Advice from the Russian Orthodox
mystics is probably something you heard or read before, but if you are like me,
you need constant reminders and encouragement. So I offer you little summary of
the writings of Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894).*
What is essential is that you
lay all your hope in God. When it comes to the spiritual life, you cannot
obtain anything on your own, and all your efforts and good works will not help
you reach your goal of union with God unless and until He grants it to you.
This takes so much pressure off of us. All we need do is pray from the heart,
ask for what we seek, and continue praying until God grants it to us. The
Orthodox Fathers particularly recommend the Jesus Prayer as a constant mantra; Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me.
It is possible to say the prayer
so often that eventually it arises in your heart almost automatically, but it
is important that we not say it mechanically and without meaning.
Theophan quotes the wonderful lines from Psalm 37:3-4, If you trust in the Lord and do good, then you will live in the land
and be secure. If you find your delight in the Lord, he will grand your heart’s
desire.
He speaks of the acquisition of
virtue in the same way. A man who suffers from the vice of anger, he says, may
by his own efforts acquire some control over it. “. . . how far will he get by
his own efforts? No farther than outward silence during bouts of anger, with
only such quelling of the rage itself as self-control can afford him. He can never
himself attain the complete extinction of his anger and the establishment of
meekness in his heart. This only happens when grace invades the heart and
itself places meekness there. **
The same is true of every virtue
and spiritual quality. We must seek earnestly, but realize that our own efforts
to bear fruit will come to nothing. We must put all our trust in the Lord who
will give us what we desire so earnestly.
I don’t know about you but I find
this very encouraging and consoling at the same time. There is no reason to get
impatient or even hate myself because of a particular weakness I may be trying
to avoid. I can’t get it by my own efforts only. Now that doesn’t mean that I
should not bother to try. I must keep trying, knowing that the ultimate victory
will come when the Lord grants it to me.
In a way, the pressure is off
about this and about so many other things.
Undoubtedly you will hear more
from Theophan in the days to come as I continue to may my way through his
writings.
May the blessings of the risen
Lord descend upon you and keep you in all your ways.
*I discovered his writings in a book named The Art of Prayer: an orthodox anthology
compiled by Igumen Chariton of Valamo.
** p. 112
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