Philokalia Ministries

We continue this evening with our study of Hypothesis V - on the remembrance of death and final judgment. While this might fill the minds and the hearts of many with trepidation, many of the fathers see the remembrance of death as the essential work in the spiritual life. The reason for this and the intention behind it is not to fill the heart with anxiety but rather to turn the heart toward God Who alone promises us forgiveness and the fullness of life and love in Him. The Scriptures tell us that God is set upon our salvation and so hope is always to be found in Him. His love for us is unquenchable. As we have heard, the mere turning of the mind and the heart toward him brings upon us a flood of mercy and grace. The remembrance of death and judgment are simply an aid to remind us not to take this gift lightly. God has given us everything and has nothing greater to give – the perfect love of His only begotten Son. It is that love that is eternal and we will either respond to that love or we don’t. Now is the moment of salvation and how we respond perpetuates itself both in this world and in the world come unless we turn toward God in repentance. Once our eyes close for the last time that opportunity - to turn toward the embrace that is ever reaching out towards us - passes. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:02:09 carolnypaver: Wow! Sounds exhausting! 00:44:55 Joseph Muir: Here are two prayers from Byzantine  vespers, according to the Gregorian calendar, from earlier today, in a similar vein to the one that I read earlier: O Christ, You are the only sinless One, the only patient One, the only Source of goodness! Look upon my misery and affliction. Wipe away all the scars of my wounds. In your mercy, save your servant; that having driven away all clouds of despair, O Savior, I may glorify Your supreme goodness! Ponder your deeds, O my wretched soul! Behold how they are all defiled with filth! Behold your nakedness and your isolation. For you are in danger of being separated from God and His holy angels and of being delivered to eternal torments. Be vigilant, then, and make haste to cry aloud: “O Savior, I have sinned! Grant me Your forgiveness and save me!” 00:48:21 Joseph Muir: ¡De nada! 00:53:35 Wayne Mackenzie: Don't we send ourselves to Hell, rather than God? 00:54:35 Eric Williams: "There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.'" C. S. Lewis 01:05:39 Lilly: I’ve never seen that Icon before. I will have to look it up. What is it called? 01:06:54 Erick Chastain: except judas 01:07:14 Erick Chastain: the patristic witness to judas being in hell is pretty clear 01:07:23 Erick Chastain: /consistent 01:07:28 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: icon of fearful or awesome judgement, aka last judgement, sometimes might also be called icon of or for Meatfare Sunday. 01:09:09 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: in the Coptic orthodox tradition there is a point of view that Judas Iscariot repented between the time when he jumped and when the rope broke his neck, but I cannot find the exact quote.  

Tonight we picked up with Letter 57 where St. Theophan is discussing with Anastasia the various stages of the development of the passions; the movement from feelings, the provocation of desire, aided by a multitude of thoughts, that then gives over to concrete resolution to commit to sin. There is a kind of premeditation that is fostered by giving ourselves over to these realities and stages that Theophan describes. If unchecked we begin to plot even in a half-conscious way how we are going to act and complete the sin. It is then that the conscience is violated and the commands of God are disregarded. In this struggle we are ever so capable of rationalizing sin and the path to sin. Yet, what we are called to is to put on the mind of Christ. It cannot be our own ego or our reason that becomes the standard of judgment. Rather, we must allow ourselves to be drawn into the Paschal mystery; we must put on the mind of Christ in such a profound way that it is Christ acting within us. Only then will we begin to love as he loves, to forgive as he forgives; willing to be obedient to the Father and to His commands even when cannot see things clearly. Our love for Christ must be so great that our asceticism takes on the shape described by Theophan and the fathers; that is, we  become willing to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ - bringing every thought before Him for His blessing or judgment.   --- Text of chat during the group: 00:18:21 Gilmar Siqueira: And Brazil. :) 00:18:34 carolnypaver: Awesome! 00:18:47 Mark Cummings: Thank you for doing this remotely! 00:28:12 Gilmar Siqueira: Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives: the Life and Teachings of Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica 00:28:33 Jim Milholland: Thank you! 00:45:37 Eric Williams: Turn the other cheek, love your enemy, do not resist an evil man - but in parking lot after mass, all bets are off. ;) #roadrage 00:56:04 Wayne Mackenzie: When you get this point it can be to late.. and the sin is committed 01:08:04 Eric Williams: Categories of sins too often allow us to find the minimum we must do or how much can get away with. Instead, they should be used to help us better see what to avoid and how to seek after the will of God. We should seek maximal holiness, rather than just minimal sinfulness. 