Giving up smoking
Some of my spiritual children told me that they gave up the passion of smoking because when they went to a monastery, they heard a crazy demon-possessed man shouting: “I don’t want incense, I want the smoke of cigarettes!”
Elder Theophilos Paraian of Romania (1929-2009)
Be watchful
Be watchful of the ways and the tricks of the enemy. He will suggest to us that we do not need to separate ourselves from places or people that tempt us to sin, because we shall receive a great reward if we can look upon them and still remain sinless. We must not believe these suggestions, but rather do the opposite. Move away from them as quickly as possible.
St. John the Climacus
Translated by Dr. Nick Stergiou
