Are obsessive blasphemous thoughts blamed?
Hello, father! Tell me, are intrusive gods installed? blasphemous thoughts into sin? Or is it just, as psychotherapists say, obsessive disorder? Thank you. Anna.
Anna, such thoughts most often occur during attacks by the devil. That is, these are not your thoughts, but the enemy’s. Another thing is that there may be certain reasons why an attack of this kind became possible or intensified. True, understanding these reasons is not always easy, and sometimes even dangerous. It’s safer to simply repent, confess what we recognize as a sin, and also ask for deliverance from this mental warfare. Including asking for help and deliverance from such attacks in the Sacrament of Communion. And in general, treat this as an element, a storm, a thunderstorm, which is better to endure, wait out, but not panic. “Through your patience save your souls” (Luke 21:19).
How to deal with thoughts?
Please tell us about the struggle with thoughts: firstly, in prayer, and secondly, when there are mental slander against your neighbor: and you feel that this is a lie, but it is imposed by thoughts.
According to the generally accepted opinion in patristic writing, thoughts that arise and act in the sphere of our consciousness have their root in manifestations of certain passions. Saint Gregory of Nyssa teaches that they all grow from bad work of the mind. The variety of passionate thoughts can be divided into three main categories: unclean, or carnal; evil, or crafty; as well as blasphemous or blasphemous thoughts.
Impure thoughts are inherent in sensual lust, evil ones are characteristic of evil will, and blasphemous thoughts especially overcome a darkened mind. In other words, the devil attacks by instilling precisely those thoughts that, due to the rootedness of this or that passion, would receive the greatest sinful development in us. According to the word of the Monk Macarius of Egypt, a soul that is not involved in Divine grace is filled with the great stench of unclean and evil thoughts. Only in the process of spiritual and moral transformation of a person does the Holy Spirit guide him through thoughts worthy of the soul, good, pure and holy.
Thus, the very ability to control the mind (in patristic writing - “keeping the mind”) is a gift of God and is acquired by complete conversion to Christ, the fulfillment of His commandments. Any prayer “technique” will be ineffective if you do not keep in mind this main condition for spiritual success. Priest Alexander Elchaninov has these words: “Prayer is an art; an incorrectly formulated prayer increases internal chaos, especially in nervously unstable people.” And one of the best Russian ascetic writers notes: “The preparation for prayer is an unsatiated belly, cutting off cares with the sword of faith, forgiveness from the sincerity of the heart of all offenses, thanksgiving to God for all the sorrowful incidents of life, removing from oneself absent-mindedness and daydreaming, reverent fear...” (St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). The spirit of prayer of the beginner. Ascetic experiences. T. 2).
In patristic literature, the stages of the gradual influence of passionate thoughts on the human soul are especially studied. If a person does not bear moral responsibility for the so-called pretext, then attention to this or that thought, the combination of the mind with it, pleasure and further captivity mean a clear inclination of our will to sin. The most effective thing is to cut off a thought, or pretext, even before it has developed in our mind. “Based on the real danger of delay in thought, which is invariably followed by pleasure, desire and captivity, making victory over passion more and more difficult and less and less likely, therefore the holy fathers categorically forbid dwelling with the mind on passionate thoughts” (Archimandrite Plato. Orthodox moral theology) .
As for evil thoughts or mental slander against one’s neighbor, it is necessary to resort to the most serious prayer with a request to deliver precisely from this evil. It is very important to learn patience and try not to externally show irritation or hostility - these are the consequences of internal warfare. If we do not learn this, we will not be able to begin to fight the internal manifestations of passions. But without God’s help, human strength alone cannot cope with mental warfare. You cannot independently undertake to untangle your own thoughts, to figure out exactly what their origin is, for “discernment of thoughts” is a high spiritual gift.
The Holy Fathers advised treating mental warfare as a given and not fighting its manifestations one on one, but, having hope in the mercy of God and realizing one’s weakness, learn sobriety and determination in carrying out gospel commandments. “Let your prayer be a constant complaint against the sin that oppresses you. Go deep into yourself, open yourself with attentive prayer - you will see that you are definitely a widow in relation to Christ because of the sin living in you, hostile to you, producing internal struggle and torment in you, making you alien to God” (St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). There same).
How to get rid of mental
Blame the Lord?
Father! I don’t know what to do and how to get rid of this scourge! The fact is that something seems to come over me, namely, abuse in my thoughts, abuse against the Lord Jesus Christ. I understand in my heart that what I think is not that this is blasphemy against the Lord. I only feel better in church, as if it’s letting go, then it starts again. I really hope for your advice. It seems to me as if the devil has grabbed hold of me and doesn’t want to let go. I know: he did the same thing to Seraphim of Sarov. Maybe I should pray to him to save me from this. Excuse me. Maksim.
Dear Maxim! Mental blasphemy is not news, and the enemy of the human race has attacked and is attacking more than one Venerable Seraphim of Sarov. The reasons for this may be different, but one of them is that, seeing at least some kind of conversion of a person to Christ, to salvation, seeing that we have begun repentance and are trying to get out from under his complete power, the devil both takes up arms and attacks precisely with such thoughts. Moreover, indeed, sometimes God allows the devil to act with a force that is especially noticeable to us so that we understand how sin has captivated us and with whom in the person of the devil we are dealing. However, there is no need to panic or despair! In any case, whatever the experience of your church life, first of all pay attention to regular confession and communion. Try to receive communion at the Liturgy at least once a month and each time earnestly ask God for help and deliverance from what is bothering you at that moment. Is this kind of mental warfare disturbing, haunting, as it is now? So ask the Lord to deliver from it through the communion of His Eucharistic Body and Blood. If you do this with faith and repentance, you will see that God’s help will not delay!
Are lustful thoughts sinful?
Question about lustful thoughts. If erotic scenes with a loved one arise in your imagination (we are not married), is that bad? Let me explain: I imagine that we are already married and entering into intimacy. But I don’t plan such a relationship before marriage, and in my fantasies we are married. Is this lustful thoughts? After all, I don’t think of fornication with this man, I want to become his wife.
Erotic fantasies that suddenly begin to dominate the mind and heart are not pleasing to God, because outside the context of a specific marital relationship they are fruitless and similar to attempts at self-satisfaction, which is very destructive for the human personality for the reason that they provide scope for the boundless and unbridled development of passionate fantasies. The latter, not finding realization, sometimes push a person to various kinds perversions, and even sexual crimes. You can also add here that created in the image God's man hides in itself great power, a mass of energy that, if not channeled in the right direction, can be destructive both for oneself and for others. The truth of the Gospel gives us a direct opportunity to dispose of ourselves and the powers of our souls in the best saving way, although this requires a narrow Christian path. Free choice, however, remains ours here.
Why does a godly person rebel in his thoughts against another godly person?
Hello. Please tell me why when I light a candle at home, I feel normal and calm, but when a candle is lit at my sister’s house, something starts to bother me and make me angry. I'm starting to get nervous. What is it and what should I do? Andrey.
Most likely, this is just a temptation from the devil, because this character is the source of all evil, confusion, anxiety and anger. As the holy fathers say, the devil has access to us through our sins and passions, especially through those to which he sees in us an inclination. If the devil notices that you have a tendency to conflict with your sister, then he will simulate certain situations at the level of sensations in order to multiply or inflate this conflict. He may also use pious pretexts. This is also quite in the spirit of evil style. The Apostle Paul says: “Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light, and therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness” (2 Cor11:14-15). In general, be careful with these kinds of sensations: drive them away with prayer, cut them off, don’t let them develop, don’t listen to them. Let us be soldiers of Christ, and not servants of our own passions!
