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On Being Christian - 5 Windows to the Soul
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| Your soul has five windows, from which the outside world may enter. These windows are: the eyes, the ears, the nose, the mouth (taste) and touch. And each one of these can draw the soul's attention away from the focus on God. "Through them the soul goes outside and tastes the things experienced by each sense. It then delights in the things which delights the senses; and out of all these together it builds the circle of comforts and pleasures, whose enjoyment it considers as primary good. So the order of things has become inverted: instead of God within, the heart seeks for pleasures without and its content with them." The soul can be lost to the delicate sampling of the senses. Something attractive catches our eyes and a picture of this desire is stored in our mind (where it will be archived and used at times to draw us away from God's will). A soothing sound, a fragrant smell, a sumptuous taste and/or a gentle and warm touch from another. All of these become stored in our mind and become a part of the devil's arsenal to use against use. "Death is come up into our windows."(a)
The soul delights in pleasant things and, becoming accustomed to them, acquires a lust from them. These lusts are stimulated by thoughts stored in the mind's archives. And when the body starts to be mortified by our rigid prayers and fasting, the devil tickles those stored memories to try and drive the soul wild with desires for the things it fondly remembers. These senses are like children; if you do not discipline them properly when they are young, they will be too difficult control when they get older. You see my fellow warrior, what danger negligence can play in our disciplining efforts. For we neglect to discipline our senses, we indulge their appetites and soon they will be stronger than our feeble will - and then all is lost. Exercising the mind to look for the beauty of God in all things. Look beyond the physical presence, and gaze into the person for the presence of Jesus Christ. Do this in all things and you will quickly see how easy it is to forgive, to love, and to be slow to anger. Because if you train your senses to abide by the mind's will to seek God in everything - then how can you not find love in all persons, all things. When that so and so, whom you have such a hard time with, tries to anger you - look beyond the antics, beyond the comments, and seek God (for surely we can agree that God is in all things living). And in this search will you find the peace that will release you from any judgment, anger or frustration associated with this person. "Thou hast given me the power, of my own free will, through virtues to resemble Thee, that thereby I may possess Thee in me and rejoice in Thee forever!" What is it we are doing here? Why have you devoted time to reading these pages? Because, as the title points out, it is "On Being Christian". And so we are looking for ways in which we too can be more Christ-like. That the very goal of our spiritual war against the body, against the world, is to nurture these Christ-like characteristics in us all. People always discredit Christ's loving nature, His ever-present compassion on all those around Him. They say that only He could possibly be like this. Not so, my fellow benefactors of God's love, for if you ever ask yourself why Jesus Christ loved and cared for all those He met, you would find the answer revealing? Because as God, Jesus Christ recognized Himself in all those He meet. It did not matter if it was a lowly peasant, a horse riding noble, or a repenting woman - when He saw them, He did not see their physical presence. For the Lord said to Samuel, "For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."(b) Jesus saw His own reflection in all those around Him. This my beloved, is what we are seeking. To look for the Christ in all people. We, as His created, yearn to reunite with our creator. And the body's senses can help you in this struggle. Just as a well-raised child is both a helper to the parent and an asset to the parent's endeavors - so too can the well-trained senses help you in your spiritual battle. I again point you to the beauty of the Holy Liturgy. For there you will find that all five senses can be part of the liturgical celebration. For the eyes can behold the icons (and their ever-pointing Christward message) behold the iconostasis and the presence of the cross. The ears hear the hymns, hear the tearful prayers of the priest praying on our behalf. The nose is filled with the essence, that (as noted in Revelations by St. John) is the prayers of His children floating to heaven. The taste of the body and blood of Jesus Christ and how that blessing fills us with His grace, mercy and kindness, it rekindles our baptism, and sets us free from the worldly desires. And the touch, when the congregation kisses eachothers hands in greeting, in bonding and as in one family. Here, within the church of your Father, can the senses be allowed to actively participate in the liturgy. For the body we now occupy was nothing but dirt until He breathed life into it. And so He wants all the senses to actively seek Him as well, and this training is made perfect in the liturgy. Start there then grow it outside as well."If you keep to this practice, my beloved, then, through your five senses, you will be able to learn knowledge of God, by always raising your mind from creature to Creator." Or, as the Gospel according to Saint John has it, "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."(c) The devil will try to block your ability to see Christ in all things. Have you focus on the physical, the sensual, the delight. This pleasure is delusional and false. There is no pleasure in ignoring the presence of God, for goodness flows freely from Him. And when your senses become accustomed to seeking this goodness, they yearn for the sweetness of this finding. ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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Based on the writings of Saint Nicodemus in Unseen Warfare.
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