The biggest unknown is ourselves. The ascetic fathers made the "endon skapte" of ancient Greek philosophy a motto of life. They searched, they dug inside themselves. They believed that the solution is not someone else, but ourselves. Such arduous work, of course, entails many risks. Fatigue, agony, suffering, anxiety, these are situations that the spiritually struggling person will certainly taste and face. The point we have to pay particular attention to is disappointment, despair. The All-Good God out of love does not allow, at least at the beginning of the spiritual journey and struggle, to feel our sinfulness, so that we do not turn and give up.

The Church always calls us "those who want to exercise, come in". The spiritual struggle is hard, relentless, sometimes even dangerous. Let's not forget the gospel saying "without me you can do nothing". Without God we do nothing. If we do not despair of ourselves, we will never come to believe in the power of God...