In his Collation On Being Sinless, Saint John Cassian reminds us that even the Christian who is most advanced on the road to perfection cannot stand before God claiming perfect innocence. The closer a soul draws to God, the more clearly it perceives its need for mercy. Cassian writes, “Clear sight yearns to see even further; the more blameless our life, the more we find to reproach ourselves with.” This insight echoes the words of Saint Paul: “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:19) The saints are not those who are completely sinless, but those who become more aware of how much they need Christ.

This is why Cassian’s teaching on Holy Communion is so important. Some Christians of his time avoided receiving Holy Communion frequently because they believed themselves unworthy. Cassian, however, firmly rejects this approach. He says that “we should be more and more eager for Communion to heal the soul and purify the spirit.”

The Eucharist is not a reward for the sinless; it is medicine for those in need of God’s mercy. Christ himself declares, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” (Matthew 9:12) We do not receive Holy Communion because we have conquered sin completely. Instead, we approach the altar because without Christ we cannot have any hope of conquering sin at all.

Cassian warns that infrequent Communion can sometimes hide spiritual pride. Someone may begin to imagine that they must become worthy before approaching Christ. But no one becomes worthy except by the grace of God. We are reminded of this at every Mass when we make the words of the Centurion our own, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.” (Matthew 8:8) And so, Cassian teaches us that awareness of our sins should never drive us away from Christ. It should lead us more quickly to the altar, where the Lord gives himself as the remedy for our frailty and the food of eternal life.

The Collations of St John Cassian are among the oldest and most influential books of Christian spirituality. The book is presented as a series of conversations between Cassian, his friend Germanus, and the great monks of the Egyptian desert, preserving the wisdom of men who had devoted their lives entirely to the pursuit of holiness.

This is the last of our reflections based on ideas found in the Collations of St John Cassian, but there is plenty more wisdom from the desert to be found in the original work. It is available, in an excellent modern translation by our own Fr Jerome, from our bookshop in person and online.

Even a saint like Cassian cannot avoid faults and imperfections, but he can show us how to avoid anxiety. He lists the various minute lapses which a holy man may fall into and underlines that they are not mortal sins. Instead, he says that they are the ways in which a just man falls seven times a day. If his criteria are applied, we should admire the just man for falling fewer than seventy-seven times a day!

King David does not say that the just man will not fall, but when he shall fall he shall not be bruised. Cassian adds that he will be upheld and restored by the Lord’s hand. Due to the speed with which he rises, he will retain his state of righteousness. It is only human to make mistakes, after which we can arise stronger. We must not allow them to cause us anxiety. It will not help but rather harm us in our spiritual progress. The spiritual life takes time to grow and anxiety will not speed anything up. Just as one good day doesn’t make someone virtuous, one fall doesn’t make him bad. It should neither discourage nor make him anxious.

However, Cassian doesn’t tell us simply to accept our falls. He points out that they may be the result of shortcomings, laxity, or the attacks of the devil. Just as we can’t let everything disquiet us, so we shouldn’t accept all of our faults as a given and step back to watch them unfold.

The answer is a balance and moderation. We notice and recognise our faults, our natural weakness, and our shortcomings. Yet we do not allow them to disquiet us. We must not become complacent or assign a fault that arises from laxity to human frailty. Equally, we can’t beat ourselves up about it whatever its origin. Gently and steadily we undertake the road to virtue. We don’t expect never to fall. Nevertheless, by the help of grace, we get closer every day to the perfection that we see in Our Lord and his Blessed Mother.

The Collations of St John Cassian are among the oldest and most influential books of Christian spirituality. The book is presented as a series of conversations between Cassian, his friend Germanus, and the great monks of the Egyptian desert, preserving the wisdom of men who had devoted their lives entirely to the pursuit of holiness.

The reflections over the coming weeks are based on ideas found in the Collations. There is no need to read them to follow each reflection, but the work is available, in an excellent modern translation by our own Fr Jerome, from our bookshop in person and online.

In his Collation On the Purpose of Penance, Saint John Cassian gives us a short list of fruitful penances through which the forgiveness of sins is obtained: acts of charity, forgiving others, improvement of life, performing works of mercy, almsgiving, and even copious tears. All of these are perhaps best summed up in the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. “Prayer is good when accompanied by fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness.” (Tobit 12:8)

But when we think of penance, we probably think of the confession of our sins. As we read in the Psalms: “I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” (Psalm 32:5) Christ instituted the Sacrament of Confession to be the means by which we can be restored to God’s grace and obtain the sure forgiveness of our sins. Our Lord’s call to penance does not consist primarily in outward weeping in sackcloth and ashes but in interior conversion—the conversion of the heart. God’s grace calls us to return to him and he gives us the strength to begin anew.

Regarding confession, Saint John Cassian warns us not to dwell on past sins. We may be tempted to dwell unnecessarily on past sins even when we have confessed them. To brood over sins once committed and now forgiven is bound to corrupt our minds and hearts with the thought of sin, and therefore restrict our efforts to grow in virtue. We can’t possibly concentrate on growing in virtue if our minds are always filled with vices. We must always place our trust in Our Lord who told us plainly “if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven.” (John 20:23)

The Collations of St John Cassian are among the oldest and most influential books of Christian spirituality. The book is presented as a series of conversations between Cassian, his friend Germanus, and the great monks of the Egyptian desert, preserving the wisdom of men who had devoted their lives entirely to the pursuit of holiness.

The reflections over the coming weeks are based on ideas found in the Collations. There is no need to read them to follow each reflection, but the work is available, in an excellent modern translation by our own Fr Jerome, from our bookshop in person and online.