Prepare yourself to bravely face temptations (sorrows; ‘it is impossible for temptations not to come’), which are sent to those who do good deeds, and only then begin to perform them. But if you are not prepared to meet (the arrival of) temptations, refrain from practicing virtues” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Homily 57). Christians (and catechumens) are benefactors, and thus they are always in sorrows, temptations, and trials, which always follow good deeds! “Be courageous,” says the Lord to His disciples! “Whoever comes to serve the Lord, to follow the Lord, let him prepare his soul for suffering sorrows,” for “through many sorrows, we all must enter the Kingdom of God, to acquire the Holy Spirit.” “The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to Eternal Life through the crucible of sorrows, through which all the saints have passed following the Lord Jesus Christ!” Be vigilant! Pray that you do not fall into temptation, that you do not be tempted (by sorrows, persecutions, trials… – all those things that must be in the life of a disciple of Christ) and fall away from the Truth and following the Lord!
“Souls that are too weak to acquire life on their own are led to virtue by involuntary sorrows” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Homily 91). In the last days, we are saved only by (joyful-grateful) patience in sorrows (involuntary; because we are no longer capable of voluntary feats – due to the lack of Spirit-bearing mentors, voluntary feats nurture pride-illusion; exceptions only confirm the rule!).
“When you find unchanging peace on your path, then fear, because you are far from the straight path trodden by the weary feet of the saints. For as long as you are still on the way to the Kingdom, the sign of your approach to the city of God shall be this: strong (great) temptations meet you; and the closer you come and succeed, the more temptations that appear before you (on your way) increase. Therefore, as soon as you feel the greatest and strongest temptations in your soul on your path, know that at this time your soul has truly (genuinely) secretly entered a new higher stage, and grace has increased for her in that state in which she is placed, because according to the greatness of grace, to the same degree, God leads the soul into the sorrow of temptations (all for the sake of humility – V. A.), and not into worldly temptations, which happen to others for the suppression of vice and manifest deeds, do not also understand bodily disturbances under temptations, but temptations appropriate for monks in their silence. […] If the soul is weak and lacks the strength for great temptations, and therefore asks not to enter them, and God hears her, then know for sure that to the extent the soul lacks sufficient strength for great temptations, she is equally unable for great gifts; and as great temptations are forbidden to her (examples of great temptations: Abraham, Job, the Holy Virgin Mary, the abandonment by God of the reverend Fathers… – V. A.), so great gifts are forbidden to her, because God does not give great gifts without great temptations. (God is Love! God-Love wants to give Himself and all His fullness to every person (every hypostasis-personality), to fill everyone with the fullness of the Kingdom of God so that all hypostases may become gods by grace! But He cannot give to those unprepared, that is, to those not humble; God gives gifts only to the humble. We testify that God will never baptize with the Holy Spirit an unprepared, uninitiated, unhumble person – only the broken-hearted, full of gratitude and mercy! God is love! He gives gifts abundantly without measure, but everyone accepts grace according to the measure of humility. And without sorrows, no one will humble themselves; to have more humility (the recognition of one’s weakness and God’s Love for me), greater sorrows are needed. Keep your mind in hell and do not despair. The temptation of being abandoned by God – is to be at the bottom of hell (hell – godless state). So the Lord prepares the Great for the reception of great Grace – V. A.). The gifts determined by God are proportionate to the temptations, according to His wisdom, which cannot be comprehended by those He created. Finally, after severe sorrows sent to you by God’s Providence, your soul will recognize the honor it has received from the greatness of God. Because according to the measure of sorrow, so is the comfort.
Question. How then? Is it first temptation, and then the gift; or first the gift, and then the temptation?
Answer. Temptation does not come unless the soul first secretly receives greatness beyond its measure, and the Spirit of grace, received by her first (God gives the cross to each according to their strength! That is, the Lord gives each person the strength to carry their cross! God-Love tempts-tests, gives tasks according to the strength and measure of each – just be courageous, do not be afraid, and firmly know: that if you could not, if it were beyond your strength (to solve the task of God’s Providence, or to endure the sorrow), the Lord would not give it, so accept everything with love and peace… – V. A.). This is testified by the temptations of the Lord Himself, and similarly, the temptations of the apostles, who were not allowed to enter into temptation until they received the Comforter. Whoever partakes of the good, it is fitting to endure temptations, because sorrow follows after the good. So it was pleasing to the good God to do with everyone. And although this is indeed so, that is, grace precedes temptation, however, the feeling of temptation, for the testing of freedom, necessarily preceded the feeling of grace. Because grace never precedes anyone in the trial of temptations (for the sake of humility: first, it humbles (the Lord helps to humble), and then it receives grace (God gives grace to the humble), enters into possession of what it already has, what is already given before the temptation, through which, humbling, we become capable of entering into possession of the Gift of grace – V. A.). Grace (acts noticeably) speeds up in the mind, but slows down in feelings, and during these temptations, we already inherently have two opposite and in no way similar to each other feelings, that is, joy and fear; joy – because you are walking the path trodden by the saints, better to say – by the Life-giver of all, as follows from the examination of temptations. We should have fear so as not to endure this temptation due to pride. However, the humble-minded are wise with grace and can distinguish and recognize all this: which temptation is from the fruit of pride and which is from the blows inflicted by Love. Temptations upon entering a good life and its growth are different from temptations allowed for instruction in the pride of the heart. (This principle operates at all levels of spiritual life, throughout the path of repentance (from lawlessness to Law, from Law to Grace-deification)! Through many sorrows, we all must enter the Kingdom of God – V. A.).