Ὁμιλία Ηʹ

The Rhythms of Grace

The soul experiences the divine presence through varying intensities of prayer and mystical visitation.

Someone comes in to kneel, and the heart is filled with the divine working, and the soul rejoices with the Lord as a bride with the bridegroom, according to the word of the prophet Isaiah, who says: "As a bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so the Lord will rejoice over you." And it happens that this person, occupied all day long, gives himself to prayer for a single hour, and the inner person is caught up into prayer, into the infinite depth of that age in great sweetness—so that the whole mind is astonished, being lifted up and carried away there; so that at that moment forgetfulness comes over the thoughts of the earthly mindset, because the thoughts have been filled full and taken captive into the divine and heavenly, into boundless and incomprehensible things, into wonders that a human mouth cannot put into words—so that in that hour one prays and says, "If only the soul had gone away together with the prayer."¹ Question: Does a person always enter into those things? Answer: Grace is present without interruption; it has been rooted and leavened from youth, and what remains with the person has become as natural and fixed as one substance. Yet in many ways, as it wills, for what is for the person's good, it directs the person.²³ At times the fire burns more fiercely and is kindled; at other times it is softer and gentler. The light itself sometimes flares more brightly and shines; at other times it draws back and grows dim. This lamp is always burning and shining—when it is brightened further, it is kindled in the intoxication of the love of God. Then again, by divine arrangement, it yields; and though the light remains, it is duller.⁴ Yet to some, the sign of the cross has appeared through light and been fixed to the inner person. At another time, while in prayer, the person entered into a state of ecstasy and found themselves standing at an altar in a church, where three loaves were offered to them, as if kneaded with oil; and as much as they ate, the loaves increased and grew even more.⁵

The Gradual Ascent

Spiritual growth occurs in stages, with grace tempering its intensity to allow for the practical duties of the Christian life.

At another time, it was like a luminous garment—nothing like it exists on earth in this age, nor could human hands create it (just as when the Lord went up the mountain with John and Peter, he changed his clothes and made them flash with light). That is what the garment was like, and the person who wore it was struck with awe and wonder. At another time, the light itself, shining in the heart, opened up a more inward, deeper, and hidden light, so that the whole person, swallowed up in that sweetness and contemplation, no longer possessed himself. He was like a fool and a foreigner to this world because of the overwhelming love and sweetness, and because of the hidden mysteries. At that time, the person was set free, reached the perfect measures, and was pure and free from sin.⁶ But after these things grace drew back, and the covering of the opposing power came; yet it still appears somehow in part, and he stood at one lower step of perfection.⁷ To put it this way: a person has to pass through twelve steps to reach perfection. When someone has reached that measure at a given time and entered into perfection, grace yields again and steps back by one, and he stands at eleven. But there is one person rich in grace always: night and day he has stood at the perfect measures, free and pure, always captive and lifted up.⁸ As for the person to whom those wonders were shown and who experienced them—if they stayed with him always, he couldn't take on the stewardship of the word or its burden, nor would he put up with listening or caring at all about himself or about tomorrow; he would only sit in a corner, lifted up and intoxicated.⁹ So the perfect measure was not given, so that he might be free to attend to the care of the brothers and to the ministry of the word; yet the dividing wall of the barrier has been broken down, and death has been conquered.

The Reality of Ongoing Struggle

Even those who experience profound spiritual consolation remain in a state of partial struggle and must maintain humility.

But this is how things are. A kind of murky power presses upon him and covers him lightly, like thick air — even though the lamp is always burning and shining — as if a veil lies over that light. That is why this person admits he is not perfect, nor completely free from sin. So you can say that the dividing wall of the partition has been broken down and shattered — and yet again, in some respect, it has not been completely broken down, nor always.^✦¹⁰ There are times when it kindles more strongly, bringing consolation and rest; there are other times when it draws back and grows somber, as grace itself manages things for the person's good.¹¹ But who has come into the perfect measure at times, and has tasted and experienced that age? For as yet I have not seen anyone who is a perfect Christian, or free.^✦ Even if someone finds rest in grace and enters into mysteries, revelations, and the great sweetness of grace, sin still remains present within. Yet, because of the surpassing grace and the light within them, they think they are free and perfect—going astray through inexperience, even while they possess the working of grace. I have not seen anyone free yet, because I, too, have partially entered into that measure at times, and I know from careful experience how a human being is not perfect. Question: Tell us yourself—what measures are you in? Answer: After the sign of the cross, grace now works this way: it brings peace to all the members and to the heart, so that the soul, from so much joy, appears like an innocent child, and the person no longer condemns a Greek, a Jew, a sinner, or anyone in the world.^✦¹²

The Fruit of Universal Love

The mature soul, having tasted the riches of God's kingdom, views all people with pure love and filial boldness.

