I'm starting a new book tonight and the introduction had such a nice, succinct description of theosis I figured I'd share it.
...The struggle for human perfection within the imperfections of the world and the human psyche begins, according to the teachings of the Desert Fathers, by a humble acknowledgement of the depths of human depravity face to face with the human potential for divinization (in Greek theosis, or union with the energies - but not the essence - of God) and perfection. Having beheld the higher spiritual ideals and principles of human life, a spiritual aspirant must then develop a profound commitment to such things. In this commitment, he learns to obey and to submit to the good, to the Divine, as well as to those things and persons that represent, and guide one towards, the higher life: consciously following in obedience and with fidelity the quiet invitation of the heart to partake of the good things of the inner life of the soul. Seeing, at last, how far short he falls of the standard of perfection, an aspirant is overcome, not by self-denigrating guilt, but by a deep, ineluctable regret before all that separates the human from holy. In keeping with the true meaning of the Greek word for repentance, metanoia [a change of mind - k2] the aspirant undergoes a complete realignment of the thoughts, turning the mind naturally and spontaneously to the good. Sorrow for sin, strangely joined to an ineffable joy, creates a condition which - pierced to the heart by contrition and seemingly overwhelmed by a sense of unworthiness and an intense fear of certain perdition - the repentant struggler draws nearer to God in his burning awareness of what it is that separates him from what is so close. The gap between God and the sinner, in this repentant state, is closed, not by self-affirmations about salvation and holiness, but by a sure Grace that operates within a joyous sorrow.
Finally, having ascended through lowliness to the loftiness of obedience, and having cultivated the desire for God which repentance brings, the spiritual seeker is drawn to God by love, reaching the highest rung on the spiritual ladder that leads up to virtue and perfection. Not by compulsion, but by the energy and action of God, he is united to the Divine, transformed thereby in love. Subject to sin but drawn by love to perfection, love engenders love. So great is this love of God, that the aspirant comes to see Him in his fellow man, making the whole of life one of concern for others. He places even before self-discipline the sacred duty of loving service ot one's neighbor; for, as one holy man succinctly says, the love of one's brother is evidence for one's love for God -- the former verifies the latter.
From Flowers from the Desert.
...The struggle for human perfection within the imperfections of the world and the human psyche begins, according to the teachings of the Desert Fathers, by a humble acknowledgement of the depths of human depravity face to face with the human potential for divinization (in Greek theosis, or union with the energies - but not the essence - of God) and perfection. Having beheld the higher spiritual ideals and principles of human life, a spiritual aspirant must then develop a profound commitment to such things. In this commitment, he learns to obey and to submit to the good, to the Divine, as well as to those things and persons that represent, and guide one towards, the higher life: consciously following in obedience and with fidelity the quiet invitation of the heart to partake of the good things of the inner life of the soul. Seeing, at last, how far short he falls of the standard of perfection, an aspirant is overcome, not by self-denigrating guilt, but by a deep, ineluctable regret before all that separates the human from holy. In keeping with the true meaning of the Greek word for repentance, metanoia [a change of mind - k2] the aspirant undergoes a complete realignment of the thoughts, turning the mind naturally and spontaneously to the good. Sorrow for sin, strangely joined to an ineffable joy, creates a condition which - pierced to the heart by contrition and seemingly overwhelmed by a sense of unworthiness and an intense fear of certain perdition - the repentant struggler draws nearer to God in his burning awareness of what it is that separates him from what is so close. The gap between God and the sinner, in this repentant state, is closed, not by self-affirmations about salvation and holiness, but by a sure Grace that operates within a joyous sorrow.
Finally, having ascended through lowliness to the loftiness of obedience, and having cultivated the desire for God which repentance brings, the spiritual seeker is drawn to God by love, reaching the highest rung on the spiritual ladder that leads up to virtue and perfection. Not by compulsion, but by the energy and action of God, he is united to the Divine, transformed thereby in love. Subject to sin but drawn by love to perfection, love engenders love. So great is this love of God, that the aspirant comes to see Him in his fellow man, making the whole of life one of concern for others. He places even before self-discipline the sacred duty of loving service ot one's neighbor; for, as one holy man succinctly says, the love of one's brother is evidence for one's love for God -- the former verifies the latter.
From Flowers from the Desert.