The group continued to discuss Abba Isaac's breathtaking exposition of the "Our Father"; considering the third, fourth and fifth petitions. The beauty of his words are only equaled by their challenge. We are called to desire above all to live the "angelic" life (to be wrapped in our desire to fulfill God's will in every aspect of our lives), to seek to nourish ourselves upon His Word (discerning the gift that we receive daily and receiving it with reverence and awe), and to cry out for God's for...
Feb 05, 2015•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 38
Germanus, Cassian's traveling companion, begins this section by talking about the mind's inconstancy and seeming inability to hold on to holy thoughts. He presses Abba Issac to move ahead with a discussion on how to pray without ceasing. But Abba Issac knows that there is work that must first be done in understanding the various aspects of prayer as outlined by the Apostle Paul and to see an example of the forms of prayer expressed perfectly and in unison by Jesus in the Our Father. No person's ...
Jan 22, 2015•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Picking up with Cassian's Conference 9 on Prayer, we continue to focus on the necessary dispositions for unceasing and pure prayer. We must not let anything, worldly vices or concerns, weigh us down; nor can we underestimate the impact of the actions and thoughts we may consider beneficial or of little significance hinder us. In fact, it is often that which appears good or innocent that is most destructive to our spiritual life because we pay it no attention and so don't struggle to overcome it....
Jan 15, 2015•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 36
Prayer is the subject of conferences 9 and 10 and its importance is underlined at the very beginning of the 9th: "The end of every monk and the perfection of his heart incline him to constant and uninterrupted perseverance in prayer." But this constant prayer demands, in turn, perfection of heart and the virtues that go with it. This ninth conference serves as a kind of preliminary, among other things establishing the conditions for prayer and the different possible characteristics of prayer.
Jan 08, 2015•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 35
After a brief hiatus due to illness, the group picked up with the final few pages of Conference Eight which was Abba Serenus' response to Germanus' questions as to whether demons could have had intercourse with the daughters of men and whether the devil had a father, given the words of Jn 8:44 "he is a liar and the father of it." Serenus responds to the first be asserting that a spiritual being could not have had carnal relations with a corporeal being. He explain the account in Gn 6:2, instead,...
Nov 13, 2014•59 min•Season 3Ep. 34
The group picked up with Abba Serenus' exposition of the nature and characteristics of demons - the fact that they occupy the airy void between heaven and earth, their hideous appearance, their mutual adversity (which is the result of their having befriended mutually opposed nations on earth), their titles, functions and hierarchy, and their assignment to individual human beings, such that each human being has a personal demon as well as a personal angel. It is fortunate that human beings cannot...
Oct 24, 2014•58 min•Season 3Ep. 33
The group took up Cassian’s eighth conference – listening once again to the wise counsel of Abba Serenus. This conference treats of demons in themselves and their origins. In particular, the question is raised: “Were they created by God, in all their variety, specifically to wage war against humankind?” Serenus begins with some lengthy preliminaries about the interpretation of Scripture and about the possibility of understanding it both historically and allegorically. From there, he proceeds to ...
Oct 16, 2014•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 32
The group considered the closing sections of Conference Seven with Abba Serenus. The Divine Physician often will allow demons to afflict souls for the purposes of correction and at times that affliction will be severe; especially among the holy ones whose sin might seem slight in the eyes of the world but yet prevents the spiritual perfection to which God calls them. Serenus reminds Cassian and Germanus of the importance of praying ceaselessly for those who are afflicted and of encouraging frequ...
Oct 13, 2014•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 31
The elder Serenus clarifies for Cassian and Germanus that the evil spirits, although capable of working in a kind of temporary accord, do not act in harmony with each other. Rather, a spirit must set out by itself to attack the mind in such a way that if it departs vanquished it gives it over to another spirit to be attacked more vehemently. Not all evil spirits are as powerful or fight with the same ferocity and with beginners and the weak only the weaker spirits are paired off in battle. The p...