But the inner person views everyone with a pure eye, rejoicing over the whole world and wanting to honor and love everyone—Greeks and Jews alike.^✦¹³ At another hour he is as bold toward the Son of God as a king's son is toward his father: doors are opened to him, and he goes inside into many dwellings; and as he goes further in, still more open to him—roughly from a hundred dwellings into another hundred—and he grows rich; and the richer he grows, still other, newer wonders are shown to him, and things are entrusted to him as to a son and heir that human nature cannot speak or mouth and tongue articulate.^✦^✦^✦¹⁴¹⁵ Glory to God. Amen.

Read the original Latin

Εἰσέρχεταί τις κλῖναι γόνυ, καὶ ἡ καρδία πληροῦται τῆς θείας ἐνεργείας καὶ εὐφραίνεται ἡ ψυχὴ μετὰ τοῦ κυρίου ὡς νύμφη μετὰ νυμφίου, κατὰ τὸν λόγον Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· «ὃν τρόπον εὐφραίνεται νυμφίος ἐπὶ νύμφῃ, οὕτως εὐφρανθήσεται κύριος ἐπί σοι». καὶ συμβαίνει ὅτι ἀσχολούμενος οὗτος πᾶσαν ἡμέραν ἐν μιᾷ ὥρᾳ δίδωσιν ἑαυτὸν εἰς εὐχὴν καὶ ἁρπάζεται εἰς προσευχὴν ὁ ἔσω ἄνθρωπος, εἰς ἄπειρον βάθος ἐκείνου τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐν ἡδύτητι πολλῇ, ὥστε ξενίζεσθαι τὸν νοῦν ὅλον ὄντα μετέωρον καὶ ἡρπασμένον ἐκεῖ, ὥστε κατ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν λήθην ἐγγενέσθαι τοῖς λογισμοῖς τοῦ φρονήματος τοῦ ἐπιγείου, διὰ τὸ μεστωθῆναι τοὺς λογισμοὺς καὶ αἰχμαλωτισθῆναι εἰς τὰ θεῖα καὶ ἐπουράνια, εἰς ἀπέραντα καὶ ἀκατάληπτα πράγματα, εἰς θαυμάσιά τινα ἀνθρωπίνῳ στόματι φρασθῆναι ἀδύνατα, ὥστε ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ εὔχεσθαι καὶ λέγειν ὡς εἴθε συναπῆλθεν ἡ ψυχὴ σὺν τῇ εὐχῇ. 20Ἐρώτησις:20 εἰ πάντοτε εἰσέρχεταί τις εἰς ἐκεῖνα τὰ πράγματα; 20Ἀπόκρισις:20 ἡ μὲν χάρις ἀδιαλείπτως σύνεστι, καὶ ἐρρίζωται καὶ ἐζύμωται ἐκ νέας ἡλικίας καὶ ὡς φυσικὸν καὶ πηκτὸν ἐγένετο αὐτὸ τὸ συνὸν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ὡς μία οὐσία, πολυτρόπως δὲ ὡς θέλει πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον οἰκονομεῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον. ποτὲ μὲν πλέον ἐκκαίεται καὶ ἅπτεται τὸ πῦρ, ποτὲ δὲ ὡς μαλθακώτερον καὶ πραΰτερον. καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ φῶς κατὰ καιρούς τινας πλέον ἐξάπτεται καὶ λάμπει, ποτὲ δὲ ὑποστέλλεται καὶ στυγνάζει. καὶ αὕτη ἡ λαμπὰς πάντοτε καιομένη καὶ λάμπουσα, ὅταν φαιδρυνθῇ πλέον, ἐν μέθῃ ἐξάπτεται τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ θεοῦ· αὖθις δὲ κατ' οἰκονομίαν ἐνδίδωσι, καίτοι συνὸν τὸ φῶς ἀμβλύτερόν ἐστι. Πλὴν ἐπεφάνη τισὶ τὸ σημεῖον τοῦ σταυροῦ διὰ φωτὸς καὶ προσεπάγη τῷ ἔσω ἀνθρώπῳ. ἄλλοτε πάλιν ἐν τῇ εὐχῇ ὡς ἐν ἐκστάσει γέγονεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ εὑρέθη εἰς θυσιαστήριον ἑστὼς ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ, καὶ προσηνέχθησαν τῷ τοιούτῳ ἄρτοι τρεῖς ὡς δι' ἐλαίου ἐζυμωμένοι, καὶ ὅσον ἤσθιεν, ἐκεῖνο πλέον ηὔξανε καὶ ἐμηκύνετο.

