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Pentecost Retreat - Session Two
The Fire That Remains
Life in the Spirit After the Collapse of the Religious Self
Week II — Remaining in the Fire Without Rebuilding the Self
The Spirit as the One Who Teaches Us to Endure
⸻
Opening Invocation
O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth,
Who art everywhere present and fillest all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of life,
Come and dwell in us,
Cleanse us from every impurity,
And save our souls, O Good One.
⸻
I. After the Collapse — The More Dangerous Work Begins
Last week we spoke of the fire.
Of illumination.
Of exposure.
Of the collapse of the false life.
But there is something more dangerous than never entering this fire.
It is entering it
and then leaving too soon.
Because once a man has begun to see once the structures begin to loosen once the illusions begin to fall
there arises an almost irresistible need:
1
To stabilize.
To regain footing.
To become something again.
Even if that “something” is humbler.
Even if it is quieter.
Even if it uses the language of repentance.
The self does not disappear easily. It adapts.
It reforms.
It survives
even inside what appears to be its own death.
And so the second work of the Spirit is not simply to expose. It is to keep a man in the place where exposure continues. ⸻
II. The Subtle Rebuilding of the Religious Self
You will begin to notice this almost immediately.
A thought arises:
“I understand now.”
“I see more clearly.”
“I am different than I was.”
And these thoughts feel true.
They feel justified.
They feel like the fruit of grace.
2
But hidden within them
is the beginning of reconstruction.
Because the ego does not need grand illusions.
It can build itself
out of something very small.
Even the awareness of one’s own brokenness. Even the language of humility.
You begin to identify yourself as:
The one who sees
The one who has suffered
The one who is being purified
The one who understands the deeper life
And without realizing it
you have become something again.
Subtler.
More refined.
But still centered in yourself.
“Do not trust in your own righteousness.” — cf. Luke 18:9
The Pharisee was not condemned for sin.
He was condemned because he became something in his own eyes. And this is the danger now.
⸻
III. The Spirit Leads Into a Place With No Ground
The Spirit does something that feels unbearable.
3
He removes not only falsehood
but also the ground beneath your feet.
You cannot rely on what you once knew.
You cannot return to previous ways of praying.
You cannot even take comfort in what seems like progress.
Everything becomes unstable.
And this is not confusion.
It is purification.
Because as long as a man has ground he stands on himself.
Even if that ground is spiritual.
Even if it is noble.
Even if it is built on real experiences.
The Spirit removes this.
So that a man learns something new:
To stand
without standing.
To remain
without possessing.
To live
without securing himself.
⸻
IV. The Poverty of Not Knowing
There is a kind of darkness here.
4
Not the darkness of sin.
But the darkness of not knowing. You no longer know:
Where you are.
What is happening. Who you are becoming.
You cannot interpret your life.
You cannot explain your interior state.
And the mind resists this violently.
Because the mind wants clarity.
It wants to define.
It wants to grasp.
But the Spirit teaches a man to let go of knowing.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 45/46) Not:
Understand and know. Explain and know. Analyze and know.
Be still.
And this stillness feels like death to the mind. Because the mind loses its authority.
⸻
5
V. The Prayer That Remains When Everything Else Falls
At this stage, prayer changes. It becomes poorer.
Simpler.
More fragile.
You may find that you cannot pray as before.
Words feel empty.
Thoughts feel forced.
Even spiritual reading feels distant.
And what remains? Often only this:
A cry.
Or even less than a cry. A turning.
A presence.
The Jesus Prayer begins to take on a different character.
Not as something you do.
But as something you cling to
when everything else has fallen away.
“Prayer is the refuge of help... a haven that rescues from the tempest.” — St. Isaac the Syrian
Not a method. Not a discipline. But a lifeline.
6
And even this may feel dry.
And still you remain.
⸻
VI. The Temptation to Interpret the Process
One of the greatest dangers here
is the need to interpret what is happening.
To name it.
To define it.
To place it within a framework. You begin to say:
“This is purification.” “This is the dark night.” “This is growth.”
And while these things may not be false they become a way of regaining control.
Because once something is named it is contained.
And the Spirit resists this containment.
He leads a man into something that cannot be mastered. Cannot be reduced.
Cannot be explained.
Because the goal is not understanding.
It is transformation.
7
And transformation often happens
in a way that the mind cannot follow.
⸻
VII. The Hidden Work of Endurance
What, then, is required?
Very little.
And everything.
Not effort in the way we understand it. But endurance.
