"Never prefer your will to the will of your brother."
[font:Comic Sans MS]Abba Dorotheus[/font]

Alexandr

Repentance is the renewal of baptism. Repentance is a contract with God for a second life. A penitent is a buyer of humility. Repentance is constant distrust of bodily comfort. Repentance is self-condemning reflection, and carefree self-care. Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair. A penitent is an undisgraced convict. Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the practice of good deeds contrary to the sins. Repentance is purification of conscience. Repentance is the voluntary endurance of all afflictions. A penitent is the inflicter of his own punishments. Repentance is a mighty persecution of the stomach, and a striking of the soul into vigorous awareness.

[font:Comic Sans MS]St. John of the Ladder[/font]

Alexandr

One of the Fathers said, "The Christian who only remembers to speak with God when it is the given time for prayer, has not yet learnt how to pray."

Alexandr

When you are praying, watch over yourself so that not only your outward man prays, but your inward one also. Though you be sinful beyond measure, still pray. Do not heed the devil's provocation, craftiness, and despair, but overcome and conquer his wiles. Remember the abyss of the Saviour's mercy and love to mankind. The devil will represent the Lord's fact to you as terrible and unmerciful, rejecting your prayer and repentance; but remember the Saviour's own words, full of every hope and boldness for us: `Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out'; and `Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden' - with sins and iniquities, and wiles and calumnies of the devil - and I will give you rest.'

St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ


Alexandr

"Keep your mind in Hell and despair not"

St. Silouan the Athonite


Alexandr

If God is slow in answering your request, and you ask but do not promptly receive anything, do not be upset, for you are not wiser than God. When you remain as you were before, without anything happening, it is either because your behaviour is not worthy of your request, or because the paths in which your heart was travelling were far removed from the aim of your prayer, or because your interior condition is far too childish, when compared with the magnitude of the thing for which you have asked.

St. Isaac of Nineveh [Syria], The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life.


Alexandr

Consider well my soul: Dost thou fast? Then despise not thy neighbor. Dost thou abstain from food? Condemn not thy brother. Sunday of Orthodoxy, Matins. - "The Lenten Triodion"

Alexandr

Saint Mark the Ascetic writes, " There is a sin which is always 'unto death' [1 Jn 5:16]; the sin which we have not repented. Even a saint's prayer's will not be heard for the unrepented sin. The person who repents correctly does not imagine that his sins are cancelled through his own effort; but knows that through this effort he makes peace with God."

Alexandr

"Love Christ and put nothing before His Love. Christ is Everything. He is the source of life, the ultimate desire,He is everything. Everything beautiful is in Christ."

Elder Porphyrios


Alexandr

"In Christianity truth is not a philosophical concept nor is it a
theory, a teaching, or a system, but rather, it is the living
theanthropic hypostasis - the historical Jesus Christ (John 14:6).
Before Christ men could only conjecture about the Truth since they
did not possess it. With Christ as the incarnate divine Logos the
eternally complete divine Truth enters into the world. For this
reason the Gospel says: "Truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17)."

St. Justin Popovich

Alexandr

"When you pray to God in time of temptation do not say, 'Take this
or that away from me', but pray like this: 'O Jesus Christ,
sovereign Master, help me and do not let me sin against Thee. . .'

Abba Isaiah the Solitary

Alexandr

I hope this isn't breaking into the flow of the quotes. But I want to thank you Alexandr for taking the time to look up these quotes and for posting them. They are great little meditations that we can visit time to time throughout the day.

If you think that this breaks up the flow, please accept my thanks and apology and have the moderator remove my post.

Dr Eric,

Your input is always welcome! I am positively ENCOURAGING comments on them.

Alexandr

"God is a fire that warms and kindles the heart and inward parts.
Hence, if we feel in our hearts the cold which comes from the
devil - for the devil is cold - let us call on the Lord. He will
come to warm our hearts with perfect love, not only for Him but
also for our neighbor, and the cold of him who hates the good will
flee before the heat of His countenance."

St. Seraphim of Sarov


Alexandr

"In the matter of piety, poverty serves us better than wealth, and
work better than idleness, especially since wealth becomes an
obstacle even for those who do not devote themselves to it. Yet,
when we must put aside our wrath, quench our envy, soften our
anger, offer our prayers, and show a disposition which is
reasonable, mild, kindly, and loving, how could poverty stand in
our way? For we accomplish these things not by spending money but
by making the correct choice. Almsgiving above all else requires
money, but even this shines with a brighter luster when the alms
are given from our poverty. The widow who paid in the two mites
was poorer than any human, but she outdid them all."

