'ABOVE ALL THINGS LEARN TO LOVE SILENCE"--ST. ISAAC OF SYRIA

IS THERE A SORROWLESS PLACE?

Photo courtesy of Erik Groomer

There never was and never will be a place on Earth free from sorrows.  The only sorrowless place possible is the heart, when the Lord is present there.

~St. Nikon of Optina

WHEN DOWN IS UP

"Remember God always, and your mind will become heaven.  Rejoice in humility, for therefrom a great height is attained, from which one cannot fall."

~St. Gabriel of Seven Lakes,

Homily

FINDING TRUE FRIENDS

"It is better to be friends with animals than with people of this world.  If after God, you want to have a true friend, then make friends with the saints.  If you do not have saints as friends, then be friends with the wild animals."

~Saint Paisios 

of the

Holy Mountain

PRIDE, BLAME, HUMILITY

"Oh, Brethren, what is the result of pride?  Oh, see what humility can do?  What was the need for all these sufferings?  For, if from the beginning Man had humbled himself, obeyed God, and kept the commandment he would not have fallen.

Again, after his fall, God gave him an occasion to repent and to receive mercy but he kept his stiff-neck held high.  He came to him and said 'Adam, Where are you?' instead of saying 'What glory you have left and what dishonor you have arrived at?'  After that, He asked him 'Why did you sin? Why did you transgress the commandment?' By asking these questions, He wanted to give him the opportunity to say, 'Forgive me.'  However, he did not ask for forgiveness.  There was no humility, there was no repentance, but indeed the opposite.

He answered, 'The woman whom You gave to be with me' (Gen 3:9-12), he did not say, 'the woman deceived me,' but 'The woman whom You gave to me,' as if he wanted to say: 'This catastrophe has come upon me because of You.'  So it is, brethren, since Man is not accustomed to blame himself.  He does not hesitate to consider even God as the cause of evil.

Then God came to the woman and said to her, 'Why did you not keep the commandment?' as if He wanted to say, 'At least you, say forgive me, so as to humble your soul and to receive mercy.'  Again, there was no request for forgiveness.  She also answered, 'The serpent deceived me,' (Gen 3:13) as if she wanted to say, 'If the serpent sinned, where is my mistake?'.

Why did you act in this way, you pitiable ones? Make a bow of repentance, recognize your fault, be sorry for your nakedness.  Neither one of them could blame himself, neither of them had the least bit of humility."

~~St. Dorotheos of Gaza

Basic post from Presvytera Candace Schefe

HELP TO HUMILITY

TRAVELING THROUGH GREAT LENT

TAKING REFUGE IN THE LORD

Let us take refuge in the Lord,

And ascend a little to the place

Where thoughts dry up

And stirrings vanish,

Where memories fade away

And the passions die,

Where human nature becomes serene

And is transformed

As it stands in the other world.

--St. Isaac of Nineveh

The Second Part. Ch. 10, 28.

GOOD STRENGTH FOR GREAT LENT

Seek Truth, Always Hope, Live Peace

GOOD STRENGTH FOR GREAT LENT

Seek Truth, Always Hope, Live Peace

IN THE FORECOURT OF GREAT LENT

FAST FROM self-concern and FEAST

on compassion for others.

FAST from discouragement and FEAST on hope.

FAST from lethargy and FEAST on enthusiasm.

FAST from suspicion and FEAST on truth.

FAST from thoughts that weaken and 

FEAST on promises that inspire.

FAST from shadows of sorrow and 

FEAST on the sunlight of serenity.

FAST from idle gossip and FEAST on 

purposeful silence.

FAST from problems that overwhelm you and

FEAST on prayer that sustains.

FAST from criticism and FEAST on praise.

FAST from self-pity and FEAST on joy.

FAST from ill-temper and FEAST on peace.

FAST from resentment and FEAST on contentment.

FAST from jealousy and FEAST on love.

FAST from pride and FEAST on humility.

FAST from selfishness and FEAST on service.

~From Abbot Tryphon 

IN THE FORECOURT OF GREAT LENT

"Our culture has a propensity for stuffing too much 'stuff' into our homes, which only causes clutter and chaos--subtly deadening our spirit as we seek after earthly possessions.  Conversely, if your home is bright, open, airy, and uncluttered, so will be your soul.  Therefore, as we prepare for the upcoming Great Fast, take time to put your home in order, both figuratively and literally, keeping in mind what St. Ambrose of Optima taught, 'To live simply is best'."

~Posted by Fr. John, Archangel Michael Orthodox Church

IN THE FORECOURT OF GREAT LENT

From Seek Truth, Always Hope, Live Peace

FOLLOWING AND RETURNING

Like the Prodigal Son, We Must Come to our Senses by St. Paisios the Athonite

God is very near us, but also very high. In order for someone to have God bend to descend and remain with them, they must be humbled and repent. Then, the greatly-compassionate God, beholding their humility, lifts them up to the Heavens and loves them greatly. There is joy in heaven over the repentance of a sinner, says the Gospel.

God granted people a mind to contemplate their faults, to repent and to seek forgiveness. The unrepentant person is a hardened thing. They are very senseless, because they do not wish to repent, in order to eliminate the small hell that they are experiencing now, which leads to something worse, the eternal. Thus, they are barren of heavenly joys on earth, which continue in Paradise, near God, where there are much greater joys, eternal ones.

As long as a person is far from God, they are outside of themselves. See how the Gospel says that the Prodigal Son "came to himself," saying: "I will go to my Father." In other words, when he came to his senses, when he repented, he said: "I will return to my Father." As long as he was living in sin, he was outside of himself, he was not in his right mind, because sin is irrational.

- Elder, Abba Alonios says: "If a man wishes, he can reach a divine measure from morning until the evening." What does he mean?

The spiritual life does not require time. In one second, one can be found in Paradise from hell, if they repent. People are responsible. They can become an angel, they can become a devil. My, my, my, what power repentance has! It attracts divine Grace.
A humble thought that a person brings to mind can save them. A prideful thought can come to their mind, and if they do not repent, death will find them, they are gone, they are lost. Of course, the humble thought must be followed with internal sighs, with internal contrition. Because the thought is a thought, but there is also the heart. The hymnographer says: "With all my soul and mind and heart...". I think, however, that the Abba is thinking here of a more permanent state. It requires some time, in order for one to reach a good state.

If I err, then I repent, and I am forgiven that instant. If I have a struggling spirit, slowly I will achieve a more stable situation, but until then, I can be swayed.

From the weblog MYSTAGOGY of John Sanidopoulos

FROM WORDS TO WONDER

Let us take refuge in the Lord,

And ascend a little to the place

Where thoughts dry up

And stirrings vanish,

Where memories fade away

And the passions die,

Where human nature becomes serene

And is transformed

As it stands in the other world.

VISITED BY ANGER?

LET US BE ATTENTIVE

You cannot be too gentle, too kind.  Shun even to appear harsh in your treatment of each other.  Joy, radiant joy, streams from the face of him who gives and kindles joy in the heart of him who receives.  All condemnation is from the devil.  Never condemn each other.  We condemn others only because we shun knowing ourselves.  When we gaze at our own failings, we see such a swamp that nothing in another can equal it.  That is why we turn away, and make much of the faults of others.  Instead of condemning others, strive to reach inner peace.  Keep silent, refrain from judgement.  This will raise you above the deadly arrows of slander, insult and outrage and will shield your glowing hearts against all evil.

~~Saint Seraphim of Sarov

LET US BE ATTENTIVE

LET US BE ATTENTIVE