The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-one Part I
Posted in Theosis, Love, grace, suffering, St. Isaac the Syrian, Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian, mercy, sin, justice, divine love on Nov 8th, 2018 Comments
Posted in Theosis, Love, grace, suffering, St. Isaac the Syrian, Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian, mercy, sin, justice, divine love on Nov 8th, 2018 Comments
Posted in Asceticism, Asceticism and Modernity, apophatic spirituality, Theosis, Deification, purity of heart, theoria, contemplation, St. Isaac the Syrian, Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian, Gehenna on May 11th, 2017 Comments
Last evening we picked up midway through Homily Six where St. Isaac takes up the topic of the vision of the divine in the Kingdom. Such vision and its nature is predicated on the individuals degree of perfection and its gifts. Yet, Isaac is quick to remind us that there is no division amongst us and the experience of God despite how this experience is perceived. There is no disunity or division in heaven and no comparison of gifts. Each delights in the experience and continues to be drawn into the fullness of God.
Following upon this, St. Isaac would have us understand that there exists only Gehenna and Heaven and no other state. It is foolhardy to propose an in-between state that is somehow greater than Gehenna but not yet the Kingdom. Such a notion speaks of an individual's hope that the one can live this life without a sense of urgency rooted in our ultimate end. Every moment is freighted with destiny because every moment is an opportunity to love - an opportunity embraced or set aside. To propose anything less is to foster false hope as well as mediocrity and lukewarmness.
A rather lengthy discussion ensued about the differences between Eastern and Western spirituality; in particular the use of discursive mediation and the use of imagination among Western writers and the avoidance of it among the Eastern ascetics. While largely a part of our spiritual patrimony those in the West have not been catechized in the Ascetical theology and practice of the East and the understanding of the active life as being rooted in the purification of the passions and the development of unceasing prayer. The understanding of the Church as a hospital and a place of healing and Christianity being an Ascetical religion has largely been neglected in recent generations as well as its impact on our understanding of liturgy, religious art and life as a whole.
Posted in Theosis, Deification, fasting, Love, St. John Cassian, Conferences of St. John Cassian, grace, free will, desire for God, perfection on Mar 17th, 2016 Comments
Cassian and Germanus now begin their discussion with Abba Theonas; the conference beginning with the story of Theonas' own conversion and which is meant to be the cypher through which the teachings that follow are meant to be interpreted. There is a higher ideal of the Gospel - one that urges a far greater abnegation of self than what is found the the fulfillment of the law. Furthermore, one is called, persuaded, to respond to the higher life of grace and is invited to assent through freedom of will and the desire for what is beautiful. The perfect who stand not under the law but under grace, remain ardent, and so attain to that state where they are not dominated by sin. They are not content to offer tithes but rather seek to offer themselves and their own souls to God, for which no exchange can be made by a human being. Christ forces no one to the highest reaches of virtue by the obligation of a precept but he moves by the power of a free will and inflames by salutary persuasion and by the desire for perfection.
Posted in philokalia, Nous, Theosis, St. John Cassian, Conferences of St. John Cassian, grace, free will, purity of heart, synergy on May 28th, 2015 Comments
Last night the group took up Cassian's Thirteenth Conference "On God's Protection" which discusses the essential interplay between Grace and Free will. Part of our close reading of the text allows for a "redeeming" of Cassian's understanding of this delicate subject from what has been, I believe, gross misrepresentation of this thought. When read in light of and in the context of the Eastern Christian spiritual tradition and its understanding of SYNERGY, Cassian's Conference is revealed as being the most refined and beautiful explication of difficult subject matter, based upon the lived experience of the ascetical life. It also highlights the importance of the Eastern view of theology as an experiential knowledge of God rooted in purity of heart and the life of prayer and not simply being a rationalistic approach to the mysteries of the faith.
Posted in St. John Climacus, Theosis, Deification, Ladder of Divine Ascent, dispassion, Love on Jan 23rd, 2014 Comments
Dispassion:
Posted in Holy Desire, Prayer, St. John Climacus, Theosis, Deification, obedience, humility, simplicity on Jan 9th, 2014 Comments
As we noted in the beginning of our study of The Ladder, the goal of all spiritual labors is communion with God. We do not seek an abstract vision of the Divine, nor do we labor for a legal verdict declaring us "not guilty." Rather, we aim at communion and union; we set our sights on the true, intimate knowledge of God which is "life eternal" (John 17:3). According to St. John, prayer must be looked at as both the means to and the achievement of this knowledge.
The goal of prayer is God. This is important to note as we begin. In prayer and through prayer we seek Him. How easy it is for us to reduce prayer to the fulfillment of some external "rule of prayer" which must be completed before we can continue on with the fulfillment of our other "external" requirements. The great tragedy of our spiritual lives is that prayer itself can become part of this "world and its ways" rather than an abandonment of this world so as to pursue the next. "Rise from the love of the world and the love of pleasure. Put care aside, strip your mind, refuse your body. Prayer, after all, is a turning away from the world, visible and invisible. What have I in heaven? What have I longed for on earth besides You? Nothing except to cling to You in undistracted prayer. Wealth pleases some, glory others, possession others, but what I want is to cling to God and to put the hopes of my dispassion in Him" Understood in this light, prayer thus is itself a means of purification and of judgment. "War reveals the love of a soldier for his king, and the time and practice of prayer show up a monk's love for God. So your prayer shows where you stand." Prayer is a mirror, showing to us the true nature of our desires and of our love. If we love God, we will love to pray. The stronger the love for God, the greater our hearts will be drawn to the dialog of prayer, the more He will be the object of our thoughts and desires, the more He will consume us and become the end of our struggles.
Prayer has its external aspects: the words, the discipline, the posture, the knots on the prayer rope. But these external aspects must find their realization in the internal state of our soul. St. John outlines a continuous method of prayer which incorporates both of these: "Get ready for your set time of prayer by unceasing prayer in your soul." For the true struggler for God, prayer is not episodic; it is a way of life. Its external expression changes: sometimes it is the reading of psalms, other times the singing of hymns, still further it may be the quiet saying of the Jesus prayer or the recollection of God in the fulfillment of our daily tasks. Gradually, prayer itself establishes its own rhythm in our lives. In the beginning we force ourselves to pray; in the end it is prayer itself which forces us.
Posted in DefaultTag, Nous, Theosis, Deification on Apr 4th, 2013 Comments
Theosis and Deification - "Mind that sees God"; cannot reached blessed state unless passing through practical stage of asceticism and purification; fixed and faultless movement between nous of man and Nous of God; joy that comes through theosis; seeing God's virtues in self.
Posted in DefaultTag, Nous, Prayer, apophatic spirituality, Virtue, Theosis on Mar 14th, 2013 Comments
Prayer and the Apophatic tradition; imageless and without conceptual thoughts or the use of imagination; perceived and real differences from Western Spirituality; purification of the Nous essential for salvation; signs of such true prayer; virtue alone does not lead to God; how prayer binds us to God