Philokalia Ministries

John continues to draw us ever deeper into the mysteries of the human mind and heart. We are in a constant state of receptivity as human beings. We are constantly engaged with the world around us through our senses. Our vigilance, therefore, must be of such a nature that we take these things into consideration. The sense of touch, the sense of hearing, etc., all can be things that give rise to the passions. In and of themselves, they may not be sinful and may not lead to sin on many occasions. However, our understanding of the power of this receptivity leads to the realization that the evil one can use them as a source of temptation. There is no room for pride in the battle that emerges from sensuality.  Even actions and behaviors from the past remain forever in the imagination and memory. They are deeply ensconced in the unconscious. No matter how long ago certain things took place, something in the present day can give rise to and trigger those memories ever so powerfully. Conceit will always be our downfall; when we think our spiritual practices or circumstances, place us outside the reach of temptation. Saint Isaac the Syrian said in the spiritual battle there is no Sabbath. In other words, there is no rest in this life when dealing with the temptations of the evil one. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:06:26 FrDavid Abernethy: page 147 top of the page   00:12:40 FrDavid Abernethy: page 147 top of the page   00:17:47 Anthony: Maybe the way "Theology of the Body" is approached by some teachers, the way physicality and theology are intertwined and appealed to by the imagination is a dangerous thing.   00:19:46 Rory: ?is the silent stillness our spiritual existence?   00:24:51 Louise: Could reading the Psalms written by King David stimulate the sexual appetite because he gravely fell in the sins of fornication and adultery, and also murder?   00:35:48 Cindy Moran: I don't understand this about the man & his mother...   00:37:58 Rory: ?are words a sense of touch?   00:38:15 Cindy Moran: Ok...I am getting more clarity...thank you.   00:38:50 Anthony: It's a sad reality that such a thing as incest exists.  I guess the watchword is chastity or prudence, not focusing on so many permutations of evil that exist.   00:43:26 Cindy Moran: My mother told us to remember that you can't "unsee" something.   00:49:54 David Swiderski: There used to be a long tradition of contemplating the 5 wounds. I have found this extremely helpful to also sort out personal wounds. There is something strangely beautiful in overcoming suffering.   00:51:08 Rory: ?are deep wounds transcended by surrendering our weakness to God?   00:52:11 David Swiderski: The cross itself is our sign of victory   00:52:51 B.M.: Reacted to "The cross itself is ..." with ❤️   00:53:16 David Swiderski: Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within your wounds conceal me. Do not permit me to be parted from you.   00:54:41 Lorraine Green: Is there a third order for laymen that is mainly Eastern?   00:54:54 Anthony: The demons see out want to follow Christ and take advantage of our weakness to crucify us by our weakness, so we then have a real solidarity with the Crucified One.   00:56:12 wayne: I belong to the eastern rite, and to my knowledge there is not third order in the east   00:57:33 Anthony: Replying to "Is there a third o..."   An internet search shows there are "associates" of monastaries - Holy Resurrection Monastery, Sisters of St. Basil.  These are answers at byzcath.org.   01:14:05 Cindy Moran: Replying to "Is there a third ord..."     Excellent session...thank you Father!   01:14:13 Lorraine Green: Replying to "Is there a third ord..."   Thank you   01:14:17 Rachel : Thank you   01:14:19 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:14:21 Bonnie Lewis: Thank you Father David.   01:14:38 Louise: Thank you!   01:14:39 Cindy Moran: Replying to "Is there a third ord..."     🙏   01:14:44 David Swiderski: Thank you father!  

