Philokalia Ministries

When reading The Ladder of Divine Ascent, we begin to see that discernment is quite different from what we imagine. It is not simply the use of our reason and judgment to look at the realities around us, to dissect them, and so understand them. Discernment, as described by the fathers, is rooted in the virtue of humility. It is only when we live in He who is Truth that we come to understand the truth about ourselves, the world, and the kingdom.  St. John in particular gives us a multiple examples of how discernment reveals to us the specific qualities of vices, how they manifest themselves and how they are to be remedied. It is curious that we often use our intellectual abilities to avoid reality or to create a certain perception of reality in our minds. It is only humility that allows us to be vulnerable; to expose the deepest part of ourselves to the light of truth. It is this vulnerability and our trust in God and his love that allows us not only to see the truth but to experience the light of it as a healing balm. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:07:17 Sr. Simeon: I hate camera!   00:07:35 Eric Ewanco: Reacted to "I hate camera!" with 😂   00:08:23 Adam Paige: Reacted to "I hate camera!" with 📷   00:15:31 Adam Paige: Paragraph 43 - How should one admonish a brother given to talkativeness ?   00:21:25 Barbara: Gabriel Bunge?   00:21:32 Jeff O.: Reacted to "Gabriel Bunge?" with 👍   00:24:36 Adam Paige: Reacted to "Gabriel Bunge?" with 👍   00:24:47 Adam Paige: Gabriel Bunge? Yup ! https://a.co/d/8t9PLU5   00:26:48 Barbara: This translations says "malice" in place of guile.   00:32:55 Anthony: I believe this humility is a reason the Sunday after publican and Pharisee is fast free....so as not to be proud in fasting.   00:43:46 Suzanne: My dilemma has to do with fiducia supplicans.   00:48:53 Suzanne: Much to consider. Thank you!   00:51:26 Barbara: Replying to "I believe this humil..."   Actually, in the Eastern Christian tradition, the week after the Gospel of the Publican and Pharisee is a week without fasting so we cannot be proud about our fasting.   00:52:02 Louise: In a psychology experiment, participants had to do nothing for 15 minutes. However, they could prick themselves to create pain if they wanted. One-third of women pricked themselves versus two-thirds of men. These people preferred physical pain to the pain induced by silence.   00:59:58 Celine Fournier: How does one take on an affliction.   01:00:34 Anthony: Perhaps we attribute afflictions to sin as a way of justifying why we will never have afflictions....I'm not a sinner, etc.   01:00:57 Celine Fournier: Yes   01:04:43 Adam Paige: Replying to "In a psychology expe..."   In a psychology experiment, participants had to do nothing for 15 minutes. However, they could prick themselves to create pain if they wanted. One-third of women pricked themselves versus two-thirds of men. These people preferred physical pain to the pain induced by silence. https://dtg.sites.fas.harvard.edu/WILSON%20ET%20AL%202014.pdf   01:05:56 Louise: When I gave courses to professionals across the US, I told participants that there are two main taboos in psychotherapy: love and suffering. Participants remained silent as though they knew that they DO avoid experiencing love or suffering while providing psychotherapy. Amazing and sad!   01:08:09 Kate : There’s a growing area of health and medicine that focuses on longevity and slowing the aging process.  While this may seem good on the surface, I wonder if this is not good for the soul.   01:11:53 Suzanne: Thank you!   01:12:14 Lorraine Green: God bless you, thank you   01:12:19 Sharon Fisher: Thank you all!   01:12:24 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father!   01:12:25 Louise: Thanks, Fr.!   01:12:25 Andrew Adams: Thank you Father!   01:12:31 Jeff O.: Amen! Thank you!   01:12:32 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂  

Humility and selfless-love often bears no resemblance to what we hold in our minds as their meaning. It is only seeing these things through the grace that God gives us and what has been revealed to us in Christ that we begin to understand that Christ took upon himself all that is human and its burden. He is Humility. He entered into the depths of our hell and the hell of our sin not only the free us from death, but that we might not experience these things in isolation. In the darkest things of this world there is always the presence of He who is light. When this world offers us no consolation, it is Christ who embraces us.  Humility, then, becomes our willingness to let go of the self and the self-image that we have created in our own minds and that has been distorted by our sin. It means to live in the truth of Christ who is self-emptying love. This will forever be a stumbling block in this world and to the human mind. Only faith can allow us to see the presence of Christ in our midst. Furthermore, it is only this selfless love of Christ within us the can bring healing and hope to others. When faith is reduced to an ideology or philosophy it becomes impotent. We must be willing to go, as it were, where angels fear to tread. We must be willing to enter into the depths of the sorrow of the world. Yet . . . we cannot do this so long as we cling to some worldly image of ourselves or perfection. We must die to self and sin and live fully to Christ. The cure for the human condition is and ever shall be crucified and humble love. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:32:47 Michael Hinckley: to your earlier point, my guess is that saints the see being like Christ as an easy equation (1+1) , we see it as algorithms   00:46:03 TFredman: Personal experience with a Trappist monk who was very discerning - and helped to heal many souls, through simply sharing God's love repeatedly, consistently for many years - until the persons began to really believe the honesty in the gift of being loved - life-changing -   00:47:14 TFredman: Tracey   00:50:58 Susanna Joy: Being the presence of Christ's love over time by itself has the power to heal...yes...well said   00:52:56 Susanna Joy: Where 2 or 3 are gathered...there am I in your midst.  Christ's presence itself...   00:53:27 Sharon Fisher: This discussion reminds me off a woman who was taken hostage by a gunman — she retrieved her bible and spoke to him. (Baptist, I think, but still . . . ) If folks are interested, here’s the story:  https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/hostage-reads-purpose-driven-life-to-alleged-atlanta-killer/   00:54:07 Anthony: Replying to "This discussion remi..."     I believe I heard th...   00:55:26 Michael Hinckley: Didn't Francis say preach the gospel, use words if you have to   00:55:33 Anthony: That's a Spanish and Neapolitan type of image   01:05:23 Anthony: The multiplicity of my thoughts are showing me the necessity of praying - simple, like Jesus prayer - so as not to be exposed so much and dwell so much on thoughts.   01:06:04 Michael Hinckley: Reacted to "The multiplicity of ..." with 👍   01:06:32 Vanessa: Reacted to "The multiplicity of ..." with 👍   01:08:25 Sharon Fisher: Is there a difference between when God confronts us with situations intended to humble us vs. situations when others exhibit their own free will, and we are unlucky recipients/bystanders?   01:13:28 Rebecca Thérèse: Jesus said that it is necessary that stumbling blocks come but woe to those from whom they come.   01:13:30 Susanna Joy: Thank you so much for leading this class, Father...your comments have been very helpful.   01:14:22 Lorraine Green: God bless you, thank you   01:14:26 Maureen Cunningham: Thank You I am always Blessed from all your teachings   01:14:32 Sharon Fisher: 😃   01:16:02 Sharon Fisher: Reacted to "Jesus said that it i..." with ❤️   01:16:21 Michael Hinckley: what's your wife's name soI can pray for her?   01:16:25 TFredman: God bless you, Steve, and your wife.   01:16:46 Steve Yu: Replying to "what's your wife's n…" Hi Michael, her name is Ivette Valenzuela-Yu 01:17:14 Michael Hinckley: Replying to "what's your wife's n..."   santa pace for her   01:17:30 Steve Yu: Reacted to "santa pace for her" with ❤️   01:17:46 Michael Hinckley: Reacted to "santa pace for her" with ❤️   01:18:03 Kevin Burke: Thank you Father..   01:18:05 Andrew Adams: Thanks Father and thanks everyone for sharing!   01:18:09 mflory: Thank you, Father!   01:18:15 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂  

Sometimes we are unaware of the treasure that we possess in and through the gift of faith; and also in the living witness and writing of the Saints. As St. John speaks of discernment this treasure is magnified for us and we begin to see how precious their teachings are and the life that God has called us to embrace. Our ability to see the preciousness of these gifts allows us to enter into the life with heartfelt perception. We cannot live with one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom. Our minds and our hearts must belong to God and we must seek Him above all things. In great detail, St. John begins to speak to us about the gift of discernment. It is especially important and valuable for  those who have the care of souls. To be a skilled physician one must have the experience necessary to apply the appropriate medicine and that which will be healing. It is also for this reason that monastic life has been so important for the life of the church. “Angels are a light for monks, and the monastic life is a light for all men.”  They show us how important it is to learn divine truth by toil and sweat. We must give our hearts over to the ascetic life and not squander the treasure.  How quickly one begins to see that we would be wandering blindly without the guidance of the spiritual fathers. Let show our gratitude by our imitation of their zeal. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:14:31 FrDavid Abernethy: page 194 number 23   00:33:20 David Swiderski: The devil speaks with a scratching, loud and gnarling voice and calls you by your sin. God calls you by name and his voice like a whisper on the wind. Only with peace and quite can we hear the whisper. - Not who wrote this but heard this from a priest in Spain on a retreat in the Pyrennes.   00:43:43 Sharon Fisher: Fr, please repeat the title of the second book you ref’d? I have the Eastern Monasticism and Future of the Church, but couldn’t write fast enough to get the next one. Thank you!   00:44:30 Anthony: That prejudice for the active life goes back to the "reformation" - I think as a way to justify the reformation.   It saw a revival in "josephism" of the 1700s and 1800s   01:05:38 David Swiderski: Where would resentment be placed I have seen despondency and also pride in being a victim.   01:06:58 Sharon Fisher: Just fyi to participants: The level of detail we get w/ Fr. David in discussions about the Fathers’ writings is not found in very many places. I’ll put a plug in for a guided book study on You Tube: St Silouan the Athonite Guided Book Study with Isaac Lampart, written by Archimandrite Sophrony.  The videos are hosted by Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church Lancaster, PA. It’s very good; but it’s hard to find the actual book. It took me a few months of monitoring used book sites to get a copy.   01:07:01 mhinckley: that;s virtue signaling, no. Just the other side of the vaingflory coin, no?   01:08:04 mhinckley: despondency and also pride in being a victim. 01:10:16 Sean: Replying to "Just fyi to particip..."   I really long for this sort of content now but it's non existent AFIK😢   01:12:40 Maureen Cunningham: Thank You many Blessing   01:12:44 Jeff O.: thank you!   01:13:16 Lorraine Green: Thank you, wonderful retreat!   01:13:23 Andrew Adams: Thank you Father!   01:13:27 Rachel: Thank you.   01:13:27 mflory: Thank you, Father!   01:13:29 Louise: Ha ve good retreat, Fr. !   01:13:33 David Swiderski: Thank you father! Have a great retreat!   01:13:35 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father...we'll be praying for you   01:13:35 Art: Thank you safe travels   01:13:38 Sharon Fisher: And with your spirit!! Thank you!   01:13:38 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:13:41 sue and mark: yjank you God bless good retreat   01:13:42 Kevin Burke: Thanks  

Discover the essence of true freedom through humility and self-reflection. Learn how to gracefully handle praise and insults while embodying Christ's love. Explore the transformative power of daily meditation and the critical balance between spiritual values and worldly desires. Dive into the importance of correction in community and the inner harmony achieved through a purified heart. Uncover how centering your identity in Christ leads to authentic peace and empowers you to respond to others with compassion, transcending ego and pride.

A glimmer of light begins to shine through the writing of St. John in regards to the perfection of virtue. John starts by putting before us list of those things that we should focus upon as beginners in the spiritual life or those who have reached an intermediate level. He also puts before us the resolution of those who are advanced; that is, the virtues that one possesses at this level and that they must protect. John is trying to paint with broad strokes the image of life in Christ. As one begins to share in that reality more deeply Christ image begins to manifest itself and we become imitators of Him. As John unpacks for us the nature of discernment he shows us the things that it allows us to perceive. One of the valuable teachings he offers us is our responsiveness to the grace of God in times of illness. In our infirmity the demons will seek to afflict us on spiritual level.  Yet John also shows us that our minds and hearts can be purified at such times and that Christ can cleanse “clay by clay”. In the severity of our illness we can be delivered from certain passions. These last steps of the Ladder of Divine Ascent must be read closely and slowly. It is solid food upon which we are being fed and a deep wisdom that is being set before us. Glory to God! --- Text of chat during the group: 00:07:41 FrDavid Abernethy: page 192 para 17   00:09:03 Rachel: :(   00:26:12 Anthony Rago: Sounds familiar   00:32:19 Sam: Need for fasting particularly during the many periods of discernment has helped many saints and Christians not only tame their passions but clear their minds from any attachments and thus take the path God wants of them. Could it be due to the humble stripping of self from earthly things and abandonment to God's grace, wisdom and mercy? Yes   00:38:12 Michael Hinckley: didn't Augustine say "you pray the most when you say the least and pray the least when you say the most."   00:43:13 Rory: Let, God's grace shine upon my silent faith within my temple of the Holy Spirit revealing your  Divine Providence   00:43:31 Vanessa: Reacted to "Let, God's grace shi..." with ❤️   00:57:35 Maureen Cunningham: Sound like addiction the first part   00:57:59 Anthony Rago: I think it's important for a weakened person to discern what is his weakness versus what is actually a sin or wrong.  