WHAT IS GOD'S WILL FOR US? HOW DO WE DISCERN THE WILL OF GOD? HOW DO WE HEAR GOD'S VOICE?

Summary

The video script discusses the concept of discerning the will of God, emphasizing that it requires more than just external obedience; it involves the mortification of personal will and intimate transformation. Citing Saint Sophrony of Essex and Saint John Climacus, the speaker highlights the steps of renouncing the world, detaching from family, and mortifying personal will to align with God's will. The message underscores the interconnectedness of human will with familial and societal influences, and the transformative power of truly embracing God's will through spiritual discipline and obedience.

Takeaways

• 🙏 The script emphasizes the importance of discerning God's will through the teachings of Saint John Climacus, highlighting the monastic life's role in spiritual growth.
• 🔑 It suggests that understanding God's will is not merely an intellectual exercise but a transformative, personal journey that requires the mortification of one's own will.
• 🌐 The text discusses the influence of the world, family, and personal will on an individual's spiritual path, indicating that these elements are deeply intertwined with our free will.
• 🏔 Saint John Climacus' 'The Ladder' is presented as a guide, starting with obedience to a spiritual father and culminating in discernment, which leads to love and pure prayer.
• ⛔️ The script underscores the necessity of renouncing the world, detaching from family, and mortifying personal will as foundational steps towards discerning God's will.
• 👪 It points out the profound impact of family and environment on our spiritual development, shaping us from the moment of our creation.
• 💔 The process of breaking free from the world's influence and family's will is likened to a painful self-surgery, as it involves cutting ties that are deeply rooted within us.
• 🕊️ The ultimate goal is the transformation into the saints God intended us to be, which requires the mortification of our will to allow God's will to come alive within us.
• 🌱 The script likens our free will to a drop of water in the ocean, indicating that it is influenced and shaped by the vast mass of the world around it.
• 🙌 It calls for awareness and acknowledgment of the interconnectedness of humanity, as we are all part of one being in God, reflecting the divine image and the Holy Trinity.
• 🌟 The speaker expresses gratitude for the love and prayers of the listeners, praying for God's grace to guide everyone towards discerning and fulfilling His will.

Q & A

What is the central theme of the video script?

The central theme of the video script is discerning the will of God according to the Holy Fathers, particularly focusing on the teachings of Saint John Climacus, and the process of mortifying one's own will to truly understand and follow God's will.

Who is Saint Sophrony of Essex and what does he emphasize about God's will?

Saint Sophrony of Essex is a spiritual figure mentioned in the script who emphasizes that God's will should be done in our 'earth' or our personal lives, suggesting a deeply intimate and personal connection to God's will rather than a detached application of it.

What is Saint John Climacus also known as and what is the significance of his work?

Saint John Climacus is also known as Saint John of Sinai or 'of the Ladder'. He is celebrated as one of the greatest teachers of monastic life in the history of the Christian Church, and his work 'The Ladder' outlines the steps towards spiritual growth and discernment of God's will.

What is the role of obedience in Saint John Climacus' teachings?

In Saint John Climacus' teachings, obedience, particularly to one's spiritual father, is the starting point for spiritual growth. It is through obedience that one's will can become aligned with God's will, as obedience is one of the first steps in 'The Ladder'.

What are the three gates mentioned in the script that are essential for spiritual growth according to Saint John Climacus?

The three gates mentioned in the script for spiritual growth are renunciation of the world, detachment from one's family and friends, and the mortification of one's personal will by obedience to one's spiritual father.

How does the script describe the relationship between our will and the influences around us?

The script describes our will as not being as independent as we might think. It is influenced and shaped by the world around us, our families, and our own personal desires, much like a drop of water is influenced by the ocean around it.

What is the significance of the phrase 'the will of God is something that can only be discerned by the mortification of our own will'?

This phrase signifies that true understanding and discernment of God's will requires us to suppress or 'mortify' our own personal desires and will, allowing God's will to shine through and guide us.

What does the script suggest about the process of discerning God's will?

The script suggests that discerning God's will is a complex and transformative process that involves separating our will from the influences of the world, our families, and our own personal desires, and then opening ourselves to receive God's will.

