The prayers of the merciful

A heart full of sorrow on account of its feebleness and impotence regarding outward physical deeds takes the place of all physical works. Deeds of the body performed without sorrow of mind are like a body without a soul. The man who is sorely grieved in his heart but gives rein to his senses, is like a sick man who suffers physically but who opens his mouth to every kind of harmful food. The man who is sorely grieved in his heart but gives rein to his senses is like a man with an only son, whom he slaughters with his own hands, little by little. Sorrow of mind is a precious gift before God; and the man who bears this gift as he ought is like a man who bears holiness in his members. A man who unleashes his tongue against other men for good or evil is unworthy of this grace. …

Mercy and justice in one soul is like a man who worships God and the idols in one house. Mercy is opposed to justice. Justice is the equality of the even scale, for it gives to each as he deserves; and when it makes recompense, it does not incline to one side or show respect of persons. Mercy, on the other hand, is a sorrow and pity stirred up by goodness, and it compassionately inclines a man in the direction of all; it does not requite a man who is deserving of evil, and to him who is deserving of good it gives a double portion. If, therefore, it is evident that mercy belongs to the portion of righteousness, then justice belongs to the portion of wickedness. As grass and fire cannot coexist in one place, so justice and mercy cannot abide in one soul. As a grain of sand cannot counterbalance a great quantity of gold, so in comparison God’s use of justice cannot counterbalance His mercy.

As a handful of sand thrown into the great sea, so are the sins of all flesh in comparison with the mind of God. And just as a strongly flowing spring is not obstructed by a handful of dust, so the mercy of the Creator is not stemmed by the vices of His creatures. As a man who sows in the sea and expects to reap a harvest, so is he who remembers wrongs and prays. As the flame of fire cannot be checked from rising upward, so the prayers of the merciful are not hindered from ascending to Heaven. The current of a stream runs swiftly in a narrow place, and likewise the force of anger whenever it finds a place in our mind. The man who has acquired humility in his heart is dead to this world. He who is dead to the world has died to the passions. For to the man who has died in his heart to his kinsmen, the devil is dead. He who has found malice, with it has found him who originally found it.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, I, 51, translated by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, 1984. 243-244.

 

Seeking humility

Do not be angry with me that I tell you the truth. You have never sought out humility with your whole soul. But if you wish, enter into its realm, and you will see how it disperses your wickedness. For in proportion to your humility you are given patience in your woes; and in proportion to your patience the burden of your afflictions is made lighter and you will find consolation; in proportion to your consolation, your love of God increases; and in proportion to your love, your joy in the Holy Spirit is magnified. Once men have truly become His sons, our tenderly compassionate Father does not take away their temptations from them when it is His pleasure to ‘make for them a way to escape’, but instead He gives His sons patience in their trials. All these good things are given into the hand of their patience for the perfecting of their souls. May Christ God deem us worthy by His grace with a thankful heart to be patient in evils for His love’s sake. Amen.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, I, 42, translated by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, 1984. 212.

 

Saint Isaac on patience

Hear yet another consideration. Ever adversity and affliction, if not accompanied by patience, produces double torment; for a man’s patience casts off his distress, while faintness of heart is the mother of anguish. Patience is the mother of consolation and is a certain strength which is usually born of largeness of heart. It is hard for a man to find this strength in his tribulations without a gift from God, received through his ardent pursuit of prayer and the outpouring of tears.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, I, 42, translated by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, 1984. 211.

 

Lent

If you have no works, do not speak on virtues. Afflictions suffered for the Lord’s sake are more precious to Him than every vow and sacrifice; and the odour of their sweat surpasses every fragrance and choice incense. Regard every virtue performed without bodily toil as premature, stillborn fruit of the womb.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, I, 6, translated by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, 1984. 60.

 

Saint Isaac on temptations

Whenever in your path you find unchanging peace, beware: you are very far from the divine paths trodden by the weary feet of the saints. For as long as you are journeying in the way to the city of the Kingdom and are drawing nigh to the city of God, this will be a sign for you: the strength of the temptations that you encounter. And the nearer you draw nigh and progress, the more temptations will multiply against you. Whenever, therefore, you perceive in your soul diverse and stronger temptations in your path, know that at that time your soul has in fact secretly entered a new and higher level, and that grace has been added to her in the state wherein she was found; for God leads the soul into the afflictions of trials in exact proportion to the magnitude of the grace He bestows.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, translated by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, 1984. 208.

 

As a mother…

… just as a mother who, in teaching her infant son to walk, steps back from him and calls him, and as he comes toward her on his little feet he begins to tremble and is about to fall by reason of their softness and delicacy, and she runs and catches him in her embrace, so the grace of God also embraces and teaches men who purely and with simplicity have surrendered themselves into the hands of their Creator, and who have renounced the world with their whole heart and follow after Him.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, I, 39, translated by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, 1984. 192.

 

Saint Isaac on purity of heart

Question   What is the sign that a man has attained to purity of heart, and when does a man know that his heart has entered into purity?

