The Three Powers of the Soul and

Their Curative Exercises

by St. Theophan the Recluse
In the soul we fnd three powers: the intellect, the will, the
heart, or, as the Holy Fathers say, the intellectual, desiring and
incensive powers. Each of them is assigned particular curative
exercises by the holy ascetics. hese related exercises are both
receptive and conducive to grace. hey need not be contrived
according to some theory, but rather chosen from tested
ascetic labors particularly suited to a given power:
For the mind
!" #eading and hearing the $ord of %od, the writings of the
Holy Fathers and the lives of the %od&pleasers. '" (tudying and
impressing upon yourself all the %od&given truths in brief
statements )the catechesis". *" +s,ing -uestions of those older
and more experienced. ." /utual informative discourse with
friends.
For the will
!" (ubmission to the whole church rule. '" (ubmission to civil
order, or to family duty, for they are conduits of %od0s will. *"
1bedience to %od0s will as manifested in your fate. ." 1beying
your conscience in the doing of good deeds. 2" (ub3ecting
yourself to the spirit that is 4ealous to fulfll its vows.
For the heart
!" +ttending holy 5hurch services. '" 6rayer, as specifed by the
5hurch7 home prayer rule. *" 8sing holy crosses, icons and
other sacred substances and ob3ects. ." 1bserving holy
customs established and promoted by the 5hurch....
here are three powers: the intellect, the will and the senses.
5orresponding exercises are given to them. hey act directly to
develop the powers, but in a way that does not -uell the spirit&
to the contrary, it ignites the spirit more and more. he latter
serves as a measure and stabili4er to the former, which
sub3ects itself to the latter to the point of speechless
submission or even total cessation.
Exercises that develop the intellect, and also
warm the spiritual life
+ 5hristian intellectual development occurs when all the truths
of the Faith are impressed so deeply into the intellect that the
intellect0s whole existence is made up of these truths alone.
$hen it begins to reason over something, it reasons according
to what it ,nows of the 5hristian truths, and would never ma,e
the slightest move without them. he +postle calls this ,eeping
the image of a sound mind )II im. !:9".
Exercises or wor, related to this are: reading and hearing the
$ord of %od, patristic literature, :ives of the Holy Fathers,
mutual discourse and as,ing -uestions of those more
experienced.
It is good to read or listen, better to have a mutual discourse,
and even better to as, -uestions of those more experienced.
he most fruit&bearing is the $ord of %od, then patristic
literature and the :ives of saints. Incidentally, it is needful to
,now that the :ives of saints are better for beginners, patristic
literature for the intermediate, and the $ord of %od for the
perfect.
+ll of these are the sources of ruth as well as the means for
drawing from them7 obviously, impressing them in the mind
along with preserving the spirit of 4eal also help.
1ften one text will warm the spirit for more than a day. here
are :ives of which the mere remembrance is enough to in;ame
4eal. here are also passages in patristic writings that inspire.
herefore we have this good rule: write down such passages
and save them, in case you need them later to warm your
spirit.
1ften neither internal nor external wor, helps&the spirit remains
sleepy. Hasten to read something from somewhere. If this does
not help, run to someone to discuss it. he latter performed
with faith is rarely fruitless.
here are two ,inds of reading: one&ordinary, almost
mechanical, and another&discriminating, according to spiritual
need and advice. <ut the frst ,ind is also not useless. It is, as
we have said already, what is simply repeated and not studied.
It is most necessary for everyone to have someone with whom
he can discuss spiritual matters&someone who already ,nows
all our problems and to whom we can boldly reveal everything
on our soul. It is best if it is only one person7 two is too many.
Idle conversations carried on only in order to pass the time
should be avoided at all cost.
Here is a rule for reading:
<efore reading you should empty your soul of everything. =!>
+rouse the desire to ,now about what is being read.
urn prayerfully to %od.
Follow what you are reading with attention and place
everything in your open heart.
If something did not reach the heart, stay with it until it
reaches.
?ou should of course read -uite slowly.