How does the script relate the concept of discerning God's will to the idea of spiritual growth?

The script relates discerning God's will to spiritual growth by describing it as a journey that begins with obedience and involves the mortification of our own will, leading to a deeper understanding and alignment with God's will, which is the ultimate goal of spiritual growth.

What is the script's perspective on the challenges faced when trying to discern God's will from the will of the world or our own desires?

The script acknowledges that discerning God's will can be extremely challenging, especially when the world's values or our own desires seem to align with what we perceive as God's will. It emphasizes the need for a deep, personal transformation to truly understand and follow God's will.

What is the final prayer or wish expressed by the speaker for the listeners in the script?

The final prayer or wish expressed by the speaker is for God's grace to give the listeners the strength and wisdom to open themselves to His will, so that His will may be done in their lives, transforming them into the saints God created them to be.

Outlines

00:00

🙏 Discerning God's Will Through Personal Transformation

The first paragraph discusses the concept of doing God's will as taught by Saint Sophrony of Essex, emphasizing the personal and intimate nature of this endeavor. It contrasts the common perception of God's will as an external directive with the Orthodox Christian understanding that it involves a deep, transformative process. Saint John Climacus's teachings are introduced, highlighting obedience to a spiritual father as a path to recognizing God's will, which is discerned through the mortification of one's own will. The paragraph underscores the importance of obedience, discernment, and the spiritual journey as depicted in 'The Ladder', where the initial steps involve renunciation, detachment, and mortification, leading to love and pure prayer.

05:03

🌐 The Influence of the World, Family, and Personal Will

This paragraph delves into Saint John's analysis of the three components of free will and their potential as sources of spiritual downfall: the world, family, and personal will. It likens our free will to a drop of water in the ocean, influenced by the vast mass of water around it, suggesting that our desires and decisions are not as independent as we might believe. The text explores the complex interplay between our will and the will of the world and family, and how these influences shape our spiritual identities. It also touches on the challenge of discerning between the world's will and God's will, especially when they appear to align on the surface but differ in deeper meanings.

10:06

👪 The Spiritual Impact of Family and the Church's Role

The third paragraph focuses on the profound impact of family and the environment on our spiritual development from the moment of conception. It discusses the Church's careful attention to the spiritual well-being of expectant mothers and newborns, emphasizing the importance of baptism as a protective shield against spiritual influences. The text illustrates how our parents' spiritual status and actions can affect us in the womb, either positively or negatively, and how these early influences shape our spiritual battles throughout life. It calls for an awareness of our interconnectedness and the oneness of humanity in God's image.

15:09

🔪 The Painful Process of Spiritual Separation

In this paragraph, the author describes the painful process of separating from the will of the world and one's family, likening it to cutting away a part of oneself. It explains that our will, the will of our family, and the will of the world are deeply intertwined, making discernment a challenging and often painful endeavor. The text references Saint John of the Ladder's teachings, which place the renunciation of the world, detachment from family, and mortification of one's will as foundational steps towards spiritual growth and the ability to discern God's will.

20:19

🕊 Embracing God's Will for Transformation and Sanctification

The final paragraph emphasizes the transformative nature of doing God's will, which involves a personal and intimate process of opening oneself to God's divine plan. It contrasts this with a superficial understanding of discernment that involves merely reading Scripture or the teachings of the Fathers. The author prays for guidance from Saint John of the Ladder and expresses a desire for all to receive the grace to discern and fulfill God's will, which is a gift that requires our preparation and effort. The paragraph concludes with a heartfelt prayer for the reader, expressing love and gratitude for their prayers and support.

Keywords

💡Will of God

The 'Will of God' refers to the divine plan and intentions that God has for individuals and the world. In the video's context, it is the central theme that individuals must strive to understand and follow, not as an external command but as an internal transformation. The script emphasizes that discerning God's will involves a deep personal journey that includes obedience, detachment, and mortification of one's own will.

💡Obedience

Obedience, in this script, is portrayed as the initial step towards understanding the divine will. It is the act of submitting one's will to a higher authority, specifically a spiritual father in monastic life. The speaker mentions that obedience is the third step in Saint John of Sinai's 'The Ladder,' signifying the importance of aligning one's will with that of spiritual guidance to eventually perceive God's will.

