Philokalia Ministries

As St. John draws us more deeply into his understanding of prayer and the experience of intimacy with God, he begins to emphasize the importance of maintaining purity of heart and humility. Either through negligence or through demonic provocation, we can find ourselves being driven not by the Holy Spirit toward God but rather driven by the desires of the flesh. The vulnerability of prayer, opening our minds and our hearts to God, also carries with it the need to have established watchfulness of heart. If we have not we can indiscriminately open ourselves up to certain dangers. For example, we may allow our mind to wander during prayer in such a way that we turn away from God. It can even happen that in this turning away we are move towards the enemies of God. Like Judas we can share most intimately with the Lord at the table of the holy Eucharist and then immediately be driven out by an unholy spirit into the darkness. It is those who are closest to Christ who often betray him the most.  We all take certain things for granted. This is true in our relationship with God. We can treat that relationship cheaply; enter into it with a kind of familiarity to the point that we lose sight of the preciousness of what God has made possible for us. Our attachment to the things of this world or to individuals can fill our minds and our hearts even during the time of prayer. Therefore, John wants us to have no illusions about what it is that we ask for and seek in prayer. Our greatest desire should be what leads us to God and what endures unto eternity. As Saint James tell us: “we ask, but we do not receive because we ask wrongly.” We seek only the satisfy our natural wants and desires.  As it has been said, “The fool’s portion is small in his eyes.” Often we do not see the beauty of what God offers us. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:12:58 Bob Cihak, AZ: P.239, #50   00:13:44 Tracey Fredman: Reacted to "P.239, #50" with 👍   00:14:28 Dave Warner (AL): Reacted to "P.239, #50" with 👍   00:51:38 Rachel: or to satisfy ego since it is difficult to see oneself as nothing and in such need.   00:59:38 David: Someone told me once - measure your thoughts and you measure what you treasure. Treasure only what is everlasting.   01:02:14 Laura: Reacted to "Someone told me once..." with 👍🏼   01:04:59 Rebecca Thérèse: It seems to me that it's easier to catch someone in infidelity these days because of socia media and smart devices etc than it was previously.   01:11:31 Anthony: I've wondered if we get monastic life and vocations imbalanced? I read that among Syrians, there was one "monastic" community composed of subsets of vowed religious, families and singles.  This makes for universality and diversity and maybe a healthier psychology for persons?   01:13:45 Rebecca Thérèse: Thomas Szasz the anti-psychiatry psychiatrist wrote a paper about how psychiatrists persuaded the Church that sex abusers were ill and could be treated and how this led to priests being "treated" and moved instead of being fired.   01:14:12 Una: Jon Hassler wrote North of Hope dealing with this situation of the priest who dealt with this issue   01:14:29 Una: Excellent novel   01:18:38 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father...great to be back in class!!   01:18:40 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you 🙂   01:18:47 David: Thank you father. Glad your feeling better!   01:18:51 Jeff O.: Thank you!!   01:19:02 Rachel: Thank you   01:19:03 Tracey Fredman: Reacted to "Thank you father. Gl..." with ❤️  

It may seem surprising that the fathers spend so much time speaking about food and how we approach eating. Yet the needs of the flesh are very much a part of who we are as human beings. So how we eat and what we eat can affect what goes on internally. We can be subject to disorder or extremes in one fashion or another.  What we see in the desert fathers and mothers is a love of fasting because they saw it as the insurer and foundation of the other virtues. In other words, when one can order an appetite and a desire towards what is good and specifically as tied to our hunger for God, then we are able to do so with other aspects of our humanity and our other appetites. Eating, being one of the most basic needs can lead us in one of two directions; either it is the gateway vice that opens us up to be more vulnerable to disordered appetites, or our restriction of our diet can turn us toward God who satisfies the deepest longings of the human heart. The fathers examine the practice of eating from multiple perspectives. They had an acute sense of the subtlety with which the mind approaches such a practice. We can be hyper-focused upon the body and its needs. We can use illness as an excuse for slothfulness or to eat beyond our needs or what health demands. Likewise, we can become overly focused upon the quality of food and only want what is pleasing to the pallet or perfectly fresh. We lose sight of the fact that what we prize so much passes into the latrine. It may satisfy the pallet but it does not give rest to the soul. The fathers also understood that we must give ourselves over to this practice without over-analyzing its value. Our tendency to pamper the body can make us and our consciences become callous and lead us down the path to hedonism. We lose sight of the fact that this appetite is incited by everything in the culture around us that has made food an idol. It has also made it a medicine in the sense that we turned to it to find solace and comfort. In a subtle way we are being taught to avoid affliction at any cost and to question the redeeming nature of the cross. