the athlete of Christ into error.
14. If you wish to learn how one ought to pray, contemplate the end of attention, or even of prayer, and be not deceived. For the end of this, dearly beloved, is unceasing compunction, contrition of heart, and love for one’s neighbor. The contrary, however, is manifest: the thought of desire, the murmuring of detraction, hatred toward one’s neighbor, and all such things.
OF THE LORD CALLISTUS TELICOUDES ON THE PRACTICE OF QUIETUDE
B It is not possible to repent without quietude; nor is it possible to attain purity without withdrawal; nor, amid the association and sight of men, is it possible to be accounted worthy of the association and contemplation of God. Therefore, those who make it their care to repent of the errors they have committed, to be purified from the passions, and to attain and enjoy the association and contemplation of God—the end and goal of those who live according to God, and the earnest, if I may so speak, of the eternal inheritance of God—pursue quietude with all their might. They make it their concern to withdraw and to flee from men, with all that is in the soul correctly disposed; and hence, for these, there is a beginning: in quietude, sorrow, C self-reproach, and the condemnation of oneself, so that one may become more purified; vigils, standing in prayer, temperance, and bodily labor, the end of which is altogether the shedding of tears falling from eyes that feel humbly, in the compunction of the heart. And thus, they apply themselves to purification and attain it through practice. In these, again, the end is the peace of the thoughts, just as in those, as we have said, the shedding of tears. And thence the mind begins, in a natural way, to examine the natures of things, to contemplate the art of God, to conceive a divine notion, and to inquire into the power, the wisdom, the glory, the goodness, and all other things that can be examined concerning God; and it enters into the mysteries of the Scriptures, and tastes of supernatural goods, and enjoys the supercelestial beauty, and is formed—
A as a vessel for the love of God. And thus it is seized by love, and rejoices, and is glad, having run back to the end of the virtues—the love of the Creator of all things—neither suffering nor suspecting any erring in these matters, save only for slips and sinful impulses and unseemly movements arising from many causes, as one who is mutable, which it endures. In these things one must recover oneself, standing far from despair and being winged by hope in the divine philanthropy, busying oneself with tears and prayer and the other aforementioned goods, and reveling in the divine paradise of love, in which it is permitted to see nothing more, neither form, nor density, nor shape, nor, in a word, anything else, save only tears, and peace of thoughts, and the love of God. For in these things the path remains unswerving, and the salvation of the soul is won, that soul which feels humility, and is sober, and prays in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Sitting in your cell, let your mind have confidence toward God in humility; humility, indeed, from the wretchedness and nothingness of itself; but confidence, because of the insurmountable love and long-suffering which God has toward man. For thus the soul is led to the honor of God, when, although it may have recognized itself as sinful, it nevertheless trusts in the philanthropy of God and leans upon it. Therefore, the divine Paul urges us, saying: «Let us approach with confidence to the throne of grace.» For in truth, the confidence toward God is like an eye B or a wing of prayer, or some strange relationship; not when someone is confident because he is righteous—far be it, be far from such a disposition—but when one is winged for divine hopes by the reasoning of the ineffable philanthropy, and love, and long-suffering of God. Pray, therefore, with a confident demeanor in a humble frame of mind, nourished by good hopes in God according to the things set forth, as has been said, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You must diligently pursue the things that calm the body and deliver the mind from harassment; these are: moderate eating, light drink, short sleep, standing according to one's strength, C kneeling according to capacity in a humble posture, vile clothing, speech that is brief and necessary, sleeping on the ground, and all other things that partially subdue the body. Along with these, you must pursue whatever stirs the mind and effectively tends toward union with God. These are the reading of the Holy Scriptures and of the holy commentators upon them—and this, too, in moderation—intelligent psalmody, meditation upon what is said in the Scriptures and upon the wonders observed in creation, and vocal prayer, until the holy grace of the Spirit visibly moves this from the heart. For then there is another festival, and the occasion of another celebration, not spoken from the mouth, but D effected from the heart in the Spirit.
