Philokalia Ministries

What is it that forms and shapes us the most as human beings? What affects the way that we perceive reality and gives form to the thoughts that we have  throughout the course of a day? Do we have any awareness of an interior life or are we simply drawn along by the flow of external realities; demands, responsibilities or forms of entertainment?  According to the Fathers and Saint Isaac the Syrian, we are in a constant state of receptivity through our senses. Part of being a human being is that we see and perceive everything that is around us; all of which give rise to a multitude of thoughts, images and feelings. Our lack of awareness of reality and of the internal life and the effect that our thoughts have upon us means that we often allow or identity to be shaped by the changing tides of the times or the constant shifting of our emotions.  In so many ways, the Fathers were the first depth psychologists. Their movement to great solitude and the stillness of the desert allowed a greater awareness to emerge of what was going on internally. This of course didn’t lead immediately to understanding or transformation. However, the awareness did allow them to begin to discern the source of their thoughts, what thoughts predominate, and where their thoughts were leading them.  Thoughts can be so strong and so deeply rooted that they become habitual - as well as the actions that follow from them. These habitual thoughts and actions the Fathers call “passions” and the passions as a whole are referred to as the “world”.  Our growing capacity to acknowledge the dominant passions and to struggle with them allows two things to begin to emerge: a good transformation of our way of life and a greater capacity to understand the nature of our thoughts. Simply put, one begins to be able to measure one’s way of life by what arises from within.   In this Homily, Saint Isaac is setting the stage for guiding us along a path to spiritual healing and transformation in Christ. The fruit of the struggle promises wholeness, freedom, and the joy that our sin often prevents. When we are guided simply by our private judgment or by what satisfies our most basic needs, then our understanding of things becomes very insular and myopic and we lose sight of the dignity and destiny that is ours’ in Christ.  The more that we desire the life and freedom that Isaac describes above the more discover that we need to have no fear of anything. One who has tasted the love and mercy of Christ also finds emerging within himself the courage of a lion. The fear of soul that once overshadowed him succumbs before this ever-present love like wax from the heat of a flame. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:08:36 Bob Čihák, AZ: Is this the book? Amazon has: The Secret Seminary: Prayer and the Study of Theology by Fr. Brendan Pelphrey  | Apr 28, 2012 00:16:08 Mary Clare Wax: It has all the bells and whistles! Love it 00:18:29 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 124, paragraph 14 00:19:08 Myles Davidson: Replying to "P. 124, paragraph 14" “Think to yourself…” 00:20:04 Suzanne Romano: Hey Studge! 00:20:29 Stephen Romano: Hey sis  :) 00:20:47 Suzanne Romano: Reacted to Hey sis  :) with "😅" 00:25:37 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: HEART - (καρδιά - kardia): not simply the physical organ but the spiritual centre of man’s being, man as made in the image of God, his deepest and truest self, or the inner shrine, to be entered only through sacrifice and death, in which the mystery of the union between the divine and the human is consummated. ' “I called with my whole heart”, says the psalmist - that is, with body, soul and spirit' (John Klimakos, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 28, translated by Archimandrite Lazarus [London, 1959], pp. 257-8). ‘Heart’ has thus an all-embracing significance: ‘prayer of the heart’ means prayer not just of the emotions and affections, but of the whole person, including the body. 00:25:52 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: REASON -, mind (διάνοια - dianoia): the discursive, conceptualizing and logical faculty in man, the function of which is to draw conclusions or formulate concepts deriving from data provided either by revelation or spiritual knowledge (q.v.) or by sense-observation. The knowledge of the reason is consequently of a lower order than spiritual knowledge (q.v.) and does not imply any direct apprehension or perception of the inner essences or principles (q.v.) of created beings, still less of divine truth itself Indeed, such apprehension or perception, which is the function of the intellect (q.v.), is beyond the scope of the reason. 00:25:57 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: INTELLECT - (νοϋς - nous): the highest faculty in man, through which - provided it is purified - he knows God or the inner essences or principles (q.v.) of created things by means of direct apprehension or spiritual perception. Unlike the dianoia or reason (q.v.), from which it must be carefully distinguished, the intellect does not function by formulating abstract concepts and then arguing on this basis to a conclusion reached through deductive reasoning, but it understands divine truth by means of immediate experience, intuition or ‘simple cognition’ (the term used by St Isaac the Syrian). The intellect dwells in the ‘depths of the soul’; it constitutes the innermost aspect of the heart (St Diadochos, §§ 79, 88: in our translation, vol. i, pp. 280, 287). The intellect is the organ of contemplation (q.v.), the ‘eye of the heart’ (Makarian Homilies). 00:25:57 Adam Paige: Reacted to "REASON -, mind (διάν…" with 👌 00:26:02 Adam Paige: Reacted to "HEART - (καρδιά - ka…" with ❤️ 00:40:30 Catherine: Reacted to INTELLECT - (νοϋς - ... with "❤️" 00:41:30 David: I find it interesting some of the main physicist and philosophers are now finding or theorize we are living in a simulation. I have a few atheists people I have come to meet who came to Christ agonizing on things like this.  This seems to be an open door to understand this life is not all there is. I also find it interesting reading the desert fathers. 00:42:49 Suzanne Romano: Acedia? 00:43:10 Nypaver Clan: Reacted to "Acedia?" with 👍🏼 00:43:31 David: The worst is the bad translation of acedia badly translated the worst of all today.The seven capital sins, also known as the seven deadly sins, are: Pride Greed Wrath Envy Lust Gluttony Sloth 00:47:04 David: Having studied Economy it is clear the market and people are not rational. Thank God I learned science explains little about real life. ha ha 00:48:54 Anthony: Heresy is a club of people with the same private judgment 00:49:04 Anthony: Reacted to Having studied Econo... with "😂" 00:49:29 Suzanne Romano: Yes! 00:51:11 Ren Witter: To be fair, Father, you look like someone out of the Matrix 😄. Perfect robes. Just need the glasses. 00:51:25 Lee Graham: Reacted to "Heresy is a club of …" with 😂 01:02:01 David: Many atheist or agnostics look for meaning and believe science or stoicism will explain it.  Then they have a child or love someone and that can't be explained rationally alone 01:02:48 David: Love makes little sense but one "knows" it is more real than anything else 01:03:04 Ben: Replying to "Many atheist or agno..." And I think it was Bishop Sheen who said the worst thing for an atheist is feeling grateful and having no one to thank. 01:03:10 Anthony: And then, I think, perception becomes more acute to sense brief affirmations from God that you are not lost. 01:03:54 David: Replying to "Many atheist or agno..." 👍 01:04:16 Art iPhone: Reacted to "And I think it was B…" with 👍 01:07:52 Anthony: Father is this understanding of incarnation the thesis of Song of Tears by Olivier Clement? 