St. John Chrysostom

Alexandr

Hello??? Anybody out there??? Anybody reading these, or am I wasting my time translating them????

Alexandr

Alexandr,

I read every single one.

I really appreciated the quote from St. Seraphim.

Keep 'em comin'!

Alexandr

I suspect that some folk are like me - being exposed to these wonderful writings for the first time.

I'm spellbound by them , and dare not comment other than to say

Thank you

Alexandr:

We're here. We're reading these. No, you're not wasting your time in translation.

In Christ,

BOB

Dear Alexandr,

This is not the first time I have encountered writings of the Optina Fathers. They strike me as profound today as they did the first time I encountered them. Coincidentally, it was our absent Moderator and brother in Christ, Father Gregory who first introduced them to me.

In a way, their profound wisdom and truths are more for contemplation than discussion...so please don't take offense!

Your sister in Christ,
Alice

Alexandr

Christ is in our midst!! He is and always will be!!!

Each of these gems can be food for a day's meditation. Maybe the folks are just sitting quietly by soaking them up like a sponge soaks up water.

In Christ,

BOB

"I saw the snares that the enemy spreads out over the world and I
said groaning, "What can get through from such snares?" Then I
heard a voice saying to me, "Humility."

St. Anthony the Great


Alexandr

I just recieved a wonderful little book from Russia Called "Chistim Tsertse" "With a Pure Heart". It is a little book to be read at the breakfast table with Christian thoughts for the workday. I'll be posting some of it here.

Alexandr

I am yet another person who is looking forward to it.

Christ is in our midst!! He is and always will be!!!

Check out my reference in the book area for further material from the Optina Elders. One example . . .

Elder Ambrose (Vol IV)--On prayer: "If you do not feel like praying, you have to force yourself. The Holy Fathers say that prayer with force is higher than prayer unforced. You do not want to, but force yourself. The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force."

In Christ,

BOB

�� I know from the teachings of the Holy Fathers that every temptation or illness is sent to us by God as a cure for our infirm soul. For if our body suffers, God forgives our past and present sins and prevents us from sinning in the future. That is why we should wholeheartedly thank the Lord God Who is so merciful to us and turns everything to our benefit and permits us to be ill. Thus, we shouldn�t grumble. This is the reason why I am trying, with the help of God, to endure my illness meekly.� I have never had as much time for reading soul-profiting books as I have now in my prolonged illness, and therefore I wonder�how shall I thank my God for all He has granted me!�

�from a letter of Elder Anthony

Alexandr

"The way of humility is this: self-control, prayer, and thinking
yourself inferior to all creatures."

Abba Tithoes

"Why do you trouble yourself in a house that is not your own? Let
the sight of a dead man be a teacher for you concerning your
departure from hence."

St. Isaac the Syrian


Alexandr

�No one has to be embarrassed over his sinful state. �There is no man who, while living, does not sin,� and the more sinful the man, the stronger will be God�s help in leading him out of his sinful mire. But the help of God comes only when the sinner repents with heartfelt contrition and has the will to reform. Not seeing in himself enough strength of soul to break away from sinful deeds, he asks for God�s help. This is where the mercy of God, Who does not wish the death of the sinner but wants him to be converted and live, is often evident.� If the voice of conscience awakens in us a feeling of remorse or repentance, then we must pray fervently to the Guardian Angel of our human existence that he may keep us from corrupt downfalls and help us �serve God with fear and trembling.��

ELDER MACARIUS OF OPTINA

Alexandr

If the soul is vigilant and withdraws from all distraction and
abandons its own will, then the spirit of God invades it and it
can conceive because it is free to do so.

Abba Cronius

Alexandr

Every day you provide your bodies with good to keep them from
failing. In the same way your good works should be the daily
nourishment of your hearts. Your bodies are fed with food and your
spirits with good works. You aren't to deny your soul, which is
going to live forever, what you grant to your body, which is going
to die.

St. Gregory the Great

Alexandr

Dear Alexandr,

First let me tell you I enjoy seeing your posts of these little snippets from the Fathers. They address volumes in few words that help ring a bell as to what we should be doing.

It is difficult for me to single out one father from another, for they all bring something to the table in which we can feed ourselves spiritually. Saint Gregory is one of those fathers that does that for me. His words in this excerpt are a reminder of what we should be doing daily. One should be thinking and trying to do in this quotation. How though is the question many would ask.

