Thoughts and how to confront them (4)

The Temptation of Christ. Fresco of Boticelli in Capella Sistina, Vatican 1481-5

Hiermonk Benedict of Holy Mount Athos

Continued from (3)

12. Results of the thoughts.

When the thought ages inside us, we then become servants to attempt its accomplishment. Attempt is the attachment of a person to material items and his desire to obtain only these items. Thus, the person’s mind becomes detached from the eternal nourishment. And when the person’s mind withdraws totally from God, then “it becomes either ferocious or de- vilish”. That is, the person becomes either as a beast or a demon. We observe this happening in today’s consumer society. The person’s mind has become adhered only to the earthly and has no thought whatsoever of heaven. The result is that the person is transformed into a beast and handicraft (technology) in whatever form, has been deified.

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Thoughts and how to confront them (3)

The Temptation of Christ. Fresco of Boticelli in Capella Sistina, Vatican 1481-5

Hiermonk Benedict of Holy Mount Athos

Continued from (2)

9. Blasphemous thoughts.

In following, they attempt to infect the holy moments, such as those of prayer, and the Holy Eucharist, or by inplanting in our minds thoughts of blasphemy against God.

Thus, this vile and impure being adores the moments of Holy Gatherings and especially the dreadful moments of the Holy Sacraments (The Holy Eucharist) in order to blaspheme the Lord and the Sacred Feasts. That is, when the ceremony of The Holy Eucharist takes place, Satan comes and implants in us various blasphemous thoughts. Thoughts such as: “The Holy Eucharist is not The Holy Body and Blood of Christ”, and that “that which we go to receive in us is absolutely nothing”! Worthless! There are even more impure and wretchedly vile thoughts which one dares not mention.

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Thoughts and how to confront them (2)

Hiermonk Benedict of Holy Mount Athos

Continuation from (1)

3. The journey towards the world of sin.

Externally, the act of sin may appear to be a simple fact, such as a car accident or some other incident. However, in order to commit this act, much other successive instrumentation must have taken place. For example, in order for a murder to take place, there must have, beforehand, occurred thousands of reflections and plans in the human mind. The human mind, in order to come to the point of committing the act of murder, had first become an entire base of demonic thoughts. This is what happens with the commitment of any act of sin. And it all started because of one simple thought…

Let us proceed, however, to see what happens, after the assault of one simple thought.

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Thoughts and how to confront them (1)

Hiermonk Benedict of Holy Mount Athos

Preface

Among the problems which man must confront at his moments of prayer, are the various thoughts which enter his mind, or nous.

This booklet is not the result of an experienced study on this important topic of thoughts and reasonings. It is a discourse which took place some time ago. It is presented here in a much improved version without having lost its original figure of speech. Since there are many who struggle with obscene and impure thoughts and even more who “panic”, this attempt is made so that the combatant and fighting Christian may understand what thoughts are, where they come from, what their results are, and how they are confronted.

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