CHARACTER & THE VIRTUOUS LIFE

 

 

We humans are blessed, for we have received abilities from God to exercise: self-control, patience, restraint, fortitude, tolerance, and the like, which, in reality, are holy powers that help us to resist the enemy's dark temptations and attacks. If we cultivate these powers and have them at our disposal, we do not regard anything that befalls us as painful, grievous or unbearable, realizing we are human and can overcome anything by the power of the virtues within us. The unawakened and low-intelligent do not take this into account; they do not understand that all things happen for our benefit, rightly and as they should, so that our virtues may shine and we ourselves may be crowned by God.

 

We need to realize that the acquisition of material things and their lavish use is only a short-lived fantasy, and that a virtuous way of life, conforming to God's will, surpasses all wealth. When we reflect on this and understand it, we will not grumble, whine or blame anyone, but we will thank God for everything, realizing that those who rely on status, self-esteem and riches are worse off than ourselves. The desire for money, love of power and spiritual ignorance constitute those passions which harm the soul, and in a finite amount of time, will turn to dust. Whereas, virtue, light in our souls and love in our hearts will last for eternity.

 

The more frugal our lives are, the happier we are; for we are not troubled by a host of cares like: debt, irritating regulations, taxes, managing a family, maintaining a home, job security, etc. For when we are attached to such things and harassed by the problems they raise, we blame life or God. However, because we are driven by our desires to succeed so we are recognized and validated, we wander in darkness never recognizing our true self and the divine potential we have within. Thus, we remain in the illusions of life, and often in sin, so we cultivate death rather than life.

 

All humans would benefit greatly by practicing a life of virtue in a genuine way. For when this is achieved it is easy to acquire knowledge about God and feel His presence and stabilizing comfort within. When we revere God, the Father with all our heart and with faith, we receive through God's providence the power to control anger and desire; for it is desire and anger which are the cause of all evils in the world.

 

When our spiritual intelligence is truly operative, we can properly be called human beings. When it is not operative, despite the fact we are blessed with speech and self-conscious awareness, many humans act like animals driven by the primal instincts and desires of the physical body. With an awakened spiritual intelligence we can realize that we are immortal and should despise and avoid all shameful desires and drives which corrupt the human soul.

 

Every craftsman displays skills through the materials used, such as, paint, clay, stone, wood or words. Likewise, we who have embraced the life of holiness ought to show that we are human beings not merely by virtue of our bodily appearance, but because our souls are truly pure and free from vice. The truly enlightened soul enjoys the love of God and knows everything in life in a clear, direct and immediate way. We sincerely give Him thanks and aspire with all our strength to honor and love Him.

 

When navigating, helmsmen use a mark in order to avoid reefs or rocks. Likewise, those who aspire to the life of holiness must mark carefully what they ought to do and what they ought to avoid; and cutting off evil thoughts from the soul, they must grasp that the true, divine laws exist for their profit. Do not regard as free those whose status makes them outwardly free, but recognize those who are free based on their character and their conduct. We cannot call those in authority truly free when they are wicked or dissolute since they are slaves to worldly passions. Freedom and happiness in the soul consist of genuine purity and detachment from transitory things.

 

Just as passion is present in the process of generation - for whatever comes into being in this world must also perish - so likewise, evil is present in every passion. Do not therefore say that God is powerless to destroy evil; such talk is nonsense. All these passions pertain to materiality; yet, there was no need for God to eliminate matter. He has, however, alienated evil from humans for their own good, by granting them intellect, understanding, spiritual knowledge and the power to discern what is good, so that, realizing the harm which comes from evil, they may avoid it. But, some fools pursue evil and are proud of doing so; they are like those caught in a snare, who struggle helplessly in its toils. So they are never able to look up, to see and to know God who has created all things so humans may be saved and deified.

