The interior object of stillness is the life and health of each person’s soul. The wisdom of the sayings quoted above summarize the grace made possible in stillness: mindfulness of one’s sins; avoidance of the futility of material pleasures and concerns that mask a person from his or her soul’s health; prayer and meditation; and inner peace leading to a heart that wills what God desires. Abba Peomen goes on to illustrate that the fruits of stillness are manifested in a variety of ways. The venues of stillness may differ, but they all redirect a person’s activity to the heart. “Abba Poemen said, ‘If three people are living in the same place, and one of them is practicing stillness successfully, the second is ill but gives thanks, and the third serves with a pure mind, all three are performing the same work.”‘ 11
The wisdom of the Elders points toward aspects of stillness that contribute to the “opening of the soul” of the monk: 12
- withdrawal from activity and conversation
- awareness of God and one’s self
- an inner stillness centered in prayer
- a vigilance of mind (both thought and intuition)
- an attitude of the heart, leading away from self-interest and toward self-giving and gratitude
- a freedom born of desiring what God desires
- easily satisfied needs
- a refinement of the whole person in God
When these aspects of stillness influence the life of the monk they bear fruit in his life with God and his neighbor.
In summary, the vocation of the one who desires stillness, the hesychast, is manifested in an external way by the enclosure of the cell, limited contact with other people, and avoidance of noise, conversations and relationships (i.e., limitation of stimuli to the senses). This exterior vocation makes an interior stillness possible with a focus in the cell on an inner life of prayer. Stelios Ramfos comments that this enclosing of the monk from the stimuli of exterior senses is not a loss of the monk’s humanity. 13 On the contrary, it is an opening of doors to a more complete humanity through an inner tranquility. This is the fruit of prayer that Abba Evagrius called “the peace which you have in view.”
Hesychios of Sinai said:
Snow can never emit flame. Water can never issue fire. A thorn bush can never produce a fig. Just so, your heart can never be free from oppressive thoughts, words, and actions until it has been purified internally. Be eager to walk this path. Watch your heart always. Constantly say the prayer “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me.” Be humble. Set your soul in quietness. 14
~David G.R. Keller, Oasis of Wisdom: The Worlds of the Desert Fathers and Mothers
11 Ward, Sayings, Poemen 29, 171.
12 The phrase “opening of the soul ” is taken from Stelios Ramfos, Like a Pelican in the Wilderness (Brookline: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2000) 164. In his chapter on monastic stillness, Dr. Ramfos describes the fruits of stillness. My identification of these specific aspects is influenced by his commentary as well as my own research.
13 Ramfos, Pelican, 67.
14 Palmer, et al., The Philokalia, vol. 1, Hesychios of Sinai, “On Watchfulness and Holiness,” 122, 183.
