Hesychasm?

[Shamati]

What is the catholic churchs official postition on Hesychasm, the meditation practise common among the Eastern Orthodox monastics?
I have “heard” from Eastern Orthodox that the Catholic Church once condemned Hesychasm because they argued that one could only reach knowledge of the “uncreated light” of the Triune God by reason, while the easterners argued that everyone could reach a personal knowledge of Gods uncreated light, wether one have or lack the ability to reason or is illiterate. The argument is supposed to have been between Gregory Palamas and someone representing the Latin church.

So i wonder if this is true and if the position on Hesychasm as a meditation practise is still viewed in this way by the Latin church?

The reason I am asking is that I am in the process of conversion and chose the Catholic Church over the Orthodox because I prefer Latin & my own language to Church-slavonic (only language in my local EO church), because I have a strong belief in the Good of Unity amon Christian peoples and because I believe the successor of St. Peter is the intended head of christendom.
But I have also planned to get into Hesychasm when I am ready for it because my personal experience of transcendence and meditational practice is more in the vein of hesychasm than in study of books.
I also see some similarities between Hesychastic practice and chinese Taoist maditation

 

[Anthony86]

There is a centuries-old quarrel between scholasticism and hesychasm. The Catholic Encyclopedia refers to hesychasm as “an obscure speculation with the wildest form of mystic extravagance as a result” and “a reaction of national Greek theology against the invasion of Western scholasticism”; allegedly, it never took root in the western church because “Latin theology on the whole was too deeply impregnated with the Aristotelean Scholastic system to tolerate a theory that opposed its very foundation.” I think all of this is excessively hostile, and believe the Church would benefit from a more fruitful interplay of scholasticism and hesychasm.

 

[Vouthon]

The Catholic Church from Vatican II on has been far more supportive of the Eastern Christian mystical tradition:

"…The hesychast controversy marked another distinctive moment in Eastern theology. In the East, hesychasm means a method of prayer characterized by a deep tranquility of the spirit, which is engaged in constant contemplation of God by invoking the name of Jesus. There was no lack of tension with the Catholic viewpoint on certain aspects of this practice. However, we should acknowledge the good intentions which guided the defense of this spiritual method, that is, to emphasize the concrete possibility that man is given to unite himself with the Triune God in the intimacy of his heart, in that deep union of grace which Eastern theology likes to describe with the particularly powerful term of “theosis”, “divinization”.

Precisely in this regard Eastern spirituality has amassed a very rich experience which was vigorously presented in the famous collection of texts significantly entitled Philokalia (love of beauty") and gathered by Nicodemus the Hagiorite at the end of the 18th century. Down the centuries until our day, Eastern theological reflection has undergone interesting developments, not only in the classical areas of the Byzantine and Russian tradition, but also in the Orthodox communities scattered throughout the world. One need only recall, among the many studies worthy of mention, the Theology of Beauty elaborated by Pavel Nikolaievich Evdokimov, which is based on the Eastern art of the icon, and the study of the doctrine of “divinization” by the Orthodox scholar, Loth Borovine.

How many things we have in common! It is time for Catholics and Orthodox to make an extra effort to understand each other better and to recognize with the renewed wonder of brotherhood what the Spirit is accomplishing in their respective traditions towards a new Christian springtime…"

***- Blessed Pope John Paul II (Angelus, August 11, 1996) ***

Naturally I am very supportive of Hesychasm. It is a valid, venerable Christian mystical tradition. It is just as valid as any form of mysticism in the Latin Church.

Pope Benedict XVI also spoke of Hesychasm in 2009 when speaking of St. John Climacus:

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20090211_en.html

"…These are the highest stages of spiritual life, which can be experienced by the “Hesychasts”: the solitaries, those who have attained quiet and inner peace…In this way one reaches tranquillity of soul, hesychia, by means of which the soul may gaze upon the abyss of the divine mysteries.

