A Union for the End Times

In the history of the Church, sometimes marriage has been portrayed as a lesser path of spirituality as compared to those that practice celibacy. Even though this understanding does not exist in the catechesis of the Catholic Church, it does exist as a prevailing mindset among many people. From time to time, we of the Eastern churches get to see this mindset since we have continued the tradition of married clergy, which was started by Jesus Christ.  Often when such negative distinctions arise it has nothing to do with the mystery of Holy Orders. Most of the time, it always goes back to an inferior spiritual understanding of marriage.

Paul Evdokimov once wrote, “The Gospel in its totality is addressed to each person; everyone in his own situation is called to the absolute of the Gospel. Trying to prove the superiority of one state over the other is therefore useless: it is an abstract, because impersonal, process. The renunciation at work in both cases is as good as the positive content that the human being brings to it: the intensity of the love of God”. As Evdokimov points out, the state that we are in has no bearing on the depth of our spirituality. Whatever state that God has called us to is the means by which we can best love God. On the other hand, to be called to certain state is to be called to make God known in a unique way. As Evdokimov would also teach, Christian celibacy and Christian marriage are both given a prophetic character in revealing the kingdom of God.

In regards to the prophetic character of Christian marriage, Pope Francis, in his ever popular Amoris Laetitia, called marriage the, “inexhaustible mystery”. When I read this, I wondered how many people considered their marriage in this way. I wondered how many people see their marriage as the object of encounter with God. I personally have heard marriage described in many ways. However, rarely have I heard it being presented as the means for participating in the divine nature. Most of time, its been taught as a foundation for procreation or the means of escaping, as the Apostle Paul said, the burn of passion.

In the beginning God created marriage for us to be like him. In other words, marriage was as a path for our deification. As the scripture teaches, we were created in the image of God and called to be like God.  Among many things, he called our Ancestors to become one flesh. By becoming one flesh they were becoming like the one who created them. As we all know, God’s plan for our Ancestors was not fulfilled. Consequently, marriage became many things, but a path to God it was not. It needed to be redeemed.  Thankfully, by Christ becoming one of us, in the words of St. Maximos, “God bestowed once again on human nature the supernatural grace of deification”. Now, as scripture teaches, marriage in Christ has become a Mysterion (Eph 5:32). Not only has marriage been redeemed it can make present the reality to which it is called.

There is an eschatological reality in marriage and it can only be experienced when we love like God. In a marriage the love shared can become eternal, it is a love that becomes God’s very own love. Concerning such love, St. John Chrysostom said once that, “marriage is a remedy to eliminate fornication”. This of course is often taken out of context by those that read him. Marriage becomes a remedy because it helps us to love the other person. It helps us overcome things that objectify the other person, like unchastity. Such a remedy is only possible when we let God love the other person through us.

We can all love others, even in a divine way, but only married people can make present in our world a love that all will see at the end of time. Concerning such love, there is even a whole book in the Old Testament dedicated to it, the Song of Songs. In this book it makes known a love that can only be described with the most poetic words. It is a love that Christ has for his Church. Outside of being poetic there really is no other human way that can express this love. However, there is a way, as I have been saying, to experience it.

Escaping Fantasy Island

Fantasy, according to some Byzantine spiritual fathers, is something we need to overcome. It acts as a power that distorts the imagination. Most of our lives we give into it in one form or another. It is often attached to a sin, like the one the devil offered our Ancestors. At other times, it becomes a false reality that we live in. In both instances we are called to overcome it, if we wish to have more of God. This can be very difficult, especially in our culture that thrives on it. As a culture we are coming closer and closer to the possibility having a perpetual fantasy world. The greatest example of this I believe can be found in the video-game sub culture. The evolution of this culture is making way for a persistent virtual world making any diabolical fantasy a constant reality.

According to St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite, “fantasy has more power and domination over us than the senses themselves”.  To overcome the domination that St. Nikodemos speaks of some fathers have taught us to be Watchful (Nepsis). Watchfulness is guarding what you let into your mind or heart. Regarding fantasy, we should have the attitude of a person that has the foreknowledge of someone trying to break into their home. A person in these circumstances is always looking at the windows, the doors, and making sure the thief has no entry. Like a thief, fantasy will come and being aware of this we must keep it from breaking in and stealing what belongs to Christ. In other words, as the apostle Paul teaches, “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2Cor. 2:5b)”. By doing this we will keep our minds and hearts free from the domination of fantasy.

In conjunction with being Watchful, the fathers teach us also to pray. Sometimes in practicing Watchfulness something like a “fantasy island” appears. This island can offer everything from a good lunch, innovative ideas, or even trying to relive an enjoyable experience. In trying to swim towards this island we will always end up drowning in a false reality. Like someone who could drown the fathers teach us that we should pray that way. Imagine sinking in a sea and you see Christ afar off. You would cry out to him with all your strength and do everything in your power so that he could save you. This is the way we must sometimes cry out in our minds, “LORD JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD, HAVE MERCY ON ME A SINNER”. 

I want to add that every now and then I hear pious Byzantines attacking the use of the imagination in prayer, like how some use the Rosary. They do this because they have been misinformed about how some fathers understood fantasy. For instance, St John Climacus defines imagination or fantasy as follows: “Fantasy is an illusion of the eyes when the mind is asleep. Fantasy is ecstasy of the nous, when the body is awake. Fantasy is the vision of something which does not exist in reality”. Sometimes the fathers are not always clear on the differences between fantasy and imagination. One thing to keep in mind is that there is no universal teaching on this subject. For instance, imagination according to some fathers is a God given faculty that has a place in prayer. For others, the use of fantasy has been vital in the communication of beauty and ideas. Among these differences, what the fathers want us to understand is that fantasy, as an impassioned state, is what we are called to overcome.  

