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Latter-day Fathers

Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain

Gerontissa Gabrielia

Elder Germanos of Stavrovouni

Stories from the Desert Fathers

On Good and Evil

On Lasciviousness

On Avarice

On Repetance

On Prayer

On Fasting

On Labour

On Confession

On Matrimony

On Holy Communion

Gerontikon of
Mt. Athos

Elder Joseph the Hesychast and the teaching of mental prayer which flowed
from his letters

Prayer of the heart for the Faithfull Living in the world

With the Fathers

On the Necessity of Constant Prayer for all Christians

Hermas: The Shepherd

First Vision

Second Vision

Third Vision

Fourth Vision

Fifth Vision

First Commandment

Second
Commandment

Third Commandment

Forth Commandment

Fifth Commandment

Sixth Commandment

Seventh
Commandment

Eighth Commandment

Ninth Commandment

Tenth Commandment

Eleventh
Commandment

Twelwth
Commandment

First Similitude

Second Similitude

Third Similitude

Forth Similitude

Fifth Similitude

Sixth Similitude

Seventh Similitude

Eighth Similitude

Ninth Similitude

Tenth Similitude

St. John Chrysostom - Homily on the passage <Father if it be possible...>

Symeon of
Thessaloniki -
All should pray in the
name of Jesus Christ

Basil of Caesarea - Letter 234 to Amphilochius

Basil of Caesarea - On the Holy Spirit 66-68

The Martyrdom of St. Polycarp

St. John Chrysostom Instructions to Catechumens

First Instruction (1)

First Instruction (2)

First Instruction (3)

First Instruction (4)

First Instruction (5)

Second Instruction (1)

Second Instruction (2)

Second Instruction (3)

Second Instruction (4)

Second Instruction (5)

St. John Chrysostom Three homilees concering the power
of demons

Introduction

Homily 1

Homily 2

STORIES FROM THE DESERT FATHERS

ON LASCIVIOUSNESS ( LUST )

 

Abba Agathon

A brother sought advice from abba Agathon, regarding fornication.

And he said to him:

"Go, cast your weakness before God, and you will find relief."


Saint Efraim

At another time, when Efraim was passing through the town, someone had apparently instructed a whore to tempt him into carnal knowledge, or, failing that, to arouse his anger, for, no-one had ever seen him become angry.

And so he said to her :

"Follow me."

Thus, after reaching a spot where many people were gathered, he said to her:

"Come here, so that we may do what you wanted."

She, however, upon seeing the crowds, said to him :

"Isn't it shameful, to do it in front of so many people ?"

And he replied:

"If we feel shame in the presence of people, how much more ashamed should we feel in the presence of God, who sees even those things which are hidden in the dark ?"


Saint Kassianos the Roman

According therefore to the words of our Lord, we must first clean the interior of the cup and the plate, in order for the exterior to become clean. This is exactly why, if we feel the need as the Apostle said, to fight in the correct manner and earn our victory wreath when conquering the unclean spirit of fornication, we must not rely on our own powers and labour, but on the assistance of our lord and God. For this spirit does not intend to cease fighting man, except only when man truly believes he can be cured, and thus rising to the height of chastity, not by his own ministering and his own labours, but with the help and protection of God. This achievement surpasses the nature of man, and in a certain way, he that conquers the arousals and the pleasures of the flesh, has abandoned his body. It is consequently not possible for man to use his own wings (in a manner of speaking) to fly to that lofty, heavenly prize of holiness and to imitate the angels, unless he is lifted up from the earth and the mud by the grace of God. Because no other virtue, as much as prudence, can make people - in spite of their flesh - resemble the spiritual angels. With this virtue, says the Apsotle, they can be denizens of the skies, while still living on earth.

It is possible to determine whether we have fully achieved this virtue, if we observe how much our soul is displeased with any image of vulgar fantasy during our sleep. Because, although this may not be considered a sin, it does reveal that the soul is ailing, and is not yet rid of the passion of fornication. Thus, we must understand that these vulgar fantasies which appear in our sleep, reveal our negligence and our ailment; the illness which lurks in the depths of our soul is brought to light, through the secretion which occurs during our sleep. It is for this reason, that the physician of our souls placed the remedy in the innermost depths of our soul, where He knew the causes of the illness would be found, saying "whomsoever looks at a woman and desires her, has already committed adultery with her, within his heart"; it does not heal the lusting of the eyes, as much as the soul within us, because it is the soul that does not make proper use of the eyes which God gave us for our benefit.

Thus, the wise Proverb does not say : "in every way, excercise caution in your eyes", but "in every way, excercise caution in your heart", thus applying the medication of caution to that which uses the eyes at its own discretion.


Saint Mark the Ascetic

The heart which is fond of pleasures, becomes a prison and a chain for the soul, at the hour of death.

A heart that fears no pains, is like an open door.

The cause of every malice is vainglory and pleasure;

whomsoever did not despise these, shall not be able to conquer his vices.

Do not say that a pauper cannot pursue pleasures because he lacks the means;

Because anyone, even if in mind only, can pursue pleasures in an even more wretched manner.

A lascivious person becomes sorrowed by criticism and tribulations, whereas a godly person is sorrowed by praises and easy living.


Sain Neilos the Ascetic

Whenever you believe that you are near God, protect yourself from the demon of fornication. Because it knows well how to deceive; it is the most envious demon of all, and it seeks to annihilate the movements and the clarity of the mind, so that it may succeed in steering it away, even from God, when the mind is near Him in veneration and fear.

If you pay attention to the beauty of the body, and the mind shows interest in bodily pleasures, then you have never seen the place of prayer, and its blessed path is far away from you.

Walking on one's belly, truly portrays lasciviousness, inasmuch as the cause of practically all lasciviousness is the belly. When it is filled, even stronger desires for lasciviousness will follow; however, when it is empty, the desires are tamer and more stable (…..)

A lascivious person therefore walks on his belly, by bending over towards enjoyment and pleasures. He that has only just started to live virtuously, removes the fat of the belly, by avoiding foods that fatten. He that improves himself through virtuous living, cleans the interior of the belly, while the perfected one cleans the entire belly, by completely rejecting whatever exceeds absolute necessity, Therefore the expression "you shall crawl on your chest and your belly" is very appropriate, because lasciviousness does not characterize those who stand upright and calm, but only those who have vices and are full of turbulence. And, closest to the vice of gluttony, is sexuality. Thus, nature, in order to confirm their similarity, has placed the genital organs immediately below the belly, indicating their kinship by their proximity. If the genital passion is diminished, this is attributed to an empty belly; whereas, if it is powerful and vivid, it will have drawn its power from the belly.


Saint Diadochus of Fotiki

The prerequisite and the definition of chastity, is the union with God.


Saint Maximus the Confessor

If the soul is superior to the body, and God is incomparably superior to the world He created, then, he that prefers the body to the soul, and the creation to God the creator, is no different to the idolaters.

Passionate desire is extinguished, either when it embraces its objects of affection but finds them inadequate, or, when it ceases to respect them, feeling aversion towards their vulgarity and ugliness;

Both will give birth to satiety.

Because God is infinite by nature and precious, He magnifies without limits the desire of those who are in His communion and who rejoice in Him.


Saint Thalassios the Libyan

Slackness is the indifference of the soul.

A soul becomes indifferent, when it suffers from lasciviousness.


Saint Theodore of Edessa

Certain persons were curious, as to which of the two occurs :

Does a thought generate vices, or do vices generate a thought, because some maintained one opinion, and others, the other.

In my opinion, it is the vices which induce the thoughts. If the soul has no vices, then it will not be disturbed by evil thoughts. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

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