Confessing Our Weakness in the Miseries of Life
The Disciple
I WILL bring witness against myself to my injustice, and to You, O Lord, I will confess my
weakness.
Often it is a small thing that makes me downcast and sad. I propose to act bravely, but when
even a small temptation comes I find myself in great straits. Sometimes it is the merest trifle which
gives rise to grievous temptations. When I think myself somewhat safe and when I am not expecting
it, I frequently find myself almost overcome by a slight wind. Look, therefore, Lord, at my lowliness
and frailty which You know so well. Have mercy on me and snatch me out of the mire that I may
not be caught in it and may not remain forever utterly despondent.
That I am so prone to fall and so weak in resisting my passions oppresses me frequently and
confounds me in Your sight. While I do not fully consent to them, still their assault is very
troublesome and grievous to me, and it wearies me exceedingly thus to live in daily strife. Yet from
the fact that abominable fancies rush in upon me much more easily than they leave, my weakness
becomes clear to me.
Oh that You, most mighty God of Israel, zealous Lover of faithful souls, would consider the
labor and sorrow of Your servant, and assist him in all his undertakings! Strengthen me with
heavenly courage lest the outer man, the miserable flesh, against which I shall be obliged to fight
so long as I draw a breath in this wretched life and which is not yet subjected to the spirit, prevail
and dominate me.
Alas! What sort of life is this, from which troubles and miseries are never absent, where all
things are full of snares and enemies? For when one trouble or temptation leaves, another comes.
Indeed, even while the first conflict is still raging, many others begin unexpectedly. How is it
possible to love a life that has such great bitterness, that is subject to so many calamities and
miseries? Indeed, how can it even be called life when it begets so many deaths and plagues? And
yet, it is loved, and many seek their delight in it.
Many persons often blame the world for being false and vain, yet do not readily give it up
because the desires of the flesh have such great power. Some things draw them to love the world,
others make them despise it. The lust of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life lead
to love, while the pains and miseries, which are the just consequences of those things, beget hatred
and weariness of the world.
Vicious pleasure overcomes the soul that is given to the world. She thinks that there are delights
beneath these thorns, because she has never seen or tasted the sweetness of God or the internal
delight of virtue. They, on the other hand, who entirely despise the world and seek to live for God
under the rule of holy discipline, are not ignorant of the divine sweetness promised to those who
truly renounce the world. They see clearly how gravely the world errs, and in how many ways it
deceives.