Resistance Podcast #240: Liturgical Asceticism: Why Christian Asceticism Heals the World

About this sermon

What is Christian asceticism—and why is it not Manichaeism or world-denial? In this talk, we trace the deep connection between asceticism and liturgy: how watchfulness over thoughts (λογισμοί), fasting, prayer, and almsgiving heal the human person and make us capable of “doing the world the way it was meant to be done.” Drawing on Evagrius Ponticus, St. Maximus the Confessor, John Cassian, St. John of Damascus, and the Desert Fathers, we explore the eight thoughts (gluttony, lust, avarice, sadness, anger, acedia, vainglory, pride), how temptation unfolds (provocation → coupling → assent → captivity → passion), and how the active life (praktikē) leads to contemplation of creation (physikē) and finally to theologia—loving knowledge of God. Key themes you’ll learn: Why asceticism ≠ dualism: not “money, sex, or beer,” but misuse and excess The “war of the monk”: separating passions from representations Acedia (the noonday demon): despondency, distraction, and meaninglessness How prayer, fasting, almsgiving heal mind, concupiscible, and irascible powers Apatheia → Agapē → Physikē → Theologia: the path from purification to union Why liturgy is “doing the world as it was meant to be done” (Kavanagh/Schmemann) Chesterton’s insight: the Church condemned the pessimists, not creation Memorable lines: “It’s not the thing; it’s the misuse of the thing.” “We are voluntary epileptics.” (on consenting to passions) “If you will, you can become a living flame.” (Abba Joseph) If you’ve ever wondered how spiritual warfare, sacramentality, and the life of prayer fit together, this is your roadmap—from the eight thoughts to theologia. 00:00 Intro & why asceticism + liturgy 00:50 Recap: desert experience & the person’s faculties 01:35 Evagrius’ eight thoughts (overview) 03:28 What is a passion? Ordered love vs. excess 05:06 “Worldliness” as the sum of passions 06:04 Not Manichaeism: Chesterton on Church vs. pessimism 08:25 Maximus: separating passions from representations 09:50 “Not the thing but its misuse” (Peter of Damascus examples) 11:01 Causes of passions & practical self-examination 12:27 Liturgy elevates matter; sacramentality & creation 13:22 Church as ekklesia: out of the world for the world (Schmemann) 14:50 Liturgy = “doing the world as it was meant to be done” (Kavanagh) 16:08 The Fall as forfeiture of our liturgical career 16:40 Solovyov: detachment to transfigure the world 18:03 Evagrius’ eight, simplified & linked to Christ’s temptations 19:32 Walkthrough of gluttony, lust, avarice, sadness, anger 21:53 Acedia (noonday demon): symptoms & strategies 25:26 Vainglory vs. pride: men’s praise vs. self-deification 28:22 Pride as autolatria (self-worship) 29:05 Thoughts → passions: how the chain forms 31:04 Culpability: where consent begins 32:57 Stages of temptation (John of Damascus / Peter of Damascus) 35:36 Turning to the cure: askēsis (training) 37:11 Evagrius’ path: praktikē → physikē → theologia 45:37 Three fronts: almsgiving, fasting, prayer (Maximus) 47:12 East’s eight → West’s seven (via Cassian & Gregory) 50:15 Virtues that heal the vices 52:05 Physikē: contemplating creation through Scripture 53:52 Two eyes, two suns (Simeon the New Theologian) 54:49 Cosmos as liturgy (Boyer) 56:12 Goal: theologia—prayer as loving knowledge 58:05 Theology as lived communion, not mere academia 1:01:21 The purified nous “sends beaming rays of theology” 1:03:12 Universal call: become theology; asceticism for all 1:04:48 Abba Joseph: “If you will, you can become a living flame.” 1:05:22 Closing & invitation https://www.cuapress.org/9780813221175/on-liturgical-asceticism/ https://www.audible.com/author/David-W-Fagerberg/B001HOGDNG https://smile.amazon.com/Liturgical-Asceticism-David-W-Fagerberg/dp/081322117X?sa-no-redirect=1 #Asceticism #Liturgy #DesertFathers #Evagrius #JohnCassian #MaximusTheConfessor #JohnOfDamascus #Acedia #Vainglory #SpiritualWarfare #Watchfulness #Patristics #OrthodoxSpirituality #CatholicTheology #Apatheia #Theologia #SevenDeadlySins #EightThoughts #Monasticism #Sacramentality 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶️ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶️ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.us for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶️ 7. Follow on Social Media: 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SensusFidelium/ 🔴 Twitter: https://https://twitter.com/Sensus_Fidelium ▶️ 8. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010758

Topics

• Healing