Many times, it happens to the fighting Christian man that he cannot defeat the “old man”. This is because he is so much imprisoned by his passions. Even though he hates them, detests them, and does not want them, he cannot overcome them. This state is considered, according to the tradition of the Church, a life of repentance. Only then is it not considered repentance when a person stops fighting and says: I can no longer. There is nothing left for me.
Saint Joseph the Hesychast
