Semto Mechal

We must not be exasperated, angry, and proud, as is habitual to our corrupt nature,
against those who are angry, envious, or proud towards us, but we must pity them as overcome by the flames of hell, and by spiritual death; we must pray to God for them from the depths of our hearts, that the Lord may take away the darkness from their souls and enlighten their hearts by the light of His grace.   We are darkened by our own passions, and do not see the foolishness, the monstrousness of them, and of our conduct; but when the Lord enlightens us by the light of His grace, then we, awaking as from a sleep, clearly perceive the monstrousness, the foolishness of our thoughts, feelings, words, and actions; our heart, which was hardened until then, softens; the evil passes away and is replaced by mercy, kindness, and indulgence.  Therefore, in accordance with our Savior’s words, we must also love our enemies:  “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you, “for they, our brethren are also blind, have also gone astray.

If guardian angels did not preserve us from the snares of evil demons, O how often we should have fallen from one sin into another; how devils would have tormented us—they who delight in tormenting men—which indeed happens when the Lord allows the guardian angels to withdraw themselves from us for a time, and devils lay snares for us. Yes, the angels of peace, our true guides, the guardians of our souls and bodies, are ever with us if we do not voluntarily drive them away from us by the abomination of sensuality, pride, doubt, and unbelief.  We somehow feel that they cover us with the wings of their immaterial glory, only we do not see them.  Our good thoughts, inclinations, words, and deeds, all proceed from them.

The Devil cunningly induces us—instead of irritating us against himself—to notice our
neighbors’ sins, to make us spiteful and angry with others, and to awaken our contempt
towards them, thus keeping us in enmity with our neighbors, and with the Lord God
Himself.   Therefore, we must despise the sins, the faults themselves, and not our brother
who commits them at the Devil’s instigation, through infirmity and habit; we must pity him, and gently and lovingly instruct him, as one who forgets himself, or who is sick, as a prisoner and the slave of his sin.  But our animosity, our anger towards the sinner only increases his sickness, oblivion, and spiritual bondage, instead of lessening them; besides this, it makes us ourselves like madmen, or sick men, the prisoners of our own passions, and of the Devil, who is the author of them.

Every sin proceeds from the spirit of evil; he who sins is the slave of sin, is tortured by
sin; therefore, do not be too severe, but be gentle with him who sins, knowing our common
infirmity.  Pity the sinner, as one who is sick, or who has lost his way, and is walking in
darkness, or as one who is bound with iron fetters, as one whose mind is deranged; for all
these qualities may be attributed to a sinner, or to one who is under the dominion of some
passion.  It is necessary to watch over such a man in every way, so that the fire of sin should not burn him, should not darken him, should not bind him, should not plunge him into sickness, should not destroy him.

When malice against anyone is roused in your heart, then believe with your whole heart that it is the work of the devil working in your heart: hate him and his brood, and malice will leave you. (Do not acknowledge it as anything of your own, and do not sympathize with it.)  Unfortunately, the devil shelters himself behind us, and conceals himself, whilst we are blind, and, thinking we are doing everything of ourselves, begin to stand up for the devil’s works as if they were our own, as if for something just, although every idea of there being any justice in our passion is entirely false, impious, and hurtful.

Guide yourself by the same rule also in regard to others.  When you see that anybody bears malice against you, do not consider his malice as his own doing; no, he is only the passive instrument of the evil one; he has not yet recognized his flattery and is deceived by him.  Pray to God that the enemy may leave him and that the Lord may enlighten the eyes of his heart, darkened by the poisonous, noxious breathing of the spirit of evil.  We must pray fervently for all those subjected to passions, for the enemy works within them.  Passions are contagious owing to our spiritual organization; for instance, malice, even when not yet expressed in words—not expressed by acts, but still concealed in the heart, and reflected slightly in the face and eyes—is already transmitted to the soul of the man against whom I bear malice, and is also perceptible to others; if I am disturbed by passion my disturbance communicates itself to the heart of another, like a kind of spiritual overflow of an impure current from one spiritual receptacle into another.  If you eradicate in yourself your passion against your brother, you eradicate the same passion in him too; when you are pacified he will also become pacified.  What a close connection there is between souls! How true are the words of the Apostle: For we are members of one another.