PEARLS of Saint Isaac from Syria
These short quotes have been taken and slightly
adapted from The Ascetical Homilies
of Saint
Isaac, Holy Transfiguration Monastery
1984.
When a sailor voyages in the midst of the
sea, he watches the stars and in relation
to them he guides his ship until he reaches
harbor. But a monk watches prayer, because
it sets him right and directs his course
to that harbor toward which his discipline
should lead. A monk gazes at prayer at all
times, so that it might show him an island
where he can anchor his ship and take on
provisions; then once more he sets his course
for another island. Such is the voyage of
a monk in this life: he sails from one island
to another, that is, from knowledge to knowledge,
and by his successive change of islands,
that is, of states of knowledge, he progresses
until he emerges from the sea and his journey
attains to that true city, whose inhabitants
no longer engage in commerce but each rests
upon his own riches. Blessed is the man who
has not lost his course in this vain world,
on this great sea! Blessed is the man whose
ship has not broken up and who has reached
harbor with joy!
A man who craves esteem cannot be rid
of
the causes of grief.
Spiritual delight is not enjoyment
found
in things that exist s outside the
soul.
Through the toil of prayer and the
anguish
of your heart commune with those who
are
grieved at heart, and the Source of
mercy
will be opened up to your petitions.
Beware of reading the doctrines of
heretics
for they, more than anything else,
can equip
the spirit of blasphemy against you.
It is just as shameful for lovers of
the
flesh and the belly to search out spiritual
things as it is for a harlot to discourse
on chastity.
Whenever you wish to make a beginning
in
some good work, first prepare yourself
for
the temptations that will come upon
you,
and do not doubt the truth.
He who is able to suffer wrong with
joy,
though having means at hand to rebuff
it,
has consciously received from God the
consolation
of his faith.
The man who endures accusations against
himself
with humility has arrived at perfection.
He is marveled at by the holy angels,
for
there is no other virtue so great and
so
hard to achieve.
When temptation overtakes the deceitful
man,
he does not have the presence of mind
to
call upon God, or to expect salvation
from
Him, since in the days of his ease
he stood
aloof from God's will.
Before the war begins, seek out your
ally;
before you fall ill, seek out your
physician;
and before grievous things come upon
you,
pray, and in the time of your tribulations
you will find Him, and He will listen
to
you.
Before you stumble, call out and plead;
before
you make a vow, have ready what things
you
promise, for they are your provisions
afterwards.
The ark of Noah was built in the time
of
peace, and its timbers were planted
by him
a hundred years beforehand. In the
time of
wrath the evil man perished, but the
ark
became the shelter for the righteous.
Love the poor, and through them you
will
find mercy.
Do not disdain those who are handicapped
from birth, because all of us will
go to
the grave equally privileged.
Love sinners, but hate their works;
and do
not despise them for their faults,
lest you
be tempted by the same trespasses.
It is better to avoid the passions
by the
recollection of the virtues than by
resisting
and arguing with them. For when the
passions
leave their place and arise for battle,
they
imprint on the mind images and idols.
This
warfare has great force, able to weaken
the
mind and violently perturb and confuse
a
man's thinking. But if a man acts by
the
first rule we have mentioned, when
the passions
are repulsed they leave no trace in
the mind.
Just as the dolphin stirs and swims
about
when the visible sea is still and calm,
so
also, when the sea of the heart is
tranquil
and still from wrath and anger, mysteries
and divine revelations are stirred
in her
at all times to delight her.
That which befalls a fish out of water,
befalls
the mind that has come out of the remembrance
of God and wanders in the remembrance
of
the world.
Just as fish perish from lack of water,
so
the meditative movements that God causes
to blossom forth vanish from the heart
of
the monk who loves to dwell and pass
his
life in company with worldly men.
The more a man's tongue flees verbosity,
the more his intellect is illumined
so as
to be able to discern deep thoughts;
for
the rational intellect is befuddled
by verbosity.
Who does not love a humble and meek
man?
Only proud men and slanderers, who
are foreign
to his work.
Flee from discussions of dogma as from
an
unruly lion; and never embark upon
them yourself,
either with those raised in the Church,
or
with strangers.
The saints in heaven will not supplicate
with prayer when their intellects have
been
consumed up by the Spirit, but rather
with
awe struck wonder they dwell in that
gladdening
glory.
The cell of a solitary is the cleft
in the
rock where God spoke with Moses, as
the Fathers
say.
