September
23, 2001
"Four
Centuries on the Spiritual Life -- Part IVb"
St. Thalassios the Libyan
In this issue we will look at part five of our
five-part series on St. Thalassios's four "centuries" on the
spiritual life. We are dividing this fourth part into two sections due
to the richness of their teachings and the length of the text. These are
only excerpts as we do not have space for the full text. St. Thalassios
the Libyan, abbot of a monastery in Libya in the late sixth and early
seventy centuries. There is little information in his biography beyond
saying that he was a contemporary and friend of St. Maximos the
Confessor (580 - 662). St. Maximos wrote his largest work as a
theological treatise addressed to St. Thalassios.
ON LOVE, SELF-CONTROL, AND LIFE IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE INTELLECT Part V
by St. Thalassios the Libyan
-- The truly physician-like intellect is one that
first heals itself and then heals others of the diseases of which it has
been cured.
-- Our Lord Jesus has given light to all men, but
those who do not trust in Him bring darkness upon themselves.
-- Do not think that the loss of virtue is a
minor matter, for it was through such a loss that death came into the
world.
-- He who has put his passions to death and
overcome ignorance goes from life to life.
-- Search the Scriptures and you will find the
commandments; do what they say and you will be freed from your passions.
-- Obedience to a commandment purifies the soul,
and purification of the soul leads to its participation in light.
-- The tree of life is the knowledge of God;
when, being purified, you share in that knowledge you attain
immortality.
-- The first step in the practice of the virtues
is faith in Christ; its consummation, the love of Christ.
-- Jesus is the Christ, our Lord and our God, who
grants us faith in Him so that we may live.
-- Let us acquire faith so that we may attain
love; for love gives birth to the illumination of spiritual knowledge.
-- The acquisition of faith leads successively to
fear of God, restraint from sensual pleasure, the patient endurance of
suffering, hope in God, dispassion and love.
-- Genuine love gives birth to the spiritual
knowledge of the created world. This is succeeded by the desire of all
desires: the grace of theology.
-- When you have been given faith, self-control
is demanded from you; when self-control has become habitual, it gives
birth to patient endurance, a disposition that gladly accepts suffering.
-- The sign of patient endurance is delight in
suffering; and the intellect, trusting in this patient endurance, hopes
to attain what is promised and to escape what is threatened.
-- He who has tasted the things for which he
hopes will spurn the things of this world: all his longing will be spent
on what he hopes for.
-- It is God who has promised the blessings held
in store; and the self-disciplined person who has faith in God longs for
what is held in store as though it were present.
-- The sign that the intellect dwells among the
blessings for which it hopes is its total oblivion to worldly things and
the growth in its knowledge of what is held in store.
-- The dispassion taught by the God of truth is a
noble quality; through it He fulfils the aspirations of the devout soul.
-- According to the degree to which the intellect
is stripped of the passions, the Holy Spirit initiates the intellect
into the mysteries of the age to be.
-- The more the intellect is purified, the more
the soul is granted spiritual knowledge of divine principles.
-- He who has disciplined his body and dwells in
a state of spiritual knowledge finds that through this knowledge he is
purified still further.
-- Initially our search for wisdom is prompted by
fear; but as we attain our goal we are led forward by love.
-- The intellect that begins its search for
divine wisdom with simple faith will eventually attain a theology that
transcends the intellect and that is characterized by unremitting faith
of the highest type and the contemplation of the invisible. END
from G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and
Kallistos Ware, trans., "The Philokalia -- vol. II,"
(London: Faber and Faber, 1981), pp. 328 - 330.
SOME GOOD BOOKS FOR YOUR
CONSIDERATION
I just began reading one of the most interesting
books I've seen in a long time! It is "The Day-to-Day Life of the
Desert Fathers," by Fr. Lucian Reginald, a monk in the Abbey of
Solesmes. Fr. Reginald has been a monk for over forty years, and spent
two years in Egypt visiting the places where the Desert Fathers lived
and researching their lives. This book (257 pages!) recreates the daily
life of the ancient Desert Fathers and takes an in-depth look at their
lifestyles and daily routines. I cannot recommend this book strongly
enough as it really puts a "human face" on the lifestyles and
environment of the early Desert Fathers and Mother and gives us a unique
look at their way of life. Order a copy of "The
Day-to-Day Life of the Desert Fathers" today!
A nice, but low-priced option for reading the
Desert Fathers is "The Sayings of the Desert Fathers" in the
Cistercian Studies series. This collection is good for self-study or as
a gift. Check out "The
Sayings of the Desert Fathers" and see what you're missing!
Fr. Seraphim Rose, a convert to Orthodoxy, wrote
a superb book some twenty years ago that is still one of the best books
available on modern religious movements. Called "Orthodoxy and the
Religion of the Future," Fr. Seraphim examines various new
religious movements and compares them to the historical truths and
teachings of the Orthodoxy, relying heavily on the teachings of the
Desert Fathers and Holy Scriptures. I personally have read and reread
this book several times and is always fresh and exciting. I am now
reading it yet again and it is just as fresh to me now as it was when I
first read it some twenty years ago. Order a copy of "Orthodoxy
and the Religion of the Future" today -- you'll be glad you
did!
Another book you may find very interesting and
revealing is "Not of This World: the Life and Teaching of Father
Seraphim Rose." At over 1000 pages, this book goes into Fr.
Seraphim's life in great detail and describes his intellectual
pilgrimage through Eastern religions until he finally found his
spiritual home in Russian Orthodoxy. The book also goes into Fr.
Seraphim's teachings in great detail, but some readers may find the
final few chapters a bit too "political" for their taste.
Nonetheless, the book is a great read for anyone interested in how
Orthodoxy can appeal to the modern mind in modern-day America. To order "Not
of This World: the Life and Teaching of Father Seraphim Rose"
online, just follow the link.
Finally, Ms. Johanna Manley has produced a superb
Bible study reference work that is simply great to have at hand when
you're studying the Scriptures. Called, " The Bible and the Holy
Fathers for Orthodox: Daily Scripture Readings and Commentary for
Orthodox Christians," Manley has put together a superb collection
of writings from the Church Fathers on various scriptures so you can
have their words alongside the words of the Bible. This makes for an
excellent study source which allows one to study the Bible in the
context of the Church's teachings. Order "The
Bible and the Holy Fathers for Orthodox: Daily Scripture Readings and
Commentary for Orthodox Christians" today!
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