💡Mortification

Mortification, as discussed in the script, is the process of suppressing or 'killing' one's own desires and will to make room for God's will. Saint John Climacus emphasizes that discerning God's will requires the mortification of one's own will, indicating a necessary spiritual discipline to achieve purity of heart and mind.

💡Discernment

Discernment is the ability to make a sound judgment, particularly in spiritual matters. In the video, it is depicted as a high step in Saint John's 'The Ladder,' suggesting it is a developed skill that follows the initial steps of obedience and mortification. Discernment allows one to distinguish between worldly desires and God's true will, which is essential for spiritual growth.

💡Spiritual Father

A 'Spiritual Father' is a mentor or guide in spiritual matters, often a monk or priest who provides counsel and direction. The script describes the importance of obeying the will of the spiritual father as a means to eventually align with God's will, indicating the role of spiritual guidance in the journey of faith.

💡Renunciation

Renunciation, in the context of the video, means the act of giving up worldly attachments and desires. It is the first gate mentioned in the script for entering the path of spiritual growth, suggesting that letting go of worldly influences is crucial for focusing on God's will.

💡Detachment

Detachment is the state of being free from emotional or spiritual attachment, particularly to family and worldly concerns. The script describes it as the second gate in the spiritual journey, necessary for moving away from the influences that can cloud one's ability to perceive God's will.

💡Personal Will

Personal Will, as discussed in the script, refers to an individual's desires, intentions, and decisions. The speaker argues that one's personal will must be mortified to discern and follow God's will, illustrating the need for self-sacrifice in the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment.

💡Transformation

Transformation in the script refers to the profound change that occurs when one's will aligns with God's will. It is not merely an external action but an internal metamorphosis that results from the mortification of one's own will and the embracing of divine intentions.

💡Divine Image

The 'Divine Image' is a theological concept that humans are created in the likeness of God. The script uses this term to emphasize the inherent potential within every individual to become one with God, which is realized through the fulfillment of God's will in one's life.

💡Monastic Life

Monastic Life is a lifestyle dedicated to spiritual development, often involving vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The script refers to Saint John Climacus, a prominent figure in monastic tradition, to illustrate the principles and practices that guide those pursuing a deeper understanding of God's will.

Highlights

Saint Sophrony of Essex emphasized doing God's will in our personal 'earth' or 'nothingness', not just externally.

Many view doing God's will as a simple task of finding and applying it, rather than an intimate, transformative process.

The Church's 2,000-year experience views discerning God's will as a deeply personal journey, not just an external duty.

Saint John Climacus teaches that obedience to a spiritual father is the starting point for discerning God's will.

Obedience allows God's will to shine through, as emphasized in Climacus' 'The Ladder', step 3.

Discernment of God's will is placed at the top of 'The Ladder', as the gate to Love and Pure Prayer.

Climacus states that discerning God's will requires the mortification of our own will.

The three gates to begin the spiritual journey are renunciation of the world, detachment from family/friends, and obedience.

Our free will is influenced by our weaknesses, the world's diseases, and the spiritual state of our loved ones.

Our will is not as independent as we think; it is shaped by the world around us, like a drop of water in the ocean.

Discerning between the world's will and God's will can be complicated when they appear to align on the surface.

The meanings of concepts like love, freedom, and forgiveness differ fundamentally between God's and the world's perspectives.

Our spiritual formation begins in the womb, influenced by our parents' spiritual state and the world's will.

The Church is cautious about a child's early spiritual environment, from pregnancy to baptism.

Our will, our parents' will, and the world's will are interconnected, making discernment a challenging process.

Saint John of the Ladder understood the pain of detaching from the world's and family's will, as it feels like cutting part of oneself.

Fleeing the world, detaching from family, and mortifying our will are the foundational steps for spiritual growth.

Only after these steps can we truly begin to discern and fulfill God's will in our lives.

The will of God is a transformative gift that requires us to mortify our own will to receive it.

Doing God's will is an intimate, internal process of opening ourselves to His transformative power.

