675 (PLEASURE/ IMPASSIVITY {APATHY}/ CAPTIVITY/ FREEDOM/ JOY/ COMPULSION) How can anyone understand what I am about to say?
The greatest pleasure is to have impassivity towards pleasure.
Can you understand this? You have το experience it, to live it in order to understand it.
If one succumbs to pleasure, this is no joy, but compulsion. It is no freedom, but captivity. In general, there is no greater pleasure than treating earthly matters with impassivity. Thus, one may turn completely towards spiritual and heavenly matters. (When I speak of pleasure, I do not mean only carnal pleasure but any other kind of attachment and captivity to earthly matters). We may apply again here what the Lord categorically said and which we often repeat:
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”(Matthew 18, 3)