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 Forty-eight Part III
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Forty-eight Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Forty-seven Part II and Homily Forty-eight Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Forty-six Part II and Homily Forty-seven Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Forty-six Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Forty-five
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Forty-four
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Forty-three
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Forty-two Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Forty-two Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Forty-one
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Forty Part III
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Forty Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Forty Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Thirty-nine Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Thirty-eight and Homily Thirty-nine Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Thirty-seven Part VIII
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Thirty-seven Part VII
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Thirty-seven Part VI
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Thirty-seven Part V
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