I also maintain that those who are
punished
in Gehenna are scourged by the scourge
of
love. Nay, what is so bitter and vehement
as the torment of love? I mean, those
who
have become conscious that they have
sinned
against love suffer greater torment
from
this than from any fear of punishment.
For
the sorrow caused in the heart by sin
against
love is more poignant than any torment.
It
would be improper for a man to think
that
sinners in Gehenna are deprived of
the love
of God. Love is the offspring of knowledge
of the truth which, as is commonly
confessed,
is given to all. The power of love
works
in two ways: it torments sinners, even
as
happens here when a friend suffers
from a
friend; but it becomes a source of
joy f
or those who have observed its duties.
Thus
I say that this is the torment of Gehenna:
bitter regret. But love inebriates
the souls
of the sons of Heaven by its charm.
On that day God will not judge us about
psalmody,
nor for the neglect of prayer, but
because
by abandoning them, we have opened
our door
to the demons.
Stillness mortifies the outward senses
and
resurrects the inward movements, whereas
agitation does the opposite, that is,
it
resurrects the outward senses and deadens
the inward movements.
What is the sign that a man has attained
to purity of heart, and when does a
man know
that his heart has entered into purity?
When
he sees all men as good and none appears
to him to be unclean and defiled, then
in
truth, his heart is pure.
Whenever in your path you find unchanging
peace, beware: you are very far from
the
divine paths trodden by the weary feet
of
the saints. For as long as you are
journeying
in the way to the city of the Kingdom
and
are drawing near the city of God, this
will
be a sign for you: the strength of
the temptations
that you encounter. And the nearer
you draw
close and progress, the more temptations
will multiply against you.
Faith is the door to mysteries. What
the
bodily eyes are to sensory objects,
faith
is to the eyes of the intellect that
gaze
at hidden treasures.
Paradise is the love of God, wherein
is the
enjoyment of all beatitude, and there
the
blessed Paul partook of supernatural
nourishment.
Until we find love, our labor is in
the land
of tares, and in the midst of tares
we both
sow and reap, even if our seed is the
seed
of righteousness.
The man who has found love eats and
drinks
Christ every day and hour and so is
made
immortal. 'Whoever eats of this bread',
He
says, 'which I will give him, will
never
taste death.' Blessed is he who consumes
the bread of love, which is Jesus!
He who
eats of love eats Christ, the God over
all,
as John bears witness, saying, 'God
is love.'
Love is the Kingdom, which the Lord
mystically
promised His disciples to eat in His
Kingdom.
For when we hear Him say, 'You shall
eat
and drink at the table of My Kingdom,'
what
do we suppose we shall eat, if not
love?
Love is sufficient to nourish a man
instead
of food and drink. This is the wine
'which
makes glad the heart of man.' Blessed
is
he who partakes of this wine! Licentious
men have drunk this wine and felt shame;
sinners have drunk it and have forgotten
the pathways of stumbling; drunkards
have
drunk this wine and became firm in
virtue;
the rich have drunk it and desired
poverty;
the poor have drunk it and been enriched
with hope; the sick have drunk it and
become
strong; the unlearned have taken it
and been
made wise.
As it is not possible to cross over
the great
ocean without a ship, so no one can
attain
to love without fear. This filthy sea,
which
lies between us and the paradise of
the heart,
we may cross by the boat of repentance,
whose
oarsmen are those of fear. But if fear's
oarsmen do not pilot the boat of repentance
whereby we cross over the sea of this
world
to God, we shall be drowned in the
sordid
abyss.
The man who chooses to consider God
an avenger,
presuming that in this manner he bears
witness
to His justice, accuses Him of being
bereft
of goodness. Far be it, that vengeance
could
ever be found in that Fountain of love
and
Ocean brimming with goodness! The aim
of
His design is the correction of men;
and
if it were not that, we should be stripped
of the honor of our free will, perhaps
He
would not even heal us by reproof.
A mind that has found spiritual wisdom
is
like a man who finds a fully equipped
ship
at sea, and once he has gone aboard,
it brings
him from the sea of this world to the
isle
of the age to come. In like manner,
the perception
of the future age while in this world
is
like an islet in the ocean; and he
who approaches
it toils no longer amid the billows
of the
appearances of this age.
A swimmer dives naked into the sea
until
he finds a pearl; and a wise monk,
stripped
of everything, journeys through life
until
he finds in himself the Pearl, Jesus
Christ;
and when he finds Him, he does not
seek to
acquire anything else besides Him.
