From the teachings of Saint Dorotheus, abbot
On false spiritual peace
 he man who finds fault with
himself accepts all things cheerfully—misfortune, loss, disgrace, dishonor
and any other kind of adversity. He believes that he is deserving
of [1] all
these things and nothing can disturb him. No one could be more at peace than
this man.
 But perhaps . . . someone asks
why he should accuse
himself [2] when
he was sitting peacefully and quietly when a brother came upon him with an unkind or
insulting word. He cannot tolerate it, and so he thinks that his anger is justified. If
that brother had not approached him and said those words and upset him, he never would have
sinned.
This kind of thinking is surely
ridiculous and has no rational basis. For the fact that he has said anything
at all in this situation breaks the cover on the passionate anger within
him, which is all the more exposed by his excessive anxiety. If he wished,
he would do penance. He has become like a clean, shiny grain of wheat that,
when broken, is full of dirt inside.
The man who falsely believes that he is
so pure as to be quiet and peaceful has within him a passion that he does not see.
A brother comes up, utters some unkind word and immediately all the venom and mire
that lie hidden within him are spewed out. If he wishes mercy, he must do
penance, purify himself and strive to become more
perfect.[3] [In this interior
scrutiny] he will see that he should have returned thanks to his brother instead
of returning the injury, because his brother has proven to be an occasion of profit to
him. [If he continues this process of interior scrutiny] it will not be long
before he will no longer be bothered by these temptations. The more perfect he grows,
the less these temptations will affect him. For the more the soul advances, the stronger
and more powerful it becomes in bearing the difficulties that it meets.
—Saint Dorotheus, abbot
(Office of Readings,
Tuesday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time)
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1. That is, he is humble and fully aware that he
is always prone to sin, and therefore he does not believe that he is so “special”
that he should be exempt from any misfortune. Thus, in the text, “deserving” really
means “not exempt.”
2. “To accuse himself” means that he should consider
the unconscious dynamics within himself that might have contributed to the problem with
his brother. For example, with interior scrutiny, he might realize that the brother reminds
him of his alcoholic father. Then he might admit that, in childhood, part of him feared his
father and part of him hated his father. Then he might admit that these attitudes to his
father could easily get projected onto the brother who reminds him of his father. Then he
might realize that his unconscious attitudes toward his brother could be perceived with
resentment by his brother, thus explaining the unkind words of the brother. Then he might
understand that his angry reaction, rather than being “justified”, was really a dysfunctional
reaction to an unconscious conflict between him and his brother.
3. “To become more perfect” means to become aware of the
unconscious dynamics working within him and then to work to manage those dynamics in a
healthy psychological and spiritual manner.
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