Before we began eating, Fr. Maximos recited a short prayer that he offered before any meeting where he was expected to give a talk. Everybody stood up, and in a low voice he began: “O Christ, the True Light that illumines and sanctifies every human being who comes into the world, may the brightness of your face become sealed in our souls so that we may behold the Ineffable Light, and guide our steps to follow your commandments through the intercession of your Most Holy Mother and all the saints. Amen.”
We had hardly introduced ourselves before the questions began, mostly from those who had just met Fr. Maximos at the conference.
“Fr. Maxime, what did St. Seraphim of Sarov mean when he said that the purpose of the Ecclesia is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit?” asked Maria, the professional counselor who, I learned later, was contemplating joining a women’s monastery.
After taking a deep breath, Fr. Maximos repeated that the primary role of the Ecclesia is to help people come to know God experientially. “The manifestation of God in the life of human beings,” he said further, “gives birth to very concrete and definitive fruits, which I mentioned yesterday.”
“Do you mean spiritual fruits?” Maria asked.
“Yes. St. Paul explained to us what it means to be possessors of the Holy Spirit. I f you remember, in his epistle to the Galatians, chapter five, verses twenty-two and twenty-three, he presents a list of characteristics or fruits of the Spirit. They are, he says, agape (love), chara (joy), eirene (peace), makrothymia (patience), chrestotis (kindness), agathosyne (goodness), pistis (faithfulness), praotes (gentleness), andengratea (self-control) [original Greek words as translated in the Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version].”
“Can the Holy Spirit be confined to nine characteristics?” I wondered aloud.
“Obviously, this isn’t an exhaustive list. God’s gifts are infinite. Paul simply offers us this tentative list of gifts so that we can examine ourselves and see to what degree they are present in our lives. That is, to what degree we are close to God.”
“They are prerequisites of the God-realized life,” I noted.
“That’s understood. It’s as if Paul is telling us: ‘Do you wonder whether the Holy Spirit is present and manifest in your life? The procedure to find out is very simple. Take this list of nine attributes, place it in front of you like a mirror, and judge for yourself.’ Raise the question in your mind: ‘Do I have these qualities: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control?’ If I do have them, or if they have begun to get energized within me, that is fair and good. But if instead of love I discover hatred, instead of joy I find bitterness, instead of peace I am tormented by hostility, then I can conclude that the Holy Spirit is not present in my heart. It has not become firmly established within my existence.”
“That means that we all have a long way to go!” Emily interjected.
“Well, to be sure all of us have plenty of work to do until, as the apostle says, Christ becomes a living reality within us and begins to offer the gifts of His Presence.”
~Adapted from Kyriacos C. Markides, Inner River: A Pilgrimage to the Heart of Christian Spirituality
