Even
though we have properly disposed of the notorious problem of evil as a
non-starter, that does not mean there is nothing else to be said about it.
The people
who have agonized over this question1 sadly overlooked St. Mark the
Monk. The purpose of this article is to
summarize briefly St. Mark’s teachings on this subject.
By way of
introduction, St. Mark the Monk seems to have been a spiritual giant who
escaped detection; at least modern scholarship does not have much to say about
him.2 Tim Vivian suggests a
mid-fifth century date, but finds no evidence to tie St. Mark to any area.3 What we do know is that he was very popular
reading. A monastic slogan recorded in
the 14th century was, “Sell everything and buy Mark.”4 When the Philokalia was compiled, St. Mark was
naturally included. He wrote two
works—both of which are in the Philokalia—which delve deeply into evils and
sufferings: On the Spiritual Law and
Those Who Imagine They Are Justified by Works.
Our plan is to use these works to summarize his doctrine that there is
no mystery of suffering.5
Now, our
thesis is that St. Mark does not recognize the afflictions of this life as constituting
a mystery of suffering because, in short, they are good for us sub specie
aeternitatis (in the very long run).
Since On the Spiritual Law (SL) and On Those Who Imagine They Are
Justified by Works (JW) are organized in chapters—i.e., in loosely linked
strings of comments—St. Mark nowhere provides an organized doctrine of
affliction. However, due to the
organization of his mind, it is easy enough to sketch out his case that
afflictions are not evil.
A note on
organization: I decided to give the
relevant chapters in order of appearance within each work, since I do not
possess any insight as to how they should be ordered to anyone’s benefit. St. Mark is best left to speak for
himself.
FUTURE
BLESSINGS
One theme
which St. Mark dwells on is the future value of earthly sufferings.
A seed
will not grow without earth and water; and a man will not develop without voluntary
suffering and divine help (JW 70).
If we
fulfil Christ’s commandments according to our conscience, we are spiritually
refreshed to the extent that we suffer in our heart. But each thing comes to us at the right time
(JW 93).
The greater
a man's faith that Christ will reward him, the greater his readiness to endure
every injustice (SL 44).
When
harmed, insulted or persecuted by someone, do not think of the present but wait
for the future, and you will find he has brought you much good, not only in
this life but also in the life to come (SL 114).
Accept
present afflictions for the sake of future blessings; then you will never
weaken in your struggle (SL 156).
He who
wishes to avoid future troubles should endure his present troubles gladly. For in this way, balancing the one against the
other, through small sufferings he will avoid those which are great (SL 187).
THE
BLESSINGS OF AFFLICTIONS
Another
theme he develops is that our afflictions procure us blessings in the
present.
Unexpected
trials are sent by God to teach us to practice the ascetic life; and they lead
us to repentance even when we are reluctant (JW 8).5
If you
want with a few words to benefit one who is eager to learn, speak to him about
prayer, right faith, and the patient acceptance of what comes. For all else
that is good is found through these (JW 94).
The mercy
of God is hidden in sufferings not of our choice; and if we accept such
sufferings patiently, they bring us to repentance and deliver us from
everlasting punishment (JW 139).
He who
suffers injustice escapes sin, finding help in proportion to his affliction (SL
43).
By praying
for those who wrong us we overthrow the devil; opposing them we are wounded by
him (SL 45).
Consider
the outcome of every involuntary affliction, and you will find it has been the
destruction of sin (SL 67).
Just as
the bitterness of absinth helps a poor appetite, so misfortunes help a bad
character. For the first benefits the physical condition, and the second leads
to repentance (SL 115).
THE ACQUISITION
OF THE VIRTUES
Still
another benefit of suffering is its contribution to the acquisition of the
virtues.
Just as
suffering and dishonor usually give birth to virtues, so pleasure and
self-esteem usually give birth to vices (JW 157).
He who
accepts present afflictions in the expectation of future blessings has found
knowledge of the truth; and he will easily be freed from anger and remorse (JW
168).
Wisdom is
not only to perceive the natural consequence of things, but also to accept as
our due the malice of those who wrong us. People who go no further than the
first kind of wisdom become proud, whereas those who attain the second become
humble (JW 206).
If you do
not want evil thoughts to be active within you, accept humiliation of soul and
affliction of the flesh; and this not just on particular occasions, but always,
everywhere and in all things (JW 207).
