#ascetism

[rainyloreinfinity]

Getting back into studying the different traditions/denominations and schools of thought associated with Hellenic Polytheism and the philosophers. *dies inside*

[orthodoxydaily]

SAINTS&READING: SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2026

july 25_july 12

VENERABLE MICHAEL, MONK OF MALEINUS (962).

The Monk Michael Maleinos was born about the year 894 in the Charsian region (Cappadocia), and at Baptism he received the name Manuel. He was of the same lineage as the Byzantine emperor Leo VI the Wise (886-911). At age 18, Manuel went off to Bithynia, to the Kimineia monastery under the guidance of the elder, John Heladites, who vouchsafed him into monasticism with the name Michael. Fulfilling a very difficult obedience in spite of his illustrious lineage, he demonstrated an example of great humility.       After the passage of a certain while, he was vouchsafed the grace of the priesthood. Constantly studying the Holy Scripture, the Monk Michael showed how the priesthood ought to be properly conjoined with monasticism; he attained a high degree of dispassion and acquired the gift of perspicacity. He was very compassionate and kindly towards people; he could not let remain without help and consolation those who were in need and in sorrow, and by his ardent prayer he accomplished many miracles.

By his example of sublime spiritual life, the holy hermit attracted many seeking salvation. In a desolate place called Dry Lake, the Monk Michael founded a monastery for the brethren gathering to him, and gave it a strict ustav (monastic rule). When the monastery was secure, the Monk Michael went to a still more remote place and built there a new monastery. By the efforts of the holy abba, all the Kumineia mountain was covered over by monastic communities, where constantly prayers were raised up for all the world to the Throne of the Most-High.       About the year 953, amongst the brethren entered the youth Abraham, flourishing under the guidance of Saint Michael, who gave him the name Athanasias. Later on, the Monk Athanasias (Comm. 5 July) himself founded the reknown Athos Laura, the first life-in-common monastery on the Holy Mountain. In the building of the Laura, great help was rendered to the Monk Athanasias by the nephew of the Monk Michael – the later Byzantine emperor Nicephoros Phokas (963-969), who, in visiting his uncle, also met Athanasias. After fifty years of incessant monastic effort, the monk Michael Maleinos peacefully fell asleep in the Lord in the year 962.

© 1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.

Romans 13:1-10

1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. 8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Matthew 12:30-37

30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. 31 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. 33 Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

[sogoodcontent]

Vivre sa vie (1962)

[fredericbassoulet-blog]

[mbti-notes]

Being as you've studied different religions, I'm curious what you think about renunciation. Do you think it should play a role in personal development? Ex. Is it necessary to give up some things for growth?

To be precise, I studied the philosophies of world religions in school, but it wasn't my specialization. Philosophy of religion extracts the fundamental ideas of religion and explores their implications. This is different from religious studies, which focuses more on the content of texts and the practice of rituals. I grew up in a diverse place where the people around me practiced a wide variety of religions. Despite being heavily exposed to religion, I never adopted one myself, but I do believe that some form of spiritual practice is necessary for well-being. That said, I can speak on renunciation as a concept.

If I understand you correctly, you mean to ask about renunciation in terms of sacrifice or asceticism? Many religions have an ascetic component in the form of monastic life. Is renunciation necessary for personal growth? It's a tricky question. It depends on how you choose to define "growth" as well as what you believe your ultimate goal to be. If you subscribe to a religion, the guidelines and goals are already set out for you. Examples: In Christianity, you are advised to renounce sin and evildoing, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of ascending to heaven. In Buddhism, you are advised to renounce worldly attachments and desires, in order to achieve liberation from reincarnation and the suffering of life.

I assume you'd like to know whether renunciation fits into my own conception of growth. Since you haven't given concrete examples of renunciation, I will use the broadest sense of the word. You have to look at the purpose of the renunciation and whether it leads you toward the intended goal. Each individual has their own unique set of challenges to confront in the process of personal growth. Even though my blog is mainly about self-development, I'm not interested in setting life goals for people, and different people come to my blog with very different intended goals, based on whatever "problem" they perceive. Some examples:

If you're looking to resolve a psychological problem, perhaps your "renunciation" takes the form of giving up a bad habit.

