The Evergetinos: Book Two - XXXI, and XXXII, Part I

In their discussion of the struggle with the passions and in particular those associated with the bodily appetites and what we experienced through the senses, the fathers do not neglect to show us the effect that our thoughts and our lack of watchfulness can have upon the unconscious. Certain images and ideas will emerge from our dreams and often take on a form that can be agitating or of a subject matter that is disturbing spiritually. The fathers want us to understand that we are not morally culpable for what arises during the night in our dreams nor can the Evil One directly influence what happens because of our dreams such as nocturnal emissions. Yet, are not to ruminate upon the meaning or the content of these dreams during the day. To do so is to open ourselves “daydreaming”, where we openly allow ourselves to think about images thoughts and ideas that came to mind during the night. Such rumination then can be a source of temptation for us. It is best to set such thoughts aside and focus on fostering temperance and love. As long as we are focused upon God then what arises out of the unconscious will eventually be healed as well. However, if we are slothful or worse prideful we become more subject to the effects of such a dreams or their frequency will become more prominent in our life because of our lack of spiritual discipline.

In Hypothesis XXXII, our attention is drawn toward the work of contrition. Saint Gregory tells us that contrition manifest itself in many forms of spiritual beauty. This is striking if only because of the negative connotation that the word contrition sometimes holds. Saint Gregory tells us that ultimately it is a path to beauty, goodness and love. When a soul first seeks after God at the outset it feels contrition out of fear. It is humbled by the depths of its poverty and how contrary this is to that which is good and to our essential dignity. Tears begin to flow and as they do the soul begins to develop a certain courage in the spiritual life and is warmed by a desire for heavenly joy. The soul which shortly before wept from the fear that it might be condemned, eventually weeps bitterly simply because of how far it perceives itself from the kingdom of heaven. As the soul is cleansed, however, it clearly beholds before it what the choirs of angels are and the splendor that belongs to these blessed spirits. Ultimately, the soul begins to behold the vision of God himself. One then weeps for joy as it waits to experience this vision in its fullness. When perfect contrition emerges then the soul’s thirst for God is satiated; tears now turning in to the living waters of the kingdom.

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Text of chat during the group:

00:11:02 Lorraine Green: Fr., can you take a Mass request?  Where would we send that is so?  And the stipend?

00:11:33 Suzanne Romano: Reacted to I've got a (pet) rab... with "😄"

00:14:00 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 238 # A

00:21:21 Anthony: This is also an exercise of faith....if a person is hunted by fear of filth, and filth separates us from God, the fathers recommend the exercise of faith and ignoring false feelings of filth.

00:23:37 Forrest Cavalier: Reacted to "This is also an exer..." with ❤️

00:23:41 Andrew Adams: Reacted to "This is also an exer..." with ❤️

00:25:25 Suzanne Romano: St. Alphonsus recommends, for holy purity, three Hail Marys before sleep and three upon waking.

00:26:06 Suzanne Romano: TV opens up the portals of the passions.

00:27:32 Catherine Opie: There is nothing more enjoyable to do with kids than to read a book aloud.

00:28:06 Sheila Applegate: Quitting can feel like a drug addiction. It can release the neurotransmitter dopamine and it is so craveable.

00:28:50 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "Quitting can feel li..." with 👍🏻

00:28:57 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "St. Alphonsus recomm..." with ❤️

00:29:01 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "This is also an exer..." with 🙏🏻

00:29:02 Marias iphone 14: Reacted to "There is nothing mor…" with ❤️

00:29:33 Bob Čihák, AZ: We gave up TV easily. After we drove 2 cars from WA to AZ and had my laptop brick and the AC in one car break, 7 years ago, we haven't yet bother to get a TV.

00:36:19 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "We gave up TV easily..." with 🤓

00:37:28 Anthony: Fyi....even common technology works against us. I have a program on my new cell phone that I don't know how to get off, and when I swipe to use my phone, I'm getting pornography and other ads that is the first thing I see.

00:38:05 Suzanne Romano: I think porn rewires the brain.

00:40:02 Wayne: Have heard one author say that men who have this issue  want to stop but seem powerless to stop the addiction

00:40:29 Myles Davidson: The book “Your Brain On Porn: Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction” looks at the science behind the rewiring process

00:42:17 Suzanne Romano: There's a spiritual warfare aspect to the addiction.

00:43:51 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "There's a spiritual ..." with 👍🏻

00:53:08 Catherine Opie: Replying to "Fyi....even common t..."

Is it a google app for news and advertising? I had that on my new phone. You can go to your apps and remove it. It will usually have some kind of media logo on it. So you can see what app it is. Also you can change the settings on your screen, it may just be a simple case of turning off the advertising notifications

01:06:12 Lindsey Funair: Maybe hardest part for me in recognizing the beauty and wanting of the divine is how it folds back on the weak spirit in the form of idolatry and covetousness of that which is so supremely beautiful simply because it reflects God's Love.

01:06:15 Anthony: Reacted to Is it a google app f... with "👍"

01:08:23 Forrest Cavalier: Life-giving repentance is in today's readings. “God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.” Acts 11:18 from today's mass readings (western church.)

01:10:20 Anthony: You also have to love yourself "through" feelings of deficiency, and convince yourself "God hates nothing He has made."

01:17:58 Andrew Adams: Thanks be to God! Thank you, Father!

01:18:01 Sr. Mary Clare: thank you!

01:18:04 Lindsey Funair: thank you

01:18:04 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂

01:18:07 Suzanne Romano: Pax!!

01:18:07 Marias iphone 14: Thank you

01:18:14 Catherine Opie: Deo Gratias Fr. Thank you and may God bless you

01:18:15 Troy Amaro: Thank You Father

01:18:27 Sr. Charista Maria: Thank you Fr. :)