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:
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-nine Part III and Homily Sixty Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-nine Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-eight and Homily Fifty-nine Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-seven Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-seven Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-six Part III
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-six Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-five Part II and Homily Fifty-six Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-four Part VI and Homily Fifty-five
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-four Part V
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-four Part IV
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-four Part III
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-four Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-two Part VI, Homily 53 and Homily 54 Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-two Part V
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-two Part IV
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-two Part III
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-two Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-two Part I
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