01:09:15 Maureen Cunningham: Hound of Heaven 01:11:39 David: Just an image of what someone said 01:11:49 David: Matrix dogging bullets 01:11:56 David: Orthodox preist 01:19:18 David: Is there something like the Catena Aurea but written based on the desert fathers? I find when I do readings of the scriptures or daily readings I always am interested what meditations the desert fathers might have had.  Reading magnificent or give us our day I don't always find as many treasures as what I have found in the desert fathers. Would be wonderful if there was a missal with this or something like the catena aurea. I have had 3 icons Climatus, Issac and Ephraim for 15 years even with those I would be happy 01:20:36 Ben: "The Bible and the Holy Fathers"? A Byzantine nun mentioned this one. 01:21:29 Lori Hatala: Sounds like a book needs to be written. 01:21:58 Erick Chastain: "The Word in the Desert" talks about generally how the Desert Fathers read and lived scripture 01:22:10 Erick Chastain: There might be things like this there 01:24:13 Myles Davidson: Replying to ""The Word in the Des..." That’s a good book! 01:24:25 Myles Davidson: Reacted to ""The Word in the Des..." with 👍 01:25:00 Erick Chastain: How does one practice fear for the soul? 01:26:58 Suzanne Romano: My preciouuuus! 01:27:07 Maureen Cunningham: What week would it be in the Bible and Holy Fathers is it different 01:28:07 Anthony: The choice of gollum is perceptive.  In Jewish folklore, a gollum is an artificial thing brought to "life" by magic. 01:28:47 David: There is a great book on Tolkien. Tolkien and Faith. But think of a life without Love existing helped at least me. The alternative is transactional and life has no meaning. 01:29:59 Maureen Cunningham: Thank You on web site 01:30:41 Andrew Adams: Thanks be to God! Thank you, Father! 01:30:43 David: Thank you father bless you and your mother! 01:30:45 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂 01:30:47 Suzanne Romano: Pax! 01:30:49 Kathleen: Thank you 01:30:50 Jeff Ott: Thank you! 01:30:52 Julie: God bless all 01:30:57 Lee Graham: Thank you

In their discussion of the struggle with the passions and in particular those associated with the bodily appetites and what we experienced through the senses, the fathers do not neglect to show us the effect that our thoughts and our lack of watchfulness can have upon the unconscious. Certain images and ideas will emerge from our dreams and often take on a form that can be agitating or of a subject matter that is disturbing spiritually. The fathers want us to understand that we are not morally culpable for what arises during the night in our dreams nor can the Evil One directly influence what happens because of our dreams such as nocturnal emissions. Yet, are not to ruminate upon the meaning or the content of these dreams during the day. To do so is to open ourselves “daydreaming”, where we openly allow ourselves to think about images thoughts and ideas that came to mind during the night. Such rumination then can be a source of temptation for us. It is best to set such thoughts aside and focus on fostering temperance and love. As long as we are focused upon God then what arises out of the unconscious will eventually be healed as well. However, if we are slothful or worse prideful we become more subject to the effects of such a dreams or their frequency will become more prominent in our life because of our lack of spiritual discipline. In Hypothesis XXXII, our attention is drawn toward the work of contrition. Saint Gregory tells us that contrition manifest itself in many forms of spiritual beauty. This is striking if only because of the negative connotation that the word contrition sometimes holds. Saint Gregory tells us that ultimately it is a path to beauty, goodness and love. When a soul first seeks after God at the outset it feels contrition out of fear. It is humbled by the depths of its poverty and how contrary this is to that which is good and to our essential dignity. Tears begin to flow and as they do the soul begins to develop a certain courage in the spiritual life and is warmed by a desire for heavenly joy. The soul which shortly before wept from the fear that it might be condemned, eventually weeps bitterly simply because of how far it perceives itself from the kingdom of heaven. As the soul is cleansed, however, it clearly beholds before it what the choirs of angels are and the splendor that belongs to these blessed spirits. Ultimately, the soul begins to behold the vision of God himself. One then weeps for joy as it waits to experience this vision in its fullness. When perfect contrition emerges then the soul’s thirst for God is satiated; tears now turning in to the living waters of the kingdom. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:11:02 Lorraine Green: Fr., can you take a Mass request?  Where would we send that is so?  And the stipend? 00:11:33 Suzanne Romano: Reacted to I've got a (pet) rab... with "😄" 00:14:00 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 238 # A 00:21:21 Anthony: This is also an exercise of faith....if a person is hunted by fear of filth, and filth separates us from God, the fathers recommend the exercise of faith and ignoring false feelings of filth. 00:23:37 Forrest Cavalier: Reacted to "This is also an exer..." with ❤️ 00:23:41 Andrew Adams: Reacted to "This is also an exer..." with ❤️ 00:25:25 Suzanne Romano: St. Alphonsus recommends, for holy purity, three Hail Marys before sleep and three upon waking. 00:26:06 Suzanne Romano: TV opens up the portals of the passions. 00:27:32 Catherine Opie: There is nothing more enjoyable to do with kids than to read a book aloud. 00:28:06 Sheila Applegate: Quitting can feel like a drug addiction. It can release the neurotransmitter dopamine and it is so craveable. 00:28:50 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "Quitting can feel li..." with 👍🏻 00:28:57 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "St. Alphonsus recomm..." with ❤️ 00:29:01 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "This is also an exer..." with 🙏🏻 00:29:02 Marias iphone 14: Reacted to "There is nothing mor…" with ❤️ 00:29:33 Bob Čihák, AZ: We gave up TV easily. After we drove 2 cars from WA to AZ and had my laptop brick and the AC in one car break, 7 years ago, we haven't yet bother to get a TV. 00:36:19 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "We gave up TV easily..." with 🤓 00:37:28 Anthony: Fyi....even common technology works against us. I have a program on my new cell phone that I don't know how to get off, and when I swipe to use my phone, I'm getting pornography and other ads that is the first thing I see. 00:38:05 Suzanne Romano: I think porn rewires the brain. 00:40:02 Wayne: Have heard one author say that men who have this issue  want to stop but seem powerless to stop the addiction 00:40:29 Myles Davidson: The book “Your Brain On Porn: Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction” looks at the science behind the rewiring process 00:42:17 Suzanne Romano: There's a spiritual warfare aspect to the addiction. 00:43:51 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "There's a spiritual ..." with 👍🏻 00:53:08 Catherine Opie: Replying to "Fyi....even common t..." Is it a google app for news and advertising? I had that on my new phone. You can go to your apps and remove it. It will usually have some kind of media logo on it. So you can see what app it is. Also you can change the settings on your screen, it may just be a simple case of turning off the advertising notifications 01:06:12 Lindsey Funair: Maybe hardest part for me in recognizing the beauty and wanting of the divine is how it folds back on the weak spirit in the form of idolatry and covetousness of that which is so supremely beautiful simply because it reflects God's Love. 01:06:15 Anthony: Reacted to Is it a google app f... with "👍" 01:08:23 Forrest Cavalier: Life-giving repentance is in today's readings. “God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.” Acts 11:18 from today's mass readings (western church.) 01:10:20 Anthony: You also have to love yourself "through" feelings of deficiency, and convince yourself "God hates nothing He has made." 01:17:58 Andrew Adams: Thanks be to God! Thank you, Father! 01:18:01 Sr. Mary Clare: thank you! 01:18:04 Lindsey Funair: thank you 01:18:04 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂 01:18:07 Suzanne Romano: Pax!! 01:18:07 Marias iphone 14: Thank you 01:18:14 Catherine Opie: Deo Gratias Fr. Thank you and may God bless you 01:18:15 Troy Amaro: Thank You Father 01:18:27 Sr. Charista Maria: Thank you Fr. :)

