When we have taken care to purify our soul, the God of glory will dwell in it and it will become His. ( Elder Ephraim of Arizona )

The greatest temple, in which God delights to dwell, is that which He skillfully crafted with His own hands, our entire being, our soul, as long as it is pure. 

 

Purity of heart consists in the nous being free from evil thoughts, from which evil and passionate feelings originate which cause the body to be passionately excited. For it is then that both soul and body are defiled, and to a certain degree their purity and spotlessness are lost. 

 

The first evil and passionate thought but primarily the corresponding passionate fantasy, is the starting point of all forms of sin. No sin occurs in deed if an evil thought does not precede it by means of the imagination. Therefore, in order to attain the greatest good, purity in the full sense of the word, we need to purify our nous from sinful imaginations and thoughts. Only in this way is purity acquired with a firm foundation. 

 

If we want to stop doing evil deeds without paying attention to our inward thoughts, we labor in vain. When we have taken care to purify our soul, the God of glory will dwell in it and it will become His holy and luxurious temple, giving forth the fragrance of the incense of unceasing prayer to Him.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

When we have taken care to purify our soul, the God of glory will dwell in it ... ( Elder Ephraim of Arizona )

The greatest temple, in which God delights to dwell, is that which He skillfully crafted with His own hands,our entire being, our soul, as long as it is pure. Purity of heart consists in the nous being free from evil thoughts, from which evil and passionate feelings originate which cause the body to be passionately excited. For it is then that both soul and body are defiled, and to a certain degree their purity and spotlessness are lost. 

The first evil and passionate thought,but primarily the corresponding passionate fantasy, is the starting point of all forms of sin. No sin occurs in deed if an evil thought does not precede it by means of the imagination. Therefore, in order to attain the greatest good, purity in the full sense of the word,we need to purify our nous from sinful imaginations and thoughts. Only in this way is purity acquired with a firm foundation. 

If we want to stop doing evil deeds without paying attention to our inward thoughts, we labor in vain. When we have taken care to purify our soul, the God of glory will dwell in it and it will become His holy and luxurious temple, giving forth the fragrance of the incense of unceasing prayer to Him. 

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Let us fast according to our strength . ( Elder Ephraim of Arizona )

Let us fast according to our strength; but in the fasting of the senses, of the nous, and of the heart, let us wrestle against our soul’s enemy with all our strength. My child, guard your senses and especially your eyes. The eyes are like the tentacles of the octopus which grasp whatever moves in front of them. They catch the prey of sin more easily. With the eyes spiritual towers fell and were lost. When David was careless with his eyes, he committed murder and adultery, even though he was a great prophet of God who had grace and the gift of foresight. My child, since you are in the midst of occasions for various sins, be careful with your senses. Above all be careful with your nous, the navigator, “the most shameless bird”, according to Abba Isaac the Syrian. The nous pries into the secrets of the actions of one’s neighbor; it can be a filthy artist when it depicts shameful things. Therefore, at all costs take care to keep your nous pure by immediately driving away every thought and sinful fantasy, having as strong aids the Jesus prayer and the kind of anger for which it was said: “Be angry and do not sin” (Eph. 4:26 ).

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Overall piety and vigilance are everything; they are the true marks of a soul living in Christ.

I know by experience that piety through silence, prayer, meditation, cleansing tears, true repentance, and contemplation of divine things renews the physical aspect as well as the spiritual aspect of him who struggles. Ascesis helps, of course, when the body is strong, but when it is weak, thanks-giving and self-reproach make up for ascesis. 

Overall piety and vigilance are everything; they are the true marks of a soul living in Christ. When these are absent and one practices ascesis one-sidedly, either he benefits little or he is totally lost because he becomes puffed up by the praises of others as well as by his own thoughts. 

Without watchfulness—that all-embracing light of the soul, inestimable in value—he loses his labors. This is what happened with many ascetics in the desert, and they literally lost their souls, as we read in the writings of the Desert Fathers. Ascesis is depicted by the Fathers as the leaves of the tree, while vigilance is the fruit (Abba Agathon, vid. The Philokalia, vol. IV, p. 199 ). By their fruits you shall know them (Mt. 7:16 ) –it is fruits that we have been commanded to bear. 

