Philokalia Ministries

How do we talk about and understand despondency? I never heard about the word or the nature of the vice until I was in my 20s and after having read the fathers. And yet we hear from the fathers that it is the greatest and gravest of the eight capital vices. It afflicts the soul in such a way that it draws it into darkness. The soul loses its capacity to see the presence of God or to love the things of God. It becomes most dangerous when we are engaged in the spiritual life in isolation; either as those who live the life of a hermit, or as those who see the spiritual life as a private affair.  We live in a radical solidarity with each other, and with God. Our understanding of this, and our embrace of that reality may be the one thing that keeps us from falling into a general death.  This demon uses the most subtle forms of temptation to make us lax in our spiritual practice or come to despise it all together. There are very few remedies for it for this reason. One must remember death and the brevity of our life. We must understand that we are in the end times and see the urgency of the moment. We must also cling to obedience; placing our thoughts before another and allow them to guide us when we cannot see the path before us.  Prayer filled with hope, St. John tells us, is the only thing that brings this vice to utter death. Only when we cling to He who is life and love and hope and let go of the illusion that we can simply endure the spiritual trials of this world on our own will this vice be conquered. But once it is conquered, a person has come to experience all that is good; they are prepared for every spiritual battle that lies ahead. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:19:17 David: Question on translation: Acedia wouldn't this be closer to insouciant or melancholy rather than despondency?   00:35:37 Daniel Allen: Despondency is a child of talkativeness but community life is opposed to it? That seems sort of contradictory.   00:37:21 Anthony: The spirit of despondency also perverts a concept of what it means to be "elect": I am the only true one, everyone is against me."  That's not a good place to be.   00:37:51 Daniel Allen: As a follow up it seems that despondency is always a lurking threat.   00:38:32 Daniel Allen: Ok that clears it up thank you   00:41:21 Cindy Moran: Noonday Devil from Ps 90:6 [DRV]   00:43:22 Sr Barbara Jean Mihalchick: Also, many monks would not eat before 3 pm so beginning around midday hunger and hungers may start.   00:46:55 Anthony: The dinner bell represents hope that suffering will end.   00:59:02 Kathy: What do you mean by deification?   01:00:26 Eric Ewanco: Deification is become by grace what Christ was by nature -- becoming God-like, sharing in the divinity of Christ as he shared in our humanity, being partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4)   01:01:26 Anthony: A great Roman Catholic imagery / interpretation of deification is in Dante's "Paradiso," especially the later cantos.   01:02:14 Kathy: Thanks   01:06:45 Daniel Allen: St Therese - “May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.”   01:06:59 Kristen Brotemarkle: beautiful quote, thanks for sharing that. ^   01:09:55 Liz: Sorry, what´s the name of the author Father is talking about?   01:10:26 Anthony: Paul Evdekimov   01:10:32 Sr Barbara Jean Mihalchick: Paul Evdokimov   01:10:35 Liz: Thank you!!!   01:18:25 Ambrose Little, OP: Gender equality. Very modern.   01:20:56 Jeff O.: It seems like despondency (and gluttony as well) have a tendency or propensity to draw us towards numbing…which, paired with the nature of our culture which attempts to provide numbing or comforting in all things seems like an almost double whammy of sorts…   01:21:34 Anthony: Reacted to "It seems like desp..." with 👍   01:24:21 Kristen Brotemarkle: Reacted to "It seems like despon..." with 👍   01:37:38 Art: Got me too!   01:38:30 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:38:53 Rodrigo Castillo: That is a great idea!  The forum!   01:39:53 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father...rich teaching tonight.   01:39:57 Jeff O.: This was great! Thank you.   01:40:07 David: Thank you father!  

