Advice from spiritual masters about suffering

 

The Philokalia is an anthology of texts written between the 4th and 14th centuries by spiritual masters of the Orthodox Christian tradition. It was first published in Greek in 1782.  The Philokalia has exercised a great influence on Orthodox spirituality. The Philokalia is spiritual advice gathered primarily for monastics. 

I have gathered these sayings from the Philokalia on the topic of dealing with suffering.  

 

The Philokalia: Volume 1

St Mark the Ascetic (Mark the hermit. Early 400’s)

(P.114)

56. Distress reminds the wise of God, but crushes those who forget Him.

57. Let all involuntary suffering teach you to remember God, and you will not lack occasion for repentance.

65. To accept an affliction for God's sake is a genuine act of holiness; for true love is tested by adversities.

66. Do not claim to have acquired virtue unless you have suffered affliction, for without affliction virtue has not been tested.

67. Consider the outcome of every involuntary affliction and you will find it has been the destruction of sin.

(p.129)

47. It is a great virtue to accept patiently whatever comes and, as the Lord enjoins, to love a neighbor who hates you.

49. We cannot with all our heart forgive someone who does us wrong unless we possess real knowledge. For this knowledge shows us that we deserve all we experience.

(p.131)

67. Everyone receives what he deserves in accordance with his inner state. But only God understands that many different ways in which this happens.

68. When you suffer some dishonor from men, recognize at once the glory that will be given you by God. Then you will not be saddened or upset by the dishonor; and when you receive the glory you will remain steadfast and innocent.

70. A seed will not grow without earth and water; and a man will not develop without voluntary suffering and divine help.

(p.132)

84. Fire cannot last long in water, nor can a shameful thought in a heart that loves God. For every man who loves God suffer gladly, and voluntary suffering is by nature the enemy of sensual pleasure.

(p.136)

130. He who suffers wrong does not demand any reparation from the man who wronged him, trusts in Christ to make good the loss; and he is rewarded a hundredfold in this world and inherits eternal life (cf. Mark 10:30).

134. If you wish to remember God unceasingly, do not reject as undeserved what happens to you, but patiently accept it as your due. For patient acceptance of whatever happens kindles the remembrance of God, whereas refusal to accept weakens the spiritual purpose of the heart and so makes it forgetful.

139. The mercy of God is hidden in sufferings not of our choice; and if we accept such sufferings patiently, they bring us to repentance and deliver us from everlasting punishment.



St. Diadochos of Photiki (b. around 400- d. before 486)

(p.291-292)

94. As wax cannot take the imprint of a seal unless it is warmed or softened thoroughly, so a man cannot receive the seal of God's holiness unless he is tested by labours and weaknesses. That is why the Lord says to St Paul: ‘My grace is sufficient for you: for My power comes to its fullness in your weakness’; And the Apostle himself proudly declares: ‘Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me’ (2 Cor 12:9). In Proverbs, too, it is written: ‘For whom the Lord loves He disciplines; He chastens every son He accepts’ (Prov 3:12. LXX). By weaknesses the Apostle means the attacks made by the enemies of the Cross, attacks which continually fell upon him and all the Saints of that time, to prevent them from being ‘unduly elated by the abundance of revelations’, as he says himself (2 Cor. 12:7). Because of their humiliation they persevered still more in the life of perfection, and when they were treated with contempt they preserved the divine gift in holiness. But by weaknesses we now mean evil thoughts and bodily illnesses. In those times, since their bodies were submitted to deadly tortures and other afflictions, men pursuing the spiritual way were raised far above the passions which normally attack human nature as a result of sin. Today, however, since by the Lord's grace peace prevails in the Church, the bodies of those contending for holiness have to be tested by frequent illnesses, and their souls tried by evil thoughts. This is the case especially for those in whom divine knowledge is fully and consciously active, so that they can be stripped of all self-esteem and conceit, and can therefore, as I said, receive in their hearts the seal of divine beauty through their great humility. As the Psalmist says, ‘We have been marked by the light of Thy countenance, O Lord’ (Ps. 4:6 LXX). We must therefore submit to the Lord's will thankfully; for then our frequent illnesses and our fight against demonic thoughts will be counted a second martyrdom. The devil, who once said to the holy martyrs through the mouths of lawless rulers, ‘ Deny Christ, choose earthly honors’, is now present among us in person constantly saying the same to the servants of God. In times past he tortured the bodies of the saints, inflicting the utmost outrage upon spiritual teachers held in honor by using such people as served the diabolic schemes; and now he attacks the confessors of holiness with the various passions, and with much insult and contempt, especially when for the glory of the Lord they give determined help to the poor and downtrodden. So we should fulfill our inward martyrdom before God with confidence and patience, for it is written: ‘I waited patiently for the Lord; and He heard me’  (Ps. 40:1).

