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The
voice of the Fathers for contemporary man
Asceticism: With regard to monasticism,
the meaning of the word seclusion is both an authentic relationship
with God and simultaneously a more correct relationship with
all the world (mankind).
Even though today this seems paradoxical,
many times man ascertains that although he lives in the world,
he is not able to respond to a physical relationship with it,
his soul desires, thirsts after God all the more.
So the result of seclusion is to bring man
closer to God and to a more balanced relationship with the world
from which he has essentially distanced himself.
In this regard, daily, deep and fervent
prayer (dialogue with God) plays an important role, which brings
the grace of God and sanctifies man, who lives spiritually in
a communion with God, and also in a more authentic relationship
with the world.
Such an ascete, an anchorite who left the
world who in order to isolate himself in the desert is Saint
Isidore the Pilousiate. He was born in 369 AD in Alexandria,
was a pupil of Saint John Chrysostom. He was a monk on Mount
Pilousiaon, near Port Said.
He was also an abbot of ascetes there. Having
a deep knowledge of the Scriptures and being an excellent interpreter,
he wrote very many letters of which about 2,000 have been preserved
to this day. He died in 440 AD.
We refer to a few thoughts of Saint Isidore:
- “Honour the virtues,
do not cultivate the pleasures (enjoyment)
because on the one hand those (virtues) are
immortal and on the other hand (enjoyments)
die away easily.”
- “ Some people desire
virtue, but they hesitate to follow the path
which leads to it, and other people believe
that virtue does not exist. So we have to
persuade the former to eliminate their idleness
and to teach the latter that virtue is really
virtue (from God). ”
- “Evil separated mankind
both from God and also caused separation
amongst men. So we must avoid evil and pursue
virtue, which both leads to God and brings
men together. A definition of virtue and
of philosophy is simplicity with prudence. ”
- “Because the height
of humility is great, as also the fall of
arrogance (of pride, of egotism) is great,
I advise you to accept the former (he means
the height of humility) and not to fall into
the latter (he means pride and egotism)”.
When one studies the Holy Fathers of our
Church, one sees with how much simplicity and wisdom they viewed
life, but also how easy it is for us to become their pupils,
so as to walk the path of our lives with consistency in order
to please God and to obtain his love on that Day of Judgement.
(Philokalia of the Niptics (people in a
state of spiritual awareness) and of the Ascetes. Thessaloniki
1978) Devotion of Fr. M. V.
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