Here are the particulars
for a person who lacks grace: Once he has turned away from God, the
person dwells on himself, and makes self the main goal of his life and
activity. This is because at this point, after God, there is for him
nothing higher than self, especially because, having previously received
every abundance from God and having now forgotten Him, he hurries and
takes care to fill himself up with something.
The emptiness that has
formed inside him because of his falling away from God causes an
unquenchable thirst inside him that is vague but constant. The person
has become a bottomless abyss. He makes every effort to fill this abyss,
but he cannot see or feel it getting full. Thus, he spends his entire
life in sweat, toil and great labors; he busies himself with various
occupations in which he hopes to find a way to quench his unquenchable
thirst.
These occupations take up all his attention, all his time and
all his activity. They are the highest good, in which he lives with his
whole heart. Thus, it is clear why a person who makes self his exclusive
goal is never himself; instead, everything is outside him, in things
either created or acquired by vanity. He has fallen away from God, Who
is the fullness of everything. He himself is empty; it remains for him
to seemingly pour himself out into an endless variety of things and live
in them.
Thus, the sinner thirsts, fusses, and troubles himself with
occupations and numerous things outside himself and God. This is why a
characteristic trait of sinful life is, in its disregard for salvation, the care and trouble about many things (cf. Lk 10:41).
Taken from "The Path to Salvation" A Manual of Spiritual Transformation By Saint Theophan the Recluse
No comments:
Post a Comment