The speaker prays for God's grace to guide everyone towards discerning and fulfilling His will in their lives.

Transcripts

'Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven'.  

Saint Sophrony of Essex used to say, 'Your will  be done in earth, in my earth, in my nothingness  

as it is in Heaven'. We all strive to the best of  our abilities to do the will of God, to identify  

the will of God and to follow it, but for most of  us, especially in our generation, to do the will  

of God seems to be something relatively simple,  almost it's about reading or somehow finding out  

from the outside what is the will of God and then  just applying it; it has very little to do with,  

with us personally, intimately that, that I,  we, that makes us who we are. The will of God is  

something outside ourselves that we are supposed  to be fulfilling, performing almost in addition to  

everything that makes us and with absolutely no  input and no transformative power as far as we  

are concerned, our---again---personal, intimate  selves. But this was not the case for 2,000 years  

of experience of the Church, and I want to talk to  you a bit today about discerning the will of God  

according to the Holy Fathers, and I do that today  for a very simple reason: we celebrate one of the  

greatest, if not the greatest teacher of monastic  life in the history of the Christian Church: Saint  

John Climacus, also known as Saint John of Sinai  or 'of the Ladder'. Saint John says that we begin  

with obeying to the will of a human being, obeying  to the will of our spiritual father, and we grow  

to the point where that will of our spiritual  father becomes or allows to shine through it  

the will of God Himself, this is why Obedience is  placed at the very beginning of his book called  

The Ladder, it's one of the first ladders---uh,  the first steps, I think it's step number three,  

and Discernment is at the very top I think it's  step twenty-something, 26 or 27, it's the gate,  

Discernment, the gate that opens up for us Love  and Pure Prayer. For Saint John, the will of God  

is something that can only be discerned by  the mortification of our own will; these are  

his words: 'To discern the will of God, one has to  mortify one's own will', and the very beginning of  

his book about monastic life, the Ladder towards  the knowledge of God, begins, is opened through  

three gates, all three of them having to  do with this mortification of one's will:  

first gate is renunciation of the world, second  gate is detachment from one's family and friends,  

and the third gate is the mortification of one's  personal will by obedience, complete obedience  

to one's spiritual father. And there is a  perfect reason why Saint John says this,  

because all these gates, all these steps that  he lists as being different one from the other  

are in fact manifestations of the same one  thing: our own free will which is at the base,  

at the base of all our sins and all our spiritual  illnesses. It is easy to talk about mortifying  

one's will without actually doing something, it  is easy to think that our will is somehow in our  

control, that we are indeed in perfect control  of what we want and what we do, but the reality,  

for our generation and for for I think all  generations since the creation of the world,  

is that our will is not as free as we imagine it  to be, our will is determined in equal measures  

by our own weaknesses, but also by the weaknesses  and the diseases of the world around us, and even  

more so by the diseases and spiritual illnesses of  those whom we love in the world: our families, our  

parents, our friends, those around us. When Saint  John, like an amazing surgeon, like a spiritual  

surgeon, discerns these three layers, these  three components, if you want, of our free will,  

he points to these three sources of potential  spiritual falls: the world around us,  

the family into which we've been shaped and which  has determined us to a great degree, and our own  

free will. It may seem to us that what we call our  free will is simply what we want, but the reality  

is that just as a drop of water in the ocean is  not, so to say, itself completely independent  

of the vast mass of water that surrounds it,  contains it, and generates its properties and its  

attributes, in the same way our free will, this  idol of ours which we follow, is not independent  

and is not somehow unconnected with this mass,  great mass of people of the world around us.  