Life in Christ is not an abstraction and the gospel is not simply a set of teachings or an ideology. It is clarion call to “Follow Me” from He who is the Lord of life and love. We are invited to participate in the mystery of Divine Life. Just as the fathers  tell us that we are to “become prayer” and not simply engage in a discipline, likewise, we must become Christ. We must put on Him mind and our hearts must be animated by His Spirit of love.  It is for this reason that Saint Isaac the Syrian places desire at the heart of the spiritual life. There is one path that lies ahead for us – we are to long for Christ and for the life of the kingdom. Anything else is reductive; shrinking the faith down to what is manageable and acceptable to our sensibilities and understanding. It is no longer faith but a simulation or as Christ would say “hypocrisy“.  The reality that Saint Isaac places before us is the need for the healing of the soul; afflicted by sin, we are dominated by the passion. Yet because we are made in the image and likeness of God we often unknowingly reach out to grasp what is greater than ourselves while neglecting purity of heart and the need for God‘s grace and mercy. Such a path only leads to greater darkness. Sin unaddressed, like illness undiagnosed only grows worse. We must seek the healing that comes through participation in the Paschal Mystery; that is, a dying and rising to new life in Christ. We must die to sin and self in order to have the purity of heart and the depth of faith that allows us to comprehend what is beyond the senses and reason.  Central to Saint Isaac’s thought is the purification of the Nous, the eye of the soul. If neglected one simply becomes blind to the presence of God and his love. The words of Christ come to mind in this regard: “the eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is  bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” To neglect such a reality is like the man who shamelessly entered into the wedding feast with unclean garments. We seek to enter into the fullness of life and love while yet immersed in the mire of our sin and clinging to the things of the world. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:13:13 susan: wish I could be there  I am a piano teacher  lol 00:13:20 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 123, paragraph 11 00:27:04 Myles Davidson: Father, a week or so ago you mentioned private revelation, many of which seem to also fit into this category (ie. fantasies of the mind). There are a plethora of so-called seers around today, many of which have been shown to be fakes. How do the Orthodox deal with this phenomena? I’ve heard they have a policy of keeping private revelations as just that… private. What are your thoughts on this? 00:28:12 Anthony: If Christ on the criss is the Bridegroom,  then I can see a person who has desired impure thoughts is running to be like the Bridegroom but is not "ready" to be married. Although, the Gospel does tell us to take up the cross and follow Christ,  without reference to one's state of mind or holiness. 00:37:36 Ren Witter: In my notes from the last time we did Isaac, you said that this teaching is not harsh, but practical. Sin being understood as a sickness, a person who has not yet been purified through praxis simply would not have the strength to take up the cross in such a way as to ascend to theoria. Sounds a lot like the teaching on taking up fasting beyond your strength - you’ll just end up worse off than you were before. 00:44:14 Joshua Sander: My apologies if you've already covered this or if Isaac is about to get to this and I'm getting ahead of him, but how does one discern that one's own "senses have found rest from their infirmity" and that he or she is ready for theoria, especially given that temptations and struggles against sin will always be with us while we are in the flesh? 00:47:00 Nypaver Clan: What page are we on? 00:47:07 Ren Witter: 124 00:53:46 Anthony: I suspect a lot of us seekers are like St Teresa d'Avila who suffer much from bad advice until we run into clearer presentations of faith, hope and love. 00:54:15 Catherine Opie: Replying to "I suspect a lot of u..." Definitely my path 🤣 00:54:24 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "I suspect a lot of u..." with ❤️ 00:54:52 Myles Davidson: add 😁 00:57:23 Myles Davidson: Christ as anchor "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."  Hebrews 6:19 00:58:28 Ren Witter: The building where this happened was Pitt’s public health building, which is still nicknamed “Our Lady of Public Health” 00:59:11 Wayne: Reacted to "The building where t..." with 😂 00:59:21 Ben: Reacted to "The building where t..." with 🤢 00:59:21 Max Horcher: Reacted to "The building where..." with 😂 01:00:17 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "The building where t..." with 🤣 01:00:45 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "Christ as anchor "We..." with 🙏🏻 01:01:11 Bob Čihák, AZ: Reacted to "Christ as anchor "We..." with 🙏🏻 01:01:32 Suzanne Romano: Hell on earth! 😆 01:02:07 Ben: Replying to "Hell on earth! 😆" Health on earth?... 01:06:16 Myles Davidson: 22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matt 6:22-23 01:06:21 Elizabeth Richards’s iPhone: Replying to "Hell on earth! 😆" ““The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.6.22-23.ESV 01:06:23 Nypaver Clan: Matthew 6:23 01:12:35 Myles Davidson: Is the word used here “watching” the same as the Greek word ‘nepsis’? (A concept I’ve found very helpful!) 01:12:57 Anthony: Ok, this is where philosophy fails, for in philosophy I only recall being taught about "a priori" knowledge and "a posteriori" knowledge.  Isaac is in a different dimension altogether. 01:15:02 Myles Davidson: Reacted to "Ok, this is where ph..." with 👍 01:15:18 Alex Underwood: Reacted to "Ok, this is where ph..." with 👍 01:17:25 Ben: Replying to "Is the word used her..." Thanks for pointing that out...I had been understanding "watching" as "vigils"...but I guess in that case it would have just said "vigils". 😆 01:17:59 John Cruz: Come and see…. 01:18:13 Ben: Reacted to "Come and see…." with 👍 01:19:53 Myles Davidson: Replying to "Is the word used her..." Could be both… good point 🙂 01:21:22 Maureen Cunningham: Thank You Blessing 01:21:30 Maureen Cunningham: Yay 01:21:48 Bob Čihák, AZ: Thank you Father. You'll never retire. 01:22:19 Andrew Adams: Thanks be to God! Thank you, Father! 01:22:21 Elizabeth Richards’s iPhone: And with your spirit 01:22:21 Catherine Opie: Thank you Fr. very "enlightening" discussion as always, God bless have a wonderful week 01:22:23 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂 01:22:28 Jeffrey Ott: Thank you Father! 01:22:29 Suzanne Romano: Pax!! 01:22:40 David: Thank you Father! 01:22:41 Kevin Burke: Thank you father!

