Philokalia Ministries

Synopsis Of Tonight’s Group on The Evergetinos Volume II Hypothesis XXXV Section A paragraphs 1-5: “One should never become angry or shout at anyone. An irascible man, even if he should raise the dead is not acceptable before God!” Such thoughts from the fathers already set the tone of this hypothesis and begin to challenge our sensibilities; the way that we deal with annoyances, direct attacks ag...

St Isaac the Syrian’s words strike with such power and seek to draw us away from what we desperately cling to as human beings - vainglory. Our focus upon ourselves, our particular needs and desires, makes us gather “abominable treasures“ for ourselves that defile our hearts. But more than defiling our hearts, such a vainglory prevents us from experiencing the love and mercy of God in all of its fu...

Synopsis of Tonight’s Group on The Evergetinos Volume II Hypothesis XXXIV Sections A6-F Conclusion: When we come across the high standards of the desert fathers, especially if they are jarring to our own sensibilities, we can tend to not just to read their writings critically but to dismiss them as hyperbolic or extreme.  Yet it is precisely the internal dis-ease that their writings create within...

In the writings of Saint Isaac the Syrian, we see so beautifully the desert fathers emphasis on praxis; that is, how we concretely live out our faith in our day-to-day life and relationships. They knew that Christ can be lost to the mind and the heart not only through sin but also simply in the warp and wolf of day-to-day life. We surround ourselves with things that provide us with a sense of secu...

The desert fathers were incredibly sensitive to the simple things in life that we often take for granted; the ways that we speak with others and treat them. In this sense, they were psychologically astute; realizing that in the warp and woof of day-to-day life, it is often the small things that affect relationships the most and so also a place where we are provoked to sin. We often describe these...

Renunciation: The word has certain connotations that are often tied to deprivation or unhappiness. What we find in the writings of the great ascetics, St. Isaac especially, is something quite different; the weaning of ourselves from the things that we are attached to in the world in order to become more attached to God, to what endures and fills the soul with consolation and strength.  For example...

As we completed hypothesis 32 and considering the fathers’ teaching on contrition being a source of spiritual labor and protection, we made a segway into the most beautiful and compelling of stories found in the Evergetinos. The story captures why we must maintain a spirit of humility and contrition to the very end of our lives. Regardless of the depth of our love and mercy or our gratitude toward...

Saint Isaac the Syrian begins this homily with the words: “The soul that loves God finds rest only in God.“ This thought permeates all that is to follow. Our weaning ourselves from our attachment to the things of the world and our own self-esteem and judgment opens our eyes to the love and freedom that is ours in Christ. To see this, Saint Isaac tells us, one must engage in the ascetic life; that...

The Desert Fathers make it very clear that in every element of our faith life we are being drawn into the mystery of God and the kingdom. Therefore, we must become comfortable with living in mystery; of being immersed in a reality that is beyond intellect and reason and comprehended solely through the gift of faith and the light that God bestow upon us.  We often move very quickly to dissect what...

Links provided to the group:  Outline: https://mcusercontent.com/c38acab568d650f7ef65f39df/files/250d23a5-4286-ca11-aa97-511cb2db99e7/Phronema_Outline_2025.pdf Phronema in the Teachings of Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou: https://mcusercontent.com/c38acab568d650f7ef65f39df/files/bcb1bdd1-e77a-1f58-b90d-8070e0f7f9d5/Phronema_in_Teachings_of_Zacharias_Zacharou.pdf Quotes: https://mcusercontent.com/...

Perhaps there has been no greater or more beautiful exhortation written than Saint Isaac the Syrian’s homily on temptation. This may seem to be a rather bold statement, but Isaac’s words draw us into the very heart of a reality that even many men and women of faith do not see; that is, we are engaged in a spiritual warfare against the Evil One. Evil is not an abstraction or a story meant to instil...

The beauty of the writings of the fathers and in particular the lived experiences of the monks as described in the Evergetinos brings to life the spiritual life in an unparalleled fashion. They show us that there is no part of the spiritual life that can be seen outside the context of our relationship with God. In other words, there is no spiritual practice or discipline, no spiritual fruit or exp...