To remain in prayer
even when it feels empty.
To remain turned toward God even when nothing is felt.
To remain in truth
even when it exposes you again and again.
This is not passive.
It is a quiet, fierce consent.
A willingness to be worked upon.
A refusal to flee.
“In your patience possess your souls.” (Luke 21:19) The fathers speak of this as long-suffering.
But we often misunderstand this.
It is not merely enduring hardship.
It is enduring the work of God within us.
8
⸻
VIII. The Fear of Losing Everything
At some point, a deeper fear emerges. Not just the fear of being seen.
But the fear of losing everything.
Your sense of self.
Your sense of direction. Even your sense of God.
Because God Himself may seem hidden. Silent.
Distant.
And this is where many turn back.
Not into sin.
But into something safer.
Something more defined.
Something more manageable.
But the Spirit leads further.
Into a place where even God is not grasped.
But only trusted.
“Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68) Not:
Lord, I understand. Lord, I feel.
Lord, I possess.
9
But:
To whom shall we go?
There is nowhere else.
So we remain.
⸻
IX. The Beginning of True Freedom
And slowly, something begins to change.
Not dramatically.
Not in a way that can be grasped.
But subtly.
The need to define begins to loosen.
The need to possess begins to fade.
The need to be something begins to weaken.
And a different kind of freedom appears.
Not the freedom to act.
But the freedom not to construct yourself.
A quietness.
A simplicity.
A lightness.
You begin to exist
without constantly referring back to yourself.
And this is the beginning of life in the Spirit.
10
Not power.
Not experience.
But freedom from the tyranny of self.
⸻
X. Closing Exhortation
Do not flee this place.
Do not rush to understand.
Do not rebuild what is being taken from you.
Remain.
Even when you do not know how to remain.
Even when prayer feels empty.
Even when God feels distant.
Remain.
Because the Spirit is not absent.
He is working more deeply than you can perceive.
And what He is forming in you cannot be formed in any other way.
⸻
11
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
Thou who didst endure the silence of the Cross, grant us the grace to endure
the silence within our own hearts.
Teach us to remain when all else falls away.
Deliver us from the need to grasp, to define,
to become something.
And grant that, in losing ourselves, we may find our life hidden in Thee.
Amen.
12
View all episodes
By Father David Abernethy
4.8
8686 ratings
The Fire That Remains
Life in the Spirit After the Collapse of the Religious Self
Week II — Remaining in the Fire Without Rebuilding the Self
The Spirit as the One Who Teaches Us to Endure
⸻
Opening Invocation
O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth,
Who art everywhere present and fillest all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of life,
Come and dwell in us,
Cleanse us from every impurity,
And save our souls, O Good One.
⸻
I. After the Collapse — The More Dangerous Work Begins
Last week we spoke of the fire.
Of illumination.
Of exposure.
Of the collapse of the false life.
But there is something more dangerous than never entering this fire.
It is entering it
and then leaving too soon.
Because once a man has begun to see once the structures begin to loosen once the illusions begin to fall
there arises an almost irresistible need:
1
To stabilize.
To regain footing.
To become something again.
Even if that “something” is humbler.
Even if it is quieter.
Even if it uses the language of repentance.
The self does not disappear easily. It adapts.
It reforms.
It survives
even inside what appears to be its own death.
And so the second work of the Spirit is not simply to expose. It is to keep a man in the place where exposure continues. ⸻
II. The Subtle Rebuilding of the Religious Self
You will begin to notice this almost immediately.
A thought arises:
“I understand now.”
“I see more clearly.”
“I am different than I was.”
And these thoughts feel true.
They feel justified.
They feel like the fruit of grace.
2
But hidden within them
is the beginning of reconstruction.
Because the ego does not need grand illusions.
It can build itself
out of something very small.
Even the awareness of one’s own brokenness. Even the language of humility.
You begin to identify yourself as:
The one who sees
The one who has suffered
The one who is being purified
The one who understands the deeper life
And without realizing it
you have become something again.
Subtler.
More refined.
But still centered in yourself.
“Do not trust in your own righteousness.” — cf. Luke 18:9
The Pharisee was not condemned for sin.
He was condemned because he became something in his own eyes. And this is the danger now.
⸻
III. The Spirit Leads Into a Place With No Ground
The Spirit does something that feels unbearable.
3
He removes not only falsehood
but also the ground beneath your feet.
You cannot rely on what you once knew.
You cannot return to previous ways of praying.
You cannot even take comfort in what seems like progress.
