I love St. Theophan. The reason I say this is because one can see so clearly how deep his love is for the young Anastasia. He is a true spiritual father.
At this point in their correspondence, Anastasia has come to a deeper understanding of the spiritual life and Theophan has shared with her the great riches of the spiritual tradition. Yet, his love for her makes him at times speak the truth to her with a kind of sternness. Not anger, but rather with a clarity about the weightiness of the matter they are discussing and its importance for her spiritual life and future.
Tonight we began Letter 67 on “Diligent Confession”. Theophan rejoices with Anastasia over the fruits of her pilgrimage to the monastery of Saint Sergius. However, he rebukes her for something that she told him about the nature of her confession. Despite having made the pilgrimage with its physical and emotional rigors and having embraced the practice of unceasing prayer throughout the journey, when the moment came for her to experience the full fruit of the spiritual practice she held back. She did not confess all of her sins; she did not open her mind and her heart fully to God in order that she might also reap the benefits and all the grace that the sacrament offers. Theophan tells her that the essence of the mystery of repentance consists in the resolution of the sin one has confessed. Her preparation should have illuminated her heart fully enough that she would leave no sin unconfessed because she would see no sin is “small”. Every sin has the capacity of growing and taking hold of one’s life and leading one away from God. She must avoid the craftiness of the worldly mind that seeks to rationalize certain behaviors and to minimize their effects.
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Text of chat during the group:
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XII, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVII: On Stillness of Mind and Body, Part I
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XI, Part III
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part IX
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XI, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XIII
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis X, Part III and Hypothesis XI, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XII
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XI
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis X, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part X
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis IX, Part II and Hypothesis X, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part IX
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis VIII, Part II and Hypothesis IX, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XIII
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis VIII, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XII
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis VI, Part II and Hypothesis VII
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XI
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis IV, Part III
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