Neklepaev beliefs and customs. Department of Ethnology, Anthropology, Archeology and Museology Omsk State University

The Optina elders distinguished thoughts well, knew where and for what reasons blasphemous thoughts appeared and how to deal with them.

Enemy excuses

To those who complained about the mental suffering brought by blasphemous thoughts, the Monk Macarius explained that, according to patristic teaching, blasphemous thoughts are considered the enemy’s excuses. And the proof of this is that we do not agree with them, but, on the contrary, we grieve that such thoughts torment us:

“The Holy Fathers generally consider blasphemous thoughts not ours, but the enemy’s, and when we do not agree with them, but also grieve that they creep into our minds, then this is a sign of our innocence in them. There is no need to be embarrassed that they are coming. For if a person is embarrassed, then the enemy will rise up against him, and when he does not heed them, imputes them to nothing and does not count them for anything, then his thoughts disappear.”

The Monk Barsanuphius consoled and reassured people who were tormented by the enemy with bad, nasty thoughts:

“Can anyone who believes in God, loves Him, hopes in Him, think of blasphemy against Him? Obviously, these are not his thoughts, but they are whispered by the enemy of our salvation, for whom it is most beneficial for a person to fall into despair, consider himself to have fallen away from God - then he is entirely in the hands of the devil.”

Thoughts of unbelief, doubts of faith

“You write what you find, like a light cloud, about God and the future. This thought is considered by Saint Demetrius to be a blasphemous thought. For in them our will does not agree, but only the enemy suggests thoughts of unbelief. The person does not want this and is not to blame, but thinks that he is to blame, is embarrassed, and thus amuses the enemy more and gives him a reason to attack. And when you despise it and do not consider it a sin, then he too will be ashamed and go away. In this, the condemnation of others also gives him a reason.”

The Monk Ambrose explained:

“The abuse of unbelief and doubt refers to blasphemous thoughts and is considered on an equal basis with them. Therefore, do not be very upset by this abuse, although it is not easy, but difficult. Better yet, try to be complacent and despise the enemy’s thoughts of doubt and unbelief, keeping one thing in mind: not to judge or condemn anyone.”

Thoughts against a spiritual mentor

Often the enemy puts thoughts against spiritual father, mentor, priest taking confession. When the elder Anthony’s child complained about the thoughts tormenting him, directed against the elder himself, the Monk Anthony answered:

“I heartily sympathize with all your illnesses and earnestly pray to God for your healing. About your thoughts, Saint David writes in the book of psalms: “The Lord knows the thoughts of men, for they are vanity.” And therefore, don’t blame them for sin, which I personally told you about, but you are used to worrying for nothing. Likewise, no matter what happens against me, do not hold it against me as a sin, since the thoughts are not ours, and therefore are not brought to blame from God. Believe this without doubt and be peaceful in spirit and cheerful.”

"Like the swear words of a drunken passerby"

The Monk Barsanuphius compared the enemy's attack of blasphemous thoughts with the curses of a drunken man who meets along the road:

“I’ll ask again. You are walking along the road. A drunk man comes across and spews the most terrible curses. What do you need to do? Quickly run past, trying not to hear what he says. If something remains in your memory, against your will, will God judge you for this as for your blasphemy? No, it will not.

It would be a different matter if you approached this drunken man and began to say to him: “That’s good; well, say something else, and now this…” - they would hug and go with him, enjoying what he says. In this case, you would be condemned along with him.

It’s the same with thoughts: if you try to drive them away from yourself, know that you are not responsible for the fact that they appeared in you, you mistakenly attribute them to yourself, but they are not yours, but are instilled in you by the enemy. Only when you voluntarily dwell on a bad thought and it gives you pleasure, then you are guilty and must repent of this sin.”

What is the reason for the appearance of blasphemous thoughts

The Optina elders explained in detail the reason for the appearance of blasphemous thoughts and how to deal with them.

The Monk Macarius explained that these thoughts are allowed because of our exaltation and high opinion of ourselves:

“But these thoughts, although they are not a sin, are, with God’s permission, found from the enemy for our exaltation, for the opinion of ourselves or about our corrections and for the condemnation of our neighbors.”

