77. In What Way a Perfect Man is Like God — Sermon for the Fourteenth Sunday After Trinity

Synopsis — In what degree Satan is responsible for our dullness of spirit — The unresponsiveness to God that afflicts worldlings ; and even hurts spiritual persons — St. Gregory's remarkable teaching on this point — Thanksgiving is a sign of attentiveness to divine dalls — God's inward word in relation to the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost.

SECOND SERMON FOR THE TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER

And they bring to Him one deaf and dumb ; and they besought Him that He would lay His hand upon him. And taking him from the multitude apart, He put His fingers into his ears, and spitting, He touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, He groaned, and said to him : Ephpheta, which is, Be thou opened. And immediately his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke right. ... He hath clone all things well ; He hath made both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. — Mark viii, 32.

We are to inquire to-day into man's spiritual deafness. Since our first parents lent a willing ear to the voice of Satan, we are all deaf to the voice of the eternal Word of God within our souls. And yet we know full wTell that this divine Word is indescribably close to our souls, closer than our own thoughts, or our very nature to our conscious existence. Within our inmost souls dwells that divine Word, and He addresses us without ceasing. Man hears Him not, for he is afflicted with great deafness. Nor is this a blameless state of deafness, for we are like one to whom something is spoken, and who stops his ears lest he shall hear what it is. We are worse ; we have done this so much that at last we have lost knowledge of ourselves, and are become dumb, that is to say, wholly stupid. Ask a worldly man about his interior life, and he is dumb — he knows not if there be any such a life. And the cause of it is that the enemy has crept into that soul, which has hearkened to him, and thus has become deaf and dumb.

Now how does Satan insinuate himself into the soul? Thou shalt detect him in all blameworthy conduct ; his guidance is in all the deceit of this world, all inordinate love of created things, such as honors and riches, relatives and friends, and also self love in all its forms. Under cover of any of these does he insinuate himself into thy soul, for he is ever on the watch to take advantage of thy inclination to evil. Sometimes he urges thee to shun a certain pain that thou shouldst manfully bear; again, to seek forbidden joys, whispering inwardly in thy ear, showing pictures before the eyes of thy soul, all that thou mayst shut eyes and ears and soul to the eternal Word. If we but instantly turn away from the enemy's allurements, his temptations are easily overcome. If, on the contrary, one dallies with the tempter, gazes upon his pictures, listens to his suggestions, then is he nigh to destruction ; the temptation is grown very heavy. Kesist instantly, turn from him instantly, and thou art close to a victory. Soon thy deafness shall be cured, and thou shalt hear the inner voice of the eternal Word.

This deafness afflicts not only people living in the world but also those called to a spiritual life, but who permit their souls to be occupied by love and enjoyment of created things. This is well known to the devil, who tells them things calculated to gratify their inclinations. Some are made deaf by their infatuation for their self -chosen devotional customs and outward observances, which link them strongly to creatures in a spirit of proprietorship. The clatter of all this hinders the soul from hearing the inner voice of the eternal Word. We know well, of course, that we must have approved spiritual exercises and follow them earnestly ; and yet without a feeling of proprietorship. Such are devout prayers to God as well as holy meditation, by means of which our sluggish nature is aroused ; we are heartened to our work, and we are drawn inward to the Spirit; but never with an obstinate sense of ownership, and always looking inward to God in the depths of our souls. We should not imitate some men, who persist to their very deaths in certain external pious practices and use them in a wholly externized spirit, never seeking to go beyond this. If God wishes to speak to them, the ears of their souls are always preoccupied by other voices. Children, there are so many cases of this sort of spiritual deafness, that at the end of all things we shall be amazed at the revelation of it.

Now God's word is never spoken in any man's ears of whom it may not be said "If any one love Me, he will keep My word" (John xiv: 23). St. Gregory explains this: "Wouldst thou know if thou lovest God?

Take note of thy conduct when thou art tried. What dost thou do when pain comes on thee, or contradiction, or any other distress from round about thee? And how dost thou bear thyself in time of interior distress, when thy mental anguish is so sharp that thou knowest not whither to turn for relief? What is thy bearing in sudden storms of adversity; when beset with difficulties all unforeseen? If thou shalt rest quiet in these visitations, thy soul resting in peace, without any outburst of impatience, with no fault of word or act or even motion, then without doubt thou lovest God truly." On the heart that truly loves, neither outward pain nor pleasure can make any impression. One may give to thee, one may take from thee, if only thy Beloved abide with thee, it is all one to thee, and thou restest in interior peace. Thy outward man weeps — that thou canst not help; the inner man rests content with God's holy will. But if, alas, thou canst not stand this test, then art thou deaf — the divine Word will not be heard by thee.

