St Mark the Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law, Philokalia

Today we will learn and reflect on the work in the Philokalia by
St Mark the Ascetic, Writings on Spiritual Law.
We should be grateful that the compiler and editor of the
original Greek Philokalia, St Nikodemus, selected to preserve
the two jewels penned by St Mark the Ascetic on The Spiritual
Law and No Righteousness by Works, by including them in the
first volume of the Philokalia, for most of his other works have
been lost in the sands of history.

At the end of our talk, we will discuss the sources used
for this video.
Please, we welcome interesting questions in the
comments. Let us learn and reflect together!

YouTube Video:
Philokalia, St Mark the Ascetic
On the Spiritual Law
© Copyright 2021
https://amzn.to/3eCtqBo
YouTube Channel (please subscribe):
Reflections on Morality, Philosophy, and History:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLqDkfFbWhXOnzdjp__YZtg
https://amzn.to/2V1dhhQ
https://youtu.be/Ze3ZHXbXqaY

St Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain, Mount Athos, the
compiler of the Greek Philokalia, dates St Mark the Ascetic
to the early fifth century, but the English editors say he
more likely lived in the early sixth century. At one time he
was living as a monk in either the Egyptian desert or
Palestine, he may have been a disciple of St John
Chrysostom.

St Mark the Ascetic explores what St Paul means
“when he says that ‘the law is spiritual’” in Romans
7:14. Following the commandments with a kind
heart and eager spirit makes us free, it is not a
burden. The Decalogue and the Spiritual Law both
teach that we should first cleanse our thoughts, then
cleanse our words, so our actions may be
virtuous. “Just as a thought is made manifest
through actions and words, so is our future reward
through the impulses of the heart.”(28) Our
thoughts either lead us to God or they lead us astray,
“No cloud is formed without a breath of wind, and
no passion is born without a thought.”(180)

The First Psalm exhorts us that it is a delight
to follow the Law of the Lord:
“Happy are those who do not follow the
advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.”
King David playing the harp,
by Gerard van Honthorst, painted 1622

You cannot cherry-pick which commandments you should
follow and which ones you should ignore. Little sins vs
whoppers, scrupulously avoiding small penny sins to save
up for the whoppers you need to be forgiven for when
you hide thousands of dollars of defects when selling your
house or when you need to ruin someone financially to
steal their business.

St Mark the Ascetic teaches us, “Those who do not
consider themselves under obligation to perform all
of Christ’s commandments study the law of God in a
literal manner, ‘understanding neither what they say
nor what they affirm.’ (1 Tim 1:7) Therefore they
think they can fulfill the law by their own works.”(34)
“Do not seek the perfection of the law in human
virtues.” “Perfection is hidden in the Cross of
Christ.(31) The law of freedom is studied by means of
true knowledge, and is understood through the
practice of the commandments, and is fulfilled
through the mercy of Christ.”(32)
“Fulfilling a commandment is one thing, and virtue is
another, although each promotes the other.(193)
Fulfilling a commandment means doing what we are
enjoined to do; but virtue to do it in a manner that
conforms to the truth.”(194)

Many have a shallow understanding of the
Commandment against bearing false witness,
many think this means, Do Not Lie, so they feel
they can say anything true even if it is
hurtful. The true positive form of this
commandment is we should guard our
neighbor’s reputations in both our thoughts in
in our speech. St Mark the Ascetic teaches us,
“Do not listen to talk about other people’s sins,
lest the form of these sins are imprinted on
you.”(152) “If you come across people
gossiping idly, consider yourself responsible for
their talk,”(154) for you are guilty if you do not
defend your neighbor’s reputation.

When we break the last of the commandments,
Do Not Covet, Do Not Envy, we risk that this sin
will lead us to breaking all the other
commandments as well. “If one becomes angry
with one’s neighbor on account of riches, fame
or pleasure, one does not yet realize that God
orders all things with justice.”(108)
Likewise, these teachings of St Mark the Ascetic
are reflections on the commandments Do Not
Steal, Do Not Adulter, Do Not Covet. “The
intellect is blinded by these three passions:
avarice, self-esteem and sensual
pleasure.”(101) “We must hate avarice, self-
esteem and sensual pleasure, as mothers of the
vices.”(105) “When you hear the Lord saying
that if someone does not renounce all that he
has is ‘not worthy of Me,’ apply this not only to
money but to all forms of vice.”(109)

St Mark the Ascetic teaches us, “Do not grow conceited
about your interpretations of Scripture, lest your
intellect fall victim to blasphemy.(11) Do not attempt
to explain something difficult with contentiousness, but
in the way which the spiritual law enjoins: with
patience, prayer and unwavering hope.”(12) He
precedes this with another warning, “Do not become a
disciple of one who praises himself, in case you learn
pride instead of humility.”(10) “Understand the words
of Holy Scripture by putting them into practice, and do
not fill yourself with conceit by” obscuring long words
and obfuscating complexity.(85)
This teaching of St Mark the Ascetic, “Without
remembrance of God, there can be no true knowledge
but only false knowledge.”(147) This reminds us of St
Augustine’s teaching in On Christian Doctrine that a
true interpretation of Scripture increases in our hearts
our Love for God and our neighbor.