01:09:03 iPhone: Venial or mortal. Sin is sin. It separates us from God. 100% agree with Father. 01:10:07 Erick Chastain: Ambroise de Lombez says that the pride to have an "orderly mind" in one's thoughts leads to scrupulosity 01:10:58 iPhone: ^ Exactly. OCD (me lol) 01:12:49 Eric Williams: Despairing that all sin damns us because God is just is the Christless cross, and rationalizing all sin as acceptable because God is merciful is the crossless Christ. 01:23:49 Eric Williams: This discussion of aggression and retaliation is very timely as I struggle to respond in a Christlike way to a very difficult and infuriating neighbor. Deo gratias! 01:24:00 Erick Chastain: anger according to st Thomas Aquinas is any kind of desire to take action to set something right 01:24:34 Erick Chastain: ...it's not necessarily the emotion which leads to violent action 01:24:52 Erick Chastain: ...for example, just calling the cops is already an act of anger 01:24:53 iPhone: Amen!

We continued tonight our study of Hypothesis V where the Fathers speak to us of the importance of the remembrance of death and the remembrance of judgment. We began with the thoughts of Abba Isaiah the seeks to teach us about the three things that preserve virtue; sorrow for sin, tears for our sins, and the ceaseless recollection of death. These three hold before our minds the significance of the present moment.  Every moment for us is freighted with destiny because every moment is an opportunity for us to embrace the love and the grace of God or to neglect it. We have to let go of the illusion not only that we will have time enough for repentance but also the illusion that simply living a good or a moral life is in fact living a Christian life. We may pursue virtue as a commodity; something that is gathered and stored and that builds up our self-image and self-esteem. Such things have their own value but they are not necessarily reflective of the fact that we have embraced Christ and the life that he has made possible for us through the cross. We are called to the divine life and all of our words, thoughts and actions are to be reflective of Christ. We are to be living icons of the gospel. We can approach our lives with a kind of indifference when it comes to their spiritual significance. We can expend a lot of energy and be willing struggle to pursue our own ends in this world but we will accept willingly being wounded and bitten over and over again by the spiritual dragon and bearing his stings of distraction.  We can allow ourselves to be swallowed up by sin or evil daily and pay it no mind. It is for this reason that the remembrance of death and judgment is important. It speaks to us of what God has given us but also the weight and the significance of our response.  

We began this evening with Letter 56.  St. Theophan again takes up the subject of the passions. If we can capture in one word what he is trying to foster within Anastasia it is this: “fierceness”. The spiritual battle is something that takes place at every single moment and we have to learn to act swiftly in acknowledging who the enemy is and where he is seeking to lead us. We cannot ignore the fact there is a kind of duplicity that exists within us. We can hate sin and love it at the same time. We can be engaged in the spiritual battle but in the deeper recesses of our hearts we can be attracted and delighted by the approach of thoughts that would later lead us into sin. We must lose our sympathy for such things. We are to become angry with sin and drive it out from the human heart as Christ drove out the money-changers from the temple. What has been entrusted to us is precious. It is the very life and love of God and we have been made sons and daughters of God. We must not be willing to sacrifice that identity. This means that we approach the passions with unrestrained and antagonistic action. There is no room for self-indulgence. In letter 57, St. Theophan tells her that guilt begins at the point when we favorably incline ourselves toward a passion. The passion itself is at enmity with God. Therefore, we must interrogate and examine it very quickly and then treat it in a hostile manner. We must treat it as we would treat anything that is an enemy of God - with scornful rejection.   -- Text of chat during the group: 00:35:06 Joseph Muir: “[E]ach person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death.” James 1:14-15 00:43:31 renwitter: Anyone else having an amazing flash back to Aragorn cutting off the head of the Lord of the Black Gate? Best. Moment. Ever. 00:44:39 carolnypaver: ; ) 00:49:13 Eric Ash: I like from that image it also demonstrates to us that there's times we have to trust in others instead of taking on every battle we are offered. To be aware of where were called to be, and also where we aren't called to be. 00:55:03 Lilly Crystal: What quote is that from? 01:09:58 Eric Ash: It's sounds like in discerning guilt from shame here is that guilt motivates us to reaffirm ourselves to back to God, and shame tells us fall away and quit trying. And that anger towards passion versus anger towards self is similar.