The devil wears disguises and blames you for it.   01:09:08 Sean: I assume clay is man, but what is the clay that cleanses him?   01:11:49 Fr Marty, ND, 480-292-3381: A personal "testimony": a half dozen years ago, I was too sick to get out of bed for several weeks. The consolations and spiritual awareness at this time was so profound for me that I thought I was arriving at a  level of illumination that I would never leave. A couple of weeks after recovery, however, I found myself struggling with the same sin. I had not advanced as I thought. But I'm grateful for the consolation.   01:14:28 Rebecca Thérèse: Is it because illness brings us closer to death that we may experience a greater closeness to the eternal?   01:15:45 Lorraine Green: Thank you Father   01:16:09 Fr Marty, ND, 480-292-3381: Reacted to "Is it because illnes..." with ❤️   01:16:30 sue and mark: thank you.   01:16:39 Andrew Adams: Thank you Father!   01:16:40 mflory: Thank you, Father!   01:16:41 Rachel: Thank you   01:16:44 David Swiderski: Thank you father!   01:16:44 Jeff O.: Thank you!   01:16:47 kevin: Thanks   01:16:48 Louise: Thanks, Father!   01:16:50 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:16:56 Sr Barbara Jean Mihalchick: Blessed Feast   01:17:02 Kevin Burke: Thanks you Father!  

The discussion opens with the transformative power of humility, emphasizing its role in both personal growth and spiritual fulfillment. Historical figures like Abba Moses highlight how embracing one’s flaws leads to true identity in Christ. The podcast also contrasts secular self-help with spiritual teachings, advocating for a Christ-centered approach. Additionally, it explores the challenges of seminary formation while promoting community support as essential for navigating spiritual struggles. Overall, it's a deep dive into faith, identity, and the pursuit of genuine humility.

The fruit of humility is the emergence of discernment. For beginners, it is a true knowledge of themselves. For intermediate souls, it is a spiritual sense that distinguishes what is truly good from what is of nature or opposed to it. For the perfect it is knowledge that one comes by through divine illumination. God illuminates the darkness within by his grace.  St. John begins to define for us the nature of this gift. However, what follows is quite different from how we in modern times think of discernment. So often it does not rise above private judgment or the natural virtue of distinguishing between the nature of things in accord with our intellect. Yet, as mentioned, discernment is a divine gift for which one prepares to receive through the grace of God and the ascetic life.  We must seek to remove every impediment to our having a well formed conscience. Furthermore, we must avoid the traps that the evil one sets for us to draw us back in darkness. We must continue toiling in this fashion until the very fire of God enters the sanctuary of the human heart and renders our proclivity for sin powerless and consumes every fever of lust and movement of passion within us. Knowing that the demons seek to extinguish this light, we must constantly press on in the struggle. We must not believe ourselves incapable of engaging in the spiritual battle but always trust in the action of God‘s grace.  Once St. John defined discernment for us, he begins to lay out the path of education in the spiritual life that is needed. He warns us not to stop with the beginner’s lessons but rather to press on and strive to advance in our understanding. What we must come to value above all things is the science of sciences and the art of arts – that is the wisdom of the fathers. In comparison to our worldly formation, how deeply do we penetrate the treasure of their teachings? --- Text of chat during the group: 00:08:59 FrDavid Abernethy: Step 26 page 190   00:09:18 FrDavid Abernethy: On discernment of thoughts, passions and virtues   00:14:54 Sean: Isaac's awesome.   00:15:02 Art: Isaac the Syrian or Life of Repentance and Purity   00:15:32 Vanessa: Replying to "Isaac's awesome."   Agreed!   00:16:19 Sean: Replying to "Isaac's awesome."   I'm reading it a second time right now, slowly and listening to the old podcast.   00:25:21 Sean: #4. Why would one fall into disbelief upon seeing the supernatural? I would think it would lead one to believe in something more than oneself.   00:25:46 Vanessa: Reacted to "I'm reading it a sec..." with 👍   00:44:59 Sean: It's interesting that he links soul and mind in #11, which he also does in #8. These two are usually seen as separate or at least distinct, with the soul being pure. It's like the mind reflects the soul and the soul can go toward either good or bad.   01:00:22 Sean: pleasures = mud in the story, I would think.   01:18:43 Greg Chura: Thank you, Father!   01:19:52 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:19:53 mflory: Thank you, Father!   01:19:54 Jeff O.: thank you!   01:20:26 Jeff O.: Palamas!  

