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Edifying quotes from Orthodox Saints and Elders
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<blockquote data-quote="DRIIIVER" data-source="post: 1580910" data-attributes="member: 23519"><p>Failing in Our Weakness vs. Failing Due to Our Pride & Building Our Temple in Christ with Help from the Holy Angels</p><p></p><p>77. The demons that wage war on us through our shortcomings in virtue are those that teach unchastity, drunkenness, avarice and envy. Those that wage war on us through our excessive zeal for virtue teach conceit, self-esteem and pride; they secretly pervert what is commendable into what is reprehensible.</p><p></p><p>78. When the demons attack us invisibly in the guise of spiritual friendship, pretending that they want to accomplish the death of sin by means which in themselves are good, and when they say, ‘Let us build with you the temple of your Lord’, would that we might always reply, ‘You cannot share with us in the building of the house for the Lord our God; we alone will build for the Lord of Israel’ (1 Esd. 5:70-71). </p><p></p><p><strong>‘We alone’ because, having been freed from the spirits that fight against us through our shortcomings in virtue, and having escaped from them, we do not now want to be pierced by those that excite our pride by encouraging us to excessive Zeal; because if that happened our fall would be far worse than if we had fallen on account of our shortcomings. </strong></p><p></p><p>For had we fallen for this former reason, there would have been a good chance of recovering, since we would be forgiven because of our weakness. But recovery is impossible, or at least difficult, if we fall because we have made ourselves hateful through our pride, and in place of what is right have set up something else which we regard as better. </p><p></p><p>Yet in another sense we are not building the temple alone because we have the holy angels to help us to do what is good; indeed, we even have God Himself, who reveals Himself to us through our works of righteousness said builds us as a holy temple, fit for Himself and free from every passion.</p><p></p><p>/// St Maximos the Confessor</p><p></p><p>Various Texts on Theology, the Divine Economy, and Virtue and Vice | Third Century</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DRIIIVER, post: 1580910, member: 23519"] Failing in Our Weakness vs. Failing Due to Our Pride & Building Our Temple in Christ with Help from the Holy Angels 77. The demons that wage war on us through our shortcomings in virtue are those that teach unchastity, drunkenness, avarice and envy. Those that wage war on us through our excessive zeal for virtue teach conceit, self-esteem and pride; they secretly pervert what is commendable into what is reprehensible. 78. When the demons attack us invisibly in the guise of spiritual friendship, pretending that they want to accomplish the death of sin by means which in themselves are good, and when they say, ‘Let us build with you the temple of your Lord’, would that we might always reply, ‘You cannot share with us in the building of the house for the Lord our God; we alone will build for the Lord of Israel’ (1 Esd. 5:70-71). [B]‘We alone’ because, having been freed from the spirits that fight against us through our shortcomings in virtue, and having escaped from them, we do not now want to be pierced by those that excite our pride by encouraging us to excessive Zeal; because if that happened our fall would be far worse than if we had fallen on account of our shortcomings. [/B] For had we fallen for this former reason, there would have been a good chance of recovering, since we would be forgiven because of our weakness. But recovery is impossible, or at least difficult, if we fall because we have made ourselves hateful through our pride, and in place of what is right have set up something else which we regard as better. Yet in another sense we are not building the temple alone because we have the holy angels to help us to do what is good; indeed, we even have God Himself, who reveals Himself to us through our works of righteousness said builds us as a holy temple, fit for Himself and free from every passion. /// St Maximos the Confessor Various Texts on Theology, the Divine Economy, and Virtue and Vice | Third Century [/QUOTE]
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