ORTHODOX SPIRITUAL ASCENT

The way to understand God is through a knowledge of oneself. There are ancient maxims that talk of the importance of knowing yourself and learning restraint. Socrates said, “know thy limits” and later he defined “self” as relating to a man’s soul. The Orthodox Christian has always seen the soul and body as inextricably linked. We also see that the idea of knowing oneself is a prerequisite to our ascetic labor and climbing the ladder of ascent towards Heaven. Saint Athanasius the Great said, “No one can know God without first knowing himself.” What we call the science of sciences is precisely this, understanding our spiritual and psychological makeup and how the two interplay with one another.

There is a ladder, a way, an order to our growth through a battle with ourselves. As I frequently say to others, I am my own worse enemy or the log in my own eye. My dear beloved brethren, do not let this cause you to despair, our God is a merciful God and His mercies are new every morning for great is HIS faithfulness not ours. Spiritual perfection is attained gradually and in a definite order, as in building a house.

Beloved, the foundation stones of our building (spiritual growth) must begin with obedience, humility, and tribulation, and on these we must lay down stones of compassion and renunciation.

Obedience- The way of obedience is the best way to begin this struggle. Obedience is hard because it transcends our natural human power. It is in our attempts at obedience that the Lord provides the strength necessary for its observance. When we begin to struggle in our obedience, the Lord will help us and strengthen us. We must learn to receive this from Him as an affirmation, that obedience is His will. We can say that obedience is an unattainable virtue or impossibly hard for us, and in humility be right; but we can only say this when it is the case. We must never obsess with thought though.

Humility- Humility and obedience are the recipe needed to acquire all the other virtues. Humility is like a cement that holds all the other virtues together. Therefore, humility is necessary as Elder Macarius and Father Ambrosius used to say, “Be humble, humility is the first thing you should have.” They would repeat this phrase all the time. Beloved, the one thing we should never do and fight every time you are tempted to is to act out in pride or vanity, especially in front of others, but also when alone.  Abba Dorotheus tells us to inspect our lives; keep a close watch over ourselves; and meditate on what we have achieved. Train yourselves in humility and patience, and you will have peace in your soul. Realizing we are sinners and deserve hell should keep us humble. Saint John Climacus says, “Self-deprecation is an invisible ascent.”

Tribulation- Trials and tribulation are not just the bad luck of the drawn in our spiritual ascent, but a necessary means to get us there. When God-sent tribulations hit us like wave after wave, understand that they are a sign that God loves us. Everyone carries their own cross. You must bear yours also! Carry it! Do not complain about what you do not understand now, but just bear it and be patient because it is essential for your salvation. Remember, the incarnate God Himself carried His own cross and His was much heavier than yours because it contains all of our crosses. Dear brothers and sisters, whenever you are in a good state of mind and happy or content, expect a storm! That’s what always happens. Tribulations always precede or succeed in anything good. Tribulations are another form of invisible ascent.

Rejoice in this journey of Spiritual Ascent and, “Fear not, Little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom (Luke 12:32).”

Finally, in our next article we will look at the struggle of our passions and how this very struggle with ourselves teaches us and helps conform us more and more into the image of His dear Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We will look and see what steps these passions take in our spiritual ascent and how we are to respond to each of them. Remember, these articles are not JUST to be read, but APPLIED, that we all may gain heaven and dwell with our Heavenly King together. May it be blessed!

GOD LOVE YOU!

Fr Lazarus