Holy Resurrection
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St. John Climacus on Passions, Illness, and the Struggle for Dispassion
5:08
The video summarizes teachings from St. John Climacus in Philokalia Volume II, Chapter 3, on virtues, passions, and the ascetic struggle. It explains that illness can be sent by God to cleanse sins or humble pride when a person neglects ascetic labors. Every event can be received in three ways: with a good disposition, a passionate disposition, or a mixed disposition, illustrated by three brothers who suffered the same loss but reacted differently.
Farmers sowing the same virtues, fasting, vigils, almsgiving, do so with vastly different intentions, such as paying debts, gaining wealth, honoring their master, seeking praise, vexing an enemy, or avoiding reproach. Passions often hide within virtues: gluttony with hospitality, lust with love, pride with humility, and vainglory acts as a poison that corrupts even good works.
The Lord desires to free all from passions instantly but respects free will; unanswered prayers result from asking at the wrong time, beyond one's measure, from vainglory, or because granting the request would cause pride or negligence. Pride alone can replace all other passions and cast a person down from heaven. Demons sometimes withdraw to lull the soul into carelessness before attacking, or they leave when the soul is fixed in sinful habits.
A fifth kind of dispassion arises from simplicity and guilelessness, where God frees the upright heart without the person's awareness.
Key moments
- Illness is sent for the cleansing of sins or to humble pride and self-exaltation; when someone is negligent in ascetic labors, the Lord humbles the flesh through illness as a less demanding form of ascetic struggle.
- All events can be received in three ways: with a good disposition, a passionate disposition, or a mixed disposition; three brothers suffered the same loss, one was indignant, one undisturbed, one joyful.
- Farmers sow the same seeds, fasting, vigils, almsgiving, acts of service, but with different intentions: to pay debts, become rich, honor their master, earn praise, vex an enemy, or avoid reproach for idleness.
- Passions secretly entwine with virtues: gluttony with hospitality, lust with love, excessive severity with discernment, cunning with prudence, suspicion with slowness, laziness with contentiousness, self-will with meekness, the urge to teach with silence, self-conceit with joy, hope with laziness, judgment with love, despondency with stillness, bitterness with purity, undue boldness with humility.
- Vain glory comes last as a common remedy that is actually a poison; we should not grieve when the Lord does not answer our requests for a long time.
- The Lord desires all to become free from passions in a single moment but encounters the obstacle of free will; unanswered prayers result from asking before the proper time, asking beyond one's measure, asking from vainglory, or because granting would cause pride or negligence.
- Sometimes all passions depart except pride, which alone takes the place of all others and can cast a person down even from heaven; divine fire consumes and uproots the substance of passions from the soul.
- Demons withdraw to lull the soul into carelessness then suddenly attack and plunder it, or they withdraw when the soul is fixed in sinful habits like infants sucking fingers after weaning; a fifth dispassion arises from simplicity and guilelessness, where God frees the upright heart without their awareness.