(top reading when the soul no longer wants to nourish itself
with reading. hat means it is full. If the soul fnds one passage
utterly stunning, stop there and read no more.
he best time for reading the $ord of %od is in the morning,
:ives of saints after the mid&day meal, and Holy Fathers before
going to sleep. hus you can ta,e up a little bit each day.
@uring such occupations, you should continually ,eeping mind
the main goalAimpressing the truth on yourself and awa,ening
the spirit. If reading or discourse does not bring this about, then
they are but idle itchings of the tongue and ears, or empty
discussion. If it is done with intelligence, then the truths
impress themselves and rouse the spirit, and one thing aids the
other. <ut if the reading or discourse digresses from the proper
image, then there is neither one nor the otherAtruth is stuBed
into the head li,e sand, and the spirit becomes cold and hard
smo,es over and puBs up.
Impressing the spirit is not the same as searching for it. his
re-uires only that you clarify what the truth is, and hold it in
your mind until they bond together. :et there be no deductions
or limitationsAonly the face of truth.
he easiest method for this could lawfully be considered the
following: the whole truth is in the catechesis. Every morning
ta,e the truth from it and clarify it to yourself, carry it in your
mind and nourish yourself with it for as long as it feeds the soul
Aa day, two days or longer. @o the same thing with another
truth, and continue thus to the end. his is a method that is
easy and applicable to everyone. hose who do not ,now how
to read may as, for one truth and proceed from there.
$e can see that the rule for everyone is this: impress the in
Holy little truth in a way that will awa,en you. he methods for
fulflling this rule vary, and it is not at all possible to prescribe
the same one for everyone.
hus, reading, listening and discourse that do not impress the
truth or awa,en the spirit should be considered wrong, as they
lead away from the truth. It is a sic,ness to read many boo,s
out of curiosity alone, when only the mind follows what is being
read, without leading it to the heart or delighting in its ;avor.
his is the science of dreaming7 it is not creative, does not
hasten success, but is devastating and always leads to
arrogance. +ll your wor, should be limited, as we have said, to
the following: clarify the truth and hold it in the mind until the
heart tastes of it. he Holy Fathers put it simply: remember it,
hold it in the mind, and have it always before your eyes.
Exercises for developin the will, focusin also
on awa!enin the spirit
@eveloping the will means impressing upon it good dispositions
or virtuesAhumility, mee,ness, patience, continence,
submissiveness, helpfulness and so onAso that in blending
with and grafting onto the will, the virtues would eventually
constitute its very nature, and when something is underta,en
by the will, it would be underta,en according to their inspiration
and in their spirit, and they would govern and reign over our
deeds.
(uch a disposition of will is the safest and most stable. <ut
inasmuch as it is contrary to the spirit of sin, its achievement
re-uires toil and sweat. hat is why the activity related to this is
for the most part directed against the chief infrmity of the will,
that isAself&will, unsubmissiveness, and intolerance of the
yo,e.
his infrmity is healed by submission to the will of %od, with
denial of your own and of any other. he will of %od is revealed
through the various forms of obedience that each person
carries. Its frst and most important re-uirement is observing
the laws or commandments according to each person0s duty or
calling7 next is observing the rubrics of the 5hurch, the dictates
of civil and family order, the dictates of circumstance that are
wrought by providential will, and the demands of a 4ealous
spiritAall done with discernment and counsel.
+ll of this is within the feld of righteous deeds which is open to
anyone and everyone. herefore, ,now only how to arrange this
for yourself and you will not experience a dearth of means for
developing the will.
For this you must clarify for yourself the sum of righteous deeds
that are possible for you to doAin your station, calling and
circumstancesAtogether with an assessment of what, when,
how, in what measure, and what can and should be done.
Having clarifed all this, determine the general outline of the
deeds and their order, so that nothing you do would be
accidental. #emember at the same time that this is only an
outlineAdetails may change according to what is re-uired
under the circumstances. @o everything with discernment.
herefore it is best to daily go over all the possible occurrences
and deeds.
hose who are used to doing righteous deeds never pre&
determine what they are going to do, but do always what %od
sends them, for everything comes from %od. He reveals His
own determinations to us through diBerent occurrences.