ἄλλοτε πάλιν ὥσπερ ἔνδυμά τι φωτεινόν, οἷον οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦτον οὔτε ὑπὸ ἀνθρωπίνων χειρῶν δυνατὸν κατασκευασθῆναι (ὃν γὰρ τρόπον εἰς τὸ ὄρος ἀνελθὼν ὁ κύριος μετὰ Ἰωάννου καὶ Πέτρου μετήμειψεν αὐτοῦ τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ ἐξαστράψαι πεποίηκεν), οὕτως ἦν τὸ ἔνδυμα ἐκεῖνο καὶ ἐθαμβεῖτο καὶ ἐθαύμαζεν ὁ ἐνδεδυμένος ἄνθρωπος. ἐν ἄλλῳ δὲ καιρῷ αὐτὸ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ φαῖνον ἤνοιγε τὸ ἐνδότερον καὶ βαθύτερον καὶ ἀπόκρυφον φῶς, ὥστε ὅλον τὸν ἄνθρωπον καταποθέντα εἰς ἐκείνην τὴν γλυκύτητα καὶ θεωρίαν μηκέτι ἔχειν ἑαυτόν, ἀλλ' εἶναι ὡς μωρὸν καὶ βάρβαρον τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ διὰ τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν ἀγάπην καὶ γλυκύτητα, διὰ τὰ ἀπόκρυφα μυστήρια, ὥστε τὸν ἄνθρωπον κατ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν ἐλευθερωθέντα φθάσαι εἰς τὰ τέλεια μέτρα καὶ εἶναι καθαρὸν καὶ ἐλεύθερον ἐκ τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Ἀλλὰ μετὰ ταῦτα ὑπέστειλεν ἡ χάρις καὶ ἦλθε τὸ κάλυμμα τῆς ἐναντίας δυνάμεως· φαίνεται δέ πως μερικῶς, καὶ ἔστη εἰς ἕνα βαθμὸν τὸν κατώτερον τῆς τελειότητος. ὡς ἵνα εἴπωμεν, χρὴ δώδεκα βαθμοὺς παρελθεῖν τινα καὶ φθάσαι εἰς τὴν τελειότητα. ἐν καιρῷ τις ἔφθασε καταλαβεῖν ἐκεῖνο τὸ μέτρον καὶ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν τελειότητα, πάλιν ἐνδίδωσιν ἡ χάρις καὶ κατέρχεται παρ' ἕνα βαθμὸν καὶ στήκει εἰς τοὺς ἕνδεκα. εἷς δέ τις πλούσιος ἐν τῇ χάριτι πάντοτε, νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας εἰς τὰ τέλεια μέτρα ἕστηκεν, ὢν ἐλεύθερος καὶ καθαρός, πάντοτε αἰχμάλωτος καὶ μετέωρος. καὶ νῦν ᾧ ἐδείχθη ἐκεῖνα τὰ θαυμάσια καὶ ὧν πεῖραν ἔλαβεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, εἰ συνῆν αὐτῷ πάντοτε, οὐκ ἠδύνατο τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ λόγου ἢ τὸ βάρος ὑποδέξασθαι οὔτε ἠνείχετο ἀκούειν ἢ μεριμνᾶν εἰς τὸ τυχὸν περὶ ἑαυτοῦ οὔτε περὶ τῆς αὔριον, εἰ μὴ μόνον καθῆσθαι ἐν μιᾷ γωνίᾳ μετέωρον καὶ μεμεθυσμένον. ὥστε τὸ τέλειον μέτρον οὐκ ἐδόθη, ἵνα δυνηθῇ σχολάσαι εἰς τὴν μέριμναν τῶν ἀδελφῶν καὶ εἰς τὴν διακονίαν τοῦ λόγου, πλὴν τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ διαλέλυται καὶ νενίκηται ὁ θάνατος.

