Philokalia Ministries

Delving into the transformative power of humility, the podcast explores the beauty of acknowledging our need for healing and the destiny to share in God's life. It emphasizes the journey of perfecting humility through struggles and grace, leading to a vision of spiritual life centered on God's love and virtue.

Explore the transformative power of solitude in the desert fathers' writings and the deep understanding of the interior life. Compare psychoanalysis introspective practices with spiritual traditions. Reflect on personal trauma, family dynamics, and psychology. Delve into activating aggressive faculties and spiritual therapy. Discover the influence of the desert fathers on emotional growth and challenges in maintaining authentic spiritual traditions.

This podcast explores the struggles with blasphemous thoughts and the importance of entrusting them to the Lord. It also delves into the virtues of meekness, simplicity, and guilelessness and how they provide stability and growth. Meekness is a strength that allows for unconditional love and maintaining perspective in a chaotic world.

Coming towards the end of the first volume of the Evergetinos, it is clear that we are being nourished upon solid food. During these many weeks, the fathers have been leading us into a deeper understanding of the virtue of humility. It is one thing to understand the definition of humility; even something as clear as “truthful living”. However, it is only in the illustrative stories that the fathers give us that we move from the realm of imagination, personal judgment and reason to see this virtue with the eyes of faith. What we are called to is the perfect humility of Christ; he who sought only to do the will of his heavenly father. Christ sacrifices himself for the sake of love. What we see in the stories is the subtlety with which we focus upon the ego even as we pursue things that are religious. We are presented in particular with a powerful story about Saint Anthony the Great. He is told that a cobbler in the city has reached a level of greater sanctity than he has despite his ascetic rigors. This cobbler saw himself as the least of all the people in the entire city and the most worthy of condemnation and judgment by God. He would tell himself this in the morning and at night. What is significant about this is that he does not compare himself with any other person in acknowledging this truth. Looking at God he can only see his need for mercy and for complete gratitude. Yet Anthony as great as he was and having sacrificed so much still had a question within his heart. Is there anyone out there who has attained a level of greater sanctity? At that moment, Anthony turns his gaze away from God in order to compare himself with others. He loses sight, if only for a moment, of God. To gaze only upon God and his love drives out every element of ego. There is only Christ! --- Text of chat during the group: 00:08:36 FrDavid Abernethy: page 400 para 76   00:09:41 Suzanne: LOL!!!   00:41:23 sharonfisher: I hope everyone knows about the Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry. Poor or wayward folks that end up imprisoned could benefit so much from the work these folks do. I feel like the prison cell could be substitute for a monk’s cell or the isolation of the desert fathers. (Not sure where this fits in the discussion, but seems relevant.)   00:42:11 sharonfisher: AGREE!   00:43:54 Michael Hinckley: St Thomas Moore choose to see his cell in the tower as such I believe.   00:46:24 Suzanne: I think that I've actually made myself sick from self-reproach because of my past. Thirty years of extreme desolation has warped my perception of God's love for my soul. Self-reproach can be a form of self-torture. The desert fathers is the first time anything I've come across has given me courage.   00:48:00 Lee Graham: Hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest.   01:12:13 Sean: Anthony's ego? gosh...he's called Great.   01:16:29 Sean: compare and despair   01:16:55 Steve Yu: Reacted to "compare and despair" with 👍   01:17:29 Maureen Cunningham: How do you not get into a self hate toward you life. did not the church father warn against self pity   01:18:46 Suzanne: Did you see the Russian movie, The Island, about the monk who was tortured by guilt, yet worked miracles?   01:19:17 Maureen Cunningham: Yes I saw movie wonderful   01:19:40 Suzanne: Incredible movie!   01:20:04 Nypaver Clan: Father, at the start of this discussion, you mentioned that the slightest turning toward God fills the heart with great Grace.  Likewise, the slightest turning away from God fills the heart with pride.   01:22:01 Maureen Cunningham: Thank you  Blessing prayers for you Father   01:22:09 sharonfisher: And with your spirit!   01:22:12 Suzanne: Thank you so much!   01:22:13 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂  

The podcast discusses the destructive nature of pride and the importance of humility in the spiritual journey. It explores the role of humility in drowning evil spirits, the deceptive nature of pride, and the triumph of virtue in the face of adversity. The chapter also touches on the experience of facing death, the practice of standing during liturgy, and the importance of constant prayer.

