Orthodixie

Fr John McCuen presents the dilemma de jure. Worth a read and/or comment.

The vale of humility is indeed dark and gloomy in appearance. But no sooner do you step into that holy vale than you are met by the guards of the heavenly watchtower. They come running to your aid to wash the wounds that have torn your soul or body when you ventured suddenly from the false mountains of this world down the dreadful scarp of humility. They take you to have a little rest, after which they invite you to tour the watchtower. This watchtower stands at the top of the long vale. You can survey all the details of this holy vale through a telescope given by the guards. On its slopes there are honeycombs for passers-by to eat. Meanwhile, Grace watches them all the time to rest assured that their wounds are healed. Her bandages absorb pain and turn wounds into brilliant marks.

Wonder fills you: How does this valley look so dark and depressing without the heavenly telescope, as if death and ruin fill every corner of it? At close inspection it is full of honeycomb and of merciful healing. There is in this vale a hidden light, which illumines the interior before the exterior of man. You marvel at the mystery of this vale!

The guards ask you to lift the telescope a bit. You see what lies beyond the vale and what awaits you there at the end of the journey. When you raise the telescope you see the Mount of Transfiguration far off with its transcendent light. There the Lord opens his arms to embrace those who reach the end of the vale. On his hands, the blood shines with a resplendent light that illuminates the whole mount. Its light is mystically reflected upon the dark vale, and when that light falls upon the wounds of those walking along, they also shine as the moon reflects the rays of the sun across the darkness of space.

Now joy and peace overtake you. Now you burn with desire to storm the darkness of this holy vale. The secret of this joyful contrition, the brilliant wounds and the bitterness that hides the honeycomb have all been unveiled to you.

The truth is that the location of this holy vale – the vale of contrition, wounds, and bitterness – is nowhere else than in the heart of man. The guards of the watchtower that stands at the beginning of the vale are none other than the fathers. They have experienced contrition with its bitterness. They have described its ruggedness as well as its worth. The telescope is nothing other that the proper, practical discipline of humility offered in love and honor of the Crucified. The honeycomb is the pleasure gleaned from partaking of the Lord’s sufferings. The bleeding wounds are hurt feelings of indignity, and these fall into three types: the superficial, which man enacts upon himself; the deeper wounds and bruises caused by other people; and the deadly fissures in the walls of the heart caused by the chastisement of God. These fissures are made to bleed out all the selfish, earthly blood that superficial or deep wounds cannot draw out of us.

As for the divine rays shining from the wounds of the Lord and reflected upon the wounds and fractures of humility, they are the partial communion in the glory of God that is promised in surety. They shall reach their highest brilliance when our Lord appears “as he is” (1 Jn 3.2).

– Matthew the Poor, Orthodox Prayer Life: The Interior Way, pp 149-150.

Huw’s got a nice intro to Church New Year.

The Antiochian Archdiocesan website has a new feature: a Daily Devotional. These are written by priests of the Archdiocese and are intended to be “Orthodox Lite” and non-Orthodox friendly. The site gets many hits each day. No doubt, some of these are from seekers. These daily meditations are intended to be familiar and welcoming. Should the seeker wish to go deeper, of course, there are other resources available. And, let’s face it, not everyone’s into the deep stuff. Anyway, check it out!

Below you will find two lists from a book I’m reading by Matthew the Poor. I’m a “lists person.” When I was doing my clinical work my fellow chaplains said that when I died I could check that off my list: LIFE, that is.

Anyway, unlike certain Bibles where the words of Jesus are in red, you’ll find the words that spoke to Joseph in red below (i.e., emphasis mine).

1. We should not see austerity, or asceticism, as an end in itself. Neither should we delight in practicing it to the exclusion of everything else. By doing so we are only allowing it to distract us from progressing toward God and completing our union with him in mature love.

2. Ascetic disciplines are nothing more than the means to mortify the old Adam and crucify our will, our passions, and the desires that work in us for iniquity. Ascesis is only a way of showing our love and tender feelings toward God.

3. Perseverance in practicing the kinds of austerities after being renewed and filled with grace serves only to counter the tendency to hanker after what the world offers. It helps to restrain the will from inclining toward sin.

4. If we make progress in such a discipline, this should not become a matter of pride. If it does, we will open ourselves up to the spirit of self-righteousness. This will immediately arrest our spiritual growth.

5. The most austere asceticism can never erase even a single sin. It cannot atone for the slightest transgression we may have committed. Such is the case if that austerity is devoid of love toward God or of the intercession of free grace. For this is only attainable by the blood of Christ.

6. Our asceticism should not be so severe as to be cruel to our own body. It should not prevent us from performing the daily tasks of life actively.

7. Our attention should be inwardly focused upon the will, which drives us to lust and sin. This perverse will of ours craves for what belongs to it. All its aims terminate at one point: the ego. The ego is our enemy. We have to struggle against it with our fasts and vigils until it dies completely. It is only then that we will possess the new will, which carries our the will of God alone. [See the list regarding ego below.]



8. Asceticism should not assume the form of a bodily suppression or repression For once the practice of ascesis disappears, the result is an acute reaction. Man returns to his former state or even to a more depraved one. Asceticism should be soberly and wisely practiced, not out of grief or pain but in joy and happiness. The limits of the ascetic life should be set by the guidance of a prudent spiritual father. Those who practice it should not underreach or overreach the limits of their abilities. Otherwise, the practice may cease altogether, in which case the ascetic life will lose its desired fruit. Ascetic discipline should begin below the level of one’s ability. It should then ascend and grow until it turns into a natural personal quality that forms a major part of one’s way of life.

9. If ascetic discipline is devoid of love and joy in the Lord, it turns into a source of depression, sullenness, and perturbation. It may also be a cause of pride and self-righteousness.

10. Many are those who have struggled and freed themselves from the world by the most severe austerities. However, since they did not submit themselves to the hand of God and the work of grace in lowliness and humility, they have gone astray. If we are freed from the world, we must also be freed from ourselves, so that God can take us and shape us freely.

– Matthew the Poor, Orthodox Prayer Life: The Interior Way, pp.118-119.