St. Nicholas of Japan, Equal-to-the-Apostles: "Prepare thy soul for temptations"

Discourse of St. Nicholas of Japan at the Council of the Japanese Church in July 1887

 

 

In Holy Scripture it is said: “Child, if thou drawest near to work for the Lord God, prepare thy soul for temptation: set aright thy heart, and endure. And be not hasty in time of visitation: cleave unto Him, and depart not, that thou mayest increase at thy last” (Sir. 2:1–3). All we who are here present, of course, have set ourselves to work for God and, thus, well know that to serve God? means to compel oneself to labor. But we also know that in this service there is also great joy. For God the All-seeing not only sees those working for Him, but also helps them, and the Merciful loves them. However, the path of working for God is full of dangers and stumbling-blocks, weaknesses and falls, therefore Holy Scripture also teaches us that if thou wishest to serve the Lord God, then prepare thy soul for temptations.

Temptations are of two kinds: the first kind — trials coming from above; the second — temptations from below. Concerning temptations from above, Scripture tells us the following: “As gold and silver are tried by fire, so God tries the heart of man” (Prov. 17:3). Gold may be pure, may be with admixture, and may also be counterfeit. When tested by fire, pure gold suffers no harm, but on the contrary becomes even more beautiful; from gold with foreign admixtures its pure part is separated; and counterfeit gold in the end turns into something having no value at all. In like manner the virtues of a man may be genuine, may also be mixed with self-opinion and pride or other passions, and may also be entirely counterfeit, not genuine, as it was with the hypocritical Pharisees. Thus, temptations coming from above determine the quality of a man’s virtues. God from the very beginning knows the heart of man, therefore temptations are sent not in order that God might learn what our virtues are, but this is done for the man himself, so that he, if he sees in them an admixture of falsehood and counterfeit, might repent and turn to good. May we also not be deprived of such temptations coming from above.

But besides this there exists yet another kind of temptations, namely temptations coming from the devil, who puts darkness into a man’s thoughts, pours various kinds of impurity into his heart, brings him into confusion and, thus, brings a man to evil deeds with the aim of turning away from God the souls of people working for Him.

We who have set ourselves to work for God must always remember that we are in the midst of these temptations and seductions. In Scripture it is said: “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8–9). All catechists and priests are under the close attention of the devil, who, wishing to defeat them, releases many fiery arrows. The most harmful of these arrows is self-satisfaction and pride. For many catechists go out to preach while still quite young, and people already call them teachers and instructors. It is nothing surprising that the devil, making use of this, easily puts pride into them; and how many ministers of the Church have already been struck by this arrow! Each year I send out many catechists, but not a few of them fall. What then is the cause of this? All this is from self-satisfaction and pride. If someone from the Christians tries to admonish them, they instead become angry from it. The devil has many other fiery arrows with which he strikes those unable to resist him. Such, without exception, are all those who were excluded from the list of catechists. And how many, brethren, are there who, having set themselves to work for God, were not able to pass through temptations and fell. How grievous this is!

Therefore, it is very important that we always prepare ourselves for temptations, for this is the foundation of our strength. But if we do not prepare ourselves, we shall always be overcome by temptations. Such the devil will strike with his arrows and kill. Now, before the beginning of the Council, recalling the past and setting before myself the future, I decided that all this is necessary to say to you as the most chief and most important.

Concerning what means we must employ in order to prepare ourselves for temptations, Holy Scripture clearly tells us.

First, “set aright thy heart” (Sir. 2:2), that is, guard thy heart, correct thy deeds and acquire virtues, and thus thou shalt avoid falling into temptation. Just as for a ship, if it is well watched and well steered, neither storms nor raging waves will be terrible to it, but if it is not well watched there is danger that it will suffer shipwreck; and just as a horse, if it is not properly guided, may bolt and in the end overturn or fall into a pit, so also the heart of a man: if it is not well governed, what will happen to it? Only this, that the devil, approaching us, will begin to put into our thoughts various evil designs and will bring into disorder our heart and our deeds.

Secondly, “endure.” A man is from the beginning easily inclined to evil, therefore, in order to conquer temptations, it is necessary willingly to endure various kinds of labors and sorrows, to restrain oneself and to direct one’s heart to the truth. If we do not endure labors and sorrows, then we shall not be able to overcome anything, for without labors and sorrows who can conquer the enemy?

Thirdly, “cleave unto God and depart not” (Sir. 2:3). Having cleaved unto God, we shall be safe in any temptations, just as a ship that has reached harbor is no longer afraid of storms.

Such a word I desired to say to you, brethren, before the beginning of the Council, and I want you to lay this word in your hearts and keep it.

 

Russian source:

https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Nikolaj_Japonskij/ugotovi_dushu_tvoyu_vo_iskushenie/