“Of course, the devil by himself cannot—no matter how much he wants to—condemn us to hell, if we do not cooperate in his wickedness. Yet neither does God want to save us all by Himself, unless we also collaborate with His grace for our salvation. God always helps, He always comes in time, but He wants us to work, too, to do what we can.”

Monastic Wisdom: The Letters of Elder Joseph the Hesychast