Another test : art thou full of thanksgiving to God for the manifold favors He has conferred on thee, and on all mankind, and on all creatures in earth and heaven and never ceases to confer? And art thou especially thankful for the unspeakable gift of His Son's holy humanity? Again, thy universal spiritual exercise should be sincere love of all mankind, not only the members of thy own community, but all priests and monks and nuns and sisters, and all humanity besides, of whatever state or condition ; and this love should be active, and by no means confined in practice to thy own community, as far as lies in thy power. This universal love is of inestimable benefit; for whosoever are real enlightened friends of God, their hearts are melted with affection for all men living and dead. Had we no such lovers of mankind among us, our lot would be evil indeed. Futhermore, thou shouldst also show thy love by outward works, by making gifts, by speaking words of comfort and counsel, in so far as thy own real necessities will permit. And if thou art unable to give outward help, at least excite thy heart to say in all truth, that thou wouldst do so if it were within thy power. Here then are thy plain signs for true love, and they will show that thy heart is not deaf.

And now comes our Lord to a man deaf and dumb, and He spiritually putteth His finger in his ears, and anoints his tongue with His holy spittal, and immediately the man's soul can hear and can speak.

0 children, wonderful words might be said of this act of our Lord ; we content ourselves with naming the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, which thus enter the soul and are granted when it hearkens to God in very truth.

First is the spirit of fear, which is given us that we may renounce all self-will, all self-conceit. It teaches us to fly from every evil thing. After that is granted the gift of piety, making us tender-hearted, hindering all rash judgment, rendering us yielding and kindly towards all. The third touch of the Lord's finger is the gift of knowledge, giving us an interior lesson of divine experience, and guiding us to know the inner ways of union with God's holy will. The fourth is divine fortitude, by which the soul is so strengthened as to be able easily to suffer all pain for God's sake, and courageously to undertake all heavy tasks in His honor. The fifth is holy counsel, making all who receive it lovable men, and acceptable guides to others. And now come two touches of the divine finger that are deep and strong, namely, understanding and wisdom; but as to these, one can more easily feel the worth of them than he can describe them. May God grant that our ears may thus be opened to His truth, and that we may ever hearken to His eternal Word. Amen.

Spiritual Slurimeaa

Sytiopsis — The double vision of man, outward for created things, inward for divine things — How self-will blinds the soul — Differences between seeing and understanding ; especially when considering God in tJie incarnation of His Son — How one's meditation on even Christ's passion may lack true insight.

FIRST SERMON FOR THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER

Blessed are the eyes that see the things that you see. — Luke x, 23-37.

On one occasion our Lord, gazing upon his disciples, said: "I confess to Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones" (Matt xi: 25). This is appropriate to our text, which was addressed to those same disciples : "Blessed are the eyes that see the things that you see. For I say to you that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them." Then the holy narrative proceeds : "And behold a certain lawyer stood up, tempting Him, and saying: Master, what must I do to possess eternal life? But He said to him: What is written in the law? How readest thou? He, answering, said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbor as thyself. And He said to him : Thou hast answered right. This do, and thou shalt live."

Now let us consider our text: "Blessed are the eyes that see the things that you see." A man has two sets of eyes, interior and exterior. It were a hard lot if a man had no interior eyes; he would be like a beast had he only exterior eyes. And let me ask, dear children, how does it happen that the blessed interior eyes of a man, namely, his glorious reason, are blinded, are in a state of pitiful darkness, seeing no light? This comes from the thick covering that is drawn over them, namely, the love of created things, whether love of self or of other creatures. In this state men receive our Lord's sacred body and blood, and the oftener they do so the blinder they become. It is as if a thick skin had gone over their eyes. Children, what do you think can be the reason that so many men cannot enter in and examine the inner life of their own souls? It is because a veil is drawn over their interior eyes as thick as an ox's horn. Men shut their souls up so close that they keep both God and themselves entirely outside — they shut their spirits up with thick, coarse, black hides, as heavy as the skin of a bear were it even forty or fifty folds in thickness. And what do I mean by these hides? Everything to which thou devotest thy will ; all that thou givest thy love to, whether thou doest it by words or works, by favor or disfavor, arrogance, obstinacy or frivolity; in a word, pleasure in anything whatsoever without God.