We continued this evening with our study of Hypothesis V and the writings of Saint Ephraim on the subject of the importance of remembering death and judgment. Like so many of the Fathers, Ephraim stresses the need to prepare ourselves for that final journey that inevitably comes to us all – the moment of death. He also speaks to us about how the enemy will try to make us delay or put aside our attention to this reality. When it comes to life in this world death, in a sense, is the ultimate master. Death, of course, does not have the last the last word. God has spoken His Word of Life and through it has opened up a path for us to experience the fullness of the life of the Holy Trinity. The enemy, however, will try to convince us that we are young and have a great amount of time; that we can put off repentance until after we lived life in this world to its fullest. However, Ephraim tells us that the one who is truly blessed is the one who has carried the yoke of Christ from his earliest days. In fact, this is the greatest gift that a parent can give to their child. From the moment of their baptism they enter into this profound relationship with God. To be taught to embrace the gift of being a child of God is the greatest thing that a parent can offer their son or daughter. The Fathers, like Christ in the gospel, want us have no illusions about the fact that how we respond to the love perpetuates itself unto eternity. What is offered to us is Love; and that Love can be embraced or it can be scorned and neglected. The Fathers pleas with us as Christ did to embrace life, to embrace love. This is what Christ thirsts for – that His love would be requited. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:59:50 renwitter: That parable always sounds a bit catty if it is not explained well :-D 01:05:11 Erick Chastain: that was in one of the psalms 01:14:28 Eric Williams: Fortunately, when I joined the Church in 2000, Fr David was still preaching fire and brimstone, so my catechesis was not warm, fuzzy, or weak. ;) 01:24:18 Nicole: Sorry! Did you want our microphones on so we are hearing each other pray? 01:24:43 Nicole: I forgot LOL Have a great week everyone, thank you Father :)

We began with Letter 55 about Warfare with the Passions. Once again Theophan shows himself to be a magnificent teacher. He knows Anastasia well; her strengths, her background, her desire for God and - - her weaknesses, which are few, namely inexperience. She desires above all to embrace the full dignity of the Christian.  And it is this goal that Theophan wants to help her achieve. He begins to reveal to her the nature of the warfare with the passions. Often they are very attractive and so we can suddenly be drawn into them and linger in conversation with them. It is for this reason that Theophan gradually begins to teach her that she must not act with pity when it comes to dealing with her own thoughts. No matter how trivial or insignificant they appear, she must immediately call upon God and drive them out of her mind. If she inadvertently falls or is overtaken by one of the passions, she should not be anxious. Rather Anastasia should humbly repent at the passion that has slipped in and then adopt measures for the future in order that she might be more guarded. One method that she must embrace is to avoid self-indulgence. It is the Traitor. Self-indulgence is to blame for all the troubles in the