We are determined by the culture and society  around us, the same way that a drop of water  

is carried by the waves of the great ocean  wherever the great ocean wants to carry it,  

or the way a boat is being carried by the  waves of the ocean, sometimes completely  

unconnected with the intention of the sailor,  and although sometimes it feels obvious  

and it's quite easy to discern between the will  of the world and the will of God in our lives,  

because the world sometimes, not always, but  sometimes goes plainly against the will of God,  

other times things are a bit more complicated;  when the world goes plainly against God, it's  

easier somehow, because we know God is telling us  this is white and the world tells us that it is  

black, but other times God tells us that something  is white and the world itself also tells us that  

that reality is white: the problem is that the  meaning of whiteness and all the underlying  

undertones and significances and references  attached to what white means in the holy language  

of God and in the foreign language of the world  are completely different. Love means one thing in  

God's holy mouth and completely something else  in our mouths. Freedom means one thing for God  

and one thing for the world. Forgiveness or  even judgment, being right and fighting for  

righteousness means one thing in the mouth of the  Lord and a completely different thing in the mouth  

of our fallen world. So sometimes discerning  between the will of the world around us, the  

will of this immense ocean that carries us forward  regardless of our own will, and the will of God,  

sometimes it's obvious, other times it is not so  and it is extremely complicated. The same thing  

is real when we talk about our will and the  will of our parents, the will of our families:  

we imagine somehow that nicely on a shelf we  have these different things: the will of God,  

the will of the world, the will of our families,  and then in ourselves our free will; but the  

reality is that from the moment God created us in  the womb of our mothers, our families, our parents  

have become like tunnels for the will of the  world feeding us through an unseen spiritual  

umbilical cord, the same way that the body of  our mothers are feeding our little tiny bodies.  

From that moment, from our very creation, who our  parents are, how they are, their spiritual status,  

who they meet with, the environment in which  they take us by moving into the world, all  

these things influence our future being and shape  and determine to a great degree our future being;  

this is why the Church is so careful, obsessively  careful and tries to manage, if you want, the  

steps of the mother-to-be in the first months of  her pregnancy, in the first days and weeks after  

the birth of the child, and up to the moment of  the baptism of the child, when the child is given  

a protection, when the child is finally shielded  with the grace of the gifts that he has partaken  

of; but up to that point, our parents, our mother,  our father, all those around them, all those with  

whom they interact and with whom we also interact  in the womb of our mothers, they are the ones  

that feed us spiritually, the same way that they  feed us physically. If our parents fall into lust  

or if our parents are just angry or judgmental  or if they fall prey and they allow the spirits  

of any passion to which they fall prey while we  are being carried in the womb of our mothers,  

we are exposed to those spirits and we are  influenced and shaped by those horrible spirits,  

the same way that it works the other way  around: if our parents are good Christians who  

try their best to do the will of God themselves  and they pray and they commune with the Gifts,  

the Sacraments of the Church, and they feed  themselves, they feed their being with Christ's  

Body and Christ's Blood: this grace of God, this  holiness of which they themselves partake allows  

us to be partakers of the same grace and the same  holiness through this unseen spiritual umbilical  

cord. We are being shaped by our parents,  we are being shaped by the world around us  

more than we know, more  than we realize, and then---

and then we spent the rest  of our lives trying to fight  

these diseases, spiritual diseases  which have been given to us from the  

very beginning of our lives, and we strive to  defeat demons, to defeat evil spirits that have  

caught roots, that have a seed in us although we  never know when we opened up to this evil seed.  

This is not about blaming our parents or blaming  those around us, it is about trying to become  

more aware and acknowledge the oneness of  humanity: we are one in so many ways because  

we are one, ultimately, one being in God. I've  told you before the holy father's talk of the  

divine Image of God being imprinted in us not only  personally, in the sense that we are created in  

the Image of Christ our God, but also the Image of  God being imprinted on us as a whole, as humanity,  

so that the image of the Holy Trinity  which is One and multiple in Persons  

is imprinted on us, so that we are one  humanity in a multiplicity of human beings.

It would be so much easier if, as I said, our  will would be completely detached and separated  

from the will of our families, the will of the  world around us with its culture and society,  

it would be so much easier, but this is  not the reality: the reality is that like,  

like three blobs of flesh that have been  created in the same womb, our will, and the will  

of our parents and our family and those  with whom we interact through our families,  

and the will of the world around us have grown  into being one unit and they are united by  

blood vessels that go deep in us, by roots that  have grown deep in us, and to cut ourselves,  

to discern the will of the world in us  and to cut loose, to break free of that  

will of the world is as painful as  taking a knife and cutting our arm,  

and the same detaching ourselves from the  will of our families, from the will of  

those who've shaped us to this day is  equally painful, because it is cutting parts  

that have become part of ourselves, it is  indeed cutting portions of our spiritual being.  

