Keep Thy Mind in Hell and Despair Not - St. Silouan and St. Sophrony

A reading of the revelation of Jesus Christ to St. Silouan and commentary on the revelation by St. Sophrony from "Saint Silouan the Athonite" by St. Sophrony (p. 429-431, 208-213)

0:18 The revelation of Jesus Christ to St. Silouan
5:19 St. Sophrony’s commentary

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-PLAYLIST from Orthodox Wisdom: St. Silouan & St. Sophrony - Teachings and Prayers
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St. Silouan writes:

'Lord, Thou seest that I desire to pray to Thee with a single mind but the devils will not let me. Tell me what I must do to make them leave me.' And in my soul came the Lord's reply:
'The proud always suffer thus from devils.'
‘Lord,' I say, "Thou art merciful. My soul knoweth Thee. Tell me what I must do that my soul may grow humble?'
And the Lord answered me in my soul:
'Keep thy mind in hell, and despair not.'

Since then I have stayed my mind in hell and I burn in the sombre fire, yearning after the Lord and seeking Him in tears, and saying:
‘Soon shall I die and take up my abode in the dark prison of hell. And alone shall I burn there, and long for the Lord, and lament: 'Where is my Lord, Whom my soul knoweth?'
And I had great profit from these thoughts: my mind was cleansed and my soul found rest.

St. Sophrony writes:

‘Keep thy mind in hell, and despair not.’ What does it mean - to keep the mind in hell? Can it be that we are to use our imagination to conjure up circumstances for ourselves similar to those figured in some primitive painting? In this instance, no. Father Silouan, like certain great Fathers — St. Anthony, St. Sisoes, St. Makarios, St. Pimen — during his lifetime actually descended into the darkness and torments of hell. They did this not once but over and over again until their hearts were so permeated that they were able to repeat the movement at will. They took refuge in it when passion — especially that most subtle of passions, pride — reared its head.
The struggle against pride is, in fact, the final stage in the battle against the passions. To begin with, the ascetic must wrestle with the greater passions of the flesh, then with irritability and, finally, pride. This last combat is undoubtedly the most painful of all. Taught by long experience that pride leads to loss of grace, the ascetic consciously descends into hell where every passion is 'seared with a hot iron'.

Blessed Staretz Silouan said that many ascetics when they approached that state - which is vital if one would be cleansed of the passions - would fall into despair and be unable to continue. But the one who knows how greatly the Lord loveth us' escapes the pernicious effect of total despair and knows how to stand prudently on the verge so that the hellish fire burns away his every passion and he does not fall victim to despair. 'And despair not.’
If the Staretz' account is a simple one - as simple as the shoemaker's of Alexandria - the power and mystery of the matter will remain incomprehensible for anyone who has not known a similar experience of hellish torment, on the one hand, and the great gifts of grace, on the other.

The Staretz declared, 'The Lord Himself taught me the way to humble myself. "Keep thy mind in hell, and despair not". Thus is the enemy vanquished. But when my mind emerges from the fire, the suggestions of passion gather strength again.'
This brief inconsistent exposé is incapable of conveying any real understanding of the ineffably wondrous life where extreme suffering is allied to extreme bliss, the one accompanying the other in the strangest manner. If the suffering existed alone, it would be impossible to bear it. And if there were only bliss, that, too, would be past bearing.
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Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

[nathanbarker]

An excellent commentary. I wish my lukewarm heart was as emblazoned with the fire of faith as these Holy men

[markguieb]

Though all be saved, only I shall perish.

[craigculwell]

few are able ❤
Lord have mercy! 📖 ☦️ 🔥🕊️🌐
Most Holy Theotokos save us....

[s.d.berquist]

I am given yearning of heart and tears by the first 7:57. Glory to God! Thank you for sharing this. Somehow, listening to you read this is more impactful than my reading a book to myself, although I will be purchasing the book. Christ is Risen!

[CarmelZJ]

Great channel ! tranquil voice and very clear pronunciation . God bless your work.

[tallmikbcroft]

Life changing wisdom from Athos.
St Silouan and St Sorphrony please please pray for us

[oimss]

Listening to this in the morning right before going to church. This channel is such a gift.

[SimpleAmadeus]

Interesting. I thought that, before coming to faith, I had explored the depths of hell when I went as deep as I could into nihilistic atheism and came to understand the eternal void of existential dread that was there. But if I try to follow this saint's advice and go back there, I notice I do not experience anything like hell's intolerable burning in the way these saints describe it. Perhaps I've been sorely underestimating the terrors of hell, and perhaps that is why I haven't really been able to leave my life behind, with the sort of unstoppable dedication that appears to be required to become like the saints.

Update, one month later: I've come to realize that the empty void that I experienced was not a foretaste of hell, but of sheol. Having realized that hell is God's very Being, filling the entirety of creation, just as the great flood engulfed the entire Earth, burning all that is sinful with an unimaginably sacred and Holy Fire, which is not a mere created thing, but the very Presence of God Himself, I now understand how badly I've underestimated what hell is. Having realized this, I now have a much better understanding of the immeasurable seriousness of my salvation.

