The beauty of holiness sustains the holiness of beauty in the service of love and peace. The goodness of intelligence sustains intelligent goodness in the service of wisdom and glory. In an age of relativistic narcissism, nihilism insinuates itself into every form of social life unless truth is acknowledged and kindness sustains mutual respect. For wisdom to be loved, the… Read more »
When the Apostle speaks of the wisdom, revelation and knowledge of God, he speaks in his Epistle to the Ephesians of the awakening of the eye of the heart (Eph 1:17-18). Without this hallowing awakening of the eye of the heart, there can be faith understood as conventional belief, but not trust in wisdom and revelation that yields true knowledge of God…. Read more »
The invocation, Hallelu Yah, springs from the union of wisdom and glory in the Spirit’s unceasing prayer in the inmost heart, crying ‘Abba, Father,’ ascribing all illumination and insight to the Father through the Son, whose wisdom and glory are trustworthy and true. Christ’s kiss of grace inspires heart and mind with ineffable love, anointing the soul with hallowing fragrance. The Name… Read more »
In stillness, wisdom inspires the heart to turn and see, awakening to God in his Name, for as the Psalm says, ‘Be still and know that ‘I AM’ God, for I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth (Psalm 46:10). In stillness, compulsive striving, straining and stressing release as the heart opens to God’s Holy Name,… Read more »
Saint Clement of Alexandria quotes a saying of Jesus from the Gospel of the Hebrews that reflects the threefold unfolding of the ascetic life, purification, illumination and deification, which his contemporary, Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, also taught. ‘He that seeks will not rest until he finds, and he that has found shall marvel, and he that has marvelled shall reign,… Read more »
The wisdom of stillness is the wisdom of God for whom there is no sin, no fall from glory, no fall from grace. It is the Gospel of wisdom that God’s grace announces to sinners whose glory is to forgive sin. Sin comes into existence when delusion seduces false gods to usurp God and icons of God to degenerate into… Read more »
When the Jesus Prayer is prayed three times, it becomes an invocation of the twelve letter Name, YHWH, YHWH, YHWH, as in the Priestly Name Blessing. ‘YHWH bless you and keep you. YHWH make his Face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. YHWH lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace’ (Number 6: 24-26). The four letter… Read more »
The Apostle says God makes his mysteries known to the saints in all wisdom and insight (Ephesians 1:8). Insightful wisdom reveals the union of all things in heaven and earth in Christ, the fulfilment of consummate completeness sealed by the Holy Spirit for the glorification of the saints. Desert Hesychasm is a silent witness to the Spirit’s unceasing prayer of… Read more »
The covenant of the Name is an everlasting covenant of peace whose foundation is wisdom’s embrace of glory that sustains the Name, ‘I AM,’ God’s indwelling presence in the midst of his covenant community and the whole created cosmos (Exodus 3:14-17; Ezekiel 37: 26-28). This covenant of the Name in the desert is trustworthy and sure, being a covenant of grace… Read more »
The experience of ineffable Oneness is the Father’s secret shared with the Son and the Spirit, shared with us as the Name unveiled, as light of wisdom and glory. Saint Denys’ little treatise, ‘Mystikes Theologias,’or ‘Theologia Mystica,’ is not a rational theological discourse concerning the mysteries of God, but a God-centred glorification of God’s mystery of ineffable Oneness, radiant Oneness of Godhead… Read more »