Secrets of Happiness According to Elders of Mount Athos

 

 

Dear Parish Faithful,

“A person who could not swim was floundering in water. He caused waves, which he mistook for a dangerous stream. He began to fight with the waves. Finally, he understood that he can float on the water and then managed to reach the riverbank. When he came out of water, he saw that the river was calm and understood that the waves he was fighting with were caused by him. Any misfortune begins within us. If you get your head straight, it will end within us.”

- Monk Symeon the Athonite

The "pursuit of happiness" remains very high on the life-long agenda of countless people. To be "unhappy" is to be something that only invites some form of misery or other, and which we seek to avoid as much as possible. For Americans, happiness is embedded in the second paragraph of our founding document, The Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Yet, the final goal can prove to be quite elusive, outside of very temporary moments of happiness - however defined or experienced - that may keep us longing for more. 

With this background in mind, I wanted to share the insights from an article that I recently discovered, entitled: "Seven Secrets of Happiness According to the Athonite Elders." I believe this list was formulated by the author more-or-less summarizing or synthesizing the perennial insights gathered over the years from these elders. That may, in turn,  offer a time-tested and life-tested authenticity to the list. I am not offering any of my own commentary to this list of "seven secrets," but I invite everyone to think over - or perhaps to meditate on - this list as to their meaning and effectiveness. We may perhaps ask ourselves the question: If I were to devise my own personal list of the "seven secrets" of happiness, would there be any overlap with that of these Athonite elders? 

Of course, we lead a life so markedly different than these celibate monastics who live in isolation on "the holy mountain." But, when it comes to the interior life and our common human nature (and our shared Orthodox Christian Faith), perhaps we are closer to them than we may think. Actually, my only comment would be that I do not find anything "spectacular" or unrealistic in their list. 

Be that as it may, here is what the Athonite elders suggest as the "seven secrets of happiness:"

1. Faith in God
2. Becoming free from worries and vanity
3. A sober mind
4. A pure heart
5. Ability to forgive
6. Give more, take less
7. Being grateful for small favors

I am hoping that there "plenty" here to think about!

 

Fruits of the Spiritual Life: Two Video Accounts

 

St Paisios the Athonite

Dear Parish Faithful,

"Disorder is the result of sin, and it continues to reflect our inability to be as good as we were designed to be. Among its many deleterious effect, sin has made us low-functioning creatures, and the paltry order that we manage to bring is a caricature of what God has intended for us. All of creation groans (Rom. 8:19-22) in this state of delayed order and rampant disorder, the latter being the result of sin. That sin is most basically manifested in the idea that we thought we could do better than God - a delusion that still plagues all of us."

From The Lost World of Adam and Eve by John H. Walton

 

A good deal of the spiritual life - or even of "spiritual warfare" - is the human attempt to bring order into our personal lives and into the lives of others around us, and even into the world, by the pursuit of the virtues which are ultimately a gift from God. It is the grace of God, freely given in Christ and the Holy Spirit that brings those human efforts to a fruitful fulfillment. By way of "illustration" I thought to include a couple of links to sources that demonstrate the hoped for fruits of the spiritual life as put into effect by flesh and blood human beings.

This first link is to a relatively short documentary of a "latter day" Orthodox saint - Paisios the Athonite. He lived a life of great hardship, when the Greek Orthodox of "Asia Minor" — present day Turkey — were oppressed by the remnants of the Ottoman Empire in that country. The documentary is pretty well done, as it captures both the wider social/political aspects of St. Paisios' life together with his personal struggle for the gifts of humility and love. He became a much beloved elder and spiritual guide, and was ultimately glorified/canonized by the Greek Orthodox Church in 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVX1HOxrDcw

This second link is to a really excellent documentary of the oldest monastery in the world - St. Katherine's on Mt. Sinai. It is an older documentary that I discovered still circulating on - yes! - YouTube. The text, narrated by Michael Hordern, is excellent, as one hears of the monastic ideal of pursuing theosis and the struggle to pray with stillness of mind and body. It is also a wonderful documentary about the monastery itself - its history and artwork - and the close relationship between the Orthodox monks and the Arab Bedouins, who are Moslems. A microcosm of the potential for people of different beliefs living in harmony and mutual respect. A real "lesson" for our deeply fractured contemporary world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oht6t_pnGts

If you do watch one or the other - or both - and would like to share your comments with me about them, please feel free to do so.

