Saint Gregory Palamas
The only path leading to such an encounter is the ascetic way of life.
The path of inner cleansing, of spiritual struggle, of study, humility, sacrifice, repentance, tears, mental prayer. All these help the man to cleanse himself inwardly and become a vessel of the uncreated grace. The more he cleanses himself the more he becomes a partaker of the uncreated energies of God and the more holiness he attains. Apostle Paul writes:
For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.
All people who crave for perfection share the same thought.
The ascetic experience shows the boundless love of man for God. It is his answer to the plan of the divine providence, to the incarnation of the Word of God and to His Sacrifice.
It is the path of obedience to the will of God, out of love for Him Who was the First to love man. It is the encounter of the human person with the divine person through the work of the Holy Spirit.
That is why he ceaselessly utters the Name of his Beloved day and night. To this effect is the relentless and intense invocation Come and dwell in us addressed to the Comforter, who comforts the orphans, searches us in our loneliness, adumbrates and makes Himself partaker by the work of grace. He enlightens, advises, sanctifies and makes His Kingdom be purpose and becoming in the life of men.
