The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part IV

Philokalia Ministries

When reading The Ladder of Divine Ascent, we begin to see that discernment is quite different from what we imagine. It is not simply the use of our reason and judgment to look at the realities around us, to dissect them, and so understand them. Discernment, as described by the fathers, is rooted in the virtue of humility. It is only when we live in He who is Truth that we come to understand the truth about ourselves, the world, and the kingdom.

St. John in particular gives us a multiple examples of how discernment reveals to us the specific qualities of vices, how they manifest themselves and how they are to be remedied. It is curious that we often use our intellectual abilities to avoid reality or to create a certain perception of reality in our minds. It is only humility that allows us to be vulnerable; to expose the deepest part of ourselves to the light of truth. It is this vulnerability and our trust in God and his love that allows us not only to see the truth but to experience the light of it as a healing balm.

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Text of chat during the group:

00:07:17 Sr. Simeon: I hate camera! 00:07:35 Eric Ewanco: Reacted to "I hate camera!" with 😂 00:08:23 Adam Paige: Reacted to "I hate camera!" with 📷 00:15:31 Adam Paige: Paragraph 43 - How should one admonish a brother given to talkativeness ? 00:21:25 Barbara: Gabriel Bunge? 00:21:32 Jeff O.: Reacted to "Gabriel Bunge?" with 👍 00:24:36 Adam Paige: Reacted to "Gabriel Bunge?" with 👍 00:24:47 Adam Paige: Gabriel Bunge? Yup ! https://a.co/d/8t9PLU5 00:26:48 Barbara: This translations says "malice" in place of guile. 00:32:55 Anthony: I believe this humility is a reason the Sunday after publican and Pharisee is fast free....so as not to be proud in fasting. 00:43:46 Suzanne: My dilemma has to do with fiducia supplicans. 00:48:53 Suzanne: Much to consider. Thank you! 00:51:26 Barbara: Replying to "I believe this humil..." Actually, in the Eastern Christian tradition, the week after the Gospel of the Publican and Pharisee is a week without fasting so we cannot be proud about our fasting. 00:52:02 Louise: In a psychology experiment, participants had to do nothing for 15 minutes. However, they could prick themselves to create pain if they wanted. One-third of women pricked themselves versus two-thirds of men. These people preferred physical pain to the pain induced by silence. 00:59:58 Celine Fournier: How does one take on an affliction. 01:00:34 Anthony: Perhaps we attribute afflictions to sin as a way of justifying why we will never have afflictions....I'm not a sinner, etc. 01:00:57 Celine Fournier: Yes 01:04:43 Adam Paige: Replying to "In a psychology expe..." In a psychology experiment, participants had to do nothing for 15 minutes. However, they could prick themselves to create pain if they wanted. One-third of women pricked themselves versus two-thirds of men. These people preferred physical pain to the pain induced by silence. https://dtg.sites.fas.harvard.edu/WILSON%20ET%20AL%202014.pdf 01:05:56 Louise: When I gave courses to professionals across the US, I told participants that there are two main taboos in psychotherapy: love and suffering. Participants remained silent as though they knew that they DO avoid experiencing love or suffering while providing psychotherapy. Amazing and sad! 01:08:09 Kate : There’s a growing area of health and medicine that focuses on longevity and slowing the aging process. While this may seem good on the surface, I wonder if this is not good for the soul. 01:11:53 Suzanne: Thank you! 01:12:14 Lorraine Green: God bless you, thank you 01:12:19 Sharon Fisher: Thank you all! 01:12:24 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father! 01:12:25 Louise: Thanks, Fr.! 01:12:25 Andrew Adams: Thank you Father! 01:12:31 Jeff O.: Amen! Thank you! 01:12:32 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