Illegal Catholic Hermit: Pattern of Spiritual Practice

Sharing another of St. Philotheos' wise instructions from his Forty Texts on Watchfulness [nepsis], much if not all can be applicable to any Catholic hermit.  

[Note:  "noetic" is from the Greek noesis/ noetikos, meaning inner wisdom, direct knowing, or subjecting understanding.  As defined by the philosopher William James (1902), noetic refers to "states of insight into depths of truth unplumbed by the discursive intellect.  They are illuminations, revelations, full of significance and importance, all inarticulate though they remain, and as a rule they carry with them a curious sense of authority..."]


"2.  When engaged in noetic warfare, we should therefore do all we can to choose some spiritual practice from divine Scripture and apply it to our intellect like a healing ointment.  From dawn we should stand bravely and unflinchingly at the gate of the heart, with true remembrance of God and unceasing prayer of Jesus Christ in the soul; and, keeping watch with the intellect, we should slaughter all the sinners of the land (Ps 101:8). 

"Given over in the intensity of our ecstasy to the constant remembrance of God, we should for the Lord's sake cut off the heads of the tyrants (Hab 3:14), that is to say, should destroy hostile thoughts at their first appearance.  For in noetic warfare, too, there is a certain divine practice and order.  Thus we should force ourselves to act in this way until it is time for eating.  

"After this, having thanked the Lord who solely by virtue of His compassion provides us with both spiritual and bodily food, we should devote ourselves to the remembrance of death and to meditation on it.  The following morning we should courageously resume the same sequence of tasks.  Even if we act daily in this manner we will only just manage, with the Lord's help, to escape from the meshes of the noetic enemy. 

"When this pattern of spiritual practice if firmly established in us, it gives birth to the triad:  faith, hope, and love.  Faith disposes us truly to fear God.  Hope, transcending servile fear, binds us to the love of God, since 'hope does not disappoint' (Matt. 22:40).  And 'love never fails' (1 Cor. 13:8), once it has become to him who shares in it the motive for fulfilling the divine law both in the present life and in the life to be." 

The habitual practice of training our minds, our intellects, by the training of the will to choose some aspect of Holy Scripture and apply it to our minds will bring a healing, as the saint mentions.  Plus, the remembrance of God and with the attitude of unceasing prayer (not necessarily the mentally conscious prayer so much as subconscious love of Christ in form of prayer in the soul) will help keep watch over our intellects, our thoughts.

Destroying "hostile thoughts at their first appearance" is a training of the mind and will.  Through daily practice of remembering God and the prayer of Jesus [the saint likely means the Jesus Prayer:  Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner], we will develop a strength of mind and heart that is ordered and freed from "the meshes of the noetic enemy."

St. Philotheos points out that when we have this spiritual practice established in our daily lives, we will live out faith, hope, and love to a degree of union in the divine law of God's love:  Union with God.

I will try to practice more a pattern of spiritual practice that forms my intellect and will based on a Scripture selection or verse, and to pray the Jesus Prayer in its essence if not striving in praying it specifically as much as possible with the conscious, and then asking my angel to help me hold the intent in my subconscious.  

While physical pain or other tasks do distract the conscious mind, surely with asking His Real Presence, the Virgin Mary, and our angels to help in spiritual practice, we can find ourselves more in tune with faith, hope, and love and in approaching union with God in increasing measure and holy effect.  Worth trying and putting into practice, what will be helpful to whatever extent:  Spiritual progress!

God bless His Real Presence in us!

[I admit that the pain level has been so high lately, that I'm having to offer the pain instead of much focused spiritual efforts in training the will and keeping watch on the intellect.  However, today in doing quite a bit of standing in an act of charity, of thoughtfulness of other, I did consider my vow of consecration of suffering and how indeed I did offer many aspects if not all, of suffering.  Also, I need to practice reacting in love to calumny and indignities I find myself suffering.  So I did that--tried to patiently pray and react with loving attitude within my mind and heart; and the situation did somewhat turn from what it had been to much better.  But the Good Lord is allowing me pain that has me feeling at times as if in another reality!  Suffering seems long, sometimes....]

Illegal Catholic Hermit: Hermit Watchfulness and Humility

From the Forty Texts on Watchfulness (nepsis) by St. Philotheos of Sinai, no. 39 and no. 40:

"39.  An unexpected event or misfortune considerably disrupts the mind's attentiveness; and, by dislodging the intellect from its concentration on higher realities and from its noble state of virtue, it diverts it towards sinful quarrelsomeness and wrangling.  The cause of this overthrow is assuredly our lack of attention to the enemy's attacks.