 

PARADISO - from Dante’s Divine Comedy

Angel Rose

 

Humans alone are capable of communion with God. Thus, we are the only living creatures to whom God speaks - at night through dreams, by day through insights in our self-conscious intelligence. And He uses every means to foretell and prefigure the future blessings that will be given to those who are worthy of Him. For those who have faith and determination, it is not difficult to gain spiritual understanding of God. If you wish to contemplate Him, look at the providential harmony in all the things created by His Logos; all for humanity’s sake.

 

Through our intelligence humans are linked to that power which is ineffable and divine; and through our bodily nature we also have kinship with the animals. A few people, those who are perfect and intelligent, endeavor both to root their mind in God the Savior and to keep their kinship with Him; and this is manifest through their actions and holiness of life. But most people, being foolish in soul, have renounced that divine and immortal Sonship, turning towards a deadly, disastrous and short-lived kinship with the body. Concerning themselves with material things and enslaved by sensual pleasures, they separate themselves from God; and through their desires they drag down their soul from heaven to the abyss.

 

Those of intelligence, being deeply concerned for their participation in the divine and their union with it, will never become engrossed with anything earthly or base, but have their conscious awareness always turned towards the heavenly and eternal. And they know it is God's will that humans should be saved, this divine Will being the cause of all that is good and the source of the eternal blessings granted to humanity.

 

Just as the body is dead without the soul, so the soul without the intellect is inert and cannot receive God. For mankind's sake God has created everything: earth and heaven and the beauty of the stars. Goodness is hidden, as are the things in heaven; evil is manifest, as are earthly things. Goodness is that with which nothing can be compared. Those who possess intelligence always choose what is best. Humans alone, by virtue of their intelligence, can attain an understanding of God and His creation.

 

Intelligence manifests itself in the soul as nature does in the body. The soul is divinized through the spiritual intelligence, but the nature of the body makes the soul grow slack and sluggish. Nature is present in all bodies, but intelligence is not present in every soul; therefore, not every soul is saved.

 

The eye perceives the visible; intelligence apprehends the invisible. The spiritual intelligence that enjoys the love of God is the light of the soul. Those who have such intelligence are illumined in their heart and know God.

 

No one can become good and wise immediately, but only through much effort, reflection, experience, time, practice and desire for virtuous action. Those who are good and enjoy the love of God, and who truly know Him, never cease to do ungrudgingly all that accords with His will. Such men are rare.

 

Men of dull wits should not despair of themselves and become lazy, disdaining the life of virtue and of love for God as being unattainable and incomprehensible to them. They should, instead, exercise such powers as they possess and cultivate themselves. For even if they cannot attain the highest level in respect of virtue and salvation, they may, through practice and aspiration, become either better or at least not worse, which is no small profit for the soul.

 

Sensible people should examine carefully both their strength and the degree of alertness of their soul's powers; in this way they can make ready to resist the passions in accordance with the strength implanted in their nature by God. It is self-control which resists temptation and all desires harmful to the soul; it is fortitude which resists pain and want; it is patience which resists abuse and anger.

 

No good human is immoral; but if a human is not good, he or she will certainly be evil and a lover of the body. The first virtue is to reject the demands of the flesh. If we detach ourselves from transitory, corruptible and material things by our own free choice and not through lack of means to indulge in them, this makes us heirs of eternal and incorruptible blessings.

 

 

Those who pursue a life of holiness, enjoying the love of God, cultivate the virtues of the soul, because the soul is their own possession and an eternal delight. In addition, whenever possible they take pleasure in such transitory things as come to them through God's will and gift. Even if these things are rather scanty, they use them gladly and gratefully. Luxurious meals nourish the body; but knowledge of God, self-control, goodness, beneficence, devoutness and gentleness deify the soul.

 

Evil is a passion found in matter and so it is not possible for a body to come into being free from evil. The intelligent soul, grasping this, strives to free itself from the evil burden of matter; and when it is free from this burden, it comes to know the God of all and keeps watch on the body as being an enemy and does not yield to it. Then the soul is crowned by God for having conquered the passions of evil and matter.

