The Struggle for Virtue Quotes

“One who loves his neighbor with holy, spiritual love wishes above all else to help him in what is most important: in the salvation of his soul, in his spiritual advancement, in coming closer to God. And so the goal of each one of us who experiences feelings of love for anyone is to cleanse this love of any unwholesome passions, striving to make it truly spiritual, reasonable, and holy.”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“Therefore, the Holy Fathers say that he who desires to be victorious in unseen warfare must establish the following four dispositions or inclinations in his heart: (1) never in any way rely on yourself; (2) always have in your heart complete, resolute hope in the One God; (3) work unceasingly; and (4) always be in prayer. From”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“Come, let us weep before the Lord, who has created us, weep out all the sins of our insane pride before Him.”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“Therefore, it is perfectly clear and natural that the principal task in the life of a Christian, the essence of the spiritual life, is a constant, never-ending battle with evil, which does not relax, even for a moment. But with what evil should a Christian constantly do battle? Can it be that his calling consists of incessantly observing, watching for the appearance of evil in the people surrounding him and to judge, rebuke, and punish them for this evil? The majority of people act in just such a way, which is why judgment of others and mutual attacks upon one another for evil acts, or only apparently evil acts, are increasing without limit. And this is what makes contemporary life a living hell. Each person seeks out evil in other people, reproaching, attacking and berating them, not noticing the evil in their own soul. Clearly, the Apostle’s warning is being fulfilled: If you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another (Gal 5:15). What, then, should we do? And with what evil should the Christian engage in battle? A Christian should fight every type of evil wherever it appears, but this battle with evil should, in the first place, be a battle in his own soul. The battle with evil should begin with oneself, and only then will it be correct, reasonable, and sound. One who has fought and rooted out evil in his own soul will much more easily wage a battle with evil in the souls of other people; and the less evil remains in the soul of the soldier of Christ, the more successful this battle will be. This great truth has been completely forgotten by contemporary people who have turned away from Christianity and think that they can benefit humanity by persecuting and harassing others for things that they perceive to be evil, but which may not necessarily be so, all the while themselves remaining evil in their own souls. “A battle with evil in my own soul” is a true Christian’s fundamental motto, and it is the one true principle, the one sound and reliable foundation on which one can build the well-being of humanity. Neither mutual persecution or oppression for different political convictions, nor the brutal annihilation of dissenting individuals with which modern leaders are occupied, but the destruction of evil in one’s own soul is that which is necessary. This is the only way to avoid the terrible abyss of destruction into which humanity is on the verge of careening. All”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“Therefore, it is perfectly clear and natural that the principal task in the life of a Christian, the essence of the spiritual life, is a constant, never-ending battle with evil, which does not relax, even for a moment. But with what evil should a Christian constantly do battle? Can it be that his calling consists of incessantly observing, watching for the appearance of evil in the people surrounding him and to judge, rebuke, and punish them for this evil? The majority of people act in just such a way, which is why judgment of others and mutual attacks upon one another for evil acts, or only apparently evil acts, are increasing without limit. And this is what makes contemporary life a living hell. Each person seeks out evil in other people, reproaching, attacking and berating them, not noticing the evil in their own soul. Clearly, the Apostle’s warning is being fulfilled: If you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another (Gal 5:15). What, then, should we do? And with what evil should the Christian engage in battle? A Christian should fight every type of evil wherever it appears, but this battle with evil should, in the first place, be a battle in his own soul. The battle with evil should begin with oneself, and only then will it be correct, reasonable, and sound.”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“What do we especially need to remember in the battle with the passions? “Every resistance to the demands of the passions weakens them; constant resistance to a passion dethrones it. On the other hand, the fondness for a passion strengthens it; the constant fondness for a passion enslaves the one that has become fond of it” (St Ignatius (Brianchaninov)). The”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“The Holy Fathers define “acceptance” as entering into conversation with thoughts that arise, or attending to them as to a guest who has come into our home. This stage may be either not sinful or already sinful, the beginning of sin. If, having directed our attention to the thought, we see that it is not good, but rather evil, and that it is leading us to sin, and immediately take up arms against it and strive to promptly chase it out of our consciousness, then this second stage will be as sinless as the first stage. But if, having examined the thought, we see that it is bad and sinful but, nevertheless, retain it in our consciousness, relish it and sympathize with it, then thus begins the third stage, which is fully sinful, the so-called consent.”