spiritual life. It leads us into the kind of self-pity that inclines us to give sway to our thoughts without examining them and bringing them before God for his blessing or judgment. In Letter 56 he begins to show Anastasia the slightest movements of the passions. He tells her that she has made great strides in her life and can see good and evil. But in reality she has not been tested. Again, one of her weaknesses is that she could regard stronger passions with indifference; thinking that they are no great thing or that they are not dangerous. When this happens they go from being small things to becoming large things. She will no longer be able to drive them away with a single unfavorable glance. If she wants to maintain Christian dignity, he tells her, she must become a more fierce warrior.   ---- Text of chat during the group: 00:12:46 Joseph Muir: I got to see Queen + Adam Lambert in Central Park, in September 2019, Eric😀 00:20:22 Joseph Muir: I can tell that Fr David is big fan of country music😆 00:20:37 Eric Williams: despondency, the demon at noon! 00:36:32 Eric Williams: except when people mistakenly refer to the deceased as angels - that is all that seems to be left :( 00:37:30 renwitter: At the Oratory’s Children’s Holy Hour of Adoration we always say a prayer to our guardian angels. We can bring it back! 00:39:49 Wayne Mackenzie: At our parish we recite the prayer to St Michael at the end of the Liturgy. 00:41:18 Eric Williams: It's rampant on social media 00:43:39 Joseph Muir: It’s almost like a new form of the ancient gnostic heresy, where people presume to have  some “secret knowledge” about how the world works, all of the scandals and happenings throughout our own society and the world 00:48:35 Mark Cummings: Cubs are up 3 - 0 00:48:48 Mark Cummings: thought pirates fans might want to know 00:50:49 Lilly Crystal: Self reflection is super important. If we just confess sins and don’t plan to change in our actions, we will not mature spiritually 00:51:48 Wayne Mackenzie: For me need to quit watching the news or get absorbed in what is happening. 00:52:05 Larry Barlow: So true.  Gotta have a plan! 00:52:39 Wayne Mackenzie: limiting my time to it or not agitation sets in 00:54:33 Joseph Muir: So many have such a politicized faith, and/or faithisized politics that they’ve convinced themselves that they’re doing “the work of the Lord” 00:58:37 Lilly Crystal: Eastern penance is so new to me. It was awesome to experience my first Byzantine confession last month :) 01:03:00 Joseph Muir: A common Byzantine prayer before receiving communion: receive me now, O Son of God, as a participant in Your Mystical Supper. For I will not betray Your mysteries to Your enemies, nor will I give You a kiss like Judas. But, like the thief, I confess to You: remember me, O Lord, when You come into Your kingdom! 01:03:51 carolnypaver: I LOVE that prayer!  It is so beautiful. 01:04:34 Lilly Crystal: It is one of my fav too! Such beautiful prayer chanted as well 01:05:01 renwitter: Well shoot - no advantage for me :-D 01:06:42 Eric Williams: Theophan is following the Pauline sequence: praise, chastise, encourage 01:07:00 Joseph Muir: ❤ 01:09:42 Mark Cummings: Psalm 137? 01:11:26 carolnypaver: Happy Feast Day, Father! 01:11:46 Michael Murton: Thanks Father David...looking forward to next week! 01:12:34 renwitter: A good Philip Neri quote for this group: “Heaven is not for poltroons!”

