Chapter 53

On the Remembrance of Death and the Guarding of the Intellect

^53.2.1 You are setting out on a journey from which there is no return. But for me it is nearer. So watch yourself—you could fall at any moment. Cholera is all around us. But you can die without it too. So if it’s possible, you must prepare yourself. You must always be preparing yourself—not just preparing, but truly ready. But our great misfortune is this: the living creature guesses at living things, and this very life drives away the remembrance of death that stands before us.[1] And it is forgotten that death stands at our shoulder. That is why some made coffins and kept them in plain sight; but, I suppose, one can grow accustomed to that as well. Others made it their practice to ask themselves whether they would be ordered to finish the coffin or dig out the grave. One elder had the custom of frequently looking out the door to see if death—that is, the angel—was coming.

^53.3.1 All of this shows that, however certain it is that we shall die, the remembrance of death must be deliberately cultivated and rooted in the soul. Guard this saving thought so that it never leaves you. From the moment you wake in the morning, turn your mind to that final moment and to what comes immediately after it—God’s judgment. Stand in this thought, and walk in it throughout the whole day. Consider what your soul promises itself: enter into the joy or: bind him hand and foot, and cast him into outer darkness. There must be some foretaste here and now of what will come then. But it is better to cry out: “Spare your creation, Master!”

^53.4.1 You are reading the Philokalia; that’s good. In the articles of Ignatius and Callistus, Gregory of Sinai, and Nicephorus, don’t get tangled up.[2] Try to find whether anyone has a life of the elder Paisius of Neamț.[3] There are placed prefaces to certain articles of the Philokalia, compiled by the elder Basil. These articles greatly clarify the significance of the mechanism in the practice of the Jesus Prayer. They will help you understand everything as it should be understood. I’ve already mentioned that you don’t need that mechanism. What it would give you already have from the moment you were called.[4] Don’t come to the wrong thought that your prayer work is already finished. The growth of prayer has no end. If this growth stops, it means life has stopped. May the Lord save you and have mercy on you! It’s possible to fall away from the proper state and take mere memory of it for the state itself.[5] Deliver me, Lord!

^53.5.1 If you notice your thoughts scattering, be on your guard! This is very dangerous. The enemy wants to drive you into some dark corner and kill you there. Thoughts begin to wander when the fear of God diminishes and the heart grows cold. Spiritual coldness of the heart has many causes. The chief among them is self-satisfaction and self-conceit. These are very much akin to you. Be on your guard, and make haste to restore the fear of God and warm your soul. Otherwise distraction and spiritual coldness will continue to grow. The enemy is right there, and will start throwing pebbles at you, and heap them on. A scattered mind is like a house with open windows and no master. Anyone who wants to throws stones there and all manner of rubbish. When the master returns, he is struck by the heap of all sorts of filth that has been thrown in; so that he cannot live there without cleaning it all out. So too the soul, when it returns from distraction to itself, finds within itself sometimes much filth—from thoughts that have assailed it, leaving their traces even on the heart. Sit and purify yourself. But it’s good when the desire takes you; otherwise it will all remain as it is. There’s the trouble! May God save you and have mercy on you!