754 (CHRIST-ANTICHRIST/ VIRTUE-PASSIONS/ GOOD-EVILTHOUGHT (LOGISMOI) In our previous Paternal Advice, on the Feast of Christmas, we ended with the following phrase: “Let us not therefore, my brethren, waste our time in sin, but let us pursue goodness, virtue, and holiness; and let us henceforth have no further dealings with the Antichrist, his works and his agents, but only with Christ!” My brethren, an already known art of the devil is what we call disorientation. The devil, knowing the benefit that is derived in our engagement with Christ, the virtues, the sanctification, and in general the good…, always seeks ways to divert us to the opposite of these; that is, to the Antichrist, to the passions, to the defilements and every kind of evil… He spins around us our passions, around a sin that we are committing, as well as around the evils of our neighbour, his faults and his errors… He puts special “lenses” on us so that we see everything in its negative side and its evil side… It makes us misunderstand everything, it causes arguments, misunderstandings and fights… Let us not do so, my brethren!
Let us see everything with good thoughts, even in the worst case!
And, as Saint Paisios used to say, “Always try to have a good thought, even in the worst case, and you will not lose!” Of course, we are not referring here to the cases in which our neighbour blatantly harms us or does something to our detriment.
I say this, because, in these cases, it is not a question of making a good thought, whether the thing is or is not so, if the matter is so glaringly obvious. In these cases, we talk to our neighbour, without passion and malice, identifying his error with simplicity and sincerity. But except in these cases, which are, as I have said, so obvious, it is good and profitable to endeavour to always put a good thought, and avoid any misunderstandings, quarrelling, or altercations with our neighbour… Let us just note here that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, categorically declared to us:
“Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3). My brethren,
In these days, we have experienced the great, the supreme event of the birth of Christ in this poor cave of Bethlehem; there, where He deigned to become an infant for our salvation. Let us, then, drive away from ourselves, the selfishness and conceit, the vices and wickedness, and let us become poor in spirit, simple, guileless, and harmless as little children… Thus, shall we merit the kingdom of heaven from this present life. We shall live from now on in heaven and shall transmit its reflections to our neighbours… “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3), Jesus clarified elsewhere.
And, let us not forget our Lord’s word that the Kingdom of Heaven is within us: “Indeed, the Kingdom of God is within you” (Lk 17:21). May we also, following the above, be worthy of the Kingdom…, both in this present age and in the age to come; that is, now and always, and for ever and ever… Amen!