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 Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLII, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XVIII: On Insensibility
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLI, Part III
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XVI: On Avarice, Part II and Chapter XVII, On Non-Possessiveness, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part XI and Chapter XVI: On Avarice, Part I
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLI, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part X
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XL, Part VII and Hypothesis XLI, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part IX
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part VIII
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XL, Part VI
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part VII
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XL, Part V
”The Prayer of Fire” - A Pentecost Retreat, Session Three
”The Prayer of Fire” - A Pentecost Retreat, Session Two
”The Prayer of Fire” - A Pentecost Retreat, Session One
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part VI
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part V
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XL, Part IV
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part IV
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