Oct 02, 2014•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 30
Germanus and Cassian continue to engage the elder Serenus about the action of evil spirits. Serenus with great patience and eloquence shows them that evil spirits only have the power to incite and that we as human beings remain capable of either rejecting or accepting their suggestions. We either choose to be deceived or fail quickly to oppose them. So called "possession" is only due to the weakening of the body that comes from the acceptance and embrace of sin; much akin to the effects of wine ...
Sep 27, 2014•1 hr 21 min•Season 3Ep. 29
Cassian and Germanus seek out the guidance of the elder Serenus, whose name captures his character. Serenus had attained great purity of heart, peace, and freedom from the carnal desires of the flesh. Cassian and Germanus come to him in a state of despair; for although having labored for years they found their thoughts wandering and pulling them back to the things of the world and the passions. In their desolation they had begun to give up any hope of attaining such virtue and complain to Serenu...
Sep 18, 2014•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 28
The group considered the final paragraphs of Conference Six; reflecting in particular on the effects of diligence and negligence on the spiritual life. Cassian’s elder reminds him and us that we should call no person blessed until after his or her death. Virtue acquired by the grace of God and asceticism must be preserved with the same concern and effort with which it was obtained. Spiritual carelessness is like a leaky roof through which there are tiny leaks of passion that penetrate the soul. ...
Sep 04, 2014•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 27
We continue to make our way through Cassian's analysis of the spiritual life and its trials. As we approach the end of the Sixth Conference, Cassian makes it clear that there is no unchanging state in the spiritual life. We are either seeking God and growing in virtue (driven by desire) or we are being drawn deeper into the life of sin. Love of God, desire for the Beloved, must draw us on through the life of grace. With an intensity of mind, we must pursue what lies ahead and not let ourselves b...
Aug 28, 2014•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 26
The group continued its discussion of the sixth conference following the elder’s teaching on the necessity of trials in the spiritual life as a means of purification from sin. One must seek to trust in the wisdom of God as he finds himself afflicted for the sake of correction or to burn away the dross. At times one will undergo trials for the sake of the glory of God, to manifest the power of his grace through his endurance. In the most challenging section of the conference, the elder tells Cass...
Aug 21, 2014•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 25
The group continued this week following Cassian’s discussion with the elder Theodore about the ability to be “ambidextrous” in the spiritual life; that is, the importance of being able to remain at peace in the face of prosperity or adversity. Our chief desire should be to avoid sin and to trust that God, in his providence, can make all things work for the good of those who love and obey Him. A lengthy discussion ensued about how such an understanding of things changes our approach to life and w...
Aug 15, 2014•1 hr 13 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Tonight we began reading Conference 6 on the Slaughter of Holy Men where Cassian introduces us to the meaning of suffering and affliction. It is by no means an easy journey. Cassian slowly constructs a foundation upon which we can build. The only real good is virtue and the only evil is vice and separation from God. This is the frame, perhaps unfamiliar and uncomfortable to the modern mind and sensibilities, within which we are to shape our understanding of life. Ultimately affliction is only un...
Aug 07, 2014•1 hr 12 min•Season 3Ep. 23
Tonight we completed our discussion of the Eight Vices focusing in particular on the nature of gluttony and the perpetual struggle that is rooted in our most basic need for food. When laxity exist in the practice of fasting, one will make few gains in the spiritual battle or what gains have been made will be forfeited due to negligence. Cassian also reminds us that fasting must be accompanied by the pursuit and perfection of the other virtues. If not, we will find ourselves in the end drawn into...
Jul 31, 2014•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 22
The group continued to discuss Cassian’s exposition of the Eight Principal Vices. We followed as Cassian defined each of the vices and how they manifest themselves, how a vice such as the self-esteem associated with vainglory can be used to prevent an individual from following into lesser vice such as fornication through the shame it causes, and how we should spy out and focus our struggle against the worst of our vices. A rather lengthy discussion ensued about the nature of the spiritual strugg...
Jul 17, 2014•1 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 21
The group continues to discuss Cassian’s analysis of the eight principal vices, how they manifest themselves and are interconnected. Particular attention was given to the vice of gluttony and how essential it is to combat it as a foundation to the ascetical life and as the first and necessary step to combatting the other vices. The various forms of gluttony were considered and the value of fasting explored. Cassian’s thought reveals the need to reexamine modern sensibilities regarding our appeti...