Tonight we concluded our reading of step 25 on humility. I have no other way to describe my experience of reading this step other than the fact that it makes something within the heart leap for joy. For over the past months, what we have been shown is that humility is not simply a virtue that one strives to attain but rather a kind of truthful living that acknowledges God as the source of all.  Beyond that, however, we are shown that humility is part of the very essence of God that has been revealed to us through the incarnation.  God shows himself as Holy Humility.  In loving us, God comes down to us and takes our life, our identity, our burden upon himself. The sense of lack and incompleteness at the very heart of our lives is filled by the God who comes to us and gives himself to us.  Humility is so often presented to us as a kind of self hatred; whereas, in reality, it allows us to see not simply our weakness and our sin but the love of God with perfect clarity. Above all, St. John tells, us we should strive for humility. It is the narrow way. One must acknowledge one’s smallness in order to receive and participate in the greatness of the love of the one who created us. What better means do we have to do so than the Feast of the Nativity - unto us and child is born! --- Text of chat during the group: 00:56:01 Sharon Fisher: Backing up a bit — the fasts can be harmful, physically. I’ve experienced and know of others who had negative physical effects trying to do the prescribed thing. Yet, I haven’t had a priest directly suggest that it can be modified as necessary — but they say it’s not to be taken legalistically.   01:04:12 Ambrose Little, OP: Transfers liquid from one container to another   01:04:38 Ambrose Little, OP: Sucks you up into heaven. 🙂   01:04:40 Art: carries a liquid from a higher level up and over a barrier and then down to a lower level   01:04:49 Mitch: “Waterspout” in the translation in front of me   01:04:52 Sean: I thought of it as like a tornado sucking one up to heavan   01:10:14 Victor: Reacted to "I thought of it as l…" with 👍   01:11:06 Victor: Thanks, Father. Merry Christmas to all! 🎄💐   01:11:11 Daniel Allen: What’s interesting to me is that it seems all other virtues do not by nature exclude pride, a type of natural perfection, only humility excludes pride and why it’s the only virtue that cannot be imitated by the demons as John said. But the difference is that all other virtues can be beautifully acquired, while humility is only received by acknowledgment of our own lack. Our own lack of other virtues even. Does that make sense? If so, while humility may be the God like virtue it is also terrifying.   01:11:25 Brian L: Reacted to I thought of it as l... with "👍"   01:11:46 Jeff O.: Reacted to "What’s interesting t..." with 👍   01:11:48 Vanessa: Reacted to "What’s interesting t..." with 👍   01:15:42 Art: Merry Christmas everyone!!   01:15:43 Lorraine Green: Merry Christmas!  Thank you Father   01:15:45 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you. Happy Christmas everyone🙂   01:15:48 Ambrose Little, OP: 🎄   01:15:48 mflory: Thank you, Father! Merry Christmas!   01:15:48 Jeff O.: Merry Christmas! Thank you   01:15:49 TFredman: Thank you, Merry Christmas everyone!   01:15:51 Deiren: Merry Christmas father and everyone!   01:15:58 Sr Barbara Jean Mihalchick: Blessed Christmas!   01:16:01 Mitch: Merry Christmas!! Thankyou very much  

The stories of the humility of the Saints and monks described in The Evergetinos can be hard to stomach. But if we consume them with the spirit of faith and the desire for God, they will nourish us to everlasting life.  All of them point us to Christ himself - the prototype and standard of all virtue. We are ever so fortunate. It is amazing when you slow down and hear the story, read out loud how impactful it can be. When we can let go of our own critical spirit, when we can suspend judgment and simply allow ourselves to listen with faith then often we come to understand something astounding.  As is so often the case in The Evergetinos, we see that embodying the virtue of Christ, living the gospel concretely, has the capacity to work miracles, to raise the dead, and to give enliven faith within the hearts of others. May the gift of these stories take root in our hearts and produce fruit that is pleasing to God! --- Text of chat during the group: 00:09:30 FrDavid Abernethy: page 23 letter B   00:27:30 sharonfisher: Was he relieved of the obligation to tithe or was his tired refused? I don’t think I understand.   