THE INVISIBLE ARCHER

In one spirituality forum it was mentioned that we can reach God thru: Truths, Goodness and Beauty of creation, customs and practices.

My daughter once shared to me that it was during their study of Anatomy and Biochemistry that she learned to greatly admire God, our Father, for creating such a wonderful human body.

In my own spiritual journey, God made use of people, things or objects to attract me to Him until finally I learned to focus my eyes solely on the Giver or Creator of these things.

Ivan, in the story below started out seeking for shooting stars and in the end found God, the Invisible Archer... -

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THE INVISIBLE ARCHER [1]
By Fr. Nil Guillemette, S. J.

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"He persevered as if he were looking on the invisible God..." (Heb 11:27)

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WHEN GREGORY of Sevastopol emerged from more than thirty years of reclusion in a hermitage and rejoined his former monastery near Gurzuf, his holiness became so manifest that he was immediately recognized as a starets. This meant that whoever was desirous of attaining spiritual progress could come to Gregory and receive from him expert guidance for his journey to God. And many came from all over central Crimea to consult the old starets. Some even came from as far as Djankoi, Balaklava and Feodosia.

Now in the course of his long years of seclusion Gregory had taken up astronomy as a form of innocent relaxation from his many hours of prayer and meditation. With time he had become thoroughly versed in that science. And so, when he returned to his original monastery of Gurzuf, he set up an observatory and continued his nightly vigils with the stars.

One day a young man knocked at the door of the monastery and asked to see the staret. To Gregory he presented himself as Ivan Stefanovitch Galitsin. The starets took an immediate liking to the youth, who had an air of earnestness and candor about him.

"Have you come for spiritual advice, my son?" Gregory asked with a welcoming smile.

"Oh no Father. I would like to consult you about shooting stars, having heard much about your knowledge in astronomy. You see, since my early childhood I have been greatly interested in shooting stars. They say that, if you happen to see one and immediately make a wish, your wish is granted. Well, I have seen many of them and as yet my wish has never been granted."

"And what is that wish?" the starets asked.

"That I become rich and famous," Ivan answered without hesitating.

The starets laughed, delighted by such ingenuousness.

"Do you honestly think," he queried with a twinkle in his eyes, "that spotting a shooting star can do that for you?"

Ivan looked at the starets with utter seriousness. "Well no, Father. But then I have recently heard that a shooting star passing at the highest point of the sky, at the very zenith, is a different matter. Such stars, I am told, are so rare that the person who sees one is sure to get his wish. And that is why I have come to you, so that you can tell me when such a phenomena will occur in the future."

"Unfortunately, " the starets objected, "no one can predict with accuracy the passing of a shooting star, let alone forecast a rare occurrence like the passing of a shooting star at the zenith. In order to witness such an event, the observer must keep watch all night and every night. This is like what happens in one's prayer life: God's consolations can be given at any time, but in order to receive them one must be constantly in a state of preparedness. Do you understand what I mean?"

In truth Ivan had little experience or interest in spiritual matters. And so, the starets' analogy was lost on him. But he did understand that he could not just go away and come back at a specific date to see a shooting star at the zenith. What then was he to do? Give up his cherished dream of becoming rich and famous? This seemed impossible to the ambitious youth. Was it not normal that an uneducated peasant like him should aspire to improve his lot?

At this point the starets sensed that perhaps it was God who had led Ivan to him, and this for a purpose of his as yet hidden to human eyes. Long years of familiarity with God and of loving attention to the divine workings in his heart had made him adept at discerning these subtle intimations of God's designs. In this case Gregory felt fairly certain that God wanted him to persuade Ivan to remain in the monastery for some time. Acting on the spur of this inspiration, he addressed the young man.

"Listen, Ivan Stefanovitch, " he said, "you are welcome to stay here as long as you wish. I am getting old and I need an assistant at the observatory. You could help me with my work while waiting for your shooting star. And when it appears you will be there to spot it."

The suggestion was gratefully accepted. And thus it came about that Ivan remained in the monastery and kept company to the old monk in the latter's nightly vigils at the observatory. In the course of their work the two beheld a certain number of shooting stars every night, but these were of the usual kind, always confine to one segment of the heavens and not tracing a true diagonal by way of the zenith. Because Ivan had been warned that he might be in for a long period of waiting, he was not too impatient at the delay. Meanwhile, from lack of any better occupation, he began to take an interest in Gregory's work.

Naturally the starets noticed the young man's growing interest in astronomy, and he eventually became his mentor, explaining the basic principles of physics, training the lad in the use of the various instruments of the observatory, teaching him how to calculate the velocity of the heavenly bodies, their height, their orbit, their mass and so forth. At the same time, he would spontaneously share with the young apprentice some of his insights on God, the universe and the spiritual life. In consequence of his prolonged familiarity with a man of such genuine holiness, Ivan's outlook on things began to undergo a transformation. Of course he still dreamed of becoming rich and famous one day, but somehow he felt less obsessed by his dream. On the other hand, under the expert tutoring of the starets he was gradually experiencing the pleasures of discovery. He was even beginning to appreciate in Gregory the particular peace and spiritual joy which emanate from a truly holy person.

