Bridling the passions
“Apt silence bridles anger, moderation in food bridles mindless desire, the single-phrased Jesus prayer bridles unruly thought….The spiritual aspirant must restrain his sense through frugality and his intellect through the single phrased Jesus prayer. Having in this way detached himself from the passions, he will find himself caught up to the Lord during prayer.”
I very much appreciate his use of the term “unbridled” when he is teaching about the passions. For indeed I believe that is what Jesus meant when He preached “blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." The word for meek in the Greek is "praus"--(pra-ooce) which means mildness of disposition, gentleness of spirit, meekness. It is sometimes translated "blessed are the gentle".
Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting. In the OT, the meek are those wholly relying on God rather than their own strength to defend them against injustice. Thus,meekness toward evil people means knowing God is permitting the injuries they inflict, that He is using them to purify His child, and that He will deliver His child in His time. Bourgeault says that the word praus means in effect-"gentled"--like a horse that has been trained or disciplined to control his own strength and power. This rings true when we think of "bridling our passions". So, the bridling of our passion is something Jesus has given us grace to accomplish...what does bridling our passions really mean?Anger. In my own experience, I know that when I am sensing an angry emotion rising up within me, it is best for me to give myself some quiet time to process the emotion, and to make certain I do not react in such a way that causes me to cause harm to a relationship.
Yet, in my recent experience, I can say that sometimes anger is an effective means to achieve a better understanding with others. Allowing one’s bridled anger to be expressed can help us to accurately express our deepest felt convictions when they have been breached. Therefore it make a great degree of sense to “bridle” one’s anger with a liberal dose of silence, especially before speaking.
Moderation in food. I have been seeking to become more moderate in my eating since this summer. This moderation practice is said by Father Ilias to enable us to “bridle our mindless desire”. I can relate to this, especially when I am sitting down at lunchtime, hungry, before a basket of warm tortilla chips and salsa or chile con queso! I can very easily slip into ‘mindless munching’ and thereby consume 500 calories and untold grams of carbohydrates and fats without giving it any thought. The same applies to drinking alcohol… as a conversation meanders along in a gathering with amiable friends. This is but one type of mindless desire, and I know each of us can surely think of other types of mindlessness where my desires can get out of one’s control. My physician, Scott Blattman warned me that my dietary habits, if unrestrained, could cause me to suffer unneeded pain and trouble. This is an apt analogy it seems.
The restraint of one’s senses through frugality in our desires, and watchful attentiveness of our speech, our eating habits, and our angry responses to others, liberally seasoned with silence, aids one’s pursuit of confidence in prayer, having detached the essential self—where the Holy Place is within me- from the passions –which are the unbridled ‘sense perceptions’ in my life.
Then truly can I pray-“Lord Jesus Christ, son of the Living One, have mercy upon me, for indeed I am a sinner,” and retrieve a comforting degree of assurance that the Father knows my need for his Spirit, and grants his divine attention to my need.
May it be so, this 26th day of September, Twenty Ten.
~Ilias the Presbyter, as quoted in The Philokalia.How quietly true is this teaching from this monk of the Eastern tradition.
I very much appreciate his use of the term “unbridled” when he is teaching about the passions. For indeed I believe that is what Jesus meant when He preached “blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." The word for meek in the Greek is "praus"--(pra-ooce) which means mildness of disposition, gentleness of spirit, meekness. It is sometimes translated "blessed are the gentle".
Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting. In the OT, the meek are those wholly relying on God rather than their own strength to defend them against injustice. Thus,meekness toward evil people means knowing God is permitting the injuries they inflict, that He is using them to purify His child, and that He will deliver His child in His time. Bourgeault says that the word praus means in effect-"gentled"--like a horse that has been trained or disciplined to control his own strength and power. This rings true when we think of "bridling our passions". So, the bridling of our passion is something Jesus has given us grace to accomplish...what does bridling our passions really mean?Anger. In my own experience, I know that when I am sensing an angry emotion rising up within me, it is best for me to give myself some quiet time to process the emotion, and to make certain I do not react in such a way that causes me to cause harm to a relationship.
Yet, in my recent experience, I can say that sometimes anger is an effective means to achieve a better understanding with others. Allowing one’s bridled anger to be expressed can help us to accurately express our deepest felt convictions when they have been breached. Therefore it make a great degree of sense to “bridle” one’s anger with a liberal dose of silence, especially before speaking.
Moderation in food. I have been seeking to become more moderate in my eating since this summer. This moderation practice is said by Father Ilias to enable us to “bridle our mindless desire”. I can relate to this, especially when I am sitting down at lunchtime, hungry, before a basket of warm tortilla chips and salsa or chile con queso! I can very easily slip into ‘mindless munching’ and thereby consume 500 calories and untold grams of carbohydrates and fats without giving it any thought. The same applies to drinking alcohol… as a conversation meanders along in a gathering with amiable friends. This is but one type of mindless desire, and I know each of us can surely think of other types of mindlessness where my desires can get out of one’s control. My physician, Scott Blattman warned me that my dietary habits, if unrestrained, could cause me to suffer unneeded pain and trouble. This is an apt analogy it seems.
The restraint of one’s senses through frugality in our desires, and watchful attentiveness of our speech, our eating habits, and our angry responses to others, liberally seasoned with silence, aids one’s pursuit of confidence in prayer, having detached the essential self—where the Holy Place is within me- from the passions –which are the unbridled ‘sense perceptions’ in my life.
Then truly can I pray-“Lord Jesus Christ, son of the Living One, have mercy upon me, for indeed I am a sinner,” and retrieve a comforting degree of assurance that the Father knows my need for his Spirit, and grants his divine attention to my need.
May it be so, this 26th day of September, Twenty Ten.
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