The more that I read the fathers’ writings and about their spiritual struggles, the more I understand that what we need to see is the desire that is the foundation their life and driving force behind their behaviors.  Our life is to be an urgent longing for God who has given everything to us and revealed his desire to draw us into his life. Our spiritual life cannot be an abstraction; something that exist in the mind alone. Nor can it be a kind of rigorous moralism where one is driven by fear or an intense scrupulosity; rooted in the doubt of God’s compassion and mercy.  We have had to read the Evergetinos very closely and with a critical eye; for the stories capture for us the fathers’ struggle to hold on to the one thing necessary while maintaining a balanced understanding of what it is to be a human being. This is a difficult thing for people to do in general and for the fathers we find that there withdrawal from society intensified and complicated this struggle. We have noted in past discussions the tendency to project the struggle within the human heart onto others as the cause of their anger, lust, etc. In reality, the battle lies within. Having said this, we must understand that desire is the heart of the spiritual life. It is the one thing that we should be seeking to inflame from moment to moment and day to day. This the fathers understood; especially those who had experienced a radical intimacy with God and purity of heart. When one has tasted the sweetness of the kingdom, the life and love of the living God, then the urgency of one’s desire for God and holding on to what is precious becomes the goal of life. When one’s heart has been touched by the Beloved one can think of nothing else. And when one has lost that intimacy through ingratitude or sloth, the depths of pain in the heart is equally great. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:01:43 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: This is the best reflection I’ve read on Climacus’ description of the prison in The Ladder of the Divine Ascent: The visitation of the uncreated Light generates the most intense desire which does not allow man any rest on earth. When speaking to his monastic community, Father Sophrony indicated that the prisoners in The Ladder of Saint John Climacus were not ordinary people. They were not people to be despised as sinners who were expelled to be punished. They were people of unrestrainable desire for God, who had known the uncreated Light and then lost it after having sinned in one way or another. They voluntarily went to that prison, determined to die rather than to betray the covenant they had made with God in the beginning. As we read, some of them were so totally consumed by the pain of their desire and repentance, that they passed to the other life even before they had reached the tenth day of their abode in that prison. 00:01:49 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: There is a verse from the Psalms which truly describes the state of those prisoners: ‘Lord, remember David, and all his afflictions: How he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob; surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.’ In my humble opinion, there is not a more perfect expression of the gift of longing for the living God than this verse of prophet David.  Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou  “Monasticism” 00:12:35 Suzanne Romano: Nothing in chat 00:12:36 Maureen Cunningham: Nope 00:12:41 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: This is the best reflection I’ve read on Climacus’ description of the prison in The Ladder of the Divine Ascent: The visitation of the uncreated Light generates the most intense desire which does not allow man any rest on earth. When speaking to his monastic community, Father Sophrony indicated that the prisoners in The Ladder of Saint John Climacus were not ordinary people. They were not people to be despised as sinners who were expelled to be punished. They were people of unrestrainable desire for God, who had known the uncreated Light and then lost it after having sinned in one way or another. They voluntarily went to that prison, determined to die rather than to betray the covenant they had made with God in the beginning. As we read, some of them were so totally consumed by the pain of their desire and repentance, that they passed to the other life even before they had reached the tenth day of their abode in that prison. 00:12:49 Suzanne Romano: Yes 00:12:50 Julie: Yes 00:12:50 Maureen Cunningham: Yes 00:12:55 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: There is a verse from the Psalms which truly describes the state of those prisoners: ‘Lord, remember David, and all his afflictions: How he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob; surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.’ In my humble opinion, there is not a more perfect expression of the gift of longing for the living God than this verse of prophet David.  Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou  “Monasticism” 00:12:59 Troy Amaro: Reacted to "This is the best ref…" with 👍 00:23:47 Adam Paige: Reacted to "This is the best ref..." with 👍 00:23:55 Julie: Beautiful 00:26:46 Bob Čihák, AZ: Reacted to "Beautiful" with 👍 00:52:14 Catherine Opie: Fr. with priests who are in the world they are working with young boys all the time mentoring them as servers and during the mass there is a lot of close contact holding vestments etc. I had never really considered this situation in this way. And we are told these days that human touch is necessary for good mental health as well. 00:52:15 Sr. Charista Maria: Fr. are you familiar with Aelred of Rievaulx, Saint of Holy Friendship? Some of what he shares is different than this. Yes it is scary out there though. 00:52:55 Sr. Charista Maria: St. Aelred is very personable though prudent. 00:56:35 Forrest Cavalier: Like most acolytes, nothing inappropriate happened as I served as an acolyte under many priests for 10 years. Nothing inappropriate. The number of abusers is a small percentage. Too many, but a small percentage. That means that this requirement is not difficult. 00:56:52 Sr. Mary Clare: Concerning priests with altar boys, It takes prayer and discernment to lead the boys to Jesus rather than to themselves. A holy reserve can go a long way. Loving others without any possessive love. 00:57:37 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "Like most acolytes, ..." with 👍🏻 00:57:44 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "Concerning priests w..." with 👍🏻 00:58:22 Lori Hatala: Do you think a lack of reverence contributes? 00:59:02 Sr. Charista Maria: Reacted to "Concerning priests w..." with 👍🏻 00:59:13 Dennis M: Reacted to "Concerning priests w..." with 👍🏻 00:59:24 Sr. Charista Maria: Reacted to "Do you think a lack ..." with 👍 01:13:54 Maureen Cunningham: Yes loud 01:15:44 Suzanne Romano: Isaac speaks about the senses being the conduits of a darkening of the soul. I think he says we have to starve them. 01:15:55 Maureen Cunningham: Desert Fathers went to desert fight the evil. 01:20:54 Sr. Mary Clare: Your beautiful explanations are very balanced. Thank you! 01:21:46 Maureen Cunningham: Thank You 01:21:47 Catherine Opie: It becomes clearer all the time how 01:21:51 Sr. Charista Maria: very good Fr. 01:22:06 Janine: It was great Father! Thank you! 01:22:28 Andrew Adams: Thanks be to God! Thank you, Father! 01:22:35 Suzanne Romano: God bless! 01:22:36 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂 01:22:44 Catherine Opie: God bless 01:22:48 Bob Čihák, AZ: You're always on target, Father. The targets change, thank God! 01:22:48 Troy Amaro: Thank You Father. 01:23:05 Maureen Cunningham: We're do you listen