Jul 10, 2014•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 20
St. Isaac the Syrian once said: "He who perceives his sins is higher then he who raises the dead by his prayer; he who has been vouchsafed to see himself is better than he who has been vouchsafed to see angels." In other words, he who understands his sins and so can struggle with them has acquired a higher blessing than what appears to be an extraordinary grace. One gift raises a person to earthly life again, the other opens up the path to eternal life and freedom from the passions. Perhaps no o...
Jun 26, 2014•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Cassian defines and describes the various states of the soul (carnal, animal and spiritual) and discusses them in relation to lukewarmness in the spiritual life. The question of lukewarmness was pursued in depth, its various manifestations and impact upon one's salvation.
Jun 05, 2014•59 min•Season 3Ep. 18
Cassian begins with a rather dense discussion of the nature of the desires of the flesh and the spirit. While rather challenging to follow, the payoff in regards to clarity is great. The struggles between the flesh and the spirit create a kind of equilibrium for the will that prevent us from falling into excess. The desires of the flesh are limited by spiritual fervor and the ascetic disciplines and the desires of the spirit are balanced by the limits of human nature. We are prevented from simpl...
May 29, 2014•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 17
We continued to discuss the final portions of Conference Three where Cassian seeks to capture the relationship between grace and free will. Synergy best expresses this relationship: God does not force His grace upon us but guides and strengthens us when we submit to his will. We cooperate. God works with us. We work with Him. God wants free-will partners. He created us to be His sons and daughters not His blind slaves. Once we come to know Him, however, we do become His servants, but we do it wi...
May 22, 2014•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 16
We continue to follow Cassian as he discusses the relationship between grace and free will. God is not only the beginning and end of all things but his grace is the source of our growth in virtue and our rising out of vice when we have fallen. Our free will is used to embrace that grace in obedience or to turn away from it. Discussion then ensued about the importance and centrality of desire in the spiritual life. Christianity in its essence is relational and we create an illusion when we make t...
May 15, 2014•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 15
We continue with Cassian's exposition of the three forms of renunciation and the importance of understanding that simply renouncing attachment to material goods without renouncing vice is wanting in its nature. There are only two riches that endure unto eternal life - our vices and our virtues. These two things are freighted with destiny and cannot be neglected. The spiritual life cannot be stripped of its moral demands and the call to deep conversion. Even if one were to give up all of his good...
May 08, 2014•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 14
After discussing the three sources of one's calling to monastic life or conversion, Cassian moves on to consider three forms of renunciation that lead one to embrace the life of grace: renunciation of one's attachment to material things, renunciation of one's attachment to sin, and renunciation of anything that prevents one from living in the fullness of theoria, or contemplation of God. Discussion ensued about how this renunciation is fulfilled by those who live in the world and in the face of ...
May 01, 2014•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Cassian takes up the theme of the three sources of one's calling to the monastic life or to conversion (God, the example of others, need) and the three types of renunciation essential for living a life of deep conversion (detachment from worldly goods, one's passions, and from all things that prevent theoria or contemplation.) Discussion ensued about compunction, conversion in one's daily life, and embracing a spirit of renunciation in the modern world.
Apr 24, 2014•1 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 12
A wonderful discussion this evening on the concluding paragraphs of the Conference and in particular on the practice of fasting. Attention is given to the implications of Cassian's teaching for Christians living in a secular culture and in the face of the many evils therein. How is it that one pursues a life of holiness in the modern day? How do we engage the culture in a fashion that is not stilted or reactionary?
Apr 17, 2014•57 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Continuing discussion of the value of the revelation of one's thoughts to an elder and the responsibility of the elder to treat those entrusted to them with kindness and compassion; example of discretion as the avoiding of extremes, especially in regards to the practice of fasting.
Apr 10, 2014•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Discretion and the importance of the revelation of one's thoughts; the graces of the humble recognition of one's sins and the safety it brings in the spiritual life; the importance of the spiritual elder and the concurrent dangers of false teachers.
Apr 03, 2014•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 9
