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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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