Month: June 2019

Saint Silouan makes a distinction between kinds of suffering, based on his own experience as he related it in his story of the fish-bone and the headaches. Renos Papadopoulos applies this teaching to his own practice in working with refugees, by adapting St. Silouan’s recognition of this distinction into an epistemological distinction as to the variety of way’s one can conceptualize suffering. Renos explains that we as care-givers should recognize the fact that suffering is not always “something we should get rid of” but that it can have important and life-changing meaning for the person undergoing it.

Renos says that we can look at suffering, or adversity, which we encounter in our lives as potentially positive, rather than seeing it entirely negatively, which is often how the helping professions approach suffering. Renos encourages us, based on the teaching of Saint Silouan, to seek out God’s will in our suffering, because this can expand our perspective on adversity. By understanding God’s love for us and His will for us, which is always a will for our good, this can mitigate our negative feelings towards suffering and open the door for us to trust more in the process and outcome deriving from adversity, and oftentimes this can lead us to greater strength and endurance in living through suffering.

Does suffering produce endurance, as St Paul writes, or does it crush us? How we interpret suffering makes a significant difference in how we approach it in our own lives, as well as how we approach those we are helping through their own responses to adversity. The outcome of our view on suffering can make the difference, as Renos says, in whether our response becomes pathological or merely a reaction according to ordinary human distress.

Man unfortunately uses his freedom, his free will, to distance himself from God, and then adversity and suffering often further distances him from God, because of man’s negative response to adversity, and this develops into a traumatic response. But this is not always and entirely the case. Renos explains that we need to recognize the possibility however, of positive responses to adversity. In his work with refugees he sees, in every case, resilient responses and the development of new positive traits occurring within these people along with negative responses; all of these occurring simultaneously and side-by-side. If we recognize this truth we can work together with our care-recipients to discover and foster these positive responses to help them achieve greater strength and health however, by failing to recognize this possibility we can miss an important opportunity in helping people who have been through adversity.

Viewing trauma only in the typical way, as needing cure and relief, but with no other intrinsic value, causes care-givers to take actions to remedy the ‘trauma’ that are “ineffective at best, or even detrimental (ed. Welker 146).” However, by seeking God’s will and trusting that He has a plan for us in all cases, Renos explains that we can seek and access greater meaning from our suffering, and draw nearer to God as well.

I think it is important to look for each individual’s strengths and help create conditions for these strengths to be activated as we help others work through their responses to the inevitable sufferings of their lives. Even by simply making these strengths apparent to the one who is suffering, or simply noting the possibility that strengths do exist within them, can be of great benefit to the one who may be lost in the despair and weakness of their situation.

Renos sees the Spirit having a dimension and power that can transform “an impossibly bleak situation devoid of hope and realistic resolution [into] an unexpected epiphany, indeed, the transformative power of the cross that enables Christ to ‘overcome death by death’ (ed. Welker 144-145). Saint Silouan’s teaching on suffering opens us to understand that suffering isn’t always negative. Based on this concept Renos developed the ‘Adversity Grid’ to illustrate the complexity in human responses to suffering, showing that responses can be neutral or even positive in reaction to adverse events.

In applying St Silouan’s teaching to ‘keep thy mind in hell and despair not’ Renos describes how this can help us recognize both the importance of ‘hellish’ experiences and also that these experiences can have positive effects (ed. Welker 151), that hell-states can be meaningful, and that understanding them in this way can facilitate positive transformation (153) and even that these hell-states can be the impetus for the growth of new positive traits within us that otherwise wouldn’t have been born (155).

As care-givers we can apply these teachings and insights in order to help those we serve to see suffering in another way, and encourage them to use their experiences with adversity in positive ways that can be transformational and healing. As Renos writes: “St Silouan’s dictum…encourages us not only not to run away from the excruciatingness of these hell situations but also to trust that this very persistent focus on the awfulness of the situation will activate a certain process of transcendence that will bring about a radical transformation, a paradigmatic shift, resulting in a new epistemology that will enable access to healing from sources and in ways that our previous state of being could not even have registered before (ed. Welker 154).”