How does one approach something such as grumbling and murmuring against others, or complaining about what our judgment and sensibilities react to negatively in our lives? How is it that we suspend that judgment? Beyond this, how is it that we let it go all together and allow ourselves to be drawn along in the darkness of faith; where God alone illuminates the path before us to draw us into the truth and the love of the kingdom?    The short answer to all of these questions is: through experience. Only God can reveal to the human heart that has the faith, perhaps only the size of a mustard seed, the depths of His mind and His truth. The greatest miracle, if you will, is to move the mountain of our ego and self-esteem. Our passions make it so difficult to keep our focus solely upon God, upon his love, and upon the truth that is being revealed to us.    These stories are not about disciples being slavishly obedient to their masters no matter what the circumstances. In fact, the stories given to us tonight were how novices and disciples, who were pure of heart, were able to see the truth with clarity and bring about the conversion of their Elders who had lost their way. The stories are presented to us in order that we would not be tempted into condescension. We must understand that God can reprove us and correct us in the most unexpected of ways. What these hypotheses (36 & 37) reveal to us is the preeminence of humility and love. Age, experience or depth of discipline are no guarantee that we will see the truth or embrace it. May God have mercy and illuminate our hearts. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:12:16 FrDavid Abernethy: page 309   00:12:34 FrDavid Abernethy: On Grumbling :-)   00:33:19 Eric Ewanco: In terms of grumbling, I was listening today to a podcast on joy and the speaker pointed out that the early Christians did not even complain about Nero (who took Christians, covered them with tar, and lit them to shed light on his parties), but kept their focus on God and their own faith, and cultivating joy in the midst of persecution. A good lesson for us today in the hostile environment we live in where Christians tend to get distracted by their grumbling over the circumstances.   00:48:21 Eric Ewanco: Doesn't this just contradict everything we've heard previously about the value and importance of unalloyed obedience?   01:16:26 Anthony: "Father David, Build My Church, which you can see is in ruins"?   01:19:56 Ambrose Little, OP: It seems like the habit of humility teaches us to see more clearly. Humility as “true self knowledge,” but with that practice of patience with yourself and with others, not jumping to conclusions and avoiding rashly adopting opinions of others. You give yourself time and suppress the passions that can interfere with being open to seeing things as they really are. So that practice of humble obedience is at least in part what helps us to see more clearly when it might be right to not obey—or at least not obey in particulars in order to be obedient in a a deeper way, as with that disciple tonight.  

I have one word for tonight‘s group: Beautiful! Repentance “brings to us the power of the living God, revealing once again, the true Christ Jesus who dwells in us.” As with so many aspects of the faith, we have a tendency to compartmentalize not only the practice of virtue or of prayer but of our relationship with God as a whole. Yet our faith and our relationship with God should touch the very fabric of our beings and shape the essence of every relationship and every work that we engage in throughout the course of our lives. It should shape also our experience of death and our realization of our own mortality. Repentance is not an episodic reality but a continual effort, the continual straining of the heart - reaching out to God to experience his love and mercy. In this sense it is the most important of things. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:06:18 sue and mark: microphone is not working   00:08:33 Ren Witter: PDF Handout: https://mcusercontent.com/c38acab568d650f7ef65f39df/files/34558acb-864f-f9f8-1546-e7decdc9605b/Repentance.pdf   00:34:44 charlesevers: What gets us (causes) trapped into thinking of past sins?   00:34:55 Irene Bridget Hutchinson: Fr, how would a scrupulous person go about being constantly repentant with peace of soul?   00:44:00 David: The past few years I have also focused on taking time in prayer and adoration to express gratitude and thanksgiving. Isn't it equality important to give thanks as to deepen repentance. No amount of regret changes the past, no amount of worry will change the future but any gratitude will change the present.   00:50:52 charlesevers: Very good. Thank you Father.  Excellent explanation.   00:55:37 charlesevers: St. Bonaventure wrote a colloquay   01:12:54 Rachel : Yes. Only true Beauty. Most,. I include myself, can tend to misuse t|   01:21:53 Missi White: That's a tough pill to swallow, especially in what has become such a narcissistic culture.  