The experience of reading Saint Isaac the Syrian is something like being caught up in a vortex; not a linear explanation of the spiritual life or spiritual practices, but rather being drawn by the Holy Spirit that blows wherever It wills. It is not as though Isaac’s thought lacks cohesiveness, but rather he presents the life of faith and life in Christ to us as an artist painting with broad strokes. This is especially true in the first six homilies that speak of the discipline of virtue. Isaac seems to be more concerned about our breathing the same air as the Saints. He wants us to be swept up by our desire for God and in our gratitude for His love and mercy. Our life is not simply following a series of teachings or a moral code, but rather embodying very life of Christ. We are to love and console others as we have been loved and consoled by the Lord. If our spiritual disciplines do not remove the impediments to our capacity to be loved and to love others, then they are sorely lacking.  In every way, our lives should be a reflection of Christ and the manner that we walk along the path of our lives should be reflective of His mindset and desire. In other words, we should desire to do the will of God and to love Him above all things, including our own lives. We are to die to self and sin and have a willingness to trust in the Providence of God that leads our hearts to desire to take up the cross daily and follow him. We begin to see affliction as something that not only shapes are virtue and deepens our faith, but that is a participation in the reality of redemption. We are drawn into something that is Divine and Saint Isaac would not have us make it something common. The Cross will always be a stumbling block when gazed upon or experienced on a purely natural level. But for those who have faith, we begin to see and experience the sweetness of God’s love and intimacy with him precisely through affliction. Isaac would have us know that joy in all of its fullness. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:10:51 Catherine Opie: Hi there, where are we in the text? 00:12:03 Lori Hatala: pg 122 Cover a sinner... 00:13:10 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "pg 122 Cover a sinne..." with 🙏🏻 00:13:53 Fr. Miron Kerul-Kmec Jr.: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064674224441 00:14:25 mstef: What's the best place to buy the text for Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian? 00:14:55 Fr. Miron Kerul-Kmec Jr.: Replying to "What's the best plac..." https://www.bostonmonks.com/product_info.php/products_id/635/?srsltid=AfmBOop3vDmjuAXUXQSy7YsihYlEpKvTek3MiYqFazzowWu9fREOmiK3 00:16:24 Thomas: I think he is 44 00:17:52 Suzanne Romano: Charbelle 00:19:03 Una: Reacted to "Charbelle" with 👍 00:20:37 Ben: Replying to "What's the best plac..." Found mine used on Abebooks.com...had study notes, so price was right! 00:22:07 Fr. Miron Kerul-Kmec Jr.: Reacted to "Found mine used on A..." with ❤️ 00:29:15 Suzanne Romano: Cover a sinner as long as he does not harm you. How do we define harm? Is a person's obstinate refusal of the truth the kind of suffering we can relieve? Or can dealing with an obstinate person open our heart up to harm?   00:35:56 Kate : Is there a difference between how the Eastern Church understands sainthood vs the Western Church?  In the Latin Rite you hear the term “heroic virtue” but it seems the Eastern understanding is more “Christ living within.” 00:38:18 Sr. Mary Clare: Reacted to "Is there a differenc..." with 👍 00:38:57 Sr. Mary Clare: That's a good question, Kate. 00:39:43 Anthony: It's important to avoid self-loathing in failure to pursue good things, but commend all things to God's disposition. 00:45:40 Maureen Cunningham: Thank you so true , 00:46:55 David: It is easy to pray for deliverance or in thanksgiving but it seems as you draw closer it seems the only honest prayer becomes- Lord teach me your way I trust in you. 00:51:51 Ben: When Father's elected Pope...bye-bye, pews. 👍 00:52:11 Myles Davidson: Reacted to "When Father's electe..." with 😊 00:52:44 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "It's important to av..." with ❤️ 00:52:46 Thomas: When he says to help the sinners in the first part how much are we supposed to do, because at some point wouldn’t you encroach on spiritual father type of stuff 00:53:02 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "It is easy to pray f..." with ❤️ 00:53:09 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "When Father's electe..." with 🤣 00:54:05 Una: With my long-term fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue (severe) I simply could not keep up with Orthodox services, especially Holy Week. And the fasting. I was glad to come back to the Western rite and more relaxing fasting. God bless those who can do it. 00:54:48 Sr. Mary Clare: Unfortunately, covid became an excuse not to return to Mass. This has become a very sad situation. Watching the Liturgy online has become the norm. No doubt, this was a tactic of the evil one. 00:55:20 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "Unfortunately, covid..." with 👍🏻 00:55:35 Eleana: I have seen more participation AFTER covid. 00:55:47 Jamie Hickman: This is how the TLM is in my experience. Yes, there are rushed low Masses out there, but my decades experience of Sunday Sung Mass is minimum 90 minutes, but usually closer to 2. The 10:30 in my area ends between 12:20-12:30 weekly. In Tampa this year, Easter Vigil began at 7 PM and ended around 12:30 AM...and the pastor actually began speaking some of the prayers in English that are permitted so to save some time. 00:56:07 Myles Davidson: Reacted to "This is how the TLM ..." with 👍 00:56:30 Ben: Replying to "I have seen more par..." Trad. parishes *exploded* with growth, it's true. God brings good out of evil. 00:56:41 Catherine Opie: Interesting that 00:57:00 Myles Davidson: Replying to "This is how the TLM ..." The Extraordinary Form is just that… extraordinary! 00:57:53 Myles Davidson: Reacted to "Trad. parishes *expl..." with 👍 00:58:55 David: In my parish we are filled with millennials and Gen Z even daily mass it is amazing I hope they stay. Before daily mass was just me and a few older people now almost every pew is full. But my parish is very traditional and lots of silence in mass. Covid might have been an momentary issue but now at least where I am I am shocked to see sunday service flow into the atrium and people holding open the doors outside during feasts. 00:58:59 Catherine Opie: Sorry, pressed enter before ready, I find it interesting that existing Catholics might be doing that, avoiding going to mass in person by watching on line, while for converts like myself lockdowns drove me into the arms of Catholicism, and adult conversions doubled this year on last year. 00:59:31 Sr. Mary Clare: Reacted to "Sorry, pressed enter..." with ❤️ 01:00:09 Sr. Mary Clare: Reacted to "In my parish we are ..." with ❤️ 01:01:40 Una: Thank you. Very encouraging. 01:06:51 Catherine Opie: I see the physical pain that intensifies when at mass, praying etc as the level of my resistance to sit with God. I offer it up for the souls in purgatory and breathe through it. As well as having to suffer the perfume other people wear!!!!! 01:06:54 Suzanne Romano: Guadalupe 01:06:54 Anthony: Guadeloupe was 1500s 01:06:58 Ben: Guadalupe was 1531 - Aztecs 01:08:12 Myles Davidson: Replying to "I see the physical p..." Perfumes = penance! 01:09:04 Ben: Reacted to "Perfumes = penance!" with 😲 01:11:32 David: Guadalupe did convert more Christians in the shortest period of time in history after decades of little success in the Americas. My son was baptized in the first stone font when we lived in Mexico,  the next year moved to a museum in Tlaxcala. The first Christians were other communities and the aztecas a minority in the territory were hold outs till Guadalupe. 01:16:57 Ben: Asceticism in the beginning of the spiritual life is basic to the Fathers, but today it's often treated as something for those who are already saints, with no reference to purity of heart. 01:19:05 Eleana: Reacted to "Guadalupe did conv..." with 😮 01:19:35 Lee Graham: Please explain the soul,s incentive parr 01:19:48 Lee Graham: Incentive 01:19:48 Anthony: Asceticism with little prayer and desire sounds similar to Jansenism 01:20:23 Ben: Right - we need all that. 01:23:11 Ben: It's a deep paragraph for 8:38pm 01:23:15 Sr. Mary Clare: What you have been saying is beautiful! 01:23:16 David: Why with all the ministries and works, committee's, Bingo, fundraisers isn't there more spiritual direction and an ER for the the spiritually sick. What I like most about the desert fathers is they identify the error and give a solution or solutions. I am dismayed by the latin approach to dealing with any of the evil thoughts. 01:23:20 Naina: Amen 🙏 Thank you Father 🙏✝️🤍 01:23:57 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂 01:24:02 Elizabeth Richards: Peace to you 01:24:02 Catherine Opie: God bless Fr. 01:24:10 Francisco Ingham: God bless you Fr.! 01:24:11 David: Thank you father may God bless you and your mother.