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Renos Papadopoulos (2018). “Compliance and Resistance: the Psychological Perspective.”

Papadopoulos, R.K. “Keep thy mind in hell and despair not: implications for psychosocial work with survivors of political violence.” The Spirit in Creation and New Creation. Michael Welker, Ed. Eerdmans Publishing. 2016.

~FS

Lately, I’ve been considering giving up the appearance of being smart. I’m not sure I’m courageous enough to give up appearances though. Everyone seems to admire smart people, give them more respect, or at least take them more seriously. And fear keeps me doing the things that get me lovin’, and keeps me from doing the things that get me ridiculed. I especially learned how to toe this line in college. Fear is an excellent headmaster which keeps us students saying the right things.

But faith teaches me other things, and if I’m honest—better things. I can’t explain it but a life of simple faith yields an abundant life of simple joys. I’m considering that this might actually be a lot better than trying to have others like me because I’m clever, or knowledgeable—and certainly better than expending energy towards avoiding or deflecting criticism, and derision, aimed at my simplicity.

Not too long ago a client was extremely angry towards me—screaming, and violently gesturing, he accused me of being a liar and a thief. It seemed a very unfair accusation but I decided to keep silent, and refrained from defending myself further against his railings. As it turns out though, he did me a great service, by helping me gain a measure of freedom over myself.

My good name, my integrity, my sense of being a good person—all of this was being called into question by his anger and vociferous attack. There were defenses to be made, I could have fought back with arguments, and explanations, but silence worked a better reward within my soul. I discovered that his hatred towards me in that situation only mattered to me if I was attached to his opinion of me. Otherwise, I was free.

He liberated me from my fear of losing face, and of being seen in a bad light. He appeared to be an enemy coming to take something away from me, but he unsuspectingly gave me a gift instead. He gave me an opportunity to forget myself, and even more, an opportunity to care about him in spite of this attack. I even saw an opportunity to love him, if I dared, and consider him a brother.

Now, I imagine this freedom in other areas of my life, especially the areas that are most important to me. What if I were to be called an idiot for my faith—a fool—or a simpleton for believing in Christ? How liberating that could be!!! Well, I’m sure there is no shortage of people happy to tell me this.

I have loved to be loved. However, might it not be more advantageous to love to be hated? Perhaps this is a doorway to complete freedom. But am I courageous enough to step through this door?

~FS

It has been said that, “With great power comes great responsibility.” There is no greater power given humanity than a woman’s power to bring forth another human into this world. This is an awesome power and one that requires an awesome responsibility on the part of every woman. Women are empowered with the responsibility of life itself.

Therefore, we must appeal to every woman to carefully consider her greatness with a clarity of mind, so as to recognize her great responsibility, and to protect herself from the lies of our current generation, which would try to convince her that she is merely a collection of choices, an individual with no significance beyond her personal desires.

No, every woman is much more important than this; and owes it to herself, and all of humanity, to believe that she is more than this, and to fight against the forces that would reduce her true stature, and that would substitute her true nobility with a false empowerment.

These forces in the world tell her that it is more important to grovel for the right to kill an innocent unborn child, than it is to rise up and defend the life that she bears within her. She is told it is more important to do only what she wants, rather than consider others, whom she could love, and who the world may need someday.

Woman is made to be selfless in her love—admirable and heroic—but these forces would rather keep her small, like a little child fighting for her own way. But no woman should be content to remain as such a little child, but rather must desire to mature into adulthood, becoming the powerful, loving and giving woman that she knows herself to be, that she can be, that we need her to be.

Women’s true power is being subverted by an artificial, and almost comical power. It would be almost funny, if the results weren’t so terribly sad. So many, many lives lost. Women’s true power, the power of life, is being subverted by the power of death, and this is a tragedy from which we all are victims.

Women. How you define yourselves is crucially important. You know what you are—givers, not takers of life. You possess a great power, bear it responsibly, and teach the whole world the true meaning of love. Inspire us, please, by your compassion.

~FS

Pray, pray, pray to develop soul muscles—to bring peace to your inner life, and open your heart to the life of God.