There are so many things in which we can feed our souls. Personally, prayer should be the appetizer of this meal to get us started. What I mean by that is so many I hear tell me I pray, my reply to them is how do you pray? Do you just recite words that really are not heartfelt words or do you really try to make your words ones of sincerity and actually your own. When you pray is it because of routine or out of spiritual need? Do you actually listen for an answer from God or are you dictating to God? Are you being humble and sincere or prideful like the Pharisee?

How else are you feeding your soul? Do you read the scriptures. I mean really read them trying to understand what is being said, or are you doing it out of a sense of obligation? Do you actually try to take as you have been directed and offer the good works of the gospel as your own actions cheerfully without expecting any reward or praise? Do you actually try to learn from the meaning of what we asked to submit ourselves by sacrifice in fasting, mastering our bodies in order for the spiritual within us to be free to grow closer to God?

Finally the sacraments, especially the Holy and Life-giving Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ. What does it do for you? Before you think what kind of question is that, think of how I mean that question. Do you approach out of a sense of duty and obligation, or if you truly miss the occasion for some reason to partake does you inner being feel that you are starving spiritually because something truly is missing from your spiritual life that has been feeding your soul?

Finally going back to prayer, our attention and participation in the Divine Services. Are we there out of obligation and to observe, or are we there to be an active participant and to be part of that corporate prayer of the Church?

Many questions, but if we look at Saint Gregory's words, then back to the questions a few times, we may actually see the correlation between both. These words that this great saint of the church are given to us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to give us that nudge in our spiritual life. Achieving salvation may be in a way a do-it-yourself task, but without the proper instructions and training, we can not do it ourselves. We need to properly train and learn and then do. We can not do it completely by ourselves, but through the guidance of such words as Saint Gregory, the direction and path that Church gives, we may obtain that goal, by directing ourselves towards the simple words of our Savior, "follow me".

I pray that these words of this great saint and maybe my humble offering may provoke some to strive more earnestly in that struggle towards the goal of achieving salvation, by putting themselves on that proper diet that will produce a healthy Christian.

Forgive me for my ramblings.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

Those last two posts were more edifying than Fr. Anthony or Alexandr could ever know.

I offer my public thanks to Fr. Anthony and Alexandr for posting them!

I look forward to the next installment!

PS What is the Optina?

Sorry Dr Eric, I should have explained. Optina is a monastery in Russia which is famous for the holy men who have lived there. You can read a little more about it at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optina_Monastery

Alexandr

A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart is condemning
others, he is babbling ceaselessly. But there may be another who
talks from morning till night and yet he is truly silent, that is,
he says nothing that is not profitable.

Abba Pimen

Alexandr

Oh, what great happiness and bliss, what exaltation it is to
address oneself to the Eternal Father. Always, without fail, value
this joy which has been accorded to you by God's infinite grace
and do not forget it during your prayers; God, the angels and
God's holy men listen to you.

St. John of Kronstadt

Alexandr

Saint John of Kronstadt is one of those that has to be taken in very small doses and pondered upon in order ot be appreciated fully. I have his book, "My Life in Christ" and have to say it is a book I never have been able to read and enjoy. yet when I look at the words such in the above quite, they come alive for me. I would venture to guess, that is how something like his book should be read, by reading small quotes, pondering on them and truly learning the meaning before going on.

Saint John in the above quote actually focuses on something that we seem to neglect in our prayers and in our prayer life. Joy and gratitude. Often we approach prayer as a laundry of of needs both temporal and spiritual. Seldom do we we express joy and thanksgiving. i am sure that if someone kept on coming to you in conversation and they focused on was negativity, demands, and complaints, sooner or later you would be be ignoring them or simply avoid engaging them.

When we pray how often do we examine not only the needs and what is necessarily wrong? Do we actually focus on our blessings and gifts and express gratitude for that? can you say that having opportunities to grow is something that you bring to your prayers and that you are grateful for these chances?

Many times we neglect to do this in our prayers. As you find how you engage others in conversation that you find to be edifying, you also have to approach in prayer the same way. Our prayer should be an honest and joyful conversation with God, not just a list of demands, or a bunch of words that have little meaning to you.

One of the greatest gifts I ever learned, was to carefully focus on what I was saying in prayer, the meaning and intent of what I was saying. After starting to do that, prayer took on a a different meaning and value to me. It becamae alive and no longer an expectation of what we are expected to do as Christian. I look forward nw to each encounter I have with prayer. I is no longer an expected chore, but an opportunity I have to be addressing God in a meaningful dialog. It became a chance to learn and grow.

