Saint Maximus the Confessor: Self-Love as Mother of the Passions

The post presents a teaching from Saint Maximus the Confessor on self-love. He identifies self-love as the mother of the passions. According to the saint, whoever drives out self-love will, with God's help, easily be freed from the other passions such as anger, irritation, and resentment. Conversely, whoever is ruled by self-love is overpowered by the other passions, even against his will.

The teaching emphasizes the foundational role of self-love in the spiritual struggle and the necessity of overcoming it to gain freedom from the passions.