St. Mark the Ascetic on Sorrow, Suffering, and Remembering God

What the video says

Sorrow reminds the wise person of God but deepens the sorrow of those who forget Him; forgetfulness is not passive but grows through negligence. Doing the good one remembers reveals what was forgotten, and Scripture identifies hell with ignorance and forgetfulness with destruction. One should attend to one's own sins rather than a neighbor's, since sloth does no good work while almsgiving and prayer repay its debt, and godly sorrow is inseparable from piety.

Virtues gained without suffering are without hope, for involuntary suffering serves to purify sins, and a person's own firm resolve benefits more than much counsel. Spiritual healing comes through obeying one's conscience, which knows hidden deeds along with God, and God orders the course of deeds according to righteousness. Loving reproof for one's sins is better than praise from men, and good should be done for the sake of the coming reward.

When good is done by word or deed, both parties should acknowledge God's grace, though the wiser understands this. Hypocritical praise eventually turns to attack and shame, and ignorance of the snares of enemies and the roots of the passions leads to spiritual ruin.

Key moments

1. 0:12 Sorrow gives the wise occasion to remember God but makes the forgetful more sorrowful; forgetfulness has no power in itself but is sustained by negligence and grows with it.
2. 0:42 One forgets because one neglected to act on what was remembered; doing the good one remembers reveals what is forgotten; Scripture says hell and destruction are manifest before the Lord, referring to ignorance of the heart and forgetfulness.
3. 1:14 Hell is ignorance and forgetfulness is destruction; concern yourself with your own evil deeds, not your neighbor's; sloth undertakes no good work; almsgiving and prayer repay the debt of sloth; godly sorrow is inseparable from piety.
4. 1:44 Virtues acquired without suffering are without hope; the purpose of involuntary suffering is the purification of sins; one's own firm resolve is more beneficial than much counsel.
5. 2:15 Attend to your conscience for spiritual healing; God and the conscience know hidden deeds; a man acts by his will but God orders deeds according to righteousness; loving reproof for sins is better than praise from men.
6. 2:47 It is better to do good for the sake of the reward to come; when one does good to another, both should acknowledge God's grace helped them, and the wiser understands this.
7. 3:20 Hypocritical praise leads to later attack and shame; one who does not recognize the snares of enemies easily perishes, and one who does not know the causes and roots of the passions easily falls.