A Apply yourself now to such things in this manner: bend your knee as often as you are able, and sitting thus, pray. If you become listless, cease from prayer, go to reading, as has been said; and return again to prayer. And if you again become listless from prayer, exert yourself toward a partial chanting of psalms. And thus return again to prayer, and if you are still listless, be occupied in the aforementioned meditation with moderation, and thus again hold to prayer. And also use manual labor briefly, as an obstacle to listlessness, as you have heard from the holy Fathers, O holy one. In all your work according to God, from morning until morning, let prayer take precedence. For because of listlessness in prayer, the other things which have been mentioned are practiced; for when mercy comes to the soul, and the grace of the Spirit pours forth prayer from the heart as if from some fountain, then the mind is occupied only with prayer and contemplation, withdrawing itself from everything, and delights only in prayer and contemplation, in the paradise of divine love. B Prayer holds the mastery over all good works; it generates the tear of repentance; it contributes extremely well to the peace of the thoughts, compelling one to think of God alone as the ultimate peace; it is the generator of the love of God; it alone purifies the reasoning power of the soul, imagining God, the generator of the purification both of the soul and of the angels; it preserves the appetitive part of the soul pure toward God; for by approaching and conversing with God, who is by nature infinitely and supernaturally good and beautiful, it attaches all desire to God. It tames the spirit's anger as much as it submits and has need and calls upon God; and it humbles the soul through prostration before God; for no one who is in need and calling for help carries an unhumbled or angry disposition. Therefore, to sum up, holy prayer purifies and restores all the powers of the soul and all its energies, both practical and contemplative; and especially by taking with itself the contemplation of God, and the divine love that follows it in a quiet life and conduct, according to what was said before. And from that place of the heart whence the tear flows, there let your thought be, and let your reasoning faculty look, inclining within you, without disturbance, through the inhalation of the nostrils in prayer; and remain there as much as possible. For it is very useful, and the bringer-forth of constant and many tears, and destructive of the captivity of the mind, and productive of intellectual peace, and an occasion for prayer, and a co-worker with the grace of the life-giving Spirit for the discovery of prayer of the heart, in Christ Jesus our Lord. C You must know, O observer and beholder and enjoyer of mystical things, that just as there are two, God and man, so also there are two, whether one wishes to speak by genus or by species, namely sorrows and the tears that follow. D They differ much from one another, even if both are beautiful and are gifts of God, and provide for His divine favor and participation in the inheritance according to Him. For the one kind has divine fear as its beginning, and the sorrowful state; the other has divine love, and God. And the former do not console so much, while the latter also console greatly, and cast out…
A fear.
There are five works of stillness: prayer—that is, the continuous memory of Jesus, brought into the heart through breathing without any thought, which is accomplished within the cell with humility through temperance of the stomach (I mean, and of sleep, and of the other senses); psalmody by sections; reading likewise from the divine Gospels and the divine Fathers, and from chapters on prayer, especially those of the young Theologian, and Hesychius, and Nicephorus; meditation on the judgments of God, or the memory of death and the like; and a little manual work. And one must return again to prayer, even if you have to force yourself, until the mind B is accustomed to lay aside its wandering through the remembrance of the Lord and a continuous inclination toward the labor of the heart. This is the work for novice monks who wish to practice stillness. A monk of this kind should not go out of his cell frequently; on the contrary, he must abstain from the company and observation of all people, unless there is great necessity, and then only with attention and vigilance, and rarely; because such things bring distraction not only to novices, but even to those who have already progressed.
This prayer which occurs with attention without any other thought—namely through the words: "Lord Jesus C Christ, Son of God"—directs the mind spiritually and ineffably toward the mentioned Lord. By the phrase "Have mercy on me," it turns toward itself, not enduring not to pray for itself. But one who has progressed by experience toward love is unitively extended toward the Lord Himself, having received the confirmation of the second stage. Therefore, the Fathers do not appear to hand down the whole prayer at all times; but one hands down the whole, as Chrysostom does; another, "Lord Jesus," as Paul does, adding "in the Holy Spirit"—that is, when the heart receives the energy of the Holy Spirit, through which it also prays. This belongs to those who have progressed, D even if they have not yet reached the highest pinnacle, which is illumination. The *Ladder* says: "With the name of Jesus, scourge your enemies, and let the memory of Jesus be joined to your breath," and he adds nothing else. However, it is permitted to novices, at one time to pray with all the words of the prayer, and at another time with only a part of it according to their mind, as has been said. Yet they should not change continuously, lest they suffer distraction from this, through waiting upon the mentioned method of pure prayer. Even if it cannot be done purely in every other way, obviously due to the incoming suggestions and thoughts that stand in the way, the struggling person arrives at the habit of praying without distraction by waiting with the mind in the heart, and not forcibly being brought in through the intake of breath, [824 A] and again immediately leaping out; but he remains within himself in this way, and prays. And this is and is called "prayer of the heart." A certain fervor in the heart precedes this, which drives away those things that prevent the former prayer from being accomplished with perfect purity. And thus the mind, adhering without hindrance, prays in the heart. In this fervor and prayer of Jesus, which he mentions, brightness in the heart
from which also a tear, most sweet for the most part, flows forth out of longing for the remembered Jesus.
