Overcoming #Lust: An Extended #Lesson
Dear members of John's Repentance spiritual service, today we send you different lessons from different stories about how to overcome the temptation of lust. Hence we entrust you to read it and use it in your daily lives.
1. A man held captive by lust wrestles with a ravenous flame in his heart, a fire that burns unceasingly. In his struggle against this humiliating proposition, he stumbles upon the power of prayer and fasting. As he adopts these practices, the once irresistible flame begins to ebb, its light diminishes, and his heart is relieved. Through fasting and prayer, he refocuses his energy away from his carnal desires and towards his spiritual growth.
2. Another individual, burdened by lust, seeks counsel from an elder. His transparency with the elder lifts the weight of his struggle, replacing it with encouragement and support. The elder advises him, “Fear not, yield not, but whenever the spirit combats you, remember the sanctity of the body and its higher purpose." By illuminating the sin, it loses power, and the individual regains control over his desires. It's essential to remember that opening up about our struggles lessens their burden and can allow for spiritual guidance and support.
5. Two brothers plagued by lust abandon their monastic lives for the pleasures of the world. However, they soon realize the emptiness of their actions, the looming dread of divine judgment, and decide to return to their monastic duties. They seek forgiveness, performing acts of penance, gradually releasing the grips of their earthly desires. Their transformation serves as a testament to the transformative power of repentance.
6. A brother, troubled by lustful temptations, receives an offer of divine intervention from an elder. However, he realizes that his struggle is refining his spirit, and so asks for strength instead of removal. This request enlightens the elder to a new understanding of struggle and spiritual growth.
7. Another brother is tormented by the image of a beautiful woman. The image is so overpowering that he finds himself engulfed in a fierce battle. He exposes himself to the reality of mortal decay, which helps him resist the tempting vision. Understanding the transient nature of physical beauty aids him in his fight against lust.
8. A son struggles against lustful desires and considers renouncing his monastic life. His father sends him to live in the desert for forty days, during which the true repulsive nature of lust is revealed. This experience strengthens his resolve to lead a spiritual life.
9. A monk beseeches an elder for advice on managing lustful thoughts. The elder advises him to contemplate death and eternal punishment—bitter truths that act like a powerful antidote to earthly temptations. The fearful consideration of these realities can help quiet the allure of lustful desires.
10. A brother endures forty days of intense battle against the spirit of lust, appearing in the form of a beautiful woman. His perseverance is recognized by God, who liberates him from the clutch of this temptation. His struggle highlights the value of persistence in spiritual battles.
About the #Holy #Trinity
Beloved members of John's Repentance service, today (Technically yesterday) is the monthly feast the Holy Trinity. Hence we send you this writing so you may read and partake form the Trinity's blessings.
The Holy Trinity - a profound mystery, one that confounds the human mind and yet, stands as a beacon of divine revelation. The Trinity, the triune God, is a singular essence manifested in three persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This, however, should not be confined within the human concept of numbers. The unity is not merely numerical, but a unity of divine essence, an unity of character. The three, then, surpasses the boundaries of numerics to suggest a unique trinity, a unique interconnectedness and interdependence.
God is beyond the comprehension of human mind, beyond the law of numbers. Thus, it is imperative that God Himself reveals the mystery of the Holy Trinity to His creation. The grand revelation - the incarnation of God - stands as a testament to this mystery. It is through the Son of God, Christ, becoming flesh that the eternal Fatherhood and Sonship become recognizable. It is during the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist that the world comes to acknowledge Christ as the eternal Son of God the Father.
The teachings of Christ post His baptism unraveled the divine nature of God the Father. These teachings, in combination with the moral life led by Christ, exhibited the coequality of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son. This divine revelation, in the body of Christ, was then passed on to the church, His body on earth. Christ informed us about God the Father, and the church, in her liturgical prayers, affirms this revelation.
The Holy Spirit, a purifying and glorifying life, is the life of the Father and the Son. He is the God who lives within the Father and the Son. During the baptism of Christ, He descended in the form of a dove, teaching us to be baptized in the Holy Spirit as per the Gospel of Matthew (28:19).
The apostle St. John begins his Gospel by affirming the eternal existence of the Word, indicating its unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit - the divine Trinity. He asserts that the Word was first, suggesting the preeminence of the Word, thereby allowing the fathers of the church to interpret the Old Testament through the lens of the New Testament. As such, the Old Testament is understood as foretelling the New Testament - the incarnation of the Son, who revealed to us His Father, and the Trinity.
When Christ queried His disciples about His identity, Saint Peter responded, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16). Christ then affirms that this knowledge comes from His Father, and blessed Peter for his testimony. This affirmation from Peter not only confirmed the identity of Christ, but also subtly illuminated the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Peter's words imply that Christ is the living Son of God, sustained by the life of the Holy Spirit - thereby acknowledging the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The essence of this revelation goes further to highlight the mystery of the Incarnation. Christ, who came in the flesh, was the awaited Messiah as prophesied by the prophets. Thus, St. Peter, through divine revelation, testified to the mystery of the Trinity and the Incarnation in one breath.
This revelation of the unity and trinity of God is evident in His creation and His salvation of the world. The Old Testament foretells God's plan for the salvation of the world, and the Gospel of John reveals the Trinity's involvement in the creation and salvation of the world. It is the same Trinity, who created the world from non-existence, that also saves the world with their unified power when it falls due to wrongdoing. Thus, we come to understand the divine interaction between the Creator and the creation as revealed in the Scriptures. The Trinity's nature, revealed
in the eternal life, is also manifest in the salvation of this world.
(Corninies) 👇