on Watchfulness and Holiness 10

Much water makes up the sea. But extreme watchfulness and the Prayer of Jesus Christ, undistracted by thoughts, are the necessary basis for inner vigilance and unfathomable stillness of soul, for the deeps of secret and singular contemplation, for the humility that knows and assesses, for rectitude and love. This watchfulness and this prayer must be intense, concentrated, and unremitting.

St Hesychios the Priest, On Watchfulness and Holiness, Vol. 1 pg. 164

Minor Arcana: Jack of Cups (Labyrinth Tarot)

Luis Royo

how difficult it is to do this without thinking. there are so many things that come to mind as i do my devotion. are the boys ok? did i set the dishwasher? is there laundry to be folded? does deb want some company? or, more seriously, am i sincere in this? why do i feel like i'm talking to a brick wall? do i sound silly?
questions and worries plague me. i must find the answer to still my self.

the Prayer of Jesus Christ is so simple and so full.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of GOD, have mercy on me, a sinner.

on Watchfulness and Holiness 09

If you are an adept, initiated into the mysteries and standing before God at dawn (cf. Ps. 5: 3 - In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.), you will divine the meaning of my words. Otherwise be watchful and you will discover it.

St Hesychios the Priest, On Watchfulness and Holiness, Vol. 1 pg. 164

Major Arcana: High Priestess (Labyrinth Tarot)

Luis Royo

 well, i am certainly no adept. so i must watch and pray, and discover the meaning of the words of St Hesychios.

on Watchfulness and Holiness 08

When the mind, taking refuge in Christ and calling upon Him, stands firm and repels its unseen enemies, like a wild beast facing a pack of hounds from a good position of defence, then it inwardly anticipates their inner ambuscades (ambushes) well in advance. Through continually invoking Jesus the peacemaker against them, it remains invulnerable.

St Hesychios the Priest, On Watchfulness and Holiness, Vol. 1 pg. 162 & 163

New ICEL Translation of the Missal

• Kyrie ("Lord Have Mercy") ENGLISH

from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.

on Watchfulness and Holiness 07

In one who is attempting to dam up the source of evil thoughts and actions, continuity of watchful attention in the intellect is produced by fear of hell and fear of God, by God's withdrawals from the soul, and by the advent of trials which chasten and instruct. For these withdrawals and unexpected trials help us to correct our life, especially when, having once experienced the tranquility of watchfulness, we neglect it. Continuity of attention produces inner stability; inner stability produces a natural intensification of watchfulness; and this intensification gradually and in due measure gives contemplative insight into spiritual warfare. This in its turn is succeeded by persistence in the Jesus Prayer and by the state that Jesus confers, in which the intellect, free from all images, enjoys complete quietude.

St Hesychios the Priest, On Watchfulness and Holiness, Vol. 1 pg. 162

Major Arcana: Wheel of Fortune (Labyrinth Tarot)

Luis Royo

let your thoughts move away from their focus, and all sorts of things start moving against you. set your attention in motion. let GOD's wind help turn the wheel. remove the sail and the Wind isn't there to help you; in fact, it may turn against you...trials come, tearing away at your sail, tearing at the stability you'd built, bringing you back to where you'd begun, perhaps even deeper than you'd gone before.

raise the sail, set your attention, and pray.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of GOD, have mercy on me, a sinner.

on Watchfulness and Holiness 06

Watchfulness is a continual fixing and halting of thought at the entrance to the heart. In this way predatory and murderous thoughts are marked down as they approach and what they say and do is noted; and we can see in what specious and delusive form the demons are trying to deceive the intellect. If we are conscientious in this, we gain much experience and knowledge of spiritual warfare.

St Hesychios the Priest, On Watchfulness and Holiness, Vol. 1 pg. 162

Major Arcana: Realization (Labyrinth Tarot)

Luis Royo

i have the tools, but i don't know how to use them. i like to stand, prepared, with my tools, but i don't know how to use them. i know the predatory thoughts as they come. i can see them bearing down, but the tools they sit useless on the table in front of me.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of GOD, have mercy on me, a sinner.

On Watchfulness and Holiness 05

Attentiveness is the heart's stillness, unbroken by any thought. In this stillness, the heart breathes and invokes, endlessly and without ceasing, only Jesus Christ who is the Son of God and Himself God. It confesses Him who alone has power to forgive our sins, and with His aid it courageously faces its enemies. Through this invocation enfolded continually in Christ, who secretly divines all hearts, the soul does everything it can to keep its sweetness and its inner struggle hidden from men, so that the devil, coming upon it surreptitiously, does not lead it into evil and destroy its precious work.