When I fail to pray, my spirit becomes flaccid, my mind grows restless and I cannot discern—I lose understanding, and my spirit grows anxious, seeking every form of distraction. I become lost in a world of my own creation, convinced that God is no longer present.

Prayer is the exercise that makes us lighter, and burns away our life in the flesh—but it is painful. How difficult it is to stand fast in prayer while we experience all manner of discomfort: distractions, boredom, unpleasant sensations of soul and body, unsettled emotions, memories, doubts, regrets, shame, despair, sorrow and fears—but this is the doorway to prayer. We are just warming up, stretching our spiritual muscles, and preparing ourselves for the real activity of prayer—relationship with God.

In this life we tend to tie ourselves into knots. Prayer is the necessary unraveling of these knots. As we warm up to prayer, these knots release—this will initially be painful. Because we have contorted our spirits in avoidance of God; we must make straight what we have made crooked, so that we can see Him clearly again, and understand the truth of ourselves in relation to Him, turning away from the deceptive allure of a life separated from Him.

Pray, pray, pray with words until you no longer need them. Pray the Lord’s Prayer. Pray the Jesus Prayer. Pray the many other prayers written for our benefit. Pray with hope before every activity, and again with thanks for everything that has transpired. Pray continually and make your soul a house of prayer.

Pray in spirit and in truth when the words become distractions. Pray in a quiet and private place. In stillness and silence make your home through prayer, so that God will abide there with you.

Pray until you lose yourself, and find yourself at the feet of God, then listen to His voice. Pray with tears, if you are able, and turn your heart to God.

Don’t be discouraged. If you stop prayer, start again. If you haven’t prayed for years, start today. If you’ve never prayed, start today. Grow strong in prayer through repetition and perseverance. Build endurance through habit.

Discover the sweetness and beauty wrapped within prayer—a fragrance of joy and peace that will permeate your life.

~FS

How might we approach assisting others who are suffering, in ways that are empathetic but not pitying, as their servant and not their savior—in ways that are healthy—while at the same time developing our own spiritual foundation from which to serve? St. Silouan presents a powerful paradigm for life, which can assist us in accomplishing all of these goals.

He tells us to “keep thy mind in hell, and despair not.” Contained in this is a constant awareness of our sinfulness and fallen state, yet also at the same time a trust and faithfulness in God’s supreme love for us. The former provides many spiritual benefits in our spiritual formation while the latter draws us ever closer in relationship with God through faith and hope.

How does this work? Archimandrite Sophrony explains it in this way: “Spiritual pain is the source of the energy needed to resist the pull of earthly attractions for the sake of that other divine and eternal world (Sophrony Wisdom 7).” It is a way to conquer sin within us (11), a way to resist the passions, especially pride and vanity, and to learn humility. Additionally, it can help us shift our vision from what is earthly and temporal to what is heavenly and eternal. Our “approach to the divine mysteries lies through the humility and the kind of kenosis that we see in Christ… (7).” And ultimately it is Christ who we emulate when we keep our minds in hell but despair not, much in the same way that He emptied himself, crying tears of blood when he prayed in Gethsemane, and when he suffered on the cross and descended into hell before rising again.

By this practice we keep our mind in focused awareness of our sinfulness in the face of God and this protects us and keeps us from the deceptions of pride and vanity. If we can consciously and intentionally accuse ourselves of our sin we nullify the accusations that come from others, destroying the power that sin has over us, and restoring our freedom in Christ. We see our enslavement to the passions in contrast to the holiness of God and this brings us to a state of terminal humility—a humility that is our end, or telos as human beings, and a humility which casts out the passions, killing them and leading us to true life.

In a way, this concept is like mindfulness of death in its effect; as a method which keeps our mind and heart in the house of mourning, where we are told wisdom is to be found, rather than in the house of mirth, which could be equated to all of the ‘worldly’ pursuits. All of the spiritual benefits which derive from this practice, but in particular humility, engender in us a peacefulness, and a love for others that can be healing.