We continued with our reading of Hypothesis Five where the Fathers discuss with us the importance of remembering death as well as judgment. Such thoughts are not to elicit fear within the heart but rather magnify the significance of the moment and help us live in the moment as opposed to the past or the future. Every moment is freighted with destiny because every moment is an opportunity to love or not to love. The remembrance of death teaches us not to put off repentance and not to doubt the mercy of God when we find ourselves caught up in our sin. It also teaches us to listen keenly to the voice of our conscience as it calls us back to God. This is a fundamental and permanent element of the spiritual life and so should be cultivated with great discipline and care. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:31:03 Erick Chastain: "sin makes you stupid" 00:48:19 Michael Liccione: Negative anthropology becomes very attractive if you spend much time on social media. 00:51:09 sue and mark: now it makes sense. 00:58:26 renwitter: First he coughs at me, then he yawns at Ambrose. . . geez. I think the next time Erick starts talking we should all start quacking or something. 00:58:45 Michael Liccione: LOL 00:58:49 Carole DiClaudio: hahaha 00:58:59 Lilly Crystal: Lol @ren 00:59:00 Erick Chastain: Yeah sorry everyone for that. 00:59:16 Joseph Muir: 🤣 00:59:49 Erick Chastain: It's the live experience I guess 01:00:05 Michael Liccione: Your lived experience :) 01:01:04 renwitter: I love that our chat transcript is published along with the podcast 😂😂😂 01:01:09 Daniel Allen: Only adds to the group it’s hilarious. 01:02:01 Erick Chastain: Yeah who needs TV? 01:08:39 Sharon: Otherwise, would that be the sin of presumption? 01:08:59 renwitter: And terrifying 01:11:34 Ambrose Little: Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. (Phil 2:12) 01:11:39 Sharon: … and ought we not canonize people when they die? 01:12:55 Sharon: I don’t mean canonized saints, but just anyone at the time of death. 01:13:18 Michael Liccione: No 01:14:56 Sharon: I agree. It just seems like no matter whose funeral, people talk as though they absolutely know the deceased is in heaven.  

It was an extremely powerful group this evening; as one might expect in a discussion about the passions. In letter 54, Saint Theophan begins to instruct Anastasia about the nature of the passions and where they spring from in our lives. Theophan tells her that they are not part of who we are as human beings. They can be removed without destroying the soul.  In fact, he instructs her that unless we drive them out they will leave a person in ruins. When they control a human being - in many respects they become more like an animal. Their will and their consciousness are driven and controlled by what is not in accord with nature and with how God has created us. The passions, according to Theophan, arise out of the desire to please one’s self, selfishness and pride. The passions are sustained by these. When we give ourselves over to them we are dragged along like a young ass on a cord behind its owner. Therefore, the Saint tells Anastasia that she must not be sparing with herself. She has been controlled by these passions even though that they have not dominated her life. He would have her understand our capacity for self-pity and so also our capacity for self-deceit. The passions can seem and make themselves seem attractive. Thus, we must, in accordance with the Scriptures, be sober and vigilant. We must watch and pray. It is this radical alertness the keeps us from falling victim to the relentless attack of the evil one which can be direct or very subtle. When you look inside of yourself you will see all the many subtle attachments that keep you from embracing the will of the Lord. This is the first thing in the struggle with the passions and she must learn this lesson well.   --- Text of chat during the group: 00:17:12 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: the best modern day book on the passions is:   Therapy of Spiritual Illness: An Introduction to the Ascetic Tradition of the Orthodox Church (Therapy of Spiritual Illness, I,II,III boxed set) Paperback – January 1, 2012 by Dr Jean-Claude Larchet 00:17:23 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: you can get it in paperback 00:17:44 Erick Chastain: I love those books! 00:38:03 Eric Williams: How, then, do we avoid the heresy of quietism? 