Scripture and St. Isaac

Those who are led by grace to illumination in their way of life constantly perceive an intelligible ray, as it were, which passes through the words of Scripture. The ray distinguishes before the mind ordinary speech from the discourses which are spoken with greatness of meaning for the illumination of the soul. -- St. Isaac of Syria

Scripture and St. Isaac of Syria

Nothing can so banish licentious habits from the soul and restrain memories which disturb and stir up troubling flames in the body as can avid devotion to the love of learning and searching investigation into the meanings of the passages of Scripture.

Scripture and St. Isaac of Syria

The beginning of the way of life consists in applying the mind to the words of God and in exercising patience. For the draught which comes from the words of God helps toward the perfection which is in the latter. Likewise, indeed, the increase of growth in the fulfillment of patience gives place to greater need for the words of God. And the help which is from both of them quickly brings about the elevation of the whole edifice.

Perfect Love

St. Maximus the Confessor says:

You have not yet acquired perfect love if your regard for people is still swayed by their characters - for example, if, for some particular reason, you love one person and hate another, or if for the same reason you sometimes love and sometimes hate the same person.

Perfect love does not split up the single human nature, common to all, according to the diverse characteristics of individuals; but, fixing attention always on this single nature , it loves all men equally. It loves the good as friends and the bad as enemies, helping them, exercising forbearance, patiently accepting whatever they do, not taking the evil into account at all but even suffering on their behalf if the opportunity offers, so that, if possible, they too become friends. If it cannot achieve this, it does not change its own attitude; it continues to show the fruits of love to all men alike. It was on account of this that our Lord and God Jesus Christ, showing His love for us, suffered for the whole of mankind and gave to all men an equal hope of resurrection, although each man determines his own fitness for glory or punishment.

If you are not indifferent to both fame and dishonour, riches and poverty, pleasure and distress, you have not yet acquired perfect love. For perfect love is indifferent not only to these but even to this fleeting life and to death.

Life and Death

"Be dead in life and you will not live in death. Let your soul die strenuously and not live in weakness. Not only those who, for the sake of faith in Christ suffer death, are martyrs; but also those who die because of the observance of His commandments."

St. Isaac the Syrian

The War against the Flesh

"...I am sure you are all familiar with the commandment of St. Paul to "make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof" (Rom. 13:14). You are probably also aware that the flesh is not the body. St. Paul opposes flesh, not to mind, but to spirit, and especially to the spirit of God. Perhaps the simplest way to understand the flesh is that it is self-love. It is our innate tendency to seek our own comfort and security rather than acting, feeling, and thinking in a way that is permeated with the love of God. It manifests itself through the whole range of sins and passions: hatred, anger, gluttony, lust, sloth, and all the others.
Now the Fathers were well aware that the flesh is not the body. However, they thought that the surest way to conquer the flesh is, in fact, by disciplining the body. The reason is that the flesh manifests itself at the most elemental level as love for one's own body. To meet it on its home turf, so to speak, one must confront the body and its power of domination. This does not mean neglecting the body. It means habitually denying one's bodily urges and replacing them with urges of the spirit. The desire for food must be met by fasting; the desire to let the mind coast--to do what we do today when we plop down in front of the T.V.--must be met by prayer and study of Scripture; the desire for sleep must be met by vigils; the desire for material security must be met by almsgiving; the desire for distraction and idle chatter must be met by silence and solitude. And all of this must be done regularly enough so that the new, spiritual urges come to be habitual—so that you actually want to pray more than you want to plop down in front of the T.V.
This is very difficult. It is especially difficult to do alone. That is why practices such as regular hours of communal prayer and regular periods of required fasting were so important in the early Church. Difficult though it may be, ascetic struggle is necessary if one's most basic habits and inclinations are to be reoriented away from love of self and toward love of God. Jesus said that "from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matt. 11:12). This is a cryptic saying, but for the Church Fathers its meaning is clear: it refers to the violence one must do to the flesh and the passions.
..."

from "Christianity East and West" by David Bradshaw. Dr. Bradshaw's homepage where the entire article is published is here: http://www.uky.edu/~dbradsh

Cultivating Love for God

St. Maximus The Confessor says:

Dispassion engenders love, hope in God engenders dispassion, and patience and forbearance engender hope in God; these in turn are the product of complete self-control, which itself springs from fear of God. Fear of God is the result of faith in God.