What is the limit of our desire for God?  What conditions do we set on our pursuit of virtue, constancy of prayer and the avoidance of sin? What emerges from the writings of the fathers is their willingness to sacrifice themselves and comfort in ways that are unimaginable to the modern mind. Beyond that their actions seem to be absurd and extreme to the point of falling to the criticism of masochism or self hatred. It is very difficult for many to grasp the nature of such thirst and desire for God and to please Him. Equally, it is hard to imagine going to the lengths that these ascetic did in avoiding sin or overcoming temptation in the heat of the battle. They often treated the body harshly to prevent themselves from pursuing natural or disordered desires. Rarely do we consider the pretext that the Evil One is willing to use to draw us into sin. Therefore, we often will put ourselves to the test or engage in futile warfare that bears witness to pride within our hearts. Thus, even in our critical reading of the fathers we have to be wary of allowing our modern sensibilities to convince us that we see things with greater clarity psychologically and spiritually. If we are wrapped in the illusion of faith and comfortable with mediocrity, our sensibilities are going to be dulled and the Cross will remain for us as it has often been in every generation – a stumbling block rather than the revelation of selfless love. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:01:26 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 231 number 9 01:01:12 Suzanne Romano: This is the reason  why people should dress modestly. 01:02:40 Myles Davidson: Reacted to "This is the reason  ..." with 👍 01:03:02 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "This is the reason  ..." with ❤️ 01:07:45 Kate : When children are formed in truth, goodness, and beauty from a young age, they are able to see the falsehood in secular culture. 01:08:37 Suzanne Romano: Reacted to When children are fo... with "❤️" 01:12:15 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "When children are fo..." with ❤️ 01:12:28 Anthony: I often think: if these things against innocence are wrong, why does God let it happen? And I have to fight rising anger. 01:16:36 Suzanne Romano: That is a truly consoling answer! 01:16:58 Sr. Charista Maria: Wow, great response Father :).I 01:21:57 Tracey Fredman: I have tasted it - what Fr. is saying is so right - so true, transformative - and then He sends us - 01:22:18 Anthony: Reacted to I have tasted it - w... with "❤️" 01:22:27 Sr. Charista Maria: Reacted to "I have tasted it - w..." with ❤️ 01:23:02 Sr. Charista Maria: Reacted to "When children are fo..." with ❤️ 01:23:49 Suzanne Romano: Your soul is always young! 01:24:31 Laura: Reacted to "Your soul is always ..." with 👍🏼 01:24:51 Suzanne Romano: 😆 01:25:05 Lee Graham: What is your address 01:25:11 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂 01:25:30 Maureen Cunningham: Thank You Blessing 01:25:57 Andrew Adams: Thanks be to God! Thank you, Father! 01:25:58 Catherine Opie: Deo Gratias 01:26:10 Julie: God bless 01:26:24 Catherine Opie: My dog has awoken

Gratitude is placing ourselves into the hands of God, trusting in His providence and allowing Him to guide us where He wills (without asking us for permission or our understanding His purpose). It is like having a bucket of cold water dumped over our heads. We are suddenly awakened and our whole being is set on edge.  We realize in the words of Saint Isaac the Syrian that gratitude and faith are often not what we imagine or want them to be. To show gratitude to He who is crucified Love means that we embrace that Love in our lives, are driven by the same desires as Christ, and willing to bear affliction patiently and with joy.  In the Scriptures, we hear the surprising words: “He was made perfect by what he suffered“. We see the perfection of love and the mercy of the kingdom most fully when Christ allows himself to be broken and poured out on the cross. Life allows himself to be swallowed up by death.  From the perspective of human understanding, it seems to be absurdity and failure. Despite our acknowledgment and the celebration of the resurrection of Christ - trampling death by death, so that those in the tombs might be granted life, we do not want this reality to shape our experience of life in the world. Saint Isaac is not presenting us with anything different from the gospel and yet our almost infinite capacity for rationalization makes us avoid affliction at every cost and become resentful when we find it ever present in our lives.  The kingdom of heaven is within. Salvation is now. The life that we are called to live and the love that we are to embody has been freely given to us. Not to embrace this life and love, not to allow it to shape the very essence of our lives is the height of ingratitude. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:01:11 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 120 01:10:34 Catherine Opie: I think that we have been indoctrinated into only being grateful when things go the way we want, I read a story about St Dominic that he took great pains to build a church on a hill. When it was finally complete the local king demanded it be torn down stone by stone until nothing was left. St Dominic upon finding this out declared joyously "Praise the Lord!". This really struck me deeply because it is so the antithesis of the attitude I was brought up in where we bemoan and curse God for misfortune and only are grateful when we get what we want. Or we see relationship with God only as a place to demand what we want. 01:10:56 Kathleen: Tall order. Very difficult. 01:11:35 Maureen Cunningham: Wow it hard but many rewards . That we can not see 01:11:36 Kathleen: It’s a decision one makes with complete awareness of the situation at hand 01:11:47 Rebecca Thérèse: Sometimes there's no option but to suffer. Uniting one's suffering to the redemptive suffering of Christ gives it purpose. 01:12:36 Art iPhone: Reacted to "I think that we have…" with 👌 01:13:48 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "Sometimes there's no..." with ❤️ 01:15:03 David: I don't remember who said it but " It is only in suffering we know we have faith and grow". When everything is easy or pleasurable there is always doubt if this is the ego or faith and virtue. 01:15:28 Elizabeth Richards: We so want to create meaning & give purpose to our suffering (make sense of it), but Isaac seems to be showing that entering into suffering is entering into Christ. 01:17:25 Joseph: The heart of asceticism is stripping away the palpable, to open up space for the noetic 01:18:38 Kathleen: Yes 01:18:48 Ren Witter: ALS 01:19:03 Kathleen: Yes 01:19:28 Kathleen: Yes 01:19:50 Kathleen: Thank you!!!! 01:20:03 Maureen Cunningham: Thank you Father 01:20:04 Julie: Thankyou 01:20:47 Andrew Adams: Thanks be to God! Thank you, Father! 01:20:52 Catherine Opie: 🙏🏻❤️ Thank you 01:20:54 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you, happy Easter everyone🙂 01:20:56 Matt S: Thank you! 01:20:57 David: Thanks father! 01:20:57 Jeffrey Ott: Thank you! 01:21:08 Andrew Adams: Thanks everyone. Great comments tonight!

