The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian – Homily 19

That abstention from cares is profitable for hesychasts; and that going out and coming in is harmful; and concerning distraction

The man of many concerns can never be meek and peaceful, because the necessary demands of his affairs, in which he wears himself out, compel him to be involuntarily and unwillingly disturbed, and completely disperse his calm and stillness.¹ Therefore the monk must stand himself directly before the face of God and always fix his eye unyieldingly upon Him, if he really wishes to guard his mind, to purify and transform the slight movements which creep within him, and with tranquility of thoughts to learn to distinguish what enters into and what comes out [of him]. For the many occupations of monks are a clear proof of their slackness with respect to readiness for the practice of Christ’s commandments, and it betrays their failings in regard to divine matter.

Without freedom from concerns do not seek for light within your soul, nor for calm and stillness when your senses are lax, nor for collected senses amid engaging affairs. Do not multiply your occupations, and you will not find turmoil in your mind, or in your prayer. Without unceasing prayer you cannot draw near to God; and to introduce some other concern into your mind during the toil of prayer is to cause dispersion in your heart. If fiery thoughts arise in you when, through the consuming flame of divine things, you enjoy a taste of God, but when you seek to find them again, you discover them to be tasteless and cold in your soul, {then know that this is because] carefree converse with men has rushed upon you from some quarter, or because you have esteemed bodily labors above these things, and on this account the fervor of your thoughts has been chilled.

Tears, striking the head in prayer with the hand, and casting oneself upon the earth with fervor, waken the warmth of their sweetness inside the heart, and with a laudable ecstasy the heat soars up toward God and cries out: ‘My soul thirsted for Thee, the mighty, the living God! ^{Ps. 41:2} When shall I come and appear before Thy face, O Lord?’ Only the man who drinks deeply of this wine, and afterward is deprived of it, only he knows to what misery he has been abandoned, and what has been taken away from him because of his laxity.

O, how evil for hesychasts is the sight of men and intercourse with them! And in very truth, my brethren, association with those who have relaxed stillness is especially harmful. For just as the sudden blast of ice, falling on the buds of the fruit-trees, nips and destroys them, so too, contacts with men, even though they be quite brief and (to all appearance) made of good purpose, wither the bloom of virtue – newly flowering in the temperate air of stillness – which covers with softness and delicacy the fruit-tree of the soul planted by the streams of the waters of repentance. ^{Ps. 1:3} And just as the bitterness of the frost, seizing upon new shoots, consumes them, so too does conversation with men seize upon the root of a mind that has begun to sprout the tender blades of the virtues. And if the talk of those who have controlled themselves in one particular, but who in another have minor faults, is apt to harm the soul, how much more will the chatter and sight of ignoramuses and fools (not to say of laymen)?

For just as a highborn and honorable person, when he is drunk, forgets his own high birth and disgraces his station, and his honor is mocked by the untoward notions that suddenly come over him from the influence of the wine, so too the soul’s chastity is made turbid by the sight and conversation of men, she forgets her habit of keeping watch, the object of her desire is blotted out from her mind, and the entire foundation of a laudable estate is ripped up from her.

Now if even when a man is silent and is merely found in the presence of such men and is content only to see and to hear, and nevertheless that which enters through a man’s gates of sight and hearing is sufficient to produce in him turbidness and a chilling of his mind from things divine; and if a brief moment can cause so much injury in a monk with self-control – then what shall we say of continuous encounters, and prolonged involvement in these things? For the exhalation which comes up from the stomach does not permit the mind to receive divine knowledge, but darkens it in the way that fog rising from the dampness of the land obscures the air.

Pride does not perceive that it walks in darkness and, as being darkened, it does not know the insight of wisdom. For this reason in its own murky thoughts it elevates itself above all, whereas it is more vile and more feeble than any, and it is incapable of learning the ways of the Lord. And the Lord conceals His will from it, because it did not choose to walk in the path of the humble. But to our God be glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.

¹ The Syriac printed text adds: but without distractions the devil has no means of entering the soul.

The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian – Homily 16

On renouncing the world and refraining from familiarity with men

When we wish to flee from the world and become strangers to worldly affairs, there is nothing that so separates us from the world, or so mortifies the passions in us and rouses and brings us to life in spiritual things, as do mourning and the pain of heart that is joined with discernment. The face of a modest and reverent man imitates the humility of the Beloved. And again, there is nothing that makes us associate with the world and those in the world, and even those given over to drunkenness and prodigality, and nothing that separates us from the treasures of wisdom and the knowledge of God’s mysteries, so much as facetiousness and wanton frivolity. This, too, is the business of the demon of fornication.

