The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian - Homily VII, Part II

“Faith has need of labors also, and confidence in God is the good witness of the conscience born of undergoing hardship for the virtues.”

— St. Isaac the Syrian

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There is a sobriety in St. Isaac’s teaching on hope that cuts through every illusion of easy religion.

He will not allow hope to become sentiment, nor will he permit it to be reduced to a desperate cry uttered only when life begins to collapse. The man whose heart is buried in earthly concerns, he says, eats “dust with the serpent.” His life is absorbed by distraction, indulgence, and negligence toward God. Yet when affliction comes he suddenly raises his hands and declares: “I shall hope in God.”

For Isaac this is not hope at all.

It is self-deception.

True hope does not arise magically in moments of crisis. It is born slowly through a relationship with God cultivated over time through labor, repentance, and love. The soul that hopes in God has already spent itself for Him. It has struggled to keep His commandments. It has endured hardship for the sake of virtue. Hope therefore becomes the quiet testimony of a conscience that knows it has been walking with God.

Faith without such labor is like grasping the wind. One cannot claim confidence in God while living carelessly before Him. Hope grows only in the soil of a life turned toward God with sincerity and effort.

Yet Isaac’s realism never becomes harsh.

Even as he exposes the foolishness of a man who suddenly invokes God in the midst of self-inflicted trouble, he does not deny the mystery of divine mercy. God remains long-suffering. Even the negligent are often protected by a providence they scarcely notice. A traveler may unknowingly pass through danger — a wild beast, a murderer, a serpent hidden in the road — and yet be preserved by circumstances quietly arranged by God.

This preservation is not a reward.

It is mercy.

In this way Isaac draws the reader into a profoundly relational vision of faith. God is not a mechanism to be activated in moments of distress. Nor is hope a formula that guarantees relief. Rather, hope grows within a living relationship between the human heart and the God who desires that heart.

God seeks us patiently.

But hope becomes real only when we begin to seek Him in return.

Thus Isaac leads the soul away from both presumption and despair. He calls us to a hope that is sober, honest, and deeply human — a hope born not from passivity but from love. The one who labors for God, who sweats in His husbandry, who struggles to keep faith even in weakness, gradually discovers that confidence in God begins to take root within him.

Hope then becomes something quiet and strong.

Not a cry of desperation.

But the steady trust of a heart that has learned, through labor and repentance, to live before God.

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Text of chat during the group:

00:10:07 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 182, #3, first paragraph

00:19:03 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 182, #3, first paragraph

00:40:42 Jessica McHale: When I am very tired, and I pray Vespers or Compline, I sometimes move through the psalms with inattention and just moving through because I am so tired. At those times, is it better to give 2 lines of attention to God or push through all the psalms? I love praying the Hours, but when I am so tired after a long day (for a variety of reasons), it can be a challenge to really be with the Lord when praying.

00:41:27 Wayne: Reacted to "When I am very tired..." with 👍

00:43:47 Nypaver Clan: Page # ?

00:44:08 Jesssica Imanaka: 182

00:44:12 Myles Davidson: Replying to "Page # ?"

182

00:44:15 Nypaver Clan: Reacted to "182" with ❤️

00:44:30 Myles Davidson: Replying to "Page # ?"

About to start last paragraph

00:48:55 John ‘Jack’: I’m often taken how we/one can say “ how can a good God let these bad things happen” yet we spend minimal time in prayer worship.

Why would we expect blessings of a relational love of God when we don’t show him love.

00:48:56 Ryan Ngeve: Father, isn’t the very act of toiling for God an act of hope itself?

01:03:31 David Swiderski, WI: I have been trying to follow the Kathisma which I like for Matins but to be honest the vespers with the daily repeat of 18 feels tiresome for some reason. Just wondering why the matins changes each day but the vespers only has the same group over and over.

01:07:00 Jessica McHale: I use a Melkite breviary and the Kathisma for vespers does change. Orthros is very long. It's been great for me to get to know the psalms much more by following the Kathisma.

01:08:59 Myles Davidson: Th 1962 Breviary and previous in the Latin rite work on a weekly cycle

01:10:10 Joan Chakonas: I find consolation in reminding myself, when annoyed by something as mundane as being stuck behind a school bus, that its Gods will that I am stuck behind the school bus at this moment.  My annoyance evaporates and This gift from God is like gold to me.  His will is something I’ve been focusing on this Lent-it is so consoling to keep this in mind .

01:10:57 ROBERT IAROPOLI: Reacted to "I find consolation..." with ❤️

01:13:08 Jesssica Imanaka: Reacted to "I find consolation i..." with ❤️

01:13:09 Eleana Urrego: Reacted to "I find consolation i..." with 👍🏼

01:13:26 John ‘Jack’: Reacted to "I find consolation i…" with ❤️

01:13:33 Jessica McHale: Reacted to "I find consolation..." with ❤️

01:13:36 Ben: Reacted to "I find consolation i..." with ❤️

01:14:37 Ben: Anna: Is it helpful to do penance for all the sins we would have commit but God saved us from?

01:16:44 Fr Martin, Arizona: I still today have seen God rescue people as Isaac says. Trust God. On my way to Pittsburgh my connecting flight arrived late, I still prayed and went to the gate. The plane to Pittsburgh had boarded, closed the door, and the clerk called inside the plane and told them to open the door and let me on. I've never seen that before. I've sometimes been frustrated by being delayed to find out that God had a reason for my delay. Even delays build my faith and trust in God.

01:19:10 David Swiderski, WI: Every day, a farmer relied on his horse to work his fields. One day, the horse ran away. The villagers said, “Such bad luck,” but the farmer replied, “Bad luck. Good luck. Who knows?” Weeks later, the horse returned with a herd of nine more. The villagers cheered his “good luck,” but he gave the same calm reply. Later, the farmer’s son tried to tame one of the new horses, fell, and broke his leg. Again the villagers lamented the “bad luck,” and again the farmer said, “Bad luck. Good luck. Who knows?” A month later, the army came through town, conscripting every able-bodied young man. Seeing the son’s broken leg, they passed him by. The villagers celebrated the farmer’s “good luck,” but he simply repeated, “Bad luck. Good luck. Who knows?”

01:19:28 David Swiderski, WI: My Uncle used to tell me this story when I was young I still remember it fondly

01:20:12 Elizabeth Richards: Reacted to "My Uncle used to tel..." with ❤️

01:20:24 Julie: Reacted to "Every day, a farmer …" with ❤️

01:20:32 John ‘Jack’: Reacted to "Every day, a farmer …" with ❤️

01:20:36 Nypaver Clan: Reacted to "My Uncle used to tel..." with ❤️

01:20:53 Catherine Opie: Yes if I get frustrated or anxious that my plans will not come to fruition I am missing all the gifts God is offering me in the moment.

01:22:58 Maureen Cunningham: Lord’s Blessing to all . Thank You Father

01:23:11 Janine: Thank you Father!

01:23:43 David Swiderski, WI: Thank you Father, may God bless you your mother and this group.

01:23:44 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you☺️

01:23:52 Joan Chakonas: Thank you Father

01:23:53 Elizabeth Richards: Amen- peace to you Father

01:23:54 Bob Čihák, AZ: Bless you, Father

01:23:56 Jessica McHale: Thank you!!! Many prayers!