It is difficult, perhaps impossible to look and see the hell that exists around us, and within us, due to sin, without feeling tempted to despair, and perhaps even succumbing to this temptation. However, it is not inevitable that we feel despair at this, because God is love and He loves us, and He desires that we know Him and know His profound love for us (cf. Archim. Sophrony, St. Silouan, 194). We learn of His love by faith and hope, through the action of grace in the Holy Spirit and by our actions of obedience to God. In particular, by the action of “keeping our mind in hell, and despairing not” we can work away at our pride in order to manifest an attitude of humility, which allows us to approach and know God and His love for us, further protecting us from falling into despair in the face of the world’s suffering. And as we attain this state we can share it with others to assist them also in resisting the temptation of despair.

Furthermore, St. Silouan describes this power of grace which helps us avoid falling into despair as we keep our mind focused on the abyss, he states: “When we properly condemn ourselves to eternal infamy and in agony descend into the pit, of a sudden some strength from above will lift our spirit to the heights (Sakharov 104).” This grace of God strips us bare, shows us our spiritual poverty but also gives us courage to overcome ourselves and see ourselves as God sees us (Archim. Zacharias, Enlargement of the Heart, 74).”

Finally, “by descending into hell, we do nothing other than follow the trail of the Lord Himself. However, the way of the Lord leads to life, and for this reason we should not despair (Archim. Zacharias, Christ Our Way & Our Life, 268).” We can hope in this because it is the way of Christ—strength in weakness, victory over death by His death, descent into hell leading to eternal life.

This is the life opposed to self-exaltation, like the path that infamous angel took before he was cast to the depths. Instead, this is the reversal of his path, this one empties us of pride, leading us first into the depths so that we can be raised up again, and along the way gain humility and other spiritual gifts which allow us to walk alongside those who suffer, not seeing ourselves as saviors or heroes but as simple servants doing what is expected of us for the love of God and our neighbor.

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Archimandrite Sophrony. Wisdom from Mount Athos: The Writings of Staretz Silouan, 1866-1938. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press. 1974.

Archimandrite Sophrony, St Silouan The Athonite. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press. 1991.

Archimandrite Zacharias. The Enlargement of The Heart: ‘Be Ye Also Enlarged’ in the Theology of Saint Silouan the Athonite and Elder Sophrony of Essex. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press. 2013.

Archimandrite Zacharias. Christ, Our Way and Our Life. St Tikhon’s Monastery Press. 2003.

Nicholas V Sakharov. I Love, Therefore I Am: The Theological Legacy of Archimandrite Sophrony. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press. 2002.

~FS

I have always very much wanted that any understanding I have, be rooted in experience, so that my understanding isn’t merely concepts held within my mind, like words from a book, but that it also infuses my whole being, so that my understanding is empirical and ontological knowledge—somehow living and alive within me.

So when I saw a man holding a sign this morning which said: “Jesus Saves” I considered for a long while what this really means. If I were to hold up a sign that said this, what would I mean by it? If someone asked me what I meant by holding up this sign, what would I say, how exactly would I follow up this statement that ‘Jesus Saves’? With what explanation would I try to explain it, one that reaches the empirical and ontological dimension of our understanding? Could I even do this?

If I were dead, I expect I should have a more complete experiential understanding of salvation in Jesus, but I’m not yet dead. Though if I were, I wouldn’t be able to explain it to anyone here anyway. So what does this mean, and how can it be known, here and now, that ‘Jesus Saves’?

I believe that ‘Jesus Saves’ means the freedom to resist and overcome our bad habits, sins, and our acts and thoughts of un-love in all their forms; and it means the peace of forgiveness when we are unable to do so, and forgiveness of others when they also are unable.

I believe that ‘Jesus Saves’ is the end of fear of my neighbor, of every neighbor, and of every other person, and the beginning of love for all of creation, even those who hurt me or have hurt me. It yields within us the courage to be, to live, and to give of ourselves sacrificially; Jesus gives us the courage and the freedom to live our lives for others and not solely for ourselves.

Jesus Saves me from myself, and gives me freedom to live for Him. And this means that I can live in patience and acceptance of all things, at peace and in joy, enduring the pains and difficulties of this life with gentleness and equanimity.

He saves us from the hell that we create for ourselves; He saves us from earthly hell which is easy to perceive, and then from eternal hell which we cannot perceive as yet.

~FS