A serpent guards its head when its
body is
being crushed, and a wise monk guards
his
faith at all times, for this is the
origin
of his life.
A dog that licks a rasp drinks its
own blood
and does not know its own harm because
of
the sweetness of the blood; and a monk
who
stoops to drink vainglory, consumes
his life
and does not perceive his harm because
of
the fleeting sweetness.
Worldly glory is a reef in the sea
covered
by water; for as this lies unknown
to the
sailor until his vessel strikes it,
cracks
up, is filled with water and sinks,
so vain
glory does to a man until it drowns
and destroys
him.
Do not approach the words of the mysteries
contained in the divine Scriptures
without
prayer and beseeching God for help,
but say:
Lord, grant me to perceive the power
in them!
Reckon prayer to be the key to the
true understanding
of the divine Scriptures.
A small but always persistent discipline
is a great force; for a soft drop falling
persistently, hollows out hard rock.
As children are not born without a
mother,
so passions are not born without distraction
of the mind, and sin is not committed
without
parley with the passions.
Ease and idleness are the destruction
of
the soul and they can injure her more
than
the demons.
If you compel your body when it is
weak to
labors that exceed its strength, you
will
instill darkness upon darkness into
your
soul and bring greater confusion upon
her.
Mercy and legality in one soul is like
a
man who worships God and the idols
in one
house.
As grass and fire cannot coexist in
one place,
so legality and mercy cannot abide
in one
soul.
As a grain of sand cannot counterbalance
a great quantity of gold, so in comparison
God's use of justice cannot counterbalance
His mercy.
Be persecuted, but persecute not; be
crucified,
but crucify not; be wronged, but wrong
not;
be slandered, but slander not. Have
clemency,
not zeal, with respect to evil. Lay
hold
of goodness, not legality.
Be every man's friend, but in your
mind remain
alone.
If you cannot be merciful, at least
speak
as though you are a sinner. If you
are not
a peacemaker, at least do not be a
troublemaker.
If you cannot be assiduous, at least
in your
thought be like a sluggard. If you
are not
victorious, do not exalt yourself over
the
vanquished. If you cannot close the
mouth
of a man who disparages his companion,
at
least refrain from joining him in this.
No man has understanding if he is not
humble,
and whoever lacks humility is devoid
of understanding.
No man is humble if he is not peaceful,
and
he who is not peaceful is not humble.
And
no man is peaceful without rejoicing.
We should not be exceedingly grieved
when
we make a slip in some matter, but
only if
we persist in it; for even the perfect
often
slip, but to persist therein is total
death.
There is no knowledge that is not impoverished,
however rich it should be; but heaven
and
earth cannot contain the treasures
of faith.
Truly, confusion should be called (if
permissible)
the chariot of the devil, because Satan
is
always eager to mount upon it as a
charioteer,
and bearing with him the throng of
the passions,
he invades the wretched soul and plunges
her into the pit of confusion.
The recompense is not given for labor
but
for humility. He who maltreats the
latter
loses the former.
Christ demands not the doing of the
commandments,
but the soul's amendment, because of
which
He gave His commandments to rational
beings.
A gift free of trials is a disaster
to those
who receive it.
To choose what is good belongs to the
good
will of the man who desires it; but
to accomplish
the choice of this good will belongs
to God.
His path has been trodden from the
ages and
from all generations by the cross and
by
death. How is it with you, that the
afflictions
on the path seem to you to be off the
path?
Do you not wish to follow the steps
of the
saints? Or have you plans for devising
some
way of your own, and of journeying
therein
without suffering.
The path of God is a daily cross. No
one
has ascended into Heaven by means of
ease,
for we know where the way of ease leads
and
how it ends.
In truth, without afflictions there
is no
life.
The carnal man fears death like a beast
fears
slaughter. The rational man fears the
judgment
of God. But the man who has become
a son
is adorned by love and is not taught
by the
rod of fear; he says, 'But I and my
father's
house will serve the Lord.'
A merciful man is the physician of
his own
soul. Like a violent wind he drives
the darkness
of the passions out of his inner self.
Conquer evil men by your gentle kindness,
and make zealous men wonder at your
goodness.
Put the lover of legality to shame
by your
compassion. With the afflicted be afflicted
in mind. Love all men, but keep distant
from
all men.
As long as you have feet, run after
work,
before you are bound with that bond
which
cannot be loosed again once it is put
on.
As long as you have hands, stretch
them out
to Heaven in prayer, before your arms
fall
from their joints, and though you desire
to draw them up, you will not be able.