How I needed this conference, thank you!   01:24:26 Art: Helpful reminder for me at times: But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (Jn 1:12-13)   01:25:21 Bonnie Lewis: I have found that when I pray for someone who is causing me to harbor a resentment toward them, I am the one who changes internally.  The other person may remain exactly how they were, yet I have received a peace of mind and thought toward them.  This doesn't happen overnight.  sometimes it takes some time.   01:36:29 Rachel : Who wrote the book? A continual effort. With no temptation or battle a soldier is not made stronger through resisting. St. Faustina, and  St Therese had clear experiences of people who tried their patience. They felt the irritation. Its not like the new lens that Father is speaking of will mean that somone will not need to actively practice patience but that the life of repentence, living constantly in the presence of God, in Truth, the person "drunk with compunction" just simply cannot not forgive when they see who they really are in Christ and the dignity of others as well. All mankind seen through the lens of love   01:37:12 Rachel : This book should be gone through very slowly.   01:41:33 Rachel : I think Ren mentioned that this past year in a group! I need to get that book.   01:44:13 Bonnie Lewis: Thank you Father David.  This was beautiful.   01:44:15 David: Thank you Father!   01:44:27 charlesevers: Thank you Father.  This was wonderful   01:44:30 Lori Hatala: so very helpful.   01:44:31 Rachel : lol   01:44:31 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you 🙂   01:44:32 Melissa Kummerow: Yes thank you! I like the occasional "bonus" groups :)   01:44:34 Rachel : Thank you   01:45:17 Rachel : Thank you   01:45:18 Lorraine Green: Thank you   01:45:26 Cindy Moran: I hope Father's talj will be available for what I missed.   01:45:27 Rachel : Praying for you   01:45:31 Mary Jo: Thank you !!   01:45:31 Mitch: Very profound. Thankyou Father take care  

INTRODUCTION TO INTERIORIZED MONASTICISM Interiorized Monasticism and Ascetic Ideal: • Obscured: Out of reach to majority. • Revealed: Fundamental principle of life in Christ. Eschatological Dimensions: Obscured: Life cut off from the world or world cut off from life of the kingdom. Revealed: Incarnation and kingdom of God present; Kingdom within through gift of the Spirit (active eschatology, touching every aspect of the world; living now in light of the End). Beauty Saves the World: Obscured: Culture as cult, autonomous from God and guided by sensibilities of the age. Revealed: Rediscovery of culture through the beauty of holiness. Jesus is the Holy One - the most beautiful of the sons of men. He is the perfect icon, manifesting God unveiled. The Monastic Ideal: Obscured: Return to the ancient forms of monastic ascesis. Revealed: Internalized. The human psyche is renewed from within. Five Fundamental Elements of Interiorized Monasticism (Upcoming Lectures): • Prayer • Eschatological Maximalism • Poverty • Chastity • Obedience

Tonight we read Step number 12 on Lying. Surprisingly this has always been a challenging step to read and to read as a group. Immediately our minds begin to swirl with the costs of loving the Truth and understanding that Truth is a person. Our starting point in such discussions is often examples that are extreme; things or circumstances that people might face within this life where lying might be justified. St. John addresses this and much more within the step. However, one has to be willing to suspend judgment and allow St. John to guide us along a path that deepens our sensitivity in regards to the Truth as a whole. Our starting point must be Christ. We must begin to understand that lying is a sin against charity, and to lie when making a vow or an oath is a denial of God himself. St. John understands very well that the Evil One can use something as innocent and enjoyable as humor to justify and to legitimize lying.  Yet, John tells us that there are no small lies and once spoken they have an effect upon ourselves and others. They diminish the spirit of mourning; that is, compunction within the human heart. In doing so they distract us from the remembrance of God and the things of God. We must remember that God has given us a conscience, a means of knowing the truth with Him. This is what we must form through the gospel and through our participation in the life of Christ. We must also remember that the Evil One is the Father of Lies and will use a lie under the pretext of protecting others. In the face of this, St. John tells us, “when we are completely cleansed of lying, then we can resort to it, but only with fear and as occasion demands.” Only when the heart has been completely purified, where there is no love of falsehood and where there is the presence of great discernment, can such a decision be made. To love truth, St. John tells us, is the root of every good because it is to love Christ. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:25:04 Anthony Rago: I've also been thinking that our bodies and societies are parables of truth; and we can be lying by engaging in bad lifestyles.   00:37:35 Anthony Rago: I can imagine a confessor becoming very exasperated if we treat all this as confessable sins; and it would be very wearing on all of us.   00:39:28 David Swiderski: Like many other things isn't discernment take a place here. Is this so people will think I am funny (pride), will this hurt someone, will it erode trust (the cost of lies) or lead to a habit?   00:39:39 Anthony Rago: That makes sense, thanks   00:40:57 Cindy Moran: Corrie ten Boom  lied to the Nazis when they asked if jews were in the house. This is ok?   00:44:09 Ren Witter: I feel like this is a really hard one. Intellectually, I actually feel like it is easy to understand. Emotionally, it kind of feels like one of those instances where being Christian can feel like a “kill-joy” to put it in a light way. Maybe the immense anxiety I feel in response to this is coming from the fear that being a Christian means no joy or every-day happiness. Its weird because I know that that isn’t true, but sometimes it can be hard to reconcile the lived experience of Christianity with the things the Fathers write.   00:46:34 Debra: Replying to "Corrie ten Boom  lie..."   I've read a priest's response to this, is Yes, it's ok; because the Nazis didn't have a right to what's going on in their home That we have dignity, and a right to privacy   I'm interested to hear what Fr Abernethy says 😄   00:55:06 Anthony Rago: With humor - movies, comedy routines, Facebook - it is easy to go along, and then the story teller sneaks in covert of blatant evil things, and "bam," there they are in the head, coming to mind in an ambush when they are most unwelcome.   01:04:10 Daniel Allen: Ok so this may be making a little more sense to me. If the concern is with Truth, and Truth is a person, then we can have a tendency to come between Truth and another person (between the other and his remembrance of Truth Himself), which sort of reminds me of two parts of the Gospel - better to have a millstone tied around your neck and cast into the sea than to cause the fall of one of these little ones, and also, what God has joined let no man divide. Neither are traditionally applied to this type of thought, but if by our jesting, and always (or often) making light of things we can get between a person and his remembrance of God (or mourning), then in a way we are doing just that on a spiritual level, dividing the person from his remembrance of God. We can (generally unintentionally) get between God and another person, and generally to pump up our own ego. The lying part makes sense, it’s the joking that’s hard to get.   01:11:37 Jacqulyn: Proverbs 26:18-19 - Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death is one who deceives their neighbor and says, "I was only joking."   01:15:40 Debra: Cindy Moran, up above, asked about that very point   01:20:23 David Swiderski: The trap of whataboutism deflects from a general truth   01:23:09 Bonnie Lewis: So I will only be finally cleansed in Purgatory?   01:23:49 Debra: In vino veritas   01:24:08 Anthony Rago: Greek Text of this chapter is here: https://el.wikisource.org/wiki/%CE%9A%CE%BB%CE%AF%CE%BC%CE%B1%CE%BE/%CE%9B%CF%8C%CE%B3%CE%BF%CF%82_%CE%99%CE%92 I can barely read Greek and can't now locate the word "torture."   01:25:16 Ambrose Little, OP: About being jovial, I have a fondness for this part of St. Thomas Aquinas’ prayer “for ordering a life wisely” (notably the last three lines):   O Lord my God, make me           submissive without protest,           poor without discouragement,           chaste without regret,           patient without complaint,           humble without posturing,           cheerful without frivolity,           mature without gloom,           and quick-witted without flippancy.   Being dour and scolding is not good, neither is flippancy and frivolity. Cheerfulness is a good thing within measure.   01:25:32 Anthony Rago: "agoneia"   01:25:49 Debra: Reacted to "About being jovial, ..." with ❤️   01:25:50 Daniel Allen: I think one thing I take from this is that I often don’t consider the significance of my own words, and that words have greater significance than generally thought   01:26:08 carol nypaver: Reacted to "About being jovial, ..." with ❤️   01:26:09 Ashley Kaschl: Reacted to "About being jovial, …" with 🔥   01:26:25 Cath Lamb: Reacted to "I think one thing I ..." with ❤️   01:27:19 Anthony Rago: Reacted to "About being jovial..." with ❤️   01:27:21 Cath Lamb: Thank you!   01:27:27 Cindy Moran: Excellent session...thank you Father   01:27:30 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:27:42 Art: Thank you!   01:27:55 Jeff O.: Thank you! Good to be with you all.   01:27:59 Bonnie Lewis: Prayers of course!   01:29:15 Bonnie Lewis: that's right because I received an email.  