Prayer is not the chance to just list demands and needs, but should be that chance to experience a dialog with God. it should be a chance to grow and to realize that we are imperfect and by that dialog learning to improve our relationship with Him. As we improve in our relationship, we will find some of things that hinder us actually fall away, or become less bothersome.

Let your chance to pray be an experience that is one of joy, not just sadness, one of gratitude instead of complaint. If you do that in what Saint John tells us, you will find your outlook as a Christian start to change and that will be for the better not only for you, but in how others see you in Christan life. remember as we experience the Christian life and grow on it as true followers of the Light of the world, we also shine as that example to those offering to them the alternative of the Heavenly realm and the joy that it brings now and in the life to come.

This is my humble offering.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

The soul has followed Moses and the cloud, both of these serving
as guides for those who would advance in virtue; Moses here
represents the commandments of the Law; and the cloud that leads
the way, its spiritual meaning. The soul has been purified by
crossing the Sea; it has removed from itself and destroyed the
enemy army. It has tasted of the waters of Marah, that is, of life
deprived of all sinful pleasure; and this at first had seemed
bitter and unpleasant to the taste but offered a sensation of
sweetness to those who accepted the wood. Next it enjoyed the
beauty of the palm trees of the gospel and the springs; it filled
itself with the living water, that is, the rock. It took within
itself the bread of heaven. It overwhelmed the foreign host - a
victory due to the extended arms of the Lawgiver, which thus
foreshadowed the mystery of the Cross. Only then can the soul go
on to the contemplation of transcendent Being.

St. Gregory of Nyssa


Alexandr

Where humility is combined with the remembrance of God that is established through watchfulness and attention, and also with recurrent prayer inflexible in its resistance to the enemy, there is the place of God, the heaven of the heart in which because of God's presence no demonic army dares to make a stand."

St. Philotheos of Sinai


Alexandr

"To master the mundane will of the fallen self you have to fulfill three conditions. First, you have to overcome avarice by embracing the law of righteousness, which consists in merciful compassion for one's fellow beings; second, you have to conquer self-indulgence through prudent self-restraint, that is to say, through all-inclusive self-control; and, third, you have to prevail over your love of praise through sagacity and sound understanding, in other words through exact discrimination in things human and divine, trampling such love underfoot as something cloddish and worthless. All this you have to do until the mundane will is converted into the law of the spirit of life and liberated from domination by the law of the outer fallen self. Then you can say, 'I thank God that the law of the spirit of life has freed me from the law and dominion of death' (cf. Rom. 8:2)."

Nikitas Stithatos

Alexandr

Alexandr,

Once again thanks for these gems!

Dr. Eric

At the Last Judgment the righteous will be recognized only by
their humility and their considering themselves worthless, and not
by good deeds, even if they have done them. This is the true
attitude.

Holy New Hieromartyr Barlaam

Alexandr

Why Should We Read the Desert Fathers?

Conversation and association with one�s neighbors very much affects a person. Conversation and acquaintance with a learned man communicates much knowledge; with a poet, many exalted thoughts and feelings; with a traveller, much information about countries, about the characters and customs of peoples. It is obvious that conversation and acquaintance with the saints communicates holiness. "With the holy man wilt thou be holy, and with the innocent man wilt thou be innocent. And with the elect man wilt thou be elect" (Psalms 17:25-26).

From henceforth, during the time of this short earthly life, which Scripture has not even called "life," but rather "journeying," let us become acquainted with the saints. Do you want to belong to their society in heaven, do you want to be a partaker of their blessedness? From henceforth enter into association with them. When you go forth from the house of the body, then they will receive you to themselves as their own acquaintance, as their own friend (Luke 16:9).

There is no closer acquaintance, there is no tighter bond, than the bond of oneness of thoughts, oneness of feelings, oneness of goal (1 Corinthians 1:10).

Where there is oneness of thoughts, there without fail is oneness of soul, there without fail is one goal, an identical success in the attaining of one�s goal.

Appropriate to yourself the thoughts and the spirit of the Holy Fathers by reading their writings. The Holy Fathers attained the goal: salvation. And you will attain this goal by the natural course of things. As one who is of one thought and one soul with the Holy Fathers, you will be saved.

Heaven received into its blessed bosom the Holy Fathers. By this it has borne witness that the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the Holy Fathers are well-pleasing to it. The Holy Fathers set forth their thoughts, their heart, the image of their activity in their writings. This means: what a true guidance to heaven, which is borne witness to by heaven itself, are the writings of the Fathers.