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:10:54 Nick Bodmer: I had a question about the next work for the Wednesday group.  What is after the Ladder, and is there a recommend translation?   00:12:17 Bob Cihak, AZ: P. 159, #B   00:12:40 Nick Bodmer: 👍   00:21:03 Bob Cihak, AZ: A good friend lost 20 pounds. His method: When I'm not hungry, I don't eat.   00:22:02 Myles Davidson: Do you have any advice for those of us who are very slim and with very little body fat but who want to increase our fasting practice? I’m finding it a real art-form and a balance that’s not easy to find.   00:25:01 Bob Cihak, AZ: Many find "Eat, Fast, Feast" a book by my friend, Jay Richards, very helpful. He looks at fasting for spiritual, fitness and dietary reasons; he says no one else had written such a book.   00:25:25 Forrest Cavalier: Hi Myles, I am low BMI myself. I discipline my fasting in order to not go below a target weight. For me 137 lbs. I do not eat breakfast. I do not eat snacks during Lent. I have to increase calories at some meals. Most of my fasting discipline is not calorie reduction, but not eating dairy or meat on Wednesday and Friday.   00:28:10 Nick Bodmer: This is why the medieval monks made beer 🤣   Maintains calories.   00:29:28 Myles Davidson: Reacted to "This is why the medi..." with 😃   00:36:23 Nikki: If someone is not lean after a decent time of fasting and self discipline with their eating, would that be an indicator they aren’t being disciplined enough to reach that deeper intimacy with the Lord?   00:39:40 Anthony: St Thomas Aquinas was so big they cut a hole in dining table fir him....so I've heard. Some people like Neapolitans can be big boned people.   00:41:58 Andrew Adams: cortisol   00:42:02 Nick Bodmer: Cortisol   00:42:51 Joseph: St. Athanasius described St. Anthony: “And they, when they saw him, wondered at the sight, for he had the same habit of body as before, and was neither fat, like a man without exercise, nor lean from fasting and striving with the demons, but he was just the same as they had known him before his retirement.”   00:46:45 Bob Cihak, AZ: Our culture now promotes paying MORE money for LESS nutritional value, counting calories as a nutritional value.   00:52:28 Anthony: The news scares about food also contribute to our derangement   01:00:20 Anthony: Bloomin onion   01:05:06 Anthony: The marketers sell us on the things that cause problems and then sell us on the "remedies".....which cause more problems.  This is prophecy of Amos territory.   01:09:52 Nick Bodmer: Health is a good, but when we make it an ultimate good, and end in itself, it becomes an idol.   01:11:16 Bob Cihak, AZ: Reacted to "Health is a good, bu..." with 👍   01:11:51 Bob Cihak, AZ: . As a recovering (retired) MD, I agree with Nick.   01:13:21 Andrew Adams: Thank you, Father!   01:13:23 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂  

The discussion dives into the transformative nature of prayer and the importance of guarding one's mind against distractions during spiritual moments. The balance between mercy and justice is explored, highlighting the necessity of unconditional love in faith. Listeners are reminded of the rich traditions that can enrich their spiritual journey, alongside the profound impact of contemplating mortality on prayer life. Ultimately, it emphasizes that true prayer should be heartfelt, rather than merely a scheduled task.

The discussion dives into the ancient practice of fasting, emphasizing moderation to maintain spiritual strength without compromising the body. Various monks share their personal struggles with dietary rules and the temptations they face, highlighting the importance of humility in acknowledging failures. There's a fascinating look at the evolving monastic response to distractions from modern life, and how contemporary media can skew perceptions of intimacy, urging listeners to seek a deeper connection with truth and spirituality.

Dive into the transformative power of prayer and how it shapes our identity in Christ. Discover the mutual vulnerability involved in conversing with God, moving beyond mere obligation. Explore the trials we face and how prayer sustains faith in adversity. Learn the importance of prioritizing prayer over daily distractions to cultivate peace. Unpack the role of imagination in spiritual growth, balancing creativity with introspection. Ultimately, reflect on sustaining intimacy with the divine amidst life's challenges.

