The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XVIII, Part II

No one is going to take up the practice of fasting or come to “love fasting” as we have often spoken of unless they are taught by those who have deep and long experience in the practice. As we have seen the desert was very much laboratory. Those who entered into it were driven by the desire for the Lord and to remove any impediment to that desire. 

Yet, we see in the writings of the Evergetinos a natural progression, an organic progression, in the practice. Their zeal for the Lord often led the monks to engage in the practice of fasting with great strictness and to radically humble the body. However, they quickly learned that to practice even that which is good in an imprudent and unmeasured fashion was dangerous. To fall into exhaustion from fasting too long could make it impossible for a person to remain awake to engage in the practice of prayer or, similarly, weaken their watchfulness of mind such that they become vulnerable to the provocation of sinful thoughts. 

The desert fathers also had to learn that fasting was but an implement. It is necessary for the cultivation of the heart, but it must be accompanied by constant prayer and bear the fruit of love for God and virtue. Therefore, the Evergetinos places us in a privileged position. We are able to sit at the feet of the great elders of old and to learn from the errors and the pitfalls that can cripple us in the spiritual life as well as to be inspired by the fathers’ great sanctity. The spiritual struggle is rarely neat and the path ahead is often hidden to us. The desert fathers are shining light in an age of spiritual darkness and lack of guidance. Thanks be to God for such a precious gift.

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Text of chat during the group:

00:30:18 Anthony: I feel targeted.... 😉

 

00:36:50 Una: Does that include Irish Coffees?

 

00:48:47 Anthony: It's a gift to be simple, it's a gift to be free

 

00:48:54 Forrest Cavalier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Gifts

 

00:49:21 Forrest Cavalier: Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,

To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.[5]

 

00:56:47 Anthony: Excessive sorrow also brings exhaustion.

 

01:07:30 Anthony: History also shows fixation on pornography is almost always present

 

01:17:26 Maureen Cunningham: Thank you

 

01:17:40 Andrew Adams: Thank you, Father!

 

01:17:46 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂

 

01:17:50 Kevin Burke: Thank you !

 

01:18:03 Troy Amaro: Thank You Father.