<y the way, all of this is only deeds. @oing them only
straightens you out. In order to ;ow also into virtues through
them, you must forcefully ,eep a true spirit of good wor,s. o
be more precise, do everything with humility and fear of %od
according to %od0s will and to His glory. He who does something
out of self&reliance, with boldness and audacity, out of self&
gratifcation or man&pleasing, no matter how righteous the
wor,s may be, only fosters within himself an evil spirit of self&
righteousness, arrogance and pharisaism.
5arrying a right spirit, you should also be in remembrance of
the laws, especially the law of graduality and constancy7 that is,
always begin with the small and ascend to what is higher. hen,
once you have begun, do not stop.
<y this you can avoid:
Embarrassment that you are not perfect, for perfection does
not come all at once. he time will come.
houghts that you have already done everything7 for there is no
end to the heights.
+rrogant aspirations, ascetic feats beyond your strength.
he last stage is when good deeds have become natural for
you, and the law no longer weighs upon you as a burden.
he one who achieves this most successfully is one who is
blessed with the grace of living with an actively virtuous man,
especially if he is being taught this science. He will not have to
repeat and re&do every failure he has allowed through
ignorance and inexperience. +s they say, even if you do not
read or intellectuali4e, only fnd a reverent man, and you will
-uic,ly learn the fear of %od. his is applicable to any virtue.
Incidently, it is good to choose one outstanding virtuous wor,
according to :our character and station, and stic, with it
unswervinglyAit will be the foundation or basis from which you
can go on to others. It will save you in times of wea,nessAit is
a strong reminder and -uic,ly inspires. he most reliable of all
is almsgiving, which leads to the Cing.
his concerns only wor,s and not dispositions, which should
have their own inner framewor, that is founded on the spirit,
and are in a certain way independent of the consciousness and
free willAthey are as the :ord grants. +ll the saints accept the
beginning of this to be the fear of %od, and the end to be love.
In the middle are all the virtues, one building upon another.
+lthough they are perhaps not all the same, they are inevitably
built on humble, compunctionate repentance and sorrow over
sins, which are the essence of virtue. + description of each
virtueAits nature, activity, degrees of perfection, and
deviations from themAis the sub3ect of special boo,s and
patristic instructions. %et to ,now all of this through reading.
his ,ind of virtuous activity directly develops the will and
impresses the virtuous into it. +t the same time it also ,eeps
the spirit in constant tension. Dust as friction causes warmth, so
do good wor,s warm the heart. $ithout them a good spirit also
grows cold and evaporates. his is what usually befalls those
who do not do anything, or those who limit themselves to
merely not doing evil and unrighteousness. Eo, we must also
fnd good wor,s to do. Incidently, there are also those who
ma,e too much fuss over their wor,s, and therefore -uic,ly
exhaust themselves and dissipate the spirit. Everything should
be done in moderation.
"evelopment of the heart
@eveloping the heart means developing within it a taste for
things holy, divine, and spiritual, so that when it fnds itself
amidst such things it would feel as though it were in its
element. Finding them sweet and blessed, it would be
indiBerent to all else, with no taste for anything else7 and even
moreAit would fnd anything else revolting. +ll of man0s
spiritual activity centers in the heart. he truths are impressed
in it, and good dispositions are rooted into it. <ut its main wor,
is developing a taste for the spiritual, as we have shown. $hen
the mind sees the whole spiritual world and its diBerent
components, various good beginnings ripen in the will. he
heart, under their in;uence, should taste sweetness in all of
this and radiate warmth. his delight in the spiritual is the frst
sign of the regeneration of a soul deadened by sin. herefore
the heart0s development is a very important point even in the
early stages.
he wor, directed at it is all of our 5hurch services in all forms
Acommon and personal, at home and in churchAand it is
mainly achieved through the spirit of prayer moving within it.
