The awakened heart is pure because uncreated light is primordially pure. It is the light of glory that opens the eye of the heart, which being invariably pure, purifies the heart. The illumined heart knows that uncreated light does not require purification, nor does uncreated glory need saving, because uncreated light purifies and glory cures every ill. When demonic energy demonises light, it confuses what grace clarifies and divides what glory heals. It arises when fear lives in terror of love and terror demonises the loving, awakened heart. Glory does not come and go, nor is uncreated light extinguished by diabolical division. But in the midst of persecution, the awakened heart may be wounded though never abandoned, battered but not embittered, crushed yet not finally constricted. Desert wisdom has always known the inevitability of demonic warfare and being vulnerable to false witness, has often been subject to malicious attack. But light of glory is uncreated grace, sustaining awakened hearts even in extreme adversity, opening light through light and glory to glory in the midst of confusion, securing union when division tries to insinuate separation so that communion, even in extremity, remains unbroken.
Glory remains the enlightened intent of wisdom even in extreme conditions of white martyrdom, because the witness of desert wisdom holds steady, whether it be in conditions of red martyrdom or white. Wisdom stands steadfast in limpid purity through the transfiguring light of glory. Demonic temptation is oppressive but cannot obscure wisdom’s union with glory in the awakened heart. Awareness holds steady in wisdom as presence abides undivided in glory. Awareness of presence sustains the presence of awareness as wisdom embraces glory in the inmost heart. Fear separates awareness from presence, distancing the joy of their unbroken union so that joy becomes a distant memory, like an echo of lost paradise. Grace restores gardens of love in broken hearts so that compulsive fear is cured and terrorised, terrorising terror healed. Love conjoins awareness with presence in a spiritual marriage which recalls the Song of Songs, opening hearts anew to love’s communion of wisdom and glory. Wisdom renews creation when diabolic warfare releases into Great Peace, restoring awareness to presence and wisdom to glory.
Uncreated grace is uncontrived, being intrinsically free of strain or stress. In the earliest stages of negative asceticism, however, enormous stress is given by some to the strain of striving, not because grace is void, but because the compulsions of addiction dictate that the mysteries of grace are not yet assimilable without humility. The strain of striving puts such stress on pride that it begins to crack, and cracks begin to let grace through, releasing strain from stress and stress from strain. Pride hardens the heart but grace warms and melts its stoney ice like sunlight after a long freeze. The flow of grace is unwavering kindness just as the wisdom of Christ crucified is unselfish love. Such love is perceived as gravity in the material universe but as co-inherent communion in the kingdom of the Holy Spirit. The dance of stars and galaxies is the dance of angels and archangels made visible, just as the invisible heavenly dance unveils the spontaneous dance of uncreated energies and divine persons. We see stars of light born in clouds of glory, unveiling light to light in the universe but glory to glory in the heaven of heavens. Love is unveiled everywhere, the moment the eye of the heart awakens and purity of heart sees. Desert wisdom centres on the mysteries of glory in the pure heart, mysteries that open light to light in a dance of stars, and clouds of glory opening stars of light to glory beyond glory.