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“It is in one’s personal effort to eradicate evil and to implant good that the essence of Christian struggle or asceticism lies. One must coerce oneself in every way, constrain oneself to refrain from every type of evil, and compel oneself to every good. Unseen warfare is impossible without one’s own efforts. “Water does not flow under a rock lying on the ground,” as the wise Russian proverb goes.”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“But how shall we know if we are free of reliance upon ourselves and have complete hope in God? This is known in the following way. Some may think that they do not rely upon themselves and that they place all of their hope in God. But when they fall into some sort of sin, they despair and come into a melancholy and dismal state of soul. This excessive, dismal sorrow is a sign that they hoped not in God but in themselves, and therefore this betrayal of their self-assurance through their fall is particularly difficult and torturous, and it brings them into despair. But the one who does not rely upon himself, upon his own powers, will not be particularly surprised by a fall and will not be overwhelmed with excessive sorrow; he knows and understands that this happened because of his weakness and that nothing good can be expected of him. Such a man humbly admits his weakness, his helplessness, and, therefore, instead of giving himself over to extreme sorrow, he hastens to God, pouring out in prayer before Him his repentant feelings, hastens to repent before God of his sin as soon as possible, with his whole heart, and to continue to battle with unseen enemies and with the evil living in his soul—he hastens into unseen warfare. It”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“This unseen warfare is not easy! It is much more difficult than any ordinary earthly warfare, for it is much easier to battle with other people than with oneself. In the words of the Holy Fathers, one who engages in this unseen warfare is fighting against himself or, more correctly, his own self-love, self-centeredness, or, in secular terminology, his egoism which is rooted in self-assertive human pride. In other words, the essence of unseen warfare is in a persistent battle with the spirit of self-assertive human pride and all its offspring– various passions and vices. As”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“But most importantly, we repeat, is that this basic truth is forgotten: that only one who has battled with evil in his own soul can successfully wage battle with evil in general and, therefore, the battle with evil must begin in one’s own soul, with unseen warfare. Just”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“One who has fought and rooted out evil in his own soul will much more easily wage a battle with evil in the souls of other people; and the less evil remains in the soul of the soldier of Christ, the more successful this battle will be. This great truth has been completely forgotten by contemporary people who have turned away from Christianity and think that they can benefit humanity by persecuting and harassing others for things that they perceive to be evil, but which may not necessarily be so, all the while themselves remaining evil in their own souls.”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“no matter how much a person suppresses within himself the needs of the spirit, these needs will demand their rights. The spirit yearns for God and, unable to find a means of escape for its aspirations under the violent pressure of the crude oppression of human pride, the spirit satisfies itself by substitutes, which are invented by the same human pride in order to calm it. In place of authentic religion, the spirit is given some nebulous philosophical teaching, or theosophy, or spiritism. In place of the Church, it is offered the “temple” of science, or the theater, ballet, etc.—anything from worldly life, capable of fully captivating the person. This kind of forgery, the substitute for spirituality by something emotional, is a defining characteristic of our times. For”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“Now it should be clear what the spiritual life consists of, in contrast to the life of the soul and body. The spiritual life consists of satisfying the needs of the spirit, and the needs of the spirit consist of a person’s striving towards God, seeking for living communion with Him, and the desire to live according to God’s will. Is”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“Having given His own life as an example of the most profound humility, the incarnate Only-Begotten Son of God also lay humility as the foundation of His teaching. From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 4:17). “Repent”—that is, lay aside your pride, acknowledge yourself as a sinner, and hasten to God not with a feeling of self-satisfied superiority, but with the feeling of your spiritual poverty, your nothingness, your indecency, and pray to God for the forgiveness of your sins and for mercy.”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

“Of course, no one would deny that it is primarily monks who take upon themselves the obligation of living the spiritual life and of being ascetic strugglers. But can laymen, who have not given monastic vows, consider themselves wholly free from such an obligation? Only through incomprehension, thoughtlessness, and a misunderstanding of that to which God calls all Christians, regardless of whether they are monks or laymen. After”
― Averky Taushev, The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society