In order that one may be deemed worthy of these things, and of all that follows—which there is no time to speak of now—one must hasten, as has been said, to keep the fear of God before one’s eyes, along with the memory of Jesus, within the heart, and not simply outside it, so that one may thus easily turn away not only from evil works, but also from intrusive thoughts, and may come to progress, from there obtaining the assurance of God’s love for him. Only let him not seek His manifestation, lest he receive him who is darkness and feigns to be light. For when his mind, not seeking it, sees light, let him not receive it, nor yet B disregard it. Thus, therefore, it is better not to receive it, but to take refuge in God with humility, calling oneself unworthy of such contemplation, just as we have learned by experience from the Fathers. For if in their other works they do not hand down the signs of true and false-light illumination, but, as you have heard all the aforesaid by living voice, so too you shall hear of this last, in opportune time: for now is not the time. Now, however, it behoves you to learn with others and before other things, that just as he who wishes to learn to shoot the bow does not bend it without a target, so he who wishes to learn stillness should have as a target to be always gentle in heart, never in anything disturbing or being disturbed; unless the matter concerns piety. This would be easily accomplished by turning away from all things at once, and for the most part keeping silent. If, however, anything should happen, let him repent immediately, and blame himself, and attend to what is ahead, so that C quietly and with a clean conscience, having laid Jesus as the foundation, he may call upon—as we have said—His divine grace, and progressing, may have it resting in his soul; and not only this, but may also have the soul perfectly at rest from the demons and passions that formerly troubled it, rejoicing with ineffable joy. For if they trouble it again, at least they will not prevail, because it does not cling to them, nor does it desire the pleasure resulting from them. His whole longing is directed toward the Lord who gave His grace; He permits him indeed to be tempted still, but He does not abandon him. Why? Lest his mind become proud on account of the good it has found. But being always under attack, it conceives humility, through which it not only overcomes the D higher enemies, but is also deemed worthy of even greater gifts. May we also be deemed worthy of these by Christ, who humbled Himself for us, and grants His grace abundantly to those who humble themselves, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
SELECTA EX SANCTIS PATRIBUS DE ORATIONE ET ATTENTIONE
A Let the ascetic devote all his care to ensuring that the higher part of the soul is not humbled by the recurrence of pleasures. For how can it still be able to gaze with free eyes upon that kindred, intelligible light if it is pinned to the earth by the carnal appetite? Therefore, before all things, it is necessary to practice temperance, which is the safe guardian of prudence, and not to permit the mind, which is the leader, to meditate upon impure thoughts. The care of the interior man is therefore necessary, so that the mind may be lifted up, as if anchored to the goal of the glory of God, that we may flee the judgment of the Lord who says: "Woe into you, for you are like whitewashed sepulchers, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness." So too do you appear righteous to men on the outside, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Because of this, there is need for a great struggle, and this a lawful one, through heart, and reason, and action, so that we may not receive the grace of God in vain. But just as wax is fashioned by carving, so let us, by the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, be fashioned in our inner man, fulfilling that which is said by Paul B in practice; for he says: "Having put off the old man with his deeds, and having put on the new man, him who is renewed into knowledge according to the image of Him who created him." He calls the "old man" all the defects and all the stains that are in the part of the soul, all together. "Transformed," he says, with respect to the old man, "in newness of life even unto death," so that we may be worthy in truth to say: "I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me." There is need, then, for much care and watchful concern, lest by doing anything contrary to the aforementioned commands C, we not only fail to receive such and so great a reward, but also fall under such frightful threats. When, therefore, the devil plots his snares, and most violently, as if with certain fiery