The subtlety of Temptations! Again, and again the fathers show us the relentless work of the evil one in drawing the mind ans the heart of individuals into sin. He can create within our hearts a kind of childishness; a veneer of sanctity or virtue. One can experience, joy or tears or consolation in their soul, but it can all be an illusion, and not truly rooted in repentance. It is for this reason that we so often backslide in the spiritual life. We do not let go of the attachments that we have to the things that lead us into sin. We may repent and go to confession, but within our hearts we still hold on to a multitude of things that give rise to temptation or that stimulate our inclination to particular sins. Fornication in particular is something that is seen as having great weight among the fathers because it is so tied to our very make up as human beings and to our bodily appetites and desires. We can fall into error in our thinking and be corrected of this error even when we cling to it with pride. But once we have acknowledged the error we are unlikely to return to it. However, when the sins of the flesh become tied up with our imagination and memory, and when we give ourselves over to the sin, the deeper the roots become. What is lodged in the imagination and memory is easily taken hold of again through fantasy, at first, and then finally an action. Therefore the sins the flesh often need the greatest commitment to ascetic disciplines in order to uproot them. We were told in the Scriptures that the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent to bear it away. Similarly, there are things that we must be willing to cut out of our life in order to keep us from falling into the same sins again. Our desire and our courage in doing so, however, is often lacking. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:05:54 John Ingram: Greater Cincinnati/N KY   00:08:32 FrDavid Abernethy: page 145 para 42   00:25:53 Ashley Kaschl: Is St. John saying this over sharing/emotionalism be a symptom of this sin?   00:25:53 Louise: Blind to consequences.   00:29:25 Louise: Hooking up maybe to avoid aloneness at all cost.   00:29:26 Debra: Hook Up culture isn't just on Universities   00:32:27 Rory: Being in the moment with prayer, incarnate with God, we are never alone, as a temple of the Holy Spirit   00:36:40 Rory: ?is sin a correction?   00:37:39 Anthony: When I look at the history of heresy, I see that mental and physical errors often go together.   00:39:00 Anthony: Examples that come to mind: Marcion & other Gnostics; Cathars; Lutherans; Munsterites   00:45:48 Louise: As a Catholic child, I was taught that we were forgiven if we recognize our fault, repent (suffer from having caused pain, which would reduce repetition), and to repair (in reality as much as possible). The last two requirements seem to be dismissed these days , especially the third one.   00:48:17 Ambrose Little, OP: It goes both ways. Some heretics go the way of overly puritanical approaches to the Faith.   00:54:31 Ashley Kaschl: The thought troubles me, and there’s a lot more to be said, I think, but the penance of not being permitted to receive the Holy Eucharist because of the sin of fornication makes a lot of sense.    Being that we receive the whole Christ, if someone has developed a deeply rooted habit of fornication they would have a kind of morbid, contraceptive disposition of soul that says “I want the pleasure of receiving Christ in the Eucharist, but I do not want His effects.” Even if the soul is fighting against the sin, that person still needs to be freed from that disposition before seeking a union with God they have trained their body and, thus, their soul not to seek above all other things. Obviously it’s not so cut and dry but I can see what the footnote is saying 😅   00:54:38 Rory: ?are there degrees of repentence?   00:58:03 Melissa Kummerow: Reacted to "The thought troubles..." with 👍   00:59:45 sue and mark: communion is the medicine....  I think that I disagree   01:02:49 Anthony: In my opinion, that goes back to the Germanic we-gild, or man price to satisfy for offenses in place of taking a "pound of flesh" so to speak.  When the Roman Catholic Church became more of a Germanic entity, we used a Germanic example (in my opinion) of penance, and of Purgatory / indulgences.   01:02:59 Anthony: "wer-gild"   01:04:00 David Swiderski: I have to admit the desert fathers helped me tremendously as they have practical things to overcome temptations, situations or vices. I wish in the confessional there was more application of those especially to younger people who give up before knowing of these weapons in the spiritual battle.   01:04:21 Jeff O.: Reacted to "I have to admit the ..." with 👍   01:04:23 Melissa Kummerow: Reacted to "I have to admit the ..." with 👍   01:04:32 Art: I recently heard about priests telling people in the confessional “Be brief, be contrite, and be gone”.   01:05:04 Eric Ewanco: Reacted to "I have to admit the ..." with 👍   01:05:05 LauraLeigh: Reacted to "I have to admit the ..." with 👍   01:05:12 John Ingram: Reacted to "I have to admit the ..." with 👍   01:05:28 Bonnie Lewis: Yes, I had a priest say, "just get to the sins!"   01:06:29 Lyle: Reacted to "I have to admit the ..." with 👍   01:07:10 David Swiderski: The church as an ER and priest or elders as spiritual doctors   01:08:45 Eric Ewanco: I hate it when I go to a scheduled confession period in an unfamiliar church and no priest is there   01:09:34 Michael: Unfortunately, I have mostly seen the opposite problem. Exponentially more people going up for communion than are going to confession. I think many people are not well-catechized and don't realize the gravity of receiving communion without ever going to confession.   01:09:59 Ambrose Little, OP: Not our job to be judging others..   01:10:25 Michael: I don't mean to judge those people, I just think it is a big problem that so many are unaware. It isn't their fault   01:11:15 Michael: Precisely   01:13:17 Cindy Moran: Any thoughts about a book called The Philokalia and The Inner Life On Passions and Prayer written by Christopher Cook Psychiatrist   01:14:10 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:14:15 angelo: Thank you father David.   01:14:22 Michael: Thank you Father David   01:14:25 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father   01:14:32 Jacqulyn: Thank you! Quite a blessing. :-)   01:14:33 Bonnie Lewis: Thank you always Father.   01:14:37 John Ingram: Thank you, Father!   01:14:49 Louise: Thanks so much!   01:15:23 sue and mark: Good night and thank you.   01:15:27 Jeff O.: Amen, Thank you!   01:15:29 Debra: Thank you, for all you do!   01:15:29 Cindy Moran: Excellent session   01:15:31 David Swiderski: Thank you father!  

