The Ladder of Divine Ascent: Rung 15

 

Purity. We are always seeking purity. Whether that be gold, silver, diamonds or the like we love pure things. Unclean things are less desirable and people tend to shy away from them because they don’t want the connotations associated with them.  In the same way a Christian should not seek unclean things and only those things which are pure. St. Paul says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)  He tells us that we should dwell on the good things. The goodness of Christ, the mercy of God. These are the things which God wants for us and desires for us. We often times, don’t want to focus on the good we focus on the bad.  St. John echoing back to St. Paul says, “Purity means that we put on the angelic nature. Purity is the longed-for house of Christ and the earthly heaven of the heart. Purity is a supernatural denial of nature, which means that a mortal and corruptible body is rivalling the celestial spirits in a truly marvellous way.” He also says, “The beginning of purity is the refusal to have anything to do with bad thoughts and occasional dreamless emissions; the middle state of purity is natural movements due to excess of food, but without dreams and emissions; and the end of purity is the mortification of the body after previously mortifying bad thoughts.” Lastly, he says, “He who fights this adversary by bodily hardship and perspiration is like one who has tied his foe to a dry branch. But he who opposes him by temperance, sleeplessness and vigil is like one who puts a dog-collar on him. He who opposes him by humility, freedom from irritability and thirst is like one who has killed his enemy and hidden him in the sand. And by sand I mean humility, because it produces no fodder for the passions but is mere earth and ashes.” By being able to remove yourself from the vices of sin and death, one is able to achieve purity, not by the means of themselves but by the synergistic observance of salvation. With the help of God and the saints, we are able to overcome the world. There are many things that must be done to achieve purity. We might need to confess our sins, remove occult books from our home, pray more often, fast from foods. The world around us expects us to embrace the things in our lives that give us pleasure. Bad thoughts are like airplanes waiting to land, and we the air traffic controller need to decide whether we will accept those thoughts or another airport needs to be found by the plane.

It is not an easy task brothers and sisters, there are devils all around us that will make us question the sanity of God and the love he shows for us. For some it will be the desire to obtain beautiful things like new shoes and caps. For others it will be to have their plaudits read for all to see. We cannot in any way allow the devils to be able to grasp hold of us. Reminding ourselves daily of who we belong to, will grant us the desire to please God alone and to shun the world in entirety. When beginning to take the path of salvation we will struggle. St. John says, “With beginners falls usually occur by reason of luxury; with intermediates because of haughtiness as well as from the same cause which leads to the fall of beginners; and with those approaching perfection, solely from judging their neighbour.” He also says, “He who has resolved to contend with his flesh and conquer it himself struggles in vain. For unless the Lord destroys the house of the flesh and builds the house of the soul, the man who desires to destroy it has watched and fasted in vain.” Often times because of our history and our love for the Church we become prideful, boasting about the nature of our Church and proclaiming we are the true Church of Jesus Christ. All which is true. However, it is the way we approach the matter that leaves us without purity. We become haughty and prideful of being pure in our teachings and our lifestyles. We look down on the misguided and the misfortunate and thank ourselves that we are not like others. However, in this case we are no different than the Pharisee who pointed out the publican in the temple and thought less of him. Those of us who are beginners, seek luxury and ease rather than the fires of Mordor, if I may make a Lord of the Rings reference here. We desire the best food, the best clothes, the best house. In other words we display our pride in ways that are unbecoming of Christians. Those who have neared perfection however will judge their neighbors and still fall. St. John says, “The Lord, being incorruptible and incorporeal, rejoices in the purity and incorruptibility of our body. But nothing gives such joy to the demons, some say, as the stench of fornication, and no other passion so gladdens them as the defilement of the body.” Are we so deaf to the will of God that we would give victory to the demons so that they could gloat and satisfy their craving to rub it in God’s face? Most people are. Only those who have by their own struggles overcome the world and rendered the devil incapacitated from any hold over them are able to relieve themselves of this vice. None have achieved it save the saints who spent long hours in spiritual warfare on earth. Another quote that fits here by St. John is this, “He who sees that some passion is getting the better of him, should first of all take up arms against this passion, and moreover against this passion alone, especially if it is the domestic foe; be cause until this passion is destroyed, we shall not derive any profit from the conquest of other passions. When we have killed this Egyptian, we shall certainly see God in the bush of humility.”

Be on your guard then that you do not falter in your steps. Time will come when you must fight in the arena of the soul and delve into the depths of your being to slay the beast of death. When these times come, the world will try and destroy you. St. John says, “Let us listen again to another wile of our foes. Just as food bad for the body produces sickness after a time or some days, so this often happens in the case of actions which defile the soul. I have seen some give way to luxury and not at once feel the attacks of the enemy. I have seen others eat with women and converse with them and at the time have no bad thoughts whatsoever in their mind. They were thus deceived and encouraged to grow careless and to think that they were in peace and safety, and they suddenly suffered destruction in their cells. But what bodily and spiritual destruction comes to us when we are alone? He who is tempted knows. And he who is not tempted does not need to know. Being a soldier for Christ means we must be on watch 24/7.  We cannot afford to give into our passions even in sleep. For if we do, the consequences will be our immortal souls. Again St. John reminds of us this giving perhaps one of my favorite quotes, saying, “Some think that battles and emissions during sleep come only from food. But I have observed that people who are seriously ill and the strictest fasters are very prone to these pollutions. I once asked one of the most experienced and distinguished monks about this, and the blessed man explained it to me very clearly. ‘Emissions during sleep,’ said that ever-memorable man, ‘come from abundance of food and from a life of ease. They also come from contempt, when we pride ourselves that we have not been subject to these effluxes for a long time. And also they come from judging our neighbour. The last cases,’ he added, ‘can happen even to the sick.’ But perhaps all three can. But if anyone is unable to find any of these reasons in himself, then he is indeed blessed to be so free from passion. And if this happens to him, then it comes solely from the envy of the demons, and God allows it for a time in order that, after a sinless mishap, he may obtain the most sublime humility.  So with that said, let us not be complacent, let us not be satisfied with ourselves. There is always room for improvement and we will never be able to obtain everything. We are only given that what is vital for our salvation. We must protect it with all costs. We must be like St. John the Russian, like St. Ignatius of Antioch, and all the other great saints who have stood facing their persecutors and never recanted their faith. I leave you with this saying by St. John. He says, “Let us by every means in our power avoid either seeing or hearing of that fruit which we have vowed not to taste. For it is absurd to think ourselves stronger than the Prophet David—that is impossible.”

Let us then be steadfast never surrendering, and standing firm in God. Witnessing for God and being above reproach. When the time comes be pure of heart, pure of spirit and never ever give up.

Amen.