Category: TEMPTATION & LUST & VIRGINITY
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56. When the body is urged by the senses to indulge its own desires and pleasures, the corrupted intellect readily succumbs and assents to its impassioned fantasies and impulses. But the regenerated intellect exercises self-control and withholds itself from them. Moreover, as a true philosopher it studies how to rectify such impulses.
—St. Maximos the Confessor, Four Hundred Texts on Love
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167. When images of some sensual pleasure arise in you, watch yourself so as not to be carried away by it. Pause a little, think about death, and reflect how much better it is consciously to overcome this illusory pleasure.
Anthony the Great: On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life: One Hundred and Seventy Texts
Philokalia -
164. A man knows God and is known by Him in so far as he makes every effort not to be separated from God; and he will succeed in this if he is good in every way and refrains from all sensual pleasure, not because he lacks the means to indulge such pleasure, but because of his own determination and self-control.
Anthony the Great: On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life: One Hundred and Seventy Texts
Philokalia -
92. Our God has granted immortality to those in heaven, but for those on earth He has created mutability, giving life and movement to the whole of creation; and all this for man’s sake. So do [V1] 344 St Antony the Great On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life One Hundred and Seventy Texts not be ensnared by the worldly fantasies of the demon who insinuates evil recollections into the soul, but immediately call to mind the blessings of heaven and say to yourself: ‘If I so wish, it is in my power to win even this struggle against passion; but I shall not win if I am set on fulfilling my own desire.’ So struggle in this way, since it can save your soul.
Anthony the Great: On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life: One Hundred and Seventy Texts
Philokalia -
What are the most common things that mess up our heart in? Sexual desires, lust. That’s why the next verse right away says, for harlot is a deep pit, and as a seductress is a narrow well.
When I don’t protect my heart and give it to God, I will be stressed, but I also have a lot of desires. How do I deal with this? It turns to lust, and here he’s giving you a metaphor of a deep pit.
It almost traps people. People who are struggling with lust and sexual sins, it could last for years, and they have a hard time to escape that pit. Why? Because the heart is not fully turned to God.
So also interesting, because the deep pit is also referenced to the well where people get water.
So he’s giving you a beautiful analogy. It says, like people go to that deep pit thinking it’s a well where they can get water and refreshment to satisfy themselves, but then they end up being trapped inside that well.
Why? Because the heart is not with God.
Don’t come until I wanna, how can I overcome sin?
And abouna asks you, how is your prayer, your Bible reading? Abouna it’s okay, but help me out to stop the sin. Dude, how is your prayer, your Bible reading?
That’s what helps you to stop the sin. Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, but what other practical ways it could help you to stop the sin? Your heart is not with God. That’s the problem. You don’t believe it. You don’t believe that God will transform your heart. You don’t believe the Word of God will change your heart. That’s why you’re asking these stupid questions, because you think it’s something else outside God’s word and spending time with him that will transform you.
It’s not right.
It shows a lack of wisdom and understanding.
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What St. Augustine is saying, is that these sins of lust, they not only trap us, they try to destroy us.
It takes a lot from us. Takes a lot about how we view God, how we view ourself, how we view other people, how we deal with stress, how we deal with how we deal with our free time. It distorts so many things, she also lies in wait for as for a victim, and increases her unfaithful among men.
So she is depicting her as conspiring to plunder her victims in cold, calculated, ruthless way.
And many people have felt a prey to lust, and it has impacted their life.
So he’s saying, be very careful, give your heart to God.
What worries you is what makes you run to lust. What makes you not productive in your free time is what makes you run to lust. Give your heart to God.
—Fr. Mina Dimitri -
The Christian attitude does not mean that there is anything wrong about sexual pleasure, any more than about the pleasure of eating. It means that you must not isolate that pleasure and try to get it by itself, any more than you ought to try to get the pleasures of taste without swallowing and digesting, by chewing things and spitting them out again.
—C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
SO GOOD QUOTES 