These are the dark blinds over the eyes of men's souls. But the moment a man feels pained at this lamentable state, and humbly confesses it to God, determined to do his best to remedy it, presently God guides him to good counsel, and the obstacles to spiritual sight fall off. But with some men no counsel avails, and then their darkness grows yet more dense. They will not forsake their idols, but, like Rachel, they hide them away and sit upon them. Their minds are filled with the forms of the created things they love; these blind their eyes; the voices of the world deafen their ears. And when reason is thus deaf and blind, it cannot be saved.

"Blessed are the eyes that see the things that you see." Any man in his senses can see that the creatures that possess our hearts are in themselves merely nothing, and yet they are capable of giving us joy of a certain kind. But why cannot we understand the joy that God will give us, since it is from God that created things have all come forth? The knowledge and appreciation of this would make our eyes blessed, if we would but see it, for we in our day see more than our Lord's disciples at that moment were able to see. They saw their Master indeed; but He was then a poor, rejected and much suffering man, whereas we know Him now, in the light of holy faith, as a majestic being, God and Lord of earth and heaven. Could we but duly appreciate what our eyes thus behold, eternally blessed would those eyes he.

Dear children, the great masters dispute with one another as to which is greater, knowledge or love. But as to us, we shall rather choose for our discussion matters of eternal life: — when we come to that, we shall behold all things in very truth. Our Lord says: "But one thing is necessary" (Luke x: 42). And what is that one thing necessary? It is that thou shouldst know thy own nothingness; recognize this as thy only real self; fully understand as thou dost depend on thyself who thou art. For that one thing necessary has our Lord suffered such agony of soul that He sweat blood. It was because thou wouldst not learn this one thing, that he cried out on the cross: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Mark xv: 34). Why should the one thing necessary for our salvation be given up by us? Dear child, I bid thee to dismiss from thy mind all that I and all other instructors have taught thee, all work and all contemplation, and study henceforth only this one thing necessary — to know thy own nothingness. For our Lord said: "Mary hath chosen the better part" ( Luke x: 42). In very truth, didst thou but gain only this part, thou shouldst have, not a part, but the whole of heavenly wisdom. This sense of our nothingness is not what some men conceit themselves to know and teach. They feign a deep humility as they speak of it, but in their soul's inmost depths they cherish a notion of themselves as high as the steeple of the Cathedral. They would be great before men's eyes, and they deceive men, and most of all themselves, by a pretense of humility. Dear child, if thou findest thyself clinging fast to some devout practice, meanwhile unmindful of thy nothingness, then I say to thee it were better to give over this busy method of thine, and turn inward to the thoughts of thy helpless nothingness.

But let us now consider the outward man. Ask thyself: What art thou, and whence art thou? Thy bodily substance is made up of such foul matter, that it is offensive to thy very self as well as to all others. And what shall thy body become? A sack of un cleanliness, emiting a most intolerable stench, turning the costliest food into the worst filth. Yet this fuel for the everlasting fire of hell, is what many a one devotes his whole life to pampering. A dead corpse? It is an unbearable horror to the very ones who once loved it best — it is more disgusting than a dead dog. It would seem as if God had set everything against the comfort of our bodily life, the air and the sun and all the elements. Now we are freezing with cold, again scorched with heat; now it pours down rain, again we are smothered with snow ; there is hunger and thirst, there are pleasures and pains ; beasts and insects and worms assail and molest us, and many other such plagues ; and it is impossible for thee to escape them.

Look at the wild animals, how happily they are placed compared to thee. Their garments grow upon them naturally, and they are always comfortable whether it be cold or hot. As for thee, it is from them that thou must borrow thy clothing; thus art thou poorer than they. All thy pleasure depends on their gifts to thee, and yet thou art proud! Is not this an unspeakable blindness of heart? The cattle are quite content with what God gives them of clothing, beds, shelter, food and drink. And now consider thy marvellous misery, that thou sinnest not seldom by excessive enjoyment of these things that the cattle furnish thee. In former times the saints wept because they were compelled to eat; and they laughed when they had to die.

Yet further consider thy nothingness in the miseries of thy nature. Dost thou gladly pray, and watch, and fast, and weep? By no means canst thou do it. What thou wouldst wish to do, that thou doest not; and what thou wishest not to do, that thou nevertheless must do. What miseries are thine from thy many amazing temptations; and what sins does not God threaten to allow thee to commit. Dost thou never think of this? O that thou didst but learn the lesson of this thy nothingness, the one thing necessary to know. To be sure, the fact that God thus leaves thee in peril of sin is only for thy best good, so that thou shouldst take counsel of thy nothingness — better for thee, perhaps, than if thou shouldst stand high, and wert lifted up among great things.

