Photo: Pinterest
Humility—A Weapon Against the Devil
Blessed Augustine says, “The enemy of our salvation is cunning and deceitful: at times he appears as a lamb, at other times as a wolf; at times as light, and at other times as darkness.”
Indeed, he may appear not only as an Angel but even as Christ Himself. Here is an example.
There was a remarkable ascetic named Isaac of the Pechersk Monastery. For seven years, he struggled in solitary seclusion and remained in constant prayer. His daily food consisted of only one prosphora (a small loaf of bread used in the Eucharist) and a little water. This remarkable ascetic never lay down to sleep but rested while sitting. One day, as night was falling and he had tired from chanting the Psalms, he extinguished his candle and sat in his seat. Suddenly, he saw an unusual light in the cave, and two demons appeared to him in the form of young men. They said, “We are angels, and behold, Christ Himself is coming to you.” The venerable one, suspecting no deceit from the supposed angels, took it all as reality. He fell to his knees and bowed to Satan, who appeared in the form of Christ. As soon as this happened, the demons joyfully shouted, “Our Isaac!” Immediately, they surrounded the venerable one with tambourines, pipes, and gusli (a traditional stringed instrument), grabbed him, began to dance with him, and tormented him so severely that he was found unconscious in the morning and remained in a state of physical and mental infirmity for several years.
This shows how dangerous it is to give in to the enemy! But how can one resist him? Church history testifies that great Christian ascetics overcame through humility the devil, who appeared to them in the form of an angel and tempted them with proud and fanciful thoughts. For example, the devil appeared to a certain hermit in the form of a bright angel and said to him, “I am Gabriel, sent to you by God.” The hermit replied, “See that you are not sent to someone else; I am unworthy to see angels, as I am a sinful man.” The devil immediately disappeared. Humility is a weapon not only against the devil but also against all his evil deeds.
Defeating the Devil with the Name of Jesus Christ and the Sign of the Cross
The most holy name of our Savior and the instrument of our salvation, the Life-Giving Cross of Christ, hold great significance for us. Our ancient and ever-watchful enemy, the devil, prowls continually like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. But the Lord has given us powerful tools against all the wiles of the enemy: the prayerful invocation of the most holy name of our Savior, of which the Lord Himself said to the believers, In My name shall they cast out devils (Mark 16:17), and the Cross of our Savior and the sign of this cross. According to the testimony of the Holy Church, the devil trembles and shakes at the sight of the Cross of Christ, unable to endure looking upon its power. With these holy and divine weapons, the faithful have always protected themselves from the devil. The Jesus Prayer never ceased in the hearts or from the lips of Christian ascetics, and likewise, the sign of the cross was constantly made by them to drive away the enemy. I will point out some examples from among the many.
In the life of St. Abraham, it is told that once at midnight, while the venerable one stood in prayer, he was suddenly illuminated by a light brighter than the sun, and he heard a voice saying, “Blessed are you, Father Abraham, truly blessed, for there is none equal to you in merit.” Understanding that this was nothing other than the flattery of the evil one, the blessed one said to him, “Let your darkness perish with you! I see your flattery and deception: I am a sinful man; the grace of my God and the hope in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are with me. I am not afraid of you; in His name, I adjure you, unclean and deceitful one!” As soon as the blessed one said this, satan disappeared. A few days later, satan again, during the blessed one’s prayer at night, began to destroy his cell with an axe, and having broken through it, he shouted, “Hurry, my friends, hurry, let us enter and strangle him!” Hearing this exclamation, the blessed one said, All the nationshave compassed me about: but by the name of the Lord I warded them off” (Psalm 118:10), and the enemy disappeared, leaving the cell unharmed. A few days passed, and at midnight, when the saint was standing on a mat and singing psalms, the mat suddenly caught fire with a strong flame. But he was not disturbed, knowing well that this was the devil’s temptation; and, having stamped out the fire, he said, Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet (Psalm 91:13), and the devil immediately fled with a cry.
Once, near the cave of St. Peter, who lived on Mount Athos, the devil gathered all the beasts and reptiles, and with his minions, transformed into various beasts and reptiles. The sight was truly terrifying: some crawled at the feet of the ascetic, others hissed with a terrible voice, while some opened their jaws, intending to devour him alive, and rushed at him. But the ascetic already knew that these were the wiles of the enemy. And as soon as he made the sign of the cross over himself and invoked the name of the Lord, the wicked one fled far from him.
Wishing to tempt the great ascetic Simeon the Stylite, the devil took on the appearance of a bright angel. He once appeared to Simeon with a fiery chariot and horses, as if descending from heaven, and said, “Hearken, Simeon, the God of heaven and earth has sent me to take you, like Elijah, to heaven, for you are worthy of it because of your life. The time has come for you to receive the crown for your labors from the Lord. Go immediately and worship the Lord your God, and let the prophets, apostles, angels, and martyrs, who all desire to see you, see you.” Not recognizing that this was the temptation of the enemy of the human race, St. Simeon exclaimed, “Lord! Have You indeed desired to take me to Your dwelling place?” And, having made the sign of the cross over himself, he had already lifted his right foot to get into the chariot, but at that moment, the devil, terrified by the sign of the cross, disappeared with the fiery horses and chariot.
This is why devout Christians constantly carry the most holy name of our Savior in their hearts and on their lips. This is why the Holy Life-Giving Cross of Christ adorns our churches; this is why it is on the holy altar, on the royal throne, in our homes, and upon our chests; it also guards our mortal remains in the graves until the General Resurrection and the Judgment of God as a faithful guardian.
But we, sinners, so rarely and without proper reverence pronounce the most holy name of our Savior. Instead, almost every hour, the name of our enemy of salvation is on our lips! How irreverently we kiss the Holy Cross of Christ and carelessly make the sign of the cross over ourselves! How often, in our homes, upon seeing the image of our Savior crucified on the Cross, we allow ourselves to behave indecently, speak unworthy words, and commit unworthy acts! Such an attitude toward the Holy Cross is detrimental to our souls.
Therefore, as your pastor, I implore you for the sake of your salvation always, at all times and in every place, whether in the church, at home, or on the road, to revere the Holy Cross, to make the sign of the cross over yourselves with faith as often as possible, to bless every deed and every step in life with it, and to teach your children to do the same, firmly remembering that in the Cross is our bright paradise, just as without the Cross, there is for us eternal hell.
To be continued…