And so, when at last the long expected shooting star streaked across the zenith, Ivan was suitably elated, but far less than he had anticipated. Naturally, he made his wish. But somehow the thought of leaving the monastery then and there to seek his fortune in the wide world beyond did not appeal to him. After all he reasoned, he was still young. Fame and fortune could wait a bit. Besides, perhaps a single wish would not be enough to bring about the desired effect. No doubt by repeating the experience a second, or even a third time, he would ensure his future without any fear of failure. All this Ivan explained with his usual earnestness to the old starets, when the latter inquired about his plans, now that he had seen the rare celestial phenomenon he had been waiting for. Gregory nodded gravely and pretended to accept Ivan's explanation. But through his ability to read the human heart, he knew that God's hand was at work here. For indeed, Ivan's passion for fame and fortune was slowly being replaced by another kind of love, although the young man was as yet unaware of it.

After this incident the old monk proceeded to impart more of his spiritual wisdom to his young disciple. During their long vigils in the observatory, especially when there was a lull in their work, he would often remark on the beauty of God's creation, so manifest in the ordered splendor of the heavens, on the ways of finding God in all things, on the various mysteries of the Christian faith. During one of these improvised teachings the old starets talked at length on the love of God for mankind.

"You know Ivan," he was saying, "when I see a shooting star blazing over the horizon, I am often reminded of the Old Roman myth of Cupid, the god of love. He is often represented with a bow and arrow, for the Romans believed that a person fell in love when Cupid shot an arrow in that person's heart. Like all old myths, the myth of Cupid is a groping attempt to express an eternal truth. In this case, the mystery of God's love for the human race and each one of us. The shooting stars are God's arrows directed at us thought the night of space. Each one gives in a flash a brief image of what is invisible. Hence our natural awe at these momentous signs. But they are only signs, reminders. Their meaning is to direct our attention to the invisible Archer."

At such times Ivan would listen intently, caught up in the beauty of the holy man's vision of things. With his heart he would know that he was standing on the threshold of a fascinating world, the world of the soul. Compared to the depths of that world, fame and fortune seemed to pale into insignificance.

Consequently, when shortly afterwards the second shooting star was sighted at the zenith, the young man saw it with new eyes. The awesome phenomenon was no longer merely a means towards fame and fortune - it was an arrow of God, an arrow of love shot by the divine Archer.

During another of his spiritual talks Gregory was expounding on the various stages marking the spiritual journey.

"At the beginning the soul knows little of the invisible Archer and is mainly interested in his flaming arrows of love - the consolations which fill one with sweetness. But soon the periods of darkness become longer and the shooting stars are progressively spaced far apart. Then the soul is left naked before a great void, like the astronomer facing the infinite darkness of space. However, after a time which seems an endless duration of silence and gloom, the soul becomes aware that the darkness contains the presence of God, that it is nourished and strengthened by the darkness, that nothing is more precious than the darkness. For indeed, in the darkness it is the Archer who is embracing the soul."

When the starets would utter this kind of teaching, Ivan would realize that he understood little of what was being said. Yet, by the light that radiated from the face of the starets, he would know that his old master was sharing priceless insights. And so he would feel increasingly captivated by the things of God.

Thus time passed. Ivan had lived more than a year at the monastery, when the third shooting star appeared at the zenith. But the youth hardly noticed it and even forgot altogether to formulate his usual wish. When the starets observed this, he was greatly pleased.

As they were about to leave the observatory the following morning, Gregory inquired in a teasing tone.

"And now, Ivan Stefanovitch Galitsin, I suppose you will venture out into the world to fulfill your ambition for fame and fortune?"

Upon hearing this reference to his earlier dreams the young man became embarrassed. All that seemed so pointless now! How could he think of fame and fortune after all the marvels he had glimpsed at during the past months? He felt at a loss for an answer.

With his usual perceptiveness the starets came to his rescue.

"Would it be that you have lost interest in shooting stars?" he asked gently.

Ivan hesitated, pondering the question. Then, in a flash of insight, he suddenly grasped what had happened to him.

"I guess you are right, Father," he said. "Shooting stars were once my great passion. But now it is the Archer that fascinates me."

Gregory smiled at the young man with great affection.

"Ah," he sighed happily, "I see you have been wounded by his arrows. Now you know that there is no greater happiness for a human being than to be captured by the divine Hunter."

From that day on Ivan's life took on a new turn. He abandoned all worldly ambitions and became a seeker of God. Eventually he became a holy man and a starets like Gregory. And he also gratefully remembered his mentor's profound teaching, when spiritual darkness seemed to engulf him: God is in the darkness, and nothing is of greater moment than to offer one's naked soul to the arrows of the invisible Archer. Eventually the wounds he inflicts become the source of happiness beyond words.

End Notes

1. Fr. Nil Guillemette, S. J., "ON EAGLE'S WINGS-God Tales for Young and Old" St. Paul Publications, Makati, Phil., 1990, Chapter 14, pp 90-96.

2. I have Fr. Nil's permission to use his stories via his letter to me dated Feb. 10, 2001: "In answer to your letter of Feb. 1, which I received yesterday, I gladly give you permission to use my stories in your bible sharings. However, in order to discourage any illegal pirating from unscrupulous readers, please always add the proper reference (author, publisher, book, pages, etc.). "