Religion is not mere information or religious knowledge, for knowledge alone is not sufficient. What can man benefit if he knows everything about virtue without practicing it?
We read much and hear much, but what do we do? In every mass we listen to a chapter of the Gospel, a passage from the Pauline Epistles and catholic Epistles, a biography of a certain saint in the Synaxarium, and a sermon. In the Morning and Vespers incense we listen to other reading, and in the spiritual meetings we hear more. But what is the influence of all this on our life? Do we turn such knowledge into life, for the Lord says, “The words that I speak to you re spirit, and they are life.”(Jn 6:63) How then could we do that? By spiritual exercises which changes knowledge into practices.
In the same way some people confess their sins but they continue doing them. It is because they do not train themselves to stop committing them.
Spiritual exercises are therefore important for ceasing to sin, acquiring virtues, or growing in the Spirit. Though such exercises a person discovers his real nature, the causes of sin, the hindrances and the way to overcome them, and turn all spiritual longing into practices.
In the exercises a person struggles with himself and with God. A person ought to resist and wrestles with himself, for the apostle rebukes us saying, “You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.” (Heb 12:4) however, a person should not rely on his own arm but pray for help from above, for the Lord says, “Without Me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5)In all this we put ourselves under spiritual supervision of an experienced wise guide and not lean on our own understanding (Prov 3:5)
The Holy Scripture provides us with examples of such exercises:
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· Moses the prophet was very humble more than all men who were on the face of the earth (Num 12: 3), but was he born like that? Nay! In the beginning of his life he was violent, and he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand (Ex2:12), but God led him to the wilderness and trained him for forty years in shepherding to acquire gentleness, calmness and meekness.
· John the Beloved who said, “ God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1 Jn4:16), with all his love was not like that in the beginning. He and James his brother were harsh, because they grew up in the
When a village of the Samaritans refused to receive the Lord because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem John and James said to Him, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”. But the Lord rebuked them, saying, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy… but to save…” (Lk 9: 52 – 56). The Lord then began to train these sons of thunder until John became a flame of love!
The saints did not attain their high levels all at once, but they trained themselves until they could attain.
They trained themselves with labour and struggling for long periods. Therefore we cannot start at what they attained at the end of their struggling, but ought to walk step by step.
· The great Arsanius, at the beginning of his monasticism could not clean the beans which the illiterate Egyptians were skilful at until her received a lesson and said, “This slap is on your face, Arsani”. Then he began to learn and took a long time until he attained his great level of holiness.
· Moses the Black did not attain that life of love, ministry, and entertaining strangers at once, but his appearance was fearful at the beginning and was trained a long time by St Esizeros till he attained his holiness and longsuffering.
In the field of ministry, likewise, the Lord trained His disciples.
He sent them in a practical training, and when they returned they told him the result that even the demons were subject to them in His name (Lk 10: 17 – 20). So He corrected this fault, saying, “Do not rejoice in this… but rather because your names are written in heaven”. Then He trained them in the meaning of real greatness, saying: “Whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant…let him be your slave, just as the Son of the Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mt 20:26, 27).
Therefore, we should not be satisfied merely by the religious knowledge, but rather train ourselves in putting the commandments into effect.
The Lord concluded the Sermon on the Mount, saying that whoever hears His words and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. But whoever hears and does not do will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, (Mt 7: 24 – 26). And also, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Mt 7: 21). That is why the priest says in the Litany for the Gospel: “Let us be worthy, our Lord, to hear and work according to Your holy Gospel, by the supplications of Your saints.”
This needs spiritual exercises by which we can discover our faults and weaknesses and train ourselves to avoid them for the salvation of our souls.
Unless you discover your faults or have them revealed to you, you will not be able to stop doing them, for those who are well have no need for a physician, but those who are sick( Mt 9:12). So, examine yourself well in the light of God’s commandment to discover your weaknesses, and do not be annoyed of those who reveal them to you.
Beware justifying yourself or giving yourself excuses.
Whoever justifies himself will not correct himself seeing himself faultless! On the other hand whoever examines himself hard and giving himself no excuses under any circumstances will be able to rid his weaknesses because he admits them.
