Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

“…We often think that evil is somewhere out there, but if it were not for the evil that already exists in us, the evil ‘out there’ would not be able to touch us. The evil is in us. However, this evil itself is not to blame. We are to blame for having let it into our hearts and for having disturbed our peace. Let us say someone is threatening us, or trying to talk us into doing something bad. Let him do so; this person has a will of his own. Let him do his job, and we will do ours, which is to preserve our inner peace.”

– Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica