On The Sacrament of Chrismation (Confirmation) Conclusion – Patheos (blog)

This is the fourth and last post on a series exploring the sacrament of chrismation. Click here for Part One, here for Part Two, and here for Part Three.

Saint Seraphim of Sarov by Violette79 from Brooklyn, NY, USA (Saint Seraphim of Sarov) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Only the Holy Spirit can purify the intellect, for unless a greater power comes and overthrows the despoiler, what he has taken captive will never be set free (cf. Luke 11:21-22). In every way, therefore, and especially through peace of soul, we must make ourselves a dwelling-place for the Holy Spirit. Then we shall have the lamp of spiritual knowledge burning always within us; and when it is shining constantly in the inner shrine of the soul, not only will the intellect perceive all the dark and bitter attacks of the demons, but these attacks will be greatly weakened and exposed for what they are by that glorious and holy light.[1]

In the Apocalypse we can find an example of the internal spiritual warfare going on within us all; until our full reception of the eschaton and the glory of God, we will find ourselves under attack by so-called locusts, powers of evil which seek to destroy us from within ourselves. While Andrew of Caesarea believed the Apocalypse discussed something which would happen in the future, at times he was able to write in a more generalized fashion, and so his statement on these mental locusts which seek to hinder our intellect, is true now as it is for the Christians at the end of time. We who have the seal of the Spirit, those who have been chrismated, will find that through this seal, the Holy Spirit will be working in and through us, protecting us from these powers of chaos, helping to strengthen our intellect so it does not become utterly consumed. Then, with such protection, we can more to enlightenment and share the light of truth to the rest of the world:

And the mental locusts, who sting people like scorpions, show the death which is the harm of the soul hiding at the end of evil deeds, to which those are subjected who had not been sealed with the divine seal on their foreheads and shine round about with the enlightenment of Life-giving Cross through the Holy Spirit, so that according to the saying of the Master, they shine their light before men for the glory of the divine name. [2]

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