Fr. Steven

 

'Sitting at the feet of Jesus...'

 

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,


This last Sunday we heard St. Matthew's account of the healing of the Gadarene demoniacs (Matt. 8:28-9:1). The following meditation is about the same event, but as it was narrated by St. Luke. 

As is often the case, the details may differ (St. Luke tells us that this occurred in "the country of the Gerasenes") but the same over-all meaning can be found as in this text as in St. Matthew's. I first look at how a major 19th c. novelist grappled with this extraordinary text, before then turning to a wonderful detail peculiar to St. Luke's Gospel:

Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, "legion;" for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him to let them enter into these. So he gave them leave. Then the demons came out of the man and entered into the swine and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. 

When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how he who had been possessed with demons had been healed.  (LK. 8:30-36)

 

The text above - a partial account of the healing of the Gerasene demoniac - served as one of two epigraphs for Fyodor Dostoevsky's gripping novel that was entitled, simply, Demons. (The novel's title has also been translated, less accurately, as The Possessed). 

For Dostoevsky, living and writing in 19th c. Russia, the "demons" were the newly-emerging revolutionaries who were not only determined to overthrow the Russian monarchy; but also committed to abolish belief in God and the Orthodox Christian culture that was shaped by that belief. Aspiring to such a radical rejection of the prevailing political, social, cultural, and religious order, these revolutionaries were named "nihilists," for they believed, essentially, that nothing was sacred or beyond their desire to destroy. Out of the ashes of this nihilistic disorder something resembling a utopian society was to emerge, now cleansed of any dead remnants from the past.

Dostoevsky was hoping that the nihilistic revolutionaries of his era would self-destruct as did the demons - called "legion" - of the Gospel account. In his compelling novel that is precisely what happens, but Dostoevsky was enough of a realist to realize that the outcome could be different, especially with the decay that was eroding the effectiveness of the very institutions he was hoping would withstand such an onslaught. And the reality was that this nihilistic orgy of violence would occur in the generation following his death in 1881.

Thus, Dostoevsky uncannily "prophesied" the later Russian Revolution that engaged in precisely such a sweepingly destructive movement against what was considered a God-established order. But the person who would repent of such nihilistic tendencies and return to faith in Christ was to enjoy the transformative experience of "sitting at the feet of Jesus clothed and in his right mind." This is basically what happens to a major character in the novel. Demons thus proved to be an unforgettable artistic actualization of the Gospel account of the healing of the Gerasene demoniac and what it means to turn to Christ. 

It is only in St. Luke's account that we read that wonderful verse of the healed demoniac sitting at the feet of Jesus. Yet, the story of the Garasene demoniac also appears in the Gospels of Sts. Mark and Matthew. It is thus a story that must have made a strong impact on the early Church. 

Details will differ - St. Matthew actually records the healing of two demoniacs instead of one - but the intense drama of this narrative cannot but stand out against the bleak background of the rugged landscape, the tombs where the demoniac(s) lived in isolation, and of course the cliff with the abyss below that swallowed up the herd of trampling and frenzied swine. It is an account that more-or-less assaults our modern sensibilities - especially a kind of rationalistic and moralistic Christianity. The realm and reality of the demonic and the "spiritual warfare" implied by recognizing such a realm and reality opens up our minds and hearts to both the irrational and supra-rational world of the Gospel in which Christ has come to "bind" the "strong man."

This is a fierce battle that demands a greater commitment to Christ and the Gospel than conventional Sunday morning church attendance. 

It is just such a deeper commitment that will perhaps "reward" us with sitting at the feet of Jesus "clothed" in our right mind. (A weaker commitment may mean that we are content with standing in the back of the church at a safe distance and only occasionally listening - or listening only when we hear something that appeals to us, while shutting out the "hard sayings").