God has called us to grow in our experience of Him. In order to do this, He has given us everything that He is in Jesus Christ. He has called us to participate in what He is and for some that might mean escaping a “fantasy island”. We all struggle with fantasy in some way. This has been our natural state since the Fall. In the Fall we were offered a false reality as opposed to the one God wished for us to have. Since that time, we have been chasing after these false realities only to end up never really possessing the delight they offer. In contrast, God wants us to experience the reality that he has put before us. He wants us to experience the true delight of his presence, which is hidden in each and every moment.

When Christianity Died

When I was younger I was introduced to the philosophy that all religions are basically the same. Having met Christ in a personal way as a young adult, I refused to accept this. However, this philosophy seemed to be the prevailing thought everywhere. For instance, I was at a local Catholic retreat and one of the speakers was a life insurance salesman. He explained that at his work he sells the same thing others do but in a different package. He then related his work to how religion is. In response to the philosophy, I discovered answers in the culture of Catholic Apologetics. I found a community that helped me to argue against this. On the other hand, even though I had the right answers, I discovered I was living no different than what the other religions offered. Consequently, the philosophy that I rejected was the same one that I was personally living, I just wasn’t aware of it.

All major religions of the world offer in some way how to live right, a moralism. In the moralism that I experienced I learned how to be a good Catholic, a conservative Catholic. A conservative Catholic is one that is in all the right groups and accepts all the right teachings.  Some, like I was, can be really good at conservatism. I did my best to excel in what conservativism offered. I became an apologist and even went on to finish my graduate studies at one of the most conservative Catholic colleges in the US. The problem with all these positive things is that my faith was on the verge of death. I was very good at my religion but in the end, I had nothing different to offer in terms of what other religions were offering.

At some point, I began to recall an experience that I had of Jesus Christ. This happened at a shrine to St. Photios. I walked into this shrine and it was like walking into another world. Christ was there and He showed me that there was so much more to experience of Him in this life. He showed me that my faith in him was reduced to basically trying to be a good person, a good Catholic. He showed me where my Christianity died. I had been deceived. I had all the right answers, the right teachings, the right groups and ideas, but I did not have Him. Thankfully, in discovering Byzantine spirituality I had found where I went wrong, specifically in the tradition of Hesychasm. The fathers of my tradition showed me that right belief is not a bunch of ideas that provide a right way of living, which is pretty much what all religions offer. Instead, right belief is an experience. It is an encounter with Christ and right living is growing in that experience. The fathers showed me that Christianity is not moralism, it’s an encounter.  It’s an encounter that we are called to share with others.

According to fathers ,we are not a religion of moral ideas that shares these ideas with the world. We are a religion of encounter that shares the encounter with the world. As I said to someone once, right belief is not some kind of dead principles or guidelines set up so we can do the right thing. Real Christian belief is an experience of God and right living is growing and sharing that experience. In my case, it was an act of grace that rescued me from moralism. As someone who has been rescued I see it everywhere. It dominates the churches of today and is killing what can be known of real Christianity.  It is my hope in sharing this that others will ask: is my Christianity dead? Am I just living a moralism that helps me to get by, one that is the basic fruit of all religions? Or am I living in such a way so that I can experience more of Christ? Jesus Christ did not die on the cross so that we can be just like all the other religions. He died so that we could become partakers of the divine nature. He died so that we can experience God and so that we can continue to grow in that experience. If we are not living in a way as to experience more of Him we have missed the very essence of what it means to be a Christian.

God is not interested in what moralism offers. Moralism produces good people, it does not produce saints. He is interested in people who want to know and experience Him, who want to become saints. Moralism says you have to be a good person to be a saint. As the moralistic saying goes, “God helps those who help themselves”. This is the lie that creates the framework for how people understand the Church today. In contrast, God says while we were still sinners Christ died for us. No matter what we have done or where we come from God has invited us through Christ to be reconciled. He knows we might not have what it takes to be that “good person” but instead he wants to give us the power for "being good" at loving Him.

Thoughts and Prayers

It grieves me to hear that a saying once used for sympathy has now been politicized. When we used to say, “you are in our thoughts and prayers” it was a way of saying we care. Now the saying has been weaponized by certain political groups as a way of saying people don’t care. Recently, I watched a young girl speak out about a tragedy that happened at her school. In her speech she said that we don’t need thoughts and prayers. My first reaction when I heard this was that she probably never experienced prayer. However, I don’t think most people know the potential of prayer. Prayer in our society has been reduced to a pious act. It is just something we do to feel good or to have hope in a situation. Also, in some situations its like a last resort where we hope to get lucky with a response.

There is nothing wrong with feeling good, having hope, or wanting a response but prayer is much more than that. Prayer changes things!  Just consider Psalm 107:28-30, it says “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven”. As the psalm says, not only were people saved from trouble, by their prayers ,but creation itself experienced a silence coming from God’s presence. As the psalm states, God entered the world and the world was changed. This is the kind of power God has given us through prayer.  

It’s a great mystery but God has subjected Himself to our prayers. Imagine if the Christian churches that we see on just about every intersection in our country believed that. Imagine seeing these places as instruments of true change in our society. The fact is they are not and sometimes they have become part of our troubles. The thing our churches often miss in being these places for change is God’s desire that we be, “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (1peter 2:9).

