Sin, having deprived the wretched soul of all the supernatural blessings, strips it also of the natural ones, for it takes away the keenness of the mind, the light and discrimination of reason, the tenderness and perception of heart, the peace of thoughts and of conscience, and the purity of all the powers. It even weakens the body and defiles the senses.
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Just as keeping the commandments strengthens, improves and perfects the powers of the soul and of the body, so the transgression of the Divine commandments debases, weakens and corrupts all the powers and activities of our nature.
~ St. Nicodemus the Hagiorite
Constantine Cavarnos, Modern Orthodox Saints vol. 3: St. Nicodemos the Hagiorite (Belmont: Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 1974), 128.
Philokalia 