Sitting at the feet of Jesus implies listening to his words, allowing them to penetrate our hearts, and acting upon them to the extent that we are able. We claim that Christ is the "Lord and Master" of our lives. Such a claim means that there is really no other place that we want to "sit" and absorb and be nourished by what we are hearing. 

To be in our "right mind" does not simply mean that we have not been diagnosed with a clinically-defined mental disorder. It implies a clarity of vision and a "worldview" grounded in the reality of God's existence and gracious presence. It also means freedom from moral, ethical and spiritual disorders. 
Perhaps to sit at the feet of Jesus and to be clothed and in our right mind indicates a state of spiritual sanity. 

With a surrounding world engulfed in modes of behavior that can only be considered "insane," the Church remains the "place" where we retain our sanity. That may take some time and some work. The "demons" must first be expelled. We must fear the abyss of destruction that swallows up the possessed swine of the Gospel account. Then we can join the ranks of the saints and sit at the feet of Jesus "clothed and in our right mind."

The 'Orthodox Way' to Inner Peace: Transforming the Mind and Heart

 

Dear Parish Faithful,

 

We received what appears to be a "form letter" from the Monastery of the Holy Dormition in Michigan. But true to her style and commitment to sharing the Gospel with the faithful of the Church, Mother Gabriela, the abbess of the monastery, expanded the boundaries of a "form letter" by adding some wonderful and profound insights into the Christian life with her characteristic wisdom. I, in turn, would like to share the key paragraphs of that letter that offer an outline of the Christian life, based on the Gospels and the teaching and experience of the saints. In the words of Mother Gabriella:

 

Before we close... we like to share with you what the Fathers of the Church suggest in order to maintain inner peace. Inner peace is acquired through humility, a virtue modern man has lost. The Lord tells us: 'Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart.' Becoming humble is not a matter of definition but a matter of experience, of continuous practice. The Fathers concentrate more on how to acquire humility than describing it. They suggest three basic aspects:

Unceasing Prayer - It helps us become aware of our dependence on God, as St. Paul says: 'I can do nothing without God.' To become totally at peace and rested we need to depend on the One who is "totally free" - God. True freedom comes through dependence on God, not through our independence. Only when we pray we receive the Truth, and humility is the acceptance of the Truth and not what we want.

Ascetical Discipline - The discipline of fasting, keeping vigils, the physical effort of standing in prayer, making prostrations as we can, charitable works, all help us to be attentive to ourselves and to the word of God, and not to be concerned with things that are being observed and judged with the logical part of the brain, as all these are peripheral and not necessary for salvation.

Acceptance - We must accept that whatever we do is not by our own strength and ability but through God. We must see ourselves less than others because we depend on each other. Even the most important member of the body cannot survive by itself if it is cut off from the rest. Self love is contrary to humility; the person who lives only for self cannot find peace because in such a state it is continually in contradiction with the Creator - God - and the creation - our fellow man. Only in relationship with our neighbor do we have any value. How does God help us become humble? By sending the opportunities that humble us; a person that inflicts hurt, a situation that humiliates, or anything that shows us that we cannot do anything without God. A humble person is beautiful and natural because such a person is graced by God, Who is meek and humble.

 

I strongly believe that these are the virtues - not "values" - that Christians need to cultivate and present to the world in which we live. This is what we find in the Gospels, the Epistles and in the copious writings of saints from generation to generation. It is this Christ-like way of life that is meant, I believe, by the expression "the Orthodox Way." Mother Gabriella is able to distill this in a few short and limpid paragraphs. 

We live in "interesting times," in which a good deal of what is happening in the world provokes a sense of unease and genuine fear and anxiety. In response to that fear, It seems as if contemporary American Christians are more engaged in externally defending Christianity through political power and legislation. Mother Gabriella, and the entire Orthodox Tradition, is engaged with internally transforming the mind and heart - "do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind ..." (Rom. 12:2) I am quite convinced that we need to trust her insights and our Orthodox Christian Tradition.

 

A Saint for Leap Year Only?