We are a priestly people called to live in a righteous way. In fact, according to scripture the effectiveness of prayer is sometimes defined by how righteous someone is (James 5:16). This fact is also emphasized in 1Peter 3:7 where it says that prayers can be hindered by how we treat others. Being a disciple of the teachings of Jesus Christ releases the grace of God into this world. Likewise, being disobedient to his teachings hinders his grace into this world. Yes, I am saying that by not authentically following the teachings of Christ we can have ineffective prayer. This is a great mystery, but it does reveal the value and importance of our actions.

Galatians 6:7-10 says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life”. By being unfaithful to Christ we have seen the fruit of how prayer is now understood. We are as Galatians teaches, "reaping what we have sowed". Prayer has become a powerless expression that has lost its value, even among those that bear the name of Christian. Thankfully, its not to late to change this. It says in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land”. God is just waiting for us to repent.

St. Seraphim of Sarov was person that people would go to for prayer in old Russia. To this day people still call on him for help. They knew he was a person that God would hear and from whom we could get a response. However, he would teach people that you could be that person that God would hear. Among his sayings he said, “Acquire the Spirit of Peace and a thousand souls around you will be saved”. God wants us to be people that can change the world. To be people filled with his Spirit of Peace. All this takes is following Jesus in every moment. To hear his voice in your heart and to follow him. God makes no distinction among us and invites all of us to have the Spirit of Peace. We just need to be willing and continually faithful in our response to Him.

Ye are Gods!

The Son of God became man so that we might become God. No, I am not in a cult. Yes, I do believe that we become gods by grace. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, the only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods(460). To become divine is a basic Christian doctrine. Unfortunately, this doctrine has been lost in modern Christianity. For the most part, modern proclamations of the Gospel portray us as sinners in the hands of the angry God. We are offered the chance to escape God’s wrath and are given the hope of heaven in the life to come.

Not to diminish the modern aspect of being reconciled to God, but what good is this message to someone who is facing a life sentence in prison. For such people, life is day to day suffering. A guy in prison facing a life sentence, unlike most people, knows there is a profound distance between himself and God. Even if he accepts the fact that he can be forgiven, this does not take away the reality that his life now has become a constant struggle for meaning. All opportunities to find meaning that could have once been his are gone, all he has are the bars in front of him. Sure, you can tell him that following Christ in prison makes him a good example but that can only go so far. I mean, just about every religion in the world can help you to be a good example, so why is Christianity any different? Well, it’s different because the only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods.  

We can have God now, we are called to experience God now. We don’t have to wait to get to heaven. It starts now. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me”. We don’t come to the Father after we die and go to heaven, we go to him as soon as we are reconciled to him through baptism in Jesus Christ.  Through baptism we receive the promise of the Holy Spirit who makes us partakers of the divine nature (2peter 1:4). The Holy Spirit is someone that we become consciously aware of and we can grow in our experience of him by following Jesus Christ.

As St. seraphim of Sarov taught, the true goal of our Christian life consists of acquiring God’s Holy Spirit, becoming a god. We can grow in our experience of God.  Our bodies are designed for God’s presence, it is his presence that makes us divine beings. Jesus Christ restores to us our right to be able to participate in divine life. Not only does he take away our sin, he also takes away everything that keeps us from God. We can have God now and we are not limited in our experience of Him. As St. Seraphim of Sarov also said, “fasting and vigil, prayer, mercy, and every other good deed performed for Christ — are means for acquiring the Holy Spirit of God. Only deeds performed for Christ give us the fruits of the Holy Spirit”.

So please do not find it a strange thing when I say, “ye are gods (John 10:34).” I am not proclaiming the 4th person of the Holy Trinity. Nor am I saying that you are to be worshiped. I am merely stating our potential as beings called to participate in the divine nature. God is divine by nature and we become divine by participating in what he shares with us. God is not holding anything back and if for some reason you find yourself having a dull and meaningless Christianity I invite you to as one saint says, "come, bow and fall down together with me and do not rise until you have received the gift of God, as I, who am unworthy, have received this gift of grace". Having the divine nature working in your life is a gift, as the saint said. It is a gift that God eagerly wants to share with us. We just need to be aware of what we have through our baptism and participate in it.

