When the evil spirit of sorrow takes possession of the soul, it fills it with pain and distress
When the wicked spirit of sorrow takes possession of the soul, fills it with pain and distress and does not allow a man to pray with the necessary calmness, it prevents the reading of the Scriptures with due attention, it deprives him of moderation and respect in his relations with the other brothers and gives him an aversion to all kinds of talk.
For he who is overcome by sorrow becomes a man mad and furious, who cannot receive with peace a good counsel nor calmly answer questions addressed to him. He avoids people as if they were the cause of his sorrow and cannot understand that the cause of this trial is within himself.
Sorrow is a worm of the heart that eats away at the mother that gave birth to it.
He who has conquered passions has also conquered sorrow. But he who has been overcome by passions will not avoid the bonds of sorrow. As a sick man is known by the color of his face, so one who is overcome by passions is known by his sorrow.
He who loves the world cannot help but be captured by sorrow. But he who despises the world is always happy.
As fire purifies gold, so the sorrow caused by longing for God purifies the sinful heart.
PETROU ATH. BOOTS,
FILOKALIA OF THE RUSSIAN BRIDES,
TEACHINGS OF ASSOCIATION SERAPHIM OF SHAROF, ATHENS 1983, p. 50.
