Before the Ship Sinks
An illness that has become chronic, like a habit of wrong-doing that has become ingrained is very hard to heal. If after that, as very often happens, the habit turns into second nature, a cure is out of the question.
So the ideal would be to have no contact with evil. But there is another possibility: to distance yourself from evil, to run away from it as if from a poisonous snake, once you have experienced it.
I have known some unfortunate people who in their youth let themselves slide into evil habits which have held them enslaved all their lives. Like pigs wallowing continually in the mire and becoming increasingly filthy, such sinners as these multiply their shame every day with fresh sins.
So, blessed is the one who has never thought of evil. However, if through his wiles the suggestions of the Enemy have found a foothold in your heart, do not remain inactive in the toils of sin.
Be careful not to be utterly overcome by it. If the sin is already weighing you down, if the dust of riches has already settled on you, if your soul has been dragged right down by attachment to material things, then before you fall into utter ruin get rid of the heavy burden. Before the ship sinks, follow the example of sailors and cast overboard the possessions you have accumulated overmuch.
Basil the Great, Commentary on Psalm I, 6 (PG29, 224ff.)
Is it Possible not to be Afraid of Death?
What makes up this life that we love so much? Wishes and fears, hopes and disappointments, sufferings and sadness, genuine sorrows and counterfeit joys, prayers and supplications, anxieties and temptations. What sort of a life is that? And yet we love it.
And the other life? What makes up eternal life? The words of the Psalmist suffice to describe it: ‘I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.’ [Ps. 146:2]
Just because they loved the other life, the martyrs endured death, they endured and despised it.
The present life is ugly and painful, and yet it is so dear to us that without the help of the One who commanded them to despise it, even the martyrs would not have been strong enough to despise it for love of truth and eternal life. Anyone who despises death for the love of God, cannot do it without God’s help.
You, no doubt, despise death, you love and long for eternal life. But ‘Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob.’ [Ps. 146:5] Take away that help and you will be no better than a deserter.
Augustine, Serm. Morin, 31, (Miscellanea Agostiniana 560-2)
~Thomas Spidlik, Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World