Everything becomes unstable.
And this is not confusion.
It is purification.
Because as long as a man has ground he stands on himself.
Even if that ground is spiritual.
Even if it is noble.
Even if it is built on real experiences.
The Spirit removes this.
So that a man learns something new:
To stand
without standing.
To remain
without possessing.
To live
without securing himself.
⸻
IV. The Poverty of Not Knowing
There is a kind of darkness here.
4
Not the darkness of sin.
But the darkness of not knowing. You no longer know:
Where you are.
What is happening. Who you are becoming.
You cannot interpret your life.
You cannot explain your interior state.
And the mind resists this violently.
Because the mind wants clarity.
It wants to define.
It wants to grasp.
But the Spirit teaches a man to let go of knowing.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 45/46) Not:
Understand and know. Explain and know. Analyze and know.
Be still.
And this stillness feels like death to the mind. Because the mind loses its authority.
⸻
5
V. The Prayer That Remains When Everything Else Falls
At this stage, prayer changes. It becomes poorer.
Simpler.
More fragile.
You may find that you cannot pray as before.
Words feel empty.
Thoughts feel forced.
Even spiritual reading feels distant.
And what remains? Often only this:
A cry.
Or even less than a cry. A turning.
A presence.
The Jesus Prayer begins to take on a different character.
Not as something you do.
But as something you cling to
when everything else has fallen away.
“Prayer is the refuge of help... a haven that rescues from the tempest.” — St. Isaac the Syrian
Not a method. Not a discipline. But a lifeline.
6
And even this may feel dry.
And still you remain.
⸻
VI. The Temptation to Interpret the Process
One of the greatest dangers here
is the need to interpret what is happening.
To name it.
To define it.
To place it within a framework. You begin to say:
“This is purification.” “This is the dark night.” “This is growth.”
And while these things may not be false they become a way of regaining control.
Because once something is named it is contained.
And the Spirit resists this containment.
He leads a man into something that cannot be mastered. Cannot be reduced.
Cannot be explained.
Because the goal is not understanding.
It is transformation.
7
And transformation often happens
in a way that the mind cannot follow.
⸻
VII. The Hidden Work of Endurance
What, then, is required?
Very little.
And everything.
Not effort in the way we understand it. But endurance.
To remain in prayer
even when it feels empty.
To remain turned toward God even when nothing is felt.
To remain in truth
even when it exposes you again and again.
This is not passive.
It is a quiet, fierce consent.
A willingness to be worked upon.
A refusal to flee.
“In your patience possess your souls.” (Luke 21:19) The fathers speak of this as long-suffering.
But we often misunderstand this.
It is not merely enduring hardship.
It is enduring the work of God within us.
8
⸻
VIII. The Fear of Losing Everything
At some point, a deeper fear emerges. Not just the fear of being seen.
But the fear of losing everything.
Your sense of self.
Your sense of direction. Even your sense of God.
Because God Himself may seem hidden. Silent.
Distant.
And this is where many turn back.
Not into sin.
But into something safer.
Something more defined.
Something more manageable.
But the Spirit leads further.
Into a place where even God is not grasped.
But only trusted.
“Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68) Not:
Lord, I understand. Lord, I feel.
Lord, I possess.
9
But:
To whom shall we go?
There is nowhere else.
So we remain.
⸻
IX. The Beginning of True Freedom
And slowly, something begins to change.
Not dramatically.
Not in a way that can be grasped.
But subtly.
The need to define begins to loosen.
The need to possess begins to fade.
The need to be something begins to weaken.
And a different kind of freedom appears.
Not the freedom to act.
But the freedom not to construct yourself.
A quietness.
A simplicity.
A lightness.
You begin to exist
without constantly referring back to yourself.
And this is the beginning of life in the Spirit.
10
Not power.
Not experience.
But freedom from the tyranny of self.
⸻
X. Closing Exhortation
Do not flee this place.
Do not rush to understand.
Do not rebuild what is being taken from you.
Remain.
Even when you do not know how to remain.
Even when prayer feels empty.
Even when God feels distant.
Remain.
Because the Spirit is not absent.
He is working more deeply than you can perceive.
And what He is forming in you cannot be formed in any other way.
⸻
11
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
Thou who didst endure the silence of the Cross, grant us the grace to endure
the silence within our own hearts.
Teach us to remain when all else falls away.
Deliver us from the need to grasp, to define,
to become something.
And grant that, in losing ourselves, we may find our life hidden in Thee.
Amen.
12
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