In these hypotheses, we have been reflecting upon the practice of asceticism, especially in light of the relationship between an Elder and his disciple; that is, in relationship to obedience. We are shown in these stories the ABC’s of the ascetic life and in particular that of the virtue of obedience.    What does it mean to let go of private judgment? What does it mean to set aside one’s will even in small things in our day-to-day life? How do we train the mind and the heart in this virtue; so that when we are asked to pick up our cross or when we are reduced to raw endurance and cannot see the road ahead of us, we are able to respond in love?  We are shown in the stories that one must begin small. It is in letting go of our sensitivities in the small things, and allowing love to trump everything that this virtue takes root. It means being more attentive to the “other”, to what is asked of us and what people need, than to holding on to what we want, or what seems right or convenient to us.    There is part of us that shrinks back in a spirit of objection to what is being taught here. It seems unnatural to us. But what is really being asked of us or rather where we are being led to embrace is the supernatural. What we are being guided to is the perfect love and self emptying obedience that we see in Christ. We should have a similar desire to have obedience to God’s will as our very food.  We must see it as something that sustains and nourishes us mystically.    Not fulfilling the will of God or choosing the path of sin should become something that is abhorrent to us. Such lessons can be learned only with humility. Beyond this, we are shown the incredible responsibility of those who are elders. Their actions, their requests and demands of their disciples must be rooted in the desire for their salvation, and for their good. They will be held accountable as shepherds. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:06:17 David Fraley: Hello Mrs Abernethy!   00:08:28 FrDavid Abernethy: page 305   00:08:28 David Fraley: Hi Fr David!   00:08:35 FrDavid Abernethy: Hi Dave!!   00:14:32 Debra: Step 11...on talkativeness....was really convicting   00:14:51 FrDavid Abernethy: yes it was!!   00:15:10 Debra: Ooops...wrong meeting LOL   00:25:19 Rachel: Maybe he wanted to see if his disciple was stuoid.   00:25:37 Rachel: stupid. Sorry. I should not joke.   00:28:57 iPhone: Reacted to "Maybe he wanted to s…" with ❤️   00:29:19 Rachel: Yes, I doubt he was stupid nor did the elder think that.   00:30:07 Rachel: I wonder though, what would be all of our reactions to this reality in our everyday lives?   00:52:38 Anthony Rago: This has got to be specific to novices.  Saints (Elizabeth of Hungary?) are praised for charity against the wishes of the head of household   00:55:36 Anthony Rago: But if these people can't use discretion, they also can fall into legalism - oops I don't have permission, I can't act on my own.   00:58:32 Anthony Rago: The religious life then is horribly dangerous.   01:01:01 Anthony Rago: That indicates then that people cannot abandon their discretion, they have to withhold some obedience, so they can  judge the situation, whether it is healthy or crazy - or just not for them.   01:05:15 Anthony Rago: Yes, I've seen situations both of people in religious life and married life that were just psychologically off.   01:05:25 Ambrose Little, OP: He also says submit to each other.   01:08:30 Debra: I always suggest Chrysogonus   01:09:09 Debra: for a baby's name He could just be called Chrys   01:18:36 Rachel: Thank you all, Thank you Father   01:19:08 Rachel: :) lol  