The podcast explores the virtue of humility and the difficulty of letting go of our own perspective. It highlights the importance of embracing the virtue of Christ and surrendering self-esteem and ego. The discussion touches on forgiveness, the power of prayer, dealing with challenging relationships, and the role of humility in spiritual growth. The chapter on purification by fire emphasizes accepting unjust criticism and the value of humility in overcoming hardship.

As we pour through the sayings of Saint John Climacus about pride and overcoming pride, what we see in the Evergetinos and its teaching on humility we see now in the Ladder’s teaching on pride. We are circling around something greater than just an idea. We circle around pride and look at its many facets in order to see how subtle the temptations often are to embrace the illusion that this vice puts before us. The devil will use every means to pull us away from the truth and truthful living. Therefore, Saint John wants us to see every manifestation of the pride in order that we also might apply the remedies that the fathers put before us. What becomes clear is the need for constant vigilance. We must not allow ourselves to lose sight of God and his mercy and grace or our poverty and sin. Everything good comes to us from the hand of God, and there is nothing that we can attribute to ourselves that is enduring. Christ is truth and so we must strive throughout the course of our entire life to avoid all falsehood. We must not succumb to the father of lies and so find ourselves in his grip or being his plaything. May God be our strength and source of invincible peace. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:26:07 sharonfisher: Maybe a dumb question, but I think of deification as something we acquire (gifted) at the end times. Are we to strive for deification in this worldly life?   00:28:06 Victor: Some theologians speak of realized & future eschatology (now & future).   00:31:20 sharonfisher: Thank you!   00:42:18 Ashley Kaschl: Comment for paragraph #19: I think this can be really true if we aren’t discerning. For example, I’ll throw myself under the bus 😂    A priest and I were talking recently about how, before bed, I’ll sometimes get “carried away” by higher, theological thoughts and inspirations. And I’ll be drawn out of rest and end up awake for hours longer than I planned, which obviously makes me tired for the responsibilities the next day. This priest said, “it sounds like a distraction or a temptation.” And I hadn’t thought about that because I didn’t think about these beautiful things or contemplation of deeper truths I didn’t have time for during the day as devils in disguise to keep me from sleep.    So when I tested this, sure enough, they went away when I prayed for deliverance if these seemingly good things were actually temptations/distractions from the great good of getting enough sleep.   00:44:40 Art: The sacrifice of the mass is greater than the sacrifice of a martyr.   01:06:15 Daniel Allen: It’s kind of like Lot. He had to be dragged out of Sodom by God, and even then when told to flee to the hills he asked to flee instead to a smaller city.   01:07:20 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you. Have a good retreat again!🙂   01:07:56 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father!! 🙏   01:07:56 Maureen Cunningham: Thank You Blessing Father keep you in prayer I love the quotes on face book and instagram Thanks   01:08:07 sharonfisher: And with your spirit! I so appreciate your ability to bring clarity to the readings!   01:08:48 David Swiderski: Thank you father God bless you on the retreat!   01:09:03 David Swiderski: Thank you father God bless you on the retreat!   01:09:10 David Swiderski: Thank you father God bless you on the retreat!  

