Saturday, November 11 : Saint John Cassian

Discernment is a kind of eye and lantern of the soul, as is said in the gospel passage: “The light of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is pure, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness (Mt 6:22 – 23) And this is just what we find; for the power of discernment, scrutinizing all the thoughts and actions, distinguishes and sets aside everything that is base and not pleasing to God and keeps us free from delusion. (…) The Apostle calls this virtue the sun, as we can see from his saying: “Do not let the sun go down on your anger: (Eph 4:26). It is also called the guidance of our lives, as when it is written: “Those who have no guidance fall like leaves” (cf. Prov 11:14 LXX). (…) Wisdom, intellect and perceptiveness are united in discernment, and without these our inner house cannot be built nor can we gather spiritual wealth, for it is written: “Through wisdom a house is built, through understanding it is established, and through good judgment its storehouses will be filled with wealth” (cf. Prov 24:3–4 LXX). Discernment is also called the solid food that is “suitable for those who have their organs of perception trained by practice to discriminate between good and evil” (cf Heb 5:15). These passages show very clearly that without the gift of discernment no virtue can stand or remain firm to the end, for it is the mother of all the virtues and their guardian. (…) We should therefore make every effort to acquire for ourselves this gift of discernment which is able to keep us from excess in either direction. For, as the Fathers have said, all extremes are equally harmful. (…) Abba Moses so cheered us with teaching of this kind that we could not help glorifying the Lord who grants such great wisdom to those who fear him. To him belong honor and power through all the ages. Amen.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team