Lesson 2, Part 1: Man’s Spiritual Nature
-Degrees of knowledge/ways of knowing via St. Isaac of Syria:
1. Body- human wisdom and knowledge, esp. sciences; carnal knowledge; not wrong or bad
2. Soul- when we keep commandments of Christ strictly we begin to acquire knowledge of soul
-as acquire such knowledge we are able to fast, pray, understand Scripture, struggle to acquire virtue, fight temptations – allows us to acquire this higher knowledge
3. Spirit- knowledge that Saints acquire; state of holiness – see invisibly, hear inaudibly, comprehend incomprehensibly the glory of God
-this is communion with Saints, absolute surety about Resurrection bc of communion with God
-teachings of Fathers spring from this experience- Fathers tell us to taste and see for ourselves
-knowledge of Soul and Spirit are closed to those who approach Scriptures and Fathers from perspective of bodily knowledge- much theology/scholarship is at this level – theology by ppl who haven’t experienced God
-Matt. 5:38 – be ye perfect as is Father in Heaven – how is it possible to be perfect?!
-“perfect” is synonymous with “holy”
-English word “holy” derives from Anglo-Saxon term for “whole” – both words related in their root to “heal” – tells us something important about holiness
-how can I become perfect/whole?! – goal of Christian life is to partake of Spirit, union with God’s energies
-he who attains this state is a Saint- participate in God’s perfection
-St. Seraphim to Motovilov: true goal is acquisition of Holy Spirit; various practices are means to end
-Motovilov: how can we know we are communing with God? St. Seraphim tells him to look at him, he shines with light of Christ, makes snow pale almost into shadows; Motovilove feels warmth coming from St. Seraphim, penetrating his own body; Motovilov also shining with same light- able to “see” clearly
-necessary condition for union with God is active purification – replace vice with virtues, otherwise other passion fill the void – holiness is sharing in perfection of God
-being ego-centric is choosing death; theo-centrism is to choose life – this mode of being conquers death
-our spiritual nature has as lowest component the soul
-at Fall man’s spiritual nature fractured: lowest part of spiritual nature is seat of passions, imagination, emotions; higher part is spirit
-“soul” corresponds to bodily knowledge
-passions, emotions, imaginations come into existence at Fall – given for man to survive outside Eden; but can also serve for man to wall himself off from God, not have remembrance of God
-most of us who spend in time in realm of imagination, emotions, passions – live in lowest part of spiritual nature that will die with body
-ego-centrism concentrates all energy on lower part – food, clothing, etc – Lord tells us not to worry about these; esp. when young care much about passions dealing with sexual behavior – begin to die out as get older
-sex is part of body and bodily knowledge- esp. within blessed context of marriage- becomes less important as get older
-one who is theo-centric does not encounter limitations of space, time, corruption- Christ walking on water, walking through wall: mode of being that has conquered death
-shouldn’t come to Church for own satisfaction
-Saints are living proof that theo-centrism is reality; at St. John’s canonization one priest said: because he lived in our place and time we have no excuse- perhaps this is why God revealed him to Church – so we know we can become holy in America
-his incorruption is sign that something about death is not same for him- in some small way he didn’t taste of death –his body didn’t return to dust, something already in process of conquering death–foretaste of resurrection
-sometimes have idea that spirituality is appeasing God- NOT about this, but about healing, becoming whole
-in Church experience some healing, wholeness, holiness- just make a little effort- not just expecting life to come, we’re in it already
-Fathers say Kingdom isn’t life after death but communion with God that starts in this life: if you don’t find Christ in this world you wont find him in next
-to find Christ in this world have to understand beginning: Adam pre- and post-fall
Part 2
-imagination (phantasia) resides in lowest part of spiritual nature – the soul
-before Fall imagination was disciplined, Fall energizes it so its dominated easily by false ideas, images
-Saint has overcome images- imagination and fantasy become dormant
-OT full of false images of God being worshiped – we all do this though- money, success, reputation, etc
-should take care of soul before body because body will die
-angels don’t have imagination- only men and demons do – “idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” “an inactive mind is the playground of the devil” – demons can enact many images to arouse our imagination
-demons active images from our memory – porn for example
-more spiritually ill a man is the more he can be troubled by imagination, images, etc
-St. Theophan the Recluse: highly active imagination can bring psychological abnormalities; the spiritually alert have almost no imagination bc they’re experiencing reality of God
-thus Saints appear emotionless in icons; Saints can look at us directly bc they can look at sin without judging
-what do we do about imagination? Carry crosses without murmuring- change imagination and its product – emotion- into something highly spiritual – through the Cross joy has come to all the world
-start small: pick one cross to bear without murmuring- will soon feel difference, slowly add crosses