But since I have made proof of your love of wisdom, beloved, it is with love that I entreat you: be on your guard against the spiteful abuse of the enemy, lest by the trumpery of his words he chill your soul from the fervor of Christ’s love, Who for you sake tasted gall on the Tree of the Cross, and lest, instead of that sweet study and boldness before God, he fill your soul with many imaginings even while you are awake and, asleep, he make her captive to unseemly dreams, the stench of which the holy angels of God cannot endure. Thus to others you will be the cause of slips and falls, and to yourself, a stake of impalement. Force yourself, then, to imitate the humility of Christ, so that the fire which He sent down upon you may blaze up all the more; by this fire all stirrings of the world, which slay the new man and defile the courts of the Lord, the Holy and Mighty, are torn up by the roots.

For I make bold to say, along with Saint Paul, ‘We are the temple of God.’ ^{I Cor. 3:16} Let us then purify His temple, as He is pure, that He may wish to settle in it. Let us hallow it, as He is Holy. And let us adorn it with all good and honorable works. Let us cense it with the frankincense that gives rest to His will, with the pure and heart-felt prayer that is impossible to acquire by association with constant worldly activities, and thus the cloud of His glory will overshadow our souls, and the light of His majesty will dawn within our hearts; and all those who dwell in the tabernacle of God will be filled with joy and gladness, but the unabashed and shameless will vanish in the flame of the Holy Spirit.

So continually upbraid yourself, O brother, and say: Woe to you, wretched soul, your separation from the body is at hand. Why do you rejoice in what today you will leave behind, the very sight of which you will be deprived of forever? Take heed to what lies before you, stop and consider what things you have done, in what way, and what sort of things they are, and with whom you have passed the days of your life, or who has accepted the toil of your husbandry, and whom you have gladdened with your wrestling, that he will come forth to meet you at the time of your departure. But whom did you gladden and gratify during your course, that you might find rest in his haven? And for whose sake did you endure hardships as you toiled, that you might reach him with joy? And whom will you have as a friend in the age to come, that he might now welcome you in the moment of your departure? In which field did you hire yourself out, and who will pay you your wages at the sunset of your separation?

Examine yourself, O soul, and see in what land your portion lies; and if you have crossed over to that field which bears a harvest of bitterness for those who till it, wail and cry aloud, with groaning and great affliction, those words which give rest to your God more than sacrifices and whole-burnt offerings. Let your mouth pour forth anguished laments, at which the holy angels are made glad. Drench your cheeks with the weeping of your eyes, that the Holy Spirit may rest upon you, and wash you from the filth of your wickedness. Appease your Lord with tears, that He may come to your aid. Appeal to Mary and Martha to teach you mournful cries. Call out to the Lord:

A Prayer O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, Thou that dist weep over Lazarus, and shed tears of sorrow and compassion for him, accept the tears of my bitterness.

By Thy Passion, cure my passions.

By Thy Wounds, heal my wounds.

By Thy Blood, purge my blood; mingle the fragrance of Thy Life-Creating Body with my body.

Let the gall Thou didst drink at enemies’ hands sweeten my soul from the bitterness which the foe hath given me to drink.

Let Thy Body, O Friend of man, which was stretched on the Tree of the Cross, extend toward Thee mine understanding which is dragged evilly downward by demons.

Let Thy Head, which Thou didst bow on the Cross, raise up my head, which is buffeted by mine adversaries.

Let Thine All-Holy Hands, which were nailed to the Cross by the unbelieving Jews, lead me out of the abyss of perdition to Thee, as Thine All-Holy Mouth hath promised.

Let Thy Countenance, which received blows and spittings from accursed men, brighten my countenance, which is stained with iniquities.

Let Thy Soul, which on the Cross Thou didst commend to Thy Father, guide me to Thee by Thy grace.

I have not a mournful heart wherewith to seek Thee, I have no repentance, I have no compunction, which brings the children into their proper inheritance. O Master, I have not a comforting tear.

My mind is darkened by the affairs of this life, and hath no strength to look steadfastly toward Thee with groaning. My heart is grown cold from the multitude of temptations, and cannot warm herself with tears of love for Thee.

But Thou, my Lord and God Jesus Christ, the Treasury of good gifts, grant me thorough repentance and a sorrowing heart, that with all my soul I may go forth to seek Thee. For without Thee, I am a stranger to all that is good.

Therefore, O Good One, freely grant me Thy grace. Let the Father, Who hath timelessly and everlastingly brought Thee forth from His bosom, renew in me the features of Thine image.

I have forsaken Thee, do not forsake me. I have gone out from Thee, come out to seek me, and lead me up to Thy pasture, and number me among the sheep of Thy chosen flock, and nourish me with them on the verdure of Thy Divine Mysteries; for their pure heart is Thy lodging-place, and therein is the illumination of Thy revelation clearly beheld, which is the comfort and refreshment of those who for Thy sake have travailed in affliction and every kind of outrage.

May we also be deemed worthy of this illumination by Thy grace and love for man, O our Saviour Jesus Christ, unto the ages of ages. Amen.