Catherine5 wrote:All these are really great, Costas.
The Elder has such a beautiful way of choosing his words = glad that many are able to benefit beyond the original recipients of his letters!
Catherine as you very well know, our sweetest Christ has so many ways to reach everyone....
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
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Chapter Four
On Monasticism, Virginity, and Purity
7. (To a spiritual daughter )
My child, I received the confession you sent me. I thank our good God that the rays of divine illumination again and again enlighten souls to inherit the paternal authority, with regard to the essential issue of the soul—the communication, I mean, of the soul with God by means of noetic prayer. God is an infinite Nous, whereas the human nous is limited. When the small nous of man is united through noetic prayer with the infinite Nous—God—he naturally partakes of His divine and blessed energies and becomes blessed. Perceiving the unspeakable joy, the sweetness, and the exultation, the sweetest tears comfort his soul and fill it with divine consolation. Prayer is the mighty weapon of the Christian and especially of the monk, who bears the title of a soldier of the divine army, who with an oath has raised the glorious banner of an unequal, lifelong war against the world, the flesh, and the devil. We have been called to become unknown heroes, visible only to the unsleeping eye of God. “If you want to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Mt. 19:21 ). Become my follower along the steep ascent to Golgotha. Let us be crucified together, let us breath our last together, so that we may also be risen together and live together. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross every day” (cf. Mt. 16:24 ). If anyone loves Me, let him follow Me, for everything is rubbish, more illusory than dreams. “Riches do not remain; glory does not accompany one to the other world; for when death strikes, it obliterates them all” (from the funeral service ). Theology—true theology—is not gained in universities, but rather by despising the world and by living in a quiet and peaceful place far from the world’s noise and turmoil, with a program of prayer and ascesis. Then, once a person has thus purified his intellect** and been delivered from the surges of the flesh, he will obtain the light of true theology, of knowing himself. “If you are a theologian, you pray well; if you pray well, you are a theologian” (The Philokalia,vol. I, p. 62 ). In stillness the nous quiets down. Furthermore, once the nous is stripped of earthly thoughts, it naturally returns to itself and through itself to God, by means of the single-phrased** prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me”. If a person withdraws from the world, then he will discover its stench, whereas one who wanders about in it clothes himself with the rags of worldly delights and pleasures as if with a glorious garment. There is nothing sweeter than to be an outcast in the house of God rather to dwell in the tents of the sinful world (cf. Ps.. 83:11 ) with all the seductions of sensuality, by which Hades obtains most of its booty. My child, love of the world is enmity with God. If you love God and want to serve Him completely and effectively, forget about the vanity of the big city’s worldly concerns, and come to the beloved and desired dwellings of the Lord, wherein you will study the science of sciences: the art of how to conquer the devil, the world, and your own self. This is the science of fighting bravely for eternal rewards and positions!
*Noetic Prayer (νοερά προσευχή )
Noetic prayer is prayer done with the nous without distraction within the heart. Another name for it is “prayer of the heart”. It is contrasted with the prayer of the intellect which is done within the reason.
**Intellect (διάνοια )
The word “διάνοια” means the reason of man, that is, his discursive, conceptualizing, and logical faculty of conscious thinking and cogitation. It draws conclusions and formulates concepts from information either obtained by revelation or by the senses.
***Single-phrased (μονολόγιστος )
This is an adjective used by St. John of the Ladder and other Church Fathers to describe the Jesus prayer because of its short form.
Chapter Four
On Monasticism, Virginity, and Purity
8. (To a spiritual daughter )
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God” (Rom. 11:33 ), cried out the Apostle Paul when he was overwhelmed by the visions of divine light and the burning of his heart with divine eros! What is sweeter than God? Are not all human things vanity? Doesn’t the grave cover everything? Where is one’s youth, where is one’s beauty, where are one’s glory and riches? Isn’t everything dust and ashes? Who was a king and who was a soldier? Who was rich and who was poor? Don’t we see just bones? Where are the palaces of the kings, the luxuries of the wealthy, the lavish tables and banquets of the pleasure-loving? Where are the sensual pleasures of the immoral? Don’t worms and an unbearable stench cover them all? Truly vanity of vanities; all is vanity! (Eccl. 1:2 ). While philosophizing about these things, let us exert ourselves and love with great longing the pure and holy path of glorious virginity, so that when we leave our body on the earth and our soul ascends to heaven, the beauty and loveliness of virginity will adorn it, so that the Bridegroom of pure souls, our Christ, will love it. Fight the good fight, my child. Continuously remember the holy name of our Jesus. Lower your head while you walk and say in a whisper or mentally, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me”. Bear in mind the uncertainty of the time of your death; sigh and say: “Ah, in what state will death find me? Ah, will I be ready? Will I have served Christ enough to expiate my sins?” And always bear in mind the lives of holy monastics so that your yearning for monasticism is kindled even more.