Is it necessary to fight
with feelings of holiness in yourself?
Father! Recently I visited Blessed Matronushka in the Pokrovsky Monastery, where everything was familiar and recognizable down to the smallest detail. I entered the temple and was completely stunned, some miracle happened to me. Tears flowed like a river, my soul was filled with joy. But why did I deserve this, great sinner? The more I confess, the more I see my sins. I repent and sin again. I can't beat myself. Faith is very difficult for me: through the illness of children, the death of a grandson, drinking husband. I pray for them all, I ask God for forgiveness for everyone. They are unbelievers. Sometimes my strength leaves me, and only the Jesus Prayer helps me. Unfortunately, I could not find understanding with the priest in our parish; I was probably very sinful. Sorry for the cry from the heart. Irina.
Dear Irina! The holy fathers call spiritual sobriety and spiritual prudence one of the most important virtues for a Christian. We should be grateful to God for the very gift of life and for the gift of faith that we have. With faith in Christ, if you do not deviate from Him, from the Savior, you can endure everything, endure any disturbances, including the unbelief of your neighbors and, as you say, the lack of understanding of the priest, which is why no one is immune. And in this sense, certain sensations or some kind of personal revelations, which, as it sometimes seems to us, come from God, are in fact not criteria of truth. Yes, this can serve as a kind of consolation. Sometimes, it really does come from God. But if you concentrate your attention too much on different visions or sensations, you can go completely in the wrong direction and fall into the network of spiritual intoxication, internal mental insanity, when the heart begins to look not for repentance, not for the fight against sin, not for prayer, but for various sensory phenomena, signs and consolations. The Holy Fathers, who experienced the path of true asceticism and salvation, categorically warn against this kind of hobby. How should we behave in cases where we feel or see something unusual or even supernatural? Do not accept or reject, as the holy fathers say. Well, there is and there was, there was and there was. And, indeed, if this does not stop one from being less sinful, then how much benefit is there in that? The real presence of God in us (His grace) is peace of mind, or, as the Apostle says: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control” (Gal 5:22) . This is what we, Christians, need to look for, and if they suddenly visit us, let them remain in the very background. This way it is more sober and salutary.
Hello! What should I do if I was baptized a second time? I took this step consciously. And after baptism my life changed. Now I am in some kind of inexplicable harmony. I began to meet with God every day. My inner voice constantly talks to God. I did this because I didn’t want any damage, etc. I am thirty years old, and I have completely renounced creating a personal life, although before that my brain worked differently: I wanted to have many men near me and satisfy my physical needs. I am single, and now I am developing in the field of science. But she got confused in the affairs of everyday life. Many say that I should start a family, give myself to my children and my husband in order to fulfill the biblical commandments, which say: “Be fruitful and multiply.” If this is a sin, then how can I return everything to normal? With deep respect. Thank you in advance. Catherine.
Honestly, Ekaterina, I think that you are being too clever. You need to take a somewhat more sober look at yourself and what is happening to you. And I think that there is a need to definitely get married. If you, in principle, do not want married life, this is your right and is not a sin. The goal of earthly life is not obligatory marriage and procreation; this goal is salvation from sin for eternal life, entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. To do this, it is not at all necessary to take any unusual steps. external actions(for example, to be baptized a second time, since this is, in principle, not accepted in the canonical practice of the Church). To do this, you need to come to such an internal structure of the soul and heart in which nothing (neither pride, for example, nor anger, nor condemnation of others) would interfere with communication with God. And here it is somewhat alarming that you seem to meet God every day and your inner voice constantly speaks to God. But direct communication with God is not as simple as it may sometimes seem. The Holy Fathers, who realized in practice what it is, warned what great dangers await people in this field who are still inexperienced in prayer, and spoke about the danger of so-called “spiritual delusion.” Saints speak of this state as the highest and very subtle form of flattery, that is, the deception of the seduced, as “damage to human nature by lies.” It may seem to a seduced person that he has reached certain spiritual heights, personal holiness, that he communicates with angels or saints, has received visions, or is even capable of performing miracles. But in reality, demons may appear to someone who has fallen into spiritual delusion, posing as angels or saints. In fact, in such a state, a person very easily accepts lies, which are the result of suggestion, as truth. Therefore, I advise you to be as careful as possible with voices and sensations and it is best to come to confession with all this.
What to do if you have
thoughts appear?
Father, forgive me for the question I’m asking you, but it doesn’t give me peace. I was in church today and when I came up to one icon, I thought: “What a strange icon.” I was immediately frightened by such a thought and crossed myself; my cross turned out to be ridiculous; I felt ashamed for waving my arms like that. I think I have sinned. Father, I want to confess this sin. Tell me what it's called. This is probably desecration of a shrine? Or should I describe everything in detail during confession? Thank you in advance. Lily.
Dear Lily! It is unlikely that this can be directly called desecration of a shrine; rather, these are manifestations of what in patristic asceticism is called mental warfare, that is, a mental and sensory element that we are not able to fully control due to our common sinfulness. The Holy Fathers say that an ordinary person is visited by three kinds of thoughts: from God, from man himself and, alas, from the devil. And our problem is that we, being sinners, have no power over these thoughts, and are not even able to determine which thought has which origin. Moreover, to an ordinary person You can’t unravel the whole tangle of thoughts! This is simply dangerous, because you can become completely confused and even mentally damaged, because the devil is a great confusion. He often approaches us with the desire to confuse and intimidate us. Therefore, the Holy Fathers recommend obsessive, blasphemous, unclean, condemning, embarrassing, etc. thoughts simply cut off, do not pay attention to them, do not allow them to develop, praying to God, as if telling Him: “Lord, You see that these thoughts besiege me and I am not able to deal with them, so deliver me from them or deal with them.” them Himself! In general, sometimes we need to treat thoughts like elements (rain, snow, wind, storm, thunderstorm), which we cannot influence, but which we can endure, while trying not to abandon our direct responsibilities. As for confession, you have the right to confess embarrassing thoughts, but it is more important to learn to prayerfully drive away these thoughts at the moment when they come, asking God for help and, most importantly, without panicking.
GOD'S HELP WILL COME
How to learn patience if your husband insults and humiliates you?
Hello! Help me understand how to behave in a way that pleases God. Close person humiliates, insults with obscene words, and does not want to respond to my requests not to do this. After another such pressure on me, I begin to get sick, and my illness lasts for more than one day. It happens that I can’t even talk. In this state there is no strength to stand up prayer rule, so I listen to prayers and church chants while lying on the computer. Please tell me about patience. According to the Gospel, through patience with love we acquire the spirit of humility. And if we have imaginary patience, that is, without love, then over time, resentment and anger towards the person accumulate, which leads to hellish mental pain. I understand that this state distances me from God. We must forgive so that the Lord will forgive us. How can I learn to endure with love and please God? Sincerely, Elena.