If you have faith in the Lord you will fear punishment, and this fear will lead you to control the passions. Once you control the passions you will accept affliction patiently, and through such acceptance you will acquire hope in God. Hope in God separates the intellect from every worldly attachment, and when the intellect is detached in this way it will acquire love for God.

Seeking Divine Understanding

"The brethren came to Abba Anthony and laid before him a passage from Leviticus. The old man went out into the desert, secretly followed by Abba Ammonas, who knew that this was Abba Anthony's custom. He went a long way off and stood there praying, crying in a loud voice, 'God, send Moses to make me understand this saying.' Then there came a voice speaking with him. Abba Ammonas said that although he heard the voice speaking with him, he could not understand what it said."

Making a Friend of Affliction

A collection of sayings from St. Mark the Ascetic related to suffering, trials and affliction.

Distress reminds the wise of God, but crushes those who forget Him.

Let all involuntary suffering teach you to remember God, and you will not lack occasion for repentance.

To accept an affliction for God's sake is a genuine act of holiness; for true love is tested by adversities.

He who prays with understanding patiently accepts circumstances, whereas he who resents them has not yet attained pure prayer.

Consider the outcome of every involuntary affliction, and you will find it has been the destruction of sin.

At a time of affliction, expect a provocation to sensual pleasure; for because it relieves the affliction it is readily welcomed.

God 'tested Abraham' (cf Gen. 22:1-14), that is, God afflicted him for his own benefit, not in order to learn what kind of man Abraham was - for He knew him, since He knows all things before they come into existence - but in order to provide him with opportunities for showing perfect faith.

Do not claim to have acquired virtue unless you have suffered affliction, for without affliction virtue has not been tested.

A Mad World

Abba Anthony said, 'A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him saying, "You are mad, you are not like us."'

A Prayer

Prayer V, of St. Basil the Great:

O Lord Almighty, God of hosts and of all flesh, Who dwellest on high and lookest down on things that are lowly, Who searchest the heart and innermost being, and clearly foreknowest the secrets of men; O unoriginate and everlasting Light, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning: Do Thou, O Immortal King, receive our supplications which we, daring because of the multitude of Thy compassions, offer Thee at the present time from defiled lips; and forgive us our sins, in deed, word, and thought, whether committed by us knowingly or in ignorance,. and cleanse us from every defilement of flesh and spirit. And grant us to pass through the night of the whole present life with watchful heart and sober thought, ever expecting the coming of the bright and appointed day of Thine Only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, whereon the judge of all shall come with glory to reward each according to his deeds. May we not be found fallen and idle, but watching, and upright in activity, ready to accompany Him into the joy and divine palace of His glory, where there is the ceaseless sound of those that keep festival, and the unspeakable delight of those that behold the ineffable beauty of Thy countenance. For Thou art the true Light that enlightenest and sanctifiest all, and all creation doth hymn Thee unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Recalling God's Blessings

St. Mark the Ascetic says,

This, my son, is how you should begin your life according to God. You should continually and unceasingly call to mind all the blessings which God in His love has bestowed upon you in the past, and still bestows for the salvation of your soul. You must not let forgetfulness of evil or laziness make you grow unmindful of these many and great blessings, and so pass the rest of your life uselessly and ungratefully. For this kind of continual recollection, pricking the heart like a spur, moves it constantly to confession and humility, to thanksgiving with a contrite soul, and to all forms of sincere effort, repaying God through its virtue and holiness. In this way the heart meditates constantly and conscientiously on the words from the Psalms:

What shall I give to the Lord in return for all His benefits towards me? - Ps. 116:12

Not to your advantage

When Abba Anthony thought about the depth of the judgements of God, he asked, "Lord, how is it that some die when they are young, while others drag on to extreme old age? Why are there those who are poor and those who are rich? Why do wicked men prosper and why are the just in need?" He heard a voice answering him, "Anthony, keep your attention on yourself; these things are according to the judgement of God. It is not to your advantage to know anything about them."

