The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian - Homily V, Part VII

St. Isaac speaks as one who knows the earthquake at the root of the soul where pride fractures us from God and humility alone builds a refuge strong enough to endure the storm. His words are not gentle suggestions for the religiously inclined. They are fire. They are rope flung into deep water. They are an indictment of every heart that waits for suffering to discover prayer for temptation to discover the need for mercy for collapse to remember God.

“Before the war begins, seek after your ally.”
This is the secret. The humbled man begins today when there is no battle when the sea is calm and the sky soft. He builds his ark plank by plank small obediences simple prayers hidden acts of self abasement not because the flood is visible but because he knows it is certain. This is the wisdom of the saints: that peace is the time for labor not repose. The iniquitous drown because they mock preparation. They call upon God after pride has stripped them of confidence. Their throat is tight when they pray because they never bent it before in the dust.

Humility is the timber that keeps the soul afloat when the heavens split open.

St. Isaac dares to tell us that a good heart weeps with joy in prayer. Not from sentimentality not from sorrow alone but from the unbearable nearness of God. Tears become proof that the heart has softened enough to feel Him. A proud heart however disciplined outwardly prays like a clenched fist. It asks but it does not need. It petitions but does not depend. A humble heart begs like a man drowning and this is why God hears him.

“Voluntary and steadfast endurance of injustice purifies the heart.”
Here the Saint wounds our sensibilities. He tells us that we cannot become like Christ unless we willingly stand beneath the blow and let it fall without retaliation without argument without self defense. Only those for whom the world has died can endure this with joy. For the world’s children honor is oxygen. To be slandered or forgotten is death. But when the world is already a corpse to us when reputation comfort applause identity have all been buried then injustice becomes not humiliation but purification. Not defeat but ascent.

This virtue is rare he says too rare to be found among one’s own people one’s familiar circles one’s comfortable life. To learn it often requires exile the stripping away of all natural support so that only God remains. He alone becomes the witness of one’s patience. He alone becomes consolation. He alone becomes vindication.

And then comes the heart of St. Isaac’s blow:

“As grace accompanies humility so do painful incidents accompany pride.”
Humility is the magnet of mercy. Pride is the invitation to destruction. God Himself turns His face toward the humble not in pity but in delight. Their nothingness is spacious enough for Him to enter. He fills emptiness not fullness. He pours glory into the vessel that has shattered self importance. But when pride rises like a tower God sends winds against it not to annihilate us but to collapse what we build against Him.

The humble man does not seek honor for he knows what it costs the soul. He bows first greets first yields first. His greatness is hidden like an ember under ash but heaven sees it glowing. Divine honor chases him like a hound. It is the proud who chase praise and never catch it but the self emptying who flee honor and find it placed upon them by the hand of God.

“Be contemptible in your own eyes and you will see the glory of God in yourself.”
Not self hatred but truth. Not despair but sobriety. Not rejection of one’s humanity but recognition that without God we have no light no love no breath. When we descend beneath ourselves God descends to meet us. When we stop defending our wounds He heals them. Humility is not psychological abasement but the unveiling of reality: only God is great and the one who knows this sees God everywhere even within his own nothingness.

Blessed truly blessed is the man who seems worthless to others yet shines with virtue like an unseen star. Blessed the one whose knowledge is deep but whose speech is soft whose life is radiant yet whose posture is bowed. Such a soul is the image of Christ unadorned unnoticed unassuming yet bearing the weight of heaven within.

The Saint concludes with a promise that burns like gold:

The man who hungers and thirsts for God God will make drunk with His good things.

Not the brilliant not the accomplished not the defended but the hungry. The emptied. The poor in spirit who have thrown themselves into the furnace of humility and come forth with nothing left to claim as their own.

This is the narrow way.
This is the ark built in silence.

To bow lower is to rise.
To lose all is to possess God.
To become nothing is to become fire.

May we learn to bend before the storm begins.
May we kneel while grace is still soft.
May we lay plank upon plank obedience upon prayer meekness upon hidden sacrifice until the ark is finished and the floods come and we are held aloft by humility into the very heart of God.

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Text of chat during the group:

00:02:30 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 164 paragraph 29

00:03:03 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: philokaliaministries.org

00:11:37 Ben: Re: Orthodox Saints...if you look you'll often find that many of them are already liturgically venerated by the Eastern Catholic churches - I've even heard that St. Seraphim is actually commemorated by Russian Catholics.

00:12:08 Bob Čihák, AZ: P 164, para 29, at bottom of page

00:12:09 Ryan Ngeve: Reacted to "Re: Orthodox Saints.…" with ❤️

00:14:16 David Swiderski, WI: We get those random at my job. AI platforms are trying to take IP and data.