"40.  None of the painful things that happen to us every day will injure or distress us once we perceive and continually mediate on their purpose. It is in account of this that St. Paul says:  'I take delight in weakness, insults, and hardships' (2 Cor 12:10); and:  'All who seek to live a holy life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution' (2 Tim 3:12).  To Him be glory through the ages.  Amen."


My day today has been that of increased pain, but I am plowing through with having prayed and read more of Galatians and some commentaries and writings of saints and popes regarding the intent and meaning of what St. Paul exhorts and explains.  Was up in the night with too much pain, and that remains the effects of this day, thus far. I still hope in God to be able to dress and do a little bit of manual labor.

The sunshine is glorious, and I'm ever grateful for all the good God brings:  many blessings!  My delight in Scripture is noted; as I was praying the Divine Office and reviewing Paul's Letter to the Galatians, I realized just how alive does God's Living Word become within, and how much Scriptures delight me.  It is as God is explaining all, answering any and all of my wondering thoughts, and giving me great peace as well as courage.  Joy and peace are two of several fruit of Scriptures--even if we see an aspect of which we desire to improve our minds, hearts, and souls--and also bodies, for the Lord cares about all aspects of our lives.

The devil did up-end me some upon waking, for I must have been dreaming of some aspect of past, of a most happy time in life when children quite young, and time with them treasured in my heart and memories.  Such a blessing from God to have sent me back to rear my children and fulfill my mission (of which I continue to not know for certain, other than praying that somehow I am in some way fulfilling the mission He wills of me). 

Loving Him, being close in Him, writing of Him and sharing with Him of my life and innermost thoughts through writing and more so of all the other intimacies between myself and God throughout the day--surely that is part of my mission in this life.  My soul increasingly in love and focused on Christ Jesus, my Beloved Spouse, and of my loving God above all else and in Him, loving others as God loves us all: purpose and mission, could be!

As a convert to Catholicism years ago--after resisting for at least ten years prior to my Confirmation--I have always related extra-much with this Scripture selection from the Gospel of Matthew 15.  In writing out this excerpt from St. John Chrysostom's homilies on these Scriptures, especially do I love the fact that the woman is not put off but persists in her selfless request, born of love of her daughter and faith in Jesus to help rid the demon from her child.

"When she came up to Jesus, The Canaanite woman just said these words:  'Have pity on me' (Mt 15:22) and her repeated cries drew a large crowd of people. It was a touching sight to see this woman crying out with such great feeling, a mother pleading on behalf of her daughter, a child who was so severely possessed....  She didn't say:  'Have pity on my daughter' but 'Have pity on me.'  'My daughter is not aware of her plight, but I, I experience sufferings in profusion; it makes me ill to see her in such a state; I am almost out of my mind at seeing her like this.'

"Jesus answered her:  'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Mt 15:24).  Now what did the Canaanite woman do when she heard these words?  Did she lose heart?  Not in the least!  She urged him even more.  This is not what we do when our prayers are not answered:  we turn away in discouragement whereas we ought to be pleading even more insistently.  Who, it is true, would not be discouraged by Jesus' response?  his silence would have been enough to take away all hope....  This woman, however, does not lose heart; to the contrary, she comes nearer to him and bows to the ground saying:  'Lord, help me (v.25)....  If I am a little dog in this house then I am no longer a foreigner.  I well know that food is necessary for children..., but it cannot be forbidden to give away crumbs.  They should not be refused me...because I am a little dog who cannot be pushed aside....'

"It was because he foresaw her answer that Christ delayed to grant her prayer....  His replies were not intended to cause this woman pain but to reveal this hidden treasure." 

Absolutely love the elements of humility and of abject nothingness in these Scriptures.  Jesus loves the lesser, the least of these:  the anawim.  I have been also reading St. Augustine's thoughts on Paul's Letter to the Galatians, as well as other saints and magisterium writers.  The answer within begins to take shape and form; the pleasure of His Real Presence in each of our lives unfolds when we seek and being to find in the silence and stillness within.  All is well and all shall be well; St. Julian of Norwich repeated this from the Holy Spirit.  Yes, all shall be well!

Going to light a candle by Our Lady of Solitude/Suffering here in Solus Deus Hermitage bedroom where I will renew the Vow of Consecration of Suffering I offered, with my late Spiritual Da receiving and witnessing, 20 years ago today.  The vows and offerings made from within our hearts and souls, and prompted in the mind by the Holy Spirit to formulate and then discern with spiritual father, do mean much to God and come from within our depths of intentions and love of Christ Jesus.

God bless His Real Presence in us!