00:27:51 sharonfisher: *Or was his tithe refused   00:36:25 Louise: Could we say that, to be made humble, Peter was made to renounce Jesus Christ 3 times as predicted by Our Lord? The proud Peter humiliated himself tremendously by doing so.   00:37:53 Steve Yu: Reacted to "Could we say that, t…" with 👍   00:52:35 Sean: Interesting how the one knew about the scheme by 'spiritual insight'. Isaac the Syrian calls that teoria or basically the soul's knowing, in other words he got this info not by hearing or the body's senses.   01:04:31 Steve Yu: It seems so ironic to me that humiliation can bring us closer to God, and yet (speaking for myself), something that I try to avoid by instinct. It’s as if some of my instincts are programmed against growing closer to Him.   01:05:15 Sheila Applegate: I love this story. The humility to say, "yes, I am a corrupt, sinful person" but, "no, I do not reject God." Even in that horrid weakness of soul.   01:11:30 Lorraine Green: Thank you Father, good night   01:11:43 mflory: Wonderful! Thank you, Father!   01:11:44 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂  

It is impossible to capture in words the joy that sweeps over the heart when one comes to understand what St. John Climacus is revealing to us about the nature of humility. In this step, he strips away all of our limited, false, or distorted perceptions of humility and reveals it for what it is: a gift of God‘s own self.  After reading Step 25 our understanding of humility is forever changed. We are shown that God reveals the nature of humility by revealing himself to us in his Son. “Humility is Christ’s spiritual doctrine,” St. John tells us.  “It is introduced into the inner chamber of the soul by those who are counted worthy of it. It cannot be defined by perceptible words.”  Rather, by the grace of God, the heart is purified of the passions and all impediments are removed to our receiving God’s gifts. One of the greatest of those gifts is humility.  This virtue is a participation in the life of God. Whatever we might lose of honor or dignity in the world is nothing in comparison to the joy that Christ offers us through this virtue.  “He who humbles himself will be exalted”.  We may feel that we are falling into an abyss and losing our identity as we let go of our attachment to the things of this world. However, what we are falling into is actually the abyss of God‘s love. We are letting go of the false self in order that we might be immersed in He who is meaning, He who is truth, He who is reality!  What joy should be ours, St. John tells us: “By this shall all men know that we are God’s disciples, not because the devils are subject to us, but because our names are written in the Heaven of Humility.” --- Text of chat during the group: 00:08:00 FrDavid Abernethy: page 185 number 32   00:12:50 Anthony Rago: Fr Christopher Zugger 2 Vol History of Byzantine Catholic Church published by Byzantine Seminary Press   00:34:18 Anthony Rago: This is where nietzche's emphasis of will is important for us   00:35:31 Louise: I resonate with this definition of humility - we owe everything to God. I resonate see less to humility as defined in the Evergetinos as a self-deprecation. The former focuses about God, while the latter focuses on self.   00:40:39 Daniel Allen: How does this conversation about self a basement and not hatred factor in with John talking about the prison earlier?   00:50:50 Anthony Rago: Oh, so to grasp at humility - to be avaricious for it - is masochism?  For all good things are actually gifts,  not seized upon like a miser?   00:53:37 Jacqulyn: Amen!   00:57:22 Suzanne: According to this understanding, humility, like contemplation, requires that we wait for God. “Expect the Lord, do manfully, let thy heart take courage, and wait thou for the Lord.”   01:00:09 Sean: Are views, the like button and thumbs up the modern methods of mass vainglory?   01:03:27 mflory: I think the story about Symeon is from the Alphabetical Sayings of the Desert Fathers. In the translation that I have, he is called Simon.   01:03:44 Suzanne: Replying to "Are views, the like ..."   Yes!   01:03:58 Cindy Moran: I studied 3 yrs with Fr Van Kaam &  Dr susan Muto   01:05:40 Nypaver Clan: Is it open to the public now?   01:06:51 Cindy Moran: This is so exciting!!   01:07:04 Jeff O.: Reacted to "I think the story ab..." with 👍   01:13:18 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:13:30 Maureen Cunningham: Thank You Father   01:13:31 Lorraine Green: God bless you, thank you Father   01:13:31 Louise: Thanks, Fr.!   01:13:38 Suzanne: Thank you   01:13:54 Kevin Burke: Thank you Father!   01:14:03 Victor Haburchak: Thanks   01:14:07 Cindy Moran: Great session!! Thank you Father!   01:14:11 Leilani Nemeroff: Thanks!   01:14:13 mflory: Thank you, Father   01:14:15 Jeff O.: Thank you!!