Learning

“Always, and in all matters, believe yourself to be in need of learning, and throughout the whole of your life you will be shown to be wise.”
Abba Isaac the Syrian
Hypothesis XVIII
The Evergetinos Volume 1

Learning is a common theme in the desert tradition of the early church. We seek out learning as a way to understand our state of affairs and God. Learning and revelation go hand in hand with one another. In our life, we are presented with opportunities to interact with God’s creation and we train our minds to see revelation as a normal part of life. St. Maximus likens this to parenting when he says that “just as parents have a great yearning and love for their children, in the same way the mind, by its nature, considers its thoughts important”. The thoughts are the product of a curious mind and the work is training the mind not to dismiss the thoughts, but to continue to filter the thoughts through our knowledge of God which opens our hearts to the revelation of God all around us. This week let us train our minds to begin to see the reality of God around us in our daily routine at work, school, and home.