He who
willingly accepts chastening by affliction is not dominated by evil thoughts
against his will; whereas he who does not accept affliction is taken prisoner
by evil thoughts, even though he resists them (JW 208).
THE
REMEMBRANCE OF GOD
Another
blessing conferred by suffering is the remembrance of God.
Distress
reminds the wise of God, but crushes those who forget Him (SL 56).
Let all
involuntary suffering teach you to remember God, and you will not lack occasion
for repentance (SL 57).
If you
wish to remember God unceasingly, do not reject as undeserved what happens to
you, but patiently accept it as your due. For patient acceptance of whatever
happens kindles the remembrance of God, whereas refusal to accept weakens the
spiritual purpose of the heart and so makes it forgetful (JW 125).
OUR
CONTRIBUTION TO OUR OWN SUFFERINGS
St. Mark’s
opinion that suffering is a source of blessings does not mean that he divorces
sin and suffering.
We cannot
with all our heart forgive someone who does us wrong unless we possess real
knowledge. For this knowledge shows us that we deserve all we experience (JW
49).
Real
knowledge is patiently to accept affliction and not to blame others for our own
misfortunes (JW 56).
Everyone
receives what he deserves in accordance with his inner state. But only God
understands the many different ways in which this happens (JW 67).
If, as
Scripture teaches, everything involuntary has its cause in what is voluntary,
man has no greater enemy than himself (JW 104).
Trials
come upon us because of our former sins, bringing what is appropriate to each
offence (JW 154).
If you
refuse to accept suffering and dishonor, do not claim to be in a state of
repentance because of your other virtues. For self-esteem and insensitivity can
serve sin even under the cover of virtue (JW 156).
He who
fights against others out of fear of hardship or reproach will either suffer
more harshly through what befalls him in this life, or will be punished
mercilessly in the life to come (JW 171).
He who
does not understand God’s judgments walks on a ridge like a knife-edge and is
easily unbalanced by every puff of wind. When praised, he exults; when
criticized, he feels bitter. When he feasts, he makes a pig of himself; and
when he suffers hardship, he moans and groans. When he understands, he shows
off; and when he does not understand, he pretends that he does. When rich, he
is boastful; and when in poverty, he plays the hypocrite. Gorged, he grows
brazen; and when he fasts, he becomes arrogant. He quarrels with those who
reprove him; and those who forgive him he regards as fools (JW 193).
Unless a
man acquires, through the grace of Christ, knowledge of the truth and fear of
God, he is gravely wounded not only by the passions but also by the things that
happen to him (JW 194).
When the
evil conduct of one person begins to affect others, you should not show
long-suffering; and instead of your own advantage you should seek that of the
others, so that they may be saved. For virtue involving many people is more
valuable than virtue involving only one (JW 214).
No one can
experience suffering and remorse in a way that accords with God’s will, unless
he first loves what causes them (JW 218).
SUMMARY
St. Mark’s
view then is that when we suffer, we acquire many blessings: suffering prepares future blessings for us, procure
blessings in this life, help us to acquire the virtues and to remember
God. In view of these facts, we may
conclude that there is no mystery of suffering.
Suffering is good for us.
An example
may help us. Whether we get a cavity
because we did not brush them, or because of our genes, going to the dentist is
still good for us. Yes, the dentist
visit is in this scenario suffering, though the metaphor should not be pushed
so far as to make the dentist a devil.
Another
example: consider a cat that must
receive medical treatment. Because we
cannot explain why we have to do something painful to it, the cat can only look
upon us as doing evil. Now God has
spoken through the Bible and the Fathers about the importance of suffering, so
that we can apply their doctrines to our lives as St. Mark urges us. Unfortunately, because we cannot believe that
what the Bible and the Fathers say really applies to us—surely it is my
neighbor who must walk the extra mile!—we imagine we have grounds for
grievance. St. Mark warns us that we
have no such grounds.
PRACTICAL
CONSIDERATIONS
Let us
close with St. Mark’s advice on how to suffer.
Afflictions
that come to us are the result of our own sins. But if we accept them patiently
through prayer, we shall again find blessings (JW 9).
A sinner
cannot escape retribution except through repentance appropriate to his offence
(JW 58).
