Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Fifty-five and Letter Fifty-six

We began with Letter 55 about Warfare with the Passions. Once again Theophan shows himself to be a magnificent teacher. He knows Anastasia well; her strengths, her background, her desire for God and - - her weaknesses, which are few, namely inexperience. She desires above all to embrace the full dignity of the Christian.  And it is this goal that Theophan wants to help her achieve. He begins to reveal to her the nature of the warfare with the passions. Often they are very attractive and so we can suddenly be drawn into them and linger in conversation with them. It is for this reason that Theophan gradually begins to teach her that she must not act with pity when it comes to dealing with her own thoughts. No matter how trivial or insignificant they appear, she must immediately call upon God and drive them out of her mind. If she inadvertently falls or is overtaken by one of the passions, she should not be anxious. Rather Anastasia should humbly repent at the passion that has slipped in and then adopt measures for the future in order that she might be more guarded. One method that she must embrace is to avoid self-indulgence. It is the Traitor. Self-indulgence is to blame for all the troubles in the spiritual life. It leads us into the kind of self-pity that inclines us to give sway to our thoughts without examining them and bringing them before God for his blessing or judgment.

In Letter 56 he begins to show Anastasia the slightest movements of the passions. He tells her that she has made great strides in her life and can see good and evil. But in reality she has not been tested. Again, one of her weaknesses is that she could regard stronger passions with indifference; thinking that they are no great thing or that they are not dangerous. When this happens they go from being small things to becoming large things. She will no longer be able to drive them away with a single unfavorable glance. If she wants to maintain Christian dignity, he tells her, she must become a more fierce warrior.

 

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Text of chat during the group:

00:12:46 Joseph Muir: I got to see Queen + Adam Lambert in Central Park, in September 2019, Eric😀

00:20:22 Joseph Muir: I can tell that Fr David is big fan of country music😆

00:20:37 Eric Williams: despondency, the demon at noon!

00:36:32 Eric Williams: except when people mistakenly refer to the deceased as angels - that is all that seems to be left :(

00:37:30 renwitter: At the Oratory’s Children’s Holy Hour of Adoration we always say a prayer to our guardian angels. We can bring it back!

00:39:49 Wayne Mackenzie: At our parish we recite the prayer to St Michael at the end of the Liturgy.

00:41:18 Eric Williams: It's rampant on social media

00:43:39 Joseph Muir: It’s almost like a new form of the ancient gnostic heresy, where people presume to have  some “secret knowledge” about how the world works, all of the scandals and happenings throughout our own society and the world

00:48:35 Mark Cummings: Cubs are up 3 - 0

00:48:48 Mark Cummings: thought pirates fans might want to know

00:50:49 Lilly Crystal: Self reflection is super important. If we just confess sins and don’t plan to change in our actions, we will not mature spiritually

00:51:48 Wayne Mackenzie: For me need to quit watching the news or get absorbed in what is happening.

00:52:05 Larry Barlow: So true.  Gotta have a plan!

00:52:39 Wayne Mackenzie: limiting my time to it or not agitation sets in

00:54:33 Joseph Muir: So many have such a politicized faith, and/or faithisized politics that they’ve convinced themselves that they’re doing “the work of the Lord”

00:58:37 Lilly Crystal: Eastern penance is so new to me. It was awesome to experience my first Byzantine confession last month :)

01:03:00 Joseph Muir: A common Byzantine prayer before receiving communion: receive me now, O Son of God, as a participant in Your Mystical Supper. For I will not betray Your mysteries to Your enemies, nor will I give You a kiss like Judas. But, like the thief, I confess to You: remember me, O Lord, when You come into Your kingdom!

01:03:51 carolnypaver: I LOVE that prayer!  It is so beautiful.

01:04:34 Lilly Crystal: It is one of my fav too! Such beautiful prayer chanted as well

01:05:01 renwitter: Well shoot - no advantage for me :-D

01:06:42 Eric Williams: Theophan is following the Pauline sequence: praise, chastise, encourage

01:07:00 Joseph Muir: ❤

01:09:42 Mark Cummings: Psalm 137?

01:11:26 carolnypaver: Happy Feast Day, Father!

01:11:46 Michael Murton: Thanks Father David...looking forward to next week!

01:12:34 renwitter: A good Philip Neri quote for this group: “Heaven is not for poltroons!”