DEPRESSION and Dispondency

[Ekaterina]

St. Seraphim of Sarov

Without sorrows there is no salvation. On the other hand, the Kingdom of God awaits those who have patiently endured. And all the glory of the world is nothing in comparison.

When despondency seizes us, let us not give in to it. Rather, fortified and protected by the light of faith, let us with great courage say to the spirit of evil: " What are you to us, you who are cut off from God, a fugitive for Heaven, and a slave of evil? You dare not do anything to us: Christ, the Son of God, has dominion over us and over all. Leave us, you thing of bane. We are made steadfast by the uprightness of His Cross. Serpent, we trample on your head."

God is a fire that warms and kindles the heart and inward parts. Hence, if we feel in our hearts the cold which comes from the devil - for the devil is cold - let us call on the Lord. He will come to warm our hearts with perfect love, not only for Him but also for our neighbor, and the cold of him who hates the good will flee before the heat of His countenance.

When the evil spirit of sorrow seizes the soul, then, by filling it with bitterness and unpleasantness, it does not allow it to pray with necessary diligence; it disrupts the attention necessary for reading spiritual writings, deprives it of humility and good nature in the treatment of others, and breeds aversion to any discussion. For the sorrowful soul, by becoming as if insane and frenzied, can neither accept kind advice calmly, nor ask posed questions meekly. It runs from people as if from the perpetrators of its embarrassment, not understanding that the reason for its illness is within it. Sorrow is the worm of the heart, gnawing at the mother that bore it.

He who has conquered passions has also defeated sorrow. But one overcome by passions will not avoid the shackles of sorrow. As an ill person can be identified by the color of his face, so is one overcome by passions distinguished by sorrow.

It is impossible for one who loves the world not to feel sorrow. But he who despises the world is always cheerful. As fire purifies gold, so sorrow in God, penitence, purifies the sinful heart.

One should always endure any trial for the sake of God with gratitude. Our life is a single minute in comparison with eternity; and therefore, according to the Apostle, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18).

The kingdom of heaven is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Acquire peace, and thousands around you will be saved.

[Ekaterina]

Fr. Seraphim (Rose) of Platina

Our spiritual struggle beings right now with whatever God has given us (and all the more if we ourselves have gotten into a difficult situation!)

About your trials: most of them are natural parts of life, and God allows several of them to pile up because you are capable of bearing them… You must learn to suffer and bear – but do not view this as something "endless and dreary," here you are wrong: God sends many consolations, and you will know them again. You must learn to find joy in the midst of increasing doses of sorrow; thus you can save your soul and help others.

[Ekaterina]

Archimandrite Sophrony of Essex

One should never compare oneself with anyone else. Each one of us, however small he be, is great before the Eternal; God establishes with each human being a unique and loving relationship.

Of course, it is better not to sin. But repentance, if it is like a flame, can restore any loss.

Earthly existence is for man an endless suffering. Why do we bear all this? Because the Creator has come and has dwelt among us. And now we know Him personally.

When we decide to follow Christ, every day of our life becomes a day of suffering, of weeping, of pain. Sometimes this question arises in us: 'Lord, why hast Thou created us thus, that we must go through so much suffering?' We do not manage to understand that this negative experience is the way of salvation.

One cannot love without suffering. The greatest pain is that of loving to the utmost. Christ loved so much that He gave Himself up to a terrible death. The saints too. Paradise always costs this price. Prayer for the world is the fruit of extremely deep and acute suffering.

Christ is infinite God. He was crucified not only for believers, but for every being, from Adam until the last man to be born of woman. To follow Christ means to suffer so that all humanity be healed and saved. It cannot be otherwise.

Despair is the loss of consciousness that God wants to give us eternal life. The world is living in despair. People have condemned themselves to death. We must struggle resolutely against despondency.

My beloved brothers and sisters, open your hearts so that the Holy Spirit can trace in them the image of Christ. Then, little by little you will be able to have within you both joy and affliction, both death and resurrection.

[Liudmilla]

On such days stay quiet. Do not be persuaded to go out into social life or entertainment. Do not pity yourself, seek comfort in nothing but your cry to the Lord: "Haste thee, O God, to deliver me! Makes haste to help me, O Lord (Psalm 70:1)! I am so fast in prison that I cannot get forth (Psalm 88:8)," and other such appeals. You cannot expect real help from any other source. For the sake of chance relief do not throw away all your winnings. Pull the covers over your head; now your patience and steadfastness are being tried. If you endure the trial, thank God who gave you the strength. If you do not, rise up promptly, pray for mercy and think: I got what I deserved! For the fall itself was your punishment. You had relied too much on yourself, and now you see what it led to. You have had an experience; do not forget to give thanks.

"Way of the Ascetics," by Tito Colliander, San Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers, 1982, pp. 84-85