I have permission to include this post by Lazarus on my own blog. I so appreciated it that I wanted to share it with my readers. It is from Lazarus of Hyacinth over at Oasis: http://lazarus-oasis.blogspot.com/2010/11/pilgrims-heart.html. Thank you Lazarus for kindly allowing me to post this here. Please do visit his blog. He is a very wise man.
The innocence of childhood is soon replaced by the prejudices of culture and country, which we learn to wear as if they were a fine suit of clothes.
The happy, carefree smile of our youth is soon replaced by the tightly drawn, thin lips of self-righteousness, bitterness, and disdain for others, who are seen as intruders into our petty kingdoms. Our modes of experience, knowing, and feeling are reduced to what is 'approved' and 'acceptable' within the little niche we have carved out for ourselves in the world, and so are narrowed accordingly, cutting us off from mystery and wonder.
And so Jesus tells us that we must become as little children, and only then do we begin to sense that interior Light and Voice of Spirit, to acquire another way of knowing and feeling that beckons us to move beyond our self-centered prison, to break the chains of our enslavement.
In our sad state, the narrower our vision became, the more everything became centered around us alone, the more we sat as judge and jury in our own court of last resort, and so we became cut off from the possibilities of encounter, and shielded ourselves against communion with the other, aside from the opportunity to advance our own interests. Worse than a blind man is the one who has eyes, but refuses to even look. The lone duck in his small pond does not believe the duck who has been to the great lake and seen the huge flocks, even less can he conceive of the ocean.
By means of The Jesus Prayer the Holy Spirit begins to cause all this self-centeredness to come crashing down, as a different Light of Knowledge appears in the heart, expanding outwards into the mind and body. We begin to perceive things at first in small flashes that shake our most cherished confidences, and then at times it comes in a flood that sweeps everything else away but the blazing Light that to our pride of life is like a drowning. A death is happening to us, a transformation and birth is taking place.
And once we begin to see things from heaven's point of view, we will never be the same again. A wounding will take place in the heart, and it is the wound of knowing that, beyond any doubt, there exists a type of love that can NEVER be enough.
Once we have tasted of that sweetness, we shall be forever bound to journey into that Infinity... forever seeking within the Unfolding Mystery the Wonder of the next embrace...
Showing posts with label Lazarus of Hyacinth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lazarus of Hyacinth. Show all posts
Nov 19, 2010
Oct 7, 2010
Illness of the Soul - By Lazarus of Hyacinth
I post this with permission from Lazarus of Hyacinth at the Oasis Blog (http://lazarus-oasis.blogspot.com/).
He is very insightful and I appreciate the manna God provides through him.
The three main characteristics of the illness that has entered the human soul:
1. Ignorance. Cut off from the Uncreated Light. Existence in darkness and delusion. Inability to rise to contemplation and communion. Existential alienation, no personal relationship with God. Things of God seem foolishness, even a torment. Movement of Grace resisted.
2. Forgetfulness. No remembrance of God, no remembrance of contemplation, prayer, or communion. The soul is not directed towards the Divine and the spiritual life, but only towards the things of this world. For these, God exists as intellectual "idea" only, there is no existential experience of God and there may even be outright denial.
3. No desire to remain in a constant state of prayer. The "normal" state of man, as intended by God, is to be in a state of unceasing prayer, a state of contemplation and communion. True theology (theosis) comes from unceasing prayer, from the practice of the spiritual life and virtues, which, finally, results in existential encounter, and not from philosophical and metaphysical ideas.
When we speak to others about the spiritual life, it is necessary that some degree of Grace precede us in order to prepare the ground. This is why it is said to not give what is holy to the dogs, or to cast pearls before swine. There are some who will simply not receive the Gospel.
Unless God has given us the ability (as He often does with the Saints and Elders) to see into hearts, we cannot know for certain how prepared that ground is. In a personal situation with someone, we are wise to proceed, then, with a certain compassion and delicateness, and not just hit someone right over the head with a bat, expecting a real "come to Jesus" moment will happen immediately. Arm twisting is not the Christian way, and we cannot know but that someone must first go through certain things on their path to Grace. It may be that the seed we plant today will only sprout and grow in time, perhaps watered by another. The proper approach is to pray ahead of time that your message will be well received, and then to keep on praying! Then, doing all that we should have done, and in a proper manner, we leave the ultimate outcome in the hands of the Holy Spirit.
On the other hand, those who express a genuine desire to listen, who may even eagerly seek our help, are likely already benefiting from a certain amount of Grace. Again, prayer is our best chance for success, for we can only strive to be humble vehicles, and are certainly not ourselves the source of Grace. Everything must be done with compassion and love.
Posted by Lazarus of the Hyacinth at 10/05/2010 01:16:00 PM
He is very insightful and I appreciate the manna God provides through him.
The three main characteristics of the illness that has entered the human soul:
1. Ignorance. Cut off from the Uncreated Light. Existence in darkness and delusion. Inability to rise to contemplation and communion. Existential alienation, no personal relationship with God. Things of God seem foolishness, even a torment. Movement of Grace resisted.
2. Forgetfulness. No remembrance of God, no remembrance of contemplation, prayer, or communion. The soul is not directed towards the Divine and the spiritual life, but only towards the things of this world. For these, God exists as intellectual "idea" only, there is no existential experience of God and there may even be outright denial.
3. No desire to remain in a constant state of prayer. The "normal" state of man, as intended by God, is to be in a state of unceasing prayer, a state of contemplation and communion. True theology (theosis) comes from unceasing prayer, from the practice of the spiritual life and virtues, which, finally, results in existential encounter, and not from philosophical and metaphysical ideas.
