When reading The Ladder of Divine Ascent, we begin to see that discernment is quite different from what we imagine. It is not simply the use of our reason and judgment to look at the realities around us, to dissect them, and so understand them. Discernment, as described by the fathers, is rooted in the virtue of humility. It is only when we live in He who is Truth that we come to understand the truth about ourselves, the world, and the kingdom.
St. John in particular gives us a multiple examples of how discernment reveals to us the specific qualities of vices, how they manifest themselves and how they are to be remedied. It is curious that we often use our intellectual abilities to avoid reality or to create a certain perception of reality in our minds. It is only humility that allows us to be vulnerable; to expose the deepest part of ourselves to the light of truth. It is this vulnerability and our trust in God and his love that allows us not only to see the truth but to experience the light of it as a healing balm.
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Text of chat during the group:
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Sixty-Six, Part II
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis XII, Part II
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Sixty-Five, Part III and Letter Sixty-Six, Part I
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis XI, Part II and Hypothesis XII, Part I
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Sixty-Five, Part II
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis X, Part II and Hypothesis XI, Part I
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Sixty-Four and Letter Sixty-Five, Part I
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis IX, Part III and Hypothesis X, Part I
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Sixty-Three Part II
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis IX, Part II
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Sixty-Three Part I
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis IX, Part I
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Sixty-Two Part II
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis VIII Part III
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Sixty-One Part II, Letter Sixty-Two Part I
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis VIII Part II
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Sixty-one Part I
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis VIII Part I
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Sixty Part II
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis VII Part IV
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