“Put out into the deep.”As we picked up with the Saint John’s writing on the spirit and practice of obedience the path set before us becomes ever so clear. We are called to be conformed to Christ. He is the standard by which we measure our lives and see what we have become in and through Him. We are to love obedience not because it brings satisfaction and joy in this world or because the things that happen to us or are asked of us conform to reason or our natural sensibilities. The fruit of obedience is humility; truthful living. It is living in accord with the truth of the kingdom that is revealed to us in and through the gift of faith. Obedience acts as that furnace of humiliation; it strips away from us the illusion of right judgment according to our own standards. What we are offered is so much more. Saint John quotes the great Cassian and tells us that humility gives rise to true discernment and out of true discernment comes clairvoyance and foreknowledge. We begin to see things, by the grace of God, through the eyes of Christ and in accord with the wisdom of the kingdom. What in this life should we desire more than this? Why do we find ourselves running back again and again simply to satisfy our own will and to manage our own life in a way that brings us fleeting happiness? We are promised the joy of the kingdom and participation in the perfect love of God. This is not something that we can put on and take off as we do a garment. This is our identity and it must shape everything in our lives and in our hearts.
---
Text of chat during the group:
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XIV: On Gluttony, Part IV, and Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part I
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XL, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent- Chapter XIV: On Gluttony, Part III
Behold His Face: They Shall Look On Him Whom They Have Pierced
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XIV: On Gluttony, Part II
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XXXIX, Part I
City a Desert Lecture Series, Lecture Three: Interiorized Monasticism Part III: Chastity and Obedience
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XIV: On Gluttony, Part I
The Evergetinos, Hypothesis XXXVIII
City a Desert Lecture Series, Lecture Two: Interiorized Monasticism Part II: Fundamental Principles
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XIII: On Despondency
The Evergetinos, Hypothesis XXXVII
Repentance
City a Desert Lecture Series, Lecture One: Introduction to Interiorized Monasticism
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XII: On Lying
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XXXV, Part II and Hypothesis XXXVI
To Love Fasting
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XI: On Talkativeness and Silence
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XXXV, Part I
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Hello Heaven Podcast
Devoted To Prayer
Cast The Word
Let Me Be Frank | Bishop Frank Caggiano’s Podcast | Diocese of Bridgeport, CT
Rudolf Steiner Audio
Conspirituality