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Saint Sophia Cathedral
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“Entering the second week of Lent, have you noticed temptations increasing?…
The Evangelist Matthew writes: “Christ fasted forty days and forty nights and then was hungry. And the tempter came to Him….” The tempter came to Christ when He was hungry. Thus, hunger attracts him, but hunger is eventually what defeats him, when, of course, satisfaction is sought in the reasonable food of the soul – the words that proceed from the mouth of God – and not one-dimensionally from the unreasonable nourishment of the body.
We must not, therefore, be surprised if during the fasting period of Great Lent diverse temptations occur, whether they relate to our personal, family, or social life. At this time the tempter “approaches” Christians. He does this through many “internal” ways, but also with noisy external events, which correspond to internal impassioned thoughts, and tries to make our struggle during Great Lent worthless. But if we are sober, all these things will cause our spiritual maturation, paths for deeper self-knowledge and the knowledge of God.”
Excerpted from Great Lent: Fasting and Temptations
Adult/Family:
“…Those who are taking their spiritual struggle seriously during the Great Fast will likely find that the amount of demonic warfare increases…. Many of us wonder: why do I have to face these spiritual struggles? Wouldn’t it be so much better if God could just wave a magical wand over us and make temptations go away? Why do we have trials?...
- “A younger monk was experiencing demonic warfare and he begged, “My God, please deliver me from this battle.” God listened to his prayer and freed him. At some point he visited a renowned and experienced elder who had been through a lot… “Geronda,” he announced happily, “I have found rest from the passions.”
- “What did you say?”
- “I have found rest. I am not battled by anything….”
- “You found rest so quickly? You accepted a reduced pension? Big mistake! You asked God on your own for this rest to be given to you. Now go to the fathers and ask them to pray for you, to beg God to resend the passions to you, so you can fight, ascend spiritually, and receive a full pension one day – not a premature pension!”
- Do you understand what this father is trying to tell us? It is not to our advantage to find rest so early. While we are still in our youth, we need to be exposed to wars and the passions, so we can strike them. When they persist, we must also fight back. St. Isaac the Syrian says that God intentionally does not fulfill our prayer when we ask to be delivered form various passions because as we fight back and invoke the name of God, our mind, mouth, and heart are sanctified by the name of Christ. When you are at war, you are forced to pray: “Help me, my Christ. Help me, my Panagia.” This name that you call upon will bring you holiness….”
With these thoughts I try to keep in mind that I am young in this struggle against the passions. God is sending these to me for my salvation. He never sends us what is not necessary for our benefit and the benefit of our brothers and sisters. When we fall, we must rise back up: God knows we will fall. But let us never give up and let us run the race of the Great Fast and our entire lives with joy and perseverance!”
Read the entire article Confronting Temptations
High School:
“The Church teaches us clearly that when we restrain ourselves for the sake of virtue, which is to deprive ourselves of worldly things in exchange for heavenly things, we are tempted almost immediately by irritability. We are not used to being deprived of the things we desire, and the spiritual energy that was devoted to that which we’ve given up backs up within us, causing a state of spiritual imbalance. The self-restraint is a good thing! But we must redirect the surplus of spiritual energy, or the imbalance will burst out in ways such as irritability, anxiety, frustration, or simply accepting back what we’ve given up. So how do we redirect this energy?…”
A Message from Maria Spanos
I am passionate about our Orthodox Christian faith and seek to help others learn as much as they can about it. My purpose here is to share online resources that help strengthen our relationship with Christ and bind us closer to His Church. I believe they are invaluable in learning about our precious Orthodox Tradition, and are a great aid for teaching family members, friends and others about Orthodoxy. ~Maria
Two of my favorite quotes:
“A true Christian behaves in this life so that it may be a preparation for the future one and not only a life here below. In his actions, he does not think what will be said of him here but of what will be said there in heaven; he represents to himself that he is always in the presence of God, of the angels and all the saints, and remembers that someday they will bear witness of his thoughts, words, and deeds.” — Saint John of Kronstadt
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“Of all the holy works, the education of children is the most holy.”
— St. Theophan the Recluse