-St. John Chrysostom: start small, told man to begin by not losing temper with wife- don’t scold or reprimand, no sarcasm or yelling, etc: dont worry about boss, co-workers, kids, etc – just focus on wife for now
-after one week of full success then add children (if you slip you start over); if necessary take one child at a time
-if we make even feeble effort we have attention of God, angels, Saints – He’ll send little extra grace
-bearing Crosses begins to have effect on emotions, imagination
-with minimal struggle begin to cooperate with energies of God – begin to put things back in proper place
-Cross necklace should be reminder that Christ has saved us, we’ve given ourselves over to Him as slaves – slave doesn’t have will of his own, only obeys
-must have obedience to holy law of fasting- cant bring God anything unless give up own will
-fasting can be very difficult or we ignore it altogether bc we’re so used to instant gratification- but must compel our will to take control of just one thing- subdue passionate part of spiritual nature
-obedience is non-resistance- if someone asks for coat give it to him, etc; Christ didn’t tell us to first evaluate the situation- will he spend this money on alcohol? But giving is for US not for the panhandler – need to deprive ourselves of something
-virtue of self-abandonment to God: what is God’s will for me today? Each moment brings obligation to fulfill duty – go to work, do dishes, mow lawn, etc – focus all attention on this duty as something given by God to grow spiritually- in duties is concealed God’s will for us
-He gives us everything necessary for salvation
-St. Herman: invited aboard a ship to dine with Captain and others; asked them what they regard as most worthy of love and what do you want for happiness?
-riches, fame, glory, beautiful wife, command of fine ship St. Herman says each of you want what you think is most worthy of love – they agreed. He continues – what can be more worthy of love than Christ? they agree, he asks if they love God – they say of course! How could anyone not love God? St. Herman bows his head, says: I, a poor sinner, have tried my whole life long to love God and I cant say I love Him as I should. To love Him is to think of Him always and always do His will. Do you love Him in this way? They admit they didn’t; from this day forth, from this hour, from this minute you will love God above all
Q: does Patristic use of “imagination” correspond to creative arts?
A: Fathers say all beauty is reflection of God, can lead us to higher forms of beauty and ultimately to God- instead of being just images they lead us to reality
-much of our art is NOT beauty- it is ugly and sinful; distinguish btwn what is truly art and what leads to ego-centrism and fulfillment of passions
-classical music builds good tastes, leads children to higher beauty
Q: creative arts for children?
A: should be encouraged within context of beauty
-Royal Martyrs were extremely pious, French tutor very aware that Nicholas and Alexandra wanted education to be centered around Church year: practice for a drama didn’t happen in Lent – children supposed to focus on the fast and Church services- involvement in arts can be centered on Church life
Q: seems easier to unite with Christ as monastic
A: monastics are single-minded, but Fathers also say its possible for someone in the world to achieve communion but requires discipline
-St. Basil instructing priest-monks to confess laypeople- be gentle bc their life is so much harder than ours
Q: fracturing at Fall – what happens in Resurrection to reunited body, soul, spirit?
A: reuniting of fracture must begin in this life bc passions wall us off from God, must begin here and now bc it wont magically happen in next life
-St. John of Kronstadt: if we live one day keeping commandments faultlessly we will have taste of Paradise
-incorrupt relics tends to happen in Saints particularly known for dispassion
Q: holiness of families?
A: from Scriptures we know family is holy as institution of God even if particular members aren’t holy, family has objective holiness; Church is utterly holy and without blemish despite sinful people
-everything, including rocks, are in process of sanctification- we know that all of creation fell and all creation awaits redemption
-possible to have holy business, other institutions
Q: how to feed ours and kids souls, make them receptive to holiness?
A: surround children with that which is beautiful – control over TV, museums; start when they’re young
-Dostoyevsky: beauty will save the world
Q: can we be impassioned over good causes?
A: yes, spiritual fervor; Lord is angry when driving money changers out – righteous anger over honor of Father’s Temple, angry not for Himself but for His Father
-we can have righteous anger or fervor as long as its not for me personally- abortion for example
-have to be guided by Church on this, be careful bc there are false virtues – politics for example
-people gave lives for Civil Rights – Church wouldn’t condemn this; but if it also harms others or own family then it would be questionable; case-by-case basis
- Fr. Seraphim was detached from politics but he voted- educated himself enough to make informed vote
-need detachment from spirit of times
Q: if emotions/imaginary are temporary why did He give them to us?
A: they weren’t given to us in their current form, we created them at Fall
-became separated out from whole spiritual nature which was united to God completely
-when became separate from His grace then imagination and emotions became empowered; began to create false idols to worship
-with God’s help we can undo damage God did – Theotokos is perfect model of this
