We take up this evening a new hypothesis (VI) dealing with the ownership of property. At the heart of it, however, is the temptation to avarice and the impact that it has upon the spiritual life and upon our commitments to God and others.
The monks relinquishment of property, their embrace of a life of poverty and simplicity, highlights for us the subtle temptations that are involved in our attachment to the things of the world. Where lust and gluttony perhaps fail to satisfy - avarice often step in to test us. It can become something insatiable. The more we amass the more we desire.
Our attachment to things can begin on a very small level. Yet unchecked, it can affect the way that we enter into our relationship with God. We slowly begin to seek our security and identity in things. This, in turn, can make us ever so vulnerable to the demons attack against our commitments. The possession of things can make it seem more plausible to change and alter our life; to pursue another path of salvation, for ourselves, that does not require hardship or that offers more satisfaction. It gives room for our internal instability to drive us away from what challenges us internally to overcome the ego. What begins with a small attachment eventually can develop to the point where a demon tells us that “if stay where we are we the place our salvation in jeopardy. It is better to take what we have, and to create something better in our own judgment.” In this, we often place our own judgment above God’s. It creates an atmosphere of infidelity and strips us of long-suffering.
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Text of chat during the group:
00:11:21 FrDavid Abernethy: page 64
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-seven Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-six Part IV
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-six Part III
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-six Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-five Part IV and Homily Sixty-six Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-five Part III
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-five Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-four Part XII and Homily Sixty-five Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-four Part XI
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-four Part X
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-four Part IX
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-four Part VIII
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-four Part VII
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-four Part VI
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-four Part V
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-four Part IV
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-four Part III
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-four Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-four Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-three Part II
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