Seen here, where asceticism is kept as the way of the true Christian life, followed by the very few, whereas the imminently coming judgment, for which Jesus' asceticism was originally prescribed to permit the disciple successfully to navigate it, goes wholly unmentioned:
You know, I recall the words of St. Gregory the Dialogist. He asked which is more correct: to zealously keep the fasts and be ascetic but proud, or to be humble and keep almost nothing? ... Gregory the Dialogist says, no. Let there be pride, but the person should labor ascetically; and the Lord Himself will find a way to humble him. However, there are few of us who zealously observe everything. ... [T]he tragedy of our times is that we are incapable of being disciples. ... Specifically the will for asceticism is paralyzed. Everyone knows and understands all this very well but they can hardly do anything about it. It is because this web has ensnared all of us, and only the Lord can somehow interfere and change it all. Thus have we gotten stuck in these nets—and this includes you and me. ... God looks at the man, at how he forces himself. ... We all have different passions, different inclinations. If we force ourselves, the Lord will reward us.
The tragedy of our times is the same tragedy which has afflicted Christianity since its inception: the failure of the kingdom to come, and the failure of the parousia.