Not Your Business

Whenever Abba Agathon's thoughts urged him to pass judgment on something he saw, he would say to himself, "Agathon, it is not your business to do that." Thus his spirit was always recollected.

Divine Blessings

Going to town one day to sell some small articles, Abba Agathon met a cripple on the roadside, paralyzed in his legs, who asked him where he was going. Abba Agathon replied, "To town, to sell some things." The other said to him, "Do me the favor of carrying me there." So he carried him to town. The cripple said to him, "Put me down where you sell your wares." He did so. When he had sold an article, the cripple asked, "What did you sell it for?" and Abba Agathon told him the price. So other said, "Buy me a cake," and Abba Agathon bought it. When he sold a second article, the sick man asked, "How much did you sell it for?", and he told him the price of it. Then the cripple said,"Buy me this," and he bought it. When Agathon, having sold all his wares, wanted to go, he said to him, "Are you going back?" and he replied, "Yes." Then he said,"Do me the favor of carrying me back to the place where you found me." Once more picking him up, he carried him back to that place. Then the cripple said, "Agathon, you are filled with divine blessings, in heaven and on earth." And raising his eyes, Agathon did not see a man; it was an angel of the Lord, come to test him.

Knowledge and Obedience

A collection of related saying from St. Mark The Ascetic

"The law of freedom teaches the whole truth. Many read about it in a theoretical way, but few really understand it, and these only in the degree to which they practice the commandments."

"The law of freedom is studied by means of true knowledge, it is understood through the practice of the commandments, and is fulfilled through the mercy of Christ."

"Do not say: 'I do not know what is right, therefore I am not to blame when I fail to do it.' For if you did all the good about which you do know, what you should do next would become clear to you, as if you were passing through a house from one room to another. It is not helpful to know what comes later before you have done what comes first. For knowledge without action 'puffs up', but 'love edifies', because it 'patiently accepts all things' (I Cor. 8:1; 13:7)"

"Understand the words of Holy Scripture by putting them into practice, and do not fill yourself with conceit by expatiating on theoretical ideas."

Silence

Abba Theophilus, Archbishop of Alexandria, came to Scetis one day. The brethren who were assembled said to Abbot Pambo, “Say something to the archbishop, so that he may be edified.” The old man said to them, “If he is not edified by my silence, he will not be edified by my speech.”

Do not judge

Abba Poemen said that Abba Paphnutius used to say, "During the whole lifetime of the old men, I used to go to see them twice a month, although it was a distance of twelve miles. I told them each of my thoughts and they never answered me anything but this, 'Wherever you go, do not judge yourself and you will be at peace'."

God is here, God is everywhere

Abba Doulas, the disciple of Abba Bessarion said, 'One day when we were walking beside the sea I was thirsty and I said to Abba Bessarion, "Father, I am very thirsty." He said a prayer and said to me, "Drink some of the sea water." The water proved sweet when I drank some. I even poured some into a leather bottle for fear of being thirsty later on. Seeing this, the old man asked me why I was taking some. I said to him, "Forgive me, it is for fear of being thirsty later on." Then the old man said, "God is here, God is everywhere."'

Enemies and Friends

Dear brother,

This post is outside the normal set of sources we use but I feel compelled to post it because it speaks so deeply to my situation and it is certianly in keeping with the spirit of the desert fathers. Friday was a beastly day at the office and I left angry and upset (Lord forgive me). I came to work this morning struggling to get my heart right about being here and stumbled across this in a post from Fr. Stephen. It's not the first time I have read this prayer by Nikolaj Velimirovich but I was particulary convicted by it this morning. May God grant us such grace.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Enemies have driven me into your embrace more than friends have.
Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.

Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world.
They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself.
They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments.
They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself.
They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.

