Sermons & Homilies

There’s a story from the ancient Church, either in the era of the Desert Fathers or perhaps shortly after of a woman who was the only survivor of a shipwreck. Marooned on an island alone for decades, she lived a life of asceticism, a life of prayer dedicated to God. Finally, however, she was discovered, she was rescued and brought back to civilization. Once back, she sought out a God-bearing elder to inquire about her life and her accomplishments, to see what she attained to.

God is always providing a means to grant us humility. But humility cannot be acquired without humiliation. Humiliation comes about either through our interior passions and falls into sin, or from painful circumstances of body or soul, or from our brother, or by the feeling of God’s grace having withdrawn from our soul, or from all of these together, or a combination of some of them.

“One who is affected by pride is not even safe in heaven,” says St. John Climacus, because Lucifer was in heaven, yet because of his mad pride he fell therefrom. On the other hand St. John calls humility a “heavenly siphon, which from the abyss of sins can raise the soul to heaven.” He adds, “If the pride of some of the angels made them demons, no doubt humility can make angels out of demons. Therefore, let those who have fallen take courage!”