May God enlighten us how to walk, for true guides have vanished and everyone walks his own way. May God be a true guide for all of us.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

What is the use of laboring and toiling with the body night and day, if inwardly we do not take care to pull out the roots from which all evil sprouts?

What is the use of laboring and toiling with the body night and day, if inwardly we do not take care to pull out the roots from which all evil sprouts? We have an absolute need for watchfulness and unceasing prayer in order to cast off the evil which lurks within us and replace it with spiritual good. Make sure that your daytime work does not rob you of oral prayer; cry out the supremely glorious and sweet name of our Jesus, and it will not be long before He comes to help and console you. What is there that the blessed prayer cannot set aright and renew! Constrain yourselves in the prayer; why should your mind wander around here and there and not turn towards our Jesus, when for Him we left everything and for Him we endure everything?

Elder Ephraim of Arizona 

What is the use of laboring and toiling with the body night and day, if inwardly we do not take care to pull out the roots from which all evil sprouts?

What is the use of laboring and toiling with the body night and day, if inwardly we do not take care to pull out the roots from which all evil sprouts? We have an absolute need for watchfulness and unceasing prayer in order to cast off the evil which lurks within us and replace it with spiritual good. Make sure that your daytime work does not rob you of oral prayer; cry out the supremely glorious and sweet name of our Jesus, and it will not be long before He comes to help and console you. What is there that the blessed prayer cannot set aright and renew! Constrain yourselves in the prayer; why should your mind wander around here and there and not turn towards our Jesus, when for Him we left everything and for Him we endure everything?

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

In the war of the flesh, only turning our back saves us , that is, we must flee from fantasies and thoughts as soon as they appear.

In the war of the flesh, only turning our back saves us , that is, we must flee from fantasies and thoughts as soon as they appear. Do not linger at all in order to examine or to converse with fantasies! The imagination is a great and terrible snare; things avoided by the eyes and the touch are approached with the greatest of ease by the imagination. 

Strive to keep your mind from imagining any worldly thing outside of your monastery. Only one thought should replace them all , the remembrance of the adored Jesus. If something in your cell reminds you of someone, you must necessarily get rid of it, to avert by all means any occasion for war. Make an effort to erase your past. When it rouses itself and tries to choke you, call on Jesus and He will be ready to help you.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

In the war of the flesh, only turning our back saves us—that is, we must flee from fantasies and thoughts as soon as they appear.

In the war of the flesh, only turning our back saves us—that is, we must flee from fantasies and thoughts as soon as they appear. Do not linger at all in order to examine or to converse with fantasies! The imagination is a great and terrible snare; things avoided by the eyes and the touch are approached with the greatest of ease by the imagination. Strive to keep your mind from imagining any worldly thing outside of your monastery. Only one thought should replace them all—the remembrance of the adored Jesus. If something in your cell reminds you of someone, you must necessarily get rid of it, to avert by all means any occasion for war. Make an effort to erase your past. When it rouses itself and tries to choke you, call on Jesus and He will be ready to help you.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Forgiveness is so easy!

Our thanks to God must be unceasing. Our thanksgiving must never stop, because we are made worthy every time we want to receive this cleansing, and every time we feel a sin, immediately turn the mind to God.

“I have sinned Lord, forgive me.” With this “I have sinned Lord, forgive me,” God answers: “My child, you are forgiven; the power of the law is remitted. Proceed to the application of the law.” And the application is beneath the petraheli (stole).

There all the sinfulness of man is ended. Forgiveness is so easy! It is very wrong for man, when this forgiveness is so easy and so free, because of his egoism not to want to receive it, not to want to open the doors of paradise and walk eternally in the glory of God!

Elder Efraim of Philotheou on Watchfulness, Prayer and Confession

We have an absolute need for watchfulness and unceasing prayer in order to cast off the evil which lurks within us and replace it with spiritual good.

What is the use of laboring and toiling with the body night and day, if inwardly we do not take care to pull out the roots from which all evil sprouts? 