The True Church

     Someone told me once that their decision to join the Church was an intellectual one.  Likewise, on many occasions I have heard many testimonies of why intellectually people choose their religion. For instance, they will say things like “no other Church has these claims” or “no other religion teaches these things”.  I guess from an intellectual perspective it would make sense to appeal to the religion that has the most valid claims. In contrast, I don’t think I can relate to intellectual claims because most of my religious decisions were emotional. Unlike some, I can’t say that I am member of my church because it makes the most sense or that it has things others don’t. For me, it was a matter of following my heart in discovering what brought me closer to God. Maybe this was due the fact that when I started out on my spiritual path I could barely read or write. I did not have access to the popular saints of the day and even when I eventually did all I had to go on was what I was experiencing inside. The experience that I had I guess you could say is what I perceived of Christ. I saw this experience in myself, in others, and in my desire for more of it I followed it where it took me.
     As far as the intellect is concerned there have been many times in my experience where things have made no sense. In fact, there have been those in my life that have gone out of their way to show me how everything that I believe is false. After talking with such people the only honest response I can have to their claims is that if there was no presence of God in me I could see myself believing the way they do. Everything that I have has been grace or an emotional response to it and it is always associated with the knowledge of Christ. I guess in terms of intellectual development all my education has been aimed at knowing Christ better. I know that I can’t go on my experience alone but I would be dishonest if I didn’t mention that my education has always been organic to my first encounter of Christ. I seems in my case I wanted not to just follow my emotions but I was trying to have a better relationship with God through what I learned about Him.
    In terms of learning there is no doubt that it has contributed to the relationship that I have now with my church but this knowledge is always complemented by how I experience God. This is why I can’t say I am where I am because it’s better than other churches or because we have things other do not. In terms of what my church has given me there has been no other place that has provided me with what I experience now of Christ. At this point in my life, I can say that I have never felt more liberated in experiencing God and it has been my church alone that has brought me this healing. To me, this is the essence of what a True Church is. As Metropolitan Hierotheos once said, “the existence of the true Church is revealed in the degree of success. In medicine it is said that a correct medical theory is distinguished from a wrong one by its degree of success. Similarly, a doctor is good depending on his healing rate. Likewise for the Church”. I guess you can say that in following my emotions I was actually looking for the best kind of healing. I was attracted only to the best means that healed what I lacked in experiencing God and in following this healing I found my church.
     Today, there is no place that I’d rather be. My Ruthenian Greek Catholic church is the True Church.  By some standards my church is not perfect. However, even if it gets worse for these standards, it is where God heals me. Sometimes there are those that look at my church’s imperfections and try to provide arguments for why I should leave. If I wanted to I could probably provide an intellectual argument against what they say. However, in the end such debates have very little to do with experiencing God. I think the best way to convince others is to share what God has done in me through my church. Others might continue to say that they have things better or do things better but can they make me whole in the way my church has? When speaking with such people I often wonder if there is anything to share under all those ideas of why their church is the True one. The appeals to traditions, papal sayings, or councils are meaningless if you in fact have no healing to offer.

Rediscovering the Philokalia

     In speaking many years ago about the future of our Eastern churches Abbot Nicholas (Zachariadis) of the Holy Resurrection Monastery said the following:“ One of the most wonderful aspects of Eastern Catholic life over the past twenty years or so has been the rediscovery of this ascetic tradition in the hearts and homes of many individuals and families. The Philokalia is read. Fasts are kept, if not perfectly, at least more strictly. Icon corners are set up, the Jesus Prayer is said and people search out a good spiritual father or mother. All these are signs of an active embrace of the "practical" life of the Byzantine spiritual tradition”. In my experience I would have to agree with many of his observations. On the other hand, on many occasions some Byzantines have shared with me their struggles in trying to read the Philokalia. To some degree I understand their frustration and why some have chosen not to read it. However, I believe that not having the devotional experience of the Philokalia could give some a disadvantage in experiencing the Byzantine tradition.

     When I first discovered my tradition my priest told me that I should find some books on Byzantine spirituality. This all happened way back in 2001 and I can remember going wild at book dealers trying to get my hands on all I could. Well to make a long story short, amongst my purchases I got all 4 volumes of the Philokalia and also the compilation text. Being somewhat fresh to spirituality, I was a fairly new Christian at the time, I did not know how to read the Philokalia. I quickly zoomed through it and in the end dismissed it as a collection of mere spiritual wisdom. Later, as I began to mature and understand my tradition I would find references to the Philokalia by many noted authors. One in particular was a Fr. David Abernethy. Fr. David is a Roman Catholic priest and his devotion to our Byzantine spiritual traditions brought convection upon me. He eventually inspired me to begin a daily devotion of reading the Philokalia, which I can say has enriched my experience of the Byzantine tradition.

     One of the greatest struggles that I believe people have in reading the Philokalia is in their approach. When we read books we often seek a specific knowledge or some type of message. The Philokalia has these things but the way we discover them must be done in a spiritual manner. The Philokalia must be received in the same way the Holy Scriptures are, always in a devotional sense. The difference with the Philokalia is that unlike scripture it is not the Word of God. Instead, it’s the living experience of the Word of God or as some would say “living tradition”. Each spiritual father in the Philokalia shares their experience of salvation and in turn offers us to add to it. I would say that even though the Philokalia has a definitive form it continues to inspire and some spiritual fathers have even added their own written traditions to it, the “Little Russian Philokalia” comes to mind.

     Another struggle that people have is that the Philokalia is written primarily for monks. So some might wonder what value it might have to those outside of the monastery. This struggle I think can be easily resolved by understanding the Byzantine tradition in general. As it says in OrientaleLumen, “Monasticism has always been the very soul of the Eastern Churches”. Since monasticism is the very soul of the Byzantine tradition each Byzantine is called to integrate it into their everyday life. Based on this, you could say that the monk in the Byzantine tradition is the fullest  response to Christ in this life. From this perspective, you could also say that those outside of actual monasteries are all in some sense each members of domestic monasteries, each in their own way cultivating the monastic life. Being that it was intended for monastic living, the Philokalia  can provide the very source for these domestic monasteries to thrive.

     In sharing all this I wish to encourage my fellow  Byzantines to start reading the Philokalia. My advice in doing this would be to start a little each day. In my own devotion I read a few pages alongside of prayer and reading the scriptures. I guarantee you that if you make a commitment to reading it your spiritual life will be enhanced. I can’t begin to share how much it has helped me and sometimes it feels that God is speaking to me personally through it. I would also suggest that you start with the compilation, its called "Writings from the Philokalia: On Prayer of the Heart". It takes some of basic themes and puts them all in one book. The Philokalia is the living experience of the Byzantine tradition. It is a precious gift from our spiritual fathers and it would be a mistake to neglect it.