As
long as you have fingers, cross yourself
in prayer, before death comes loosing
the
comely strength of their sinews. As
long
as you have eyes, fill them with tears
before
that hour when dust will cover your
black
clothes and your eyes will be fixed
in one
direction in an unseeing gaze and you
will
not know it. Yes, fill your eyes with
tears
as long as your heart is controlled
by the
power of discernment and before your
soul
is shaken by her departure from it
and the
heart is left like a house deserted
by its
owner.
Silence is a mystery of the age to
come,
but words are instruments of this world.
The passions are like dogs accustomed
to
lick blood in butchers' shops. When
these
are barred from what their habit feeds
on,
they stand in front of the doors and
howl
until the force of their previous custom
is spent.
A man who sits in stillness and who
receives
experience of God's kindness has little
need
of persuasive argument, and his soul
is not
sick with the disease of unbelief,
like those
who are doubtful of the truth. For
the testimony
of his own understanding is sufficient
to
persuade him above endless words having
no
experience behind them.
Know with certainty, therefore, that
to stand
is not within your power, nor does
it pertain
to your virtue, but it belongs to grace
herself
which carries you upon the palm of
her hand,
that you may not be alarmed.
Humility, even without works, gains
forgiveness
for many offenses; but without her,
works
are of no profit to us, and rather
prepare
for us great evils.
Not every quiet man is humble, but
every
humble man is quiet.
Walk before God in simplicity and not
with
knowledge. Simplicity is accompanied
by faith;
but subtle and intricate deliberations,
by
conceit; and conceit is accompanied
by separation
from God.
When you fall down before God in prayer,
become in your thought like an ant,
like
the creeping things of the earth, like
a
leech, and like a tiny lisping child.
Do
not say anything before Him with knowledge,
but with a child's manner of thought
draw
near God and walk before Him, that
you may
be counted worthy of that paternal
providence
which fathers have for their small
children.
A man cannot receive spiritual knowledge
unless he is converted and becomes
like a
little child. Only then does he experience
that delight which belongs to the Kingdom
of the Heavens. By 'Kingdom of the
Heavens'
the Scriptures mean spiritual divine
vision.
It is not possible without temptations
for
a man to grow wise in spiritual warfare,
to know his Provider and perceive his
God,
and to be secretly confirmed in his
faith,
save by virtue of the experience which
he
has gained.
A man can never learn what divine power
is,
while he abides in comfort and spacious
living.
Just as a man whose head is submerged
in
the water cannot breathe the subtle
air which
is poured upon the atmosphere's empty
opening,
so he who immerses his mind in the
cares
of the present life cannot take in
the breath
that is a perception of the new world.
It is a spiritual gift from God for
a man
to perceive his sins.
This life has been given to you for
repentance;
do not waste it in vain pursuits.
The cross is the door to mysteries.
Through
this door the intellect makes entrance
into
the knowledge of heavenly mysteries.
The
knowledge of the cross is concealed
in the
sufferings of the cross. The more we
participate
in its sufferings, the greater the
perception
we gain through the cross. For, as
the Apostle
says, 'As the sufferings of Christ
abound
in us, so our consolation also abounds
by
Christ.' Now by consolation he means
thoria,
which, being interpreted, is vision
of soul.
Vision gives birth to consolation.
Prayer offered up at night possesses
a great
power, more so than the prayer of the
day-time.
Therefore all the righteous prayed
during
the night, while combating the heaviness
of the body and the sweetness of sleep
and
repelling bodily nature.
There is nothing which even Satan fears
so
much as prayer that is offered during
vigilance
at night. And even if it is offered
with
distraction, it does not return empty,
unless
perhaps that which is asked for is
unsuitable.
He who despises the sick will not see
light,
and the day of him who turns his face
from
a man grieved by affliction will become
darkness.
The sons of the man who scorns the
voice
of one suffering hardship will grope
their
way, being struck with blindness.
For unless those who travel on the
road go
forward day by day, shortening their
journey
- and, on the contrary, should they
stand
in one place - the road before them
will
never diminish and they will never
arrive
at their destination. So it is with
us also.
If we do not constrain ourselves little
by
little, we shall never have the strength
to abstain from bodily things so as
to gaze
toward God.
(c) Fr. Pius Sammut, OCD. Permission
is
hereby granted for any non-commercial
use,
provided that the content is unaltered
from
its original state, if this copyright
notice
is included.
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