Vol: 6 Issue: 11 Hatur 1728 / November 2012

ON THE STRUCTURE AND HARMONY OF THE VIRTUES OF THE SOUL

By: St Dorotheos of Gaza HOLY SCRIPTURE says of the midwives who kept alive the Israelites’ male children, that through the god-fearing midwives they made themselves houses. What Does it mean they made visible houses? How can they say they acquired houses through the fear of God when we do the opposite, and learn in time, through fear of God to give up the houses we have? Evidently this does not refer to visible houses but to the house of the soul which each one builds up for himself by keeping God’s commandments. This Holy Scripture teaches

us that the fear of God prepares the soul to keep the commandments, and through the commandments the house of the soul is built up. Let us take hold of them, brothers, and let us fear God, and we shall build houses for ourselves where we shall find shelter in winter weather, in the season of storm cloud, lightning, and rain; for not to have a home in winter-time is a great hardship. How the house of the soul is built we can learn from the building of a material house and from the knowledge and care it demands. A man who wants to build a house must see that it is solid and thoroughly safe and he raises it four-square on a sound foundation. He does not concentrate on one part and neglect the rest since this is of no use but defeats his aim and makes vain the expense and labor. So it is with the soul: we must on no account neglect any part of it, but build it up equally and harmoniously. This is what Abba John means when he says, ‘I would rather a man acquire a little of each one of the virtues than master one virtue as some have done, persisting in it and practising only that but neglecting the rest. They may indeed have a certain pre-eminence in that one virtue and, therefore, not be weighed down by the contrary vice, but they remain caught by their other passions and burdened by them and do not pay attention to them, thinking instead that they have acquired something grand. They are like a man who builds one wall and raises it up as high as he can and, considering the height of the wall, thinks what a

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great work he has done. He does not know that one good strong wind coming along will blow it down because it stands by itself, nor from only one wall has that man gained a shelter for himself, for he is exposed on the other sides. That is not the way to do it. If a man wants to build a home and make a refuge for himself he must build up all four walls and protect himself all round. And I will tell you how to do it: First he must lay the foundation, which is faith. Without faith, as the Apostle says, it is impossible to please God. So, according to our comparison, it is impossible to build our spiritual house without this foundation which is faith. Is there occasion for obedience? A stone must be laid, obedience. Does a disagreement arise among the brethren? The stone of patience must be laid. Is there need for self-control? That stone too must be laid. So whatever the virtue required, that stone must be laid in the building, and in this way the perimeter of the building rises up. One stone for fore-bearance, another for mortifying self-will, one for meekness, and so on. In all this, great attention must be paid to perseverance and courage: these are the cornerstones of the building and by them the house is held together and all is united to all so that they do not lean over and fall apart; without these a man will not succeed in perfecting any of the virtues. If a man has no courage in his soul, he will not endure with patience, and if he has no patience he cannot entirely succeed. Therefore, it is said, ‘In patience you shall possess your souls.’ Similarly, the builder must set his stones in mortar. If he piles up his stones without mortar, the stones come apart and the house falls down. The mortar is humility, which is composed from the earth and lies under the feet of all. Any virtue existing without humility is no virtue at all, as it says in the sayings of the Elders: ‘As it is impossible to construct a ship without nails, so there is no hope of being saved without humility.’ Whatever a good man does, he must do with humility so that what he does is kept safe. But besides all this, the house needs what are called tie-beams or braces that is to say discretion which, besides adding much to its appearance, draws the whole building together. The roof is charity, which is the completion of virtue as the roof completes the house. After the roof comes the crowning of the dwelling place; and what is this crowning? In the Law it is written, ‘If you build yourself a house and make it your dwelling place, put a crown round your house (i.e. railings around the flat roof) lest your children fall from the roof.’ The crown is humility. For that is the crown and guardian of all the virtues. As each virtue needs humility for its acquisition and in that sense we said each stone is laid with the mortar of humility so also the perfection of all the virtues is humility. The saints, while making progress towards this perfection, came to humility this is why we are always saying that the man who is getting closer to God looks on himself more and more as a sinner. Who are the children that the Law says must not fall from the roof top? These children are the thoughts generated in our souls, which must be guarded through humility lest they fall out of the house. So it is completed, it has its protecting walls, its roof of virtues; there it is, the house of perfection we are speaking of, complete with its crowning virtue of humility and all that it needs to complete it.

