St. Theophan continues to nourish the young Anastasia with solid food. He guides her deeper and deeper into the spiritual life and warfare.
We began this evening with Letter 61 where Theophan teaches Anastasia about guarding the senses of hearing and sight. Often the present generation neglects the constant state of receptivity that we find ourselves in as human beings; the intense amount stimuli that the mind and the heart have to engage. We must learn to discriminate between those things that are destructive to our relationship with God or those things that help to elevate it.
In Letter 62 Theophan begins to make a distinction between active warfare with the passions and spiritual warfare. The spiritual warfare is everything that he has been speaking to her about; guarding the thoughts, feelings, and the desires that give rise to the Passions. To progress in this arena is the larger part of the spiritual life and leads to holiness. However, active warfare with the passions consist in the deliberate undertaking and carrying out of actions that are directly opposed to the Passions. This, to combat pride a person might embrace a humble occupation or to combat carousing one might stay at home more frequently. When the inner spiritual warfare is tied to this active combat, the passions will soon be defeated. This makes Theophan‘s counsel priceless.
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Text of chat during the group:
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis II, Part IV
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part II
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis II, Part III
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXV: On Humility, Part V
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis II, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXV: On Humility, Part IV
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis I, Part III and Hypothesis II, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXV: On Humility, Part III
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis I, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXV: On Humility, Part II
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis I, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXIV: On Meekness, Part IV and XXV: On Humility, Part I
The Evergetinos - Conclusion of Volume One
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXIV: On Meekness, Part III
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLVI, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXIV: On Meekness, Part II
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLV, Part VIII
Searching the Depths of the Unconscious: The Desert Fathers and Psychoanalysis
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXIII: On Pride, Part V and Chapter XXIV: On Meekness, Part I
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