 

 

Dear Parish Faithful,

 

If the year 2021 was a leap year, then today would be February 29. As it is, it is actually March 1. With this in mind, I would like to share a wonderful legend from our spiritual tradition that recognizes the usual non-appearance of February 29:

A popular Russian legend tells us how St. Nicholas and St. Cassian were once sent from Paradise upon a visit to earth. On their journey they met a poor peasant who had got his wagon, with a loud of hay upon it, stuck deep in the mud and was making fruitless efforts to get his horses on. 

 

 'Let's go and give the good fellow a hand,' said St. Nicholas 

 'Not I; I am keeping out of it,' replied St. Cassian, 'I don't want to get my vestments dirty.'   

'Well, wait for me,' said St. Nicholas, 'or go on without me if you like,' and plunging without hesitation into the mud he vigorously assisted the peasant in dragging his wagon out of the rut.   

When he had finished the job and caught his companion up he was all covered in filth; his vestments were torn and soiled and looked like a beggar's rags. St. Peter was amazed to see him arrive at the gate of Paradise in this condition. 

 'I say! Who ever got you into that state?' he asked. 

 St. Nicholas told his story. 

 'And what about you? asked St. Peter, turning to St. Cassian. 'Weren't you with him in this encounter?' 

 'Yes, but I don't meddle in things that are no concern of mine, and I was especially anxious not to get my beautiful vestments dirty.' 

 'Very well,' said St. Peter, 'you, St. Nicholas, because you were not afraid of getting dirty in helping your neighbor out of a difficulty, shall for the future have two feasts a year, and you shall be reckoned the greatest of saints after me by all the peasants of Holy Russia. And you, St. Cassian, must be content with having  nice clean vestments; you shall have your feast day in the leap year only, once every four years.'   

 

An effective story! However, the Church has been more lenient with St. John Cassian, since his feast day is transferred to February 28, whenever it is not a leap year, as was the case yesterday.

Actually, St. John Cassian (c. 365-c. 435) is one of the greatest of the Church's teachers on what we call "the spiritual life." He was born in ancient Dacia (present day Romania) and eventually traveled extensively throughout the Holy Land, spending time especially in Bethlehem. He eventually made his way to Egypt, where he sat at the feet of some of the greatest of the Desert Fathers, absorbing their teaching. St. John is one of the founders of Western monasticism, for his final move was to ancient Gaul, where he established monastic communities in Marseilles and the region of Provence. Once settled there, he wrote two highly influential books in Latin - The Institutions and The Conferences. In this latter book, he interprets the words of the Syrian and Egyptian desert dwellers, in the process deeply enriching the monastic movements in the West. In the words of the historian Owen Chadwick: "Like the Rule of St. Benedict, his work was a protection against excess and a constant recall to that primitive simplicity where eastern spirituality met western."

In his First Conference, St. John passes on the words of the Abba Moses from the desert of Egypt (a place called Scete). Here is just a bit of his teaching as presented through the words of St. John Cassian as he spoke to and listened to Abba Moses:

 

"Every art and every discipline has a particular objective, that is to say, a target and an end peculiarly its own. Someone keenly engaged in any one art calmly and freely endures every toil, danger, and loss. ... So, tell me what is the end and the objective which inspires you to endure all these trials so gladly."

"As we have said, the aim of our profession is the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven. But our point of reference, our objective, is a clean heart, without which it is impossible for anyone to reach our target. ... Our objective is purity of heart which he so justly describes as sanctification, for without this the goal cannot be reached. In other words it is as if he said that you have purity of heart for an objective and eternal life as the goal."

"Not to be jealous, not to be puffed up, not to act heedlessly, not to seek what does not belong to one, not to rejoice over some injustice, not to plan evil - what is this and its like if not the continuous offering to God of a heart that is perfect and truly pure, a heart kept free of all disturbance."

From CONFERENCE ONE.

 

Perhaps some things here to mediate upon as we approach Great Lent.