When a
sinful soul does not accept the afflictions that come to it, the angels say:
‘We would have healed Babylon, but she was not healed’ (Jr 51:9) (JW 82).
Escape
from temptation through patience and prayer. If you oppose temptation without
these, it only attacks you more strongly (JW 106).
Do not say
that a dispassionate man cannot suffer affliction; for even if he does not
suffer on his own account, he is under a liability to do so for his neighbor
(JW 123).6
He who
wishes to be spared all misfortunes should associate God with everything
through prayer; with his intellect he should set his hope in Him, putting
aside, so far as possible, all concern about things of the senses (JW 172).
When
tested by some trial you should try to find out not why or through whom it
came, but only how to endure it gratefully, without distress or rancor (JW
198).
CONCLUSION
I
encourage everyone to read St. Mark for himself—he wrote deeply and lucidly
about things besides afflictions in a way that is very accessible. Three of his works are available in the
Philokalia. St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Press has printed all of his known works in one volume in their Popular
Patristics Series (see n. 2).
ENDNOTES
1. I am relying on Niels Christian Hvidt for the
background which follows (see “The Historical Development of the Problem of Evil”
in Physics and Cosmology: Scientific Perspectives on the Problem of
Natural Evil, ed. Murphy, N., R. J. Russell & W. R. Stoeger
(Vatican City State: Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, Berkeley
& Vatican Observatory Publications, 2007), which may be accessed at tro-helbred.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/
Hvidt-CTNS-Final.pdf). In brief, the mystery of suffering or (more generally) the
problem evil is a recent preoccupation even in the West, surfacing here only
in the 17th century. It was
then that Leibniz attempted to rebut the rationalists of his day, who faulted
the Creator for allowing evils to exist.
As Hvidt points out, Western Christian teaching on this question had
been unchanged since the beginning: all
evils ultimately stem from the fall of Adam (p. 19). In the West, the doctrines of original sin,
massa damnata and double predestination were significant means of explaining
both the causes and the effects of this fall; we may well imagine that these
doctrines would sooner or later have created doubts in the minds of the
thoughtful. In the East, the emphasis
was on corruption, an effect of the fall which anyone can verify for himself
with a history book, a newspaper or an examination of his own health. Hvidt observes that before the Enlightenment,
the discussion of evils—whether moral, natural or personal—was conducted within
a Christian perspective; beginning with the Enlightenment, the same discussion
attempted “to provide reasons for [the Christian] perspective” (p.
24). Christians from the earliest days
conceded presumptively that God was just; the only question was how His justice
was to be traced; Leibnitz accepted the originally unquestioned starting point
(God’s justice) as the bone of contention.
2. All the information on St. Mark in this
paragraph comes from St. Mark the
Monk, Counsels on the Spiritual Life, ed. & tr. Tim Vivian and
Augustine Casiday (Crestwood, NY: St.
Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2009). The
Prologue from Ochrid gives little enough information on his feast day (March
5). It supports Vivian’s surmise of a 5th
century date, but places the saint in Egypt, not in Asia Minor. Modern scholarship tends to be tight-lipped
about assigning dates and places or about accepting the explicitly stated
motives of the Fathers at face value, whereas the underdogs of history—most
famously in our age, the Gnostics—are treated generously and excused when
necessary.
3. Idem, p. 24 f.
4. Idem, p. 32.
5. I have used G. E. H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard
and Kallistos Ware (trans. and eds.) for “On Those who Think They Are Made
Righteous by Works: Two Hundred Twenty Six Texts” (The Philokalia: The
Complete Text, vol. I [Faber & Faber, London & Boston: 1979], pp.
125-146), available as a PDF at jbburnett.com/resources/mark_ascetic-righteousness.pdf. To cite “On the Spiritual Law Two: Hundred Texts,” I have relied on the same
translation, found at https://archive.org/details/Philokalia-TheCompleteText. Vivian and Casiday’s translations are
vitiated by political correctness.
6. Note the proviso “by divine
dispensation.” This phrase is our
assurance that suffering in and of itself is not a blessing and will not
procure for us any blessing unless by divine dispensation. As Somerset Maugham wrote in The Moon and
Sixpence, “suffering, for the most part, makes men petty and
vindictive.”
7. This is confirmation of St. Mark’s doctrine
that sufferings are a source of blessings, for we are nowhere asked to sin on
behalf of our neighbors.