Continuing from my post on St Mark the Ascetic’s “Letter to Nicolas the Solitary,” I shall turn to “A Selection from the Holy Fathers on Prayer and Attentiveness,” in volume 5. When a very short florilegium is made, it will be significant: it means that whoever made it considered it to comprise the key points he wanted to have at hand because this was what he felt he needed.
The footnote speculates that Kallistos Angelikoudis may have edited this selection from “many other parts of the Philokalia.” It seems to me that it represents a medieval attempt to present the essence of the message of all the other texts; at least as they struck the editor, who clearly had a thorough acquaintance with them.
To anticipate, the gist of this selection coincides exactly with that of St Mark, who was doubtless a powerful influence on the editor. It opens with four powerful sentences:
The whole effort of the ascetic should be devoted to this: to preventing the higher part of the soul from being brought low through the uprising of sensual pleasures. For how can the soul gaze in freedom upon the noetic light that is akin to it, if it is dragged down by carnal pleasure? Thus above all we must cultivate self-control, the sure guardian of restraint and moderation, that does not allow the ruling intellect to harbour impure thoughts. Our inner being should therefore be kept closely under observation, so that the intellect remains undistracted, its attention concentrated on attaining the vision of God’s glory. (309)
This is exactly it: the goal is the beatific vision: seeing God. The preceding sentences set out these important concepts (1) a devoted ascetic effort; (2) turns us to the higher part of the soul; (3) which should our ruling intellect; (4) able to maintain its proper place although sensual influences would displace it; (5) seeing by the noetic light; (6) and exercising self-control and self-observation.
Now, as with St Mark’s “Letter,” turn to the final paragraph:
We have to make great efforts in prayer … before we can attain a state of mind that is wholly free from disturbance – an inner state that is a second heaven within the heart in which Christ dwells. … If we wish to perceive the true state of the intellect, we must keep ourselves free from all concepts and images, and then the intellect will see itself similar in appearance to the sapphire colour of the sky. The intellect … cannot raise itself up in this way unless it strips itself of the passions which bind it to sensory things through images. It will expel the passions by means of the virtues, and … spiritual contemplation; and contemplation will disappear when the divine light shines upon it. (312)
This ending is precisely the same as the beginning, only transposed into a higher key with some beautiful prose in the almost stunning description of what I would call, following Gurdjieff, of real I present to the intellect, and even consciousness of self being absorbed by the divine light.
Once more, if one wishes to understand the message of an ancient work, read it, then go back and take special notice of the bookends: the commencement and the back. Invariably, they chime the way we have seen in this text and in St Mark. Then, check the mid-point: that is the climax. Just as with the “Letter to Nicolas,” the centre is Christ himself, and our imitation of him (in accordance with the theosophy which we call “typology”):
When, therefore, we approach to receive communion in the Body and Blood of Christ, in memory of Him who died for our sake and was raised up, we should not only cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit … we should also clearly manifest in ourselves the outlook and spirit of Him who died for our sake and was raised up, not only by cleansing ourselves from all sin but also by dying to sin, to the world and to ourselves, and by living for God … (310-311)
Now we have the fundamental and highest message of this short collection. There are some other interesting points. First, the classic example of typology is found here:
Just as wax is given form when moulded, so let us be moulded in our inner being by the teaching of Our Lord Jesus Christ. (309)
Second, it refers to the attacks of the devil, among these, how he awakens “lingering intractable memories of things it once experienced …” which we can oppose by prayer and calling on “celestial aid,” (310) just as St Mark had referred to the need for the help of the Holy Spirit. I should add that this it is easy to overlook how important this is. Many of us have found that we are unable to get beyond a certain point until we call on the assistance of God, our patron saint, or our guardian angel. How they help us, we don’t know, neither can we feel it happening – but the story of our spiritual struggles tells us that to the extent we sincerely implore this help, we make advances. Perhaps that is not quite right. Perhaps it is truer to say that without our seeking God’s aid, the big changes do not seem to occur.
Our editor then comes to critical role of attention and concentration upon “the present moment and … all that is good and beautiful …” (310) Again, we saw this in St Mark. When it comes to the question of the weakness of our attention, the first thing, I would say is we should ensure we are eating, drinking and sleeping properly, that we are not unduly stressed, that we have taken steps to manage our work load and to balance home, social and our professional lives.
If one has little physical health and calm, one’s attention will not be so strong as it might be. Then, as this selection says, keep to the present moment – take one task at a time and concentrate on that – all the issues will be there when we have finished the one we’re on. And that is how to proceed, one step at a time, and refusing distractions.
Finally, the thoughts extracted here about the body as a monastery – no matter where we are – strike me as masterful. I recommend that you read and ponder them.
The icon is Bulgarian.