Acquisition of the Holy Spirit

     One of the chief aspects of Byzantine spirituality is our asceticism. This is best expressed by St. Seraphim of Sarov when he demonstrated that ascetic practices can lead to the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. As he says, “The true goal of our Christian life consists of acquiring God’s Holy Spirit. Fasting and vigil, prayer, mercy, and every other good deed performed for Christ — are means for acquiring the Holy Spirit of God”. This statement could be said to be a summary of Byzantine spirituality However, in approaching this teaching about our spirituality I have often encountered some extreme positions. These positions tend to center on beliefs that the Holy Spirit is someone that we can or cant earn. For there are some that see are ascetic traditions as the only way and others who see no use for them at all.
     For those that don’t know, St. Seraphim’s teaching about asceticism is based on the assumption that a person is already a baptized Christian. In addition, he is speaking about participating more in the life of God rather than the Spirit being something that is missing. For in Byzantine theology at baptism the follower of Christ is given everything that God is. There is nothing additional that God gives of Himself rather it’s on our part through faith to present more of our lives to the Spirit, which is to say to acquire the Holy Spirit. It is to this end that the teachings concerning Byzantine asceticism find purpose.
    When it comes to acquiring the Holy Spirit in the Byzantine tradition there is something essential we must all understand. As Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) states: “The inter-relationship between divine grace and human freedom remains always a mystery beyond our comprehension (How are we Saved pg.36)”.Based on this, there really is no guarantee that our actions will automatically give us the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, we do know that if we seek God through faith He will respond to us (Matthew 7:7). At no point are we guaranteed anything but at the same time our effort is essential. For without our effort it would not be possible to acquire the Holy Spirit.
    Concerning the effort in acquiring the Holy Spirit I generally find an extreme position. In fact, it wasn’t too long ago that I was told that the only way we can receive more of the Spirit is to do it the way the fathers did by long prayer and fasting. It was as if this person believed that God restricts himself to certain aspects of our ascetic tradition. There is no doubt that God uses our ascetic traditions but to restrict Him to certain forms of spirituality goes against the Gospel. In this regard, I believe the Apostle Paul had great struggles in dealing with this mentality For example, in the book of Galatians we read that there was a belief that real participation in the Spirit could only be found by a return to certain Jewish practices. The Apostle Paul had to rebuke these people and demonstrate that what they received from the Spirit was based on their faith alone (Gal.3:1-5). This goes to say that any real acquisition of the Spirit is always rooted in that it is a gift and not something restricted to the way our traditions approach it. Consequently, at no point will taking on specific traditions automatically lead to the acquisition of the Spirit.
     Saying that a certain Christian tradition is the only way to acquire the Spirit is wrong. However, in this position there is often another extreme. One that says that our ascetic traditions do not matter. The problem with this is that it discounts the gift of God working through our traditions. As I stated at the beginning of this post the Byzantine tradition is primarily an ascetic tradition. A tradition that has been built on the successful application of our spiritual fathers use of asceticism in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. This does not mean that there is only one way but it does demonstrate something that has worked so well that it became a foundational element of the Byzantine tradition.
     When it comes to spiritual traditions at their root we find something that has allowed for a successful response to acquiring the Holy Spirit. For this reason we are called to seek and make the most of what works best for us in responding to God. When it comes to this seeking we find in the Church a grand diversity of spiritual traditions that have been given to us. There are even new traditions that are being formed in every age. In my own experience I have had the privilege to participate in some of the various traditions in the Church only to find myself now a practicing Byzantine. To some degree I kept looking for what worked best in helping me to love God. In one way all Christians should be trying to do the same and seek to refine their spiritual traditions. Not necessarily to create new ones but to make the most of what we have been given in order to acquire the Holy Spirit. For me the Byzantine tradition has given me a hunger for God like no other. However, I do not discount the traditions that have allowed my other Christian friends to seek after God .For in giving the gift of the Holy Spirit God does not show favoritism with us or with our traditions(Rom. 2:11).

Sky God

     Sometimes there are those that I meet that live in total fear of the wrath of God. For them they are always watching their behavior and when they fail to act right they become distraught. Often in this kind of behavior I have learned that they are creating a false depiction of God. This of course is something that we are all prone to doing but something we must also overcome by faith. The big factor in the false depictions of God is our feelings or emotions. Our human thoughts and emotions are always in flux. Sometimes they are like an out of control roller coaster changing from one minute to the next and in the end not really the place to find truth. Consequently, what we might think or feel about God may in reality be a self deception. When it comes to knowing God the proper response to Him is always one of faith. For in faith we say to God I don’t care how I feel or think what you said is the truth and I will believe it. By grounding our understanding about God in faith we will discover that are emotions and thoughts will have their proper response.
     To have faith you have to know what to have faith in. Obviously, this why the Church encourages study of the sacred scriptures. In fact, I have heard on many occasions the Pope saying things like, “Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ”. This is a practical truth for if you don’t know whatthe holy sources teach about God you are forced to live on your own personal experiences. 9 times out of 10 the Christians that I meet that live in fear of God’s wrath have no working knowledge of scripture. Unfortunately, as I pointed out by not having a foundation in scripture you are forced to respond to a god of your own personal understanding or creation. Sadly, most of the gods that people create for themselves are extreme and sometimes all out cruel. The typical scenarios that I see are those that make God out to be some kind of sky god who demands sacrifices and deals all out wrath to those that fail.
     There is a certain wrath of God but not in one a believer in Christ most fear. As St. Seraphim once said, “God shows us His love for man not only in those instances when we do good, but also when we affront Him with our sins and anger Him”. God as a loving father is always working toward our good and sometimes must discipline us because he loves us. As the scripture says,” If God doesn't discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. (Heb12:8)”. No one likes discipline but one thing for sure is that we need not live in fear of the person giving it. As father myself I know my kids are going to need discipline but I am not waiting to dish it out and neither is the heavenly Father.
     To see God in a way in which he is out get us is not biblical or Christian. In the scriptures we find a God who as St. Irenaeus teaches,” was made what we are, that He might make us to be what He is”. When it comes to such knowledge we find God holding nothing back even for the greatest of us sinners. To accept this by faith means for us that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,(Rom. 8:1)".What we now have in Jesus Christ demonstrates the obvious that God is always working for our good and wishes that we approach him as a loving Father. In addition, we must be also confident of the fact, “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phili. 1:6)”.We can be rest assured that God chose to be with us even though we may not have wanted Him and will remain committed to helping us to become what He is by grace.

