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← Letters on the Christian Life/Book 1 · Письма о христианской жизни
Chapter 32FeofanPisma.1.32

Письмо 32

The Danger of Obstinacy

The author warns against the spirit of obstinacy that hinders prayer and spiritual progress.

I'm glad you're in the monastery now. There, the Mother of God will teach you everything that is good. How frightened I was when I read about resistance to prayer. The most evil of all spirits is the spirit of obstinacy. This is a truly satanic spirit.1 It has ruined, and still ruins, all the demons. They pass it on to us as well, or plant and kindle it in us, so as to destroy us. But afterward, I was very glad that you quickly came to your senses and set yourselves right.

Watchfulness and the Heart

A call to constant vigilance over the heart and the necessity of active ascetic labor to overcome spiritual numbness.

Glory to God! Watch yourselves, for the Lord's sake!✦ Before, when you hadn't taken up the work, everything was allowed to slide.2 Now every falling away, and every wrong turn of thought and heart, is very harmful.3 May the Queen of Heaven deliver you! It's not the arrival of thoughts that is the problem; the problem is when your heart and will go along with them.4 It's hard to set things right again. You see, you spent only a little while in this state of deliberate stubbornness—and look how hard it was to soften your heart.✦ Now, learn from experience. You can see for yourselves how to get out of this difficulty. Just as you were doing.5 Rub yourself in every direction, just as you would rub a numb part of your body. .6 .7 Do this through prayer, prostrations, church attendance, labor, and almsgiving.8

Facing Blasphemous Thoughts

Guidance on how to remain firm and unperturbed when confronted with intrusive, blasphemous thoughts.

I'll tell you in advance: even more terrifying thoughts may come—so-called blasphemous ones—and blasphemy against God and all the Christian mysteries will pour out of the heart.9 . . Stand firm then, and don't be afraid, rebuking the one who implants them.10 Read about this in St. Dimitry of Rostov.11

The Subtle Trap of Worldliness

A warning against the subtle influence of worldly concerns, illustrated by the analogy of a billiard ball.

What’s gotten into you, worrying so much about your clothes? There—the spirit of the world has blown through and cast its influence in its own way. May the Lord deliver you from every turning aside.12 Clothes aren’t that important, and there’s no real harm done yet. But have you ever watched people play billiards? The ball is set, the cue is picked up, and the shot is lined up.13 . . Just give it a push — and off it rolls into the left pocket. Your outfits can put you in that exact same position. So take heed to yourselves.✦14 I think the monastery has already explained all of this to you. May the Lord establish your path.✦

Read the original Russian

Рад, что вы теперь в монастыре. – Там Матерь Божия научит вас всему доброму. Как я испугался, когда прочитал о противлении молитве. Самый злой из всех духов – дух упорства. Это настоящий сатанинской дух. Он сгубил и губит всех бесов. Они его и нам передают, или влагают и разжигают в нас, чтоб сгубить нас. Но потом очень обрадовался, что вы скоро опомнились и исправились.

Слава Богу! Внимайте себе, Господа ради! Прежде, когда вы не брались за дело, все сходило. Теперь весьма вредно всякое отступление и всякий неправый сгиб мыслей и сердца. Да избавит вас Царица Небесная! Что приходят помыслы, еще не беда, но беда, когда сложится с ними сердце и воля. Трудно поправиться. Вот вы немного побыли в этом состоянии упорства сознательнаго – и смотрите, как трудно было умягчить сердце.

И учитесь теперь опытом. Сами видите, как выходить из затруднения. Так как вы делали. Тереть себя всячески, как трут онемелую часть тела. . . молитвою, поклонами, церковию, трудом, милостынею.

Скажу вам наперед: может быть придут еще страшнейшия помыслы, так называемые, хульные, – будет идти из сердца хула на Бога и все христианския таинства. . . Стойте тогда, и не страшитесь, браня влагающаго их. Читайте о сем у св. Димитрия Ростовскаго.

Что это вам вздумалось так хлопотать о нарядах. Вот дух мира повеял и навеял по роду своему. Избави вас Господи от всякаго уклонения. Наряды вещь невеликая, и беды еще нет. Но видали ли вы, как играют в биллиард? Поставлен шар, взят кий, намечено. . .

только что толкнуть и – покатится вон в левую лузу. Точь в точь в такое положение могут поставлять наряды. – Внемлите убо себе. Думаю, монастырь все это уже растолковал вам!

Господь да устроит путь ваш.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Acts.20.28;1Tim.4.16 — Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he obtained through the blood of his own. 1Tim.4.16 — Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persist in these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
  2. ↩Ezek.36.26 — And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
  3. ↩Acts.20.28 — Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he obtained through the blood of his own.
  4. ↩Prov.16.9;Ps.37.23 — The heart of a man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. Ps.37.23 — The steps of a man are established by the LORD, and He delights in his way.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Source has сатанинской (oblique form) with masculine дух; translated as the intended nominative сатанинский, 'satanic'.
  2. 2 ↩«брались за дело» means taking the spiritual work/monastic struggle in hand; «все сходило» means faults were overlooked or got by without serious cost.
  3. 3 ↩«неправый сгиб мыслей и сердца» is a physical-bend metaphor for a crooked turn or distortion of thoughts and heart, not merely a mild inclination.
  4. 4 ↩«помыслы» here are intrusive/tempting thoughts (logismoi); the danger is consent of heart and will, not mere arrival of thoughts.
  5. 5 ↩Russian «Так как вы делали» read as manner (“just as / the way you were doing”), not causal “since,” because the following sentence continues the method in the infinitive.
  6. 6 ↩Source sentence is only a period; no recoverable Russian text.
  7. 7 ↩Source sentence is only a period; no recoverable Russian text.
  8. 8 ↩«церковию» rendered as “church” (instrumental means: churchgoing / the Church’s services); «поклонами» as prostrations (bows of prayer).
  9. 9 ↩Russian «таинства» rendered as «mysteries» (Orthodox sense of the Holy Mysteries/sacraments), not generic «secrets».
  10. 10 ↩«влагающаго их» = the one implanting/inserting the blasphemous thoughts (the devil), not a human tempter.
  11. 11 ↩«Димитрия Ростовскаго» = St. Demetrius (Dimitry) of Rostov; modern English often uses Demetrius/Dimitry of Rostov.
  12. 12 ↩уклонение can mean deviation, turning aside, or a spiritual falling-away; rendered as 'turning aside' to keep the moral-path sense without over-specifying.
  13. 13 ↩замечено is elliptical billiard language—roughly 'aimed/marked' for the stroke; rendered as 'the shot is lined up' for natural English.
  14. 14 ↩Church Slavonic 'Внемлите убо себе' carries a scriptural register (cf. the 'take heed to yourselves' formula). Rendered with solemn, uncontracted gravity rather than casual modern paraphrase.

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