Humility, mercy and St. Silouan
Friday July 18, 2008
Categories: Christianity (general), Orthodoxy
A passage from the biography of St. Silouan the Athonite, a 20th century monk, by Archimandrite Sophrony: The Staretz [Holy Elder] used to say, "The Holy Spirit is love, and He gives the soul strength to love her enemies. And...
Filed Under: Orthodoxy, St. Silouan
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Rod Dreher is an editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum), a nonfiction book about conservatives, most of them religious, whose faith and political convictions sometimes put them at odds with mainstream conservatives. The views expressed in this blog are his own.
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And on me as well..... Kyrie eliason....
I'm Baptist, and I don't generally know saints unless they're attached to a church or a hospital, but the principle you speak of is still a major idea behind who Jesus is and what we are supposed to be on the way to in our walk of discipleship.
More specifically, think of two parables from the Gospels-- the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. When the Prodigal returned from his "sojourn" his father accepted him as he was, coming down the road, and ran to meet him, but his brother sat back at the house and sulked. The dad represents God's reaction to a penitent sinner and the brother represents us, all too often.
In the Good Samaritan story, compassion was shown by the foreigner, not by the victim's compatriots. We as Christians are often too quick to see people in their sin, not as God would have us see them, as one in need of care and feeding--spiritually if not physically.
What a coincidence-- we're going through Monk of Mt. Athos in our book discussion group. St. Silhouan, pray to God for us.
In the words of the old country preacher, "That's why he's a saint and we aint."
I rather suspect that the true saint knows he is himself very far from sanctity. Tolstoy's Father Sergius always seemed to me to be a saint despite his sin. Even the saints need the Divine Mercy. The Bestower of the gift of free will on man would have it no other way.
I'll echo and agree with Rod on this, rare as that might be. Me too. God have mercy.
I would be interested from those who have experience both in Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity if this is something Orthodox teach and emphasize more effectively than Catholics, maybe particularly American? I understand there are many wonderful books and stories in Roman Catholicism of the saints as well; my question would be rather in the teaching and perpetuation of the faith and the spiritual striving of the adherents.
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