Tonight we explored an often neglected aspect of the spiritual life; or one might better say an essential part of the spiritual life – Fasting. Throughout the spiritual tradition, we have heard the Saints tell us that “prayer without fasting is weak” or that “where there is no prayer and fasting there are demons.” With the coming of Christ, however, we see a unique and distinctive meaning of fasting emerge. It is not only a discipline to help order the appetites or a form of penitence. It is tied directly to Christ: what we see in His practice and in what He teaches us about it.  His own fasting is guided by the Holy Spirit in preparation for embracing the Father’s will, and His desire that it might be accomplished. Beyond this, Christ teaches us that our practice of fasting is forever tied to our desire for Him. He is the Heavenly Bridegroom and each soul the Bride. We see and experience in Him the One alone who can satisfy the deepest desires of the human heart. He is the Bread of Life.  The focus of our discussion this night was on recapturing not only the practice of fasting, but seeing it as something that is to be “loved”, precisely because it draws us to Christ. It is not a discipline but a path to draw nearer to the Beloved.   --- Text of chat during the group: 00:25:01 Stephen McCane: I have doing this “Exodus 90” and it is like a warm up to Lent.   00:25:51 Stephen McCane: For women it is called “Fiat 90”.   00:45:48 Adam Paige: Hi Father, should laypeople share their Lenten fasting plans with their spiritual director in the same way Saint Benedict instructs his monks to do with their spiritual father in his rule ?   01:14:51 Victoria: here is the book pdf: https://ia902908.us.archive.org/6/items/tolovefasting/To%20Love%20Fasting.pdf   01:15:41 Victoria: Free on Internet Archive :)   01:16:14 Adam Paige: Original version in French: https://folleautonomie.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/adalbert-de-Vogue-Aimer-Le-Jeune.pdf   01:21:00 Adam Paige: Reacted to "here is the book pdf…" with 👍   01:33:07 angelo: Reacted to "here is the book pdf..." with ❤️   01:33:20 angelo: Replying to "here is the book pdf..."   thank you   01:33:53 Matt Mondorff: I’ve found that our physical bodies don’t require much food, it’s mainly our mind and habits that convince us that we’re hungry. So to realize that and push through the initial hunger, knowing it’s coming but we’ll be ok has helped me a lot. Then, little by little it gets easier to go longer and longer. Eating healthy and moderately helps also…it seems to my anyway   01:47:52 Lori Hatala: you can saute in broth.   01:48:12 Fr. Michael Winn: A former monk of Mt. Athos once told me that in North America it would be inadvisable to stop all use of oil during the winter seasons - reduce, but do not eliminate.   01:57:15 Kathy: My experience of fasting is that it is a type of prayer in and of itself. 01:59:22 angelo: Thank you for that short clarification of the centering prayer and the danger of falling into delusion.   02:06:09 angelo: Thank you so much Fr.   02:06:29 Lori Hatala: thank you so much Father.   02:06:31 Stephen McCane: Thank you Father.   02:06:33 Ryan McMann: Thank you!   02:06:40 Monk Maximos: Thank you Father   02:07:18 kevin: thanks father that was great!!   02:07:21 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   02:07:22 Fr. Michael Winn: Thanks, Father!   02:07:25 Rachel Pineda: Thank you father Abernethy!!   02:07:31 Siggy Evers: Thank you Fr.  

