SO GOOD QUOTES

St. Isaac the Syrian in his seventy-second homily tells us, “As soon as Grace sees that a little self-esteem has begun to steal into a man’s thoughts, and that he has begun to think great things of himself, She [Grace] immediately permits the temptations opposing him to gain in strength and prevail, until he learns his weakness…and seeks refuge with God in humility.”

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Temptations come not to test us to see if we will be good; rather, temptations come to show us that we are not good and that we need to flee in humility to God for refuge.  Temptations come because we think we can make it through the day without God’s constant help.  Temptations come because we think a comfortable life is normal, rather than a gift from God.

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St. Isaac tells us, “all thoughts that dismay and frighten you will take flight from you, since these are customarily engendered in men by thoughts that look to comfort.”  

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The advice of St. Isaac is not the advice you get in the world.  The world teaches us the opposite.  The world teaches us that a comfortable life is normal, that it is normal to be fulfilled, content and satisfied.  And the world teaches us that if you are not experiencing such a happy life, it’s someone’s fault, and probably not yours.  And even though it’s not your fault, the world teaches us, that it is up to you to do something about it, to affix blame on someone, to fight for your rights, your right to a normal life as the world defines it.

Overcoming Temptations Through Low Expectations
Fr. Michael Gillis, Praying in the Rain