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Year 11 Class from Archangel Michael Church

Yr 8 boys from St Abanoub Church Yr 8 boys from St Abanoub Church

St Abraam Church group Yr 11 boys from Archangel Michael Church

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THE PURSUIT OF VIRTUES By Fr Athanasius Iskander

Virtues are the fruits that everyone is required to bring forth in his/her spiritual journey towards Christian perfection. “Every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matt 3:10) That is what the Lord tells us about the importance of these fruits. However, before we proceed any further, let us listen to what the Lord further tells us, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (Joh 15:4-5) So, the first rule of bringing fruit is this, “without Me you can do nothing” No one can produce fruit by his/her effort only. It is God Who makes us fruitful. God is like a farmer who owns a land and Who hires a servant to look after the land. The land and the seeds are owned by God, even the fertilizer is owned by God. God sends the rain and the sunshine required for the cultivation. But the hired servant has to till the land, put the seeds, pull out the weeds and put the fertilizer, then harvest the fruits of his labour. But, in spite of his work, the hired servant has no merit in what he does and so are we as the Lord tells us, “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.” (Luk 17:10) Virtues do not just happen. One has to train for them in the appropriate way. Virtues are often likened to a ladder with many steps that leads from earth to heaven. Some of the virtues are at the bottom of the ladder; others are at the top. The Fathers tell us that we cannot “skip” but rather should ascend the ladder of virtues in an orderly fashion. At the bottom of the ladder are the two basic virtues of obedience and patience. At the top of the ladder are the higher virtues of humility and love. Love is considered the highest of all virtues. It is often called, “the all-encompassing virtue”. One that has love will have all the other virtues also. In the training for virtues, we are advised to take them one at a time. Once we have finished our training in one we should start on the next step up the ladder. Virtues are cumulative. Training in one virtue makes it easier to acquire the next one. For example, if you train yourself in obedience and patience, meekness will be at your grasp. And once you have mastered meekness, you are at the doorsteps of humility, and so on. Training needs a trainer or a coach. No one can make it in athletics without a coach, neither can one be a successful “athlete for Christ” without a coach. Your coach is your Father in confession. He should be in charge of your training program. If you have read and understood the last chapter, then you will surely have discovered the perils of trying to do it on your own. Obedience and patience are considered pre-requisites for all the other virtues. You

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cannot have fruit in any other virtue if you have not mastered these basic virtues. The reasons given for this is that if you have no obedience, you will not follow the instructions given by the trainer! And, obviously, there will be no progress. Likewise, without patience you will not be able to persevere in your training until you bring forth fruit. In the parable of the sower, our Lord tells us, “But the ones... on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” (Luk 8:15) In the remainder of this chapter we will be considering some practical “techniques” in the training for obedience and patience.

Above: A Group from QLD spending a retreat at the monastery

Left: St Abanoub Church Group with Fr Pavlos Hanna

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How long should one exercise oneself in each virtue and what are the signs of progress in it?

By: St Theophan the Reclues It is impossible to determine theoretically how long one should exercise oneself in a virtue before becoming established in it. Everyone must determine this for himself, considering his state, circumstances and achievements in spiritual life, and especially according to the judgment of his staretz or the spiritual father who directs him. Still, if a man's zeal for success is alive, and he does not stop at any difficulties or means, considerable progress will soon be shown. The sign of progress is when, having entered the path of virtue, a man follows it diligently, with a firm resolve never to leave it, however hard it may be and whatever sacrifices it may entail, despite moments of cooling off and darkening of