Bless my enemies, O Lord, Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish.
Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf.
Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background.
Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand.
Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep.
Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out.
Ruly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of your garment.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitter against me:

so that my fleeing to You may have no return;
so that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs;
so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul;
so that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins, arrogance and anger;
so that I might amass all my treasure in heaven;
ah, so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life.

Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself.

One hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies, but cruel friends.

It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies.

Therefore bless, O Lord, both my friends and enemies.

A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for he understands.

For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life.

Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them.

The breaking of the heart

St. Mark the Ascetic Says:

"To brood on evil makes the heart brazen; but to destroy evil through self-restraint and hope breaks the heart.

There is a breaking of the heart which is gentle and makes it deeply penitent, and there is a breaking which is violent and harmful, shattering it completely.

Vigils, prayer and patient acceptance of what comes constitutes a breaking that does not harm but benefits the heart, provided we do not destroy the balance between them through excess. He who perseveres in them will be helped in other ways as well; but he who is slack and negligent will suffer intolerably on leaving this life."

Interpretation of Scripture

St. Mark the Ascetic says:

"Do not grow conceited about your interpretations of Scripture, lest your intellect fall victim to blasphemy."

Reading the Scriptures

St. Mark the Ascetic says:

"When reading the Holy Scriptures, he who is humble and engaged in spiritual work will apply everything to himself and not to someone else."

About This Blog

During the 400-year period from 3rd to 6th centuries (200-599 AD) the Desert Fathers migrated to various deserts in the Middle East where they strove for an uncompromising obedience to the word and to the spirit of the Gospel. They received the challenge of the Gospel with all earnestness and wanted to respond to it uncompromisingly, as generously as God, with their whole selves. They sought to respond to God's infinite and sacrificial love by giving Him love in return. They heard -- and responded to -- the clarion call, "Renounce yourself, take up your Cross, and follow Me." For the Desert Fathers, this meant: The King of Love -- Jesus Christ -- their Lord and Savior must be enthroned in our mind and heart, take undivided possession of our will, and make of our very bodies the Temples of the Holy Spirit.

For the Desert Fathers, this goal was both extraordinarily simple, and incredibly difficult, a life-long endeavor to which all else was subordinated. This small particle of the Cosmos, which is our body and soul, must be conquered, freed by a lifelong struggle from enslavement to the world and to the devil, freed as if it were an occupied country desperately needing to be restored to its legitimate king. (--reference needed)

This blog is a place for two friends striving to live out the spiritual life in the spiritual waste land of the modern urban city to share with one another (and whoever else may find value in it) quotes from some of these desert luminaries. We intend to limit the number of posts to no more than 3 or 4 a week to give time for rumination and reflection surrounding each quote. The intention is not just to collect a bunch of nice sayings but rather to share them in hopes of "stirring one another up toward love and good deeds" as the writer to the Hebrews says. Unless necessitated by the obscurity of terms or ideas to our modern ears we intend to post without commentary and let these giants speak for themselves. We try to provide links to more information about the authors or short descriptions about them.

Comments are welcome and at present unmoderated. However, this is intended to be a place of spiritual exhortation and challenge, NOT theological debate. We reserve the right to remove and censure comments that do not abide by this simple objective.

In closing, remember the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock." -Matt. 7:24

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Update: 2014

In the last few months a third friend has joined this blogging group.  And with his addition the focus of the blog has shifted slightly.  While quotes from the Fathers will continue to be a part of this we also will be posting some of our own reflections and writings.  The primary purpose of encouraging one another has not changed.  Again, comments are responses are welcome.

The double edge of vain glory

John Cassian writes:

"The vice of self-esteem (vain glory), however, is difficult to fight against, because it has many forms and appears in all our activities - in our way of speaking, in what we say and in our silences, at work, in vigils and fasts, in prayer and reading, in stillness and long-suffering. Through all these it seeks to strike down the soldier of Christ. When it cannot seduce a man with extravagant clothes, it tries to tempt him by means of shabby ones. When it cannot flatter him with honor, it inflates him by causing him to endure what seems to be dishonor. When it cannot persuade him to feel proud of his display of eloquence, it entices him through silence into thinking he has achieved stillness. When it cannot puff him up with the thought of his luxurious table, it lures him into fasting for the sake of praise... He should not do anything with a view to being praised by other people, but should seek God's reward only, always rejecting the thoughts of self-praise that enter his heart, and always regarding himself as nothing before God."

