Dissipation
“I am sure you are all aware of the word “devil.” It’s meaning is “to dissipate, or create chaos.” When our life is pulled in so many directions, it is easy to lose sight of Christ.” (Antiochian Archdiocese)
“…what the Scriptures show us repeated again and again…is that we as human persons were created as kings. Every one of us was born rich, not necessarily in the worldly sense, but filled with the blessings that God has poured out on us in His love for each and for every human person. Despite being born with this dignity, and this wealth; these blessings and the love of God, we have taken what we were given and squandered it. We have not pursued wisdom…we have been taken captive by another mistress, a spirit of dissipation and squalor. This means that the Christian life is one of repentance, of seeking to turn around, to turn back, and ultimately return to the God who created us, who loved us, and who has never abandoned us; the God who gave up everything to come to find us and rescue us in the Person of Jesus Christ, so that we could be made whole.” (Father Stephen De Young)
“It’s hard to imagine sometimes that Christ was actually tempted. We tend to think of Him as “above it all” when, in fact, He condescended to us by becoming one of us. So in a sense, in leaving Heaven and coming to us as a man He willingly chose to be “below it all.” When we feel tempted, whether it is in something small or something we feel great shame and guilt about, we should remember two things: 1) Being tempted is not a sin; giving into temptation is; and 2) Christ can relate to our temptation so simply pray to Him. We may find either the temptation dissipates or we find His strength to overcome it.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)
"Prayer silences the passions of the soul, assuages the rebellion of anger, dismisses envy, dissipates evil desire, withers the love of worldly things, and brings great peace and serenity to the soul." (Monk Moses)
“Certainly we pass through moments of doubt and inner rebellion against the Object of our faith. Yet most of the time that dark experience dissipates when we spend a few minutes in quiet prayer, or stand for hours in a magnificent liturgical service, or give away a child through the wondrous sacrament of marriage, or sing funeral hymns by the open casket of someone we love. It dissipates when we extend a genuinely compassionate hand to those in need, whether that need be material or spiritual. It dissipates, too, when we look into the face of another person, possibly the anonymous soul who stands next to us most Sundays at the Divine Liturgy, and see, for the first time, the beauty and depth of someone who lives in and for God.” (Father John Beck)