When we speak to others about the spiritual life, it is necessary that some degree of Grace precede us in order to prepare the ground. This is why it is said to not give what is holy to the dogs, or to cast pearls before swine. There are some who will simply not receive the Gospel.
Unless God has given us the ability (as He often does with the Saints and Elders) to see into hearts, we cannot know for certain how prepared that ground is. In a personal situation with someone, we are wise to proceed, then, with a certain compassion and delicateness, and not just hit someone right over the head with a bat, expecting a real "come to Jesus" moment will happen immediately. Arm twisting is not the Christian way, and we cannot know but that someone must first go through certain things on their path to Grace. It may be that the seed we plant today will only sprout and grow in time, perhaps watered by another. The proper approach is to pray ahead of time that your message will be well received, and then to keep on praying! Then, doing all that we should have done, and in a proper manner, we leave the ultimate outcome in the hands of the Holy Spirit.
On the other hand, those who express a genuine desire to listen, who may even eagerly seek our help, are likely already benefiting from a certain amount of Grace. Again, prayer is our best chance for success, for we can only strive to be humble vehicles, and are certainly not ourselves the source of Grace. Everything must be done with compassion and love.
Posted by Lazarus of the Hyacinth at 10/05/2010 01:16:00 PM
Jun 13, 2010
God Works All Things Together For Our Good...
Recently, I asked a wise man about the problem of evil and why many professing Christians do not look more like Christ. I've written about this before and have been pondering it for sometime. I realize as I ponder this that I must watch my own walk, ask for God's grace, and work out my salvation with fear and trembling lest I stumble. Here is the answer that Lazarus of Hyacinth gave. He is of the Orthodox persuasion. His Oasis blog is one of my favorites http://lazarus-oasis.blogspot.com/.
"In † Romans 8:28, St. Paul talks about how all things work for the good of them that love God and who are called according to His purpose.
But this again is speaking of the Wisdom and Providence of God, which we cannot always fathom, and so we do not see the true cause and end of things. In our limited view, we make wrong choices, draw wrong conclusions, and we FAIL TO TRUST GOD AT HIS WORD, thinking that we can manage it all on our own. This is an incredible pride and arrogance, is it not, thinking that we know better than God!
In the storms of life, we often cannot explain why things happen as they do, and to make matter worse, we cut ourselves off from heavenly aid by our failure to trust in God.
We either say that God is God, and believe in His goodness and wisdom, or we do not. Scripture tells us that God desires that none perish, and that all be saved and enter the eternal Kingdom. If we REALLY believe that, then we must "hang on," no matter what life throws at us, to the Divine purpose for which we are called, and for which we were created. We must run the race to the end.
Our other option is despair and darkness.
We do not always understand the lessons we are being taught by our sorrows and sufferings, but all the Saints testify to the necessity of dying to self and the world. Christ must be our first and chief love above all else. It is the only Wisdom and Love that can save us and prepare us for the Kingdom. In our delusion, we think that this world is all there is, and we convince ourselves, against all the evidence, that we can become its masters. Death tells us otherwise. It is a sword in the heart of our pride and arrogance. This is why all the Saints speak about the constant remembrance of death.
While I do use a traditional prayer rope, most of the time I pray using some prayer beads made of bones. This is one way I keep the constant remembrance of death before my mind, lest I become arrogant before God and start to think I know something!
When we stay in the Father's will, He helps us, and sends us heavenly aid in our struggles. When I leave His will because of my sins, then I have real trouble hearing His voice, and my aid deserts me. I suffer, and this is another way of God's teaching me.
If we think God is unfair, and could have done a better job in creating the world, then we are pretending to a knowledge INFINITELY far above us, and it can only be called arrogance and rebellion . . . "
"In † Romans 8:28, St. Paul talks about how all things work for the good of them that love God and who are called according to His purpose.
But this again is speaking of the Wisdom and Providence of God, which we cannot always fathom, and so we do not see the true cause and end of things. In our limited view, we make wrong choices, draw wrong conclusions, and we FAIL TO TRUST GOD AT HIS WORD, thinking that we can manage it all on our own. This is an incredible pride and arrogance, is it not, thinking that we know better than God!
In the storms of life, we often cannot explain why things happen as they do, and to make matter worse, we cut ourselves off from heavenly aid by our failure to trust in God.
We either say that God is God, and believe in His goodness and wisdom, or we do not. Scripture tells us that God desires that none perish, and that all be saved and enter the eternal Kingdom. If we REALLY believe that, then we must "hang on," no matter what life throws at us, to the Divine purpose for which we are called, and for which we were created. We must run the race to the end.
Our other option is despair and darkness.
We do not always understand the lessons we are being taught by our sorrows and sufferings, but all the Saints testify to the necessity of dying to self and the world. Christ must be our first and chief love above all else. It is the only Wisdom and Love that can save us and prepare us for the Kingdom. In our delusion, we think that this world is all there is, and we convince ourselves, against all the evidence, that we can become its masters. Death tells us otherwise. It is a sword in the heart of our pride and arrogance. This is why all the Saints speak about the constant remembrance of death.
While I do use a traditional prayer rope, most of the time I pray using some prayer beads made of bones. This is one way I keep the constant remembrance of death before my mind, lest I become arrogant before God and start to think I know something!
When we stay in the Father's will, He helps us, and sends us heavenly aid in our struggles. When I leave His will because of my sins, then I have real trouble hearing His voice, and my aid deserts me. I suffer, and this is another way of God's teaching me.
If we think God is unfair, and could have done a better job in creating the world, then we are pretending to a knowledge INFINITELY far above us, and it can only be called arrogance and rebellion . . . "
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