Dear Elena! In principle, you, of course, correctly raise the question of the need for patience, because patience is truly the virtue that contributes to the acquisition of salvation as such. Christ clearly says: “He who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13), but the following can also be noted here. True patience must be exercised with faith and be gracious. To do this, in difficult circumstances, you especially need to seek God’s help and try not to lose heart, since despondency or depression are not manifestations of patience, but rather the opposite. In addition, modern church law indicates that if the inappropriate behavior of one of the spouses poses a direct threat to the life and health of the other, then this may be good reason for divorce. That is, the implementation of patience in our life is not the task of doing something impossible, but something that is feasible with the help of God, although it may seem that all this is beyond ordinary human strength. Unfortunately, sometimes it happens that out of pride, we rely more on ourselves, close in on ourselves, and forget about God’s help. The sad consequences of this are mental anguish, despondency, and even mental disorders. Try to be as careful as possible in your relationship with your husband in this regard, try not to harbor or cultivate resentment, and most importantly, ask God for patience and humility, especially when you begin the Liturgy of the Chalice of Christ.
How to find spiritual joy
and get rid of anxiety?
Hello, I received a response to your letter! To the best of my ability, I pray to the Mother of God for help and to our Lord to admonish my husband, especially since he will not give a divorce. The thought comes to me that the Lord knows and sees everything, and that is why he allows me these trials. I understand that it’s for the good, but I have a feeling that I’m sliding down, the Lord has left me. Something is wrong in my life, I missed something. I constantly submit health notes in church not only for my relatives, but also for my offenders, I hope that the Lord, seeing my weakness, will be merciful to me, a sinner. Yesterday at the Feast of the Assumption Holy Mother of God I took communion and received bodily relief. But in my soul there is some kind of dissatisfaction, anxiety, there is no that spiritual joy, relief that happens after confession. Father, unfortunately, I don’t know your name, pray for me, a sinner. God bless you! Elena.
Elena! Spiritual joy and clarity are not given immediately; all this requires a certain rooting in spiritual life. Therefore, expecting or demanding from the Lord that he put everything in its place in our soul after one Communion is somewhat naive, because in our soul so many things have been confused by ourselves, so that at one time it is impossible, as St. Theophan the Recluse said, “with Get even with God! No, the goal is different: not just to become good and correct, but to cleave completely to God, like little children to loving parents. Now, if we have just such a constant desire for God, then peace in our souls and spiritual clarity will come to us!
How to learn not to be offended?
Hello, father! Bless! I'm touchy. I want not to be offended by people. I am thirty years old. And I still hold a grudge against my grandmother in my heart. We are two sisters, I am the youngest. I remember that as a child they always said that my elder sister kinder, and better, and more generous, and I have always been, according to my mother and grandmother, greedy, uncaring, grumpy. The main feeling from my childhood: everything was bad in childhood, no one loved me, no one understood me, there were no friends. Got married. This is where my meeting with God and the path to Him began. How to learn not to be offended? I read and listened to sermons, but I still suffer from this sin. And grandma is a special case. I can't forgive her. This is my grandmother on my father's side. Mom doesn’t like her very much, she always swears and gets angry with her. Grandmother actually cheated a lot and offended. I deceived strangers, I deceived my mother. How can I forgive her for her dislike for me? How can I cope with grievances? God bless you! Natalia.
Dear Natalia! In such difficult cases, the effort itself is important, which we can God's help manifest in terms of overcoming grievances and condemnation. It almost never happens that resentment is cultivated for many years, and then suddenly disappears overnight. As a rule, what poisons life in the soul for a long time, requires long-term treatment. Another thing is that you need to resort to the treatment itself, the cure for sin. I think that, being a believer, you yourself understand that Christ is such a medicine. However, for many of us Christians, it turns out that, having this understanding, we still struggle poorly with our own sins or passions, but are inclined to either expect immediate results, or generally remain in a kind of spiritual passivity, although, it would seem, we have Christ and His Church receive all the fullness of God's grace and help. Alas, such is our common sinful inertia, which can be expressed in the words of one poet: “I’m dying of thirst over the stream.” So, we still have the opportunity to try not to die of spiritual thirst near the source of grace, but to draw from it constantly - all the days of our earthly life. In relation to the problem you are talking about, this may mean regularly turning to God with a request to weaken the existing feeling of resentment, gradually expel it from the heart. It’s not a bad idea to ask for the same thing when we begin the Liturgy at the Chalice of Christ. Regular prayer for those against whom resentment still lurks in their hearts won’t hurt either! God's help in this!
How to get rid of depression
and emptiness in the soul due to lack of personal life?
Hello, father, help, please! My personal life is not going well. Everyone leaves me, no one needs me. We were in a relationship for a year and a half, but the guy left and found someone else. I was very worried because I loved him. After him, there was no serious relationship for three years, I couldn’t trust anyone. Yes, and it’s difficult for me to get to know each other, I’m very modest, I can open up only after some communication, but guys don’t like people like that, they need girls who are more relaxed. I recently met a guy. Everything was fine, he treated me completely differently, kindly, but four months later he disappeared, began to avoid me, ignore me, said that he didn’t need me, that he didn’t love me. Now he communicates with my friend, who is friends with his acquaintance, they now all communicate together, but everyone has abandoned me. Why do they need a person with whom they are bored! There is such emptiness in my soul, depression, how can I forget him, I so want to be with him, but this is impossible, I can’t make him love me! Help, please, are there any prayers, and how to ask God for help in such a situation! Catherine.
Dear Ekaterina! A lot still depends on our faith, and not on the form or number of words in the prayer. Indeed, it is impossible to force someone to love you. And what, then, is meant by love as such? If there is a passionate attachment and desire to possess another person, a desire to receive only pleasure from him, then such love is most often fragile and fleeting... and, alas, after disappointment it turns into serious dramas, and even tragedies. Therefore, we need to look not for love at any cost, but for unity and service to God and each other in a legal marriage, which is given by God when it pleases Him, when God Himself sees that in relation to specific people For His children, this is indeed possible.
Number of entries: 29
Hello. I am a believer, I am 19 years old. I go to church very rarely, no lie, I was there once last year, and not at a service, but just put candles on the icons, prayed, and asked for forgiveness. I know that it is a sin to believe in God and not go to church, but so far I am not drawn to it. I'm thinking of going there as soon as my soul so desires. But I often pray to God, thank him, and ask for forgiveness. Over the past 2 years, bad thoughts have been appearing in my head, offending God and the Mother of God. I am very much afraid of them, because I think that this is my worst sin, so I want to get rid of them. Please tell me, are there any prayers that will specifically help cope with this illness? Thank you.
Hello. For this there is the Sacrament of Repentance, but in order to benefit from it, you will have to go to church, pray, fast and repent. There have never been and never will be any other means. It is impossible to be a Christian if, at least for an hour a week, you do not tear yourself out of the whirlwind and bustle of the world and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the temple, where everything is designed to create conditions for sincere and attentive prayer, where sound teaching and grace-filled Sacraments are taught.
Priest Alexander Beloslyudov
Hello, father. My name is Andrey P., I am 18 years old. Recently, in a dream, I dreamed that I was blaspheming: I was throwing icons on the floor in the house. After that, quarrels and swearing began in the family, and I began to have business and internal problems. Please advise what should I do then, should I go to church and confess?
Andrey
Dear Andrey, in dreams we often see projections of our unresolved problems, so there is no need to be afraid of dreams; It wasn’t him that started the quarrels, it was just that the subconscious signaled an impending crisis. It’s good to start solving these problems, and if you notice that some of your sins were the cause of them, and, of course, those sins that accompanied the showdown (for example, anger, pride), they need to be confessed. Help me, Lord!