Men will come to thee with overbearing manners and hard words, telling thee high-sounding and subtle things of the intellect, as if they thought they were Christ's apostles. Dear child, get away from them and sink into thy inmost soul, into thy nothingness, and let these men talk on like the ringing of the bells in a church steeple. Nay, if all the devils in hell were turned loose upon thee, and all other creatures with them — it will all help thee wonderfully, if thou wilt but turn inward to the study of thy nothingness: that is "the best part."

But thou mightst say to me: Brother, I meditate all day long on Christ's passion, His sufferings in Pilate's hall and before Herod, — and all the rest. Dear child, let me instruct thee. Thou must see iu thy Savior not only His humanity; thou must look upon Him as the infinite God, who made heaven and earth and all things by His word only, and by the same word could annihilate them — God whose greatness is above all knowledge: and who yet became as nothing for the sake of His miserable creatures. Then shame thyself, thou poor mortal man, that thou hast given thyself up to pride and vanity. Bow down beneath the cross of the God-man. Bend thy proud head and ask for Christ's crown of thorns, and take up thy journey to Calvary. Do this in all manner of ways interior and exterior, cultivating constantly a sense of thy littleness. Since thy great God has for thy sake annihilated Himself so far as to be judged and condemned by His own creatures, crucified and put to death, so must thou most patiently suffer thy little pains in all meekness, ever .dwelling upon the picture of thy Savior's sufferings and sinking it into thy mind.

But men do not follow this way; rather they think of our Lord's passion with a blinded love; and it is a love which does not bear fruit in good works; it does not result in their renouncing pride and worldly honors. Nor are they led to foreswear bodily pleasures ; they are the same after their meditations as they were before. Alas, how little fruit is borne by that sweetest of spiritual exercises — meditation on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ — if we are to judge by men's morals. Let it be far different in thy case, dear child. After so holy a devotion thou shouldst feel so deeply ashamed as to wonder that the earth could endure thee and that it did not open to swallow thee up. Bemember that there are thousands now in hell who perhaps were far less sinful than thou. Had God favored them as He has thee, they would have served Him far better than thou hast; yet has He spared thee and eternally condemned them. Often think of such truths. Never taste a morsel of food or drink a drop of water but with holy fear and deep humility. Use all the comforts of life wholly for thy mere necessities, by no means for thy pleasure.

And then come forward some men full of high argumentation about the spiritual life; they talk as if they had scaled high heaven in their wisdom, but in reality they have not moved a step beyond their own poor self, of whose nothingness they are quite ignorant. To argumentative truth they have attained, but to living truth, which rightly is the only truth, no man comes except by the way of his own nothingness. Going apart from this way of truth one can but arrive at misfortune, and then remain stationary among shadows. O children, the day will come when such souls will wish they never had any show of spirituality or heard a word about it, or won a great name among men. They will wish that they had followed the cattle in the fields and eaten their bread in the sweat of their face. For then must they render account of every gift God gave them — a just and terrible God, though now so gentle, now allowing His mercy to be so shamefully abused. Yet if one but realizes now this future reckoning, let him not fall into despair, for these thoughts are sent him that he may subject himself absolutely under God and under all creatures in a spirit of entire self-renunciation. Meanwhile beware of a false and boastful humility. Our Lord says: "Unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven" (Matt, xviii: 3). Let us be as unconscious of our humility as little babes, nor ever make it a subject of our thoughts. The Lord says: "Suffer little children to come unto Me" (Matt, xix: 14).

The earth is the least of all the elements, and in its littleness it has fled far away from the heavens ; and yet the vast celestial spheres, sun, moon and stars, pursue the earth with their kindly and mighty influence, producing on its lowly bosom most useful fruits. Where the valley is deepest the waters do most plentifully flow down, and the lowly valleys are thus more productive than the proud hills. It is so in the spiritual life: the soul sunken into the deepest depths of humility attracts the best gifts of the divine abyss of love. "Deep calleth on deep" (Ps. xli: 8), exclaims the Psalmist. The created abyss, with its boundless knowledge of its own nothingness, calleth into itself the uncreated abyss that is the infinite God, and thus is it made one with Him; in which union the soul knows God, and yet as St. Dionysius says, knows Him as like nothing that it ever knew before; for God is nothing like the things that man knows or can ever express. Herein the spirit of a man is truly humbled and self-abandoned. So that if it pleased God to annihilate him (if such a thought were possible or were permitted), he would gladly be annihilated— for he knows nothing, loves nothing, enjoys nothing, but the One. Children, blessed, indeed, are the eyes that thus see, as our Lord says in the text. May God grant us thus to contemplate our own nothingness. Amen.