Knowledge of God comes through the experience of God. When faith remains an abstraction, an idea, it is destined to remain lifeless and loses its capacity to transform and heal. It is the Lord Himself - He who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life - who must teach us.  Outside this path, we will lack all understanding. What we are called to contemplate is not simply what we can see with our eyes, pe...

When reading the fathers, it is as if we are swimming in the living waters of their faith and love for God.  In this sense we are in a privileged position: we are able to catch a glimpse of what might otherwise be completely incomprehensible to us. Yet the warmth of the light of their faith is undeniable; for contrition is often understood and experienced as the coldest of realities, expressing on...

Text of chat during the group: 00:15:43 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: https://mcusercontent.com/c38acab568d650f7ef65f39df/files/7dc24fb1-6e46-0667-4ec1-01790064a60b/Thirst_for_God_Zacharou.pdf 00:16:31 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: https://mcusercontent.com/c38acab568d650f7ef65f39df/files/7dc24fb1-6e46-0667-4ec1-01790064a60b/Thirst_for_God_Zacharou.pdf 00:16:48 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: https://mcusercontent.com/c...

Saint Isaac the Syrian asks the question that has been put forward for centuries - “how are we to pray?”  In fact, our Lord himself was asked by his disciples to teach them how to pray as John the Baptizer taught his disciples. Within a few beautiful paragraphs Isaac opens up for us not only what we are to pray for but why. What Isaac would have us understand is that our prayer should be a reflect...

As we listen to St. Isaac the Syrian in Homily Three his focus shifts from speaking of the necessary foundation to be laid in the spiritual life, purity of mind, to drawing us further to purity of heart. Purity of mind is established through the toils of the ascetic life, including vigils, fasting, prayer and meditation upon the scriptures, etc.  One’s attraction to the life of virtue grows. Howev...

Contrition is love! To many this will seem to be an absurdity, but when we look not only to the writings of the fathers, but to the life of Christ himself something far more beautiful begins to emerge. Contrition, in order for it to be genuine and not to lead to despair, must be tied to a depth of love that does not allow for any other response from the heart than to weep. One of the perfect examp...

One of the amazing things about reading the lives in the teachings of the desert fathers is that we begin to see that we are part of the body of Christ and among the many who have sought to make the spiritual journey over the centuries.  We aren’t Christians in isolation. This means not only that we hold and believe the same truths about the faith that have been revealed to us but also that we see...

Saint Isaac for Syrian proves himself once more to be one of the most beautiful and poetic of teachers. He describes for us the nature of the human person and the fragmentation that has taken place because of sin. On the level of the flesh, the body has certain needs and will seek to satisfy them. Yet, sin often brings a disorder to this desire as well as a weakness of will.  In other words, we ca...

“Contrition is his very name!” This is how the authors describe a monk who not only is contrite of heart, but who also lives always in this state. What becomes clear in the writings and experience of the desert fathers is that contrition is the source of consolation. The capacity to see one’s sin, though painful, is also the path to healing. It draws us to God and creates a thirst in our heart tha...

Orthodoxy and Orthopraxis (right belief and right practice) are intimately tied together. All of the fathers and, in particular, Saint Isaac the Syrian want us to understand that our perception of revelation, who God is to us and what we have become in his Son through the Paschal mystery, and how we live our life are inseparable. God has revealed himself to us in a unique and distinctive fashion,...

The loss of the spirit of contrition can take place whenever our hearts become hardened; when we grow sluggish in the spiritual life or our attention shifts off of our own sin and need for God‘s mercy and is redirected towards the things of the world or to the sins of others. The desert fathers pull back the veil on the human heart and reveal the motivation for our actions and thoughts. We often b...

Upon reading the beginning of this homily, one clearly gets the sense that Saint Isaac the Syrian wants our understanding of the spiritual life, who we are as human beings, and a relationship with God (who has created us in His image and likeness), to be set on a foundation that is unshakable. One must love Isaac for the effort! He is giving us eyes to see.  He began by presenting us with an image...

At the end of many of these groups, my only thought is that the beauty of the writings of the fathers is exquisite. Often when reading them one is both pierced to the heart, but also raised up and consoled. This is surprisingly so in this hypothesis on contrition. None of the fathers’ writings appear to be an abstraction, but rather their words reverberate with the pain and the love of those who e...