Answer   When he sees all men as good and none appears to him to be unclean and defiled, then in very truth is his heart pure. For how could anyone fulfill the word of the Apostle, that ‘A man should esteem all better than himself’ with a sincere heart, if he does not attain to the saying, ‘A good eye will not see evil’?

St. Isaac the Syrian,The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian (I, 37), translated by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, 1984. p. 177.

 

Saint Isaac on tears

Question  What are the exact tokens and accurate signs that the fruit which is hidden in the soul has begun to appear from a man’s labour?

Answer   When a man is deemed worthy to receive the gift of abundant tears which come over him without effort. For tears are established for the mind as a kind of boundary between what is bodily and what is spiritual and between passionateness and purity. Until a man receives this gift, the activity of his work is still in the outer man and he has not yet at all perceived the activity of the hidden things of the spiritual man. But when a man begins to relinquish the corporeal things of the present age and crosses this boundary to that which lies inside of visible nature, then straightaway he will attain to the grace of tears. And from the first hospice of this hidden discipline tears begin to flow and they lead a man to perfection in the love of God. The more he progresses in this discipline, the more he is enriched with love, until by reason of his constant converse with tears he imbibes them with his food and drink. …

There are tears that burn and there are tears that anoint as with oil. All tears that flow out of contrition and anguish of heart on account of sins dry up and burn the body, and often even the governing faculty feels the injury caused by their outflow. At first a man must necessarily come to this order of tears and through them a door is opened unto him to enter into the second order, which is superior to the first; this is the realm wherein a man receives mercy. These are the tears that are shed because of insight; they make the body comely and anoint it as if with oil, and they pour forth by themselves without compulsion. Not only do they anoint the body with oil, but they also alter a man’s countenance.

St. Isaac the Syrian,The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian (I, 37), translated by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, 1984. p. 174-175.

If my blog stats are anything to go by, it would appear that my quote from Father K.M. George on The gift of tears is one of the most popular posts on this blog. Given this interest, it seemed worth sharing these words of Abba Isaac that I read this morning. (On a totally unrelated note, Wei Hsien reports that the aforementioned Father George was an observer at the recent Catholic Synod of Bishops).

 

For Advent

The end of all things is concealed from us. For in the end of all is the end of each, and in the end of each is the end of all [on the last day]. Whereas this time is uncertain and always in prospect, we may advance day by day as if summoned, reaching forward to the things before us and forgetting the things behind. For who, if they knew the day of the end, would not disregard the interval? But if ignorant, would they not be more ready day by day? It was on this account that the Savior said: “Watch; for you do not know when the time will come.”

Athanasius, Four Discourses Against the Arians 3.49, quoted in Thomas C. Oden & Christopher A. Hall (ed), Mark, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Intervarsity Press, 2005) 185-6.

***

Now when the straight course of the natural sphere comes to its end and reaches that great light which nourishes the spheres of the stars – which are manifold in their individual distinctions, as Paul says in his demonstration of the resurrection to come – and when it is joined to the rays of that light (I do not mean in a natural sense), then the chariot will be bound fast with unknowing and the two abundantly flowing springs will cease to pour forth their streams. And then the priests will depart from the sanctuary from before the cloud of the glory of the Lord. At that time the king of Israel will be Solomon, that is to say, the peace that is born of humility. He will build a house for the Lord and finish it with the adornment of all the sacred vessels.

St. Isaac the Syrian,The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian (I, 36), translated by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, 1984. p. 160.

 

Saint Isaac on the virtues

No man can conquer the passions except by the palpable virtues; and no one can conquer the wandering of the intellect except by the study of spiritual knowledge. Our intellect is volatile, and if it is not tied down by some reflection, it never stops wandering. Without attaining perfection in the aforesaid virtues, a man cannot acquire this safeguard. For unless a man does not vanquish his enemies, he cannot be at peace. And if peace does not reign, how can a man find those things that are stored up within peace? The passions are a wall impeding the hidden virtues of the soul. If the passions are not first cast down by means of externally manifest virtues, that which lies within cannot be seen; for a man who is outside a wall cannot keep company with what is inside. No man sees the sun in a cloud, nor the natural virtue of the soul in the constant turbulence of the passions.

Entreat God to give you to feel spiritual aspiration and yearning. For whenever this yearning of spirit comes upon you, you will stand aloof from the world and the world will stand aloof from you. It is, however, impossible to experience this without stillness, ascetic endeavor, and the converse of reading devoted to the same. Without the latter, do not seek the former; for if you seek after it, it will gradually be altered and become corporeal. Let him who has understanding understand. It was the wise Lord’s good pleasure that we should eat this bread with the sweat of our brow. He did not ordain this spitefully, but lest it should oblige us to vomit and we die. For every virtue is the mother of a second. If, then, you abandon the mother which gives birth to the virtues and go out to seek the daughters before you have acquired their mother, those virtues will be vipers to your soul, and if you do not hurl them away from you, speedily you will die.

St. Isaac the Syrian,The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian (I, 34), translated by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, 1984. p. 157