Much needs to be said in this concern, but this will be in a separate article – God willing.
If you feel ashamed before the others who may reveal to you your fault, no doubt you will not feel ashamed before yourself!
So, be frank with yourself to the farthest extent and examine the points of weakness in you in the light of the spiritual readings or sermons. If you could train yourself every week, or even every month, to resist one point of weakness, you will be to do away with 12 points in one year. Besides, you may get rid of some other sins that relate to the former.
Likewise, virtues are connected. If you train yourself in one virtue it will lead to another.
If, for instance you train yourself in seclusion, you will need to read something, to pray, sing, learn some psalms or passages from the Hours Prayers or some verses, or to meditate on some verses so as not to feel bored.
On if you train yourself in silence, you will certainly need something useful to occupy your mind. So, silence may lead to prayers, meditation or reading.
Be sure that once you start, the grace will support you.
If you show seriousness in your practices, God will not leave you. But His help will support you especially if the devil tries to fight you that you may stop training. Do not fall back or slacken, but rather be firm with yourself.
Know also that keeping steadfast in virtues is much better than acquiring them. It is easy to practice a certain virtue for a day or more or even for a week, but what avails is to continue until this virtue becomes a habit or a nature in you. Training needs a long time to be implanted deep in one self, as Mar Isaac said: Whatever dispensation you do not abide in for some time, this will be fruitless.
Actually time and continuity are the practical measures to know how deep virtue is implanted within you. Time also gives a chance to discover the hindrances and find the way to overcome them.
Therefore, moving quickly from one exercise to another will not be of spiritual benefit.
Many people want to attain all things in a little time, but the fruits will be nothing!! Others involve themselves in various exercises at the same time, which makes them forget some of them or fail to focus on any of them. So, you ought to practice wisely, a step by step.
Here are some remarks for you:
* Let your exercise be definite and clear.
Do not say, for instance, I will train myself in love for
* Let the exercise be within your power to practice.
Some people set for themselves an exercise beyond their will power or their spiritual level. This may cause a relapse. Do not choose a fast exercise, for instance, against your health, or a silence exercise that does not conform with the nature of your work or home, or a prayer or ministry exercise which your time does not allow you to fulfill.
* Walk in the exercise step by step, taking only one part of the details each time.
It is difficult for example to train yourself in silence amidst a community that requires you to talk. However you may begin with talking a little, then talking when necessary, talking with a still small voice (1Kgs 19:12), resisting the tongue faults one by one. This will lead you to speaking well without faults, for the saying goes concerning some people: “He kept silence for an age, and finally uttered blasphemy!!”
* Let your exercises be from your actual practical life.
What fits the other may not be fit for you. So, let your exercises focus in resisting your own faults and spiritual deficiencies. The virtues likewise should be chosen in conformity with your spiritual level. Your exercises in general should conform with your inner and outer circumstances.
* Keep a notebook of your exercises.
Write down in it the exercise and some encouraging verses to memorise and use whenever you are fought. Record also some biographies of the saints who were an example of the virtue you are training yourself in.
* If you fail at any time, search for the reason and avoid it afterwards.
This will give you spiritual experience in all your practices. You will be aware of the wars of the enemy and the way to overcome. Such experience made of some guides to others, like a mother who has a good experience in life and she gives her daughter practical useful advices.
* Try to benefit from your failure in your exercises.
Let your failure be a cause of humbleness and feeling of weakness which may protect you from pride due to success. Let it be an incentive to have compassion upon those who sin or who are weak. Let it be a motive to prostrate yourself before God with heart contrition. Let it be the subject of prayers to God to give you power and grace.
The exercises in the outward appearance are continued struggling to attain purity of heart that makes a person worthy of having God to abide with him. However, they are not mere struggling but rather a supplication to God to interfere.
Some people present to God their spiritual longing theoretically, as mere emotions of the heart or words in prayer. But the spiritual exercises present such longing in a practical way. It is a cry to God to interfere and give victory, for it is God who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Phil 2:13). His pleasure is the glorification of His name in us when we succeed in our struggling and exercises.
Let the Lord’s name be blessed now and forever.