Once again, we are presented with a kind of fickleness that can plague the human heart. We can be ever so changeable. This includes how we look upon even our greatest commitments. The moment something becomes a trial for us or where we are asked to endure something that is reprehensible, or that causes us some suffering, we will want to change the external circumstances of our life.  However, the fathers in their writing show us how the evil one constantly seeks to magnify such experiences to the point that they breakdown our commitment to our particular vocation or vows. The one who has lived the common life for years can have the seed implanted in his heart that he would be happier or holier as an anchorite. Or one who is old of age might be tempted into thinking that his life no longer has value, and that he can no longer fulfill the rule in the way that he did as a young man. He begins to think about retiring from the religious life all together. Such thinking is pervasive and enters into every vocation.  Having said this, however, we also have to be aware of the fact that we can face obstacles in our environment, such as the envy of others that becomes destructive or immorality. In these circumstances, it may be necessary to change one’s environment.  We need to recognize that we are responsible for the spiritual well-being and fidelity of others. If we treat others without love, without respect, then we can put their vocation and their spiritual life in jeopardy. This is a sober reminder of the solidarity that exist between us. The only way that we are allowed to treat another person is to love them. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:03:09 FrDavid Abernethy: Hello Navy Dave!!!   00:03:26 David Fraley: I love those photos of you and your mom! Neither of you have changed!   00:03:42 FrDavid Abernethy: I look older than she does   00:04:24 David Fraley: Mrs Abernethy, you and I met at the Oratory a few years ago.   00:47:37 Ren Witter: Something about all these examples makes me really sad, and I think it has something to do with how they show that our words and actions can have such a profound on the ability of another to resist temptation. In all these examples, the temptations would have little weight if the elder in question was treated in such a way that he was assured of the affection and support of his fellow, younger monks.   00:48:08 Ren Witter: I just imagine how the way we treat others makes them more or less susceptible   00:51:00 David Fraley: Reacted to "I just imagine how t…" with 👍   00:54:46 Ren Witter: I am thinking, and I don’t think this is an overstatement, that when we treat others in a way that says “you are worthless,” “you are not worth my time,” “you don’t deserve kindness,” “you are a lost cause,” and many other such things, that we are not just making them more susceptible to the temptations of the demons, but are in fact becoming the tempting demon ourselves. We are already doing the demons’ job for them.   00:58:14 Anthony: "The Three Musketeers" has a plotline about a woman who left the convent in a bad way, and she brought ruin and misery to several men throughout her life until an avenger caught up with her.  It ties together some themes discussed today.   00:59:58 Louise: Sometimes, to be ethical, we have to confront, directly or indirectly, the obvious incompetence and even maliciousness of others. Of course, their hidden demons come out then forcibly. This would not be a sin, right?   01:03:07 John Ingram: Replying to "Sometimes, to be eth..."   I think St. Francis de Sales talked about how to respond to negative people (heretics, etc.): treat them with honey, not with vinegar.   01:05:48 Louise: Replying to "Sometimes, to be eth..."   Good point! However, some people even envy you when you treat them with honey, because they do not have honey and they hate you for having honey.  

