My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY: SAINT SYMEON
THE NEW THEOLOGIAN
THE NATURE OF "WILL" IN CREATURES
A man who does His will, even unto death, is thereby left completely WITHOUT HIS OWN WILL. Yet no living and moving creature is without will, but only those that have neither senses nor power to move. Plants possess a certain inner movement and growth; but it cannot be said that this movement and growth are the result of the natural will — for they HAVE NO SOUL. But every creature with a soul by nature also possesses a will. Thus, whoever kills his own will by effort, with attention and zeal especially towards this end, and becomes devoid of will, has obviously transcended his nature and is outside of it. Such a man no longer himself wishes anything since he has no wishes of his own, and does nothing of himself either good or evil.
Those who with the help of the Holy Spirit have been vouchsafed union with God and have tasted of His ineffable blessings, no longer delight in empty — I would even say dishonorable and worthless — glory from men. Neither do they wish for money, costly garments, or precious stones, as the foolish call them … Neither do they aspire to be close to any famous or renowned men of the world, since no man cares to exchange riches for poverty.
TWO SUNS FOR TWO BODIES
From the first, God created two world, the VISIBLE and the INVISIBLE, and has made a king to reign over the visible who bears within himself the characteristic features of both worlds — one in this visible half and the other his invisible half — in his soul and his body. Two suns shine in these worlds, one visible and the other intellectual. In the visible world of the INVIS, there is the sun, and in the invisible world of the intellect, there is God, Who is called the Sun of Truth [or Righteousness]. The physical world is illumined by the physical and visible sun; but the world of the intellect and those in it are illumined by the Sun of Truth in the intellect. Moreover, physical things are illumined by the physical sun, and things of the intellect by the Sun of the intellect separately from one another — neither the physical with the intellectual nor the intellectual with the physical.
Of all the visible and invisible creation man alone IS CREATED DUAL. He has A BODY composed of the FOUR ELEMENTS, the SENSES and BREATH, AND HE HE HAS A SOUL, INVISIBLE INCORPOREAL, JOINED TO THE BODY IN AN INEFFABLE MANNER; THEY INTERPENETRATE AND YET ARE NOT COMPOUNDED, COMBINE AND YET DO NOT COALESCE. THIS IS WHAT MAN IS; AN ANIMAL BOTH MORTAL AND IMMORTAL, VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE, BOTH SENSORY AND INTELLECTUAL, CAPABLE OF SEEING THE VISIBLE AND KNOWING THE INVISIBLE CREATION. AS EACH OF THE TWO SUNS INFLUENCES HIS OWN WORLD SEPARATELY, SO THEY AFFECT AFFECT SEPARATELY EACH SIDE OF MAN: ONE ILLUMINES BODY AND THE OTHER THE SOUL, EACH GIVING OF ITS OWN LIGHT TO ITS OWN SIDE, WHETHER RICHLY OR SPARINGLY ACCORDING TO WHAT IT CAN RECEIVE.
GLIMPSING THE CREATOR THROUGH CREATION
We see the Creator by analogy. That is, by the
greatness and the beauty of His creation.
The words and decrees of God become the law of nature. Therefore, the decree which God uttered as result of the disobedience of the first Adam, the DECREE OF DEATH AND CORRUPTION, BECAME A LAW OF NATURE ETERNAL AND UNCHANGING. For the ABOLITION OF THIS DECREE, THE SON OF GOD, OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, WAS CRUCIFIED AND DIED, OFFERING HIMSELF AS A SACRIFICE FOR THE REDEMPTION OF MAN FROM DEATH.
THE REDEMPTION OF CREATION
The whole creation is to be RENEWED AND DELIVERED FROM THE BONDAGE OF CORRUPTION, AND THESE ELEMENTS TOGETHER WITH US WILL BECOME PARTAKERS OF THE BRIGHTNESS PROCEEDING FORM THE Divine fire. Just as bronze vessel that has become old and useless, becomes new again when a metal worker melts it in fire and recasts it, in the same way creation having become old and useless because OF OUR SINS, WILL BE, AS IT WERE, MELTED IN FIRE BY GOD THE CREATOR AND RECAST, AND WILL APPEAR NEW, INCOMPARABLY BRIGHTER THAN IT IS NOW. DO YOU SEE HOW ALL CREATURES ARE TO BE RENEWED BY FIRE?
(To be continued)
_____________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
+ Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape in Christs’s Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