Priest Sergius Osipov
Hello, thank you very much again for your site! Tell me what to do, what prayers, maybe to read, the fact is that my mother is a very angry person, she constantly slanders, and sometimes blasphemes, all people are not like her and even her own children and grandchildren are not like that. Very often she bursts out: “God will pay you all!” I tried to explain to her more than once, told her the truths of God, the Gospel - nothing helps. Sometimes it seems to me that a word thrown accidentally or intentionally only brings us harm - after all, it is my mother’s word. Thank you in advance. God bless you!
Oksana
Oksana, don’t be afraid that something bad will come to you from your mother’s words, but rather order a magpie or a church memorial for her for six months, or even a year. You need to pray for your mother, her enemy is tempting her, she needs to go to confession and communion, then she can find peace.
Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)
Hello! Is it blasphemy against the Holy Spirit when you commit a sin, knowing in advance that you are sinning, and cannot cope with passion (adultery), you ask the Almighty for forgiveness and somehow do not feel the fear of the Lord. Is there hope for forgiveness? I can’t raise my eyes to the icon. But how can I kiss the CROSS in confession - will it not be hypocrisy on my part? Sinful, she could not stand the temptation.
Elena
Elena, it will be a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit if, God forbid, of course, you begin to live in sin, nevertheless, justifying yourself and considering sin and lies to be truth. In any case, no matter what sin has been committed, while there is still time to live, there is time for repentance, the sin can be forgiven.
Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)
Good day! The essence of my question is this - now in many in social networks I observe how social network users put the faces of saints on their avatars. My opinion is that this is unacceptable! But many people think that there is nothing wrong with this. I would like to hear your opinion Orthodox Church. Thank you very much.
Elena
The opinion of the Church is the determination of a church council or at least a specialized synodal department; here you can only hear a private, albeit well-founded opinion. I also believe that such things are unacceptable, because they deprive the icon of its sacred meaning.
Deacon Ilya Kokin
Good evening, father! I am tormented by thoughts, I would like to know the answer to my question, so as not to become despondent. My name is Evgeniy, I am 15 years old, I live and study in Kyiv. In March, during a literature lesson, we were asked to recite an excerpt from Taras Shevchenko’s poem “Dream,” where there are the words: “There is no Lord in heaven,” - forgive me, Lord. I knew then that God existed, I believed in Him and did not want to offend Him in any way, and when I told these lines, I mentally disagreed with them. Then he confessed and, thank God, did not do such things again. Has God forgiven me this sin, have I blasphemed the Holy Spirit through this action?
Eugene
If you repented and decided not to repeat this again, then the Lord has forgiven. But the most important thing is not to repeat it again. For the future - if you explain to the teacher before class why you don’t want to recite godless poems, I’m sure he will understand and won’t give you a bad mark for it.
Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)
Good evening! Answer me this question, we bought an apartment from complete strangers, when they moved out, they left a plaster cross on the wall, citing the fact that it could not be moved from apartment to apartment. We moved in the tenants, and they flatly refused to let this cross hang; my husband and I didn’t need it either, so we put it in a bag and took it to the trash can. Tell me, is this a sin? And now what i can do? They all did this without thinking about their actions.
Elena
Elena, throwing away the cross is grave sin. The cross is a symbol of our salvation, the cross is victory over death, over the devil. Christ voluntarily crucified himself on the Cross for our sake, for the sake of our salvation. You exchanged the cross for the money your tenants paid you. You did very, very badly. Repent before God in church in confession, and depending on the sincerity of your repentance and what kind of life you will lead next, God will forgive you.
Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)
Good afternoon I know that it is very important for a Christian to control his thoughts. But very often there are periods when some kind of swarming occurs in your head, like in an anthill. And it happens that bad thoughts, even blasphemous ones, just come, even reluctantly and completely unconsciously. I immediately ask for forgiveness from the Lord and think, how could I so completely unwittingly end up in a bad situation? What to do? Thank you.
Ksenia
Ksenia, what you describe is called spiritual warfare: suddenly we feel in our minds thoughts or images that come from the devil. Until we communicate with these thoughts and do not hold them in attention, there is no sin, but if we begin to develop them or somehow concentrate on them, then we are already sinning. You gradually need to learn not to pay attention to such fleeting thoughts, and they will disappear from consciousness as easily as they appear.
Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)
I am 27, I have been going to church for seven years now, and I have encountered the sin of blasphemy. This started for me just recently, about 1.5 months ago, I mentally call names to the saint, Jesus Christ, Mother of God during prayer. How to overcome this temptation? A lot has happened in 7 years, but I think this is the worst.
Sergey
Sergey, this temptation is temporary, it passes pretty soon. Confess to the priest your mental warfare, and do not pay any attention to the thoughts themselves - nothing more than dust blown past by the wind.
Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)
Hello! Please resolve my question. About a month ago I was reading an empty sinful book, and there the main character spoke in the first person about selling his soul to the devil, and I became scared: what if I sold it with these words? I prayed to the Lord to forgive me, but I was still scared, and then I realized through one book that fear is also a sin, and that it comes from unbelief. I believed and the fear disappeared. But then I thought, what if Satan did it? The Bible says that all sins are forgiven to a person, except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The Holy Fathers interpret this sin as attributing God's works to Satan. And I’m scared again: have I really committed this terrible sin, and there is no forgiveness for me?
Shinkarenko Yura
Dear Yura, it’s a pity that you didn’t look on our website for answers to the topic of what blasphemy against the Holy Spirit really is. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit can be equated to pharisaism, that is, to living in sin with the confidence that this is not a sin, but the norm. At the same time, those “gifts” that can arise from such an incorrect spiritual life will be a manifestation of the actions of demons, and a person, while confident in his rightness, will take them for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and from this will be even more mistaken. As for the events that happened to you, I think you have nothing to worry about, except for one thing: avoid sin in the future. By sin I mean empty reading, idle thoughts, and, of course, actions. And, besides, you need to study Orthodoxy more, and the best thing would be not even to find out, but to adopt it from some good priest or layman in the process of live communication with him.
Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)
Good day, fathers! I want to ask you for advice, my problem is my 26 year old son, who doesn’t work anywhere and doesn’t intend to, drinks for 2-3 weeks with a short break, all the metal that was in the yard has already been taken down for buying, I gave him a house , which I support myself, because we cannot live together, I have a second marriage and the relationship between my husband and son is no fault of my son. For many years I have been paying for gas and electricity, we feed him together with his grandmother, I help his son, whom he does not even want to acknowledge, no matter how much I persuade him. They treated him twice, and persuaded him, and inspired him, and on her knees asked him to come to his senses, I tried to talk about God - as a result, drunken blasphemy, I became scared for him, I pray as best I can. And the question is this: yesterday I gave money to pay for the electricity, I called - of course, nothing was paid, although I was sober, and another lie. Fathers, what should I do? Should I carry this burden to the end or stop supporting it? I am aware of my sin of under-education, but my strength is running out due to cynicism, because I am a man, and I have to work for him. Forgive me, a sinner, for grumbling, but I am alone in this trouble, and your advice is very important.