00:15:09 Sam: Greetings from Australia and wishing you a happy thanksgiving 🙏

00:15:18 Elizabeth Richards: Reacted to "Greetings from Austr..." with ❤️

00:27:19 Lilly: The new film 'Man Of God' shows the example of Saint Nektarios blessing all those who convicted him unjustly.

00:30:26 Sr Barbara Jean Mihalchick: Replying to "The new film 'Man Of..."

Where is this film available?

00:31:55 Andrew Adams: Replying to "The new film 'Man Of..."

Looks like it is included with Prime and can be bought wherever

00:32:04 Gwen’s iPhone: Replying to "The new film 'Man Of…"
YouTube

00:32:07 Jesssica Imanaka: It's hard for me to apply this as a parent of a 5th grader seeing middle school dynamics emerge!

00:33:59 David Swiderski, WI: You Tube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldUGahNlMRk

00:35:14 Andrew Adams: Reacted to "You Tube link: https..." with 👍

00:36:15 Ben: Reacted to "You Tube link: https..." with 👍

00:36:48 Elizabeth Richards: I work with dyslexic kids and true identity in Christ is the heartbeat behind my intervention. School is torture for so many of these kids & affects the trajectory of their life!

00:37:04 Maureen Cunningham: I watch a short film On Nigeria  Christian. They have a faith under such pain

00:37:13 Elizabeth Richards: Reacted to "I watch a short film..." with 🙏🏼

00:41:28 David Swiderski, WI: Is this a typo or error in translation? The gold of Ophir is referenced multiple times in the Bible, often associated with immense wealth and divine blessings. It was a place known for its unparalleled riches, supplying gold to King Solomon and other ancient rulers.Biblical descriptions imply that Ophir’s gold was exceptionally pure and highly prized. This aligns with historical records of ancient civilizations refining gold to a high degree. In fact, gold from South Arabia, India, and Africa was known to be of superior quality, often described as "untarnished."

00:46:40 Ben: Even hockey crowds in the late '60's were full of suits & ties.

00:50:52 Elizabeth Richards: Reacted to "Is this a typo or er..." with ❤️

00:55:52 Adam Paige: Re: “gold of Souphir”, the Septuagint has “Σουφιρ” at 1 Kings 10:11, it’s a variant rendering of Ophir in the LXX according to Wikipedia

00:57:23 David Swiderski, WI: This really echo's my experience. Arrogant, puffed up people in business are always selling themselves and gain a great reward often as in politics.  In doing good in my life I often have been punished but with both I think if it was not to be against what is of this world do I really have and show love. Ie. try to do the will of God.

00:58:17 Thomas: Would a humble person have any idea they were humble, it seems like they wouldn’t, also how do you deal with thoughts that tell you that you are being humble, is it simply to just revile yourself

00:59:10 Ryan Ngeve: Reacted to "Is this a typo or er…" with ❤️

00:59:36 David Swiderski, WI: If always rewarded can we ever know we truly love and have values or seek the easy way and avoid the narrow path.

01:00:26 Elizabeth Richards: Replying to "Would a humble perso..."

It seems humility is to see self as Christ views me- worthy of his love, dependent on Him for EVERYTHING

01:04:14 Vanessa Nunez: Replying to "If always rewarded c…"
I think we can still be rewarded but we can recognize that it is not through our own doing but by gods providence, the only thing that WE do is say yes to god.

01:04:42 Elizabeth Richards: Reacted to "I think we can still..." with ❤️

01:05:21 David Swiderski, WI: Reacted to "I think we can still..." with 👍

01:12:49 Jesssica Imanaka: Dostoyevsky was fascinated by the figure of the Holy Fool.

01:12:52 Elizabeth Richards: "Laurus" by Eugene Vodolazkin is a fantastic novel about a holy fool

01:13:15 David Swiderski, WI: Reacted to "Dostoyevsky was fasc..." with ❤️

01:13:40 Jesssica Imanaka: Reacted to ""Laurus" by Eugene V..." with ❤️

01:14:04 David Swiderski, WI: Faith but the saints let the light of the son enter into our lives like the saints in stained glass windows in churches

01:14:55 Elizabeth Richards: Happy Thanksgiving!

01:15:00 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂

01:15:01 Jessica McHale: Many prayers for everyone! Happt THanksgiving!

01:15:10 Janine: Thank you Father! Happy thanksgiving!

01:15:13 Art: Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

01:15:14 David Swiderski, WI: Thank you father God bless you and your mother