We see clearly within the struggles of the desert fathers how difficult it can be to avoid extremes in thought and action. We see in them those filled with desire for God and striving for purity of heart; maintaining watchfulness and fostering a hatred of sin. Yet, how is one form and develop a sensitive conscience and awareness of the power of our own appetites and desires as human beings, concern with demonic provocation, and yet to hold on to a true view of the beauty of creation and the dignity of the human person? As fully invested as the desert fathers were, and as psychologically and spiritually astute as they could be, this was no small task. We find in their language at times a tendency to project their fear of sin or temptation onto others. This can be uniquely the struggle of religious people; rather than humbly acknowledging the truth within our own hearts and the power of our own desires we will blame temptation upon others – on the things they say or do. Saint Philip Neri once said: “Man is often the carpenter of his own crosses”. We do not like to acknowledge the truth of that fact; that we are the source of our own temptation or that it arises out of our own imagination and memory. Despite this, however, they did see very clearly that the Evil One can use every pretext to provoke a person into sin. The devil can appear as an angel of light, and the desert fathers would have us never forget this. Even that which is good - those bonds of love and familial affection, nostalgia for those relationships that have been so powerful - all of these things, the evil one will work on to distract us or pull us in a particular direction. One might argue, somewhat convincingly, that such a concern is extreme or neurotic. In this we do not want to defend the indefensible. However, we want to understand the changeableness of the human heart and mind, its fickleness and treachery. Demonic provocation can turn the mind and the heart toward things that we never imagined we would ever consider or do. May God have mercy on us and guide us. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:19:49 Wayne: page  again 00:20:09 Myles Davidson: Pg 230 L 4 00:20:30 Wayne: thnx 00:28:58 Anthony: This actually makes a lot of sense if we consider pagan myth. Monks strove to be like the descriptions of angels. But that desire to be "heavenly" can be perverted if we let the pagan myths distort our minds of the heavenly since sex was so often part of myth: like the relationship of Uranos and Gaiea, or the Olympians. We need a right view of God and creation and created things if we will truly strive to the true God. 00:52:05 Anthony: I saw it. Very good.  Also has scenes of temptation to love a woman who was attracted to him when they were young. 00:57:34 Catherine Opie: Being a new convert and coming from a non Catholic, mostly atheist family, and having a friend base who are not Christian I can relate in a small way how that might feel. I have had both friends and family become vitriolic over my change in belief. It can be challenging because I am no longer their ally in viewpoint. 01:03:01 Ashton L: I’d say a lot of people get fanatic and someone with genuine zeal confused 01:04:11 Anthony: Honest, not being a fanatic is a serious concern because some kinds of fundamentalism and truly nuts and malformed.  I don't want to be that guy.  I don't want to blow out of proportion stories of demons or private visions.  Then you're almost a solupsist, and insufferable. 01:07:29 Kate : There are a number of Western saints, men and women, who were great friends.  For example, Sts. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, Sts. Francis and Clare, Sts. Francis de Sales and Jane Frances de Chantal, among others.  I wonder if you could comment on how to understand these great spiritual friendships in light of these writings. 01:08:02 Forrest Cavalier: Reacted to "There are a number o..." with 👍 01:08:11 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "There are a number o..." with ❤️ 01:08:56 Vanessa: Replying to "There are a number o..." Jesus also had female friends. Martha and Mary. 01:09:18 Nypaver Clan: St. John of the Cross 01:11:16 Myles Davidson: The Spanish Teresa of Avila mini series https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNBgLeqw6lxe_51ysMXFjR54sQf9LCl6j 01:11:30 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "The Spanish Teresa o..." with 🙏🏻 01:11:46 Ashton L: Reacted to "The Spanish Teresa o…" with 🙏🏻 01:13:58 Rebecca Thérèse: Therese asked that the sisters not put poisonous things within her reach lest she should take it in a moment of weakness 01:14:22 Anthony: Reacted to Therese asked that t... with "❤️" 01:15:01 Andrew Adams: Thanks be to God! Thank you, Father! 01:15:03 Catherine Opie: Thank you Fr. God Bless 01:15:24 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you. Happy Easter everyone🙂 01:15:39 Nypaver Clan: Reacted to "Thank you. Happy Eas..." with 🥰 01:16:07 Ashton L: Reacted to "Thank you. Happy Eas…" with ❤️ 01:17:04 Catherine Opie: Happy Easter!!!

After having spoken to us about the importance of being filled with wonder at the love and mercy of God revealed to us in Christ and desiring him above all things, Saint Isaac immediately stresses that what is born from the heart must be real and concrete. It is one thing for us to use beautiful words to speak about Christ and the faith. It is another to embody the love and compassion of Christ so vitally that our actions and words transmit virtue to others. In other words, for our actions to be life-giving, they must be rooted in the experience of the living God. Otherwise, our wisdom becomes a “deposit of disgrace”. Whereas righteous activity born of the love of Christ and the experience of his mercy becomes a “treasury of hope”. How do we engage the world around us and those in it except by embodying He who is reality, love and truth. Our temporal life passes so quickly and Isaac tells us that if we love it then our way of life is defiled or we have been deprived of knowledge. He writes: “the fear of death distresses a man with a guilty conscience, but the man with a good witness within himself longs for death as for life.“  If Christ is the center of our life then we will have no fear or anxiety. The only thing that we take out of this world is our vice or virtue. Everything passes away like a dream disappearing in the morning. All that we have received is pure gift; coming to us through baptism and faith where we are called by the Lord - called by name - to enter into his life and to love as he loved. Indeed it is an interesting thing that Isaac begins his Ascetical Homilies by emphasizing wonder, desire, urgent longing and God‘s desire for us as well how freely He has given us everything that is good. Isaac set us upon a path that helps us keep our focus upon God and God alone. All of our spiritual disciplines must serve to help us love and give ourselves in love or they are hollow. Likewise, all that we receive must be responded to with gratitude. There is only one thing that keeps us from experiencing the richness of God’s grace and mercy. It is our failure to turn towards him through a lack of trust or appreciation for His generosity. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:08:47 Catherine Opie: Apologies I missed last weeks zoom due to being offline. What page are we on today? 00:10:29 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 118 paragraph 34 00:19:12 Catherine Opie: Things move slower down here in Australasia 🤣 00:24:50 David: I find this part so beautiful my grandmother was an artist near Lake Superior and painted in water colors I spent my summers with her and while I love her paintings I remember more the scenes , smell of the wildflowers and of course being next to her. The painting is but a pale reflection. So to with talking about love but feeling that from my family/mentors special people illuminates long after the time has past. 00:29:18 David: In the end I found Christ seeing him in my grandparents and others not the years of studying, reading the Summa. He was there next to me living through them. 00:46:06 Ren Witter: Don’t worry Father, I’ll throw myself on your grave and weep ;-) 00:46:50 paul g.: Reacted to "Don’t worry Father, …" with 😇 00:47:25 Tracey Fredman: Sometimes we find ourselves in a position ... I have thoughts! I pray for everyone's prayers - don't know how to raise my hand on the phone! lol 00:47:51 Tracey Fredman: Reacted to Don’t worry Father, ... with "😇" 00:48:13 Tracey Fredman: I can unmute 00:49:23 Tracey Fredman: (or not , lol) 00:49:36 David: I nice thing to do is to take a picture and send it to them SMS. Someone did this for me and it is really comforting in bad times to see a candle lit, a thought shared etc. 00:51:53 David: We enter this life and leave the same way - no teeth, no hair and in diapers what is important is what we share in-between was a saying from my Grandfather. 00:54:46 Bob Čihák, AZ: I've given up saying, "I can't wait to be a burden to my children." too much static. 00:57:01 David: Reacted to "I've given up saying..." with 😂 01:00:09 Sr Barbara Jean Mihalchick: HIs advice here would also apply to those who carry trauma memories. 01:01:39 David: When my Mom was in hospice at home dying I was also raising my sons alone and commuting to Chicago (4hrs driving). I had a lot of anxiety and listed to relevant radio on the way back. Father Simon said the only honest prayer is not asking for things but - God teach me your ways. When I started doing this most of the anxiety and frustration went away. I guess letting go of pride? 01:02:23 Bob Čihák, AZ: Reacted to "When my Mom was in h..." with 👍 01:03:02 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "When my Mom was in h..." with ❤️ 01:03:14 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "We enter this life a..." with ❤️ 01:03:45 Anthony: A problem is that these very remedies - Bible, sacraments, real theology - have been distorted and abused and therefore look ugly and repulsive.  That blockage needs to be overcome 01:03:58 Bob Čihák, AZ: My favorite is "Thy will be done." So much so that we're planning it for our gravestone. 01:05:16 David: Reacted to "A problem is that th..." with 👍 01:05:21 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "My favorite is "Thy ..." with 🤣 01:17:39 Ryan N: Father, How does one who struggles with giving gratitude arrive to such state. Is it left to the grace of God? Do we ask God for the grace to be grateful? 01:19:45 Naina: Thank you Father 🙏✝️❤️ 01:20:30 Andrew Adams: Thanks be to God! Thank you, Father! 01:20:30 Jeffrey Ott: Thank you! 01:20:42 Catherine Opie: Thank you Fr, I will pray for you.  