Marina
Dear Marina, Of course, stop supporting. By being overprotective, you and your grandmother only created the conditions for the development of the disease. This needs to stop. You will be supported by your husband, whose rejection of a situation where a twenty-six-year-old person is completely antisocial could lead to family conflicts. It will be more difficult with your grandmother if she does not live with you. She may not accept the need to leave her grandson without food and continue to feed him. Explain that this is direct harm to him, in fact, an offer to drink and again plunge into alcohol addiction while others feed and clothe him. You will have to tell your son that for his benefit you cannot support him. If he wants to go to a clinic (if you offer to be “encoded” with a certain substance that causes aversion to alcohol on a physical level - know that the Church allows this) and then systematically work with a psychotherapist (you can call him a psychologist) with a complete lifelong abstinence from alcohol, then tell him that you are ready to help with this, pay for visits to the doctor. The psychotherapist will help him understand himself, find the wrong psychological attitudes that led to addiction, and “correct” them a little. With these realized problems and sins, he can already go to confession if he wants. But you can’t give him money now. Pay the doctor yourself. As he recovers, he will be able to do this on his own, but it will take a long time. He must earn money himself, be responsible for the house, for food (at the same time, have a reserve so as not to lose your house). Otherwise, the son will continue to go downhill. Only his desire to free himself from addiction can become the beginning of this liberation. By refusing to support him, you will create a situation that will make him think about it. More detailed instructions The psychotherapist you find for your son can give you advice. There are special classes for relatives dependent people, search online for your area. He can't do it alone. I have described the general direction to you, be sure to coordinate the details with the attending physician - and it will be very good if you consult with him in detail before announcing to your son your decision to terminate the support. God bless you all!
Priest Sergius Osipov
Hello, for 5 months now I have been tormented by thoughts that I have blasphemed the Holy Spirit. I can't repent. I just realize that I did wrong, but I can’t change. No matter how much I prayed, nothing helps, there is no feeling of forgiveness in my soul. I really want to change and be with God, but nothing is working out. I'm ready to do anything for forgiveness. What should I do? Can God forgive me if I really committed this sin, or are prayers useless? Maybe I should go to a monastery, maybe that will help?
Anna, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has already been discussed several times and at some length on our website - just read the answers to the “Blasphemy” tag on our website. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit lies in the fact that a person lives in unrepentant sins, therefore, in fact, it is not forgiven - the person feels righteous and does not repent. Everything else is not blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. And, besides, you can repent of any sin, because the Lord is infinite mercy.
Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)
I blasphemed the Holy Spirit, and I didn’t realize it right away; now I feel like I’m going to die, because life didn’t go at all the way the Creator wanted. But I did it with free will. And now NOTHING can be fixed. Truly, the Bible is the truth... God bless you!
Vika
Vika, you are not the first tormented by this topic, and therefore the time has come to understand in detail what blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is and why blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this century or in the future, and give as comprehensive an answer as possible. So, when and under what circumstances did the Savior pronounce His words about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? After the Pharisees essentially accused him of being possessed, telling everyone that He casts out demons and works His miracles not by the Spirit of God, but by the power of the prince of demons: “Then they brought to Him a demon-possessed man, blind and dumb; and He healed him, so that the blind and dumb the dumb man began to speak and to see. And all the people marveled and said, “Is this not the Christ, the son of David?” And when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons” (Matthew 12:22). 24). After this, those famous words were spoken: “...if anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:32 .). Here we must understand absolutely clearly that the Lord called blasphemy not when He was insulted as a Man of flesh and blood, but when He was denied precisely as God, that is, His Divinity was insulted, that is, when a person says that Christ is not God, not God's Son. It is precisely this blasphemy that will not be forgiven to a person. But in our time, it would hardly occur to any Christian to say such madness. And again, St. Athanasius the Great wrote about this: “Christ did not say: He will not be forgiven to the one who blasphemed and repented, but to the one who blasphemes, that is, the one who remains in blasphemy. For due repentance resolves all sins” (St. Athanasius the Great. “Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew"). Thus, even if such terrible blasphemy took place, but the person repented of it and no longer speaks or thinks about it, then it too will be forgiven by God! But there is one consequence from this blasphemy: namely, that you can not only deny the Divinity of Christ with words, but even deny Him with your very life spent in sins, that is, through trampling the commandments with your sins, you can actually deny the commandments and Christ Himself as God who gave them. It was in this regard that St. John Chrysostom called the shameless and persistent denial of the truth blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: “Just as someone who considers the sun dark does not disparage this luminary, but presents clear evidence of his blindness, and like someone who calls honey bitter , - does not reduce its sweetness, but reveals its illness, just like the condemning works of God. .. Blasphemy does not humiliate the greatness of God... He who blasphemes inflicts wounds on himself... All torments, both present and future, are insufficient for the soul (blaspheming the Spirit)" (Treasury of Spiritual Wisdom: Extracts from the Works of the Holy Fathers, arranged in accordance with the annual circle of Gospel readings / Comp. Prot. M. Neigum). tempting God. Saint Theophan the Recluse wrote very clearly on this topic. Asking the question exactly when, under what circumstances, people trample on the truth and consider it untruth, he answers: “Then when they know the truth and do not fulfill it, when life does not correspond to the knowledge. ; one thing is on their mind and conscience, sometimes in words, and the other in life and deeds, in the feelings of the heart and the mood of the will. ...This untruth increases a hundredfold when someone does something wrong at the very time when his mind and conscience disgust him and does not tell him to do it. This is what blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consists of...” (St. Theophan the Recluse. “Outline of Christian Moral Teaching.” Part 2.) So, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consists of a conscious and persistent life in unrepentant sins, and this is precisely what we should be afraid of. Why is it not forgiven? And precisely because a person stubbornly does not want to repent of his sin, even considering it sometimes excusable or justified. May God save us all from such a blasphemous life!
Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)
Sorry for the stupid question. But it is very important for me. I recently went to church. A couple of times in my life there were moments when, before confession, I “allowed” myself some small sin with the thought that I would confess it tomorrow. I repent of this. I read that this is the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Does this mean that he will never forgive me?
Prodigal thoughts
If you obey the thoughts that draw you into the world and bring you pleasure from carnal pleasures, then what is crazier than that? Be sure that you will not receive consolation for a short time, but you will always find torment and torment of conscience; when you resist, then with the help of God the enemy will run away from you (St. Macarius).
When you happen to fall through the accumulation and captivity of thoughts into mental darkness and captivity, then, without becoming rigid, fall to the Lord with repentance, humility and contrition of heart, and do not give in to despair, which is even worse than passion itself. Look for guilt, where did this come from that you suffered so much? And the guilt is: pride, opinion about oneself, humiliation and condemnation of others, sweet eating, excessive rest, association with the opposite sex, and try to avoid all of this as much as possible, and even more so try to humble yourself, for, according to the word of the Holy Climacus : where there is a fall, pride preceded it (Degree 23). Do not become rigid in revelation, and this leads to humility, exposing yourself to others; Do you remember when you hid the fact that you were hurt? (Venerable Macarius).
Do not betray your autocracy to the first thoughts of excuses, which, when added to them, kindle sweetness in the body (St. Macarius).
You won’t die from thoughts that you don’t love and at least try to get rid of. Just repent and humble yourself. And God will forgive you. And the fact that the enemy pictures worldly life and marriage for you is his usual thing. Both in ancient and modern times, fornication and imaginary worldly peace are the very first weapons of the devil against monks. But when you get carried away by them and then repent, God will not make you sin (Venerable Anatoly).