Piercing! The vision of a Saint becomes ever so sharp. Out of their own experience of the desert, and the spiritual warfare engaged in there, comes a wisdom that strikes, hopefully, our hearts. Our hearts can become hardened by being so long immersed in sin. When the sin becomes hardened and habitual, becomes a passion, it is not easy to break free from it.  Yet words alone, even the words of the Saints, are unable to break us free. There must be within our hearts a faith and willingness to take hold of the grace of God that comes to us through Christ to enter into the fray, to fight the good fight of faith, and to engage fully in the ascetical life.  Both the habit of sin and the temptation of the Evil One often keeps us mired deeply in darkness. Yet we must strive to let the little light that is given to us draw us forward and emboldened our hearts. A different vision of reality is set before us; one that has come into being through the Incarnation and the Paschal mystery. We are called, not simply to be good people and those of high natural virtue but rather sons and daughters of God. Christ’s virtue is to become our virtue. His strength must become our strength. This is not something that we seize upon with our own hands but receive with humility and gratitude. With these two virtues may we set out on the journey with an invincible hope. --- Text of chat during the group:   00:04:27 FrDavid Abernethy: page 144 paragraph 31   00:11:03 FrDavid Abernethy: page 144 para 31   00:23:03 Michael: Is there any truth to the idea that God is particularly merciful about "natural" sins? CS Lewis said something similar in Mere Christianity.   00:31:28 Anthony: I suggest we read the passage of the Woman caught in Adultery in the context of Susanna and the Elders.   00:53:09 Lawrence Martone: Sometimes we have to question if we are doing the right thing, but we don’t have a spiritual director.  Is there an equivalent of Ignatian Discernment methods with the Desert Fathers?   00:56:54 Daniel Allen: Is that type of humility why someone such as St Philip Neri can say (paraphrasing), I have done nothing good today I will begin again… and mean it? Because to the outside observer obviously St Philip did much good.   01:05:57 Brad Smith: Is this similar to Psalm 137:9 about dashing infants against the stone…i.e. dealing with the sin early and completely?   01:06:41 LauraLeigh Monterey: My Egyptian is food. :-) So, I am to turn the power behind that appetite toward its source, which is God, yes? Can you explain a little more what that means in practical terms? That is, how exactly does one "kill the Egyptian"? Would it depend on what the Egyptian is?   01:11:18 Ashley Kaschl: This makes me think a lot about a Christmas Carol when Scrooge is first visited by Marley and how he’s fearful of this chain wrapped all around his friend more so than the fact that he’s a ghost. And Marley asks him “do you know the weight and length of the chain you bear yourself?” And I think that’s a lot like this Egyptian and how we may not know we are slaves to our sin and wrapped in chains.   01:11:23 Anthony: Replying to "Is this similar to..."   That's what I was thinking.  I think the monks interpret it this way.   01:12:47 Cindy Moran: What is the title of Pope Shenouda's book?   01:13:35 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:14:19 angelo: Thank you!   01:14:22 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father!!!   01:14:27 Bonnie Lewis: Thank you so much Father.  