5hurch services, that is, all the daily services, together with the
entire arrangement of the church0s icons, candles, censing,
singing, chanting, movements of the clergy, as well as the
services for various needs7 ='> then services in the home, also
using ecclesiastical ob3ects such as sanctifed icons, holy oil,
candles, holy water, the 5ross, and incenseAall of these holy
things together acting upon all the sensesAsight, hearing,
smell, touch, and tasteAare the cloths that wipe clean the
senses of a deadened soul. hey are the strongest and the only
reliable way to do it. he soul becomes deadened by the spirit
of the world, and possessed by sin that lives in the world. he
entire structure of our 5hurch services, with their tone,
meaning, power of faith, and especially the grace concealed
within them, have an invincible power to drive away the spirit
of the world. In freeing the soul from the world0s onerous
in;uence, it allows the soul to breathe freely and to taste the
sweetness of spiritual freedom. $al,ing into church we wal,
into a completely diBerent world, are in;uenced by it, and
change according to it. he same thing happens when we
surround ourselves with holy ob3ects. Fre-uent impressions of
the spiritual world more eBectively penetrate within and more
-uic,ly bring about a transformation of the heart. hus:
!" It is necessary to establish a pattern of going to church as
often as possible, usually to /atins, :iturgy and Fespers. Have
a longing for this, and go there at the frst opportunityAat least
once a dayAand if you can, stay without leaving. 1ur church is
heaven on earth. Hasten to church with the faith that it is a
place where %od dwells, where He Himself promised to -uic,ly
hear prayers. (tanding in church, be as if you are standing
before %od in fear and reverence, which you express through
patient standing, prostrations, and attention to the services
without wandering thoughts, relaxation or crudeness.
'" ?ou must not forget other servicesApersonal services, be
they in church or at home. Eeither must you neglect your home
prayers with all their churchly tone. ?ou should remember that
home services are only a supplement to church services and
not a replacement. he +postle, commanding us not to deprive
ourselves of a synaxis, informed us that all the power of
services belong to common worship.
*" ?ou must observe all 5hurch solemnities, rituals, customs,
and rubrics, and cover yourself with them in all their forms, so
that you would always abide in a particular atmosphere. his is
easy to do. (uch is the nature of our 5hurch. 1nly accept it with
faith.
<ut what gives the most power to church services is a prayerful
spirit. 6rayer is an all&encompassing obligation, as well as an
all&eBective means. hrough it the truths of the faith are also
impressed in the mind and good morals into the will. <ut most
of all it enlivens the heart in its feelings. he frst two go well
only when this one thing =prayer> is present. herefore prayer
should begin to be developed before anything else, and
continued steadily and tirelessly until the :ord grants prayer to
the one who prays.
he beginnings of prayer are applied at conversion itself, for
prayer is the yearning of the mind and heart towards %od,
which is what happens at conversion. <ut inattentiveness or
inability can extinguish this spar,. hen right away you should
begin the form of activity that we have already discussed, with
the aim of ,indling a prayerful spirit. <esides conducting
services and participating in them, as we have described, the
closest thing related to this is personal prayer, wherever and
however it is performed. here is only one rule for thisA
accustom yourself to praying. For this you must:
!" 5hoose a rule of prayerAevening, morning and daily
prayers.
'" (tart with a short rule at frst, so that your unaccustomed
spirit will nor form an aversion to this labor.
*" 6ray always with fear, diligence and all attention.
." his re-uires: standing, prostrations, ,neeling, ma,ing the
sign of the 5ross, reading, and at times singing.
2" he more often you do such prayer the better. (ome people
pray a little every hour.
G" he prayers you should read are written in the prayer boo,.
<ut it is good to get used to one or another, so that the spirit
would ignite each time you begin it.
9" he rule of prayer is simple: standing at prayer, with fear
and trembling say it as if you were spea,ing into %od0s ear,
accompanying it with the sign of the 5ross, prostrations and
failing down, corresponding to the movement of the spirit.
H" 1nce you have chosen a rule you should always fulfll it, but
this does not prevent you from adding something according to
the heart0s desire.
I" #eading and singing out loud, in a whisper, or silently is all
the same, for the :ord is near. <ut sometimes it is better to
pray one way, other times another.
!J" ?ou should frmly ,eep in mind the limits of your prayers. It
is a good prayer that ends with your falling down before %od
with the feeling that Thou Who knowest the hearts, save me.
