Wisdom from Mount Athos

On Creativity:

"In my young days, through a Russian painter who afterwards became famous, I had been attracted to the idea of pure creativity, taking the form of abstract art. This engrossed me for two or three years and led to the first theological thought to originate within my own mind. Just as every artist apprehends objective reality through the forms and modes of his art, so I derived ideas for my abstract studies from life around me. I would look at a man, a house, a plant, at intricate machinery, extravagant shadowscapes, on walls or ceilings, at quivering bonfire flames, and would compose them into abstract pictures, creating in my imagination visions that were not like actual reality. This was how I interpreted the teaching of my master - not to copy natural phenomena but to produce new pictorial facts. Fortunately, I soon realised that it was not give to me, a human being, to create from 'nothing', in the way only God can create. I realised that everything that I created was conditioned by what was already in existence. I could not einvent a new colour or line that had never existed anywhere before. An abstract picture is like a string of words, beautiful and sonorous in themselves, perhaps, but never expressing a complete thought. In short, an abstract picture represented a disintegration of being, a falling into the void, a return to the non esse from which we had been called by the creative act of God. I therefore abandoned my fruitless efforts to derive something entirely new, and the problem of creative work now became closely linked in my mind with the problem of cognition of Being. The whole world, practically every visual scene, became mysterious, uncommonly beautiful, profound. Light changed, to caress and surround objects with a halo, as it were, of glory, imparting to them vibrations of life impossible for the artist to depict with the means at his disposal. I was filled then with reverent worship for the First Craftsman, the Creator of all things, and a longing to meet Him, learn from Him, know how He created."

On Knowledge:

"The Lord is love; and He commanded us to love one another and to love our enemies; and the Holy Spirit teaches us this love.

The soul that has not come to know the Holy Spirit does not understand how it is possible to love one's enemies, and will not receive this commandment; but in the Lord is pity for all men, and he who would be with the Lord must love his enemies.

How may we know whether the Lord loves us or no?

Here are tokens: If you battle firmly against sin the Lord loves you. If you love your enemies you are even more beloved by God. And if you lay down your life for others you are greatly beloved of the Lord who Himself laid down His life for us.

The man who has known the Lord through the Holy Spirit becomes like unto the Lord, as St John the Divine said, 'We shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.' And we shall behold his glory.

Many numbers of people, you say, are suffering every kind of adversity and from evil men. But I entreat you: Humble yourself beneath the strong hand of God, and grace will be your teacher and you yourself will long to suffer for the sake of the love of the Lord. That is what the Holy Spirit, whom we have come to know in the Church, will teach you.

But the man who cries out against evil men, who does not pray for them will never know the grace of God.

We do not need riches or learning in order to know the Lord: we must simply be obedient and sober, have a humble spirit and love our fellow-men. The Lord will love a soul that does this, and of His own accord make Himself manifest to her and instruct her in love and humility, and give her all things necessary for her to find rest in God.

We may study as much as we will but we shall still not come to know the Lord unless we live according to His commandments, for the Lord is not made known through learning but by the Holy Spirit. Many philosophers and scholars have arrived at a belief in the existence of God, but they have not come to know God.

To believe in God is on thing, to know God another.

We are able to treat of God only in so far as we have known the grace of the Holy Spirit; for how can a man think on and consider a thing that he has not seen or heard tell of, and does not know? Now the Saints declare that they have seen God; yet there are people who say that God is not. No doubt they say this inasmuch as they have not known God, but it does not at all mean that He is not."

On Love:

"The sinful soul which does not know the Lord fears death, thinking that the Lord will not forgive her her sins. But this is because the soul does not know the Lord and how greatly He loves us. But if people knew this, then no man would despair in his heart, for the Lord not only forgives but rejoices exceedingly at the return of a sinner. Though you be at death's door believe firmly that the moment you ask you will receive forgiveness.

The Lord is not like us. He is passing meek, and merciful, and good; and when the soul knows Him she marvels greatly and exclaims: 'O what a Lord is ours!'

The Holy Spirit gave our Church to know how great is God's mercy.

The Lord loves us, and gently and without reproach takes us to Himself, just as the father in the Gospel story did not reproach his prodigal son but called his servants to bring a new robe and put a precious ring on his finger and shoes on his feet, and told them to kill the fatted calf, and be merry; and in nothing did he condemn his son.

'Did not our heart burn within us?' said the Apostles after Christ drew near them. So does the soul recognize and love her Lord, and the delight of His love is a burning delight.

In heaven there is one and the same love in the hearts of all, but on earth some there are that greatly love the Lord, others love Him in small degree, while still others love Him not at all.

The soul that is filled with love of God is forgetful both of heaven and earth. The spirit burns and invisibly beholds the Desired One, and the soul sheds many sweet tears and is unable to forget the Lord for a single second, for the grace of God gives strength to love the Beloved.