Chapter Four
On Monasticism, Virginity, and Purity
9. (To another spiritual daughter )
I am praying that God may guide you aright in everything. When one goes to a monastery, he brings with him his virtues and passions. He is called to monasticism to increase his virtues and to eradicate his passions. The difficulty he encounters in uprooting his passions corresponds to the roughness or the multitude of them, and he needs the corresponding self-denial to achieve his goal, which is the liberation from the dishonorable, sinful passions. As times passes in the monastic life and as spiritual knowledge grows, the laboriousness of Golgotha is lessened because the good Cyrenian (vid. Mk. 15:21 )—the consolation of luminous knowledge—comes and lifts the burden of the passions. Thereafter the follower of Jesus walks as light as air towards the complete mortification of the passions, and then his resurrection will follow. And oh, my child, what a resurrection! A taste of the kingdom of heaven! An heir of God and joint heir with Christ! Then the soul receives its betrothal promise: that it will become a bride of Christ after death in an undefiled bridal chamber with eternal delight! Then it will see itself sailing in oceans of joy and theorias. And all these spiritual good things are won when one struggles well to eradicate his passions with patience and humility. I pray, my child, that you will excel in your future struggle.
Chapter Four
On Monasticism, Virginity, and Purity
10. (Another letter to the same spiritual daughter )
I pray with all my soul that our good God will preserve you under His mighty protection and guide you like an unerring compass to the pole of your pure destination, to a holy dedication at the feet of Jesus, like St. Mary, the sister of St. Martha (vid. Lk. 10:39 ), to hear the words of grace spoken in your heart. Fear no one but God, Who examines hearts and rewards each according to his works. Fight the fight of salvation; meditate upon the uncertainty of life; reflect that we are passersby, strangers, and sojourners, as were all our fathers (1 Chron. 29:15 ); and that we came, we saw, and we departed. When death strikes, it obliterates everything. Struggle so that you hate with all your soul the temporal good things, and as a wise merchant trade and buy the field in which the treasure, the precious pearl, is hidden, and dig and find it, and then you will become rich in grace. The field is monasticism, and he who sells all his self-will, pleasures in general, and his freedom, buys it. And he who digs—in other words, toils in monasticism—finds the grace of the Comforter and becomes rich in love and hope in God. There is nothing more beautiful than monasticism, when it is lived along the lines that the Holy Monastic Fathers have mapped out. One acquires the luxury of true joy and rejoices in God with the blessed hope that he will live with God forever in blessedness and ineffable joy! Oh, the depth of God! Oh, what sweet and inexpressible riches! If even the Apostle Paul in spite of all his eloquence could not present a simple image of everything he saw and felt when he was caught up into paradise, how will I, the wretch, be able to speak of the magnificence of the bliss of communion with God? Taste and see that the Lord is good (cf. Ps. 33:9 ). O child of mine and of Jesus, be wary lest any of the worldly things that are considered to be good separate you from Him. Instead, transfer all your longing to the things of heaven, for our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20 ). Despise all worldly things; consider them dirt and ash. Nothing is certain in the present age. Flee from sin as from a fire and a poisonous snake, and with the prayer take refuge in Jesus, and He will rescue you miraculously. Sacrifice everything for Jesus because He deserves every sacrificial act of love.
Oh my gosh, probably hours before this was posted here, I had spent an hour or so having some spots painted as artistically as possible on a snake for my garden enclosure which represents the devil on THAT pictorial scene. I debated a long time as to color, size, shape of spot because I felt it was important to have the right look for the serpent as faintly fearsome, but easily defeated and vanquished forever by the Queen of Heaven.
I also heard scary true stories of rattlesnakes and a brown variety. These inspired a prayer this morning that no live snakes would ever come into my property, city, or anywhere I was living.
Then I saw this - perfect timing --- as so OFTEN on this riveting Silver thread !!
Catharina
Catherine5 wrote:Oh my gosh, probably hours before this was posted here, I had spent an hour or so having some spots painted as artistically as possible on a snake for my garden enclosure which represents the devil on THAT pictorial scene. I debated a long time as to color, size, shape of spot because I felt it was important to have the right look for the serpent as faintly fearsome, but easily defeated and vanquished forever by the Queen of Heaven.
I also heard scary true stories of rattlesnakes and a brown variety. These inspired a prayer this morning that no live snakes would ever come into my property, city, or anywhere I was living.
Then I saw this - perfect timing --- as so OFTEN on this riveting Silver thread !!Catharina
Thou art the God that doest wonders !
(Psalm 77: 14 )
Catherina I am glad you got an answer.
.