We continued our reading of the Evergetinos this evening with hypotheses 19 and 20. Once again we find ourselves considering the fathers’ teaching on eating and our use of food. Part of the reason they spend so much time on this subject is because they understand the meaning that food has for us as human beings and that it often goes well beyond that of nourishment. We come into this world and our first and earliest experience is that of being suckled; fed at the breast of our mother and thereby comforted. On a psychological level, food can continue to have this meaning. That is not necessarily something bad. There is a form of communion that we have with each other when we have a common meal. Indeed, this is why Christ gives himself to us as Eucharist. However, in our sin, the desire for food can be driven more by the emotional needs that we have in our day-to-day struggles. The fathers understood that the psychological reality affects us spiritually.  Over and over again, we can turn to the things of this world to satisfy the longing of the human heart that God alone can fill. Christ is the Bread of Life and he alone can nourish us upon his love. Thus the fathers, especially those who entered into the desert, became acutely aware of the need to be watchful of this bodily hunger. When we lose our watchfulness or when we relax our disciplines, once again we can move towards satisfying ourselves through the things of this world.  Food can become an idol. The monks understood that even in our religiosity we can be tempted to celebrate feasts in such a way that we cast aside all that was gained through fasting. What worth is it to fast 40 days of Lent then only to turn around and eat excessively for 50 days until Pentecost? The fathers also identified another danger. Our religious sensibilities and identity can be just strong enough that they lead us to want to maintain the illusion of holiness and discipline. The fathers warn us about the temptation to secret eating. Hiding the truth from others as well as from oneself only prevents repentance. In order to hold on to the illusion and false image of the self, we can destroy ourselves spiritually. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:16:18 Bob Cihak, AZ: P. 150   00:16:49 Lilly: Reacted to "P. 150" with ❤️   00:35:32 Forrest Cavalier: That earlier story was Evergetinos 11 in Volume 2.   00:39:02 iPhone: The YouTube channel is Athonite Audio. Audio books from the monks on Mount Athos   00:50:20 Forrest Cavalier: To know, love, serve in this life, and to be with him in the next   00:55:45 Ambrose Little, OP: Only the flamin hot ones, tho   01:07:16 Rebecca Thérèse: Is the real issue that the monk out of pride allowed people to think he was better than he was.   01:09:46 Fr Marty, AZ, 480-292-3381: I too often judge myself based on some preconceived results or image of what I or someone else should look like. Whereas, it sounds like the fruit of the soil that are my circumstances and weakness and gifts. God told Paul, where you're weak I'm strong. God can hide me in his own way that bears fruits that aren't necessarily visible results.   01:12:43 Nypaver Clan: Thank you, Father!   01:12:51 Maureen Cunningham: Thank You   01:13:22 Andrew Adams: Thank you, Father!   01:13:30 Cameron Jackson: Thank you Father.   01:13:33 Troy Amaro: Thank You Father   01:13:34 Rebecca Thérèse: thank you🙂  

The very words of St. John Climacus seem to carry us up to heights hitherto unknown and unexpected. The experience of this ascent takes place as we feel our hearts begin to burn for love of God and the desire for him in prayer.  St. John quickly moves us away from looking at prayer as a mere discipline and rather our being drawn into the depths of Mystery, the very Mystery of the Triune God.  The act of praying is a blessing in and of itself. To enter into this converse with God is also to experience the action of the Spirit within our hearts, the groans of Love that are beyond words.   In all of this, St. John reshapes are understanding of the nature of prayer. It is not a discipline but an expression of our true nature in Christ. We are to become prayer, consumed by love for the Lord; anxious to show that love and treat it cheaply.  Faith, St. John tells us, gives wings to prayer. Through it we see with clarity our hearts’ desire. An urgent longing takes hold of the heart that seeks quick satisfaction; that is, seeks to take hold of the Beloved without delay. --- Text of chat during the group:   00:08:23 Bob Cihak, AZ: P. 237, #26   00:12:17 iPhone: Thank you, Bob   00:12:37 Myles Davidson: Hi Father. Which edition of Isaac the Syrian’s AH will you be using?   00:13:38 iPhone: Beautiful book   00:13:51 Bob Cihak, AZ: Previous posts don't show for newcomers, so I repeat: P. 237, #26   00:14:02 Bob Cihak, AZ: Yes! “The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, revised 2nd Edition” published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, https://www.bostonmonks.com/product_info.php/products_id/635 .   00:14:16 Cindy Moran: I just got mine in the mail---loving the glossary.   