The remedies for lustful thoughts are: humility, self-reproach, abstinence, and most of all - love for your neighbors - for the weak, infirm, sick, sisters captive to passions (Venerable Anatoly).
The most severe battles of thought: fornication, despondency. We must humble ourselves. Humility attracts God's help. The corrupting effect of lustful thoughts from enjoying them - the grace of God recedes for a long time, which can be attracted again only by sincere repentance and abstinence from these thoughts (Venerable Nikon).
Passionate waves and<бури>through thoughts and sleepy dreams they overwhelm your soul, and in them you find yourself guilty of negligence, laziness and other things. It is fair that you give guilt, but in all your attempts, always bring repentance to God with a contrite heart and constant self-reproach, and God will not allow the enemy to dominate your heart, only you yourself, as much as possible, resist passionate thoughts, do not allow them to the heart, but resort to God through prayer and awareness of your weakness.<Хорошо и>have no conversations about passionate matters other than revelation<духовной>mother, which would be very useful for you, but I see that you will stiffen in front of her with shame, and this is a form of pride (Venerable Leo).
You mention that sometimes you are overcome by lustful thoughts and the love of money; not having such thoughts at all is characteristic only of angelic nature, and not of human nature. For us, if and when something happens and we crawl, we immediately run with repentance, and reproach ourselves to the Heavenly Doctor; The man-loving Lord not only forgives our countless falls into sin, but also accepts those who truly repent as sons. For this reason, He, who came to earth, began to call sinners first, so that none of us would despair of our salvation (Rev. . A lion).
Humble yourself before those younger than you, live a temperate life, do not eat to the point of satiety, for this multiplies your thoughts. If you hold yourself very boldly and freely, then you will not escape the fierce carnal struggle (St. Joseph).
In passionate and sinful thoughts we must not understand, but use the sword of the Spirit against them. I’m telling you and V., but thinking about passionate thoughts and analyzing them only strengthens them. May the Lord protect everyone from addiction. You must confess your thoughts with heartfelt contrition, with awareness of your sinfulness, with repentance, and you must also listen to confession with prayer, then there will be no harm. And there is no need to make unnecessary conversations or detailed explanations (Venerable Joseph).
This means that the evil one is deceiving you and flattering you. When there are times of lustful thoughts, place bows according to your strength. And without war, not a single soul entered heaven. The winners are married (Venerable Anatoly).
Use the spiritual sword against unclean thoughts—the name of God. Repentance must be brought to the Lord; shouldn't spiritual father hide. The declared scabs will soon be healed (St. Joseph).
Thoughts of suicide
Your brothers Vladimir and Vasily and sister Vera are free-thinking people. - I feel sorry for them. But what to do? Pray for them more diligently with this prayer: “Organize, O Lord, for my brothers and sister (names) something useful and saving according to Your Holy will.” - Your sister Vera, who is prone to suicide, could greatly benefit from a sincere and humble confession to her spiritual father of her errors (Venerable Joseph).
Blasphemous thoughts
I am very sorry for your embarrassment, which comes from the enemy. You consider yourself such a sinner that there is no such thing, not understanding that the enemy is attacking you with blasphemous thoughts, putting his inappropriate and inexplicable words into your thoughts, and you think that they come from you, but you, on the contrary, do not you have them, but you are horrified, grieved and embarrassed, while they are not yours at all, but the enemy’s; you don’t have the slightest participation in them, and you shouldn’t even impute them to sin, but you need to be calm, not paying any attention to them and imputing them to nothing, they will disappear. And when you are embarrassed about this, grieve and despair, this consoles the enemy and he rebels against you even more with it. Don’t consider them a sin at all, and you will calm down; What need do you have to grieve for the sins of the enemy, he even blasphemed the Lord in heaven... But this is what guilt and sin on your part: you think a lot about yourself, are carried away by pride, despise others, condemn them and the like, and care little about this, That’s why this scourge is being unleashed on you, so that you humble yourself and consider yourself the last one of all, but don’t be embarrassed, for embarrassment is the fruit of pride. Stop judging, don’t think too much about yourself, don’t despise others, then they’ll move away blasphemous thoughts(Venerable Macarius).
The Holy Fathers generally consider blasphemous thoughts not ours, but the enemy’s excuses, and when we do not agree with them, but also grieve that they creep into our minds, then this is a sign of our innocence in them. There is no need to be embarrassed that they are coming. For if a person is embarrassed, then the enemy will rise up against him, and when he does not heed them, imputes them to nothing and does not consider them to be sins, then his thoughts disappear. Saint Demetrius of Rostov clearly writes about this in “Spiritual Medicine.” But although these thoughts are not a sin, they are found with God’s permission from the enemy for our exaltation, for our opinion about ourselves or about our corrections and for the condemnation of our neighbors. When a person, having recognized his sins, humbles himself and does not condemn others, but brings repentance for this, he receives liberation from them... (Venerable Macarius).
There is no sin for you in blasphemous thoughts, they are not yours, but the enemy’s, this is proven by the fact that you do not want them, but you also grieve when they creep into your mind. The enemy, when he sees that you are embarrassed by his suggestion, rejoices at this and attacks you more... That there is no sin in them, everyone knows, but they expose our sin of pride, which we do not recognize as a sin, and this one is very close to us. If we do something well, no matter what, we are consoled by it and, at the instigation of the enemy, we are deceived into having something good, and although like a poppy seed it increases, it increases, but we must always remember the word of the Lord: “and you, when fulfill everything commanded to you, say: we are worthless slaves” (Luke 17:10), and our whole life should be imbued with humility and repentance. Humility crushes all the snares and machinations of the enemy (St. Macarius).
Try not to accept blasphemous thoughts and do not believe them, and the Lord will forgive you. When thoughts come to you, do not accept them or reflect them, much less adjure them and do not contradict them - this is not your measure! And run to the Lord with prayer and humility. Fornication and fear are allowed for our pride. Reproach yourself and try not to look at the tempter - and temptation will pass (Venerable Anatoly).
And when blasphemous thoughts confuse you, don’t fight them, but simply despise them, that is, don’t pay attention to them: they are not our thoughts, but the devil’s, and therefore we will not answer for them. And we, monks, love God, for for the sake of the Lord we left the world. And it is the devil who will bring blasphemies, not us (Rev. Anatoly).
And if bad thoughts creep in, don’t be embarrassed. They even go after old women. Yes, since they know that God does not punish for repentant thoughts, they are not afraid of them (Rev. Anatoly).
Doubts are the same lustful thoughts and blasphemies must be despised and ignored. Despise them - and the enemy the devil will not stand it, he will leave you, for he is proud and will not tolerate contempt. And if you enter into conversations with them, because all lustful thoughts, blasphemies and doubts are not yours, then he will throw you down, overwhelm you, and kill you. A believer who loves God cannot blaspheme, but nevertheless notices two threads in himself: he both loves and blasphemes. It is obvious that there is still some evil force that casts doubts. Notice that this is the seraphim mind. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that it can arouse and raise doubts, and what kind of doubts too! Don't pay any attention to them. How many sincere believers were there who suffered greatly because they accepted these doubts, considered them, reasoned... Therefore, you must despise these doubts, and blasphemies, and prodigal thoughts, then they will not harm you at all, especially if you open them to the elder -mentor. But they should not be opened in detail, otherwise you may harm both yourself and the elder. Especially to cover up lustful thoughts, you need to cover this stinking hole with a canopy, and not dig into it (Venerable Barsanuphius).