 

There is a wonderful version of this book in translation and with an excellent Introduction by Owen Chadwick, one of greatest Church historians of the 20th c:

 

https://www.amazon.com/John-Cassian-Conferences-Spirituality-Paperback/dp/080912694X/

And for our kindle users:
https://www.amazon.com/Conferences-Desert-Fathers-Illustrated-ebook/dp/B0143Y8C8K/

 

 

Dialogue With an Athonite Elder on Fasting

Dear Parish Faithful,

This is wonderful dialogue that is so impressive due to the simplicity and humility that accompanies every word of the elder. And this was one of our topics last Wednesday evening at our zoom class on "Almsgiving, Prayer and Fasting."


Dialogue With an Athonite Elder on Fasting
 

"The Lord bless you, my joy."

Are you on Mount Athos for many years?

"I've been here for sixty years, but what is sixty years to God; it is a breath."

Elder, I would like you to tell me a few things about fasting.

"In order to say something you must experience it, you must live it. Only one who was born near the sea or is a seaman can speak of the sea. But I will be obedient to your will and tell you what the Fathers said who were friends of fasting."

Elder, is fasting the aim?

"Fasting is not the aim, but the means towards it. See, it was your aim to come to Mount Athos, it was your destination. The boat which brought you was the means by which you arrived. Such is fasting; it is one of the means given to us by the love of God to crave for Him. God is our destination."

When did fasting appear?

"Fasting is commingled with humanity. In Paradise it was given to man by God, says Basil the Great."

But why did God give fasting? To reduce man?

"No, in order to free him! The Sacred Chrysostom writes that when God created man He took him and placed him in the hands of fasting, which is an affectionate mother and excellent teacher. He entrusted it for his salvation. Though fasting is a teacher, it does not limit but it cultivates man."

Is fasting necessary, Elder?

"Chrysostom will again reply to you: 'If fasting was necessary in Paradise, it is much more necessary outside of Paradise. If medicine was useful before an injury, it is much more useful after an injury.' Do you understand?"

What?

"Fasting was given in Paradise as a precaution to not fall. Since man fell it is given therapeutically."

Then what is the purpose of fasting?

"Fasting withers evil desires, says Saint Maximus the Confessor; and Saint Symeon the New Theologian says it softens our hearts. Through fasting every good work is accomplished and perfected, says Saint Gregory Palamas. For all these reasons Sacred Chrysostom confesses his love for fasting: 'I love fasting, because it is the mother of wisdom and the well of philosophical acts'."

How should we fast?

"Fasting is a means and spiritual tool which is not limited to food, but the entire man must participate in it psychosomatically. Listen to what John Chrysostom says: 'Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works. If you see a poor man, take pity on him. If you see a friend being honored, do not envy him. Do not let only your mouth fast, but also the eye and the ear and the feet and the hands and all the members of our bodies. Let the hands fast, by being free of greed. Let the feet fast, by ceasing to run after sin. Let the eyes fast, by disciplining them not to glare at that which is sinful. Let the ear fast, by not listening to evil talk and gossip. Let the mouth fast from foul words and unjust criticism. For what good is it if we abstain from birds and fish, but bite and devour our brothers?'"

How do we bite and devour our brothers?

"With slander and criticism, which proceed from the lack of love for our brother."

Thank you, Elder. You have benefited me much.

"May we thank God for enlightening our saints."

Your prayers. 

"Go in goodness, and may the Grace of God cover you, the Panagia protect you, and the saints accompany you. And don't forget that fasting is primarily to hunger for God!" 

 

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

Notes from Undergrad Halls: On Nihilism, Mysticism, and Genuine Christianity

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

I was pleasantly surprised - if not startled - on my first day back to XU for the Fall semester this past Monday. As I approached my classroom, a student actually approached me with the greeting, "Hello, Fr. Kostoff." He then went on to introduce himself and tell me that he is in my class for the upcoming semester and so forth. The pleasant surprise was the simple fact that a student actually greeted me in the hallway. 

As I have commented before, it seems as if every single student roaming or standing in the hallway has his/her face buried in their smartphones, more-or-less oblivious to the world around them, including fellow human beings such as myself. So I am programmed not to disturb this intense concentration and I simply stand aside as an observer of the student traffic as I await my turn to enter the designated classroom.