00:14:43 Cindy Moran: Excellent...yes!   00:26:15 Anthony: I think the focus on law and duty that we see in some Catholic subcultures damages our understanding of prayer in this mystical way. At least, I think it was not healthy for me, with efforts like "storm heaven with this novena."   00:27:53 Myles Davidson: Reacted to "Yes! “The Ascetical ..." with ❤️   00:30:43 Anthony: Another thing about legalism is that it chokes faith.   00:34:13 Anthony: Like how God said His name was blasphemy among the nation's by bad behavior of the Chosen people.   00:35:35 Kate : I have had to undo a lot of this strict legalistic teaching over the years.  Sometimes I fall back into it, and I think it is actually easier for my mind to grasp this legalism rather than open myself and surrender myself to the Love of God.  His Love is almost incomprehensible sometimes, but wonderfully so!   00:35:42 iPhone: Glad you mentioned corporal punishment. When I was five or six, I realized how unjust this violence was and I saw that the nun hit us hard enough to make us cry. In my desire for Justice, I resolved not to cry and I didn’t. After that I was marked as a problem child and never got a break. So, yeah, learning to trust is big   00:36:49 iPhone: The nuns meant our best, I’m sure. But something was really off with Irish Catholicism at that time (early 60s)   00:37:13 Anthony: Replying to "The nuns meant our b..."     It's Jansenism   00:38:19 iPhone: I think Jansenism is applicable but not the whole story   00:39:21 iPhone: Oh this is Una. Forget to put in my name   00:55:33 Cindy Moran: It's a sort of Divine healing radiation   01:04:21 Erick Chastain: Sorry about that got in car mode   01:04:27 iPhone: Ignatius and remote preparation   01:06:53 Jeff O.: So it all starts with obedience….is this the general movement…recognizing that it’s not quite so linear? obedience —> humility —> discernment —> dispassion —> true prayer   01:12:22 Jacqulyn: Reacted to "Sorry about that got..." with 👍   01:13:34 Maureen Cunningham: Thank You Blessing   01:13:50 Andrew Adams: Thank you, Father!   01:13:57 Cindy Moran: Thank you, Father! Will be in prayer for you!   01:13:58 Jacqulyn: God bless!   01:14:03 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂Have a good retreat!   01:14:05 Nypaver Clan: Is there a particular website we should check to get the next book?   01:14:06 Jeff O.: Thank you!   01:14:10 Art iPhone: Thank you, Father!   01:14:22 Joseph: Thank you, Father.   01:14:40 Nypaver Clan: Is the next book cheaper than $70 anywhere?   01:14:59 Maureen Cunningham: On line  

Synopsis of tonight’s group on the Evergetinos- Hypothesis 18 Sections H and I:   This evening we concluded hypothesis 18 with the clarity that only St. John Cassian can bring. Cassian, though as western monk, spent many years in Egypt among the desert fathers and was able to distill their thought with great clarity for the western mind as well as the western monk. He shows us what the practice, or as he says, the vast experience of the monks over the course of time offers us. They show us that we are to avoid extremes. Fasting is not to be extended over the course of many days because the immoderate practice of fasting leads to the immoderate break of the fast and over-eating. Fasting is to be embraced, not as an end in itself, but as a means to bringing about both internal and external stability to a confused and unruly life. There is only one hard and fast rule and that is not to eat to the point of satiation. In fact, we must understand the uniqueness of each individual in regard to their experience in the ascetic life and the strength of their constitution. Not everybody can restrain the amount of food they eat to the same extent. Nor can everyone live a strictly vegan diet.   Cassian also notes that illness does not come into conflict with purity of heart. It may demand that we lighten our discipline for the sake of the health of the body. But even here we should eat in moderation and whatever the illness demands without making ourselves slaves to the assaults of evil desires. “The moderate and logical use of food ensures the health of the body; it does not detract from holiness.” Once again the fathers prove themselves to be both spiritually and psychologically astute as well as having a clear understanding of the physiological needs that we have as human beings.   Fasting in many way is starting point for us and not only serves us in the struggle for purity of heart by humbling the mind and the body, but it also reveals to us that the spiritual life must involve the whole person. We begin with the basics and our most fundamental need – the need for sustenance. A confused mind is born out of disorder, and this brings confusion to the soul, and from that purity slowly disappears. Much of the turmoil that we experience in our life arises out of the loss of peace that comes from a disordered life. However, when this order emerges within us and we begin to taste something of the peace of Christ, then something is born within the human heart. The Fathers tells us that from the light of peace a pure wind blows through the mind. To the extent that the heart can draw near to wisdom, it receives grace from God. Thus fasting may not seem to be necessary or important in our generation, but for the fathers it lays the very foundation of a life that is caught up in Christ and transformed by his grace. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:09:53 Nicole Dillon: Hello everyone. Happy to be able to join tonite. Thank you 🙏🏼 🥰🕊️   00:10:46 Ambrose Little, OP: St. John’s Conferences were one of the few books that St. Dominic kept and carried with him.   00:24:57 Wayne: Some may be Vegan?   00:25:26 Laura: Vegan - no animal products   00:25:34 Lilly (Toronto, CA): No animal products at all   00:25:50 Forrest Cavalier: There are also fruitarians.   00:25:57 Rebecca Thérèse: Vegans won't even eat honey   00:26:17 Lilly (Toronto, CA): I've been a nut for 12 years 😅   00:26:23 Nypaver Clan: Reacted to "Vegans won't even ea..." with 🙄   00:26:43 Nypaver Clan: Reacted to "There are also fruit..." with 🙄   00:29:14 Anthony: When the Mongols became Christian,  they had a meat and milk diet.  They were advised by the "nestorian" bishop to abstain from fermented mare's milk.   00:36:04 Lilly (Toronto, CA): I've always wondered if God's plan for Adam and Eve was for humanity to be vegan? Did original sin bring about the killing of animals and need for such products?   00:36:50 Anthony: Reacted to I've always wondered... with "👍"   00:41:43 Nypaver Clan: Can a disordered life cause mental disorder or does the mental disorder usually come first, then the disordered life?   00:51:42 Wayne: Replying to "I've always wondered..."   I don't have the  scriptural verse in Genuis that suggest we should not be eating animal products   00:56:29 Rebecca Thérèse: When I worked in mental health over a decade ago, professionals completely adopted the secularist notions towards sexuality and sexual behaviour without even any understanding of different values in this area. For example, stating that a Muslim man would have hang ups around sex because of his religion. Also, a colleague was refused a job because in an interview he said he would advise a Muslim with same sex attraction to speak to a Muslim religious leader. He was told he failed the diversity question as this was the wrong answer since religious leaders are the most conservative of people. It's considered bad for mental health to observe traditional sexual morality.   00:58:36 Nypaver Clan: Reacted to "When I worked in men..." with 😢   00:58:55 Lilly (Toronto, CA): Is there an actual scriptural verse in Genesis that can clarify my previous question?   00:59:25 Forrest Cavalier: Replying to "Is there an actual s..."   Gen 9:3   01:02:44 iPhone: I’ve been called a bigot for believing that homosexuality activity is a sin and that the attraction is disordered, although I do not reject or condemn this man   01:05:36 Wayne: Replying to "Is there an actual s..."   yes that's it   01:06:41 Wayne: Replying to "Is there an actual s..."   I checked the foot notes on this verse and did not get clarity on it   01:07:27 Nicole Dillon: Thank you Father!   01:07:53 Laura: Reacted to "Thank you Father!" with 👍🏼   01:08:05 Maureen Cunningham: Thank you, FatherI keep you in  prayer for your retreat Blessing   01:08:13 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:08:17 Forrest Cavalier: So grateful!   01:08:21 iPhone: Thank you, Father   01:08:29 Troy Amaro: Thank You Father.   01:08:33 Cameron Jackson: Thank you.   01:08:38 iPhone: Bye bye  

Joy! Suddenly, as we read through the Ladder of Dive Ascent every cross, every struggle in the spiritual life, while still present, begins to fade into the background. The costs involved in this struggle pales in comparison to the blessings and the fruits that God bestows upon us, especially prayer . St. John places before us the essentials of prayer - as well as what can undermine it. We continue to struggle to confine our thoughts and then to completely still the mind and the heart. When this takes place, prayer becomes perfection and rapture in the Lord.  This joy, however, especially among the anchorites is marked by humility. One does not expose the deepest elements of the most intimate relationship indiscriminately with others. In any case, it would be impossible to do so. As we are drawn along in faith, as we begin to encounter and experience God as he is in himself, words fail us. What we must do is hold on to what is precious. Imperfections and anxieties can pull us away from God and our trust in his love. Furthermore the evil one is ever set on disrupting that relationship. Plotting and conniving as he is, he will stir an emotion within our heart; or influence another to engage us in such a way so as to agitate or distract. But we must keep our eyes upon the Beloved.  St. John asks, “For what have I in heaven? Nothing. And what have I desired on earth beside Thee? Nothing, but to cling continually to Thee in prayer without distraction.”  