The state of quiet, of inner peace, prepares the Hesychast for prayer which in John is twofold: “corporeal prayer” and “prayer of the heart”. The former is proper to those who need the help of bodily movement: stretching out the hands, uttering groans, beating the breast, etc. (15, 26; 900). The latter is spontaneous, because it is an effect of the reawakening of spiritual sensitivity, a gift of God to those who devote themselves to corporeal prayer. In John this takes the name “Jesus prayer” (Iesou euche), and is constituted in the invocation of solely Jesus’ name, an invocation that is continuous like breathing: “May your remembrance of Jesus become one with your breathing, and you will then know the usefulness of hesychia”, inner peace (27/2, 26; 1112). At the end the prayer becomes very simple: the word “Jesus” simply becomes one with the breath…"

Ah…I will miss Benedict’s general audience addresses…

So yes, Hesychasm gets a huge from me.

 

[hazcompat]

The Catholic Church from Vatican II on has been more supportive of the Eastern Christian mystical tradition:

Naturally I am very supportive of Hesychasm. It is a valid, venerable Christian mystical tradition.

There are things better than life! Enter the prayer, be at peace. May the perpetual light shine upon you. I second your support of “Hesychasm”.

Peace

 

[Anthony86]

Thank you for that, Vouthon. Good to see popes taking a positive approach to hesychasm. Needless to say, John Climacus is canonized a confessor saint, so his life and work are to be held in high regard by Catholics.

 

[Shamati]

The Catholic Church from Vatican II on has been far more supportive of the Eastern Christian mystical tradition:

Naturally I am very supportive of Hesychasm. It is a valid, venerable Christian mystical tradition. It is just as valid as any form of mysticism in the Latin Church.

Pope Benedict XVI also spoke of Hesychasm in 2009 when speaking of St. John Climacus:

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20090211_en.html

Ah…I will miss Benedict’s general audience addresses…

So yes, Hesychasm gets a huge from me.

what a relief I got my initial information from
newadvent.org/cathen/07301a.htm where the attitudes seem less than positive…
How lucky are not the catholics to have such wise men as John Paul II and Benedict XVI as Popes! Benedict is such a humble yet radically wise man whose Holiness is visible even from a TV.

What intrigues me about Hesychasm is that it seems to be a Valid Christian option to Eastern meditative practises such as Yoga & Zen-Meditation and has somewhat similar elements in it in that its goal initially is to create silence and there are specific techniques concerning breathing. I also know there is quite advanced breathing-exercises in sync with the recitation of the Jesus Prayer, originating in the Byzantine monastic life, but which are not explicitly explained through texts but passed on from spiritual Father to Pupil? Breathing exercises is a very powerful technique to go deeper into the self as I have experienced it.

wich book would you recommend for a beginner of Hesychasm who has some experience of Yoga and Asian meditation? I would like to learn some basic exercises and tips to insert into a daily regimen spiritual exercises…

I believe this tradition would be a very effectful way for Christianity to keep certain spiritually hungring believers from leaving the church and venture into New Age beliefs and practises! Metropolitan Kallistos Ware once said that “people leave christianity because they do not think its possible to have a direct experience of God through it”

 

[Symeon]

Some book recommendations I think would be useful for you;

On the Prayer of Jesus, by Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov
amazon.com/Prayer-Jesus-Western-Mystery-Tradition/dp/0892541202

• a collection of essays on all kinds of practical aspects of the Jesus Prayer

The Art of Prayer, an Orthodox Anthology
amazon.com/The-Art-Prayer-Orthodox-Anthology/dp/0571191657/ref=pd_sim_b_1

• An anthology of sayings (mostly by St. Theophan the Recluse).

RE the breathing exercises. In the spiritual literature on the subject it is almost universally recommended NOT to do these without an experienced spiritual father. The reason being that without the discernment of an elder, you can easily mistake self-induced altered states of consciousness or other unusual experiences as divine in origin when they are really only physical (or from the enemy), leading you into delusion, into believing in the counterfeit rather than the real Christ. This is why one generally sees only vague references to breathing.

In any case, any breathing exercises are merely an aid, nothing more, and should not be the focus at all. The focus is on repentance and union with Christ. Remember true prayer is not brought about by any technique, but by Grace and the human heart’s deep desire and love for God. Bishop Ignati in the book mentioned above recommends in the absence of a spiritual father to dispense with any physical techniques and to just pray the Prayer in the heart - a slower, safer, steadier path.