Parallel to the question of how we should read
Scripture is the question, how should we
pray? Prayer is important, St Mark the Ascetic
teaches us, “without prayer and repentance no
one has escaped evil.”(92)
St Mark the Ascetic teaches that you should “call
upon God to open the eyes of your heart, so
that you may see the value of prayer and of
spiritual reading when understood and
applied.”(7) “If a man tries to overcome
temptations without prayer and patient
endurance, he will become entangled in them
instead of driving them away.”(189) A good
conscience is found through prayer, and pure
prayer through the conscience. Each by nature
needs the other.”(198)

“A man wanted to do evil, but first prayed as usual; and
finding himself prevented by God, he was then extremely
thankful.”(13) “By praying for those who wrong us we
overthrow the devil; but if we oppose them we are
wounded by the devil.”(45) “Let all involuntary suffering
teach you to remember God, and you will not lack occasion
for repentance.”(57)
St Mark repeats in several forms the last line of the Prayer
of St. Ephrem, “Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my
own transgressions, and not to judge my brother, for
blessed art Thou, unto ages of ages.”(6) As Jesus exhorts
us in the Sermon on the Mount, “For if you forgive men
their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew
6:14-15) St Mark the Ascetic repeats a key teaching of the
Philokalia, “Concern yourself with your own sins and not
with the sins of your neighbor.”(63)

Lord, open the eyes of my heart, help me to see
the value of prayer, “direct my will, teach me to
pray, and You, Yourself, pray in me.” Help us to
pray so we can learn to Love You, Lord, deeper
through our spiritual readings, guard us from
conceit and pride in our own knowledge, lest
“our intellect falls victim to blasphemy.”(11) Help
us to find time for spiritual readings, so we can
learn humility in our prayer, may our spiritual
readings also be for us a time of prayer, You,
Yourself, pray in me in prayer and in my spiritual
readings. May we always remember, may we
never forget, that it is “impossible for us to have
faith,” do anything good, apply Your teachings to
our lives, but through the grace of Christ Jesus
and the Holy Spirit.(2)

Lord, may we be reluctant to rebuke our neighbor, and when feel we
should rebuke our neighbor, may we first ask ourselves and You, O
Lord, Do we wish to rebuke out of Love for our neighbor? Can any
good come from this? Are they like our children, that we have a
responsibility to guide them in the right path? May our rare rebukes
not be “given in malice or self-defense,” lest we fall in the trap of
judging in others the faults which we refuse to see in ourselves. When
we are unduly persistent in our criticisms of our neighbor’s faults, we
need to be careful, for we may be telling the world, though we deny it
to ourselves and to the world, that the sin for which we criticize our
neighbor we see deep in our own heart.

May we remember the teaching of St. Mark the
Ascetic, “he who seeks forgiveness of his sins loves
humility, but if he condemns another he seals his
own wickedness.” (126) St Mark further warns us,
“if you say you are rebuking him in God’s name, first
reveal the evils in yourself.”(39) How can we ever be
sure, when we feel the urge to rebuke our neighbor,
that we are not more guilty than he?
May the motives for our rebukes come from the
“Fear of God and respect for truth,” (38) may our
love show even when we rebuke so our children will
not grow to despise us, may we through our Fear of
God show our respect for God and our children, our
neighbors, all those around us, so that we may draw
those close to us in this life closer to You, O Lord,
because of my prayers, words, and actions. (132)

“God is the source of every virtue, as the sun is of
daylight.” (40) Lord, may our light so shine before
men that Your grace will shine through in all our
thoughts, words, and deeds. Always, when we
do good, may we remember Your words,
“without me you can do nothing.” (41, John 15:5)
We will conclude with quick advice from St Mark
the Ascetic:
“He who says he knows all the devil’s tricks falls
unknowingly into his trap.”(166)
“Wickedness is an intricate net; and if you are
careless when partially entangled, you will get
completely enmeshed” in sin.(172)
“Sin is a blazing fire. The less you feed the flame,
the faster it dies down; the more you feed the
flame, the more intense it burns.”(136)

SOURCES: This work by St Mark the Ascetic is found in Volume 1 of the Philokalia.
We also recommend this book covering the Philokalia, it includes an article
discussing St Mark the Ascetic.
We also have a video on the history of the Philokalia, and a companion video on St
Mark the Ascetic.
And also a link to the Mystagogy website that has many of the saints pictures we
use, And the church whose icons we used for this video, St George’s Antiochian
Orthodox Church in Coral Gables, near Miami, and the unobstructed thumbnail
picture of the monastery on Mount Athos.
If you wish to purchase this work from Amazon, please use the links in the
description to support our channel, and please also subscribe to our channel.
Information and excerpts from the works of this eastern saint can be found in the
website shown.

https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2014/03/saint-mark-ascetic-as-model-for-our.html

One hobby of mine is
taking photographs
of icons and stained-
glass windows of
churches. These
churches have not
reviewed these
videos, so they do
not endorse them.
Address and phone:
St George Antiochian
Christian Cathedral
320 Palermo Ave,
Coral Gables, FL 33134
305-444-6541

Mount Athos, Agiou Panteleimonos, a Russian monastery

PLEASE click on the link for our blog in the description below.
And please click on the links for interesting videos that will broaden
your knowledge and improve your soul.

To find the source of any direct
quotes in this blog, please type in
the phrase to the search box in
my blog to see the referenced
footnote.
YouTube Description has links for:
• Script PDF file
• Blog
• Amazon Bookstore
© Copyright 2021
Blog and YouTube Description
include links for Amazon books
and lectures mentioned, please
support our channel with these
affiliate commissions.
Link to blog: https://wp.me/pachSU-jE

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLqDkfFbWhXOnzdjp__YZtg/

St Mark the Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law, Philokalia

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to St Mark the Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law, Philokalia

Similar to St Mark the Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law, Philokalia (20)

More from Reflections on Morality, Philosophy, and History

More from Reflections on Morality, Philosophy, and History (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

St Mark the Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law, Philokalia