Such or similar cases are usually cited as examples of possession, but this is a very strong degree – the demon killed the child, by God's permission, and the illness is often more imperceptible and unrecognizable.

15. Such anger often captures you, I don't know what to do?

One must try to stop it at the very beginning, otherwise it spreads and engulfs the whole person, bringing innumerable disasters. Read the writings of the Holy Fathers and ascetics of piety about this. Cultivate hatred for this sin in yourself. St. St. Tikhon of Zadonsk says: "A vile and ridiculous sin is malice. Other sins are either a kind of gain or sweetness to the sinner. A thief steals in order to satisfy the soul, a fornicator commits fornication in order to please the flesh; An evil one is angry without all this. He sins and suffers, iniquity and is tormented, he avenges and suffers vengeance. Thus, to the wicked his very malice is a punishment and a scourge. If it were possible to look into the heart of an evil person, then nothing else would appear there but hellish torment. That is why it happens that evil people darken and dry up: malice, like poison, eats up their flesh." [Arch. Ioann Maslov, Symphony based on the works of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Zagorsk, 1981, vol. 1-5, p. 804]

16. After all, many do not believe in the existence of demons?!

Yes. At the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, much was written to prove this. Archpriest Gregory Dyachenko, M.V. Ladyzhensky and others wrote books that give many, many examples confirming their existence, unfortunately not always Orthodox, and sometimes dubious. Therefore, it is better to refer in your evidence on this question to Hegumen Mark, Ignatius (Brianchaninov) in particular. He owns the statement:

"Those who reject the existence of fallen spirits necessarily reject Christianity at the same time... If there are no fallen spirits, then the incarnation of God has neither cause nor purpose." /Ascetic Experiments, vol. 3./

17. You don't talk to us much. I would like to hear more of what you need. Why?

A person cannot always perceive as much information as he receives. Excessive information arrogates and creates the illusion of knowledge. This often happens to people who have just come to the Church: they begin to read monastic books and "become experts" in inner work. And this is achieved by practice. I give you what you need, dosed for better assimilation.

Those who are sick are not patient. It often seems to them that if they learn something else, all illnesses will pass, that recovery does not come because they do not know "that cherished thing" that is supposedly hidden from them.

18. Sometimes you scold us, but we wanted the best.

The best is the enemy of the good. There is a saying: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Desire is one thing, fulfillment is another. We need to look at everything that happens around us with spiritual eyes and think about spiritual benefit first of all. And the spiritual world, as you know, has its own laws. As the Optina Elder Fr. Nektarios said: "And the cunning enemy, the devil, under the guise of good, wants to do evil: we must understand his intrigues." /Mitre. Benjamin, "God's People," p. 108/ Vanity is often mingled with goodness.

19. Is it possible to cancel the fast due to illness?

The question is not as simple as it seems at first glance. It is often believed that illness replaces fasting, as it exhausts the body instead of it. But in practice, it does not turn out that way. A little sick in some places, and we demand a relaxation of the fast. All you can hear is:

"I have diabetes, so I can't fast.