Hearing these words, one can never look upon prayer simply as an activity or discipline. It is life. It is love. We are to become prayer. --- Text of chat during the group:  00:06:52 Bob Cihak, AZ: P. 235, # 19   00:11:46 Myles Davidson: Greetings from New Zealand! (my apologies for turning up at the end of the last session… got the time zone conversion wrong). Anyway, delighted to be here. These discussions have been an immeasurable blessing to this baby Catholic. Thanking you profusely Father, and God bless you and your ministry!!   00:20:15 Myles Davidson: Do you have any tips for developing watchfulness of thoughts. Is this just a constant practice of mindfulness of thought?   00:29:37 Kate : What about the publication of saints’ diaries or journals?  What would the Fathers say about this?   00:30:01 Anthony: Replying to "What about the publi..."     I love this question   00:30:36 iPhone: Can you explain vigils? Is it vespers and compline?   00:31:17 Rod Castillo: My Life in Christ by John of Kronstadt ????   00:32:42 Anthony: So the idea popular in "evangelicalism" (and now with Catholics and Orthodox) of a tell-all conversion story is not appropriate.   00:33:02 Jeff O.: Reacted to "So the idea popular ..." with 🎯   00:34:59 iPhone: This is a fascinating topic, this saying too much   Thank you   00:35:31 Rebecca Thérèse: Is there any evidence of changes in attitudes towards publishing personal spiritual journals since the advent of the printing press?   00:37:00 iPhone: Why is this tell-all trend happening? Because so many people have not read the Fathers?   00:37:23 iPhone: Blogs! Immodesty personified!   00:37:30 Myles Davidson: People aren’y going to confession perhaps?   00:56:33 Anthony: Wow.  So excessive chasing after goods and the obsession with trans- stuff us a war on prayer.   01:03:27 Rebecca Thérèse: There was a real antipathy towards ancestral religions by many of the founders of modern psychology and psychiatry including Freud. There are also nefarious financial and political interests in these areas   01:06:37 Bob Cihak, AZ: Too true. Too often, it's the easy way out, just prescribing drugs.   01:07:48 Nypaver Clan: An instructor I had at Duquesne U.  who was a therapist, often said that the majority of her clients would have best been served in the confessional.   01:13:01 Cameron Jackson: Thank you Father. A great blessing.   01:13:05 Leilani Nemeroff: Thank you, Father! This is a Blessing!   01:13:42 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father!   01:13:43 Andrew Adams: Thank you, Father!   01:13:45 David: Thank you father!   01:13:47 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:13:51 Jeff O.: Thank you! Great to be with you all.  

No one is going to take up the practice of fasting or come to “love fasting” as we have often spoken of unless they are taught by those who have deep and long experience in the practice. As we have seen the desert was very much laboratory. Those who entered into it were driven by the desire for the Lord and to remove any impediment to that desire.  Yet, we see in the writings of the Evergetinos a natural progression, an organic progression, in the practice. Their zeal for the Lord often led the monks to engage in the practice of fasting with great strictness and to radically humble the body. However, they quickly learned that to practice even that which is good in an imprudent and unmeasured fashion was dangerous. To fall into exhaustion from fasting too long could make it impossible for a person to remain awake to engage in the practice of prayer or, similarly, weaken their watchfulness of mind such that they become vulnerable to the provocation of sinful thoughts.  The desert fathers also had to learn that fasting was but an implement. It is necessary for the cultivation of the heart, but it must be accompanied by constant prayer and bear the fruit of love for God and virtue. Therefore, the Evergetinos places us in a privileged position. We are able to sit at the feet of the great elders of old and to learn from the errors and the pitfalls that can cripple us in the spiritual life as well as to be inspired by the fathers’ great sanctity. The spiritual struggle is rarely neat and the path ahead is often hidden to us. The desert fathers are shining light in an age of spiritual darkness and lack of guidance. Thanks be to God for such a precious gift. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:30:18 Anthony: I feel targeted.... 😉   00:36:50 Una: Does that include Irish Coffees?   00:48:47 Anthony: It's a gift to be simple, it's a gift to be free   00:48:54 Forrest Cavalier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Gifts   00:49:21 Forrest Cavalier: Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free 'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, 'Twill be in the valley of love and delight. When true simplicity is gained, To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed, To turn, turn will be our delight, Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.[5]   00:56:47 Anthony: Excessive sorrow also brings exhaustion.   01:07:30 Anthony: History also shows fixation on pornography is almost always present   01:17:26 Maureen Cunningham: Thank you   01:17:40 Andrew Adams: Thank you, Father!   01:17:46 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:17:50 Kevin Burke: Thank you !   01:18:03 Troy Amaro: Thank You Father.