The Monk Ambrose also writes about exaltation and condemnation as the cause of blasphemous thoughts:

“Blasphemous thoughts know what they fight for: for exaltation and for condemnation. Humble yourself, do not think about yourself that you are better than others, do not despise anyone, but reproach yourself for sins and attempts, then blasphemous thoughts will subside. However, in any case, don’t be embarrassed; The Holy Fathers do not consider involuntary blasphemous thoughts a sin, and their causes are a sin.”

“You cannot recognize yourself as more sinful and worse than others. This feeling is clearly proud, from which blasphemous thoughts and blasphemous verbs are born and strengthened, as Saint Climacus testifies, saying: “The root of blasphemy is pride.”

Elder Anatoly (Zertsalov) emphasized:

“Blasphemous thoughts multiply and are strengthened by pride and condemnation of others.”

How to get liberation from blasphemous thoughts

The Monk Macarius taught that a person will receive liberation from such thoughts if he humbles himself, repents and refrains from condemnation:

“When a person, having recognized his sins, humbles himself and does not condemn others, but brings repentance for this, he receives liberation from them.”

Elder Ambrose advised:

“If blasphemous thoughts come and condemn others, then reproach yourself for pride and do not pay any attention to them.”

“Do not be embarrassed by blasphemous thoughts, but only reproach yourself at this time for the proud disposition of your soul and for condemning others.”

“Know that, except for humility and tears, it is impossible to get rid of blasphemy.”

Our reverend fathers, the elders of Optina, pray to God for us sinners!

The spirit of blasphemy torments you. Not only do blasphemous thoughts occur and amaze, but words are heard in the ears. The demon... produces them. He does this in order to confuse you and deprive you of the courage to pray. And what he means is, would you agree to some kind of blasphemy, in order to plunge you into the sin of blasphemy, and then into despair. The first thing to do against this demon is... do not be embarrassed and do not at all think that these are your thoughts, but directly attribute them to the demon. Then, against thoughts and words - thinking and speaking is disgusting. He inspires evil about the saint, and you say: you are lying, you sly; This is how he is... So against everything - and keep talking until they move away. Conclude this way: be damned, blasphemer, and let the words of blasphemy be directed at your head! Turn to the Lord with this prayer: I open my soul before You, Lord! You see that I do not want such thoughts and do not favor them. The enemy is in control. Get him away from me!

Regarding blasphemous thoughts, one must regret and repent before the Lord; but don’t lose heart and don’t think that this will cause harm. Just because you don’t want such thoughts and turn away from them, God is not angry with you. The thoughts are not from you, but the enemy does.

When the Assyrians under the walls of Jerusalem shouted to the Jerusalemites standing on the walls, uttering blasphemous words against God and trying to shake them in their faith in God and in loyalty to the king, then the pious Hezekiah did not order his people to answer, but he himself went to the temple and prayed. This is what Christians should do when their thoughts are overwhelmed. Don’t answer, don’t listen, go deep into your heart, call on the name of the Lord Jesus, protect yourself with the sign of the cross, externally and internally.

Turn to the Lord with the following prayer: “I open my soul before You, Lord! You see that I do not want such thoughts and do not favor them. The enemy is in control. Drive him away from me!”

The spirit of blasphemy lurks; but don’t think that he will leave you so soon. Accustomed to finding access to you, he will keep approaching you, to see if he can somehow confuse you even more. Everyone experiences this. That’s why they write that in the fight against the enemy you should never lay down your arms, but always be ready to resist him.

You think that they come from you, but you, on the contrary, do not have them, but you are horrified, grieved and embarrassed, while they are not yours at all, but the enemy; you don’t have the slightest participation in them, and you shouldn’t even impute them to sin, but you need to be calm, not paying any attention to them and imputing them to nothing, they will disappear. And when you are embarrassed about this, grieve and despair, this consoles the enemy and he rebels against you even more with it.

No one should think that he is guilty of blasphemous thoughts; for the Lord is a knower of the heart and knows that such words are not ours, but those of our enemies.

Despising him, and regarding the thoughts he puts in as nothing, we will say to him: follow me, Satan: I will worship the Lord my God and serve Him alone; your illness and your words will be turned on your head, and your blasphemy will come down on your head. this century and in the future.

Let us stop judging and condemning our neighbor, and we will not be afraid of blasphemous thoughts; for the cause and root of the second is the first.

And when blasphemous thoughts confuse you, don’t fight them, but simply despise them, that is, don’t pay attention to them: they are not our thoughts, but the devil’s, and therefore we will not answer for them.