00:45:18 Eric Williams: Sorry for being generic. ;) 00:54:23 Eric Williams: Fair point :) 00:57:10 Erick Chastain: LOL I really didn't intend to sidetrack us big time like this 00:57:29 Lilly Crystal: All amazing points :) 00:59:31 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: It is to be remembered that there is a secular definition of “passion”, for example: “Passion is a feeling of intense enthusiasm towards or compelling desire for someone or something. Passion can range from eager interest in or admiration for an idea, proposal, or cause; to enthusiastic enjoyment of an interest or activity; to strong attraction, excitement, or emotion towards a person” (Wikipedia).  Thus, we have the Western Christian definition in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1767, 1773, where a “passion” is a morally neutral concept. 00:59:50 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: In the Eastern Christian definition, used here, and in the official catechism of the UGCC: Christ Our Pascha § 795, “passion” is always a vice, one of the eight capital sins.  In the East, a “passion” (from pathos in Greek) is any deadly obsession that seems to be beyond our ability to control, let alone to recognize, in ourselves.  “Passions” arise from “logismoi”, literally “thoughts”, that act on and overcome people, becoming habits of thinking, feeling-willing, and desiring over which we have little or no control.  Thus, a passion is any spiritual “cancer”, poetically described as a “death-bearing” or “soul-corrupting” sin. 01:00:09 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: Those Eastern Church Fathers, whose works were written between the 4th and 15th centuries and collected and published in the Philokalia-Добротолюбіє, list “by name a total of 248 passions and 228 virtues” (see English language edition, page 205, Volume 3).  The Greek word “pathos” can also mean and be translated as “sufferings, desires, energies, zealous activities, cravings” depending on its context. 01:01:33 Lisa Weidner: Thank you, Fr John 01:02:19 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: In 375 AD, Archdeacon Evagrius of Pontus (c. 346-399) developed a com¬pre¬hen¬sive list of eight evil assaulting “thoughts” (Greek: logismoi, Ukrain¬ian: помисли).  Through the centuries this was systematized in the East by various saints, mostly St. Maximos the Confessor (590-662).  The assaulting  “thoughts” act on and over¬come people, becoming habits or compulsions of thinking, feeling-willing, and desiring over which we end up having little or no control.  At this point, the “thoughts” are said to have become “passions” (Greek: pathеа, Ukrainian: пристрасті). 01:02:49 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: In the East, the passions are a distortion, deprivation or misdirection of the intellective, appetitive and incensive powers of the soul.  See Tables at: http://ocampr.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/the-christian-ascetic-tradition-on-dejection-and-despondency-david-holden-2004.pdf.  The “passions” enslave us and thereby are the chief cause of our sufferings.  In liberating us from sin and the effects of sin, our Lord delivers us from our passions as well as the pain which they cause.  St. Gregory the Dialogist (Pope of Rome from 590-604) would revise Evagrius’ list to form what, in the West, is today more commonly known as “the Seven Deadly Vices”, or Sins. 01:03:14 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: St. John “of the Ladder” (Climacus, 579-649) was of the opinion that although the passions (пристрасті) were not directly created by God, they are still naturally good, except for akedia-listlessness, despondency.  In Step 26, 156, of his Ladder of Divine Ascent, he writes: “Nature gives us the seed for childbearing, but we have perverted this into fornication.  Nature provides us with the means of showing anger against the serpent, but we have used this against our neighbour.  Na¬ture inspires us with zeal to make us compete for the virtues, but we compete in evil.  It is natural for the soul to desire glory, but the glory on high.  It is natural to be over¬bearing, but against the demons.  Joy is also natural to us, but a joy on account of the Lord and the welfare of our neighbour.  Nature has also given us resentment, but to be used against the enemies of the soul.  We have received a desire for food, but not for profligacy.” 01:03:29 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: It is when we use our free will to misdirect the passions from the good towards the evil, that we allow the passions to gain control over us.  This, in turn, is how the thieves, or demons, are empowered by us to rob us of eternal life.  A helpful passage on this latter point regarding what demons do, is to be found in the homily at: https://www.holycross-hermitage.com/blogs/articles-sermons/sermon-for-the-sunday-of-st-john-climacus-2017 01:13:51 Mark Cummings: I hope he was talking to a do 01:13:53 Mark Cummings: dog 01:15:22 renwitter: Mark! :-D Hahhaha. LOL 01:19:19 Lilly Crystal: Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry! -Padre Pio  

