Here’s one of my favorite sayings by one of the Desert Fathers:
Abbot Pambo questions Abbot Anthony saying, “What ought I to do? And the elder replied, “Have no confidence in your own virtuousness. Do not worry about a thing once it has been done. Control your tongue and your belly.”
A few days ago I shared some coffee with my friend Harry who uses the same prayer book that I use for Morning and Evening Prayers. Our prayer books provide us with four daily readings: in the morning we read a selection from the Hebrew Scriptures and one from a New Testament epistle; in the evening we read from one of the Gospels and a selection from Christians who have written over the centuries.
As we were chatting, Harry said that one of his recent readings made him realize that as a believer in Christ even his so-called good works (what Abbot Pambo called “virtuousness”) markedly tainted (and sometimes saturated) with his personal sinning. “Even when I’m trying to do good,” he said, “I’m usually guilty in seven ways.” I knew what he was talking about because I too had recently read the fourth reading, one written by St. John of the Cross in The Ascent of Mount Carmel (Book III, Chapter XXVIII). Here is what St. John tells us as to how we can “fall through vain rejoicing” in our good works:
The principal evils into which a man may fall through vain rejoicing in his good works and habits I find to be seven; and they are very hurtful because they are spiritual.
The first evil is vanity, pride, vainglory and presumption; for a man cannot rejoice in his works without esteeming them. And hence arise boasting and like things, as is said of the Pharisee in the Gospel, who prayed and congratulated himself before God, boasting that he fasted and did other good works.
The second evil is usually linked with this: it is our judging others, by comparison with ourselves, as wicked and imperfect, when it seems to us that their acts and good works are inferior to our own; we esteem them the less highly in our hearts, and at times also in our speech. This evil was likewise that of the Pharisee, for in his prayer he said: ‘I thank Thee that I am not as other men are: robbers, unjust and adulterers . . . .
The third evil is that, as they look for pleasure in their good works, they usually perform them only when they see that some pleasure and praise will result from them. And thus, as Christ says, they do everything ut videantur ab hominibus [so men will see], and work not for the love of God alone . . . .
The fourth evil follows from this. It is that they will have no reward from God, since they have desired in this life to have joy or consolation or honor or some other kind of interest as a result of their good works: of such the Savior says that herein they have received their reward. And thus they have had naught but the labor of their work and are confounded, and receive no reward. There is so much misery among the sons of men which has to do with this evil that I myself believe that the greater number of good works which they perform in public are either vicious or will be of no value to them, or are imperfect in the sight of God, because they are not detached from these human intentions and interests . . . . In these good works which some men perform, may it not be said that they are worshipping themselves more than God? . . . . In order to flee from this evil, such persons must hide their good works so that God alone may see them, and must not desire anyone to take notice of them. And they must hide them, not only from others, but even from themselves.
The fifth of these evils is that such persons make no progress on the road of perfection. For, since they are attached to the pleasure and consolation which they find in their good works, it follows that, when they find no such pleasure and consolation in their good works and exercises . . . , they commonly faint and cease to persevere, because their good works give them no pleasure. In this way may be spiritually understood these words of the Wise Man: ‘Dying flies spoil the sweetness of ointment.’
The sixth of these evils is that such persons commonly deceive themselves, thinking that the things and good works which give them pleasure must be better than those that give them none . . . .
The seventh evil is that, in so far as a man stifles not vain rejoicing in moral works, he is to that extent incapable of receiving reasonable counsel and instruction with regard to good works that he should perform. For he is lettered by the habit of weakness that he has acquired through performing good works with attachment to vain rejoicing; so that he cannot consider the counsel of others as best, or, even if he considers it to be so, he cannot follow it, through not having the necessary strength of mind. Such persons as this are greatly weakened in charity toward God and their neighbor; for the self-love with respect to their good works in which they indulge causes their charity to grow cold.
All seven evils become possible in doing virtuous things, even in doing prayer. We may (1) take pride and self-congratulatory satisfaction in our praying, (2) compare ourselves favorably with others who prayer differently, (3) find our prayer enjoyable when others see us doing it, (4) find ourselves miserable when prayer brings no reward from God (5) give up praying when we discover little or no progress, (6) deceive ourselves by thinking that enjoyable good works must be preferred to prayer, and (7) when not stifling such thinking, we refuse to receive reasonable counseling and instruction.
What are we to do when we realize how self-centered we are, not only by doing wrong, but also when doing what is right, right in prayer itself? St. John provides something of an answer when discussing the fourth evil:
In order to flee from this evil, such persons must hide their good works so that God alone may see them, and must not desire anyone to take notice of them. And they must hide them, not only from others, but even from themselves.
This advice is good advice when confronting all seven evils. One suspects that St. John in giving this advice is thinking of what Jesus says to us in Matthew,
When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—’playactors’ I call them— treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out. (The Message, 6.2-4)
It’s important to note that right after this advice, Jesus immediately give us his recommendations for doing prayer:
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Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. (The Message 6.5-6)
This, of course, is the environment for centering prayer, something my friend Harry practices. And in so doing he prays against the seven kinds of evil when being “virtuous” and doing something good. And in centering prayer, his left hand has no idea as to what his right hand is doing.
On Sunday, September 5, at St. John Lutheran Church in Griffin, Georgia, we begin a thirteen-week series of seminars designed to deepen our prayer lives. In the first seminar my responsibility is to introduce the series and provide an overview of what we’ll be studying, discussing, and practicing. For those of you who are interested, here is a preview of the preview:
