From Mystagogy:
Apr 7, 2011 (2 days ago)The Virtuous Life Begins With Patiencefrom MYSTAGOGY by J.Sanidopoulos
"You will gain possession of your souls through your patient endurance" (Luke 21:19).
St. Gregory of Sinai writes:
- In whatever work we engage patience gives birth to courage,
- Courage to commitment,
- Commitment to perseverance,
- Perseverance to an increase in the work done.
- Such additional labour quells the body's dissolute impulses and checks the desire for sensual indulgence.
- Thus checked, desire gives rise to spiritual longing,
- Longing to love,
- Love to aspiration,
- Aspiration to ardour,
- Ardour to self-galvanizing,
- Self-galvanizing to assiduousness,
- Assiduousness to prayer,
- Prayer to stillness.
- Stillness gives birth to contemplation,
- Contemplation to spiritual knowledge,
- Knowledge to the apprehension of the mysteries.
- The consummation of the mysteries is theology,
- The fruit of theology is perfect love,
- Of love humility,
- Of humility dispassion,
- Of dispassion foresight, prophecy and foreknowledge.
- No one possesses the virtues perfectly in this life, nor does he cut off evil all at once. On the contrary, by small increases of virtue evil gradually ceases to exist.
Apr 7, 2011 (2 days ago)The Virtuous Life Begins With Patiencefrom MYSTAGOGY by J.Sanidopoulos
"You will gain possession of your souls through your patient endurance" (Luke 21:19).
St. Gregory of Sinai writes:
- In whatever work we engage patience gives birth to courage,
- Courage to commitment,
- Commitment to perseverance,
- Perseverance to an increase in the work done.
- Such additional labour quells the body's dissolute impulses and checks the desire for sensual indulgence.
- Thus checked, desire gives rise to spiritual longing,
- Longing to love,
- Love to aspiration,
- Aspiration to ardour,
- Ardour to self-galvanizing,
- Self-galvanizing to assiduousness,
- Assiduousness to prayer,
- Prayer to stillness.
- Stillness gives birth to contemplation,
- Contemplation to spiritual knowledge,
- Knowledge to the apprehension of the mysteries.
- The consummation of the mysteries is theology,
- The fruit of theology is perfect love,
- Of love humility,
- Of humility dispassion,
- Of dispassion foresight, prophecy and foreknowledge.
- No one possesses the virtues perfectly in this life, nor does he cut off evil all at once. On the contrary, by small increases of virtue evil gradually ceases to exist.
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