We returned to hypothesis 40 and found ourselves sitting at the feet of Saint Ephrem the Syrian. We are shown with frightening clarity how the evil one works upon our minds and our hearts by making us question the value and the significance of our particular vocation.  We are often tempted to change externals; thinking that when we do so we will find a place that fosters greater sanctity, peace of mind and heart, or offers a greater opportunity for prayer. The evil one constantly seeks to tempt us to this instability in order that we might never put down deep roots - and so also never bear ripe fruit, if any fruit at all.  The grass always looks greener on the other side. There are always going to be things that seem to be lacking in our life or in our relationships, whether real or perceived, that make us vulnerable to this kind of attack. Therefore, we are counseled to be equally relentless in putting things to the test. We must fast and pray and seek the counsel of others. Likewise, we must never make decisions in moments of desolation. It is not as though the fathers are saying that we can never be called to walk another path. Rather, they are telling us that all of our actions must be guided by prudence; a kind of practical wisdom that arises out of long experience within the inner desert of the heart.  --- Text of chat during the group: 00:04:58 FrDavid Abernethy: page 342 top of the page   00:43:21 John Ingram: I'm wondering whether the extreme depravity of the modern world creates a greater temptation to retreat to a more extreme asceticism than, say, a century ago, or even during the times of the Desert Fathers. Thus we're in more danger of being thrown off balance from a balanced approach.   00:50:30 Louise: Would  recommend allowing ourselves to experience the void elated to the longing to be with the Beloved, being conscious and tolerating the pain of longing while also being in this world with its joys and pleasures in a contained way.   01:07:24 Louise: I think of Job these days. He was thrown into ascetism, losses, and pain, beyond his volition. God tested him via the evil one. At times, I imagine myself in the place of Job in a near future, in the hope to remain faithful and in love with God whatever happens, even I do not understand why this is occurring. Maybe Job's trial was a demonstration for us.   01:11:02 Adam Paige: It’s the feast of Job this week actually   01:14:05 Melissa Kummerow: Wish I had been able to tune in earlier but everything that's been talked about so far has been very timely to my own life right now. Seems to be par for the course with your groups, Father David lol  

How does one begin to speak about purity and chastity in an age that hyper-sensualizes the human experience?  When we define ourselves so tightly and, in particular, so tightly to disordered desire, how is it that we bear witness to and embrace the call of Saint John and the other fathers to purity? Part of the answer to these questions is to immerse ourselves in the vision of the fathers; their anthropology and psychology and the spirituality that shapes these things. However, this only begins to lead us to an understanding of who and what we have become in Christ.  If it remains purely notional we will inevitably be drawn back in to what the culture puts before us. What Christianity calls us to is to see ourselves only in light of Christ and to find meaning and identity in Him. Likewise, we must see the radical solidarity that exists between every one of us as human beings made in the image and likeness of God. We are called to a life of radical conversion and repentance.  When we look out into the world and see great evil or sin, our response must be to turn to God with even greater zeal and desire. We must embody the love, joy, peace, and purity of the kingdom. Anything less is going to ring hollow to the world. To speak of purity or chastity in simple moralistic or legalistic terms is to fail to understand what we have become in Christ. It is the Spirit of God that dwells within us and we are not called to embody natural virtue much less what private judgment puts forward as good. It is the beauty of Divine life that must shine forth in our every thought and action. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:08:51 FrDavid Abernethy: page 142, para 19   00:30:23 Anthony: I kind of think I (we?) try too hard to be Christians, and that is a self-centered and very difficult focus.  It's not the way of easy relief of Christ's cross.  It's my cross.   00:31:39 Anthony: My pastor once mentioned how we make our own heavy, too heavy crosses.   00:33:50 Eric Ewanco: I try to project the seraph serpent mounted on a pole to the Eucharist lifted up during the liturgy, sending out healing to me from the crucifixion of Christ   00:50:56 Michael: Oh wow, I thought it was just a metaphor. I didn’t realize he was literally talking about bestiality.   00:51:29 angelo: Reacted to "Oh wow, I thought it..." with 👍   00:55:18 Ashley Kaschl: This isn’t necessarily related to chastity but there’s a book about how normal people became murderers during WWII called “Ordinary Men” and its incredibly humbling. I would definitely recommend it. There’s a quote that always sticks with me from the psychological study of genocide in that book that states “Evil that arises out of ordinary thinking and is committed by ordinary people is the norm, not the exception.” (Ervin Staub, author of “The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and other Group Violence”)   00:58:41 Anthony: I get this idea from E Michael Jones: "Sexual Liberation is a tool of Social Control."  He bases this on St. Augustine and events in world history which illustrate how sexuality has been used to enslave the imagination and soul.  Maybe that will help.   01:01:03 Louise: At an older age, there is an appeasement of the bodily pulsions. Therefore, there is a lot of good to say about older age. I am thankful. Maybe it is partly due to my turning to the Beloved many years ago, repeating again and again in my Heart, ''There is no god but God.''   01:17:16 David: Isn't a lot of this the consequence of "Relativism". Feelings have replaced truth.   01:17:50 Louise: Otherwise, these people will sue you, as an honest clinician.   01:18:01 carol nypaver: True, David.   01:18:13 Ashley Kaschl: I wonder if it’s a step further than relativism. Vice has replaced virtue to the extent that it has become “virtuous” to extol it.   01:18:58 angelo: Thank you Father.   01:19:02 melissa kummerow: Thank you!!!!   01:19:05 David: Thank you father!   01:19:06 sue and mark: Good night everyone.  Thank you Father.  