We were turn once again to the most important of virtues - humility. Despite the repeated sayings about humility and the many illustrative stories, one does not have a sense of the “same thing” being said over and over again. Rather, humility is like a precious gem. Through the writings and the sayings of the Fathers we revolve around it, allowing the light of Christ to illuminate every facet of this virtue. The Fathers want us to understand that even our virtue must be perfected by the grace of God. It is precisely this reality that we see manifest in the struggles of the Fathers to obtain it. It is so precious that one should be willing, as it were, to sell all to possess it. In this sense, humility is a willingness to let go of the self, the ego, in order that we might keep our minds and our hearts fixed upon Christ. It is by His grace alone that we are saved and it is by imitating His humility that the demons are overcome. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:39:05 Louise: Could you talk about the fear of God versus being in love with God?   00:49:39 Louise: Could we say that someone under a spell can be blinded by the spell of the demon so to have pride regarding how one is great in serving the demon without realizing it?   01:03:13 Louise: St. John says, "Do not love the world or anything in the world"? St. James seems to take it a step further when he writes, "Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." St. John also says, "We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one."   01:13:59 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:14:35 Adam Paige: Reacted to "Thank you🙂" with 👍   01:14:51 sharonfisher: And with your spirit! Thank you!  

“An arrogant man yearns for authority; he cannot, or rather, does not wish to perish utterly.“ In many ways, this one saying sums up our reflection this evening. When pride takes hold of an individual soul, one begins to move further and further away from God. Rather than “perish utterly” - that is, die to self and sin - one drives God from the mind and heart. The capacity to love diminishes, the desire to humiliate others increases, and, finally, our perception of reality is distorted beyond measure. It is for this reason that Saint John entitles this step “On Mad Pride“.  The more that we turn away from He who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, the more that we turn away from He who is Meaning, the more we lose touch with reality. We become like the one who fell from heaven, the father of lies. We are drawn into the same darkness and inability to see not only the truth about our souls but also to see the depths of God’s love and compassion. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:02:44 FrDavid Abernethy: page 170 para number 2   00:15:21 TFredman: Have you heard from Ren? How is she doing?   00:16:21 Lee Graham: You will be greatly missed next week, you will be in my prayers.   00:43:33 David Swiderski: John mentions Gluttony is the prince of passions but also places Pride as a key passion are they both keys of all the passions? Is one more principal.   01:05:04 Louise: Therefore, how to understand one's desire to become competent, as competent as can be, to do things right?   01:14:05 Louise: So to become competent for Christ, to serve Christ in this world.   01:16:27 Victor: Thanks!   01:18:02 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father...will be praying...   01:18:13 Louise: Thanks, Fr. Abernethy!   01:18:13 Jeff O.: Thank you!!   01:18:18 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂Have a good retreat  

How beautiful is the path that the Lord sets before us to draw us to Himself. Its beauty is rooted in the fact that it is the path that He took toward us. God reveals himself, He draws back to the veil, and shows us the depth of his humility, love and compassion. What we find in the desert fathers and in their sayings is a portrait of the gospels; more specifically a portrait of Christ himself - the humble crucified One. We should never fear humility but rather gravitate towards it. It is something that we should love and cultivate precisely, because we know that it is part of the nature of God and His love, and that it unites us to Him. Whatever truth we acknowledge about ourselves, no matter how dark, it unites us to He who is Truth. This is the pearl of great price! It is the virtue that we should desire above all things and guard and protect as most precious.   ---   Text of chat during the group:   00:11:11 sue and mark: car caravan   00:12:21 FrDavid Abernethy: page 391 para 31   00:28:48 Fr Marty, ND, 480-292-3381: 34 reminded me of a statement that often strikes me:   00:28:59 Fr Marty, ND, 480-292-3381: It was said of Abba Macarius the Great that he became, according to the writings, a god on earth, because in the way God protects the world, so Abba Macarius would hide the faults he saw as though he had not seen them, and the faults he heard about as though he had not heard of them. Sayings of the Desert Fathers   00:36:59 Maureen Cunningham: Tree in Garden , once they ate they knew and then hid from God.   01:06:08 Fr Marty, ND, 480-292-3381: Listening to this talk of humility, I wonder. I can at times act humbly on the outside, but I don't know what humility feels like. I'm not sure how one acquires humility on the inside, or lives consistently this way. Is becoming humble becoming like God? The only thought that comes to me is to be still and stare at God until He Himself ignites or consumes me. I don't think I know how to be humble   01:12:19 sue and mark: thank you Fr. abernethy.   01:12:20 Rachel: Thank you!   01:12:30 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