This semester I am teaching my course on Christian Mysticism. This, in turn, allows me to essentially teach a course on Orthodox Spirituality. After the preliminary introductions and class description that I have prepared, my students are always asked to answer four questions before we depart from this opening session.

The primary question is: "What is Christian Mysticism?" These initial answers are not at all promising. Past experience has braced me to maintain a level of modest expectations as related to this question. Most students simply write: "I do not know," thus economizing on their time and brain energy. Some take a stab at it. One answer read as follows: "Christian mysticism is a disbelief or skepticism of some aspect of Christianity." This one I had to address in class today, so as to minimize that particular student's misunderstanding of the content of the class that he (or his parents) are paying for.

Yet, one young woman struck a good chord with the following response: "Christian mysticism is the study of the deeper parts of Christianity that are not evident in the outer rites and rituals." Not the whole picture, but a solid starting point from which to begin.

A fourth and final question is simply: "What is your religious background?" This serves to give me some context as to where my students "are coming from." This usually yields a round of "Roman Catholic, though no longer practicing;" "Haven't figured it out yet;" and the occasional odd one, such as "non-denominational, non-congregational." 

What was quite interesting here, though, was the response of the respectful student from our earlier pleasant hallway conversation. He wrote: "Existential nihilist/Buddhist!" That would not have been my first guess. Hope he understands what he is in for in this class!

On further reflection I would say that it is not that difficult to label oneself a "nihilist" when only twenty years old. Especially if life has not posed too many challenges as of yet. Mortality is a distant and perhaps abstract fear and the real existential dread of living in a meaningless universe may not just "kick in" until somewhat later in life. And then it all gets a bit more serious.

In a strange way, there is a certain romanticism connected with the notion of nihilism. Or perhaps there is something "heroic" about staring into the abyss. (Also probably a good deal of posturing involved.) Recent studies show that one's brain does not fully develop until about the age of twenty-five. So, hope remains.

As to combining nihilism and Buddhism, a good case could be made for the compatibility of the two. Many Buddhist scholars would loosely define - or liken - Nirvana to extinguishing a candle. All suffering and reincarnation are over - but is there then "nothing?" Buddhism may just be the noble form of nihilism. Be that as it may, I am sure that my student and I will enjoy each other's company this semester. He seems very bright and serious. Haven't seen him on his smartphone yet.

The primary text that I assign for the course is The Roots of Christian Mysticism written and edited by Olivier Clement. This has already been accorded the status of a "classic" in Orthodox circles, and deservedly so. (Many of you will recognize this title from a fairly recent Fall Adult Education Class. Everyone in the class seemed quite impressed with the content of the book). In this book, Clement has amassed a collection of the classic spiritual texts from the great Fathers up to the eighth century, something of the "golden age" of patristic theology. He has arranged them thematically, taking the reader through the rigors of asceticism to the riches of contemplation. Clement has included wonderful texts about Baptism and Eucharist, and of course about prayer.

The Preface of the book, written by a certain French writer by the name of Jean-Claude Barreau, has some deeply challenging thoughts that any "nihilist" or "skeptic" should also ponder. Yet, his first round of challenging thoughts are directed to the Christian churches, and we need to hear this also:

While are our consumer society has lost all feeling for mysticism, on the fringes there are thousands of people thirsting for it. When we see the shallow syncretism, the sentimental fascinations with anything Eastern, and the bogus "gurus" crowding round for the pickings, it is easy to sneer. But instead of laughing the Churches ought to be examining their consciences. 

Whose fault is it that so many have to resort to Tao or Zen in order to rediscover truths which were actually part of the Christian heritage right from the beginning? Who has hidden from them the fact that of all Oriental religions Christianity is the best and most complete; that mysticism is as necessary to humanity as science, if not more so? 

Intellectual research may be exciting, but it will not lead us to the secret of life. Nor will the truth be found through consumerism, though of course we must eat. 

