Archive for October, 2013


That Priceless Light

Filed under: Prayer
October 31, 2013

Sometimes stories are too long to reflect on very thoroughly, but very worth sharing. For those who wonder what to think/believe of such a fantastic story, I would recommend an earlier reflection of mine: “Hang Your Cloak Upon a Sunbeam.”

Of the angelic splendour of the light which Virgnous-a youth of good disposition, and afterwards made by God superior of this Church in which I, though unworthy, now serve-saw coming down upon St. Columba in the Church, on a winter’s night, when the brethren were at rest in their chambers. Continue reading →

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Fish Out of Water

Filed under: Prayer, Solitude
October 23, 2013

Abba Antony said: “Fish die if they are long out of water. So monks who dally long outside their cell or with men of the world, lose their will to solitude. As a fish can only live in the sea, so we must run back to our cells. Perhaps, if we dallied outside, we might lose our inner guard.”

~ Sayings of the Desert Fathers, 2.1

Abba Antony offers a wonderful analogy for those of us whose lives sometimes seem so full. Just as “[f]ish die if they are long out of water,” so “monks who dally long outside their cell or with men of the world, lose their will to solitude.” Now of course, as “men [and women] of the world,” we cannot and should not avoid human contact, but neither should we neglect solitude. The difference is one of degree, not of kind. None of us live in a monk’s cell, but all of us require an “inner guard” to keep our hearts from falling to temptation. Continue reading →

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‘Western Asceticism’ on Archive.org

Filed under: General
October 16, 2013

I don’t usually write purely informational posts, but I thought this little factoid I somehow only now discovered would be worth sharing: Western Asceticism, the volume from which I always quote the Sayings of the Desert Fathers as well as a few of the Conferences of Cassian, and which also includes the Rule of St. Benedict, is completely and totally free on archive.org. You can download it in all sorts of formats, including a clean and searchable pdf of the text. Pretty cool!

You can find Western Asceticism on archive.org here.

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Happiness: ‘The Splendour of a Virtuous Life’

Filed under: Virtue
October 15, 2013

So great is the splendour of a virtuous life that a peaceful conscience and a calm innocence work out a happy life.

~ St. Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy, 2.1

Virtue, it would seem, is woefully undervalued today. I do not mean to say that there are too few virtuous people—only God knows the hearts of others after all, and by what it appears virtue still shines upon the hearts of many. Rather, if St. Ambrose is correct—and I think he is—a virtuous life is the key to happiness. Shouldn’t our whole society be organized with the purpose of teaching and obtaining virtue then? What else would be more befitting of “the pursuit of happiness?” Continue reading →

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Roots of Salvation

Filed under: Peace, Silence, Solitude
October 6, 2013

When Abba Arsenius was still at the palace, he prayed the Lord saying: “Lord, show me the way to salvation.” And a voice came to him: “Arsenius, run from men and you shall be saved.” He went to become a monk, and again prayed in the same words. And he heard a voice saying: “Arsenius, be solitary: be silent: be at rest. These are the roots of a life without sin.”

~ Sayings of the Desert Fathers, 2.3

Abba Arsenius may not have been the Roman Emperor, but he worked “at the palace” and likely enjoyed a very high quality of life for his time. Yet he finds that material comforts are not enough, and he prays, “Lord, show me the way to salvation.” The answer: “run from men and you shall be saved,” for him this meant becoming a monk, a hermit even. However, solitude, silence, and rest are not the exclusive property of hermits, even if they have much more abundant supply. A “life without sin” may be hard to come by in the world, but its roots can still grow in that soil. Continue reading →

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