Saint John of the Ladder, whose blessed  memory we keep today, knew this very,  

very well, which is why at the very beginning  of the Ladder he placed these three distinct,  

but making one unit, versions of free will:  we have to renounce the world and fulfil in us  

what Saint Anthony the Great, the father of all  monastics was told through the voice of the angel:  

'Flee from the world', this is the foundation  of everything, even if that fleeing  

means for us monastics truly fleeing and getting  to places where the world almost disappears,  

or in the case of people in the world  it means just trying to separate and  

put distance between your will and the will  of the world, the influence of the world,  

that is step one; the second step is detachment  from one's family, which feels so clear-cut,  

doesn't it, you just have to leave your family  behind, but the values of your family and  

what your family has planted deep down in you, way  before you or I have become aware of ourselves,  

that takes years and decades to break free  of, and the only way to break free of that  

is to break free of one's free will as well, which  is the third step, after we've left the world,  

after we've detached ourselves from  the will of our family, we have to also  

mortify within ourselves our free will, and once  these three blessed steps have been fulfilled,  

then and only then we can begin our ascent, our  true ascent towards discerning the will of God  

in the hope that through His mercy, His grace  and His help we might one day actually fulfil  

His will as well. I have no idea if this drive  has actually gathered into a proper talk, but  

this is the only free time I've had during  the day and I wanted to give it to you.  

I pray that Saint John of the Ladder  will guide you and us and everyone  

towards the will of God. The will of God just  as humility and love and patience and all good  

graces, the will of God is ultimately a gift of  God Himself, but in order to receive this gift,  

we have to prepare ourselves, we have to do  the work that is up to us to the degree which  

is within our power, within our strength; and as  close to nothing as this work may be, God in His  

mercy will receive it, will receive this effort,  this good desire of ours, and for this effort  

and this nothingness of ours He will grant us the  grace of true discernment; but if we believe that  

to discern the will of God is just to read  something in the Scripture or to read something  

in one of the Fathers as if it's something  exterior to ourselves and then just do that thing,  

oh, then we are very, very  far away from the truth.  

We are praying that the will  of God is done on earth, in  

earth, in the earth out of which we are being  made, because the will of God can transform us  

into the Saints whom God created us to become.  To do the will of God is not something exterior,  

my brother and my sister, to do the will of God  is to open ourselves not to the will of the world,  

not to the will of those who gave us life in the  flesh, not to do the will of our own personal  

passions, but to do the will of the One who called  us into being out of nothingness, so that His will  

for us, that we should be saved, that we should  become holy, that we should be one with Divinity  

Himself, that this holy, terrifyingly  beautiful will of God is fulfilled in us,  

this is transformative and like everything that  implies a transformation, it comes at the expense  

of something, it comes at the expense  of our will which has to be mortified  

so that something else, the will of God  Himself can be brought to life in us.  

May God bless you, my brother; may God  bless you, my sister, whoever you are,  

wherever you are in this world. Because  whoever you are and wherever you are,  

to one degree or another God's calling can  be fulfilled in you and you can, you can step  

on the will of the world, you can step on the  will of your own passions in you, and you can,  

to a small degree perhaps, but this is all God  expects of you, you can open yourself to God's  

will for you, and this is my prayer for you today  and this is my prayer for you every single day,  

for me, for you, for the whole world: that  God's grace gives us the strength and the wisdom  

to open ourselves to His will so that His will  be done in our earth, in our dust, in this  

nothingness of which He called us into  being and onto which He breathed that breath  

of life that imprinted in us His divine  Image and the potential to be one with Him.

I have so much love for you, my brother  and my sister, I have so much love for you,  

and this is all, I'm certain, for the  love and the prayers that you offer us,  

and for that I am so grateful, so, so grateful.

Be blessed, my brother, be blessed, my  sister, wherever you are in the world,  

wherever you're driving in the world. Safe  travels in this world and safe travel towards God  

in His eternal Kingdom, my  beloved ones. Amen, amen, amen.