St. Cosmas of Aetolia on the Recollection of Sins
December 9, 2009
St. Cosmas of Aetolia
When the intellect through rejection of the passions attains to unwavering hope, then the enemy makes it visualize its past sins on the pretext of confessing them to God. Thus he tries to rekindle passions which by God’s grace have been forgotten, and so secretly to inflict injury. Then, even though someone is illumined and hates the passions, he will inevitably be filled with darkness and confusion at the memory of what be has done. But if he is still befogged and self-indulgent, he will certainly dally with the enemy’s provocations and entertain them under the influence of passion, so that this recollection will prove to be a prepossession and not a confession.
* Taken from St. Nicholas Church.
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Very true!
I love St Kosmas the Aetolian, he holds a very prominent place in Greece but not much in the overall Orthodox world … very prophetic man, if only we listened to his prophecies!
I recently discovered your excellent blog, which I greatly enjoy reading.
Mark
This is why diets don’t work. People think of food constantly when they diet. If a person truly wants to change, they need to substitute one activity for another. This is why the Fathers generally urge prayer in the face of any temptation or repentance. Any holy activity is useful when trying to combat one’s sins. I think this is why the Jesus prayer is so often urged. It’s short. And powerful! Once you lodge it in your mind, it will never leave you. Thus, even if you fall, the prayer goes on – and helps you in your sorrow for having failed.
Thank you for this wise quote. And if only we could all follow its sage advice – every day!
Goodness! I was one step away from tears having read this. I sometimes wish I had lived a sheltered life and never been exposed to the things of this world against which I struggle (and sometimes don’t even bother to struggle) today. It’s like a virus whose symptoms can be controlled over time with varying degrees of success but which never really goes away.
Lord, have mercy.
Hello Michael,
I got to your blog site from http://www.Orthphoto.com (OP). I was wondering whether you could put Orthphoto on your menu to the right? It would be nice and I notice that there are very few Canadian users of OP. Are you the Moses that I see posting on OCAnews now and then? Also, I initially noticed your photo of the Monastery of St Kosmas on OP and am curious whether you live near the monastery? I live near another of the (Elder Ephraim) monasteries in California, The Monastery of the Theotokos, The Living Spring.
John (Yanni) Reeder (jacksson on OP – check out my photos).
Hello John,
No I am not the Moses posting on OCAnews, I don’t frequent that site lately! Yes I live about 45 minutes away from St. Kosmas Monastery. I am glad you are able to have a monastery close by as well!
I haven’t uploaded much on OP lately, but perhaps in the near future, keep up the good work on that site!
moses