Stability of place leads to and protects internal emotional and spiritual stability. One must not be tempted to change one’s external environment; thinking that somehow another place holds greater promise for producing virtue within our hearts. Such thoughts must be tested over the course of many years and placed before one’s spiritual elder for scrutiny. Often the evil one will seek to draw us along another path because we are being afflicted or frustrated or our self-esteem is being diminished in some fashion. We must keep our focus upon Christ in the midst of this battle. He alone is the wholly innocent One. He did not flee the Cross that was set before him and ultimately gave his assent to the Father’s will. Our faith and hope in God and what he can bring about by his providence and grace must be our guiding light.   ---   Text of chat during the group:   00:08:00 FrDavid Abernethy: page 336, Letter C   00:48:34 Ashley Kaschl: What you said about scripture where Jesus asks “do you want to be well?” reminded me of a part of the Surrender Novena to the Sacred Heart: “In pain you pray for me to act, but that I act in the way you want. You do not turn to me, instead, you want me to adapt to your ideas. You are not sick people who ask the doctor to cure you, but rather sick people who tell the doctor how to.”   00:52:55 Louise: Could it be that Theodora fully accepted this ordeal because she had previously deceived the monks of the monastery in believing that she was a man? Thus, this was a just punishment by God, which she embraced.   00:55:59 Louise: I see.   01:02:11 John Ingram: Not sure where this poem came from, but on the subject of spiritual pride, here is one stanza:   01:03:47 John Ingram: "And when the prayer unto my lips doth rise/"Let me but offer Thee some glorious sacrifice/Let me accomplish some great work for Thee!"/Subdue it, Lord, let my petition be Make me but useful in this world of Thine/In ways according to Thy Will, not mine."   01:05:00 Louise: Father, would you see anorexia as an ego-based asceticism driven by diabolical obsession?   01:05:30 John Ingram: No idea!   01:07:05 Paul Fifer: Found the poem…. Here is a link:  https://www.google.com/books/edition/Irish_Monthly/_W43AAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22And+when+the+prayer+unto+my+lips+doth+rise/%22Let+me+but+offer+Thee+some+glorious+sacrifice/Let+me+accomplish+some+great+work+for+Thee!%22/Subdue+it,+Lord,+let+my+petition+be+Make+me+but+useful+in+this+world+of+Thine/In+ways+according+to+Thy+Will,+not+mine.%22&pg=PA509&printsec=frontcover   01:07:09 John Ingram: Follow-up to other stanza: first stanza is: "Let me not die before I've done for Thee/my earthly work, whatever it may be./ Call me not hence with mission unfulfilled/ let me not leave my space of ground untilled."   01:07:51 Ashley Kaschl: Reacted to "Follow-up to other s…" with ❤️   01:09:38 David Fraley: Reacted to "Follow-up to other s…" with ❤️   01:14:39 Sandy Nelson: A first time listener this evening . . where can I get a copy of the Evergetinos?   01:15:08 Ashley Kaschl: Reacted to "A first time listene…" with ❤️   01:15:23 Sandy Nelson: Thank you   01:16:58 sue and mark: Thank you Father.  God bless everyone.  

