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Category: Philokalia Readings

  • The place of God

    Where there is humility and remembrance of God, which give rise to sobriety and watchfulness, attention and perseverance in prayer directed against the enemies, there is the place of God1, that is, the heaven of the heart2, where the army of demons fears to linger, because God abides in that place.

    Philotheus of Sinai, Forty Neptic Chapters, 4. In Filocalía de los padres népticos, vol. 2, Spanish trans. Juan María de la Torre, Ediciones Monte Cassino, 2017, p. 501.

    1 Cf. Gen 28:16-17.
    2 kardiakòs ouranós.

    How important humility is! Being aware of our weakness, of our dependence in so many respects, makes the remembrance of God easier. When I do not forget that I am a creature, that in everything I need His grace, that my life is always in His hands, that I am not the master of the moment when I must depart from this earth, the remembrance of God arises naturally. And living a sober, restrained, moderate life, with vigilant attention and in prayer, becomes much easier. The demons Philotheus speaks of, I understand them mainly as this essential forgetfulness, or as letting myself be dazzled by vain desires, by mirages or fantasies that might make me believe that something other than the divine presence can fill my heart.

    Comment by Mario

    elsantonombre.org

  • The path of sobriety

    It is very rare to find men whose intellects are in a state of hesychia. This belongs only to those who do everything possible to draw to themselves divine grace and consolation. If, then, we wish to follow the path of philosophy according to Christ —spiritual ascesis in the guarding of the mind, sobriety and watchfulness— we must commit ourselves to this path by abstaining from eating to excess, measuring food and drink with moderation according to our need. We have every reason to call sobriety a path that leads to the Kingdom, both the one already within us and the one yet to come; and to call it spiritual ascesis, insofar as it shapes, purifies the dispositions of the mind and transforms, acting as a bridge from what is passionate to what is dispassionate; for sobriety is like a luminous window through which God leans out to present Himself to the mind.

    Philotheus of Sinai, Forty Neptic Chapters, 3. In Filocalía de los padres népticos, vol. 2, Spanish trans. Juan María de la Torre, Ediciones Monte Cassino, 2017, pp. 500-501.

    As throughout the Philokalia, the fathers invite us, exhort us and earnestly recommend that we live a sober life. Sobriety in general means the moderate line in everything, the path of the golden mean. If we do not exercise control and self-mastery, above all with regard to the senses, and particularly in eating, drinking and sleeping, if we live in self-indulgence, it will be very difficult for us to enter an inner state of guarding the heart, guarding the mind and devoting our life to prayer and to serving the Lord in His presence.

    Sobriety implies that the spirit that we are has taken command over the body and the mind. When this does not happen, the animal instincts proper to the body and the wanderings of the mind rule the whole person and lead it astray. Essentially, this is what we understand from these and other exhortations of Philotheus and of the Philokalia.

    Comment by Mario

    elsantonombre.org

  • The combat of the mind

    Those who commit themselves to the combat of the mind must apply all their energies to drawing spiritual practices from the divine Scriptures and applying them to the mind as healing medicines. From the morning we must stand courageously and unbendingly at the door of the heart, with the precise remembrance of God and the continual prayer of Jesus Christ in the soul; and, through mental control, we must put to death all the sinners of the land1; moreover, in the ecstasy and extension of the faithful remembrance of God, cut off the heads of the mighty2, thanks to the Lord, cutting off the first manifestations of the enemy thoughts.

    1 Cf. Ps 101 (100):8.
    2 Cf. Hab 3:14.

    Philotheus of Sinai, Forty Neptic Chapters, 2. In Filocalía de los padres népticos, vol. 2, Spanish trans. Juan María de la Torre, Ediciones Monte Cassino, 2017, p. 499.

    We must be aware that the mind is a tool we have to learn to use. Until now we have been confused, believing that the mind and its endless thoughts were our own voice. Now we realize that, from the spirit, we must shape the way it works and take control. That is why there is nothing better than this advice the hesychast leaves us: “drawing spiritual practices from the divine Scriptures and applying them to the mind as healing medicines.” Another important piece of advice Philotheus gives us: “from the morning […] stand courageously and unbendingly” with “the continual prayer.”

    When he says here “put to death all the sinners of the land,” paraphrasing a psalm, and “cut off the heads of the mighty,” “cutting off the first manifestations of the enemy thoughts,” it is important to bear in mind that he is referring to all those inclinations that arise from our unconverted passions, our most animal instincts and our most selfish and petty tendencies. These are the sinners, the enemies, the mighty ones who must be beheaded. Our tools are watchful attention, familiarity with the Holy Scriptures and a continual remembrance of God, that is, doing everything in His presence and realizing that we have no more important task in our life than to pray without ceasing.

    Comment by Mario

    elsantonombre.org

  • The worker of devotion

    There is within us a combat of the mind, harder than the combat of the senses. The worker of devotion must run and reach this goal1 in his mind: to guard perfectly, like a pearl or a precious stone2, the remembrance of God in his heart3. And one must renounce everything, including the body, and despise this present life itself, in order to possess God alone in one’s heart. For the divine Chrysostom has said that demonic spirits can destroy the vision of God in the mind4.

    1 Cf. Phil 3:14.
    2 Cf. Matt 13:44-46.
    3 toû Theoû mnêmên en kardía.
    4 HomJn 3.

    Philotheus of Sinai, Forty Neptic Chapters, 1. In Filocalía de los padres népticos, vol. 2, Spanish trans. Juan María de la Torre, Ediciones Monte Cassino, 2017, p. 499.

    We need to bear in mind that when Philotheus of Sinai tells us, for example, “one must renounce everything, including the body, and despise this present life itself, in order to possess God alone in one’s heart,” etc., he is not suggesting that we reject the body as evil or mistreat it, nor that we treat our fellow human beings badly or repudiate, in this present life, the good things there are in creation, but rather that we set them and order them in their proper place.

    To renounce everything, including the body, means: do not give it command, do not give primacy to what the body demands of you; give first place to seeking God in the heart, to the remembrance of God in each of your activities and moments. To despise the present life we understand as not following the values that prevail in the world, in the present age.

    Comment by Mario

    elsantonombre.org