to recognize the weaknesses in our character, to gain a clear view of our defects and failings so we can overcome them.  Normally this is done through inner introspection.  Sometimes others will point our weaknesses out to us and in this case we must be careful not to react badly, but to accept this information as a gift from God.

A disciple of Elder Paisios asked him if it was possible to try and see oneself as he really is, but be unable to actually do so.  He answered "Yes, if his attempt to do so contains pride, he will not be able to see the real self."  We need a bit of humility to begin to see our true self so we can begin the work to grow spiritually. We can use a good mirror.

Elder Paisios advises us that until we are able to uproot our defects we should mirror ourselves in the defects of others. He says that other people are a mirror in which we can see ourselves.

Do you find that you can easily spot the failings of others, but find it difficult to see your own failings? This is a most common condition. When Elder Paisios was asked about this condition he pointed out that we see the illness in others when we cannot see them in ourselves.

If you knew you own illness, you wouldn't know the illness of others. I am not saying you shouldn't be concerned with their pain and suffering, but you mustn't preoccupy yourself with other's faults. If a person is not concerned with his self, the tempter devil will lead him to be concerned with other's faults. If we work on ourselves, then we know ourselves and come to know others as well. Otherwise, we judge others by the wrong assumptions we make about ourselves.

There are two important points here. One is that we can see our own faults in others if we are not blocked from seeing them because of our pride. Our efforts to focus on others' defects can block us from seeing our own defects because of our pride. Second, once we recognize the failings of others in ourselves, we will no longer judge them because we will know the true assumptions about them.  We now know them in ourselves are now focused on our own defects and not theirs.

Next time you catch yourself judging others, or being critical of their behavior, stop and reflect on what you have in yourself that mirrors this behavior.  When you find that weakness in yourself, see if that does not change your view of the one you were about condemn. Most likely you will find that you now do not have time for such speculation as you are busy working on your own perfection.

When you do find a weakness in yourself all you need is willpower to make changes, according to Elder Paisios.  It's just like with a physical illness. We must accept the treatment to get well and carry it out.

Elder says,

This is why the starting point is for one not to be embarrassed, but gladly aware of his illness, his faults. From that point, he must accept the necessary treatment, the appropriate medicines, and be grateful to his physicians - the spiritual father or the elder - and not resist them. 

When you catch yourself judging others, stop and seek to find the weakness in yourself.  Pretend you are looking into a mirror. By using others as a mirror in this way you can begin to dig deeper into your true self.  With the help of your spiritual father you will find cures for what you find and you will also find your relations with others and God changes as you change.

Reference: Elder Paisios of Mount Athos Spiritual Counsels III: Spiritual Struggle,  pp157-164

Intentional and Unintentional Sins

Does it make a difference if we sin unintentionally or intentionally? The Elder Paisios says that the "errors we fall into through carelessness are of a less serious nature."  He adds that sins are sins, but there can be extenuating circumstances. When we fall into sin unintentionally God in His mercy will help us so that this fault can be used of some good purpose.
He explains,

This means that since we erred unintentionally, God simply utilizes our fault for some good. But when we plan ahead and err knowingly and then repent, we should also pray that no other harm occur from the consequences of our fault.

Some of us may face more temptations than others.  God will have mercy in such cases.
The Elder says,

Someone, for example will set off for somewhere without having any intention of committing a sin, but on his way he is tempted and falls into some sin.  He repents, struggles to avoid sin, but is tempted again. Such a person has extenuating circumstances, because he does not want to commit a sin, but succumbs to temptation and then repents. But who ever says, "If I am to achieve that goal, I must do wrong," and so forth, that person is sinning on purpose and intentionally. In other words he plans and lays out his scheme to sin in cahoots with the devil. This is especially evil because its premeditated... Such a person should never expect to be helped, because he does not deserve divine help, he will in all likelihood die unrepentant.

Some people say they can wait until they are on their sick bed to confess their sinfulness. Those with intentional sins are not likely to carry out this plan. The elder tells a story about a contractor who had such an idea.