St Hesychios the Priest, On Watchfulness and Holiness, Vol. 1 pg. 162

Minor Arcana: King of Cups (Labyrinth Tarot)

Luis Royo

On Watchfulness and Holiness 04

Just as a man blind from birth does not see the sun's light, so one who fails to pursue watchfulness does not see the rich radiance of divine grace. He cannot free himself from evil thoughts, words and actions, and because of these thoughts and actions he will not be able freely to pass the lords of hell when he dies.

St Hesychios the Priest, On Watchfulness and Holiness, Vol. 1 pg. 162

Major Arcana: The Tower (Labyrinth Tarot)

Luis Royo

i am blind. my face is turned from the sun, and i see only shadows. the shadows show me that there is light. i see reflections of light, little mirrors, flashes of brilliance, in the people i know. i see the direction i want to go. i can't see my way in the dark.

Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? 

- the Second Coming - William Butler Yeats

On Watchfulness and Holiness 03

Watchfulness is a way of embracing every virtue, every commandment.  It is the heart's stillness and, when free from mental images, it is the guarding of the intellect.

St Hesychios the Priest, On Watchfulness and Holiness, Vol. 1 pg. 161 & 162

 this needs more prayer. i can't think right now. brb...

Major Arcana: The Hermit (Labyrinth Tarot)

Luis Royo

the old man is smiling. sure in his routine/ Tradition/ duty to himself, he wanders the night with his lantern, watching over his terrain (mindscape??). keeping his rhythm alive, the hermit's bell (like the fool's little dog) will toll if he lets himself wander or become distracted along his Way.

how long has he been walking? how long did it take him to become comfortable in his path? what elements/ vices has he conquered to become so sure of himself?

i'm sure his bell rang constantly when he first began. mine rings so often... through prayer and stillness, i hope to become...

On Watchfulness and Holiness 02

The great lawgiver Moses - or, rather, the Holy Spirit - indicates the pure, comprehensive, and ennobling character of this virtue, and teaches us how to acquire and perfect it, when he says: "Be attentive to yourself, lest there arise in your heart a secret thing which is an iniquity" (Deut. 15:9. LXX) Here the phrase 'a secret thing' refers to the first appearance of an evil thought. This the Fathers call a provocation introduced into the heart by the devil. As soon as this thought appears in our intellect, our own thoughts chase after it and enter into impassioned intercourse with it.

St Hesychios the Priest, On Watchfulness and Holiness, Vol. 1 pg. 161

 how easily my mind races towards thoughts unbidden.

On Watchfulness and Holiness 01

Watchfulness is a spiritual method which, if practiced over a long period, completely frees us with God's help from impassioned thoughts, impassioned words and evil actions. It leads, in so far as this is possible, to a sure knowledge of the inapprehensible God, and helps us to penetrate the divine and hidden mysteries. It enables us to fulfill every divine commandment in the Old and New Testaments and bestows upon us every blessing of the age to come. It is, in the true sense, purity of heart, a state blessed by Christ when He says: 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.' (Matt. 5:8); and one which, because of its spiritual nobility and beauty - or, rather, because of our negligence - is now extremely rare among monks. Because this is its nature, watchfulness is to be bought only at a great price. But once established in us, it guides us to a true and holy way of life. It teaches us how to activate the three aspects of our soul correctly, and how to keep a firm guard over the senses. It promotes the daily growth of the four principle virtues, and is the basis of our contemplation. 

St Hesychios the Priest, On Watchfulness and Holiness, Vol. 1 pg. 161

Major Arcana: The Fool (Labyrinth Tarot)

Luis Royo

watchfulness is hard to maintain. there are so many distractions, to keep me from creating the worship life i want to have. new ideas & perspectives, family, friends, books to read, blogposts to keep track of, movies and tv to watch... St Hesychios says that watchfulness comes at a great price. what will my price be? could all the plans i have collapse into nothing as i form my life into something new, by keeping a steady, unwavering watch on  (1) what goes on in my mind, (2) what my daily actions are, (3) what my reasons are, and reasoning is, for doing this?

like the little dog in the card above, warning the fool to watch where he's going, i need the sharp reminders to keep me coming back to the path i want to be on...

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of GOD, have mercy on me, a sinner.