!!" here are stages of prayer. he frst stage is bodily prayer,
with reading, standing and prostrations. If the attention
wanders, the heart does not feel, and there is no eagerness7
this means there is no patience, toil or swear. #egardless of
this, set your limits and pray. his is active prayer. he second
stage is attentive prayer: the mind gets used to collecting itself
at the hour of prayer, and says all with awareness, without
being stolen away. he attention blends with the written words
and repeats them as its own. he third stage is prayer of the
feelingsAthe attention warms the heart, and what was thought
with attention becomes feeling in the heart. In the mind was a
compunctionate word, in the heart it is compunction7 in the
mind&forgiveness, in the heartAa feeling of its necessity and
importance. $hoever has passed on to feeling prays without
words, for %od is a %od of the heart. his, therefore, is the
summit of prayer0s development: while standing in prayer, to
from feeling to feeling. #eading may stop at this, 3ust as may
thought7 then there is only abiding in feeling with the ,nown
signs of prayer. (uch prayer comes very little at frst. he
prayerful feeling comes over you in church or at home.... his is
the common advice of the saintsAdo not let this leave your
attention: when the feeling is present, cease all other activity
and stand in it. (t. Dohn of the :adder says: K+n angel is praying
with you.K +ttention to this manifestation of prayer ripens the
development of prayer, and inattention decimates both the
development and the prayer.
!'" However, no matter how perfect one has become in prayer,
the prayer rule should never be abandoned but should always
be read as prescribed and always begun with active prayer.
/ental prayer should come with it, and then prayer of the
heart. $ithout the rule, prayer of the heart is lost, and the
person will thin, that he is praying, but in fact he is not.
!*" $hen the prayerful feeling ascends to ceaselessness, then
spiritual prayer beginsAa gift of the (pirit of %od which prays
for us. his is the last stage of attainable prayer. <ut it is said
that there is also prayer that is incomprehensible to the mind,
or surpasses the limits of awareness )as described by (t. Isaac
the (yrian".
!." he easiest means for ascending to ceaseless prayer is the
habit of doing the Desus 6rayer and rooting it in yourself. he
most experienced men of spiritual life who were enlightened by
%od found this to be the one simple and all&eBective means for
confrming the spirit in all spiritual activities, as well as in all
spiritual ascetic life7 and they left detailed guidelines for it in
their instructions.
<y laboring in asceticism we see, purifcation of the heart and
renewal of the spirit. here are two ways to fnd this: the frst is
the way of activity, that is, performing those ascetic labors that
we have previously outlined7 and the second is that of the
mind&turning the mind to %od. In the frst way the soul is
purifed and receives %od, in the second %od burns away all
impurity and comes to abide in the purifed soul. 5onsidering
the latter as belonging to the Desus 6rayer alone, (t. %regory
the (inaite says: K$e ac-uire %od by either activity, labor, or
the artful calling on the Eame of Desus.K He then supposes that
the frst way is longer than the second7 the second is -uic,er
and more eBective. 1thers after him have given frst place to
the Desus 6rayer among podvigs. It illuminates, strengthens,
enlivens, con-uers all enemies visible and invisible, and leads
us to %od. hat is how powerful and eBective it isL he name of
the :ord Desus is the treasury of blessings, strength and life in
the spirit.
From this it is evident that any penitent, or anyone beginning to
see, the :ord, can and should be taught complete instructions
in doing the Desus 6rayer. From there he can be brought into all
other practices, because through this he will become strong
more -uic,ly, ripen sooner spiritually and enter the interior
world. Eot ,nowing this, other people, or at least a large part of
them, stop with bodily activities and those of the soul, and
waste nearly all their labor and time.
his activity is called an Kart.K It is very simple. (tanding with
awareness and attention in the heart, pronounce ceaselessly:
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me," without
picturing any sort of image or face, but with faith that the :ord
will see you and attend to you.
In order to become strong in this, you should assign a time in
the morning or the eveningAffteen minutes, a half hour, or
moreAhowever much you can, 3ust for saying this prayer. It
should be after morning or evening prayers, standing or sitting.
his will place the beginnings of a habitual practice.
hen during the day, force yourself minute&by&minute to say it,
no matter what you are doing.
