Combatting despair and despondency

St Gregory Palamas (1296-1359)

'This is why no one should give way to despair, even though the devil finds various means by which to insinuate it not only into those who live carelessly but also into those who practise the ascetic life. If, then, the time of this life is time for repentance, the very fact that a sinner still lives is a pledge that God will accept whoever desires to return to Him. Free will is always part and parcel of this present life. And it lies within the power of free will to choose or to reject the road of life or the road of death ... for it can pursue whichever it wishes. Where, then, are the grounds for despair, since all of us can at all times lay hold of eternal life whenever we want to?' (To the Most Reverend Nun Xenia, 17; in the Philokalia, vol. iv, p. 299.)

'Let us learn humility from Christ, humiliation from David, and from Peter to shed shed tears over what has happened; but let us also learn to avoid the despair of Samson, Judas, and that wisest of men, Solomon.' (On Watchfulness and Holiness, 38; in the Philokalia, vol. i, p. 169.)

'Bodily listlessness and torpor, which affect the soul as a result of our laziness and negligence, not only make us abandon our normal rule of prayer, but also darken the mind and fill it with despondency. Then blasphemous and cowardly thoughts arise in the heart. Indeed, the person tempted by the demon of listlessness cannot even enter his usual place of prayer; he grows sluggish, and absurd thoughts directed against the Creator of all things arise in his mind. Aware of the cause of all this and why it has happened to you, resolutely enter your normal place of prayer and, falling down before the God of love, ask with a compunctive and aching heart, full of tears, to be freed from the weight of listlessness and from your pernicious thoughts. If you knock hard and insistently, this release will soon be given to you.' (One Hundred and Fifty-Three Practical and Theological Texts, 49; in the Philokalia, vol. iv, p. 34.)