The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XXV, Part III

Both in the stories that we are told from the lives of the fathers and from the particular teachings that they offer their spiritual sons, we begin to get into the nitty-gritty of the struggle with the passion of lust and fornication. Again what we are presented with is the fierceness of the battle. Part of the reason for this is that the soul has implanted in it by nature a proclivity towards certain pleasures. Saint Anthony the great tells us that it does not act, however, without the heart so desiring. Desire as we’ve so often discussed is essential in the spiritual life. We have a keen sense of our lack and incompleteness outside of God. In this sense, all of our desires as human beings are reflection of our great desire for God and for what He alone can satisfy. 

This proclivity towards certain pleasures can begin to take hold of the soul when we are over-attentive to nourishing our bodies with food and drink. In our tendency towards excess our hearts can be taken over by the desire for fleshly pleasure. 

When we find ourselves repeatedly seeking out pleasures as an end in themselves then we become vulnerable to the provocation of the demons due to their envy. They can try to stir up the fleshly desires in order to distract us from the things of God and the remembrance of God. 

It is so important for us who struggle in the spiritual life to know well the difference between these sources of our proclivity toward sensuality. We cannot allow ourselves to be ignorant of their causes and the many ways that they manifest themselves. We must learn how to confront our temptations as well as to embrace the remedies that the fathers put before us.

It is important for us to understand that much of the spiritual battle plays itself out on a psychological level and the means of warfare begins with the thoughts. When we lack watchfulness and allow ourselves to daydream and entertain every kind of thought and image, we find that our memory and our imagination become the holding place of so many things that come back to afflict us in the spiritual battle.

Therefore, we will discover in the coming months that such a spiritual battle is only won through the grace of God and constant of prayer. The spiritual life is not about endurance but rather humility. We engage in the ascetical life because we know our poverty. We must exercise our faith to the fullest extent in order that God’s grace might bear the greatest fruit possible within our hearts.

---   Text of chat during the group:   00:36:02 Kate : I recently read a quote, “The avaricious soul is one for whom God is not enough.”  It made me wonder if this could be applied to any of the passions…gluttony, lust, etc.   00:41:06 Nypaver Clan: Film cameras = analog photography   00:41:12 Una: The lust of the eyes = images   00:41:46 sharonfisher: I think so true, and ‘middle’ class needs to best of these things to feel like they’re keeping up. It shouldn’t be so. It makes  it hard for a family to afford life.   00:42:18 sharonfisher: Reacted to "The lust of the eyes..." with ❤️   00:43:20 Anna Lalonde: Blue light and other things are dangerous in the neurology and psychology of children. It damages their brains.   00:43:35 sharonfisher: Replying to "I think so true, and..."   Thanks for your corrections!   00:48:18 Anthony: I think the shock of any vile thought (lust, avarice, blasphemy) that spontaneously arise in the mind causes grief.   00:49:26 Anthony: In the Philokalia I appreciate a father emphasizing Deliberation in something being a free act of will.   00:52:38 Una: I don't understand what these blasphemous thoughts are   01:03:39 Rebecca Thérèse: When I worked in mental health I found that often when women had been abused from a young age, they often didn't understand that they had the right to say no. People who are used to having no control over their bodies find it almost impossible to set appropriate boundaries even simply relating to their own desires. It's easy to be judgemental of people's relationships if we don't understand what's underlying the decisions that they make.   01:03:50 Myles Davidson: UFC   01:03:50 Francisco Ingham: mma   01:04:14 Una: Gladiator movies!   01:04:35 Wayne: Reacted to "When I worked in men..." with 👍   01:06:00 Anthony: I STILL love baseball games on AM radio. :)   01:11:41 Anthony: Another thing that caused shock and grief is forgetting we have the sneaky bodies enemies who attack psychologically, not like people or beasts.   01:12:58 Una: Reacted to "When I worked in m..." with 👍   01:15:18 Maureen Cunningham: Thank You Father Blessing   01:15:38 Lisa: Reacted to "Thank You Father Ble..." with 👍   01:16:45 ANDREW ADAMS: Thank you, Father!   01:16:48 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:17:01 Aric Bukiri: Thank you Father!   01:17:22 Troy Amaro: Thank You Father   01:17:24 Francisco Ingham: This is wonderful Father, thank you for this place of spiritual rest