the soul, of spiritual impoverishment and of lack of the blessed joys, all which God in His providence for us allows to happen for your good. The second and no less sure sign of progress is the degree of intensity of the war, which the flesh wages against good resolutions and actions. The more this battle loses its intensity, the more evident becomes the progress in virtue. So, when you do not feel any struggle or attacks on the part of your lower sensory nature, especially at times when occasions for exciting it are before your eyes, you may believe that your virtue has acquired sufficient strength. But if you begin to do your work on the path of virtue with greater readiness and spiritual joy than before, you may consider this a sign of progress in virtue, even more sure than subjugation of the flesh. And on St. Isaac's advice, 'If you see that your mind is not being forced, but acts freely and presses forward in good thoughts, this is a sign of progress; in the same way when, standing in prayer, your mind does not wander hither and thither, and your tongue suddenly stops in the middle of a verse, and the shackles of silence are laid on your soul, without participation of your will; also, when you notice that with each good thought and memory arising in your soul, and with every spiritual contemplation your eyes are filled with tears, and they run freely down your cheeks, or when sometimes you see that your thought, of its own accord and independently of you, sinks into the depths of your heart and remains in this state for may be an hour, while peace reigns in your thoughts all these are signs of good progress on the path of the spiritual life you have undertaken'. Yet it is wrong to be too sure that we are completely established in the desired virtue, or have finally overcome some passion, even if its impacts and impulses have not been experienced for a long time. For this may conceal the evil wiles of the man hater the devil and the craftiness of the sin which lives in us; for these things, which are of a

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quite different nature, are often seen by us in a good light and we accept them as good through the pride concealed in us. Moreover, if we think of the perfection to which God calls us, then, even if we have followed for a long time the path of virtue, we shall be the more ready to think that we have hardly made a start in the life we ought to lead, let alone being established in it. This is why the holy fathers call even the life of the most perfect men imperfect, that is, not free from faults. ‘Even the perfection of the perfect is not perfect', says St. John, of the Ladder. And St. Paul sees perfection in constantly pressing on and on, with no looking back or thinking that we have already attained what we seek. Thus he calls himself imperfect, not having yet attained what he seeks. 'Not as though I had already attained' he says, 'either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended : but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus' (Phil 3: 12-14). And wishing to show that this alone constitutes our perfection, he adds : 'Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded' (Phil 3: 15). In other words : perfection is not to think that we have reached perfection; the virtuous state is not to stand still but constantly to press forward towards virtue.

Voting for Christian Music Competition

The Music competition has already been a great success with six talented young people composing and singing Christian music for the Church. The songs are now online on our website for you to listen to and give your opinion and vote. We encourage all our readers to go to the link on the website and listen to the songs and rate each song according to your taste. Some criteria you should consider when you are voting are, Lyrics, Music, Singer’s Voices. To ensure that the voting process is fare you are only allowed to vote once and

we also made it anonymous so that you are voting for the best song not for your friends. So go to the link now and listen to each song and give it a star rating and if you like you can leave a comment about the song. The voting will end on Sun 25th of November and the winners will be announced in the December edition of Pimonakhos.

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Final Stage of Papal Selection

The Papal selection process has reached its final stage. The number of nominees has been narrowed down to three nominees who’s names will be placed on the altar during a Liturgy attended by all members of the Holy Synod of the Coptic orthodox Church and some representatives from other Churches. After the liturgy a young boy will come out and will pick a paper with the name of the next Patriarch of Alexandria and the see of St Mark. It is a crucial time for the Coptic Church as the new patriarch is being selected at the same time it is a very exiting time as not many people would have witnessed such an event. The last time a Papal selection process took place was 41 years ago when our beloved Pope Shenouda III was selected for the Patriarchate. Below are the names of the nominees for you

to include in your prayers. We pray and ask our Lord Jesus Christ to choose for us a man after His own heart.

You, O Lord, who knows the hearts of all, show which of these ... You have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship… And they

cast their lots, and the lot fell on … (Acts 1:25-26)

Bishop Raphael Bishop Tawadros Father Raphael