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

St. Isaac writes with the clarity of one who has walked through the fire of trial and found the peace that follows surrender. His words do not flatter the soul or soften the edges of the truth. They are meant to awaken us to the living reality of divine love. He shows that what we call faith must be tested, and what we call trust must be purified, until both rest entirely in God.

He begins with the martyrs who endured every torment that flesh can bear. They suffered, he says, through a “secret strength” that came from God. Their pain did not prove divine absence but revealed divine nearness. The angels themselves appeared to them, not as symbols but as real presences sent to encourage and to shame the cruelty of their persecutors. The endurance of the martyrs becomes the measure of faith. Where human nature reaches its limit, divine power begins to act. Their calm in suffering, their peace under torture, proclaim that the providence of God surrounds those who love Him even when the world rages.

St. Isaac then turns to the ascetics and hermits who made the desert a dwelling place of angels. These men and women renounced the world not in bitterness but in longing. They exchanged earthly things for heavenly communion. The angels, seeing in them kindred souls, visited them continually. They taught them, guided them, strengthened them when hunger or sickness overcame their bodies. They brought them bread, healed their wounds, foretold their deaths. The desert became a city where heaven and earth met in silence. For those who abandoned the noise of the world, the unseen world became near and familiar.

This leads St. Isaac to the heart of his teaching. If we truly believe that God provides for us, why do we remain anxious? Anxiety is born of unbelief. To trust in ourselves is to live in misery, but to cast our care upon the Lord is to enter into peace. The one who has surrendered everything to God walks through life with a restful mind. He is not careless but free. His rest is not laziness but confidence born of faith.

Isaac describes the path to this inner freedom. The soul must learn non-possessiveness, for without it the mind is filled with turmoil. She must learn stillness of the senses, for without stillness there is no peace of heart. She must endure temptations, for without them there is no wisdom. She must read and meditate, for without this she gains no refinement of thought. She must experience the protection of God in struggle, for without that experience she cannot hope in Him with boldness. Only when she has tasted the sufferings of Christ consciously can she have communion with Him.

Finally, Isaac defines the true servant of God as one who has become poor for His sake and compassionate toward all. Such a person mortifies even natural desires so that nothing distracts from love. To give to the poor is to entrust one’s life to God’s care. To become poor for His sake is to discover inexhaustible treasure.

Here St. Isaac’s realism becomes luminous. He is not describing a harsh ideal but the hidden logic of divine love. God draws near to those who entrust themselves wholly to Him. Angels surround those who choose the path of surrender. The heart that abandons anxiety finds itself upheld by grace. This is the holy folly of trust. It is the wisdom of those who live as though God alone is enough and who discover in that surrender a peace that cannot be taken away.

---

Text of chat during the group:

00:04:28 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 158 paragraph 12

00:07:21 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Philokaliaministries.blogspot.com

00:08:29 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 158 paragraph 12

00:09:17 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: http://Philokaliaministries.blogspot.com

00:12:11 Janine: Congrats and best wishes! REN and Max

00:13:46 Janine: Yes… would love to see the pictures!

00:13:53 Thomas: This may be a strange questions, but Is Natalia Tapsak (formally Wohar) sound familiar

00:14:30 Thomas: She was my Sunday school teacher and changed at my church for a few years until she got married

00:14:52 Thomas: We were at her wedding and stayed at her church for a few nights when I was up there for baseball

00:16:02 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 158, paragraph # 12, first on page

00:31:46 Jessica McHale: Living alone, l do get lonely at times, and when I do, I ask my guardian angel to pray to the Lord with me. It's always consoling.

00:36:52 David Swiderski, WI: St. Jose Escriva used to greet the guardian angels of others first then the person. Once I heard this I find myself thinking of it sometimes with difficult people. The other thing he said is don't say this person bothers me but he sanctifies me. I have found a lot of sanctification in companies over the years. I used to joke about it but now I believe it to be true.

00:37:35 Jessica McHale: Reacted to "St. Jose Escriva u..." with ❤️

00:39:41 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 159, # 16, second full paragraph on page

00:44:34 Anthony: Take a person like George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life). He had a lifetime of failing expectations and then acute disappointment.  A person can really be driven to distraction and become blinded to God's Providence.

00:45:53 Thomas: What does this look like in the world, not taking pains to provide for yourself separately, because in the prayer it says “ bless us o Lord and these Thy gifts” clearly to a hermit what they find and are given are the gifts of God but how can we know when we have exceeded what God has given us and are now taking pains to provide for ourselves

01:06:51 Erick Chastain: Is there a paradox of less tiredness after vigils, even?

01:09:59 Rick Visser: In the night "Rouse yourself and cry out! Holy, Holy, Holy are You O God."

01:11:37 Thomas: It feels like if we are able to remember death when we would think that we don’t have time to sleep so we should pray before we die

01:15:17 Thomas: Wouldn’t the story of Lazarus and the rich man come into play here

01:19:43 Vanessa Nunez: I can really relate to what we are talking about 😂😂 I’m trying to decide between pursuing social work or psychology. After facing some health challenges, I’ve felt this sudden urge to make the most of life and not waste any time with the blessing of healing God has given me. Because of that, I’ve been overcompensating taking on two jobs and volunteering to give back as much as I can but it’s left me feeling unsettled, like I’m constantly moving without real direction.
I keep praying and asking God to show me His will, because I truly want to follow His path instead of my own. I spend time in prayer and vigil adoration, trying to listen for His guidance, but even with all of that, I still feel lost. I know He has a plan for me, but it’s hard to understand when it’s my will vs his.

01:24:54 Art iPhone: Thank you Father.  Send pics Ren and congrats to you both!!

01:24:55 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you ☺️

01:24:57 Rick Visser: Thank you, Father. I will pray for you as I know you pray for us.

01:24:59 Elizabeth Richards: Amen

01:25:21 David Swiderski, WI: Thank you father, God bless you and your mother.

01:25:25 Jessica McHale: Many prayers for you all!  Thank you!!!!

01:25:31 Deiren: Thank you Father

01:25:50 Rebecca Thérèse: It's an hour later in the UK next week

01:25:53 Janine: Prayers for you