When Jesus asked a certain lawyer how he interpreted the law, the answer came, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength and with all thy mind’ (Luke 10:27.) This is our gnoseology. [The way we acquire knowledge about God.] (We Shall See Him as He is. pg. 177.)
Fr. Sophrony had an “allergy” against rules. He said, “Christ liberated us from all rules, why enslave ourselves to rules that we make ourselves.” We follow one rule that the Fathers of the Golden Age of Monasticism gave: we do our best, what we can, and we leave the rest to God. And therein lies humility. (We Shall See Him as He is, pg. 220.)
Even if this activity, [living the rule of St. Silouan, 'keep thy mind in hell and do not despair'] is not for everyone, we still try a little dose, in order to maintain a humble spirit before God, and we say ‘Lord, I thank Thee for all the things that Thou has done for me, of which I know and of which I know not, whether manifest or hid, I thank Thee… though I am unworthy.’ And this is a very light form of the same thing, but if we continue giving thanks to God in this way, remembering that He always treats us with goodness, even though we are unworthy, slowly, slowly, grace will accumulate in our soul, it will heal our spirit, and then, perhaps, we shall even be able to practice the Way revealed to St. Silouan. (We Shall See Him as He is, pg. 219.)
On May 9, 2004 – Mother’s Day in the U.S. – an Icon of St. Anna, the Mother of the Holy Virgin Mary, located in the Russian Orthodox Church of Our Lady of Joy of All Who Sorrow in Philadelphia began to stream myrrh. On that Sunday one of the parishioners mentioned to the parish rector, Abbot Athanasy that the Icon of St. Anna seemed to be “perspiring”. Upon further investigation, Fr. Athanasy notice visible liquid streams and droplets. Accumulations of the liquid were seen on the cuff on St. Anna’s left hand and on her left shoulder veil. Droplets were also found elsewhere on the Icon. This fragrant, slightly oily liquid is commonly referred to as “myrrh”.
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As we continue our messages on the “Seven Grievous Sins,” we will focus today on the sins of Lust, Anger and Gluttony.
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