Spiritual passions are heavier and more destructive than physical ones

When Mary anointed the Lord's feet with expensive ointment, Judas did not say:

– I am stingy.

But he said:

– What a waste! This ointment could have been sold and the money given to the poor! (cf. John 12:5)

Such was the one who sold Christ.

We, humans, know very well how to hide our wickedness under the guise of virtue.

When someone judges another, he does not say:

– I have become his judge!

But he says:

– I fight for the truth, the truth is above all, and what I say I do in the name of justice!

And so, digging a pit for another, he is ready to push him into it, believing that he is serving the truth. But forget that God judges no one. The Scripture says: “The Father has given all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22), and Christ says: “I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.” (John 12:47). God the Father does not judge, Christ does not judge — and then, you, who allow yourself to judge a man in the place of Christ, do you not make yourself his opponent, that is, the antichrist? Only for this can a man be eternally condemned.

We love the truth only when it is spoken about others. But do we want someone to speak the full truth about us? About us, those who call ourselves “lovers of the truth”? Therefore, let us be very attentive to the passions of the soul. For, as the soul is higher than the body, so spiritual passions are heavier and more destructive than bodily ones.

Geron Nikon, Abbot of the “Saint Spyridon” Cell, Nea Skiti

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