 

[Shamati]

Some book recommendations I think would be useful for you;

On the Prayer of Jesus, by Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov
amazon.com/Prayer-Jesus-Western-Mystery-Tradition/dp/0892541202

• a collection of essays on all kinds of practical aspects of the Jesus Prayer

The Art of Prayer, an Orthodox Anthology
amazon.com/The-Art-Prayer-Orthodox-Anthology/dp/0571191657/ref=pd_sim_b_1

• An anthology of sayings (mostly by St. Theophan the Recluse).

RE the breathing exercises. In the spiritual literature on the subject it is almost universally recommended NOT to do these without an experienced spiritual father. The reason being that without the discernment of an elder, you can easily mistake self-induced altered states of consciousness or other unusual experiences as divine in origin when they are really only physical (or from the enemy), leading you into delusion, into believing in the counterfeit rather than the real Christ. This is why one generally sees only vague references to breathing.

In any case, any breathing exercises are merely an aid, nothing more, and should not be the focus at all. The focus is on repentance and union with Christ. Remember true prayer is not brought about by any technique, but by Grace and the human heart’s deep desire and love for God. Bishop Ignati in the book mentioned above recommends in the absence of a spiritual father to dispense with any physical techniques and to just pray the Prayer in the heart - a slower, safer, steadier path.

Thank you so much for your information! I will do just that but i wonder if it is possible to achieve mystical union while “in the world”?

I wish the seminaries would start educating their priests of all rites in this way of Christian spirituality because in my small town in my small country there are few eastern catholic churches. For me anyways, this seems to be a simple, logical way of “cleaning the inside of the cup” without distractions. I’m no virtuoso on the Rosary but in comparison it is alot more complicated than this approach. Very reminiscent of taoist alchemy
Bless you

 

[Julia_Mae]

But I have also planned to get into Hesychasm when I am ready for it because my personal experience of transcendence and meditational practice is more in the vein of hesychasm than in study of books.

I wouldn’t presume to tell you what sport of prayer practice you should engage in, but I’m hearing a distinct lack of familiarity with the very rich contemplative and meditative prayer traditions of the Roman Catholic Church.

Maybe you should try reading The Cloud of Unknowing. See if you can find it in the original late middle English. Or, it can be read online for free. ccel.org/ccel/anonymous2/cloud You might also try The Prayer of Faith by Boaz.

You are going to need a spiritual director, in any case.

 

[Zekariya]

One should not practice Hesychasm without a spiritual director directing them. Hesychasm is a Byzantine meditative tradition so you might want to look for a Byzantine Rite parish to talk about this with a priest.

 

[Shamati]

I wouldn’t presume to tell you what sport of prayer practice you should engage in, but I’m hearing a distinct lack of familiarity with the very rich contemplative and meditative prayer traditions of the Roman Catholic Church.

Maybe you should try reading The Cloud of Unknowing. See if you can find it in the original late middle English. Or, it can be read online for free. ccel.org/ccel/anonymous2/cloud You might also try The Prayer of Faith by Boaz.

You are going to need a spiritual director, in any case.

Heat i like about the Jesus Prayer and Hesychasm is that its simple yet powerful. It world for everyone at every time of the day. Also hesychasm really makes sense and fira perfectly with the teachings of Christ in the gospel & the apostles teachings in the epistles.
Of course I use contemplation when i read the Bible to, but I never found such a simple yet powerful & complete “system” fort inner cleaning in order for all men to achieve mystical union with God as the eastern monastic tradition called hesychasm. I think all christians should make the fullest use of this prayer and the teachings of the hesychast fathers as I believe it will regenerate a pure Christian spirituality in the west.

 

[Julia_Mae]

Heat i like about the Jesus Prayer and Hesychasm is that its simple yet powerful. It world for everyone at every time of the day. Also hesychasm really makes sense and fira perfectly with the teachings of Christ in the gospel & the apostles teachings in the epistles.
Of course I use contemplation when i read the Bible to, but I never found such a simple yet powerful & complete “system” fort inner cleaning in order for all men to achieve mystical union with God as the eastern monastic tradition called hesychasm.