(Roots of Christian Mysticism, Preface, p. 7)

Fr. Schmemann always liked to quote I Peter 4:17, "For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God." Barreau then unapologetically makes a short but compelling case for the deeper truths of our human nature only revealed in their fulness through the Christian revelation:

The human being is a craftsman - faber - and rational - sapiens - qualities which we share with the higher animals (the difference between us being one of degree and not of kind), but more importantly than that, we are mystical. In other words our roots are in fact religious and artistic, and therefore non-rational, or rather supra-rational. As soon as our material needs are satisfied, deeper needs assert themselves. 

It is now twenty centuries since Jesus declared that 'man does not live by bread alone,' and we know today that not even the most effective psychoanalytical treatment can cure us of a deep sense of disquiet within us. There is not a superman or revolutionary who is not beset by unappeased desires. The Fathers of the Christian Church, for whom prayer was as natural as breathing, discovered this truth before we did, saying, 'Birds fly, fishes swim and man prays.' ... For mysticism is an existential attitude, a way of living at a greater depth. (p. 7-8)

Olivier Clement himself begins his Introduction with equally challenging and compelling thought:

"Not only is Christianity something strange to people today, but it cannot even attract by its strangeness, because people are familiar with the distortions and caricatures of it which are constantly being hawked about." (p. 9)

I find that statement by Clement to ring loud and clear in today's contemporary climate here in America. For the simple reason that so many "distortions and caricatures" of genuine Christianity are obscuring the real thing.

How can we expect our "younger generation" to be even slightly attracted to the current politicized, moralizing and, frankly, judgmental Christianity that is loudly proclaiming itself? Christianity is being used to support one's political party or platform in order to bolster this or that party or platform with a kind of divine mandate or blessing, without taking into account the relative truths mingled with dubious truths in any party or platform today.

There is a good deal of talk about God and Jesus, but there is no real theological depth or Christ-centered spirituality that lifts our minds and hearts above the mundane concerns of what essentially becomes an ideology. The thirst spoken of by Jean-Claude Barreau and the genuine Christianity alluded to by Clement - and powerfully expressed by the Fathers of the Church in their mystical writings - are neglected as many Christians are content with the Gospel serving a given ideology, rather than each and every ideology being assessed by the truth of the Gospel. I would even say that the ultimate "sell-out" is found right here when the Truth of Christ is distorted, truncated or manipulated to serve an end other than the fulness of the Kingdom of God as proclaimed by Christ. Many young people can intuitively see right through this. And then their "religion" can become anything but God - from science to nihilism. There is thus plenty of blame to go around when our churches become devoid of "young people."

Now is the time to remain as vigilant as possible. We need to manifest a genuinely theological, mystical, liturgical, charitable and honest Christianity and leave the rest up to God and human self-determination.

The Process of Personal Transfiguration

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

Today is the "Leavetaking" of the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. This is not only a beautiful Feast, but a "feast of beauty." And as Dostoevsky once enigmatically said: "Beauty will save the world." 

The transfigured Christ is an image of humanity restored to the beauty of the original image as intended by God. We see this beauty in the shining face of Christ, which is the human face of God. Human beings are meant to reflect the glory/beauty of God - something terribly lost through sin and corruption. 

On Mt. Tabor, Christ also revealed a foretaste of the beauty of the Kingdom of God which is yet to come in its full splendor, when "the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (MATT. 11:43). But now we must descend from Mt. Tabor as did the disciples Peter, James and John. Then, through the manner of our lives, we are asked to witness to that vision of divine glory that we were allowed to glimpse, "as far as we could bear it," in the radiant face of Christ. 

The daily bearing of the Cross is the only "road" back to Mt. Tabor and the glory of transfiguration. The disciples learned this the hard way, and this is a truth that we must always bear in mind as we bear our daily cross(es).

