Philokalia Ministries The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis XVII
Tonight we read Hypothesis 17 on what we build our hope upon in this life. The focus of the hypothesis, on the surface, is avarice and greed; the intensity of this passion and the insatiability of our desire for worldly goods. We are given one story after another revealing to us, however, that the real struggle is found within the heart. There is a kind of tendency within us toward idolatry or better said in the context of our relationship with God adultery. We attach ourselves to the things of this world, we love them and desire them in the fashion that we should only love God. God is the pearl of great price, the treasure hidden in the field. He who has faith and sees the value of this love should be willing to set aside all to process it. Like St Paul, we should see all as rubbish in comparison to the love of God that we receive in Christ Jesus. We are shown in the stories the subtlety of this kind of avarice even to the point of commodifying spiritual acts and deeds. We can see them as possessions arising out of the self and the desire for self-preservation rather than the love of God. We are warned that this passion can become so rooted within us that it cannot be subjugated. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
---
Text of chat during the group:
00:25:23 Mark Kelly: A friend recently commented that Modern culture is now based on addiction. Addicting us to many perceived needs. 00:25:48 Ashley Kaschl: 💯 00:26:05 John Breslin: 👍 00:37:54 Anthony: "MY PRECIOUS!!!!!" 00:38:26 Anthony: I didn't appreciate that LOTR was a commentary on basic vices. 00:38:33 Rachel: Me too 00:40:45 Mark Kelly: A great point about LOTR. Most of the “desire” for the ring relies on the imagination of the one who covet’s it. The power of The Ring is never fully demonstrated. The lust for the imagined power alone is another to lead the soul to destruction. 00:41:50 Anthony: Oh wow, thanks, Mark. 00:45:55 Rachel: It reminds me of the Franz Jaggerstatter film 00:49:04 Rachel: When one truly seeks silence, internal and external as much as possible while living in the world, it seems to me Our Lord will provide many experiences of having to cling only to Him. There are sufferings in people's lives that can be like the cell or the desert in the midst of community etc. 00:56:10 Rachel: That quote made my 18 y.o. laugh out loud and say I love that. Never heard that quote before! 00:59:26 Anthony: And our Anglo American law is very much about acquiring wealth and keeping it in the family. It militates against virtue, and is a "schoolmaster" in vice. 01:08:52 John Breslin: Fruit of the poisonous tree… 01:10:40 maureencunningham: What is the name of the book she reading? 01:12:20 Forrest Cavalier: John 01:12:32 Carol Nypaver: Josef Pieper Virtues of the Human Heart 01:12:33 Ashley Kaschl: A brief reader on the virtues of the human heart by Josef Pieper 01:16:00 Mark Kelly: I love Fr. Lazarus 01:16:39 maureencunningham: Thank You 01:17:14 Ashley Kaschl: Here’s the prayer of self-offering, too 😁 Receive, Lord, my entire freedom. Accept the whole of my memory, my intellect and my will. Whatever I have or possess, it was you who gave it to me; I restore it to you in full, and I surrender it completely to the guidance of your will. Give me only love of you together with your grace, and I am rich enough and ask for nothing more. Amen. 01:18:03 maureencunningham: Beautiful thank you 01:18:25 Anthony: Weight of the heart goes along with the fire burning the gold, too. The philosophical property of earth was heaviness. The property of fire was lightness. We can either cooperate with the lightness of God's fire, or God's fire will just conquer the heaviness of earth against our will. 01:19:18 maureencunningham: Blessing Thank You 01:20:08 Anne Barbosa: Thank you! 01:20:08 Rachel: Thank you! 01:20:47 Rachel: Yay!! 01:20:54 Natalia Andreu: Thank you! 01:20:55 Rachel: Thank you! Perfect timing