The 20th century Russian monk, St Silouan the Athonian, reported a conversation between himself and the Lord as he tried to pray. Assailed by demons, who would not let him pray, he called out to the Lord, only to be told that he was suffering in this way for being prideful. He asked what he could then do to achieve humility. 'Keep your mind in hell and do not despair.'

As a model of the spiritual life, this instruction is fairly hardcore, as might be expected from a monk of Mount Athos. But it also contains a pragmatic gentleness for today's uncertain and troubled times. When we look at the abuses of power being perpetrated on a daily basis, we are faced with a choice: to look away, or to keep looking. The fact that we have the option to look away shows how sheltered we are from much of the reality of it, but if we choose to keep looking, the temptation to despair is strong. 

St Silouan was being advised on the soul's path to humility and grace, not the Christian response to abuse of power. But they are not so far apart. Bearing witness to suffering, and refusing to give up hope are both profoundly Christian and profoundly political attitudes. They constitute a refusal to capitulate and a proclamation that other ways of living with one another are possible, by the grace of God.