The contractor said,"When I grow old, I'll go to the Holy Land and be baptized in the river Jordan to have all my sins washed away," and he continued to live a sinful life. Finally when he had no more energy and could barely walk, he said to his trusted worker, "I've decided to go to the Holy Land and be baptized in the River Jordan as a pilgrim." And the worker gave him a bold response, "Boss, if you're clean of heart you will go, but if you are not, you will die on the way!" It was like a prophesy! As soon as he arrived in Athens to prepare his papers, he died! Others took all of his money and made arrangements with a funeral home to have him sent back to his hometown in a coffin.

A life of repentance generally implies that we are trying not to sin and avoid intentionally sins.  We go to confession regularly to confess our sins that were due to the many temptations we faced.  We can be assured that God will be merciful if our intentions are pure. But those who intentionally sin thinking they can repent later may not find the same help from God. Just the thought of putting off Confession or participation in Holy Communion might imply that we are comfortable with out sins, our way of life, and do not need God's help.  This implies that we are willingly sinning.  To live a life of repentance called for by Christ demands a constant attention to all our sins. If we are and participate in the Sacraments regularly we will find God's love and mercy. He will then become our helper to guide us to salvation.

Reference: Elder Paisios of Mount Athos Spiritual Counsels III: Spiritual Struggles, p 132

What Separates Us From God?

The story of Adam and Eve is one of the foundations of Christian life. In this story we seen how we are separated from God.  This separation does not come from any action on God's part, but is a result of our own disobedience. Adam and Eve fell because they began to rely on their own will and ignored God's will. This is what it means to be separated from God.  Because they put their own desires ahead of God's plan for them, they separated themselves from God and became subject to suffering, toil and death. Because of these consequences we have the tendency to act for our own self benefit leading us to a tendency for sin. 

Sin is not about breaking a specific law but is about not having a loving relationship with God. When you love God, you seek to do His will.  When you love yourself more than Him because of all your self doubts and fears, you only carry out your own will to maximize your own satisfaction. The question we need to ask ourselves is, "How can we regain our status before the Fall of Adam and Eve where we live a pure life in union with God always seeking to do His will?"

Elder Paisios gives an answer to this question:"The heart must be purified."   This is the same view that Christ gave us in His Sermon on the Mount where He said, "Those with a pure heart will see God."

What does this mean? Elder Paisios goes on to say,

Man must acquire spiritual chastity; that is sincerity, honesty, selflessness, humility, goodness, forbearance, sacrifice. This is how man becomes akin to God and how divine Grace comes to dwell in him. When someone has physical chastity but lacks spiritual chastity, God cannot dwell in him because he harbors cunning, pride, evil, and so forth. Then this person's life is a sham; this is where you must begin your struggle: acquiring spiritual chastity, spiritual purity.

To do this requires true repentance, a change of mind coupled with personal discipline so that your life actually changes.  We are creatures of habit and our struggle is one of overcoming bad habits.

Elder Paisios says,

One must have a lot of willpower in order to break a bad habit all at once. Just as the rope rubs against the edge of the well and over the years forms a small grove that holds the rope in place, every habit forms a grove in the heart, making it them difficult to get rid of...it takes lots of humility and great will power to overcome them.

The period of Lent is a special time in the Church for self examination and repentance.  It is the time, when coupled with fasting and prayer, we can identify our bad habits that keep us separated from God. Once we have identified them, we can seek guidance and courage to overcome them with the help of divine grace. As we repent we gain grace providing God's help in overcoming our habits.  Fasting brings humility as well as self discipline.  The extra services in the Church during this period, coupled with our own increased time in prayer and study of spiritual matters, nurture us in our efforts to come closer to God.

Make plans for the fast, allow time for the extra services, and more time for prayer. Put these activiies into your personal calendar. Schedule a time with your spiritual father for Confession.

Have a Great Lent.

Resource: Elder Paisios of Mont Athos Spiritual Counsels III, p 128