Blasphemous thoughts multiply and strengthen from pride and condemnation of others. Therefore, beware of both, and blasphemous thoughts will fade away.

If blasphemous thoughts come and condemn others, then reproach yourself for pride and do not pay any attention to them.

Eva, Ekaterinburg

How to deal with blasphemous obsessive thoughts?

Hello! My name is Eva, I am 16 years old, and I have a problem that I cannot solve on my own. The point is that it's already enough for a long time I struggle with blasphemous thoughts that appear out of nowhere, especially at times when I am upset or angry. They instill in me disbelief, they say that God is unjust, and that I should abandon Him and even insult... Sometimes they instill in me words of curse and say that I already agree with them and have accepted them, although I diligently reject them, I try not to pay attention , replacing them with good thoughts and prayers. I studied a lot related to this problem, understood how to fight, saw the light ahead, but... suddenly I began to catch myself thinking that when I want to do something ordinary and everyday, something stops me and says that Because of what I'm about to do, something very bad will happen. For example, I want to go online, or take something from the refrigerator, and at that moment I hear in my head: “If you do this, something terrible will happen to God, the Virgin Mary or other Saints.” These thoughts say that evil will come out and begin to rampage, and no one will be able to stop it... And all this because I will do an ordinary everyday activity! Moreover, this thought appears somehow abruptly that I almost jump out of fear and doubt, what to do: obey them and constantly abstain, or just live and not pay attention to them? After the next occurrence of such a thought, I decided to abstain from all my activities, went to the temple, asked God to give me a sign if it was He, so that I would definitely understand that it was He. Throughout the day I prayed and asked the Lord to enlighten me. But I didn’t notice any special messages either that day or the next. Everything was normal and calm, the sun was shining, the sky was clear, and I decided not to listen to suggestions. Having done the same thing as with blasphemous thoughts (that is, starting to ignore), I developed a feeling of fear and shame. Thoughts say: “You chose temporary pleasure for yourself, and this was a sign from God, or a warning that you should leave this activity and thereby prevent a catastrophe! This was a special task for you, and you failed it, and now everything is very bad.” I told my parents everything, they tried to calm me down. I went to church for confession and communion, I pray every morning and evening. But the feeling of shame and fear haunts me. I understand that God is stronger than all evil, and that I, ordinary girl, there is no way I can influence God or the Saints in a bad way. That everything is God’s Will, and that He protects us people. And who am I? Nobody gave me any power. Sometimes it seems to me that this was God’s Will, that he decided to test me, what would I choose - His or my desires. But God could not say such terrible things! He will not harm himself, the Mother of God... Why would he let everything go because of me, just to show me my sins and shortcomings? It’s just my pride that thinks I’m worthy of conversations with God and such tests... Have I driven myself into a trap? Help me please! I can’t study anymore, I don’t have the strength to do anything, my thoughts are tormenting me, I can’t sleep. Am I to blame and should be punished, or did I make the right decision to ignore and just live and believe?... Sometimes the desire to live disappears. I constantly go over my actions and thoughts in my head, I feel guilty, I remember all the pros and cons, but I don’t come to anything and I spoil the nerves of those around me. Resolve my doubts! I really hope for your answer. Good for you!

Good health, Eva. Very nice end to your question. And good luck to you too!

What you are describing is very similar to an internal battle, an internal spiritual war between man and the devil through thoughts. The first stage of the struggle is precisely through thoughts, then, when the ascetics defeated the thoughts instilled by the enemy - thoughts, then the demons themselves entered into battle with them. This threatens us, who live in the world - not in monasticism. Our task is to learn to repel enemy mental attacks. What you have already read on this topic is already good. As I understand it, when you began to resist the blasphemous thoughts, they changed tactics and began to attack you from the other side. There is nothing surprising. Your words " Moreover, this thought appears so abruptly that I almost jump out of fear and doubt"seems very similar to me
the description given by the Holy Fathers:

There is nothing more fleeting in bodies, nothing faster and more instantaneous in spirits - than how this thought, with one subtle reminder - both timeless and unspeakable, and for others even unknown - suddenly reveals its presence in the soul, without preliminary conversation and association with it. (Philokalia, St. John Climacus).

