A commentary on the role of the liturgy and especially sacraments in the life of faith and the way they form believers.
Books 1-2
Union with God is the closest union of all, hence scripture resorts to various models to typify it (vine/branches, head/body, husband/wife, etc).
Christ came to share our life and perfect it. Baptism grants a participation in his death and resurrection so as to grant a new being, a new form of life.
The sacraments, especially the eucharist, are means by which Christ comes and unites himself to us. The liturgical rites shape and form us. “The baptismal washing forms and disposes the leading principle in us, whether we consider it to be autonomy of reason and will, or anything else.”
He suggests that sin involves habit and action that can become mutually reinforcing in a vicious habit (probably in line with a virtue ethics approach).
He takes the hesychast approach that we can speak of genuinely only through experiencing her (a hesychast would never call god her, I just did it to mess with their heads).
When therefore love of the Saviour produces nothing new or extraordinary in us it proves that we have encountered no more than mere words about Him. How would it be possible to know Him well from hearsay? Nothing like Him may be found, nothing which He has in common with others, nor is there anything with which he may be compared nor anything which is comparable to Him. How could one then comprehend His beauty or love Him in a way that is worthy of it?
Then he talks about our infinite desire. There is “desire beyond measure” for god. “Thus there is no satisfaction, nothing stills the desire, even if men attain to all the excellent things in life, for we still thirst as though we had none of the things for which we long. The thirst of human souls needs as it were, an infinite water; how then could this limited world suffice?”
Book 3
Chrism is the communicating of the Holy Spirit.
He repeats the frequent claim in antiquity that miracles offer proof of a religion’s validity; and then tries to deal with the phenomenon of Christians who fail morally.
In the earliest times this Mystery conferred on those who had been baptized gifts of healing, prophecy, tongues and such like, which provided a clear proof to all me of he extraordinary power of Christ. Of these there was need when Christianity was being planted and godliness was being established. From that source even now such gifts have been imparted to some. Even in our own and in most recent times men have spoken of future events, have cast out demons and have healed diseases by prayer alone. Nor was it only while they were still walking about and alive that they were able to do this, but since the spiritual energy has not departed from the blessed ones even after death their very tombs have availed to do the same.
But the gifts which the chrism always procures for Christians and which are always timely are the gifts of godliness, prayer, love, and sobriety…yet they elude many Christians..[who] have turned aside to what they ought not to do and have blinded the eye of the soul.
The virtue ethics background makes itself felt again with the notion of training, but Cabasilas also emphasises justice a little bit (apparently he sought justice persistently whilst a civil administrator).
“It is possible, then, to practise sobriety by using reason and morality, and to train one’s character in righteousness and to become virtuous in other ways by prayer and love. Further, one whose will is moved by God is able to control passion and to practice love of fellow man and justice and to display whatever else belongs to wisdom.”
The sacraments and the training of the will are the main elements of salvation for him.
Book 4
He sure likes the eucharist:
As we partake of His human Body and Blood we receive God Himself into our souls. It is thus God’s Body and Blood which we receive, His soul, mind, and will, no less than those of His humanity…It is clear, then, that Christ infuses Himself into us and mingles Himself with us. He changes and transforms us into Himself…
But the eucharist is not automatically efficacious, it’s not magic: people have to live in accordance with it: “It is not at all possible for this mystic rite to be wholly efficacious and have those who are its initiates share in any wickedness whatever.”
Book 5
Some commentary on the altar’s symbolism.
Book 6
Various bits and pieces but this is good:
Of the many things which impede our salvation the greatest of all is that when we commit any transgression we do not at once turn back to God and ask forgiveness. Because we feel shame and fear we think that they way back to God is difficult, and that He is angry and ill-tempered towards us, and that there is need of great preparation if we wish to approach Him. But the loving-kindness of God utterly banishes this thought from the soul.
There are two kinds of grief over sin – one leads to repentance, the other to despair.
Book 7
Miracles have their place but we’re not to seek them and if we have them we’re not to rejoice in them: do not rejoice that spirits are subject to you but that your names are written in heaven (Lk 10.20). Virtue is more important.
From God comes infinite joy.
Recent Comments