Last evening we picked up midway through Homily Six where St. Isaac takes up the topic of the vision of the divine in the Kingdom. Such vision and its nature is predicated on the individuals degree of perfection and its gifts. Yet, Isaac is quick to remind us that there is no division amongst us and the experience of God despite how this experience is perceived. There is no disunity or division in heaven and no comparison of gifts. Each delights in the experience and continues to be drawn into the fullness of God.
Following upon this, St. Isaac would have us understand that there exists only Gehenna and Heaven and no other state. It is foolhardy to propose an in-between state that is somehow greater than Gehenna but not yet the Kingdom. Such a notion speaks of an individual's hope that the one can live this life without a sense of urgency rooted in our ultimate end. Every moment is freighted with destiny because every moment is an opportunity to love - an opportunity embraced or set aside. To propose anything less is to foster false hope as well as mediocrity and lukewarmness.
A rather lengthy discussion ensued about the differences between Eastern and Western spirituality; in particular the use of discursive mediation and the use of imagination among Western writers and the avoidance of it among the Eastern ascetics. While largely a part of our spiritual patrimony those in the West have not been catechized in the Ascetical theology and practice of the East and the understanding of the active life as being rooted in the purification of the passions and the development of unceasing prayer. The understanding of the Church as a hospital and a place of healing and Christianity being an Ascetical religion has largely been neglected in recent generations as well as its impact on our understanding of liturgy, religious art and life as a whole.
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
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-one Part VIII
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-one Part VII
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-one Part VI
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-one Part V
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Fifty-one Part IV
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