Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Today is the feast of Saint Gregory of Palamas. Saint Gregory was a monk of Mt. Athos, a community of 20 monasteries near Thessaloniki, during the late Byzantine period. We remember him today, in part, for his teaching that those who engage in spiritual disciplines and contemplative prayer may see the very uncreated light of God. Such ‘Hesychastic’ ideas were initially rejected, and Gregory was excommunicated temporarily until 1347, when he was brought back into the Church and made the Bishop of Thessaloniki.

We primarily remember Gregory’s theological teaching regarding God’s ‘energies’ and ‘essence’. By distinguishing between the two, he emphasized both the truth that humans can know God, and the difficult notion that God is in some sense unknowable. Timothy Ware has described these ‘energies’ of God as indistinguishable from ‘grace’, a much more familiar concept for us Western Christians.

Please read and contemplate the quotes from Saint Gregory’s writings below, which I find challenging.

Yours in Christ,
Justin

The passion for popularity brings such injury upon those it masters that it shipwrecks faith itself. Our Lord confirms this when he ways, ‘How can you have faith in me when you receive honor from one another and do not seek for the honor that comes from the only God? (cf. Jn. 5:44)

You should secretly give from what you have to those in need, so that you receive from God, who sees in secret, a hundred times more, as well as life eternal in the age to come (cf. Mt. 6:4; Mk. 10:30)

If you put something fragrant on to burning coals, you motivate those who approach to come back again and to stay near, but if instead you put on something with an unpleasant, oppressive smell, you repel them and drive them away. It is the same with the mind. If your attention is occupied with what is holy, you make yourself worthy of being visited by God, since this is the sweet savor which God catches scent of. On the other hand, if you nurture evil, foul and earthly thoughts within you, you remove yourself from God’s supervision and unfortunately make yourself worthy of his aversion.

We know that prayer in and of itself cannot save us, but carrying it out before God can. For when the Lord’s eyes are upon us he sanctifies us, as the sun warms everything upon which it shines.

If anyone looks with faith at the mystical table and the Bread of Life placed on it, he sees the Person of the Word of God, Who was made flesh for our sake and dwelt among us (Jn. 1:14). If he shows himself a worthy receptacle, he will not only see but become a partaker of Him, receive Him to dwell within him, and be filled with His divine grace.