Tonight‘s group consisted mostly of a monologue (out of necessity) about how it is that we are to read the Fathers. We have learned over these few years that one must read in a discerning and discriminating fashion, as well as prayerfully. There is great wisdom to be found within the ascetical writings, however, we must understand that the spiritual life and the personal struggle of each of the desert monks was unique. Furthermore, the desert itself was a laboratory like no other. In the deep solitude, the fathers saw with great clarity the workings of the human mind and heart as well as temptations that came from within and through demonic provocation.  If there is one point that I wanted to make clear in pressing through this with the group is that our love of virtue, of God and our desire to be free of the passions can lead us not only into extremes of discipline but also into a kind of psychological violence. The sorrow over our own poverty and sin can lead us to repress certain parts of our personality and aspects of our life as human beings that are a source vitality and the capacity to love. We have often spoken about desire being at the heart of the spiritual life; we seek He  alone who can fill what is lacking within us.  Yet when the ascetic life is treated like a defense mechanism, we can project our struggles and responsibility for ourselves onto others or, in the intensity of the struggle, repress that which is essential to being fully human. This is not an ancient phenomenon. Those who engage in the spiritual battle today can be tempted in similar ways. Each generation is unique in regards to the nature of the battle but the same pitfalls remain. It is for this reason that the ascetical life cannot be seen as an end in itself. It must begin with Christ, our relationship with him and our trust in his mercy and grace. Devoid of this relationship, the ascetic life can draw us into self focus that is destructive to us both emotionally and spiritually. Thus, our reading of the fathers places upon us a responsibility to be striving at the same time to draw close to Christ. Otherwise, the spiritual life can become a tragic distortion of the truth rather than the source of healing that it is meant to be. The current state of affairs within the life of the Church and the disconnect with this greater spiritual tradition points to such a distortion. When Christianity becomes a cultural phenomenon and whenever even its deepest and most beautiful forms of prayer become habitual and automatic, it becomes lifeless. Let us take heed then of this great responsibility and entrust ourselves to the grace of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. All things are possible with God, but without him there is  only darkness or a sad simulation of faith. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:13:17 Bob Čihák, AZ: P 230, K 00:23:29 Rachel: Is the connection instable for anyone else? 00:23:42 Rachel: unstable* 00:24:21 Monk Maximos: Replying to "unstable*" Mine is fine 00:24:44 Nypaver Clan: Reacted to "Mine is fine" with 👍🏼 00:24:50 Bob Čihák, AZ: Reacted to "Mine is fine" with 👍🏼 00:25:38 Adam Paige: Reacted to "Mine is fine" with 👍🏼 00:27:02 Anthony: Would it be psychology healthier for people to be ordained or vowed religious as older people? St Paul suggests this, but the stories of saints romanticized young vocations (like St. Agnes). 00:27:55 Adam Paige: Reacted to "Would it be psycholo..." with 🤔 00:30:39 Sr. Charista Maria: Very important thoughts you are sharing Father. Holiness and Wholeness. Human/Spiritual integration. 00:31:30 Adam Paige: Reacted to "Very important thoug..." with ❤️‍🔥 00:32:10 Rachel: Reacted to "Mine is fine" with 🙏 00:33:19 Anthony: Right. Even St Symeon the New Theologian cracked mentally or emotionally as a young man. 00:35:58 Sr. Charista Maria: Pope Leo 13th spoke of the 100 years of satan which we have been in, hence such deep wound today and the need for longer formation for most. 00:38:48 Monk Maximos: The Servants of the Paraclete had a similar experience. 00:41:33 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "Very important thoug..." with ❤️ 00:44:42 Monk Maximos: Not only secular universities… some “catholic” ones are too. 00:44:54 Forrest Cavalier: Reacted to "Not only secular uni..." with 👍 00:45:57 Maureen Cunningham: We need the Holy Spirit an lots of joy 00:46:03 Rachel: I wonder if we are not still reeling from that but have only just begun to see the havoc modern psychology relied upon as if gospel truth has wrought upon civilization. The eye when not purified by a life in Christ views the world skewed through modern psychology no matter how good the intentions of those pursuing help though these means. How much though, do we see through this lens? How much doe it affect how we see ourselves, others and Christ Himself? How do we relate to each other? 00:46:18 Forrest Cavalier: Before going to secular college (CMU, late 1980s), I promised myself to always meet my Sunday obligation. I know without a doubt it saved my faith. 00:49:56 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "Before going to secu..." with 🙏🏻 00:57:56 Kate : It seems we have to look at these stories not through a moralistic lens, otherwise we will end up thinking of this in terms or right vs wrong.  Rather, they we seeking healing of the soul and healing from the passions. 00:58:14 Sr. Charista Maria: I believe reading the desert Fathers and also being open to the graces that God is pouring out in our times. There is a great movement within the Church to encourage healing of the deeper heart, opening up the deep struggle or disorder, being so real with Jesus about the longing, and invite Jesus in to redeem, heal; Jesus then reveals the truth that it is really longing for union with Him (the God-sized void) underlying such disorders. Then the disorder becomes a portal to invite God in. Oh happy fault. and St. John of the Cross spirituality. Many are ashamed to invite God into such disordered longing, and they repress and thus close off the deeper heart to God. 00:58:54 Forrest Cavalier: Reacted to "It seems we have to ..." with 👍 01:02:10 Adam Paige: I see this in a positive light, that we should create spaces for men to be with one another in the church. I went to a men's retreat in Ontario in January and their homework for us was to start a men's group in our parishes if one doesn't already exist. At our last local men's group, we prayed Compline together and we've had Orthodox and Protestant men join us from time to time. 01:08:17 Maureen Cunningham: Monks had mothers I do not understand if Jesus was very close women when did all start 01:11:04 Anthony: In my opinion, some of the issues may be ethnic issues, not fully conformed to the Gospel. Norman's profoundly shaped the  Latin Catholic culture, but they had issues. The Greeks had issues (read the Alexiad...wow!). We all have probematic ethnic issues we are not fully recognizing. 01:13:50 Maureen Cunningham: Thank You Father 01:13:51 Catherine Opie: Thank you Fr. very thought provoking as always. 01:14:32 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂 01:14:38 Sheila Applegate: Reacted to In my opinion, some ... with "👍" 01:14:57 Troy Amaro: Thank You Father. 01:15:25 Nypaver Clan: Please pray for the soul of Cindy Moran, a member of this group.