[stdebunker]

Spectacular reading Brother. Glory to Jesus Christ ❤️☦️

[brock_b_]

Thank You for this amazing video and channel, the commentary nearly moved me to tears

[thattimestampguy]

0:17 St Silouan Writes
1st: Beguiled by Inexperience, which God was swift to forgive.
0:33 2nd: Beguiled by Pride, followed by a long struggle.
0:43 Silouan had accepted a vision from the enemy.
0:58 Silouan’s soul suffered for many years seeing devils at night and during the day.
1:14 ☦️🙏🏼 Glory to God and The Most Pure Lady Theotokos 💕
1:27
My Deeds —> deserve Torment

1:39 What had befallen Silouan? Where is the error?
2:18 And Lo, one night, Silouan’s cell was filled with devils.
2:48 What must Silouan do, Lord? “The Proud always suffer thus from Devils.”
3:05 Lord. What must I do to remain Humble?”
3:13 _“Keep thy mind in Hell and Despair Not.”_
3:40 Since then I have stayed my mind in hell.
4:20 _”Low, I am with you always, unto the end of the world.”_

4:29 The Lord lays His Hands on the soul, and the soul becomes a new being.
4:49 _There is nothing more precious than to Know God. And nothing worse to Not to Know Him. __5:05__ But he too is Blessed who, though he does not know, yet believes._ (❤)

5:13 Revelation of Jesus Christ.
The Ascetic beholds Uncommunicatable Mystery.
He has a great challenge of communicating this to other people.
5:30 _A language of human words and concepts is able only to a very limited extent to convey one man’s sense to another.”_

5:53 _Common/Identical Experience. Without it there cannot be understanding. Because behind our every word lies our whole life._

[bljames]

Regarding the 11:20 “shoemaker”

I’ve always heard the holy man greater than St. Anthony was a doctor in Alexandria. Either way, doctor or shoemaker, there should be icons of him with St. Anthony and/or just himself if there aren’t already (never seen one). I’ve thought to pray to this “doctor or shoemaker” for intercession because if he was greater than St. Anthony, then he must be a saint of profound holiness yet often overlooked as merely part of St. Anthony’s testimony/story. I don’t think God revealed this man through the life of St. Anthony just as a lesson on humility and understanding that such holiness could also be found in the cities…if he is greater than St. Anthony, then he’s also a saint revealed to the Church and if he was a doctor, I’d imagine an unmercenary…

Does anyone know if there are icons or prayers regarding this overlooked saint or has he just remained a mere lesson through the life of St. Anthony…

The “doctor or shoemaker’s” icon scroll is already set…

“I don’t do anything special…only, when I am working, I look at passers-by and think, they’ll all be saved…only I shall perish.”

…which is so profound in it’s humility and is a desperately needed call of Christian enlightenment for the prevailing egotistic and individualistically-driven mentality of today’s society and workforce. It’s also the active response of a saint who “kept their mind in hell and despaired not.” The doctor/shoemaker would’ve had to have this mindset in order to provide St. Anthony with that response/wisdom…by continuously perceiving himself as the one perishing, in hell, in light of the salvation of all others/who he encountered - and in order to see people this way, the doctor/shoemaker would’ve had to love them all deeply, as saintly, to experience such a drastic living-contrast of himself as “perishing/hellish/full sight into his sin” which could only occur through pure selflessness and humility in Spirit. The doctor/shoemaker could not have despaired in any way of his “perishing or hell” for had he despaired of that condition, he could not have loved others salvifically for his despair would have ripped his heart of love due to it’s hardened state of self-centeredness and self-loathing pride…which are the roots of despair and a wretched place at heart absent of love and incapable of perceiving the salvation of anyone in it’s sheer hopelessness and bitterness. Lastly, the doctor/shoemaker’s scroll-wisdom would also sum up these two Blessed Fr. Seraphim Rose quotes in one…

"Don't criticize or judge other people - regard everyone else as an angel, justify their mistakes and weaknesses, and condemn only yourself as the worst sinner. This is step one in any kind of spiritual life."

“Only struggle a little more. Carry your cross without complaining. Don’t think you are anything special. Don’t justify your sins and weaknesses, but see yourself as you really are. And, especially, love one another.”

+Blessed Fr. Seraphim Rose

[kentpaulhamus]

What you need to know. [ABOUT SALVATION:  I Cor. 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren (fellow Christians), I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand:  By which also you are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached to you, unless you have believed in vain (don't really care).  For I delivered to you first of all that which I received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:  Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.  Eph. 2:8-9 For by grace (from God) are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.  Rom. 10:9-13 That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.  For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.  For scripture says, Whosoever  believes on him shall not be ashamed.  For there is no difference between Jew and the Greek (Gentiles): for the same Lord over all is rich to all that call upon him.  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  Joh. 3:16 For God so loved the world (us), that he gave his only begotten Son (Jesus), that whosoever believes in him should not perish (in hell), but have everlasting life (with God).  Joh. 14:6 Jesus said to him (us), I am the way (salvation), the truth (trustworthy), and the life (eternal): no man comes to the Father (God), but by me (God the Son).  Rom. 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing (studying), and hearing by (studying) the Word of God.  Rom. 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.  Rom. 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:]

[fran]

I like your voice and the readings you do but always, halfway through I close the video because you don't know how to quietly take a breath, its very profound, its loud "inhale huhhh" and often shorter ones but its all the way through. I don't mean to offend truly I don't but maybe you should seek advice on how to overcome it. Even on other channels.