Elder Cleopas (Ilie): Working to cast out the demons

 

Through humility, self-knowledge, self-deprecation, by enduring the troubles and miseries, and by doing all the good deeds in the name of God — this is how the demon of pride can be expelled; by doing good deeds in secret, by praying often and by self-reproaching, the demon of vainglory can be cast out; through labors, we can banish the demon of laziness and sloth; by thinking thoughtfully of death and Gehenna, through fasting and humility, we can expel the demon of gorging the belly; by loving God and thy neighbor, one can cast out and expel the demon of anger and wrath, and the demons love for pleasures; by praying for the one who wronged you, the demon of hatred and denigration can be cast out; by thinking of death, by fasting and praying, the demon of indifference and hardening of the heart can be expelled; by loving God, by being humble, abstinent, and by guarding the eyes and mind, we can chase away the demon of fornication; the same demon of fornication can be cast out by running away from women‘ friendship, by guarding ourselves against laziness, by fasting and praying, and by not judging anyone who fell into this passion or others; by fearing God, by keeping the mind awake, and by praying, we keep away the demon of forgetfulness; heading and paying attention, fearing God and keeping the mind awake help us help us cast out many different demons battling and warring against us, disturbing and wavering our minds during prayer; by enduring the troubles and miseries, and by thanking God for all the things that bring us sorrow and pain, we cast away the demons of blasphemy, slander, and discontent; by weeping and willful poverty, we cast out the wicked devil of love of silver; by maintaining a thoughtful and understanding silence, by weeping, and by thinking of death, the demons of defamation and vain words is expelled; through faith and great hope in God, mentioning the dead, and tasting the goods from above, we cast away the wealth love and vain wealth-gathering demon; by singing the psalms, by praying, by reading the holy books, and by talking with the skillful Fathers about the spiritual matters, we cast away and expel the demon of sorrow and grief; by being aware of our nothingness, by fearing our weaknesses and by repenting wholeheartedly, we expel the demon of self-trust and self-hope; through love and honest prayer for the one who wronged us, we expel the demon of hatred and calumny.

+Elder Cleopas (Ilie), from On Dreams and Visions: St. George Monastery (Elder Cleopa Book 8) Book 1: On Dreams

St. Seraphim of Sarov: On Spiritual Peace

 We can see how to defeat anger in the life of St. Paisius the Great. He asked the Lord Jesus Christ, Who appeared to him, to release him from anger. But Christ answered him, "If you want to defeat anger and wrath together, desire nothing, hate no one, humiliate no one."¹To preserve peace of soul you must keep despair at bay and try to preserve a joyful disposition, not a sorrowful one. As the wise Sirach said, "For sorrow has destroyed many, and there is no profit in it" (Sirach 30:23). To preserve peace of soul, you must in every way avoid condemnation of others. By you lack of judgment and your silence, you will preserve spiritual peace. When a man is in such a state, he receives divine revelations.

+St. Seraphim of Sarov, from Spiritual Instructions, #3-4 On the Peace of the Soul and Preserving It.

¹ from the Life of St. Paisius the Great in The Great Synaxaristes, June 19