We have an absolute need for watchfulness and unceasing prayer in order to cast off the evil which lurks within us and replace it with spiritual good. Make sure that your daytime work does not rob you of oral prayer; cry out the supremely glorious and sweet name of our Jesus, and it will not be long before He comes to help and console you. What is there that the blessed prayer cannot set aright and renew! Constrain yourselves in the prayer; why should your mind wander around here and there and not turn towards our Jesus, when for Him we left everything and for Him we endure everything?

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

The greatest temple, in which God delights to dwell, is that which He skillfully crafted with His own hands...

The greatest temple, in which God delights to dwell, is that which He skillfully crafted with His own hands—our entire being, our soul, as long as it is pure. Purity of heart consists in the nous being free from evil thoughts, from which evil and passionate feelings originate which cause the body to be passionately excited. For it is then that both soul and body are defiled, and to a certain degree their purity and spotlessness are lost. The first evil and passionate thought—but primarily the corresponding passionate fantasy—is the starting point of all forms of sin. No sin occurs in deed if an evil thought does not precede it by means of the imagination. Therefore, in order to attain the greatest good—purity in the full sense of the word—we need to purify our nous from sinful imaginations and thoughts. Only in this way is purity acquired with a firm foundation. If we want to stop doing evil deeds without paying attention to our inward thoughts, we labor in vain. When we have taken care to purify our soul, the God of glory will dwell in it and it will become His holy and luxurious temple, giving forth the fragrance of the incense of unceasing prayer to Him.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

So as we call on the sweet Jesus, He immediately rushes to help us and the demons flee at once.

Time is short, and it is unknown when it will expire. Therefore, let us struggle and be careful and expel every evil thought with anger and fervent prayer. And if we shed tears we shall benefit greatly, for tears cleanse the soul and make it whiter than snow. Let us stand ready for battle courageously, for we wrestle against the powers of darkness, which never make allies and never lessen their attacks. Therefore, let us also rouse ourselves and not be drowsy, for our eternal life is at stake. If we lose the victory, we have lost our soul, have utterly lost eternal rest and joy in God, and have condemned ourselves to the second death, which is eternal separation from God—may this not come to pass. 

While practicing watchfulness, let us be vigilant with thoughts. We fall into sin because of our thoughts. So let us fight powerfully against our thoughts and not allow thoughts to become strong within us due to our negligence, but as soon as they arrive let us drive away the fantasy and with anger seize the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God—that is, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me”. So as we call on the sweet Jesus, He immediately rushes to help us and the demons flee at once. We must not, however, say the prayer negligently, but with a fervent spirit cry out from the depths, “Master, save me, I am perishing!” (Lk. 8:24 ). 

The struggle to ward off thoughts in the beginning is small. If, however, we allow the thoughts to become stronger, then the struggle becomes difficult, and often we are defeated and wounded as well. But when we arise and cry out, the good captain Jesus comes again and steers our boat to the calm and peaceful harbor. It is in our thoughts that we either suffer damage and are defiled, or progress and become better. For this reason let us place our nous—that is, our attention—in our heart as a brave guard, armed with courage, the prayer, silence, and self-reproach. 

If we struggle in this manner, the outcome will be sweet peace, joy, purity, spiritual philosophy, and the prayer, which as a most fragrant incense will cense the temple of God, the inner man. “Do you know”, says the Apostle Paul, “that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16 ). I write these things in order to rouse your souls to spiritual vigilance, so that you may find the inner peace of God and rejoice. Amen; so be it.


Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Be careful with your eyes if you want to conquer the demon of lust.

Keep the eyes of your soul wide open; guard your senses, both those of the body (primarily the eyes ) as well as those of the soul (especially by keeping the mind from wandering ). 

This is necessary because it is through these senses that all the poisonous germs of spiritual diseases creep in. and thus, in time, the careless Christian contracts many diseases and loses the invaluable health of his immortal soul. 

Adultery of the soul occurs very easily when we allow filthy thoughts with their corresponding fantasies within us to overcome us. 

My child, be careful with your eyes if you want to conquer the demon of lust. Likewise, it is no less dangerous to look at indecent images, newspapers, magazines, etc.


Elder Ephraim of Arizona 


Counsels from the Holy Mountain
Chapter Fifteen.
On Prayer and Watchfulness.