If you're looking for closer relationships, perhaps your "renunciation" means learning when it is good to sacrifice your own comfort for the well-being of others.

If you're looking for better direction in life, perhaps your "renunciation" takes the form of removing all your distractions.

If you're looking for meaning in life, perhaps your "renunciation" takes the form of abandoning pointless activities.

If you're looking to get to know yourself better, perhaps your "renunciation" means discovering and rejecting all false identifications.

What is the definition of "growth"? It is an endless process of becoming. Something old must give way to make way for something new. Renunciation has a role to play in growth insofar as one must let certain aspects of oneself "die" in order to become whatever new thing the next stage of growth brings. It isn't uncommon for people to look back at an earlier period of life and lament how "immature" or "stupid" they were back then. This broader perspective on the past wouldn't be possible had the person not grown in one way or another.

However, "growth" can be a tricky thing because it is not always what it seems. What you strive to become might not be what you should become. Take fame, for instance. Famous people will tell you that fame for fame's sake is quite empty and isolating. Many people set fame as their ultimate goal without understanding why. Perhaps the truth is that they felt unloved and they thought fame would solve the problem. In their relentless quest for fame, they neglected their relationships, stepped all over people to get ahead, or sacrificed their moral integrity for status or notoriety. They ended up "renouncing" the very things that they needed to resolve their alienation. Every step of the way, they wholeheartedly believed that they were "growing", especially when they got applauded and praised. But the reality is that they were just sinking deeper and deeper into the original problem of feeling unloved.

Renunciation has a place, but one must also be very careful about it. When your ultimate goal is unclear or you've set an inappropriate goal because your intentions were clouded, then renunciation can work against you or even cause you harm. Bringing this back to you: Do you have the self-awareness to understand why you've set your goals and whether achieving them will actually result in growth?

[minimalismdiary]

Things I never plan on buying as a minimalist

Car & driving lessons: Uncomfortable with being in front of a wheel due to hazards, but it’s also unhealthy, expensive, slow, & bad for the environment so I prefer walks & transport

Alcohol and drugs: Something I’ve never consumed or ever will for religious reasons

Television: this would be a useless waste of space that collects dust as I don’t watch any shows. When I’m bothered I watch old movies on my laptop but do plan to buy a projector for movie nights. I’m against a tv which promotes time wasting on screens. Prefer having conversations than to turn on the tv for background noise

ipad/tablet: A useless invention when I already own a smartphone and a laptop that has all the same features as an iPad or tablet

AirPods: Another useless creation when earphones exist that are cheaper and don’t require charging (wastes energy on bills) and eats up data while in, as well as reducing phone battery life thereby forcing one to charge phone more wastimg further energy on bills

Smartwatch: Not only is this a very unattractive watch but it’s pointless multi functions almost defeat the purpose of a smartphone. One smart device is already more than enough.

Alexa: A way to bring clutter in to home, waste money and promote lazy unhealthy habits. Not for me.

Designer items: Serve no higher purpose compared to unbranded items. These are unnecessary and simply a waste of money which is something I can never justify or understand. Suggests insecure behaviour by gaining some self worth from a label.

Music subscriptions: Spending money on the phone itself, data allowance, probably AirPods, maybe insurance, WiFi service, now music subscriptions too. As long as music is available on YouTube for free I’ll never pay for music that’s accessible on the internet.

Books: I’m a book lover and a firm believer in borrowing books from the library. Once I read a book there’s absolutely no reason for it to bring clutter in my home so I hope to never buy books as long as libraries exist. I read more frequently knowing there’s a deadline that needs to be met and love the extra walks to the library

[fiction-quotes]

Cadfael's fragrent domain, dewy from the dawn and already warming into drunken sweetness in the rising sun, filled his senses with the kind of pleasure on which an ascetic church sometimes frowns, finding something uneasily sinful in pure delight. There were times when young Brother Mark, who worked with him this delectable field, felt that he ought to confess his joy among his sins, and meekly accept some appropriate penance. He was still very young, there were excuses to be found for him. Brother Cadfael had more sense, and no such scruples. The manifold gifts of God are there to be delighted in, to fall short of joy would be ingratitude.

  —  Saint Peter’s Fair (Ellis Peters)

[quotesandthat]

Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: “Is this the condition that I feared?”

Seneca