How St. Joseph the Hesychast Conquered the Demon of Fornication

Hear how St. Joseph faced the most fearsome spiritual battle of his life, an eight year battle against lust and fornication, and how by the powerful name of Christ and his indomitable spirit he became victorious.

0:27 St. Daniel of Katounakia calls Francis (St. Joseph the Hesychast) and Fr. Arsenios to be obedient to an Elder
2:32 Their Elders: Elder Joseph and Elder Ephraim the Barrel-Maker
4:15 The perfect obedience of St. Joseph
6:43 The call to war
8:29 The battle against the demon of fornication begins
9:42 St. Joseph’s courage and dedication to be victorious
10:38 The intensity of the struggle
12:32 St. Joseph begins to despair and God grants a vision to console him
13:29 The vision
17:01 St. Joseph telling of the vision to his disciples
18:31 The warfare intensifies but St. Joseph did not give in
19:56 Physical manifestation of the demons battling against St. Joseph
22:55 Final victory

Buy "My Elder Joseph the Hesychast" written by his disciple, Elder Ephraim of Arizona, here: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/produ...

NOTE: Francis was the name of St. Joseph before his monastic tonsure.

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From “My Elder Joseph the Hesychast”, p. 91-105:

St. Joseph was called to this battle not because in his youth we was promiscuous and rebellious; no, “he had never had any past experience with carnal sins and was completely chaste…”

"Francis struggled intensely because he was completely aware of what was happening. Besides, it was in his character never to give in to anything improper. He fasted strictly and kept vigil all night. He only partook of dry bread and water. When he would reach the limits of exhaustion, grace would strengthen him, and thus he would continue his fearsome struggle. The more time passed, the tougher the demons' warfare became—it was nearly incessant. But he, too, was full of rage against them. He was so courageous that he said to the demons,' 'Either I’ll devour you or you'll devour me.' This is why he never lost a single battle against the demons. With such dedication to fight till death, how could the grace of God not help him and raise him to lofty spiritual states?"

“For it is a law of God: whatever causes sensual pleasure is cured by pain.” -St. Joseph

"Through self-reproach and self-knowledge I have realized my wretchedness. What are you?' I asked myself. Nothing. You aren't even a worm. When grace comes to man, it makes him God. But when it departs from him, then he is ready to fall into every heresy, every delusion, every moral deviation, and even damnation. Everything is supported by the grace of God. But grace also has its requirements before it will dwell in man. It seeks his good intentions, his willpower, and his struggle. Together with grace, man becomes an angel. Without grace, he deviates and becomes a demon." -St. Joseph

It is very likely that contemporary monastics and struggling laymen will wonder why this young ascetic beat himself so mercilessly. Even though it sounds horrible, it is not a sign of mental instability, nor is it the only such instance in ascetical literature.** God has revealed through various miracles that He accepted this form of ascesis as a martyrdom. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers and The Ladder are full of similar ascetical struggles in which the body is not being punished but rather being subdued to the ruling nous. The aim of Orthodox asceticism is to kill the passions, not the body.

After this final victory of his, he admitted to one of his spiritual children: “I was given the gift of purity: the gift of not differentiating between women and men. The passion is not roused within me at all. By the Lord's grace, I received the gift of purity, in full knowledge of what I was receiving.”

Through his indomitable determination, Father Joseph attained this lofty state, even though he had not yet reached the age of thirty-two. From his own experience, he was able to teach his spiritual children: “When a person struggles to keep his body pure and his nous chaste from filthy thoughts, his life and his prayer ascend like fragrant incense to the heavens. I have seen in practice what I am telling you. There is no sacrifice to God more fragrant than chastity of the body which is obtained with a bloody and dreadful struggle. I have much to say about this blessed chastity, the fruit of which I have tasted and eaten. But you are not able to bear now what I would say. Only one thing shall I tell you now: when such people change their underclothes-which happens every three to six months -they give off a fragrance that spreads throughout the entire house as if a refreshing vial of myrrh had been opened. This is a sign from God of blessed chastity and their most holy virginity.”

**For example, see the lives of Saints Leontius, Epiphanius, Nephon, Martinius, and Benedict.

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