Tonight, we read Step number 11 on “talkativeness and silence.”  Fittingly, it is very brief, if not the briefest of all of the steps of The Ladder. This brevity is St. John’s way of teaching us that so much of our speech involves vainglory; putting ourselves on display. We seek through it to step out of ourselves; betraying the painful experience we have as human beings of our lack of identity.  God has created us for himself. He has created us in his image and likeness precisely that we might not experience ourselves in isolation, but rather in communion. However, to enter into communion with God means to step out of our limited ways of perceiving the world around us and reality as a whole. This means allowing God, through the silence, to draw us in faith into the experience of His life, light and love.  To give ourselves over to talkativeness is to find ourselves dissipated. Our desire for God cools and the emptiness that we feel drives us to fill our lives with anything and everything so that we do not feel alone. Despite having God dwelling within us, once we lose sight of him, silence becomes an enemy. Therefore, John tells us that we must foster silence as a habit. We must allow God to show us its value, and what it makes possible for us. The first step is to create external silence. Once we have done this, we often see the unsettledness of our minds and hearts. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:11:45 Cindy Moran: Is your patron saint Matthew?   00:15:18 John & Heather: Do you mind mentioning what edition this group uses?   00:15:54 Debra: I saw your post on FB about it   00:16:41 John & Heather: Replying to "Do you mind mentioni..."   Great...thank you.   00:16:43 Cindy Moran: I really liked Ren's presentation on the prayer rope   00:17:38 FrDavid Abernethy: Yes.  Excellent.  She makes the most exquisite prayer ropes as well.   00:17:51 FrDavid Abernethy: Maybe she will put up the website address.   00:27:32 Eric Ewanco: My translation says "foe of license" instead of "enemy of freedom of speech"   00:41:56 Bonnie Lewis: This is why adoration before the Blessed Sacrament is such a beautiful gift where silence is filled with God's love for us.   00:43:12 Vicki Nichols: Would this silence include silencing the "inner chatter" of your thoughts or is it only external silence?   00:53:28 Rebecca Thérèse: I've found that people who chatter continuously don't care if you're listening or not so I can zone out!   00:54:01 wayne: Reacted to "I've found that peop..." with 😂   00:55:21 iPhone: Amen   00:56:08 Ambrose Little, OP: Reacted to "I've found that peop..." with 😂   00:58:48 iPhone: Totally   00:59:06 Ambrose Little, OP: My in-laws feel that way about visiting here—the kiddos are a constant background buzzing. 🙂 You can get acclimated..   00:59:19 Eric Ewanco: How do we in the world balance silence with the cultivation of valuable relationships in life, for example at work or whatever? In other words, how do we discern the threshold of silence to maintain -- there is the absolute silence of a monk, and the rambling of the garroulous, where do we draw the line?   01:00:17 Debra: I wear hearing aids, but only if I'm going somewhere were I HAVE to listen...like Mass, or meetings As soon as I'm out of that meeting, I take out my aids, because the world is such a noisy place!!   01:00:54 Debra: Reacted to "My in-laws feel that..." with 😁   01:08:21 iPhone: + 1   01:12:20 Anthony Rago: Being someone who does work from home, and lives alone, the silence does not feel too great all the time.  Only the deep silence when in my workshop or working in my kitchen or dining room or times like that is satisfying.   01:12:49 Debra: So much ambient noise...Like you mentioned, noise does create anxiety I can literally feel tension leave, when I take my hearing aids out.   01:13:18 Debra: Reacted to "Being someone who do..." with 🤗   01:16:40 iPhone: Making a note of it   01:16:53 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:17:48 Debra: Thanks be to God   Thank you! Good night!  

Obedience!  The root of the word is to hear or to listen. What emerges in reading the fathers is that our capacity to hear the word of God is rooted in our willingness to set aside our own willfulness, ego, and our private judgment. We often become obstinate and entrenched in our own view of things in such a way that we are no longer able to hear the advice or counsel of others. We are shown in this evening’s text that sometimes we must be left to our own devices to experience the poverty of our choices that are contrary to the will of God and His love.  What also emerges is that obedience is not rooted in law but love. Obedience is the fruit of a deep relationship with God, and with one’s spiritual elder. An elder must love his disciple, and recognize that he bears responsibility for his salvation and so must give him constant care. The disciple must reciprocate this love and respect. In doing so, he enables the elder to be a true shepherd and not a mere hireling. This mutual obedience elevates the entire church and allows it to make present the humble love of Christ crucified to the world. --- Text of chat during the group:  00:49:18 Anthony Rago: I may have heard that sentiment too   00:49:29 Ambrose Little, OP: It’s probably saying that he’s true enough to Scripture and expansive in his guidance to cover such a loss. But it’s just a hypothetical.   00:50:35 Ambrose Little, OP: Hyperbole, like when Jesus says to cut off the hand that causes us to sin. Exaggeration to make a point about the quality of his teaching.   00:52:01 Anthony Rago: How may we properly revere persons not exactly in communion with Catholics?  I LOVE the works of St. Gregory of Narek - but if Pope Francis had not made him a Doctor of the Church, I would have forced myself to be cautious.  I'd love to go wholehearted into Coptic Orthodox spirituality / theology, but how cautious should we be?   01:00:58 Ambrose Little, OP: Echoes what St. Ignatius of Antioch (disciple of St. John the Apostle) says of the faithful’s relationship with their bishop.   01:12:12 Ambrose Little, OP: There is an amazing genius in the story-based instruction of the Evergetinos. It really makes ideas stick in a memorable way.   01:14:17 Anthony Rago: I'm open to it   01:14:19 David Fraley: I’d be interested.   01:14:21 carol nypaver: Sure!   01:14:29 Paul Fifer: Me too.   01:14:54 John & Heather: Would be interested.  

