PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

What St. Isaac the Syrian teaches us about the ascetic life “Paradise is the love of God, wherein is the enjoyment of all blessedness.” — St. Isaac the Syrian When we read St. Isaac the Syrian, one of the first things that strikes us is that asceticism is not driven first by fear, duty, or harsh self-mastery. It is moved by desire. For St. Isaac, the spiritual life begins when the heart is wounded by longing for God. He writes often of tears, yearning, burning love, astonishm