The Tongue

A brother questioned Abba Matoes saying, "What am I to do? My tongue makes me suffer, and every time I go among men I cannot control it. What am I to do?" The old man replied, "If you cannot contain yourself, flee into solitude. For this is a sickness." He went on, "It is not through virtue that I live in solitude but through weakness; those who live in the midst of men are the strong ones."

The Heart

"The heart itself is but a small vessel, yet dragons are there, and there are also lions; there are poisonous beasts and all the treasures of evil. There also are rough and uneven roads; there are precipices. But there too is God, the angels, the life and the Kingdom, the light and the apostles, the heavenly cities and the treasures of grace—all things are there." — St. Macarius

Cultivating Love

Macarius the Great says:

"Just as a bee builds its honeycomb in its hive, unnoticed by people, so does benevolence secretly build its love in the heart of a person, changing bitterness to sweetness and a cruel heart — to a kind one. Just like a master silversmith, in making cuttings in a plate and slowly covering it with patterns, does not show his work in all its beauty until he had finished it."

Prepare for Temptation

St. Isaac the Syrian says:

"Whenever you wish to make a beginning in some good work, first prepare yourself for the temptations that will come upon you, and do not doubt the truth. For it is the enemy's custom, whenever he sees a man beginning a good mode of life with fervent faith, to confront him with diverse and fearful temptations…. It is not that our adversary has such power - for then no one could ever do good - but that God concedes it to him, as we have learned with the righteous Job. Therefore prepare yourself manfully to encounter temptations."

Remembering the Incarnation

"Through His goodness, God the Father did not spare His Only Son but surrendered Him to deliver us from our sins and iniquities. Because of us, the Son of God humbled Himself, cured us of our spiritual ills and arranged for our salvation from sin. That is why it is essential that we recognize this and constantly bear in mind God's magnificent arrangement — that because of us, God the Word became like us in all respects except in sin. It is worthwhile for everyone to remember this and genuinely endeavor in reality, with God's help, to liberate ourselves from sin."
--St. Anthony the Great

The Conscience - Adversary and Guardian

"Let us stand firm in the fear of God, rigorously practicing the virtues and not giving our conscience cause to stumble. In the fear of God let us keep our attention fixed within ourselves, until our conscience achieves its freedom. Then there will be a union between it and us, and thereafter it will be our guardian, showing us each thing that we must uproot. But if we do not obey our conscience, it will abandon us and we shall fall into the hands of our enemies, who will never let us go. This is what our Lord taught us when He said:

Come to an agreement with your adversary quickly while you are with him in the road, lest he hand your over to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer and you are cast into prison. (Matt. 5:25).

The conscience is called an 'adversary' because it opposes us when we try to carry out the desires of the flesh; and if we do not listen to our conscience, it delivers us into the hands of our enemies."

--St. Isaiah the Solitary

St. Isaiah the Solitary was a monk in Scetis (Northern Egypt) who lived around 370 and was a contemporary of St. Macarius the Great. He moved to Palestine after 431 and died there in great old age around 491 as a hermit near Gaza. He is known for 27 "texts" on guarding the intellect

How to love in the urban thebaid

What is a merciful and compassionate heart? "It is a heart which burns with love for the whole of creation: for humankind, for the birds, for the beasts, for the demons, for every creature. When those with a heart such as this think of the creatures or look at them, their eyes are filled with tears. An overwhelming compassion makes their heart grow small and weak, and they cannot endure to hear or see any suffering, even the smallest pain, inflicted upon any creature. Therefore they never cease to pray with tears even for the irrational animals, for the enemies of truth and for those who do them evil, asking that those for whom they pray may be guarded and receive God's mercy. And for the reptiles also they pray with a great compassion, which rises up endlessly in their hearts until they shine again and are glorious like God." -- St. Isaac the Syrian,