The "OMG!" Syndrome

     When I was about 6 years old I remember my parents telling me not to say, "Oh my God" around my great grandmother. At the time I found myself wondering why this could be wrong and tried my best with no success at stopping myself. Consequently, I said it in front of my grandmother and got in trouble but I found no one to provided an explanation to why it was wrong. After this happened I realized  that I just couldn’t stop saying it and had no reason to stop. Furthermore, everyone was saying it and it was like we all had this common syndrome. Later in my life this syndrome went on to evolve to the point where saying God became a means to curse, even to the point of saying God's revealed name "Jesus Christ" as the ultimate curse. As the syndrome developed it seems that what was to be sacred became more and more mundane even beyond this making the name of God as something evil.
     As a victim of a sinful culture I understand why I felt the compulsion to treat God the way I did growing up. As a Father I also found it amazing that by the time some of my own kids got through kindergarten they came home saying "OMG!" in excitement, swearing to God just in simple promises, or just "God" out of frustration. However, in their case I was able to equip them with a proper response to why they should not do this. I have taught them that calling upon God is one of our greatest privileges and we should treat it as gift. Also, since He is always ready to respond when we call to him it's important that we don’t take this for granted. Unfortunately, we don’t see this in our culture. In fact, we have gone out of our way to make calling upon God in mundane way as something cool. It seems that the reality that should lead us to God has been transformed into something that ultimately leads us away from God.
     In God's mercy he continues to make himself known to us despite our sins. He has even given us the most intimate means to encounter Him by giving us His name. This generous gift that God has given us makes access to divinity possible in the most simple circumstances. We only need to mention Him and we will find that that our activity, experience, or circumstance becomes transformed. As a result, there is never a moment in our life that cant achieve the greatest depths of meaning thanks to the gift of calling upon God. Based on this you could say that God does desire for us to call upon him like we see in our OMG! culture. However, when we do it we must never sever the personal reality of God from the words. As a result, an OMG! from us draws upon all the powers of eternity and renders our earthly experience transfigured by divine grace.
     As Christians of the Byzantine tradition calling upon God throughout the day is the normal means of expressing our tradition. This is primarily done by saying The Jesus Prayer, which in my opinion is one of the greatest gifts that we use to bring divine life to the world. When describing this prayer Elder Sophrony said the following in his book His Life is Mine, "For us it is a bridge between ourselves and Him". As a bridge we find the prayer as means to continually bring the experience of God into the world. The Elder also mentions that in this prayer we find an "Activity of God". Based on what the Elder is saying the prayer is never a one way bridge based on our effort. When God gave us His name he gave us more than mere words because His name is linked to the eternal reality of the Divine Nature. He is never separated from His name and to call upon Him in faith makes possible everything that He is.
     In one way God has made Himself totally vulnerable to the world. He held nothing of Himself back when He revealed His name to us. As the apostle John teaches , "to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12 KJV)".We have total access to Him and the power to become His children through His name. By calling upon God in faith we have everything that He is. In addition, we become "partakers of the divine nature" through this simple action of intimacy that God makes possible even in our greatest weaknesses. As the Fathers of our Byzantine tradition have taught us: by calling His name the world is changed, demons flee, and we truly become gods by grace.