I think I can give you the following advice: try to read and understand the issues of the truth of baptism. Through baptism a person enters the church, the birth of a new person takes place, not the old one, living according to passions and lusts. Baptism can be compared to the foundation of the building of all spiritual life and, ultimately, salvation. So, if baptism is not performed in three immersions, but in some other way, then it is not baptism (the basis is the 50th Apostolic Canon). Those denominations that have not preserved correct baptism (accepted since apostolic times) have also lost the Holy Spirit. Read the rules, he describes it there similar cases. So, if you do not have the correct baptism and you do not belong to a church that has preserved all this, then we can say that you are trying to build the building of your salvation, your protection from these thoughts, on sand without a foundation. Everyone understands that such a building will certainly collapse and fall apart.

There is one more reason to find out how you were baptized. According to Christian teaching, before baptism, Satan resides in a person’s heart. For example, you were baptized by sprinkling, that is, sprinkled, you think that you are baptized, but in fact you are not, and Satan remains completely calm inside you, and you cannot drive him out of there by any human means. After baptism, Satan is cast out of the heart, and all his attacks are no longer made from within, but from without. Naturally, it is easier to defend yourself when attacked from outside. And not such strong blows. Here is my advice: find out how you were baptized, look for a church that has preserved correct baptism. Participate in the sacraments of repentance and communion, church and home prayer - correct and not changed, and, of course, read Holy Bible. There is no way without him. Patience. Remember, the one who walks will master the road. Don't be discouraged.

FROM SPECIAL REASONING

WITH MANY people there is that temptation from the spirit of blasphemy that, confused by blasphemous thoughts, they do not know what to do, and they come to despair, believing that it is their sin, and thinking that they themselves are to blame for those fierce and vile thoughts. Therefore, I want to remember a little about them.

A blasphemous thought is a temptation for a God-fearing person and especially confuses him when he says a prayer or does something good.

Blasphemous thoughts do not come upon a person wallowing in mortal sins, who is negligent, not God-fearing, lazy and careless about his salvation, but on those who remain in righteous living, in the works of repentance and in the love of God.

With this blasphemous temptation the devil leads a person to frighten him; and if he is free from other sins, then to disturb his conscience; if he is in repentance, then to interrupt his repentance; if it ascends from virtue to virtue, then to stop and cast it down; but if the devil does not succeed in this, then he strives to at least insult and confuse him. However, let the smart one reason.

1. Let him not think that those thoughts belong to him and come from him, but that they are inflicted by the devil, who is their origin and inventor. For how can those blasphemies that we hate come from our heart and will, and would rather wish for some illness for ourselves more than those thoughts? This is true proof that blasphemies are not born from our desire, because we do not love them and do not desire them.

2. Let anyone oppressed by blasphemous thoughts not impute them to himself as sin, but consider them as a special temptation, for the more someone imputes blasphemous thoughts to himself as sin, the more he will comfort his enemy the devil, who will already triumph over him because of this conscience confused someone as if by some sin. If someone sat bound among blasphemous people, heard their blasphemous speeches against God, the Mysteries of Christ, the Most Pure Mother of God and all the saints, and wanted to run away from them so as not to hear their blasphemous speeches, but he could not, because he was bound, and I could not even stop my ears from their blasphemy - tell me, would he have any sin because he reluctantly listens to their blasphemous speeches? Truly, not only would he not have had any sin, but he would also have been honored with great praise from God, because, being bound and unable to escape, he listened to their blasphemous words with a heaviness in his soul.

A similar thing happens with those whom the devil oppresses with blasphemous thoughts, when they can neither run away from them, nor get rid of them, nor shake off the spirit of blasphemy, which shamelessly and incessantly brings blasphemous thoughts upon them, although they do not want them, do not love them. and even hate them. Therefore, not only will they not have any sin from those blasphemous thoughts, but they also deserve great grace from God.

3. It is necessary to pray to the Lord God that He remove this temptation and drive away the spirit of blasphemy, and if this does not happen, then endure meekly and with gratitude, remembering that this temptation was allowed not out of anger, but from the grace of God so that we They turned out to be patient and unfazed by it.

One of the great fathers often said this word to himself: I do not deign, I do not deign. And when he did anything: walked, or sat, or worked, or read, or prayed, he repeated this word many times: I do not deign. Hearing this, the disciple asked him, saying: “Tell me, Abba, why do you often say this word? What is the secret of this word?” The father replied: “When any evil thought comes into my mind, and I feel it, then I say to it: I do not deign it against you; and immediately that evil thought runs away and disappears without a trace.”

