Tonight we continued with our study of Step 4 on Obedience. As we go deeper into St. John’s writing we begin to see the fruit of this virtue that often remains hidden to our eyes. Our obedience fosters habit; in particular the habit of virtue where one acknowledges that God is a fellow laborer. Obedience also shapes the way that we approach the confession of our sins. It allows us to see their gravity, and it fosters within us the deepest sense of compunction. The fruit of this, however, is a repentance the draws us back into the arms of God swiftly and allows us to experience His healing grace. The great virtue also makes us cherish the gift of the Holy Eucharist more fully. We begin to understand how precious this gift is and so desire to protect our minds and our hearts from the greater attacks that often come after receiving our Lord. It also allows us to see that we do not engage in this battle in isolation but rather we march with the first martyr, that is Christ. Through obedience we always have the Divine Physician with us. If we do fall we are immediately aided and healed by his presence. For this reason we must also choose well a competent spiritual physician, an elder who himself has been formed and shaped by this great virtue. For St. John tells us that obedience brings humility and out of this humility is born dispassion. The more that we walk along this path the more we begin to experience the angelic life; that is, we begin to experience the very peace and the joy of the kingdom, God draws us into the very perfection of His Love.
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Text of chat during the group:
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter X: On Slander or Calumny, Part II
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XXXIV
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter IX: On Remembrance of Wrongs, Part II and Chapter X: On Slander or Calumny, Part I
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XXXIII, Part IV
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter IX: On Remembrance of Wrongs, Part I
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XXXIII, Part III
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter VIII: On Freedom from Anger, Part III
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter VIII: On Freedom from Anger, Part II
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XXXIII, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter VII: On Joy-Making Mourning, Part VII and Chapter VIII: On Freedom from Anger, Part I
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XXXII, Part IV and Hypothesis XXXIII, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter VII: On Joy-Making Mourning, Part VI
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XXXII, Part III
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter VII: On Joy-Making Mourning, Part V
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XXXII, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter VII: On Joy-Making Mourning, Part IV
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XXXI, Part II and XXXII, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter VII: On Joy-Making Mourning, Part III
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XXXI, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter VII: On Joy-Making Mourning, Part II
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