John Paul II and the New Hesychasts

     Understanding the great need for spiritual renewal, Blessed John Paul the Great called the Church once to reconnect with the mystical traditions. In doing so, he encouraged reading the teachings of saints associated with the western contemplative traditions. The holy father even said that those who would bring spiritual renewal in our churches would be contemplatives(the New Evangelists). There has been a strong response to his call in the Catholic Church over time. In fact, the resources to tap into the western contemplative teachings since then almost seem endless. However, its important as Byzantines that we respond to this call by also looking at our own mystical traditions. We have a rich tradition called Hesychasm and it has much to offer to the spiritual renewal of our churches.
     In its traditional understanding Hesychasm is defined as the pursuit of stillness(hesychia) in Jesus Christ. It's also commonly known to be a tradition that has flourished in the context of Byzantine monastic communities. Basically, Hesychasm is a way for the (whole) person to experience God by achieving stillness (hesychia). In the teachings associated with Hesychasm, such as in the Philokalia, there are different systems that incorporate mental as well as physical activity. These systems help to purify a person, making them able to achieve 'stillness' and experience God continually. For example, in the most common practice associated with Hesychasm, the Jesus Prayer, the body as well as mind are engaged in the work of purification. The purification takes place in the body through recitation and in the mind by its focus on God. Its in hope that through these continual actions the (whole) person will grow in their experience of God.
     The activities used for purification in the tradition of Hesychasm are very diverse. You will find different fathers speaking about different activities to use in prayer and in daily life. However, even though there is diversity its important to understand the activities as synergistic, and not just as mere methods. Every action in purification, physical or mental, has a dual character. On one end its your own effort, but, on the other it is the work of God. This goes to demonstrate that we are the temples of the Holy Spirit(1 Corinthians 3:9), since in a temple there are always two at work, both God and man. This is a vital distinction to have because many times the actions Hesychasts employ are equated to practices in non-Christian religions or even therapeutic techniques. The difference rests in the fact that by working with the Holy Spirit we can give divinizing power and meaning to any action.
     In contrast to what can be found in the western contemplative traditions there are a few things worth noting. The activities used to prepare one for encountering God are not always of the same nature. In fact, in the west discursive techniques are often abandoned ,such as meditation, when a state of contemplation is achieved. The activities used are even often referred to as "the work" to get to the state. In Hesychasm the activates used in the traditions do not have the form of preparing a person for a state. As I said they are synergistic and remain a normal part of a lifestyle of ongoing purification and encounter. On the other hand, what the two traditions do have in common are moments of immersion in God where our activities do cease. It's in these moments that St. Seraphim of Sarov once said that we "cease to pray" and enjoy the presence of God.
     There will always be moments in the life of prayer in any tradition when God chooses to bless us as St. Seraphim described. However, these moments are not the goal in Hesychasm. The goal is to grow daily in experiencing who God is by becoming what He is through grace. The ongoing purification practiced by the Hesychast allows for a more and more richer experience of divinity in every aspect of what we are. For example, when my mind looks to Christ it is becoming Christ and when I do many prostrations my body is becoming Christ. In essence, Hesychasm is a very special way to live out our Byzantine tradition of Theosis. In fact, Hesychasm itself was birthed overtime from Byzantine spirituality and remains our most developed spiritual tradition.
     In his vision Blessed John Paul the Great saw the renewal of our Church coming from modern contemplatives. In translating this vision into our Byzantine tradition we can say that the renewal of our churches will have their foundation in the New Hesychasts. The New Hesychast unlike the old must be a person who can learn to incorporate this spirituality into all modern circumstances. This can only happen if we learn to take the teachings of Hesychasm, such as in the Philokalia, beyond the walls of the monastery and into ordinary life. It was never to be a tradition for specialized monastic and needs to be rediscovered and renewed in order to fuel the spiritual renewal that we all wish to see.
     Just like the western contemplative tradition, that Blessed John Paul the Great spoke of, Hesychasm can be a vital resource for renewal. Also, Hesychasm can be very simple. You can even be someone who works in front of a computer all day, stay at home parent, or even a garbage man. All you have to do is ask God to purify you through the action. It then becomes synergistic. You are exercising hope doing your best in the task (seeking hesychia) and He is making a way for you to become what HE is. This is no different than when we stand for long hours in prayer except in that there is a different level of intensity or intimacy. There is no part of the day that cannot lead us to encounter God! When St. Athanasius wrote "God became man so that men might become gods" he did not add "only on Sundays" or "clergy only". This was a saying for all people, of all times, and every moment. Through the practice of Hesychasm we can become what God is and be the vessels of renewal our churches desperately need.

(Note: for those who don't understand the Byzantine tradition on divinization. Man does not become another person of the Trinity. He participates in what God is making him a god by grace and never by nature. We are not born eternal beings but become so by participation in what God is. As it says in 2peter 1:4 "you may become partakers of the divine nature")

