October: Day 21: Teaching 6: Venerable Hilarion the Great

October: Day 21: Teaching 6:
Venerable Hilarion the Great
 
(Life is a Spiritual Battle)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The feast day of Venerable Hilarion the Great, who lived in Palestine in the 4th century and who spent his entire life fighting the enemies of our salvation — the devil, the flesh, and the world —through prayer, the word of God, fasting, and other feats of piety, involuntarily reminds us, brethren, of the often-forgotten truth that "life is a spiritual battle."

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk teaches this: “Our life is a spiritual battle with invisible spirits of wickedness and with our own flesh.”

II. a) "Fierce and cruel are our visible enemies, but even more fierce, even more cruel are our invisible enemies, that is, the demons. There is no more evil and cunning enemy than Satan and his demons; and therefore, warfare with them is very dangerous for us. When people fight against people, they sometimes have a rest from the battle, but Satan and his evil angels never sleep, instead they are always awake and strive to overthrow us. The warfare that occurs between people, although it continues, will cease, and peace will come; but Christians wage unceasing warfare, even to the death, against their enemies, and only with death will it end."

"Demons have their weapons, and Christians have their weapons. Demons fight us with the weapons of our passions and bodily desires; and they have as many weapons as there are passions in our flesh. But the Christian's weapons are the word of God and prayer. A Christian without prayer and the word of God is like a soldier without a sword and gun. Soldiers in battle always carry a sword and weapons with them; so Christians must always be armed with the spiritual sword of the word of God and the weapon of prayer. For they have unceasing warfare against their enemies. Therefore, they are commanded: 'Pray without ceasing' (1 Thessalonians 5:17)."

"Warriors in battle are vigilant and act with great caution because of the enemies surrounding them. So too, Christians in their battles must always be vigilant and act with caution, for they are always surrounded by enemies. Therefore it is said: 'Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith' (1 Peter 5:8-9)."

"In warfare, there are commanders and generals who instruct, guide, and encourage soldiers to fight well against the enemy. So too, in Christian warfare, there are commanders — shepherds and teachers — who arm Christians with the word of God against the enemy devil, teaching and instructing them how to stand and fight against him. And no one harasses this enemy as much as good shepherds and teachers. Therefore, the evil spirit is not as angry or furious with anyone as with shepherds and teachers. Beware, Christian, of slandering anyone, and especially a shepherd and teacher, lest you share the same mindset with the devil. Beware, Christian, of your enemy's malice, enmity, and rage against you, and beware of him. Not gold, not silver, and other perishable things, but the eternal and imperishable treasure, your salvation, your enemy is trying to take from you. Guard this not only more than your possessions, but also more than your life."

"And how the word of God and prayer serve as weapons, pay attention. The devil encourages you to sin, but you answer him in your heart: 'I do not want to, for this is contrary to God, God has forbidden it.' The devil stirs up in you a filthy and lustful thought; you answer him: 'My God has forbidden me this.' The devil stirs up in you anger and malice for revenge; you suppress this thought, saying in your heart: 'God did not command this.' The devil points out to you someone else's belonging, and incites your heart to steal it, but you say in your heart: 'God has forbidden this: You shall not steal, you shall not covet.' In other thoughts contrary to the law of God, arising in your heart, act likewise. In this, Christ our Savior gave us an example, Who answered the tempter to every temptation: 'It is written, it is written' (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). Satan drives you to despair, saying in your heart: 'there is no salvation for you, you have sinned greatly.' You answer him: 'you are condemned, and not a judge; there is no salvation for you, but eternal fire has been prepared for you. My hope and salvation is Christ God, who came into the world to save sinners.'"

But another weapon is needed everywhere: prayer, without which all our efforts and resistance to the enemy are powerless. In every temptation, we must lift our eyes to Christ and pray to Him: "Lord, help me!"

Let us cite here, brethren, the following story from a spiritual book recounting the exploits of the Holy Fathers. One of the fathers dwelling in the desert once stood up to pray at midnight, and suddenly heard the sound of a military trumpet calling to battle. And he thought: how could there be troops and war in such a desolate desert? Then a demon appeared to him and said: “Yes, of course – war, because you are standing in prayer; lie down and sleep, if you do not want to be fought with! We fight only with those who arm themselves against us with good prayer, but we do not fight with the lazy!” Do you hear what the evil power says? “We do not fight with the lazy,” it says. Why is this so? Because the lazy one has already been defeated; he has already fallen to the ground and lies trampled by the enemy! Therefore, let us be attentive and careful at all times! (Ancient Paterikon).

b) “Our other worst enemy is our flesh with its passions. The flesh wants to be proud and exalted, but a Christian must subdue it with the 'humility' of Christ. The flesh wants to grow rich in this world, but a Christian must suppress its desires with the 'poverty' of Christ. The flesh wants to be angry with man and take revenge for an offense, but a Christian must tame its movements with the 'meekness and gentleness' of Christ. In misfortune, the flesh is agitated, restless, confused, and wants to murmur, but a Christian must calm it with the 'strength and patience' of Christ. The flesh wants to hate and be angry at those who are its enemies, but a Christian must conquer it with the 'kindness and love' of Christ. So in everything else, a Christian must, by the strength and example of Christ, stand against the flesh and strive, and conquer it. In visible warfare, a warrior does not stand and struggle against one enemy, but against every one; so too should a Christian stand and struggle not against just one passion, but against all. What good does it do a warrior to stand and struggle against one enemy, and not resist others, but be defeated and mortified by them? What good does it do a Christian to stand and struggle against one passion, and submit to and work for others? Christian! Just as you have armed yourself against one passion, so also arm yourself against others, and do not allow yourself to be defeated by them. Just as you fight against lust, and do not allow it to overcome you, so fight and wage war against pride, fight against arrogance, fight against vanity, fight against anger, rage, and rancor, fight against avarice and stinginess, fight against hatred and envy. Just as you abstain from gluttony and drunkenness, so abstain from slander and condemnation, idle talk, obscenity, and riotous talk. Just as you abstain from murder, theft, plunder, and robbery, so abstain from striking and beating. Just as you fast from food and drink, so fast from all evil. This is Christian fasting! This is true abstinence! This is a difficult feat, but Christian duty demands it. Many conquer people, states, and cities, but do not want to conquer themselves. This is Christian victory over oneself, that is, to conquer one's flesh!." (See The Spiritual Treasure of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk).

III. May the Lord, through the prayers of Venerable Hilarion, help us to courageously fight against the enemies of our salvation and conquer them by the same means by which he conquered them — primarily through prayer, fasting, and the reading of the word of God. 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.