For certain of the great saints of the Church throughout the centuries, this process of transfiguration began in this life in a very tangible and even overwhelming manner. These saints witness to our claim and belief that by the grace of God, a human person is capable of shining with the identical uncreated divine light that shone in the face of Christ on Mt. Tabor. This experience is not only reserved for the Kingdom of God, but can begin in this life. This comes after a prolonged period of preparation through prayer and fasting, but ultimately it is a gift from God reserved for certain of the saints to demonstrate the human capacity to participate directly in divine life. What our Lord is by nature, a human being created in the image and likeness of God may become by grace.

A fairly recent, and all-together spectacular instance of this was revealed in the life of St. Seraphim of Sarov (+1833), a Russian monk, ascetic and mystic whose life has become very popular and well-studied for the last few decades at least. His disciple, the landowner Nicholas Motovilov, has left an extraordinary account of the saint's transfiguration based upon a personal experience that God allowed him to have while together with St. Seraphim one winter day in the woods. These notes of his were discovered after his death in about 1903, and have since been widely-translated, read and studied as an unique eyewitness testimony of being in the presence of a transfigured human being. The context for this event was a discussion between the saint and his disciple over the meaning of the saint's famous statement: "The purpose of the Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God." Motovilov's awe is evident throughout as St. Seraphim does his best to explain to him what is happening based upon the Transfiguration of Christ. I am including the following excerpts for you to marvel at:

"The grace of the Holy Spirit is the light which lightens man. [...] And indeed, the Lord has often demonstrated before many witnesses how the grace of the Holy Spirit operates with regard to those people whom He has sanctified and illumined by His great visitation. Remember Moses after his conversation with God on Mount Sinai. He shone with such an extraordinary light that people could not look at him, and he had to cover his face. Remember the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor. A great light surrounded Him and 'His garments became shining, exceedingly white like snow' and His apostles fell on their faces from fear. In the same way the grace of the Holy Spirit of God manifests itself in an ineffable light to all to whom God reveals its activity."

"But how," I asked Father Seraphim, "can I know that I am in the grace of the Holy Spirit? [...] I need to understand completely."

Father Seraphim then took me firmly by the shoulders and said, "We are both, you and I, in the Spirit of God this moment, my son. Why do you not look at me?"

"I cannot look, Father," I replied, "because great flashes of lightning are springing from your eyes. Your face shines with more light than the sun and my eyes ache from the pain."

"Don't be frightened, friend of God," Father Seraphim said. "You yourself have now become as bright as I am. You are now yourself in the fullness of the Spirit of God: otherwise you would not be able to see me like this. [...] Why don't you look at me, my son? Just look, don't be afraid! The Lord is with us!"

At these words, I looked at his face and was seized with an even greater sense of trembling awe.

Imagine in the center of the sun, in the most dazzling brilliance of his noontime rays, the face of a man talking to you. You see the movement of his lips, the changing expression of his eyes, you hear his voice, you feel that someone is holding his hands on your shoulders. Yet you do not see his hands or his body, but only a blinding light spreading around for several yards, illuminating with its brilliant sheen both the bank of snow covering the glade and the snowflakes that fall on me and the great Starets (elder) ...

[Seraphim continued:]

"Concerning this condition the Lord said: "There are some of them that stand here, who shall not taste death, till they see the kingdom of God come with power.' Behold, my son, you who love God, what ineffable joy the Lord God is now granting unto us! This is what is meant being in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, what is meant by St. Makarios of Egypt when he writes: "I myself was in the fullness of His Holy Spirit' ..." ( translation by Mary-Barbara Zeldin from St. Seraphim of Sarov, 93-102)

As everyone likes to say these days: "Awesome!" But truly awesome, as in awe-inspiring. For God is glorified in His saints. 

But perhaps we only need to be inspired enough to transform/transfigure our lives on the most modest of scales: to change for the better on a daily basis by putting aside sinful inclinations, petty behavior and feeding of the passions. And further, as Archbishop Kallistos Ware writes: "To renew our relationship with others through imaginative sympathy, through acts of compassion, and through cutting off of our own self-will." This would be a transfiguring experience, indeed, not only for ourselves, but for others around us. 

This comes back to the point of denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily (LK. 9:23). Then something of the glory, light, and beauty of God would enter the world - perhaps unspectacularly, but truly convincingly.