Like I said. Read Cloud of Unknowing. I don’t care what prayer practice you choose, obviously, but you did post so I thought you wanted some feedback. I am only hearing you say you know about it and it makes sense to you. I haven’t heard you say you feel called. So, possibly, there is more to learn for you. Or not. Do what works. But you will, I tell you this from experience, you need a spiritual director.

God bless you abundantly in your pursuit.

 

[Shamati]

txt

I feel called to God & want to be close to him during life & purify myself to behold his Glory.

I thank you for the advice, i’ll add the book to my to buy list. A spiritual director is what look for. To make a long story somewhat shorter my life has, through my own sins & passions led me to a point where there was but 2 choices for my soul: to die or repent. I naturally “gave up” myself and it was as if my eyes were at once opened. I felt a profound connection to all living things and my soul (which I doubted even existed) and a lack of ego. I simply “was” and loved it! Being baptised into a Lutheran Church and raised in a secular home that like many other at all times avoided talks on the subjects of Death and Meaning of Life my view of Christianity as a spiritual discipline for enlightenment was that I doubted it was even possible. The church I had never been able to make clear to me why christianity mattered or make me pursue it myself. Even though i had been confirmed I never got to know christianity other than as a set of intellectual propositions of doctrine, which would by intellectual self-persuasion of their truths and submission to them grant me pardon from all past and future sins and grant me perect soul and eternity in Heaven. I rejected this because I knew from experience that one cannot acquire personal “progress” by simple intellectual acceptance while doing absolutely nothing about it. After a so called “awakening” (to the life of the soul) i read many spiritual teachings and when I got to the Bible I read

A Psalm of David. (Ps 23)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil;
for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil,
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
for ever.

This Psalm immediately put me in a state of the same enlightenment & through tears of Joy led me to personal conversion. I was convinced I was called to God because this Psalm makes sense to me about my former life in depression that came from the lack of answers to the question of the meaning of Life which I had pondered since I as a child realised that I will die. From this came many sorrows and addictions to drugs to numb what I now realised was infact my soul longing for its source. I remember how I felt at that moment when I chose repentance and how I through my own submission to passions had been prepared a table in the prescence of My enemies only to at the moment of realisation have my head anointed with Oil and my Cup filled with overflowing grace.
As my investigations of the Faith of my lutheran ancestors had led me to reject christianity and to eastern buddhism and hinduism I from now on centered at the Holy Bible. I researched Judaism and has gotten much joy and understanding on contemplation of the bible from its traditional Torah and symbolic kabbalistic commentaries and subsequently I have arrived at a personal conviction that the eternal Christ was indeed incarnated and dwelled among us and whose majestic teachings can only be truly understood in its full context through the Catholic and Orthodox theology and spirituality.

I have taken the step to personal conversion to the Catholic Church and I have been given the YouCat from the local Priest. Even though I am an adult and already own the full cathecesis I will study the YouCat to at least in a small way test myself and for the first time in my life humble my Self to a spiritual director.
I am pretty new to practical catholic life and have not yet had the oppurtunity to in more detail explain my souls wounds for the priest. He seems either very busy or God Forbid sceptical about a possible conversion. This I understood when he explained the most common reasons for conversion to catholicism from the lutheran church was conservative minded christians despising the fact that the Lutheran Church of Sweden teaches Yoga, has hired an Islamic Imam, blesses divorce, performs homosexual marriage with full blessings, is not officially opposed to either contraception or abortion, teaches that the understanding of and beliefnin the Trinity and even the divinity of Jesus or even belief in God is necessary for being a Christian and has officially excluded Spiritual Direction as a Main Purpose ordbyte church. While in a way I also come ti the church because these are devastating principles for Christian Life but that is solely based on my own personal feeling of being called to live a life in holiness. Maybe he doesnt believe me yet or i have to prove to him that I truly want to but in the meantime I am left without spiritual direction in a time where I most need it.
The orthodox church seems very centered on personal development in Christ despite being a church with foreign language, but while I very much love the mystical theology, ascetic and hesychast tradition of orthodoxy I can not convert to any other church than one that is in full communion with the successor of St. Peter, even though I sometimes have fears that it might be hard finding a catholic priest/monk/sister/other with experience and knowledge of hesychast prayerwork. For this I must trust solely in that God will show me the way and make me willing to walk it.

Forgive me for writing at such length solely about myself but I wanted to explain the why kn asking where does one who is new to catholic life and spiritual tradition in actual life “look” for a spiritual director? Any tips from personal experience would be greatly appreciated!

 

[hazcompat]

You can download Cloud of Unknowing here

ccel.org/ccel/anonymous2/cloud.html

Peace

 

[Julia_Mae]

Forgive me for writing at such length solely about myself but I wanted to explain the why kn asking where does one who is new to catholic life and spiritual tradition in actual life “look” for a spiritual director? Any tips from personal experience would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for writing all of that. Our experiences have a lot of parallels.

I started contemplative prayer because I was just compelled to. As I was called in a mystery, something I didn’t even believe in, to the Church, a Church that I had never attended before entering the parish office and asking how to become Catholic, I was called to prayer. To a specific kind. You know what I mean about being called.

There is a poster around here who makes prayer ropes. I’ll try to find his name and post it in this thread. There are good people here from the Eastern Tradition to talk to.

I don’t know how this will work for you, being Roman Catholic, but I think that the trick is a bit of patience, now. Knowing what you are called to and doing it, the space between those points is a special part of the whole process, God’s process. I think you already know this.

You may very well have trouble finding a priest who gets it. I know priests who don’t even believe in miracles, maybe they just haven’t felt called themselves, I don’t know. You might have to look for a religious priest in a retreat situation at a local monastery, something like that.

I urge you to get the director because I think from what you’ve said you are called to prayer, and when you begin, well, things will happen. And those things can be pretty extraordinary and we need, so much, to have an experienced guide when this happens.

Welcome Home.

 

[Vouthon]

May I suggest Shamati that in terms of Western mystics you may also find solace in the writings of Blessed Jan Van Ruusbroec, particularly given his similarity to Eastern mysticism (particularly in terms of the Uncreated Light of God and a union with God that is without difference or intermediary).

He happens to be my most favoured out of the canon of Western mystics. His prose has such a melodic, lyrical, beautiful, even poetic hue to it that I often feel raptured to just reading a few pages of it.

 

[Julia_Mae]

May I suggest Shamati that in terms of Western mystics you may also find solace in the writings of Blessed Jan Van Ruusbroec, particularly given his similarity to Eastern mysticism (particularly in terms of the Uncreated Light of God and a union with God that is without difference or intermediary). .

I liked this article about him:

clarifyingpeace.com/1/post/2012/07/jan-van-ruusbroec-the-spiritual-espousals.html

This site ( themasterbeadsman.blogspot.com/ ) is of CAF member Phillip Rolfes who makes prayer ropes and is very knowledgeable. You also might want to check out this thread: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=303298&highlight=prayer+rope

 

[Anthony86]

May I suggest Shamati that in terms of Western mystics you may also find solace in the writings of Blessed Jan Van Ruusbroec, particularly given his similarity to Eastern mysticism (particularly in terms of the Uncreated Light of God and a union with God that is without difference or intermediary).

Excellent suggestion. I would also highly recommend St. John of the Cross. As for breathing exercises, they are also mentioned in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola (see the Third Method of Prayer).

If you are looking for a more systematic study of how mysticism and scholasticism are to be reconciled, I would recommend Three Stages of the Interior Life by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.

 

[Shamati]

Excellent suggestion. I would also highly recommend St. John of the Cross. As for breathing exercises, they are also mentioned in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola (see the Third Method of Prayer).

If you are looking for a more systematic study of how mysticism and scholasticism are to be reconciled, I would recommend Three Stages of the Interior Life by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.

Thank you very much for your suggestions, i will add the to my to buy list!

 

[Vouthon]

I liked this article about him:

clarifyingpeace.com/1/post/2012/07/jan-van-ruusbroec-the-spiritual-espousals.html

This site ( themasterbeadsman.blogspot.com/ ) is of CAF member Phillip Rolfes who makes prayer ropes and is very knowledgeable. You also might want to check out this thread: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=303298&highlight=prayer+rope

Dear Julia,

Thank you most kindly for your links. I appreciate your reference to Philip Rolfes. What a fascinating man!