St. Nicodemos and Controlled Breathing

     The tradition of controlling ones breath in prayer as our fathers have taught is one of the most misrepresented aspects of our Byzantine tradition. Many of us have heard the same things: that "we are borderline Buddhists" or that we have "an exaggerated psychophysical symbolism ". One time I had some one send me some Roman Catholic teachings on prayer after they read some of my posts on Hesychasm. He demanded that I stopped teaching it claiming that the tradition is against the Catholic Church. This understanding often comes from a failure to understand the role of the body and how it is an instrument for our salvation, which is a teaching highly developed in the Byzantine tradition.
     Sometimes in the Western spiritual traditions there has been a lack of understanding when it comes to the role of the body in the work of salvation. It is as if in seeking ways to purify the soul the body has been left out. For example, I heard a teaching around thanksgiving many years ago where there was great emphasis on avoiding lustful thoughts and in the same teaching there was a joke about overeating. It was as if the mind was the only thing in need of purification for salvation. In contrast, in the Byzantine spiritual tradition the body's role in salvation has been fully integrated in every aspect of worship. There is not one liturgy where we don't see constant physical work especially in the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, in which there are constant prostrations.
     Many saints of the Byzantine tradition have provided many teachings concerning the body. Among them it could be said that St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain was one of the most prolific. Based on his writings not only concerning the body but many other aspects of spirituality the saint continues to be source for spiritual renewal in the churches of the Byzantine tradition. This was even more so in his time where he helped bring about lasting renewal in many areas of the church of his day. In my opinion, he should be named as an essential saint that we should look to for the renewal of our churches in our modern time.
     When it comes to the role of the body we find In the teachings of St. Nicodemos an understanding that many of us are not used to. Often we find a tendency to understand the soul as something trapped or contained in a body, which makes the body of little value when it comes to spirituality . Echoing the words of St. John Damascene St. Nicodemos writes," the difference between a rational and irrational soul is this: The irrational soul is led and ruled body the body and the senses, while the rational soul leads and rules the body and the senses (A Hand Book on Spiritual Counsel pg.69).".According to the saint the soul is better understood as containing the body making the body truly at its service. However, because of sin there is a disruption in body's relationship to the soul. The body tends to exist for itself leaving the realm of the soul subject to it. Instead of being an instrument that helps develop our relationship with God the body leads us away from him.
     Understanding the body\soul relationship is essential for understanding Byzantine spirituality. The ascetic disciplines found throughout the Byzantine tradition are for the reconditioning of the body's relationship with soul and in turn God. All too often some of the bodily acts are attributed to being purely symbolic or even psychosomatic. For example, history can attest that there have been at times people in the West who have even accused the Byzantine churches as being those who contemplate their navels, which has been the case concerning the tradition of Hesychasm. However, any bodily action involved in the Byzantine tradition has always been for the ultimate healing of the broken condition that resulted from sin.
     For most, some of the bodily disciplines of the Byzantine traditions, such as fasting or prostrations, are easily accepted as ways to develop spiritually. However, there is one aspect of the Byzantine tradition that sometimes is met with reservation, which is controlled breathing that is employed in our prayer tradition of Hesychasm. What is often misunderstood as a psychosomatic technique is really a way to subject the body to the workings of the soul and in turn God. In fact, St. Nicodemos demonstrates great insight in how our relationship with God develops through controlled breathing. He writes," The mind, the activity of the mind, is used from a very early age to be scattered toward the external world. For this reason when you say this sacred prayer(Jesus Prayer) do not breathe continually as is natural to our nature, but hold your breath until your inner consciousness has a chance to say the prayer once. By holding your breath even for this short interval the heart is pressed and troubled and feels pain for not receiving natural oxygen. The mind on the other hand is much more readily controlled to return to the heart, both because of the pain and suffering of the heart but also because of the pleasure that is created from this warm and vivid memory of God (A Hand Book on Spiritual Counsel pg.160)." As the saint demonstrates the controlling of breath that we often employ in praying the Jesus prayer is a way to use the body in order to grow in intimacy with God.
     Byzantine spirituality can be physically demanding. However, undergoing the labor leads to a better relationship with God. Not to be confused with purely symbolic acts the bodily actions found in prayer and worship should be properly understood as ways to develop spiritually. Nicodemos and many fathers of Byzantine tradition can attest to this fact. Also, this understanding is essential for understanding the Byzantine tradition of Hesychasm, which would include the breathing disciplines or even bodily postures associated with the Jesus Prayer. Not approaching this from a Byzantine mindset has led to many in our day to believe that we have a practice that's identical to what can be found in non-Christian religions of the East. This understanding could not be farther from the truth. All though they might look the same the discipline behind it has a different goal and even the structure for its use.

(note: controlled breathing takes on various forms, is optional at times, and is not for everyone.)

To read about the use of repetition in the Jesus Prayer (click)

God is Hell

     One time I received some religious literature from a Christian of the Baptist tradition. On the cover it had flames and the title said “Hell 1000 degrees hot and not a single drop of water”. I held onto this piece of literature for the longest time because I found it in some ways humorous. However, it holds a serious weight to it because this is often how many people have come to understand hell.
     In fact, in opposition to this understanding many Christian groups have all together thrown out their beliefs in a hell. They claim that this understanding about hell is incompatible with the love of God in Jesus Christ. Personally, I would join them in the fact that this understanding of hell makes God very sadistic. On the other hand, I cannot forsake the spiritual traditions of my Fathers, which might be something those Christian groups are totally unaware of.
     Contrary, to the modern understanding of hell some of the Fathers of the East have offered a different picture. For instance, St Gregory the Theologian said,” God Himself is Paradise and punishment for man, since each man tastes God's energies according to the condition of his soul.” Eternal punishment in this instance is not some place that God has made to hurt people but rather how a person experiences God in the life to come. As Metropolitan Hierotheos said in his book Life after Death, “God himself is paradise and he is hell.”
     The Metropolitan further points out that hell is not an absence of God or a created place of torment. Rather, he teaches that Hell is the energy of the uncreated grace of God and not something created. From this perspective the ideas of suffering that have been historically associated with hell (1000 Degrees hot) are more or less a suffering that we create for ourselves in the afterlife.
     God as understood as an experience of Hell to those who reject him makes the idea of hell a total action of mercy and love. I have even heard it described by those in our Eastern tradition as a place for those who cannot be healed, similar to our mental homes. Such an existence is not one that God forces them into for eternity but is the result of their own self deception and their continual rejection of him. At no point does He reject them rather we find them eternally rejecting him.
     One might ask why on earth would someone choose to live in misery for all eternity. The answer of course is found in the deception of sin. Sin is so destructive that it continues to corrupt what we are. Every time we choose it we reject God and this rejection carries on with us into the next life. God knew just how lost we are to it and this is why he came to destroy the power of sin on the cross. Now he offers us a way to escape the power of sin but we must choose to embrace the gift. He does not force people to go to hell neither does he force paradise, for he is both.
     With this in mind in recent events such as the death of the famous terrorist we should consider God’s form of eternal justice as opposed to our own. I know many think telling a person to go to hell or to have hope that some sort of retribution will come down upon them in the next life to is something good. However, our traditions understanding of hell challenges our way of thinking in these matters. Maybe Proverbs 24:17 “Don't rejoice when your enemies fall; don't be happy when they stumble.” makes more sense in this context, knowing how one will experience eternity. As St. Isaac the Syrian said " those who are punished in Gehannah, are scourged by the scourge of love".