Some temptations in prison life and how they can be overcome by those who face them
During this time, Valeriu formed a close spiritual bond with three dear friends
They shared the same cell for a time, confessing to one another, opening their souls completely. They dreamed together, prayed together — everything was held in common. Their small brotherhood was ideal, though not without trials. Subtle shades of pride and envy sometimes disturbed their peace.
Their efforts to correct faults through mutual confession occasionally bore good fruit, yet sometimes they sparked irritation. There was no tested, authoritative spiritual guide among them. In time, they came to understand that, however strong their desire for communion, each person remains unique — with his own life, evolution, and inner form. One cannot merge entirely with another, only communicate, and even that according to the measure and discipline of each soul.
Tensions arose from nothing — from a single errant thought. And they came to understand that not every bad thought is sin, but only the one accepted by the conscience and allowed to take root as passion. A dark thought may linger as temptation for a long time, yet if it is never embraced, it is not sin and need not be confessed, unless revealing it helps one in the invisible battle against the spirits.
In spite of all temptations, love and good will never disappeared from among them. They were learning, through struggle and experience, that spiritual life is both an art and a science.
Greed tempted them at times, but it was not the hardest trial, and their practice of common confession easily overcame it. Laziness and the lure of comfort sometimes crept in, yet whenever one gave the alarm, the rest rose up and the cloud lifted at once.
Some might imagine that they were troubled by temptations of the flesh — but these were not shared among them. Each bore that struggle alone, though mutual encouragement helped greatly.
They learned that if the mind refuses to covet, the body submits. A subdued body, far from being a burden, becomes a true ally in spiritual growth. If one can easily observe the body’s influence on the soul, the power of the soul over the body is even clearer to spiritual people.
For example: if a man is hungry, but he is firmly convinced that he must fast, then even in front of delicious food his gastric juices will not flow. Conversely, if a diseased mind thinks it must not desire its own mother, it may do so precisely because it fixates on that prohibition — though this rarely happens in the pure heart of a child, who naturally reveres his mother.
Just as the body is bound to the material world by many cords, the mind is linked to the unseen world, to invisible spirits who draw near, unbidden, like swimmers approaching from the depths. A person may accept or reject them. Yet this struggle is neither simple nor brief — it draws the soul into a prolonged and intricate battle.
A thought received becomes desire, nourishes the imagination and senses, then grows into a plan, a resolve, a deed. Such is the invisible warfare. Victory lies in striking early: the evil thought must be rejected at its first whisper. If received, it must not become desire; if it becomes desire, it must not harden into resolution. From resolution to action is but one step — and there the gravest sin is born.
The battle, therefore, must be fought at the beginning. For though sin with the deed is the most fatal, healing is all the easier when the soul has conquered already at the level of thought.
(John Ianolide – Return to Christ: A Document for a New World)