Τὰ δὲ πράγματα οὕτως ἐστίν. ὡς γνοφώδης τις δύναμις ἐπίκειται καὶ σκεπάζει ἐλαφρῶς ὡς ἀὴρ παχύς, καίτοι πάντοτε τῆς λαμπάδος καιομένης καὶ φαινούσης ὥσπερ ἐπίκειται ἐκείνῳ τῷ φωτὶ κάλυμμα· ὅθεν ὁμολογεῖ οὗτος, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι τέλειος οὔτε ἐλεύθερος τὸ ὅλον ἐκ τῆς ἁμαρτίας· ὥστε εἰπεῖν ὅτι διαλέλυται καὶ τέθραυσται τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ, καὶ πάλιν ἔν τινι οὐ διαλέλυται τὸ ὅλον οὔτε πάντοτε. ἔστι γὰρ καιρός, ὅτε πλέον ἐξάπτει καὶ παρακαλεῖ καὶ ἀναπαύει· ἔστι καιρός, ὅτι ὑποστέλλεται καὶ στυγνάζει, ὡς αὐτὴ ἡ χάρις οἰκονομεῖ πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ. τίς δὲ ὁ ἐλθὼν εἰς τὸ μέτρον τὸ τέλειον ἐν καιροῖς καὶ γευσάμενος καὶ πεῖραν ἔχων ἐκείνου τοῦ αἰῶνος; ἀκμὴν γὰρ οὐδένα εἶδον τέλειον Χριστιανὸν ἢ ἐλεύθερον. ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ ἀναπαύεταί τις ἐν τῇ χάριτι καὶ εἰσέρχεται εἰς μυστήρια καὶ ἀποκαλύψεις καὶ εἰς ἡδύτητα πολλὴν τῆς χάριτος, ὅμως καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία σύνεστιν ἀκμὴν ἔσω. αὐτοὶ δὲ διὰ τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν χάριν καὶ τὸ ἐν αὐτοῖς φῶς νομίζουσιν ἐλεύθεροι εἶναι καὶ τέλειοι, παρὰ ἀπειρίαν σφαλλόμενοι, ἐπειδὴ ἔχουσιν ἐνέργειαν τῆς χάριτος. ἀκμὴν δὲ οὐδένα εἶδον ἐλεύθερον, ἐπειδὴ κἀγὼ μερικῶς ἐν καιροῖς τισιν εἰσῆλθον εἰς ἐκεῖνο τὸ μέτρον καὶ οἶδα καταμαθών, πῶς οὐκ ἔστι τέλειος ὁ ἄνθρωπος. 20Ἐρώτησις:20 εἰπὲ ἡμῖν σύ, ἐν ποίοις εἶ μέτροις; 20Ἀπόκρισις:20 μετὰ τὸ σημεῖον τοῦ σταυροῦ νῦν ἡ χάρις οὕτως ἐνεργεῖ, εἰρηνεύει ὅλα τὰ μέλη καὶ τὴν καρδίαν, ὥστε τὴν ψυχὴν ἐκ τῆς πολλῆς χαρᾶς ὡς παιδίον ἄκακον φαίνεσθαι καὶ οὐκέτι κατακρίνει ὁ ἄνθρωπος Ἕλληνα ἢ Ἰουδαῖον ἢ ἁμαρτωλὸν ἢ κοσμικόν.