A When, however, the devil attempts to plot, and with great vehemence, like fiery darts, he injects his own thoughts into the quiet and tranquil soul, suddenly setting it aflame and creating lasting and hard-to-erase memories of things once introduced; at that moment, one must withdraw from such snares with watchfulness and more intense attention, just as an athlete, with most accurate guarding and bodily agility, wards off the intentions of his opponents. And the whole [matter] must be given over to prayer and the invocation of help from above, for the destruction of the war and the averting of the darts. For Paul taught us this, saying: "In all things taking up the shield of faith," B and the rest. When, therefore, the soul, having relaxed the density and intensity of the mind, admits random memories and things that happen to occur to it, then the reasoning faculty, unskillfully and ignorantly carried away toward the remembered things, and busying itself further with them, exchanges long errors for other errors, and finally ends in indecencies and absurdities of thought. But such neglect and distraction of the soul must be corrected and brought back by a more frequent and attentive tension of the mind, and it should always be occupied with the present contemplation of good things. For the true philosopher, having the body as a training-ground C and a secure habitation for the soul, even if he happens to be in the marketplace, or in a crowd, or on a mountain, or in a field, or in the midst of a great multitude, is established in his natural monastery, gathering the mind within and meditating on what is proper for himself. For it is possible for someone sitting at home, in his negligence, to wander outside with his thoughts, whereas one who is in the marketplace, but is watchful, may be as if in a desert, turned only toward himself and toward God, and not accepting through the senses the tumults that fall upon the soul from sensible things. One, therefore, who approaches the body and blood of Christ D for a remembrance of Him who died and rose again for us, must not only be pure from every pollution of flesh and spirit, lest he eat and drink unto judgment, but must also clearly demonstrate the will of Him who died and rose again for us, not only by cleansing himself from every sin, but by being dead to sin, and to the world, and to himself, but living to God. Of the evil thoughts, some do not enter our soul at all if we hedge ourselves about with great security; others are born within from our negligence and grow, but if they are anticipated, they are quickly suffocated and buried. Others, however, are both born and grow and proceed to evil acts, and they corrupt all the health of our soul when we live in great negligence. The most blessed state, then, is to receive no evil thought at all; but next to this happiness is to repel the entering thoughts most quickly and not to allow them to linger, so that we do not make our pastures evil. If, however, we are so negligent, at this [level] of negligence, by the mercy of God, there is consolation, and many remedies are prepared for us through His ineffable goodness. Therefore I exhort that, as much as the body allows, your heart
A should not be relaxed. For just as a farmer cannot rely on any fruit that is in his field—for he does not know what might happen to it before it is enclosed in his storehouses—so a man cannot relax his heart as long as there is breath in his nostrils. And B just as a man does not know what suffering might befall him until his final breath, so a monk is not permitted to relax his heart as long as he has breath; but he must always cry out to God for His kingdom and His mercy. The evil one, knowing precisely that he who prays to God without distraction can accomplish the greatest things, strives in every way, C whether rational or irrational, to distract the mind. But instructed in this, let us resist our enemy as we fight; and when we stand to pray and bend our knees, let us not permit any thought at all to enter our heart—neither white nor black, neither right nor left, neither written nor unwritten—except for supplication to God and the illumination and radiance that comes to the mind from heaven. Much struggle D and time is needed in prayer, so that we may find an unimpeded state of mind, a kind of second, inward heaven where Christ dwells, as the Apostle says: "Or do you not recognize that Christ dwells in us?" If anyone wishes to see the state of the mind, let him keep himself from all thoughts, and then the mind will see itself as similar to a sapphire and celestial color. The mind will not behold the place of God within itself unless it has become higher than the thoughts of all things; and it will not become higher unless it has stripped off the passions that bind it through thoughts to sensible things. And indeed it will cast off the passions through the virtues, and the subtle thoughts through spiritual contemplation, and this in turn through the manifestation of the light itself.