You were frightened by the thought that whispered to you that you would be a saint: what’s terrible about that, but it’s even very good. And then we would begin to honor you. But just know that real saints, who accomplished all the virtues, considered themselves in the depths of their hearts to be the worst of all, worse than creatures, worse than demons. And you and I have not yet begun good deeds. There is nothing to be afraid of him. This is the work of the devil - a blasphemous thought. Just don’t accept it, that is, don’t linger in it and don’t get carried away by it, but there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, we know that you’re not a saint yet (Venerable Anatoly).
Do not be embarrassed by blasphemous thoughts, but try to despise them. God will not punish them for them, they are from the devil (Rev. Anatoly).
Blasphemous thoughts multiply and strengthen from pride and condemnation of others. Therefore, beware of both, and blasphemous thoughts will fade away. Just despise them like barking puppies, because they are not yours, but the enemy blasphemes, and you will not answer to God for them (Rev. Anatoly).
Especially do not be disturbed by blasphemous thoughts, which clearly arise from the envy of the enemy. On the part of a person, the reason for them is either a proud self-opinion or condemnation of others. Therefore, in the invasion of blasphemous thoughts, first of all, reproach yourself for judging others and proud opinions, for the present or the past, without worrying at all that we hear the unspeakable blasphemies of the enemy. And at the right time, sometimes pronounce against them the words of Saint John of the Climacus: “Follow me, Satan! I will worship the Lord my God and serve Him alone, and let your illness and this word turn on your head, and let your blasphemy rise on top of you in this and in the future” (Venerable Ambrose).
It is necessary for you at this time to keep in mind and firmly remember the advice of Isaac the Syrian; he writes in the 56th Word: “when a person, caring about inner cleansing, by the grace of God approaches the first degree of spiritual intelligence, that is, the understanding of the creature, then the enemy, out of envy, strongly arms himself with blasphemous thoughts against him. And you... may you not be without weapons in this country, lest you soon die from those who seduce you and deceive you. Let your weapons be tears and frequent fasting. And be careful not to read heretical dogmas; This is something that is weaponizing against you, as it is the greatest spirit of blasphemy. When you have satisfied your belly, may you not be satisfied with the experience of divine things and understandings, may you not repent. In the womb there is a filling of the mind with the mysteries of God.” Heeding these words of this great father, try to have strong abstinence in food and drink and a contrite and humble heart before everyone, in order to gain saving crying for past and present sins and thereby preserve yourself harmlessly in your present temptation from spirit of blasphemy. Know that the enemy, if he cannot harm someone, then out of his malice tries at least to confuse him, to annoy him with various thoughts and evil suggestions (St. Ambrose).
You cannot recognize yourself as more sinful and worse than others. This feeling is clearly proud, from which blasphemous thoughts and blasphemous verbs are born and strengthened, as Saint Climacus testifies, saying: “the root of blasphemy is pride.” If you want to humble yourself, then always remember the word of one saint, who says that the most correct life of a Christian man is like only a font, and the commandments of God are like an immeasurable sea, as the psalmist said to the Lord: “Your commandment is very wide” (Ps. 118, 96). If you compare the great sea with a small tub of water, then there will be nothing for the ascendant to ascend with. The Apostle does not say in vain: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace” (cf. Rom. 3:23-24). To humble yourself, take for help the words of St. Gregory of Sinai, written in the 115th chapter, and repeat them to yourself often. Know that apart from humility and tears, it is impossible to get rid of blasphemy (St. Ambrose).
And blasphemous thoughts know what they fight for: first, for exaltation, second, for condemnation. Humble yourself, do not think about yourself that you are better than others, do not despise anyone, but reproach yourself for sins and attempts, then blasphemous thoughts will subside. However, in any case, do not be embarrassed - the Holy Fathers do not consider involuntary blasphemous thoughts a sin, and their causes are a sin (Venerable Ambrose).
Know that blasphemy inspired by the enemy against someone is completely sinful, harmful, and offensive to repeat (Venerable Ambrose).
Do not be embarrassed by blasphemous thoughts, but only reproach yourself at this time for the proud disposition of your soul and for condemning others. The first without the last are not imputed to sin (St. Ambrose).
If blasphemous thoughts come and condemn others, then reproach yourself for pride and do not pay any attention to them (Venerable Ambrose).
Blasphemy
If you are considered proud for your solitude, rejoice. If they interfere with your prayer, do not be discouraged, but humble yourself (Venerable Anatoliy).
For God’s sake, I went to the monastery, to endure everything for the Lord’s sake, for the sake of the Bridegroom Jesus, who laid down His life for us and died a dishonorable death on the cross. So He is preparing His glory for you through sorrows and reproaches. And you will be with Him forever: I assured you, and I assure you with the true word. Not my sinful word, but the word of His, the Lord Jesus: “Where I am, there will My servant also be” (John 12:26). “If only we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him” (Rom. 8:17) (Rev. Anatoly).
God's permission
What tempts you is that, perhaps, due to the machinations of the enemy, Mother Abbess does not force the lamp to light in front of the relics. The Apostle Paul was taller than the Mother Superior, and even he writes about himself: “we wanted to come to you once and twice, but Satan prevented us” (1 Thess. 2:18). Therefore, do not be surprised at anything, but consider it God’s permission. And don’t be offended by anything, but rather follow the advice of the holy Climacus, who writes this: if you want to have anger and resentment, then have them not against people, but against the demons who tempt people. Also, give up inappropriate jealousy, why this or that is not done in order, as you think, but better... pay attention to yourself, and doing this will be enough for you, according to what has been said: everyone will be glorified or disgraced by his own deeds (Venerable Ambrose ).
The spirit of blasphemy torments you. Not only do blasphemous thoughts occur and amaze, but words are heard in the ears. The demon... produces them. He does this in order to confuse you and deprive you of the courage to pray. And what he means is, would you agree to some kind of blasphemy, in order to plunge you into the sin of blasphemy, and then into despair. The first thing to do against this demon is... do not be embarrassed and do not at all think that these are your thoughts, but directly attribute them to the demon. Then, against thoughts and words - thinking and speaking is disgusting. He inspires evil about the saint, and you say: you are lying, you sly; This is how he is... So against everything - and keep talking until they move away. Conclude this way: be damned, blasphemer, and let the words of blasphemy be directed at your head! Turn to the Lord with this prayer: I open my soul before You, Lord! You see that I do not want such thoughts and do not favor them. The enemy is in control. Get him away from me!
Regarding blasphemous thoughts, one must regret and repent before the Lord; but don’t lose heart and don’t think that this will cause harm. Just because you don’t want such thoughts and turn away from them, God is not angry with you. The thoughts are not from you, but the enemy does.
When the Assyrians under the walls of Jerusalem shouted to the Jerusalemites standing on the walls, uttering blasphemous words against God and trying to shake them in their faith in God and in loyalty to the king, then the pious Hezekiah did not order his people to answer, but he himself went to the temple and prayed. This is what Christians should do when their thoughts are overwhelmed. Don't answer, don't listen, go deep into your heart, call on the name of the Lord Jesus, protect yourself sign of the cross, externally and internally.
Turn to the Lord with the following prayer: “I open my soul before You, Lord! You see that I do not want such thoughts and do not favor them. The enemy is in control. Drive him away from me!”