Tonight we picked up with Hypothesis IV.  Its focus is that those afflicted by the passions should be guided slowly in the works of repentance. To help us understand this we are given a wonderful story of a young man who is sent into the fields to clear them. However upon seeing them filled with thorns and weeds he very quickly becomes depressed at the thought of the work that was ahead of him. He lays down in the grass and goes to sleep. His father on approaching him ask him why he has been so negligent. The young man states that he was overwhelmed.  Wisely and with compassion the father simply tells him to sleep in a different place every night so as to flatten out the grass and the weeds simply where he chooses to lay down. This is the son did and over time he was able to clear the entire field. This is a wonderful parable because it shows us how difficult the spiritual life can be at the beginning. The bar is set very low by the father so as not to discourage. We must invest ourselves and create a rule to follow. That is a given. However, we must have patience and an awareness of our poverty. We must work within our limits until God adds grace to grace and we are able to complete the task. The spiritual life is not simply about our will but rather our embrace of the grace of God in the moment. In Hypothesis Five, the fathers begin to describe the importance of keeping the thought of death and future judgment in mind in order that one might struggle constantly against the passions. Remembering death daily will begin to free us from unduly attaching ourselves to worldly things or losing ourselves in the work of our own hands. The remembrance of death dispels the illusion of pleasures and lifts up the soul when it is inclined to sin.  All the stories in this section seek to remind us not to be prideful about our spiritual pursuits or to see them as arising from our own efforts. They also remind us not to put off our conversion from day to day for we are not guaranteed a long life. We know neither the day nor the hour when God will call us to himself and when we will stand in the fullness of his light. This is the very nature of God. To come into His presence is to be penetrated by the light of truth. Nothing shall be hidden and so nothing in this life should be taken for granted or taken lightly. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:15:11 Lilly Crystal: Welcome Kyle and Andrew! Happy you guys could make it :) 00:15:35 Kyle Davidson: thanks for the invite, Lily 00:35:26 Tyler Woloshyn: Spiritual directors mention that God's work is clearest in the hidden.  The liminal space, or that threshold a person crosses is where God is working the most in the soul of the Christian. Not focusing on the past or worrying about the future. It is like a furnace and forge at work simultaneously. 00:38:54 Lilly Crystal: @Diana welcome hermana so happy you could make it :) 00:53:01 Lilly Crystal: “4 Last Things” by Father Isaac Mary Relyea is an amazing 4-part sermon… New Yorker by the way ;) 00:57:04 Tyler Woloshyn: "As I arise from sleep, I thank You O Most Holy Trinity, for Your great goodness and patience with me, an idler and a sinner. You have not become indignant towards me, nor have You allowed me to die in my sins.  Instead, You have shown me the love that You have for all mankind.  You raised me from sleep, that I may greet this new day in prayer and glorify Your sovereign power.  And now enlighten my eyes of understanding, open my understanding, open my ears to receive Your words, and teach me Your commandments.  Help me to do Your will, to sing to You, to profess You from all my heart, and to praise Your all-holy name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen."  (Morning prayer of St. Basil the Great) 01:00:58 Joseph Muir: Prayer of Saint John of Damascus, to be prayed before going to sleep: O Lord, Lover of Mankind, is this bed to be the coffin, or will You enlighten my wretched soul with another day? Here the coffin lies before me, and here death confronts me. I fear, O Lord, Your Judgment and the endless torments; yet I cease not to do evil. My Lord and God, I continually anger You, and Your Immaculate Mother, and all the Heavenly Powers, and my Holy Guardian Angel. I know, O Lord that I am unworthy of Your love, but deserve condemnation and every torment. But, whether I want it or not, save me, O Lord. For to save a good man is no great thing, and to have mercy on the pure is nothing wonderful, for they are worthy of Your mercy. But show the wonder of Your mercy to me, a sinner. In this, reveal Your love for Man, lest my wickedness prevail over your unutterable goodness and mercy. And order my life as you will. Amen. 01:01:45 Tyler Woloshyn: In ancient Rome, whenever a Roman General or Emperor returned from a victory in battle. During the Triumphant parade, there would be a man hired to whisper into his ear, "Thou art mortal." 