ἀλλ' ὁ ἔσω ἄνθρωπος καθαρῷ ὀφθαλμῷ πάντας ὁρᾷ, καὶ χαίρει ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐπὶ ὅλῳ τῷ κόσμῳ καὶ πάντας θέλει προσκυνεῖν καὶ ἀγαπᾶν, Ἕλληνας, Ἰουδαίους. ἄλλῃ ὥρᾳ ὡς υἱὸς βασιλέως οὕτως θαρρεῖ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς πατρί, καὶ ἀνοίγονται αὐτῷ θύραι καὶ εἰσέρχεται ἔνδον εἰς πολλὰς μονάς, καὶ ὅσον εἰσέρχεται πάλιν ἀνοίγονται αὐτῷ, πρὸς λόγον ἀπὸ ἑκατὸν μονῶν εἰς ἄλλας ἑκατὸν μονάς, καὶ πλουτεῖ, καὶ ὅσῳ πλουτεῖ, πάλιν ἄλλα καινότερα θαυμάσια δείκνυνται αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐμπιστεύεται ὡς υἱῷ καὶ κληρονόμῳ πράγματα μὴ δυνάμενα ῥηθῆναι ὑπὸ φύσεως ἀνθρωπίνης ἢ στόματι καὶ γλώσσῃ διαρθρωθῆναι. δόξα τῷ θεῷ. ἀμήν.

Scripture echoes

↩Eph.2.14 — For he himself is our peace, who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of hostility
↩Heb.6.4-Heb.6.5 — For it is impossible, in the case of those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, and who shared in the Holy Spirit, Heb.6.5 — and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come,
↩Gal.3.28;Col.3.11;Rom.10.12 — There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Col.3.11 — where there is no Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free—but Christ is all and in all. Rom.10.12 — For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord of all is rich toward all who call upon him.
↩Gal.3.28;Col.3.11 — There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Col.3.11 — where there is no Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free—but Christ is all and in all.
↩John.14.2 — In my Father's house there are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you? I go to prepare a place for you.
↩Rom.8.17;Gal.4.7 — And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. Gal.4.7 — So you are no longer a slave but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
↩2Cor.12.4;1Cor.2.9 — that he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a person to speak. 1Cor.2.9 — But as it is written: What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived—all that God has prepared for those who love him.

Notes

1 ↩ἁρπάζεται / ἡρπασμένον: rendered as 'caught up' / 'carried away' to preserve the rapture sense familiar in mystical Greek without forcing a technical term.
2 ↩οἰκονομεῖ: rendered 'directs' for the gracious ordering of the person; the Greek also carries the sense of divine economy/arrangement.
3 ↩πηκτόν: 'fixed/set firm' (as something solidified); paired with φυσικόν ('natural') to stress that abiding grace feels connatural, not intermittent mood.
4 ↩κατ' οἰκονομίαν: rendered 'by divine arrangement' for the purposeful moderation of consolation; not mere chance withdrawal.
5 ↩ἐμηκύνετο: 'grew longer/was extended' of the bread as it was eaten—kept literal rather than smoothed into generic 'increased,' since the source pairs growth (ηὔξανε) with lengthening.
6 ↩βάρβαρον rendered as 'foreigner' (to this world); 'barbarian' would be more literal but reads as ethnic insult in modern English, while the force is 'out of place / unintelligible to the world.'
7 ↩φαίνεται δέ πως μερικῶς is elliptical: the subject is most naturally the light/grace still appearing partially under the opposing covering, not the covering itself.
8 ↩αἰχμάλωτος ('captive') here is positive captivity to divine things, matching the prior section's captivation into the heavenly; μετέωρος is the rapt, suspended mind, not mere distraction.
9 ↩τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ λόγου could mean 'the ordered ministry of the word' or more broadly 'managing speech/discourse'; rendered as 'stewardship of the word' to keep the pastoral-ministry sense that s8 confirms with διακονίαν τοῦ λόγου.
10 ↩τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ echoes Ephesians 2:14; kept as 'dividing wall of the partition' to preserve the Pauline phrase already used in the preceding section.
11 ↩Second clause has ὅτι where the parallel with ὅτε suggests temporal 'when'; rendered as 'when' rather than causal 'because'.
12 ↩Normalized markers 20Ἐρώτησις:20 / 20Ἀπόκρισις:20 treated as dialogue labels (Question / Answer), not as content to translate literally.
13 ↩προσκυνεῖν here means reverent honor toward people, not worship of God; rendered 'honor' to avoid confusion with divine worship.
14 ↩θαρρεῖ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς πατρί: bold filial confidence directed to the Son of God as to a father—not identification of Son with Father, but the manner of trust.
15 ↩μονάς rendered 'dwellings' (cf. John 14:2 μοναι); 'mansions' would sound archaic in this register.

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