This evening we continued and completed Step number 10 on “slander and calumny.”  Something very special emerges about John in the writing of this step. We see something very personal about John’s capacity to love and his purity of heart. He acknowledges his own struggle with judging others as sinners, when in reality they were pure of heart in secret. Thus, John’s repeated counsel is not to judge at all; even when we see things with a kind of clarity. We often have blind spots and dark spots in our evaluation of the others. Beyond this, the Evil One puts before us smoke, if you will, making us think that there is sin present where none exist.  All that we are allowed to do is to love others. This means that we always attribute their sin to the action of demons. We are to look for the good in others and look for ways that we can support and lift them up if they are struggling. This means setting aside the morbid delight that we take in judging and the feeling of emotional power that we think it gives us over and against them. We must acknowledge the radical solidarity that exist between us and foster a spirit of generosity towards each other. To seize for ourselves a prerogative that belongs only to God is ruinous to the soul. May God preserve us! --- Text of chat during the group: 00:23:24 Bridget McGinley: Father, sorry...little long....I just wanted to follow up from last week with a comment/question. I was not able to type this fast enough. It was in relation to what you were saying about being serious and stern in presenting the Faith. You mentioned about your early sermon and how it was perceived by the college kids. I used to be pretty sanguine. Life has taken it’s toll. I once heard Bishop Sheen say something that was pretty profound. He stated, “Christ had many emotions that were written about in the Bible but never did he smile or laugh.” Bishop Sheen stated that He is saving those for us in Heaven. Looking at Step 10 point 2 many people nowadays are pretty “shameless and very happy” and it is hard for me to find smiles and joy surrounded by the deluge. In tip-toeing around the obvious moral problems these days how does one escape mental slander which sometimes manifests as verbal slander? And how does one show a non-judgemental face?   00:37:37 iPhone: Anen Father   00:49:25 Rebecca Thérèse: Part of Leviticus 19 came into my mind in relation to not judging at all  15 You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer[a] among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood[b] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.   17 You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.   00:57:02 Anthony Rago: Since the Late Middle Ages, our culture has been both immoral and curious.  We want the knowledge of St. Thomas Aquinas' Summas, but we have not as eagerly gone to the other side of him, the one that made the Pange Lingua   00:57:39 Anthony Rago: We want knowledge for curiousity's sake, but not the humility of devotion   00:57:54 Ambrose Little, OP: Do you think the nature of social media has made this particular trap of the Devil more prevalent?   00:58:30 Sr Barbara Jean Mihalchick: How great it would be to always be centered on noting the virtues it observes in others!   00:58:47 Ambrose Little, OP: Amen, Sister!   01:03:12 Bridget McGinley: As a nurse I can attest it is physically and mentally debilitating communicating. Many of my co workers talk about how they can't even talk after a shift. Verbal interaction is very challenging.   01:11:45 Ambrose Little, OP: About #12 and #15.. I recently learned of a few very vocal critics (including a former apologist) in the Church ending up leaving the Faith, either entirely or moving to a sect. It’s very sad. There is something in what St. John is saying they’re for sure—that this kind of behavior can be ruinous.   01:17:21 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father!   01:17:23 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:18:23 Ren Witter: Philokalia.link/tolovefasting   01:18:41 carol nypaver: Time??