truth

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-six Part III

Tonight we completed the homily 56. It was both challenging and beautiful. Every word of Isaac strikes to the heart and each example raises us up in our understanding not only of his teaching but of what it is to be a human being. Isaac began tonight, once again, by speaking to us of the profound resistance we have as human beings to embracing the strength God has given us in will and intellect to grow in virtue. We convince ourselves of our weakness and so all that is good seems impossible. Isaac shows us that even the pagan philosophers were capable through their will and intellect of pursuing the truth heroically and even being willing to die for that truth. 
 
This should strike the Christian to the heart, knowing that we have received the fullness of the truth in Christ along with every grace and blessing to live a godly life.  We must in every way let the love of Christ compel us and embrace every discipline that will foster virtue and purity of heart and so draw us closer to him.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-one Part II

Tonight we continued our journey with St. Isaac through homily 51. Isaac continues his reflection upon living the life of mercy and challenging our view of justice as those who been redeemed by the blood of Christ. In the eyes of God our sin is like a handful of sand cast into an ocean of divine Mercy. Likewise we must view one another with the same generosity of spirit, always viewing sin and evil actions as a sickness driven and shaped by the evil one. We must never lose sight of the dignity of the human person made in the image and likeness of God even in the face of incontrovertible moral failure. We must realize that our sin distorts our view of the truth and inflames our anger to the point of retribution. Our anger no longer simply informs us of the presence of injustice it makes us want to take the judgment of God into our own hands - to embrace once again the original sin of seeking to make ourselves gods. 
 
Isaac sets out the virtues of humility and chastity as shaping the heart and making us a tabernacle for the Divine Trinity. Fear and joy both draw us toward God. Joy excels however and creates exuberance in the soul and fashions an open and irrepressible heart. 
 
Isaac does not fail to warn us of the pitfalls along the way. We must be circumspect and watchful even in those relationships of greatest love. We must desire to protect and foster the virtue of the other as much as our own. 
 
Our reflection shows us that Isaac will not allow us to domesticate the gospel and shape it with our almost infinite capacity for rationalization. Divine revelation turns our perception of reality and all that is human on its head. The revolutionary nature of the Gospel strikes the heart with full force.