The letters of Saint Joseph the Hesychast, already well known to the world since their publication in the book Monastic Wisdom, are for the first time now available exactly as they were written by the Saint himself from his small hesychastic cave on Mount Athos. The book contains a lengthy introduction on the life of Saint Joseph, poems published for the first time in English, as well as many new unpublished letters.
“Now listen to me; hearken unto my words, for I am about to tell you a great mystery of God’s dispensation, truly fearsome and hidden. Fly beside me, and I shall lead the way for you. We are about to pass through the ether. Fear not at all, for I have ascended many times, and I know the way. Let your nous free to imagine heavenly things, and behold, the gate of Paradise opens unto us. Here and there the angels stand by, the Cherubim and Seraphim, flying with six wings. Left and right are diamond walls. Golden flowers exuding myrrh fill the place with fragrance. Various sparrows are there with thousands of colors, warbling various melodies flowing with honey, raising our nous from theoria to theoria. The ground is white like snow, and therein is the great palace of our Queen and All-blameless Mother. So run, because our sweet Mother awaits us. Don’t pay attention to the angels, for it is written: ‘Not even angels should separate us from the love of Jesus.’ And behold, the good doorkeeper, a fiery angel, opens to us…”
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The Mount Athos Series in general.
Several things are important when writing about great people. First, the person the book is written about needs to be a spiritual person. Secondly, the writer needs to be a spiritual person to write about spiritual people. Thirdly, if a translation is required, the translator needs to be skilled in conveying the text. The series by The Holy Monastery of Vatopedi has checked off all three boxes. The authors bring the Saint they are writing about to life (as much as writing can). They bring spiritual insight in writing about the Saint they are writing about. I have been so thankful for the authors of these books. Without all three of the above mentioned qualities, the project would be a failure. These books are well worth reading, and I look forward to reading them all as they come available. Thank you SVS for bringing these books to the States.
For instance, Archimandrite Ephraim's fifty-page introduction becomes a very valuable addition to this book on the life of St Joseph the Hesychast.
