THE VENERABLE SAINT JOHN CASSIAN

Feast Day Feb/29; celebrated on Feb/28 on non-leap years

ON PASSIONS
Venerable Cassian numbered eight terrible passions  
And still the ninth - impure thoughts.
In food and drink, Gluttony the first,
To the spirit and body, Promiscuity the second,
Avarice, shackles which tie one to the metal,
Anger, of man's heart the frost which freezes and constricts.
Melancholy, which erodes the soul; the insatiable worm,
Slothfulness, drowsiness to a soul, which spins [weaves] death,
Vanity, a serpent; a many headed serpent,
It is everywhere and nowhere, the grass conceals it,
Pride, a double-edged sword that cuts and hems,
Both the young and old mercilessly destroys,
And the ones vigorous, and arrogant [proud] because of strength,
And the spiritual elders, to themselves, dear.
Of all these passions, our defense is God  
By the prayers of the holy Saint Cassian.

St. John Cassian writes of the struggle with the spirit of lust in this manner: "Struggle with the spirit of lust is a bitter  struggle; longer than other struggles; a daily struggle victoriously accomplished completely only by a small number of  people. This struggle begins with the first mature growth and does not cease until all other passions are defeated. In  this struggle, a two-fold weapon is necessary. For the achievement of this perfect and pure chastity bodily fasting  alone is not sufficient (although fasting, before everything else is necessary): along with this, meekness of the spirit  and unremitting prayer is necessary against this most impure spirit [lust].
After that, continual study of Holy Scripture together with prudent mental exercises and after that physical labour and  handiworks, all of which keeps the heart from lusting and restores it to itself and, above all, profound and true humility  without which victory over any passion can never be achieved. Victory over this passion [lust] is conditioned with the  perfect purification of the heart from which, according to the words of the Lord, flows the poison of this sickness [lust].  "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies" (St.  Matthew 15:19). One must have stable humility and patience in the heart as well as careful protection of oneself from  anger and other passions during the course of the day. For in as much as the fire of anger enters in us, afterward so  much easier, does the ember of passions penetrate us. It is interesting that even many other great spiritual fathers  bring into causal tie the passion of anger and the passion of lustful desire from which follows, that the most angry ones are the most lustful ones.

Starting with the Sunday Forgiveness Vespers, may you have a blessed Great Lent with  blessed struggles, and joyfully look forward to the Resurrection of our Lord!

‍

ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΣ ΙΕΡΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΙΚΗ
ΑΔΕΛΦΟΤΗΣ “ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΘΑΝΑΣΙΟΣ”
St. ATHANASIUS ORTHODOX  CHRISTIAN MISSION
ChristianOrthodoxMission@gmail.com
846 Pape Ave. Toronto, Ontario, M4K 3T6, Canada,
Tel 647-557- 4923

‍