The Philokalia: Volume two

St. Maximos the Confessor (580-662AD)

(p.96)

82. The person who truly wishes to be healed is he who does not refuse treatment. This treatment consists of the pain and distress brought on by various misfortunes. He who refuses them does not realize what they accomplish in this world or what he will gain from them when he departs this life.

(p.155)

72. It is not the man who worships God with words alone who glorifies God in himself but he who for God's sake bears hardship and suffering in the quest for virtue. Such a man is glorified in return by God with the glory that is in God, receiving through participation the grace of dispassion as a reward for virtue. For everyone living the life of ascetic practice who glorifies God in himself by suffering for the sake of virtue is himself glorified in God through the dispassionate illumination of divine realities perceived during contemplation. For the Lord said as He drew near to His passion, ‘Now Is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself; and He will glorify Him at once’  (John 13:31-32). From this it is clear that divine gifts follow sufferings endured for the sake of virtue.  

(p.169)

17. The task of virtue is to contend against hardship and suffering. The prize for victory, given to those who stand their ground, is the soul’s dispassion. In this state the soul is united with God through love, and in inward resolution it is separated from the body and the world. Those who stand their ground find that the soul's strength lies in the body’s affliction.

18. Beguiled from our original state by the deceitfulness of sensual pleasure, we chose death rather than true life. Let us then gladly endure the bodily hardship which puts such pleasure to death. In this way the death of pleasure will destroy the death which came about through pleasure, and we shall receive back, purchased with but slight bodily hardship, the life which we sold for the sake of sensual pleasure.

19. If when the flesh has an easy life the force of sin tends to grow stronger, it is clear that when the flesh suffers affliction the force of virtue will also increase. So let us bravely endure the affliction of the flesh, which cleanses the souls stains and bring us future glory. For ’ the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us’ (Rom 8:18).

20. When physicians are treating the body they do not administer the same remedy in all cases. Neither does God, when treating the illnesses of the soul, regard a single kind of therapy as suitable for all conditions; but He allots to each soul what is suitable for it and effects its cure. So let us give thanks while we are being treated, however great our suffering, for the result is blessed.

21. Nothing disciplines the disposition of the soul so well as the protests of the afflicted flesh. If the soul gives way to them, it will be evident that it loves the flesh more than God. But if it remains unshaken by these disturbances, it will be shown to honor virtue more than the flesh. Through virtue God will come to dwell in it- God who for the soul's sake patiently bears our human suffering- and will say to it as He once did to the disciples, ‘Have courage, for I have overcome the world’ (John 16: 33).

(p.173)

44. The outcome of every affliction endured for the sake of virtue is joy, of every labour rest, and of every shameful treatment glory; in short, the outcome of all sufferings for the sake of virtue is to be with God, to remain with Him for ever and to enjoy eternal rest.

(p.178)

64. Suffering cleanses the soul infected with the filth of sensual pleasure and detaches it completely from material things by showing it the penalty incurred as a result of its affection for them. This is why God in His justice allows the devil to afflict men with torments.

(p.183)

81. When those who have acquired moral stability and contemplative knowledge employ these for the sake of human glory, merely conveying an outward impression of the virtues, and uttering words of wisdom and knowledge without performing the corresponding actions; and when in addition they display to others their vanity because of this supposed virtue and knowledge, then they are rightly handed over to commensurate hardships, in order to learn through suffering that humility which was unknown to them before because of their empty conceit.

83. Without divine permission even the demons themselves cannot assist the devil in any way at all. For it is God Himself in His loving providence who allows the devil, in appropriate ways, to inflict various sufferings through his ministers. The book of job shows this plainly, describing as it does how the devil was utterly unable to approach Job unless God willed it (cf. Job 1:11-12).

(p.258)

93. The patient endurance of the saints exhausts the evil power that attacks them, since it makes them glory in sufferings undergone for the sake of truth. It teaches those too much concerned with a life in the flesh to deepen themselves through such sufferings instead of pursuing ease and comfort; and it makes the flesh's natural weakness in the endurance of suffering a foundation for overwhelming spiritual power. For the natural weakness of the saints is precisely such a foundation, since the Lord has made their weakness stronger than the proud devil.



St Thalassios the Libyan (500’s-600’s)

(p.308)

28. Patiently endure the distressing and painful things that befall you, for through them God in His providence is purifying you.

(p.316)

67. Fearful afflictions await the heart of heart, for without great sufferings they cannot become pliable and responsive.

The Philokalia: Volume 3

St. Philotheos of Sinai (9th or 10th century?)