It will become more and more habitual, and then it will start
wor,ing as if by itself during any wor, or occupation. he more
resolutely you ta,e it up, the faster you will progress.
?our awareness should be ,ept unfailingly in the heart, and
during the practice your breath should lighten as a result of the
tension with which you practice it. <ut the most important
condition is faith that %od is near and hears us. (ay the prayer
into %od0s ear.
his habitual practice will draw warmth into the spirit, later
enlightenment, then ecstasy. <ut ac-uiring all of this
sometimes ta,es years.
+t frst this prayer is only active prayer, 3ust li,e any other
activity. hen it becomes mental prayer, and fnally it ta,es root
in the heart.
(ome have gone astray from the right path through this prayer.
herefore it should be learned from someone who ,nows it.
@eception comes mostly from placing the attention on the head
rather than the chest.
$hoever has the attention centered in the heart is safe. Even
safer is the one who falls down before %od every hour in
contrition, with the prayer that he be delivered from deception.
he Holy Fathers gave detailed instructions on this activity.
herefore, whoever ta,es up this wor, should read these
instructions and throw out all else. he best instructions are by
(t. Hesychius, (t. %regory the (inaite, (t. 6hilotheus of (inai,
(t. heoleptus, (t. (ymeon the Eew heologian, (t. Eilus of
(ora, Hieromon, @orotheus, in the prologue to Elder
<arsanuphius, and in the life of (t. 6aisius.
$hoever becomes practiced in this, having gone through
everything set forth above, is a practitioner of 5hristian life. He
will -uic,ly ripen in his purifcation and in 5hristian perfection,
and will ac-uire his desired peace in being with %od.
his is the activity for the powers of the soul, which are
adaptable to the movement of the spirit. Here we see how
every one of them is adapted to the life of the spirit, or to
spiritual feeling. <ut they also lead to the fortifcation of the
primary conditions for being within, namely: mental activityA
the concentration of attention7 activity of the willAvigilance7
activity of the heartAsoberness. 6rayer covers them all and
encompasses them all. Even the production of it is nothing
other than the interior wor, we have previously described.
+ll of these activities are assigned for the development of the
powers of the soul in the spirit of a new life. his is the same as
infusing the soul with spirit, or elevating it to the spirit and
blending with it. In fallenness they are united to a contrary
purpose. +t conversion the spirit is renewed, but in the soul
there still remains a cruet strea, of unsubmissiveness and an
aversion to the spirit and everything spiritual. hese activities,
penetrated with spiritual elements, cause the soul to grow into
the spirit and blend with it. It is clear from this how essential
these activities are and what a disservice those people do to
themselves who abandon them. hey themselves are the
reason that their labors are fruitless. hey sweat but see no
fruit7 they soon grow cold, and then everything comes to an
end.
<ut we must remember that all the fruits of these labors come
from the spirit of 4eal and -uest. It conducts the renewing
power of grace through these activities and brings down life
into the soul. $ithout it, all these activities are empty, cold,
lifeless, and dry. #eading, prostrations, services and everything
else are unfruitful when there is no inner spirit. hey can teach
vainglory and pharisaism, which become its sole support. his
is why someone who has no spirit falls away when he meets
with any opposition. $hy, they themselves are a torture. For
the spirit transfers power to the soul, which ma,es the soul so
well disposed to these activities that it can not get enough of
them and wants to have recourse to them always.
hus it is extremely necessary when doing these activities to
always bear in mind that the spirit of life must burn within, and
we must in humility and pain of heart fall down before %od our
(avior. his state is fed and preserved best of all by prayer and
prayerful activity. $e must watch that we not stop with the
activities alone 3ust because they also nourish the soul. his
might cause us to remain with them in soul at the cost of the
spirit. his happens perhaps most often with reading, and
generally any study and integration of the truth.
Endnotes
!. hat is, of thoughts and cares that distract =trans.>.'. (uch as /olebens,
6anni,hidas, etc. =trans.>.
From The ath to Salvation, trans. Fr. (eraphim #ose and the (aint
Herman of +las,a <rotherhood )6latina, !IIG", pp. '.', '.9&'G!.