Always, when you suffer from a blasphemous spirit, as soon as blasphemous and unclean thoughts come to you, you can easily get rid of them and drive them away from yourself with this word: I do not deign. I do not deign, devil, to your blasphemies! They are yours, not my abominations; I not only do not deign to them, but I also hate them.

The venerable Catherine, nicknamed Seneyskaya, from the city of Senna, was for a long time troubled by demons with blasphemous and nasty thoughts, and when the Lord Jesus who appeared to her drove them away, she cried out to Him: “Where have you been until now, O my sweetest Jesus?” He replied: “I was in your heart.” She said: “How could You exist when my heart was filled with bad thoughts?” To this the Lord answered her: “Therefore, understand that I was in your heart, for your love was not for unclean thoughts, but you tried hard to get rid of them and, not being able, you were sick; and with this I found a place in your heart yours."

Therefore, let no one be embarrassed or despair, having an obsession with blasphemous thoughts, knowing that they are more beneficial to us than a temptation, and to the demons themselves to shame.

Where do blasphemous thoughts come from?

- Geronda, could you tell us something about kind indifference?

Kind indifference is necessary for an overly sensitive person who is tormented by tangalashka with various thoughts. It would be good for such a person to become a little insensitive - in the positive sense of the word - and not delve into thoughts of a certain kind. In addition, kind indifference is necessary for a person whom the devil, wanting to incapacitate, has made overly sensitive in relation to some specific matter or phenomenon - although usually such a person does not suffer from excessive sensitivity. And such a person will be helped for some time by kind indifference. However, he must be supervised by a confessor. He needs to reveal his thoughts to his confessor and be under his supervision. Otherwise, he may slowly become indifferent to everything and go to the opposite extreme - turn into a completely indifferent person.

- Geronda, why, when I fall into sadness, do I have blasphemous thoughts?

Look what happens: seeing you sad, the tangalashka takes advantage of this and slips you a worldly caramel - a sinful thought. If you fall the first time [having accepted this caramel thought], then next time it will upset you even more and you will not have the strength to resist it. Therefore, you should never be in a state of sadness, instead it is better to do something spiritual. Spiritual activity will help you get out of this state.

- Geronda, I am very tormented by certain thoughts...

They are from the evil one. Be peaceful and don't listen to them. You are an impressionable and sensitive person. The devil, taking advantage of your sensitivity, instills in you [the habit] of giving undue attention to certain thoughts. He “glues” your mind to them, and you suffer in vain. For example, he may bring you bad thoughts about Mother Superior or even about me. Leave these thoughts unattended. If you treat a blasphemous thought with even a little attention, it can torment you, it can break you. You need a little kind indifference.

The devil usually torments reverent and very sensitive people with blasphemous thoughts. He exaggerates their fall [in their own eyes] in order to plunge them into sorrow. The devil seeks to drive them into despair so that they commit suicide, and if he does not succeed, then he seeks, at least, to drive them crazy and incapacitate them. If the devil does not succeed in this, then it gives him pleasure to at least bring melancholy and despondency upon them.

Often blasphemous thoughts come to a person through the envy of the devil. Especially after all-night vigil. It happens that from fatigue you fall as if dead and cannot resist the enemy. That’s when the evil devil brings you blasphemous thoughts. And then, wanting to confuse you or plunge you into despair, he begins to inspire: “The devil himself will not bring such thoughts! Now you will not be saved.” The devil can bring blasphemous thoughts to a person even against the Holy Spirit, and then say that this sin - blasphemy against the Holy Spirit - cannot be forgiven.

- Geronda, can a blasphemous thought come through our own fault?

Yes. A person himself can give a reason for such a thought to come. If blasphemous thoughts are not caused by excessive sensitivity, then they come from pride, condemnation and the like. Therefore, if, while asceticism, you have thoughts of unbelief and blasphemy, know that your asceticism is performed with pride. Pride darkens the mind, unbelief begins, and a person is deprived of the cover of Divine Grace. In addition, blasphemous thoughts overcome a person who deals with dogmatic issues without having the appropriate prerequisites for this.

Contempt for blasphemous thoughts

- Geronda, Abba Isaac says that we overcome passions “with humility, and not with exaltation.” Contempt for some passion, exaltation [over it] and contempt for blasphemous thoughts are not the same thing?

