Reflections on Prayer
“Put away doubting from you, and do not hesitate to ask of the Lord,
saying to yourself, “How can I ask of the Lord and receive from him,
since I have sinned so much against him?” ~ Hermas, c. AD 170
Reflections on the Sacrament of Confession
“Confess your sins in church, and do not go up to your prayer with an
evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . . On the Lord’s Day gather
together, break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your
transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure.”
~ Didache 4:14, 14:1, c. A.D. 70
PURSUING ENLIGHTENMENT IN THE DAY TO DAY
THE GOAL AND TELOS
+
How Can We Achieve Enlightenment within the World?
“How, we might ask, can a married person learn about chastity from
ancient celibates? How can a wealthy person in the world learn about
charity from people who owned nothing? How can a construction
worker learn about fasting from people who ate little more than a
biscuit every day?” (Daniel G Opperwall, A Layman in the Desert 11).
“Lay people and monks do not each have their own ‘spirituality,’ and
the Holy Spirit, whom they all receive at baptism, is one. The enemies
and adversaries of the Christian are the same at all times no matter
how well they disguise themselves. Victory will be gained also in one
and the same manner, even when at first sight lay people and monks
do not always put the same means into action” (Gabriel Bunge,
Despondency: The Spiritual Teaching of Evagrius, 33).
The goal is simple, the attainment daunting. The one purpose of
our life is spiritual perfection and unceasing communion with
God. This sounds overwhelming, to say the least. The Church
offers us 2,000 years of Holy Scripture and patristic teachings on
how to undertake this journey, but putting it into practice is no
easy task. Furthermore, most teachings on enlightenment were
written by monastics. How can we apply these to our lay lives in
the world, and especially in the 21st century?
These are the real life issues we will be exploring in the next
weeks to come in our Spiritual Life Class. We will be following
closely the work by Daniel G. Opperwall, A Layman in the Desert.
Through his insight, the teachings of St. John Cassian and other
patristics, and open group discussions, we can take the next step
in our own, personal dedication to pursuit of holiness.
Our Goal and Telos
Anonymous Monk: “A monastery is merely a place where people
come to help one another to salvation. Your home as a married
man should be no different from that” (9).
Our task in the world is to work out our salvation through our
daily lives, within our ordinary responsibilities and community.
But how can we do this?
First, we must keep our goal and telos at the center of everything.
Our telos, ultimate end, is the Kingdom of God. Our goal, the
means for attaining the end, is Purity of Heart.
Abba Moses says this of the distinction: “The telos of our
commitment, as we noted, is the kingdom of God…but the
immediate goal (scopos) is purity of heart, without which it is
impossible for anyone to get the telos that we are talking about.
Fixing our eyes steadily on this goal, then…let us make for it
without wavering” (23). Opperwell explains: “People who wish to
win an archery contest aim at a small target (their goal) and when
they hit it, they immediately receive a prize (their telos). However,
if an archer loses sight of his target, he will by definition be
unable to obtain his prize” (23).
“This,” Moses continues, “must be our primary undertaking —
this the never-altered destination and never-failing pursuit of the
heart — that the mind might always cling to things divine and to
God” (27).
What is Purity of Heart?
Purity of heart is as a state in which one is free of sin, and no
longer falls away from holiness, tranquility, and love.
According to Abba Moses, through God’s Grace, one becomes
victor over the passions. By tranquility he means “the ability to
rein in the mind, avoiding the problem of having one’s thoughts
run off in all directions uncontrolled” (Opperwall 24).
Abba Moses illustrates purity of heart in the words of Isaiah: “I
will establish your rulers in peace and your bishops in
righteousness. Unrighteousness shall no longer be heard in your
land, neither destruction nor distress within your boundaries,
but your walls shall be called Salvation, and your gates
Sculptured Work. The sun shall no longer be your light by day,
but thy Lord shall be your everlasting light, and God, your glory.
For your sun shall no longer set, nor shall your moon be
eclipsed, for the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and the
days of your mourning shall be fulfilled” (27).
Christ describes theoria in his prayer to the Father: “that they
May be one as you in me and I in you that they May also be one
in us” ( John 17:21).
Path to Inner Purity: The Five Key Virtues
Five key virtues are held up by the desert fathers: detachment,
discernment, discretion, humility, and balance. As we aspire to
cultivate these virtues in our life, by God’s grace and the aid of
the saints and angels, we scale the mountain of enlightenment.
These steps are the means to an end, bringing us to a state of
theoria (unceasing contemplation), and eventual theosis
(oneness with God).
“Our task as Christians is daunting but that we take it on with
the full assurance that it is possible to walk the hard road of life
— where we live it — in peace if we seek purity of heart and the
kingdom” (50).