The spirit of blasphemy lurks; but don’t think that he will leave you so soon. Accustomed to finding access to you, he will keep approaching you, to see if he can somehow confuse you more strongly. Everyone experiences this. That’s why they write that in the fight against the enemy you should never lay down your arms, but always be ready to resist him.
You think that they come from you, but you, on the contrary, do not have them, but you are horrified, grieved and embarrassed, while they are not yours at all, but the enemy; you don’t have the slightest participation in them, and you shouldn’t even impute them to sin, but you need to be calm, not paying any attention to them and imputing them to nothing, they will disappear. And when you are embarrassed about this, grieve and despair, this consoles the enemy and he rebels against you even more with it.
No one should think that he is guilty of blasphemous thoughts; for the Lord is a knower of the heart and knows that such words are not ours, but those of our enemies.
Despising him, and regarding the thoughts he puts in as nothing, we will say to him: follow me, Satan: I will worship the Lord my God and serve Him alone; but your illness and your words will turn on your head, and your blasphemy will descend on your head in this present age and in the future.
Let us stop judging and condemning our neighbor, and we will not be afraid of blasphemous thoughts; for the cause and root of the second is the first.
And when blasphemous thoughts confuse you, don’t fight them, but simply despise them, that is, don’t pay attention to them: they are not our thoughts, but the devil’s, and therefore we will not answer for them.
Blasphemous thoughts multiply and strengthen from pride and condemnation of others. Therefore, beware of both, and blasphemous thoughts will fade away.
If blasphemous thoughts come and condemn others, then reproach yourself for pride and do not pay any attention to them.
One of these temptations is the attack of thoughts of unbelief, doubt, and blasphemy. The first reaction to them is fear, then people begin to suffer from remorse, not understanding how such thoughts can arise in them.The Optina elders distinguished thoughts well, knew where and for what reasons blasphemous thoughts appeared and how to deal with them.
Enemy excuses
To those who complained about the mental suffering brought by blasphemous thoughts, the Monk Macarius explained that, according to patristic teaching, blasphemous thoughts are considered the enemy’s excuses. And the proof of this is that we do not agree with them, but, on the contrary, we grieve that such thoughts torment us:
“The Holy Fathers generally consider blasphemous thoughts not ours, but the enemy’s, and when we do not agree with them, but also grieve that they creep into our minds, then this is a sign of our innocence in them. There is no need to be embarrassed that they are coming. For if a person is embarrassed, then the enemy will rise up against him, and when he does not heed them, imputes them to nothing and does not count them for anything, then his thoughts disappear.”
The Monk Barsanuphius consoled and reassured people who were tormented by the enemy with bad, nasty thoughts:
“Can anyone who believes in God, loves Him, hopes in Him, think of blasphemy against Him? Obviously, these are not his thoughts, but they are whispered by the enemy of our salvation, for whom it is most beneficial for a person to fall into despair, consider himself to have fallen away from God - then he is entirely in the hands of the devil.”
Thoughts of unbelief, doubts of faith
Blasphemous thoughts also include thoughts of doubt in faith and unbelief. The Monk Macarius advised:“You write what you find, like a light cloud, about God and the future. This thought is considered by Saint Demetrius to be a blasphemous thought. For in them our will does not agree, but only the enemy suggests thoughts of unbelief. The person does not want this and is not to blame, but thinks that he is to blame, is embarrassed, and thus amuses the enemy more and gives him a reason to attack. And when you despise it and do not consider it a sin, then he too will be ashamed and go away. In this, the condemnation of others also gives him a reason.”
The Monk Ambrose explained:
“The abuse of unbelief and doubt refers to blasphemous thoughts and is considered on an equal basis with them. Therefore, do not be very upset by this abuse, although it is not easy, but difficult. Better yet, try to be complacent and despise the enemy’s thoughts of doubt and unbelief, keeping one thing in mind: not to judge or condemn anyone.”
Thoughts against a spiritual mentor
Often the enemy instills thoughts against the spiritual father, mentor, priest receiving confession. When the elder Anthony’s child complained about the thoughts tormenting him, directed against the elder himself, the Monk Anthony answered:
“I heartily sympathize with all your illnesses and earnestly pray to God for your healing. About your thoughts, Saint David writes in the book of psalms: “The Lord knows the thoughts of men, for they are vanity.” And therefore, don’t blame them for sin, which I personally told you about, but you are used to worrying for nothing. Likewise, no matter what happens against me, do not hold it against me as a sin, since the thoughts are not ours, and therefore are not brought to blame from God. Believe this without doubt and be peaceful in spirit and cheerful.”
"Like the swear words of a drunken passerby"
The Monk Barsanuphius compared the enemy's attack of blasphemous thoughts with the curses of a drunken man who meets along the road:
“I’ll ask again. You are walking along the road. A drunk man comes across and spews the most terrible curses. What do you need to do? Quickly run past, trying not to hear what he says. If something remains in your memory, against your will, will God judge you for this as for your blasphemy? No, it will not.
It would be a different matter if you approached this drunken man and began to say to him: “That’s good; well, say something else, and now this…” - they would hug and go with him, enjoying what he says. In this case, you would be condemned along with him.
It’s the same with thoughts: if you try to drive them away from yourself, know that you are not responsible for the fact that they appeared in you, you mistakenly attribute them to yourself, but they are not yours, but are instilled in you by the enemy. Only when you voluntarily dwell on a bad thought and it gives you pleasure, then you are guilty and must repent of this sin.”
What is the reason for the appearance of blasphemous thoughts
The Optina elders explained in detail the reason for the appearance of blasphemous thoughts and how to deal with them.
The Monk Macarius explained that these thoughts are allowed because of our exaltation and high opinion of ourselves:
“But these thoughts, although they are not a sin, are, with God’s permission, found from the enemy for our exaltation, for the opinion of ourselves or about our corrections and for the condemnation of our neighbors.”
The Monk Ambrose also writes about exaltation and condemnation as the cause of blasphemous thoughts:
“Blasphemous thoughts know what they fight for: for exaltation and for condemnation. Humble yourself, do not think about yourself that you are better than others, do not despise anyone, but reproach yourself for sins and attempts, then blasphemous thoughts will subside. However, in any case, don’t be embarrassed; The Holy Fathers do not consider involuntary blasphemous thoughts a sin, and their causes are a sin.”
“You cannot recognize yourself as more sinful and worse than others. This feeling is clearly proud, from which blasphemous thoughts and blasphemous verbs are born and strengthened, as Saint Climacus testifies, saying: “The root of blasphemy is pride.”
Elder Anatoly (Zertsalov) emphasized:
“Blasphemous thoughts multiply and are strengthened by pride and condemnation of others.”
How to get liberation from blasphemous thoughts
The Monk Macarius taught that a person will receive liberation from such thoughts if he humbles himself, repents and refrains from condemnation:
“When a person, having recognized his sins, humbles himself and does not condemn others, but brings repentance for this, he receives liberation from them.”
Elder Ambrose advised:
“If blasphemous thoughts come and condemn others, then reproach yourself for pride and do not pay any attention to them.”
“Do not be embarrassed by blasphemous thoughts, but only reproach yourself at this time for the proud disposition of your soul and for condemning others.”
“Know that, except for humility and tears, it is impossible to get rid of blasphemy.”
Reverend Fathers our Optina elders, pray to God for us sinners!