 

When the soul has come to recognize evil it hates it like the stench of a foul beast; but those who do not recognize evil love it, and it holds them captive, making a slave of its lover. Then, the unfortunate and wretched ones can neither see nor understand their true interest, but imagine that this evil is an adornment and so they are happy.

 

Those who are truly human try to be devout; and they are devout when they do not desire what is alien to them; everything created is alien to the human soul. Humans are superior to all creatures because they are an image of God. Humans are the image of God when they live rightly and in a way which conforms to God. They cannot live like this unless they detach themselves from worldly things. Those whose spiritual consciousness enjoys the love of God are fully aware that everything beneficial to their soul and all their devoutness come from this detachment. They do not blame another for the sins they commit; this is the sign of a soul in which salvation is at work.

 

Those who contrive to gain possession of transitory things by force are also attached to their desire to act viciously. They ignore the death and destruction of their own soul; they do not consider what is in their interest or reflect on what other humans suffer through after death because of their wickedness. Ignore-ance is ignorance.

 

Evil is a passion adherent to matter, but God is not the cause of evil. He has given us knowledge and understanding, the power of discriminating between good and evil and free will. It is our negligence and indolence which give birth to evil passions, while God is in no way the cause. Demons, like many humans, have become evil as a result of the free choice of their own will and their persistent behavior down this dark path.

 

Those who live devoutly do not allow evil to slip into their soul; and no evil being present, their soul is safe from danger and harm. Such people are dominated neither by demons nor by fate, for God delivers them from all evil and, protected like a god, they live unharmed. If they are praised, they laugh within themselves at those who praise them; if they are criticized, they do not defend themselves against those who mock them and they never get angry at what they say.

 

Concentrating on holiness of living together with attentiveness to the soul leads to goodness and love of God; for those who seek God find Him by overcoming all desires through regular prayer and meditation. Such a person does not fear demons. Those who cannot discriminate between good and evil have no right to judge who is good and who is evil. Those who know God are good and if someone is not good, they know nothing of God and never will; for the way to know God is by means of goodness.

 

Those who are in a position of high authority should not lightly threaten someone with death, knowing that by nature, you too are subject to death and that the soul sheds the body as if shedding its last garment. Since this is known, be gentle and merciful, always giving thanks to God; for those who have no compassion have no virtue.

 

We should not become angry with those who sin, even if what they do is criminal and deserves punishment. On the contrary, for the sake of justice we ought to correct and, if need be, punish them ourselves or get others to do so. But we should not become angry or excited; for anger acts only in accordance with passion and not in accordance with good judgment and justice. Moreover, we should not approve of those who show more mercy than is proper. The wicked must be punished for the sake of what is good and just, but not as a result of the personal passion of anger.

 

Intelligence is the servant of the mind; whatever the mind wills, the intelligence conceives and expresses. The intelligence sees all things, including the celestial; nothing darkens it except sin. To the pure mind nothing is incomprehensible, just as for the intelligence nothing is beyond expression. By virtue of the body, humans are mortal; and by virtue of our intelligence and soul, we are immortal. Through silence we come to understanding; and having understood, we give expression. It is in silence that the ego-mind communes with intelligence; and the thankful intelligence offered to God is our salvation.

 

 

The intelligence which is wedded to the mind and which gives help to the soul is a gift of God. However, the intelligence which is full of babbling and which investigates the measurements and distances of sky and earth, and the size of the sun and the stars, characterizes one who labors in vain. Fruitlessly vaunting oneself, he or she pursues what is without profit, as if wishing to draw water with a sieve; for no one can resolve these matters. Only those who pursue holiness, who know and glorify God who created us for salvation and life, can perceive heaven and understand heavenly things. For those who enjoy the love of God are fully aware that nothing exists without God; God, being infinite, is everywhere and in all things.

 

Humans come naked out of their mother's womb, so the soul comes naked out of the body. One soul comes out pure and luminous, another comes out blemished by faults, a third comes out black with its many sins. Thus, the soul filled with light enjoys the love of God, reflects and meditates on the evils which follow death, and leads a devout life in order not to be entangled with them and so condemned. But unbelievers, fools that they are, commit impious and sinful acts, ignoring what is to come.