(p.31)

40. None of the painful things that happen to us every day will injure or distress us once we perceive and continually meditate on their purpose. It is on account of this that St Paul says: ‘I take delight in weakness, insults and hardships’ (2 Cor 12:10); and: ‘All who seek to live a holy life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution’ (2 Tim. 3:12). To Him be glory through all the ages. Amen




St. Peter of Damaskos (11th or 12th century?)

(p.77) A Treasury of Divine Knowledge- Introduction

Just as sick people need surgery and cautery to recover the health they have lost, so we need trials, and toils of repentance, and fear of death and punishment, so that we may regain our former health of soul and shake off the sickness which our folly has induced. The more the Physician of our souls bestows upon us voluntary and involuntary suffering, the more we should thank Him for His compassion and accept the suffering joyfully. For it is to help us that He increases our tribulation, both through the sufferings we willingly embrace in our repentance and through the trials and punishments not subject to our will. In this way, if we voluntarily accept affliction, we will be freed from our sickness and from the punishments to come, and perhaps even from present punishments as well. Even if we are not grateful, our Physician in His grace will still heal us, although by means of chastisement and manifold trials. But if we cling to our disease and persist in it, we will deservedly bring upon ourselves agelong punishment. We will have made ourselves like the demons and so will justly share with them the agelong punishments prepared for them; for, like them, we will have scorned our benefactor.

(p.85)

As he advances through this humility towards divine and unfailing love, he accepts sufferings as though he deserved them. Indeed, he thinks he deserves more suffering than he encounters; And he is glad that he has been granted some affliction in this world, since through it he may be spared a portion of the punishments which he has prepared for himself in the world to be. And because in all this he knows his own weakness, and that he should not exalt, and because he has been found worthy of knowing and enduring these things by the grace of God, he is filled with a strong longing for God.

Humility is born of spiritual knowledge, and such knowledge is born of trials and temptations. 

The Philokalia: Volume 4

St. Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022AD)

(p.29-30)

27. We should abandon all that is earthly. We should not only renounce riches and gold and other material things, but should also expel desire for such things completely from our soul. We should hate not only the body sensual pleasure, but also its mindless impulses; and we should strive to mortify it through suffering. For it is through the body that our desires are roused and stirred into action; and so long as it is alive, our soul will inevitably be dead, slow to respond and even impervious to every divine command.

31. A person who suffers bitterly when slighted or insulted should recognize from this that he still harbors the ancient serpent in his breast. If he quietly endures the insult or responds with great humility, he weakens the serpent and lessens its hold. But if he replies acrimoniously or brazenly, he gives it strength to pour its venom into his heart and to feed mercilessly on his guts. In this way the serpent becomes increasingly powerful; it destroys his soul's strength and his attempts to set himself right, compelling him to live for sin and to be completely dead to righteousness.

(p.37)

65. The person who from fear of punishment hereafter has placed himself as a slave in the hands of his spiritual fathers will not choose, even if commanded to do so, relief for his heart's suffering or deliverance from the bonds of his fear. Nor will he listen to those who out of friendship, or flattery, or in virtue of their authority, encourage him to seek such relief and freedom. On the contrary, he will choose what increases his suffering and heightens his fear, and will look with love on whatever helps another to inflict these things on him. Moreover, he will endure as though he never expected to be released; for hope of deliverance lightens one's burden, and this is harmful for someone who is repenting fervently.  

(p.38)
67. He who does not attempt to evade the suffering engendered by the fear of eternal punishment, but accepts it wholeheartedly, and even adds to it as he can, will rapidly advance into the presence of the King of kings. And as soon as he has beheld the glory of God, however obscurely, his bonds will be loosed: fear, his tormentor, will leave him, and his heart's suffering will be turned to joy. It will become a spring from which unceasing tears will flow visibly and which will fill him spiritually with peace, gentleness and inexpressible sweetness, as well as with courage and the capacity to submit to God's commandments freely and unreservedly. This is something impossible for those who are still beginners, for it is the characteristic of such as are in the middle of their spiritual journey. As for the perfect, this spring becomes a light within their hearts, suddenly changed and transformed as they are.

(p.54)

133. You should be ready each day to receive all kinds of afflictions, regarding them as your release from many sins; and you should thank God for them. Through them you may acquire a close and unimpeachable communion with God, in accordance with St Paul's words: 'Afflictions produce patient endurance; patient endurance, strength of character, and strength of character, hope; and hope does not disappoint' (Rom 5:3-5). For the things that 'the eye has not seen, and the ear has not heard, and man's heart has not grasped' (1 Cor 2:9)- These things belong, according to the infallible promise, to those who, with the help of God's grace, patiently endure affliction. Without God's grace we can of course do nothing.