September
30, 2001
"24
Discourses: Love"
St. Peter Damaskos
In this issue, we will look at another writing
from St. Peter of Damaskos. The most prolific writer in the entire
Philokalia, St. Peter apparently lived in the eleventh century, although
biographical details of his life are sketchy, at best.
Our study today is a short chapter on
"love" from his larger work, "24 Discourses." We
hope you will enjoy it.
LOVE
BEGIN: To speak of love is to dare to speak
of God; for, according to St. John the Theologian, "God is love;
and he who dwells in love dwells in God" (I John 4:16). And the
astonishing thing is that this chief of all the virtues is a natural
virtue. Thus, in the law, it is given pride of place: "You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5). When I heard the words
"with all your soul" I was astounded, and no longer needed to
hear the rest. For "with all your soul" means with the
intelligent, incensive and desiring powers of the soul, because it is of
these three powers that the soul is composed. Thus the intellect should
think at all times about divine matters, while desire should long
constantly and entirely, as the Law says, for God alone and never for
anything else; and the incensive power should actively oppose only what
obstructs this longing, and nothing else. St. John, consequently, was
right in saying that God is love. If God sees that, as He commanded,
these three powers of the soul aspire to Him alone, then, since He is
good, He will necessarily not only love that soul, but through the
inspiration of the Spirit will dwell and move within it (II Corinthians
6:16; Leviticus 26:12); and the body, though reluctant and unwilling --
for it lacks intelligence -- will end by submitting to the intelligence,
while the flesh will no longer rise in protest against the Spirit, as
St. Paul puts it (Galatians 5:17).
Just as the sun and moon, at the command of God,
travel through the heavens in order to light the world, even though they
are soulless, so the body, at the behest of the soul, will perform works
of light. As the sun journeys each day from east to west, thus making
one day, while when it disappears night comes, so each virtue that a man
practices illumines the soul, and when it disappears passion and
darkness come until he again acquires that virtue, and light in this way
returns to him. As the sun rises in the furthest east and slowly shifts
its rays until it reaches the other extreme, thus forming time, so a man
slowly grows from the moment he first begins to practice the virtues
until he attains the state of dispassion. And just as the moon waxes and
wanes every month, so with respect to each particular virtue a man waxes
and wanes daily, until this virtue becomes established in him. At times,
in accordance with God's will, he is afflicted, at times he rejoices and
gives thanks to God, unworthy as he is to acquire the virtues; and
sometimes he is illumined, sometimes filled with darkness, until his
course is finished.
All this happens to him by God's providence: some
things are sent to keep him from self-elation, and others to keep him
from despair. Just as in this present age the sun creates the solstices
and the moon waxes and wanes, whereas in the age to come there will
always be light for the righteous and darkness for those who, like me,
alas, are sinners, so, before the attainment of perfect love and of
vision in God, the soul in the present world has its solstices, and the
intellect experiences darkness as well as virtue and spiritual
knowledge; and this continues until, through the acquisition of that
perfect love to which all our effort is directed, we are found worthy of
performing the works that pertain to the world to be. For it is for
love's sake that he who is in a state of obedience obeys what is
commanded; and it is for love's sake that he who is rich and free sheds
his possessions and becomes a servant, surrendering both what he has and
himself to whoever wishes to possess them. He who fasts likewise does so
for love's sake, so that others may eat what he would otherwise have
eaten. In short, every work rightly done is done out of love for God or
for one's neighbor. The things we have spoken of, and others like them,
are done out of love for one's neighbor, while vigils, psalmody and the
like are done out of love for God. To Him be glory, honor and dominion
through all the ages. Amen. END
from G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and
Kallistos Ware, trans., "The Philokalia -- vol. III,"
(London: Faber and Faber, 1984), pp. 253 - 254.
Unfortunately, this book is no longer in print,
but used copies can sometimes be found at Amazon.com or in used
bookstores.
|
View Shopping Cart / Checkout