The depth of the fathers’ understanding of the workings of the mind and the heart, the appetites and desires, is staggering. One of the great fruits of the ascetic life of the Desert fathers is what it reveals about the desert of the human heart. Jeremiah the prophet wrote: “The human heart is a treacherous thing.  Who can endure it“. How true this is! St. John Climacus gradually begins us to draw us in to the subtle workings of our bodily appetites, in particular those tied to sensuality. Our vision of ourselves, and others can become so easily distorted by our sin. We become unable to see the beauty not only of the world around us, but of the human person and every aspect of their being. We all use ourselves and others and the things of this world in a desperate attempt to fill a void within our hearts. We long for the love of God. Even the atheist, one who denies God with all their heart, experiences this longing. They may be completely unaware of its source but nonetheless desperately seek something to fill it. And in those times when we are not wrapped up in the attempt or the delusion of fullness, we experience depression. There is no human being that does not experience isolation and the pain of loneliness even when surrounded by others and an abundance of worldly goods. St. John painstakingly reveals to us the nature of the struggle for purity of heart in order that we might be freed from seeking for the love and fullness anywhere else than in the bosom of God.  --- Text of chat during the group: 00:01:25 Kevin Burke: I am just getting started on this forum and really enjoying it, I plan to catch up with the previous lessons as well.   Can you tell me what version of the book that we are using in this forum? I have the Paulist version but it’s very different and I would like to get the precise same version.   00:03:14 Adam Paige: Replying to "I am just getting st..."   The Holy Transfiguration Monastery version we use is a revision of this earlier 1959 translation: http://www.prudencetrue.com/images/TheLadderofDivineAscent.pdf   00:31:20 Anthony: St. Gregory of Narek on the Song of Songs does a very good job of drawing holy innocence from a love story.   00:34:04 Anthony: Replying to "St. Gregory of Nar..."   "The Blessing of Blessings: Gregory of Narek on the Song of Songs" Translated from the AArmenian by Roberta Ervine, Cistercian Publications, (c) 2007   00:34:48 Louise Gaston: Would you say that purity of heart coupled with an observing ego allows for a sensitive detachment and discernment? With God's grace too?   00:34:51 angelo: Reacted to ""The Blessing of Ble..." with ❤️   00:38:55 Sr Barbara Jean Mihalchick: "greater still is the man unhurt by all he has looked upon." says this translation...   00:39:24 Rodrigo Castillo: The Blessing of Blessings: Grigor of Narek's Commentary on the Song of Songs (Cistercian Studies books) (Volume 215) https://a.co/d/7ZqSBAW   00:40:44 angelo: Reacted to "The Blessing of Bles..." with 👍   00:41:31 Louise Gaston: Would you say that one's engagement in pornography, gluttony, etc. is basically a defense against the pain of our longing for God's presence?   00:45:59 Adam Paige: Reacted to ""The Blessing of Ble..." with ❤️   00:46:08 Adam Paige: Reacted to "The Blessing of Bles..." with 👍   00:50:07 Anthony: Fr. Barnabas Powell (Greek Orthodox) has a saying "You are not your thoughts."  I think that has a place in psychological reflection   00:50:30 Jeff O.: Reacted to "Fr. Barnabas Powell ..." with 👍   00:52:18 Sean: In ‘Christ — Our Pascha’, the Ukrainian Catholic catechism, it says:    “When a person in prayer meets God in the depths of one's heart, one already here on earth directly experiences that which the apostle Paul describes as seeing God ‘face to face’ (1 Cor 13:12). The person ‘sees’ the One in whom he or she has believed. The person abides in God's presence. The apostle Paul compares this new state of the person to a ‘seeing’ of God…it is a ‘seeing’ of the Invisible One.“ And Metropolitan Hierotheos in ‘Orthodox Psychotherapy’ writes: “The pure heart is the organ of knowledge, the organ of Orthodox epistemology.”    Thank you, Father☦️   https://eeparchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Christ-our-Pascha-Catechism-of-the-Ukrainian-Catholic-Church-by-Comission-for-the-Catehism-z-lib.org_.pdf   00:53:42 Adam Paige: Reacted to "Fr. Barnabas Powell ..." with 👍   00:59:12 Anthony: So truth must be, as Soren Kierkegaard said, Objective-subjective.  The internal assent must be actively given to the external reality.  This is how the Blessed Virgin MAry lived.   00:59:46 Adam Paige: Reacted to "So truth must be, as..." with 🇩🇰   01:01:13 Louise Gaston: Difficult question - Is Christ in the Eucharist when it is consecrated by ''funny'' modernist priests? (those with an irrespectful attitude)   01:04:47 angelo: Fr. I have a question: self-flagellation as a mortification is still be helpful in this battle? I heard  that it is no longer permitted by the church.   01:07:15 David: This seems different by culture. The chapel of N. Sra of Guadalupe still washes blood on the cobblestones from the knees of faithful entering the chapel   01:08:08 David: Opus Dei still uses the cilus   01:10:16 Jeff O.: Thank you!   01:10:18 Sean: Thank you, Father☦️   01:10:19 David: Thank you father!   01:10:22 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:10:28 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father!