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NOUS: “VIGILANT GATE-KEEPER.” (Part II)

07/06/2016

As attentive and vigilant as the nous may be, without divine strength and the invocation of the name of the Lord Jesus, “the rotating sword,” it is unable to be guarded from harmful thoughts. The vigilance, therefore, or the watchfulness or attentiveness of the nous is accompanied by prayer. On its own, the nous does not have the power for pure prayer unless it uses the salt of watchfulness that drives away impure and wicked

The Second Wednesday of Great Lent: How can we Satisfy our Need to Know? & Knowledge is no Good without Charity

03/23/2016

How can we Satisfy our Need to Know? True knowledge is the light whereby we can infallibly distinguish good from evil. That limitless light illumines the way of righteousness which leads the mind towards the Sun himself. In that light the mind strives with all its energy after divine charity. Our longing for true knowledge is satisfied by spiritual discourse, provided it comes from God through the exercise of charity. The intellect ceases to be

Father Maximos on Temperance and Self-Control

07/23/2013

Fr. Maximos was fond of referring to a story of John Chrysostom, fourth-century patriarch of Constantinople who later was canonized as a major saint of the Church, both of the East and of the West. He was persecuted by the wife of the then emperor for being critical of her abuse of power and exploitation of the poor and weak. When John was warned by friends to stop his sermons against her on the ground

Father Maximos on Self-Control

03/12/2013

“How can we start?” Maria asked. “I mean, how can we practice temperance and self-control?” Fr. Maximos ate a piece of stuffed tomato before replying. “The proper way is to start with simple things, like being critical of your thoughts and actions. Let us say that a thought tells you you should do a certain thing, say buy a new television set. Examine it. Ask yourself, ‘Do I really need it?’ If you think you

Father Maximos on Spiritual Practice

02/26/2013

“What do you mean by ‘things of this world,’ Father?” Maria asked. “Material possessions, career, success, ideological fixations, everything that steals the heart. The result is one: our passion for God is transformed into the passion for created things of no ultimate and eternal value, be they power, fame, politics, smoking, sex, money, and so on.” “This is the meaning of idolatry,” I added. “We worship our own creations.” “Yes, precisely.” “Is fasting a way

Father Maximos on Temperance and Self-Control

02/12/2013

Fr. Maximos served himself some hummus and continued. “Apostle Paul describes the fruits of the Spirit in the form of a scale, a hierarchy. He lists the highest and most exalted gift first and ends up with the most basic and foundational.” “What does that mean?” said Emily, who has a reflexive aversion to the notion of hierarchy, which has traditionally denoted social divisions and inequalities. “Think about it,” Fr. Maximos responded. “He lists love

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