By Archimandrite Kyrillos, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Essex
My immediate answer to both parts of this question is a very affirmative
‘Yes’. God does not change. Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today,
and for ever. And the nature of human beings has not changed either.
Since Adam, humans are dignified with such a power over their own
destiny that they can to a great degree turn their backs on God, on
spiritual life, on the quest for holiness. But until the end of the
world, there will always be people who, even if they are in the
minority, will call down God’s grace upon the earth and their fellow
humans. That the world continues is proof that there is holiness today.
Saint Silouan said, ‘I tell you that when there are no more men of
prayer on earth, the world will come to an end.’
In other words, spiritual life, and
holiness, which is its fruit, do not exist only in the past. We can see
holiness in our predecessors and learn from them, but we are not
examining spiritual life like an exhibit in a historical museum. It is a
living reality to which we are all called. Every human being has a
spiritual dimension. God is not partial: He calls each one into
existence with personal love, and endows each human with the potential
to share His own life. St. Peter using the terminology of his time said
that we are called to ‘become partakers of the divine nature’ [2 Peter
1:4]. And that is what holiness is: ‘Be holy, for I am Holy, and I will
that you have all that I have, unreservedly.’ This is God’s invitation
to us all, whatever our place in society, or our rank in the Church: the
rank of the laity, or that of the clergy. St. Silouan writes: ‘Everyone
in this world has his task to perform, be he king or patriarch, cook,
blacksmith or teacher, but the Lord Whose love extends to everyone of us
will give greater reward to the man whose love for God is greater.’
And again: ‘Not everyone can be an emperor or a prince; not everyone can
be a patriarch or an abbot, or a leader; but in every walk of life we
can love God and be pleasing to Him, and only this is important.’
Spiritual life is life which takes
into account the spiritual dimension of human beings. Working at our
relationship with God is not like a hobby for a certain category of
person, as people say, ‘He or she is the religious type’. It is not an
optional extra. It is what makes our life really human. Biology and
psychology, when they exclude the divine input into the human make-up,
give an incomplete picture. Secular man is merely a superior animal, and
actually sub-human. Without spiritual effort we will not cultivate our
spirit. It cannot be obliterated, but it can be stifled and atrophied,
ignored or denied. Only if we live a life which is spiritual will we
ever be fully ourselves, fully reintegrated as persons. Spiritual life
includes our psychological and our physical aspects. What I think and do
on every level of existence affects my soul. And when my soul is
touched by God’s grace, my thinking, my feeling and my body are also
blessed.