01:11:19 Tyler Woloshyn: Thank you for the wonderful lesson tonight Father. I am off to a Moleben to the Mother of God. Have a blessed evening everyone. 01:11:36 Kyle Davidson: thanks for the talk. I have to join a new call. 01:11:52 renwitter: We should have shirts made that say YODO - You Only Die Once. Get Ready. 01:12:17 carolnypaver: Oh yeah! 01:12:17 Joseph Muir: I’d buy one, Ren! 01:12:18 Lilly Crystal: @Ren omg lol 01:12:52 renwitter: I’ll design it. With a nice little skull. Maybe a prayer rope. 01:13:06 Eric Williams: Life is Short: Pray Hard 01:13:07 Lilly Crystal: Yesss girl 01:14:18 Joseph Muir: You could collaborate with https://instagram.com/pursuedbytruth?utm_medium=copy_link 01:16:13 Lilly Crystal: @Joseph coolest nun ever 01:17:18 Eric Williams: The second law of thermodynamics tells that nothing left alone stays the same. Anything we don't put energy into will degrade into chaos. 01:17:44 renwitter: Ooo. I love that. Lessons in the spiritual life straight from the natural world **heart** 01:20:06 carolnypaver: Are there any books left to purchase? 01:20:12 renwitter: No, not at the Oratory 01:20:18 renwitter: But direct from the Publisher 01:20:55 sue and mark: retreat!!!!!  

We began this evening with letter 52. St. Theophan continues to discuss with Anastasia the importance of warming the heart.  Our passions have so dampened the wood that it can no longer be enkindled. We must go out in search of dry wood. We must protect that part of ourselves that have perhaps not been permeated by the passions.  More importantly we must draw close to God that it might inflame our hearts and free our spirit. All of this is a preparation for letter 53. St. Theophan begins to discuss with Anastasia the passions and how they are an obstacle to the spirit that burns with the love for God. They must be expelled. The passions are not a part of us as human beings. They arise out of our fallen state and our sin and they permeate every aspect of who we are as human beings. The are alien to us and parasitic. These passions, then, acting in collusion with the demons take control of the person even if he thinks that he is in control of himself. It is the spirit that must first escape their grip. And this only comes when the grace of God pulls it free. The spirit, then, filled with the fear of God and the action of grace develops a resoluteness. However, the emergence of this resoluteness in the pursuit of God must be accompanied by the willingness to labor for many years. We are to engage in a spiritual warfare against the passions. Theophan describes thrashing them; driving them out of the temple of our hearts as Christ drove out the money-changers from the temple in Jerusalem. The remembrance of God is the foothold for life in the spirit. It is for this reason the Theophan has spent so much time speaking with Anastasia about it. She has only come to acknowledge and recognize the passions within her. She has of yet, and perhaps we have as yet, not entered fully into the spiritual battle. She must not, he tells her, be bashful but prepare herself to enter fully and vigorously into the battle and to expose her passions and sins to the light.   Text of chat during the group: 00:19:04 Joseph Muir: What’s the name of the biography on St Philip Neri? 00:42:33 Lilly Crystal: Hi Father, Sorry for being late! ❤️🙏 00:45:34 Lilly Crystal: I love your rants, Father😂 00:48:37 Eric Williams: So when are you founding a seminary, Father? ;) 00:53:11 Eric Williams: It’s a shame so many in the West rejected and opposed hesychasm (or at least what they believed it to be). 00:54:36 Wayne Mackenzie: And the prayer life forgotten. 00:57:09 Eric Williams: Vitamin G[od] ;) 00:58:03 renwitter: Robert Bellarmine was the Theology teacher of the first Oratorians :-D Can you imagine? 01:02:07 Sharon: Beautifully said…Amen! 01:06:58 Mark Cummings: Ren- If you have not read the Art of Dying Well then I recommend that you do. I recently read it and it really resonates with me. 01:07:17 renwitter: Thrashing demons away from myself and others is what I imagine when I am praying Jesus Prayers with my prayer rope - it makes a good whip ;-) 01:12:44 renwitter: My real name is Anastasia :-D 01:20:28 Lilly Crystal: Always a joy to listen❤️