No. In despising passion there is pride, self-confidence and - worst of all - self-justification. That is, you justify yourself and “give up” your passion. It’s as if you are saying: “This passion is not mine, it has nothing to do with me” - and you are not working to free yourself from it. But we must despise blasphemous thoughts, because, as I already said, they are not ours, but from the devil.

- And if a person pretends to others that he has some kind of passion, for example, portraying himself as a glutton, then he thereby mocks the devil?

In this case, he is “a hypocrite with good hypocrisy,” but this is not a mockery of the devil. You mock the devil when he brings you blasphemous thoughts, and you sing something churchy.

- Geronda, how to drive away blasphemous thoughts during worship?

Chants. “I will open my mouth...” Don’t you know how to sing notes? Don’t pick at this thought, treat it with contempt. A person who stands in prayer and talks with such thoughts is like a soldier who gives a report to the commander and at the same time spins a grenade.

- What if the blasphemous thought does not go away?

If he doesn’t leave, know that somewhere in you he has chosen a place for himself. The most effective remedy is contempt for the devil. After all, he is hiding behind blasphemous thoughts - a teacher of wickedness. When fighting blasphemous thoughts, it is better not to fight them even with the Jesus Prayer, because by saying it, we will show our anxiety and the devil, aiming at our weak spot, will bombard us with blasphemous thoughts endlessly. In this case, it is better to sing something churchy. Look, even small children, wanting to show contempt for their peers, interrupt his speech with various songs like “tru-la-la.” We should do the same in relation to the devil. However, we will show our contempt for him not with worldly songs, but with sacred chants. Church singing is not only a prayer to God, but also contempt for the devil. Thus, the evil one will get his nuts from both one side and the other - and he will burst.

- Geronda, being in this state, I cannot sing. Even Holy Communion is not easy for me to approach.

It is very dangerous! Tangalashka drives you into a corner! And sing and take communion - after all, these thoughts are not yours. Show me obedience at least in this [during the battle of thoughts] sing “It is worthy to eat” once, so that the tangalashka gets what is due to him and runs away. I didn’t tell you about one Athonite monk? As a twelve-year-old orphan, he came to the Holy Mountain. Having lost the love of his mother according to the flesh, he gave all his love to the Mother of God. He had the same feelings for Her as for his own mother. If you could see with what reverence he venerated the icons! And so the enemy, playing on this love, brought him blasphemous thoughts. The unfortunate man stopped even touching icons. His Elder, having learned about this, took him by the hand and forced him to venerate his faces and hands. Holy Mother of God and the Savior on Their icons. Immediately after this, the devil took flight. Of course, kiss Mother of God and the Savior right in the face - this is, in some way, daring. But the Elder forced the monk to do this in order to drive away the thoughts that tormented him.

In what cases are we guilty of blasphemous thoughts ourselves?

- Geronda, when I experience the attack of a blasphemous thought, but without coping with it, does the guilt fall on me?

If you are upset and do not accept this thought, then there is no guilt.

- Geronda, when is a person guilty of blasphemous thoughts?

He is guilty if he is not upset that he has such a thought, but sits [with folded hands] and talks with him. And the more he accepts blasphemous thoughts, the more devilish confusion he will be subjected to. After all, by looking at a blasphemous thought that has appeared and conversing with it in your mind, you are to a small extent subject to demonic possession.

- How to drive away such thoughts?

If a person is upset that such thoughts come to him and does not communicate with them, then, not receiving food, they disappear by themselves. A tree that is not watered will wither. However, having begun to enjoy these thoughts at least a little, he gives them food, “watering” his old man. In this case, thoughts “dry away” not easily.

- And with me, Geronda, sometimes the following happens: I accept blasphemous thoughts, associate with them, then I understand this, but I can no longer drive them away.

Do you know what's happening to you? At some point, you get distracted by something, become distracted, and with your mouth open, start counting crows. Then the tangalashka sneaks up on you and throws caramel into your gaping mouth. You start rotating it in your mouth, feel its taste, and it’s already hard for you to spit it out. You need to spit it out right away - you will barely feel its “sweetness”.

- Geronda, what if I briefly accept a blasphemous thought that appears, but then drive it away?

In this case, the devil gives you a candy, you spit it out - but not immediately, but after some time. You don't need to spit it out slowly. Otherwise, having deceived you first with the help of candy, the devil will subsequently give you a bitter potion to drink and mock you.