 

The body, when it is united with the soul, comes from the darkness of the womb into the light. But the soul, when it is united with the body, is bound up in the body's darkness. Therefore, we must abhor and discipline the body as an adversary which fights against the soul; for over-indulgence in foods and delicacies excites the passions of vice in people, whereas, restraint of the belly humbles these passions and saves the soul.

 

The body sees by means of the eyes, and the soul perceives by means of the intelligence. A body without eyes is blind, and cannot see the sun shining on earth and ocean or enjoy its light. Likewise, the soul without purity of heart and a holy way of life is blind; it does not apprehend God, the Creator and Benefactor of all, or glorify Him, and it cannot enjoy His incorruptible essence and eternal blessings.

 

Since God is good, whatever He does, He does for our sake. But whatever humans do, they do for their own sake, both what is good and what is evil. Do not be astonished at the well-being of the wicked; one must realize that just as states employ executioners, and while not approving of their terrible profession, they use them to punish those who deserve it. In the same way, God allows the wicked to tyrannize others in the worldly sphere as a means of punishing their impiousness. Afterwards, He delivers the wicked to judgment because they have made people suffer in order to serve, not God, but their own wickedness.

 

God has ordained that the soul should be filled with an expanding intelligence as the body grows, so humans may choose from good and evil what conforms to God. A soul which does not choose the good has no spiritual intelligence only dark passions. Hence, all bodies have souls, but not every soul has intelligence. A spiritual intelligence enjoying the love of God is present in the self-controlled, the holy, the just, the pure, the good, the merciful and the devout. The presence of a spiritual intelligence helps us to ascend towards God.

 

God's providence controls the universe; it is present everywhere. Providence is the sovereign Logos of God, imprinting form on the unformed materiality of the world, making and fashioning all things. Matter could not have acquired an articulated structure were it not for the directing power of the Logos, who is the Image, Intelligence, Wisdom and Providence of God.

 

The knowledge and fear of God are a cure for material passions. As long as ignorance of God is present in the soul, the passions remain incurable and rot the soul away; for evil in the soul is like a festering wound. God is not responsible for this, since He has given to us spiritual understanding and knowledge, for He seeks to purify humans from their passions and deliberate wickedness; and in His love He desires to transform the mortal into the immortal.

 

God is good, dispassionate and immutable. Now someone who thinks it reasonable and true to affirm that God does not change, may well ask how is it possible to speak of God as rejoicing over those who are good and showing mercy to those who honor Him, while turning away from the wicked and being angry with sinners. To this it must be answered that God neither rejoices nor grows angry, for to rejoice and to be offended are passions; nor is He won over by the gifts of those who honor Him, for that would mean He is swayed by pleasure. It is not right to imagine that God feels pleasure or displeasure in a human way. He is good, and He only bestows blessings and never does harm, remaining always the same. We men, on the other hand, if we remain good through resembling God, are united to Him; but if we become evil through not resembling God, we are separated from Him.

 

By living in holiness we cleave to God; but by becoming wicked we make Him our enemy. It is not that He grows angry with us in an arbitrary way, but it is our own sins that prevent God from shining within us, and expose us to the demons that punish us. And if through prayer and acts of compassion that we gain release from our sins, this does not mean we have won God over and made Him change, but that through our actions and our turning to God we have cured our wickedness and so once more have enjoyment of God's goodness. Thus, to say that God turns away from the wicked is like saying that the sun hides itself from the blind.

 

When we go to bed with a contented mind, recall the blessings and generous providence of God; be filled with holy thoughts and great joy. Then, while our body sleeps, our soul will keep watch; the closing of our eyes will bring us a true vision of God; our silence will be pregnant with sanctity, and in our sleep we will continue consciously to glorify the God of all with the full strength of our soul. For when evil is absent from our soul, our thankfulness is by itself more pleasing to God than any lavish sacrifice. To Him be glory through all the ages. Amen.

 

 

 

 

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