The Work of Controlling our Talking
To know God directly requires an interior balance and harmony. We must consider ourselves to be pilgrims yearning for a personal relationship with God. We need to maximize our communications with things of spiritual nature and minimize our communications about mundane worldly matters. Saint Seraphim warns us that the fire Christ came to light within us can easily be extinguished. He says the most common thing that cools this fire is unbridled conversation. These spiritual conversations lead us to great growth in knowledge of God.
Saint Seraphim says,
For the guarding of the inner man, one must strive to restrain the tongue from loquacious: "A man of understanding holds his peace (Prov 11:12), and "he that keeps his mouth keeps his life" (Prov 13:3).
Examine your conversations and determine if they involve the kind of discussion that will lead you closer to God. Those which have no spiritual value you should try to minimize as they can be a distraction. This means especially discussions that involve subjects or language you know would not be approved by Christ Himself. Think of Christ in dialogue with His disciples, His discussions on the steps of the Temple. These are the kind we should seek and all others we should minimize.
It is of upmost importance to not discuss our own spiritual life with no one other than our spiritual father.
As Saint Seraphim says,
Strive with envy means to keep to yourself the treasure of your spiritual gifts. Otherwise you will lose it, and not find it again...
Always act and speak glorifying God.
Reference: Little Russian Philokalia, Vol 1, p 28 - 29
Our Work Begins with Reverence and Fear of God.
Saint Seraphim directs us to the following Psalm,
Upon his mind there must always be engraved these words of the prophet: "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling" (Ps 2:11)
All our actions must be done with this in mind. It is only in this way that our works will aid us in our aim to be united with Him. Saint Seraphim points out that without such an attitude, instead of being blessed, we will be cursed. "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently" (Jer. 48:10).
Our work is great and difficult. We need to always cooperate with God's grace.
Saint Seraphim says,
Reverent carefulness is necessary here because this sea--that is, the heart, with it's thoughts and desires, which one must cleanse by means of mindfulness-- is great and vast, "and there are numberless reptiles there" (Ps 103:27), that is, numerous vain, unjust, and impure thoughts generated by evil spirits.
Much more than faith is necessary. In cooperation with divine grace, we have to do the work necessary to tame the impulses of our biological being, so that all our actions can be directed according to God's will and not be based on our own desires and fears because of our mortality and susceptibility to sickness and suffering.
Reference: Little Russian Philikolia, p 27
Faith and Works - A Synergy Not Conflict
For many Christians, there is a battle between faith and works. Some proclaim that our salvation comes through faith alone. They are concerned that one might think they could get to heaven by their own efforts, I guess, without faith. For Orthodox Christians there is no battle between faith and works. We know that both faith and works are necessary. We call it synergic cooperation with God. But, the starting point is always an act of believing in God.
Saint Seraphim tells us the following:
Before anything else, one must believe in God, "that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6).
One who is a doubter is like a man lost at sea without a life raft. He is incapable of doing works that will lead him to God.
Saint James says,
"...he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:6-8 NKJV)
Faith is the necessary first step on a journey to be united with God and know Him through direct experience. Without faith we could not undertake the necessary preparation. We would not know where to begin. Such preparation for many is seen as works without God, trying to earn our way to heaven. This is a concern without basis. To seek to know God, we begin with faith, believing that it is God who sent His Son for our transformation to be united with Him and that it is His teachings that we must follow. With this belief we will undertake meaningful works that with patience leads us to an intimate knowledge of Him.
Faith of necessity involves works. It is James who tells us, "Faith without works is dead" (James2:26). He points out that the necessary works involved are love, peace, long-suffering, mercy, humility, rest from all works, bearing of the Cross, and life in the Spirit.
Saint Seraphim says,
True faith cannot be without works; one who truly believes will unfailingly have works as well.Our journey with Christ is one of cooperation where we submit our will to His will to do His work. To realize this we have many works to do in preparation to receive His grace which transforms and unites us with Him. With faith we desire to under take many works to perfect ourselves in His grace.
Reference: Little Russian Philokalia, Vol 1 , p 25.
Receiving the Light of Christ
Our aim is to know God in a direct way, not intellectually or through reason. This is often referred to as receiving the light of Christ. When we receive this light we experience a sense of joy. When it is a light sent by the devil we feel a bit of agitation or obscureness.
Saint Seraphim says,
The Christian heart, when it has received something divine, does not demand anything else in order to convince it that this is precisely from the Lord...
Saint Seraphim also gives many pointers about how to prepare to receive this gift of light.
He says,
To receive and behold in the heart the light of Christ, one must, as far as possible, divert one's attention away from the visible objects. Having purified the soul beforehand by repentance and good deeds, and with faith in the Crucified, having closed the bodily eyes, immerse the mind within the heart, in which place cry out with the invocation of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; and then, to the measure of one's zeal and warmth of spirit toward the Beloved, a man finds in the invoked name a delight which awakens the desire to seek higher illumination.
What is important to remember that this gift comes after we have purified our heart and soul of its attachment to the passions of the body and one is committed to a life of ongoing repentance and good deeds, including participation in the sacraments of the Church.
Saint Seraphim goes on to describe this gift.
When a man beholds the eternal light interiorly, his mind is pure and has no sensory representations, but, being totally immersed in contemplation of uncreated goodness, he forgets everything sensory and wishes not even to see himself; he desires rather to hide himself in the heart of the earth if only he not be deprived of this true good--God.This is the gift that is available to all who are willing to cooperate with God and undertake the necessary preparation.
Reference: Little Russian Philokalia, Vol 1, pp 46-47
Knowing God
Saint Seraphim tells us that we must first know God before we can contemplate Him. It is this direct knowledge that is necessary if we are to truly love Him.
Saint Seraphim writes,
If you do not know God, it is impossible for love of Him to be awakened in you; and you cannot love God if you do not see Him. The vision of God comes from knowledge of Him; for contemplation of Him does not precede knowledge of Him.
How are we to gain this knowledge? This is the question we should all ask ourselves and have great anguish if we cannot experience God in this non intellectual way but through a direct experience of Him and His love.
Saint Seraphim tells us,
"A man becomes perfect in His sight to the extent that he follows in His footsteps; in the true age God will reveal His face to Him."This knowledge we seek is one that is expressed in a way that "warms" our inner being.
Saint Seraphim expresses it as follows:
God is a fire that warms and kindles the heart and inward parts. And so, if we feel in our hearts coldness, which is of the devil--for the devil is cold--then let us call upon the Lord, and He will come and warm our hearts with perfect love not only for Him, but for our neighbors as well. And from the presence of warmth the coldness of the hater of good will be driven away.Christ has given us the means through our participation it it's liturgies, sacraments and prescribed practices for all of us, no matter what our spiritual condition, to come to this direct knowledge of Him. This includes the beauty if His Church which uses all means to lift us to heavenly levels. The sacrament of Holy Communion is a direct encounter with Him that works through all parts of our body to transform our fallen nature into one of His likeness. Through Holy Confession we are aided in not just relieving us from our guilt but committing ourselves with His help to change our mind and way of life. We nurture our growth through our regular practice of fasting and daily prayer. This is the Orthodox ways of life and the path to Theosis where we gain a direct knowledge of Him.
Reference: Little Russian Philokalia, Volume 1, p 23
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