The Holy Fathers say that, unless we humble ourselves, the Lord will not stop humbling us. He will use someone in order to humble us. Someone will provoke our anger and do it until we learn to remain calm and peaceful when provoked. When we can stay calm when someone attacks us from all sides, when we can keep our inner peace in spite of that person’s rudeness, then our soul will become meek and humble and we will live this life with a full understanding of it. And our neighbors will tell us, “You have changed; you used to have a fiery temperament, but now you have somehow become calm and dispassionate.”
—Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica, Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives
Category: PRIDE
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Therefore, keep watch over yourself and be deliberate. If you notice that you are becoming irritable and intolerant, lighten your load a little. If you have the desire to look askance at others, to reproach or instruct or make remarks, you are on the wrong road: he who denies himself, has nothing with which to reproach others. If you think you are becoming “disturbed” by people or by external circumstances, you have not understood your work aright: everything that at first glance appears disturbing is really given as an opportunity to practice in tolerance, patience and obedience. The humble man cannot be disturbed, he can only disturb.
Way of the Ascetics: The Ancient Tradition of Discipline and Inner Growth
Tito Colliander -
The tax collector who was able to say, “me a sinner!” (Lk. 18:13) deserved to come out of the Temple justified, contrary to the Pharisee who found nothing for which to blame himself, and so said, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men- extortioners, unjust, adulterers” (Lk.18:11).
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, Before the Just Judge
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If you fall into some transgression, quickly turn to the realisation of your weakness and be aware of it. For God allows you to fall for the very purpose of making you more aware of your weakness, so that you may thus not only yourself learn to despise yourself, but because of your great weakness may wish to be despised also by others. Know that without such desire it is impossible for this beneficent self-disbelief to be born and take root in you. This is the foundation and beginning of true humility, since it is based on realisation, by experience, of your impotence and unreliability.
From this, each of us sees how necessary it is for a man, who desires to participate in heavenly light, to know himself, and how God’s mercy usually leads the proud and self-reliant to this knowledge through their downfalls, justly allowing them to fall into the very sin from which they think they are strong enough to protect themselves, so as to make them see their weakness and prevent them from relying foolhardily on themselves either in this or in anything else.
Unseen Warfare
Lorenzo Scupoli -
How dangerous is the feeling that we are the only ones worshiping God, or the only ones with principles!
There are those who judge the whole generation and judge all people as being lost and corrupted! They forget that there are those who are chosen by God, whom they might not know, but God knows them.
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The one who has love rejoices at having many like him or even better than him. As for the self-conceited, this matter troubles him, or at least does not cheer him! He thinks it is a challenge to him. He does not even care about God, but about himself.
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, WORDS OF SPIRITUAL BENEFIT VOL. II
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The demons of anger, strife, stubbornness and pride, all stand totally bewildered before the person who possesses the virtue of self-reproach, not knowing how to conquer him, but gnashing their teeth in vexation, defeated before this person who never justifies himself, never gets angry with anyone, who neither contends nor shouts, but with a soft answer and a kind word together with reproaching himself, solves every strife and disperses every anger. Such a person lives meekly, gently and peaceably, and is loved by all. He does not contend with anyone, neither does he permit himself to be angry with anyone, however much he is in the right.
For he reproaches himself, saying, “If I become angry with this person and enraged at him, I will lose the virtue of meekness and the virtue of endurance, the virtue of love and the virtue of being at peace with people. And then I will be at fault”.
Thus he reproaches himself – not for sins which he has committed – but for sins which he warns himself from falling into. Consequently, he becomes watchful and on his guard, and his soul advances towards perfection.
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, Before the Just Judge
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He who reproaches himself is able to live in continual peace with others. Even if a misunderstanding were to arise, through his self-reproaching, reconciliation is easily attained. Strife worsens when each party persists in his own stand, each justifying himself that he is in the right, and the other in the wrong.
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, Before the Just Judge
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Regarding this, I would like to make a painful observation, which is that many say that they are sinners when deep inside they do not believe it. Such a person might use the word ‘sinner’ about himself, merely with his lips, in order to appear humble, but inside he is not convinced that he is a sinner. If you say to him, “You have sinned”, he will become enraged with you and vehemently defend himself.
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, Before the Just Judge
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Because they understood vainglory to be a recurrent and serious problem, the early Fathers recommended several practical strategies against it—most of which did not involve sneaking off and slandering yourself before city officials. For example, you could try to avoid excessive attachment to glory by avoiding any attachments to human opinion at all. So one Desert Father offers this advice on how to make “death to the world” one’s spiritual vocation: A brother came to see Abba Macarius the Egyptian, and said to him, “Abba, give me a word.” So the old man said, “Go to the cemetery and abuse the dead.” The brother went there, abused them and threw stones at them; then he returned and told the old man about it. The latter said to him, “Didn’t they say anything to you?” He replied, “No.” The old man said, “Go back tomorrow and praise them.” So the brother went away and praised them, calling them “Apostles, saints, and righteous men.” He returned to the old man and said to him, “I have complimented them.” And the old man said to him, “Did they not answer you?” The brother said no. The old man said to him, “You know how you insulted them and they did not reply, and how you praised them and they did not speak; so you too if you wish to be saved must do the same and become a dead man. Like the dead, take no account of either the scorn of men or their praises.”
—Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, Vainglory: The Forgotten Vice
SO GOOD QUOTES 