Brethren, let us humble ourselves that we may be worthy of the love of God, that the Lord may adorn us with His lowliness of spirit and His humility, that we may become worthy of the heavenly mansions which the Lord has made ready for us.

The Lord loves all men but His love is greater for the man who seeks Him.

'I love them that love me,' said the Lord. 'And those that seek me shall find grace.' And with grace life is good, and the soul rejoices and says: 'My Lord--I am THY servant.'

In these words there is great joy: if the Lord is ours, then all things are ours. That is how rich we are.

On earth the soul has only to touch upon the love of God for the sweetness of the Holy Spirit to transport her with wonder at her beloved God and Heavenly Father.

O how the Lord loves his creation!

The love of the Lord is such that He would have all men saved: His desire is that all should abide eternally with Him in heaven, and behold His glory. We do not know the fulness of this glory, but through the Holy Spirit we may conceive of it in part. But the man who has not come to know the Holy Spirit can have no conception of this glory: he can only believe in the promise of the Lord, and keep His commandments. However, he too is blessed, as the Lord showed St Thomas, and will have equal place with those who saw the glory of God while still her on earth.

The man who fears sin loves God. The man with a tender heart loves Him more. Still greater is the love of the man whose soul dwell light and joy. But the man with grace in soul and body has perfect love. This is the grace the Holy Spirit gave to the Martyrs, the grace that helped them to bear every suffering with fortitude.

Where a man fears to distress God by sinning in any way--that is the first degree of love. The man whose mind is undistracted has love in the second degree, which is greater than the first. A third and still greater degree of love is when a man is aware of grace in his soul. And, finally, the man who has the grace of the Holy Spirit both in soul and body is in a state of perfect love; and if he preserve this grace the bones of his body will turn into sacred relics, as did the bones of the holy Martyrs, the Prophets, the blessed Fathers, and other great Saints.

If people kept Christ's commandments there would be paradise on earth, and with little labour every man would suffice his needs, and the Spirit of God would live in the souls of men, for He Himself seeks us and would dwell in us, and if He does not take up His abode in us it is only because of the proudness of our minds.

Men's hearts have grown proud, and it is only through affliction and repentance that we arrive at salvation, while as for love--it is rarely attained.

One of you may object: this discourse is all of the love of God. But what else should we deliberate on but God? Did He not create us that we might live eternally with Him and behold His glory? When a man loves, his desire is to talk of the object of his love; and then habit enters in. If you make it a habit to think of God, you will always carry God with you in your soul. If you are always thinking of worldly things, they will absorb your mind. Make a habit of meditating on the Lord's sufferings, or on eternal fire, and they will become part of your soul.

This is the law we have: if you forgive others, it is a sign that the Lord has forgiven you. But if you refuse to forgive, then your won sin remains with you.

The Lord wants us to love our fellow-man; and if you reflect that the Lord loves him, that is a sign of the Lord's love in you. And if you consider how greatly the Lord loves His creature, and you yourself have compassion on all creation, and love your enemies, counting yourself the vilest of men, this is a sign of abundant grace of the Holy Spirit in you.

The man who has the Holy Spirit within him, in however slight a degree, sorrows day and night for all mankind. His heart is filled with pity for all God's creatures, and more especially for those who do not know God for who resist Him and therefore are bound for the fire of torment. For them, more than for himself, he prays night and day, that all may repent and know the Lord.

The Lord taught me to love my enemies. Without the grace of God we cannot love our enemies, but the Holy Spirit teaches love, and then even devils arouse our pity because they have fallen from good, and lost humility and love of God.

I beseech you, put this to the test. When a man affronts you or brings dishonour on your head, or takes what is yours, or persecutes the Church, pray to the Lord, and say: 'O Lord, we are all Thy creatures. Have pity on Thy servants, and turn their hearts to repentance,' and you will be aware of grace in your soul. To begin with, constrain your heart to love her enemies, and the Lord, seeing your good will, will help you in all things, and experience itself will show you the way. But the man who thinks with malice of his enemies has not God's love within him and does not know God." 

On Prayer:

"Many people like to read good books, and this is right, but it is best of all to pray; while he who reads newspapers or bad books condemns his soul to go hungry--hungry because the food of the soul and her true satisfaction are in God. He who would pray freely and untroubled must keep himself in ignorance of the news in newspapers, nor should he read mean books or be curious to know details of other people's lives. All these things fill the mind with thoughts that stain, and when one would sort them out they further entangle and weary. Now in God are life, joy, gladness, and the Lord loveth us ineffably, and this love is made known by the Holy Spirit."

All quotations are taken from Wisdom from Mount Athos: The Writings of Staretz Silouan 1866-1938.