The writings of the Holy Fathers are all composed by the inspiration or under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Wondrous is the agreement among them, wondrous is the anointing! One who is guided by them has without any doubt whatsoever the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

All the waters of the earth flow together into the ocean, and it may be that the ocean serves as the beginning of all the waters of the earth. The writings of the fathers are all united in the Gospel; they all incline towards teaching us the exact fulfilment of the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ; of all of them both the source and the end is the holy Gospel.

The Holy Fathers teach how to approach the Gospel, how to read it, how to understand it correctly, what helps and what hinders in comprehending it. And therefore in the beginning occupy yourself with the reading of the Fathers. When they have taught you how to read the Gospel, then read the Gospel primarily.

Do not consider it sufficient for yourself to read the Gospel alone, without the reading of the Holy Fathers! This is a proud, dangerous thought. Better, let the Holy Fathers lead you to the Gospel, as their beloved child who has received his preparatory upbringing and education by means of their writings.

Many people, all who have senselessly and presumptuously rejected the Holy Fathers, who have come without any intermediary, with a blind audacity, with an impure mind and heart to the Gospel, have fallen into fatal delusion. The Gospel has rejected them; it grants access to itself only to the humble.

The reading of the Fathers� writings is the father and the king of all virtues. From the reading of the Fathers� writings we learn the true understanding of Holy Scripture, right faith, the way of life in accord with the Gospel�s commandments, the deep esteem which one should have toward the Gospel commandments � to say it in a word, one learns salvation and Christian perfection.

Because of the diminishing of Spirit-bearing instructors, the reading of the Fathers� writings has become the main guide for those who wish to be saved and even attain Christian perfection. (Rule of St. Nil Sorsky)

The books of the Holy Fathers, as one of them has expressed it, are like a mirror; looking into them attentively and frequently, a soul can see all of its shortcomings.

Again, these books are like a rich collection of medicinal means; in them the soul can seek for each of its illnesses a saving remedy.

St. Ephphanius of Cyprus said, "A mere glance at holy books arouses one towards the pious life." (Alphabetic Patericon)

The reading of the Holy Fathers should be careful, attentive, and constant; our invisible enemy, who hates the voice of confirmation (Proverbs 11:15), hates especially when this voice comes forth from the Holy Fathers. This voice unmasks the wiles of our enemy, his evilness, reveals his snares, his way of working; and therefore the enemy arms himself against the reading of the Fathers by various proud and blasphemous thoughts, tries to cause the ascetic to fall into vain cares in order to distract him from this saving reading, fights with him by means of despondency, depression, forgetfulness. From this warfare against the reading of the Holy Fathers we should conclude how saving (is) the weaponry for us, by the degree to which it is hated by the enemy. The enemy makes all efforts to wrest it out of our hands.

Let each personally choose for himself the reading from the Fathers which corresponds to his way of life. Let the hermit read the Fathers who wrote about the solitary life; let the monk who lives in the cenobitic life read the Fathers who wrote instructions for cenobitic monks; let the Christian who lives in the world read the Holy Fathers who pronounced their teachings for all Christianity in general. Let everyone, in whatsoever calling he be, draw forth abundant instruction in the writings of the Fathers.

It is absolutely necessary that the reading correspond to one�s way of life. Otherwise you will be filled with thoughts which, although holy, will be unfulfillable in the actual deed and will arouse you to fruitless activity in only the imagination and desire; the work of piety which does correspond to your way of life will slip out of your hands. Not only will you become a fruitless dreamer � your thoughts, being in constant opposition to your sphere of activity, will without fail give birth to turmoil in your heart, and to uncertainty in your conduct, which are burdensome and harmful for you and for your neighbors. By an incorrect reading of Holy Scripture and the Holy Fathers, one can easily deviate from the saving path into impassable thickets and deep abysses, which has happened with many. Amen.

St.Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov

... Our distresses are notorious, even though we leave them untold, for now their sound has gone out into all the world. The doctrines of the Fathers are despised; apostolic traditions are set at nought; the devices of innovators are in vogue in the Churches; now men are rather contrivers of cunning systems than theologians; the wisdom of this world wins the highest prizes and has rejected the glory of the cross. Shepherds are banished, and in their places are introduced grievous wolves hurrying the flock of Christ. Houses of prayer have none to assemble in them; desert places are full of lamenting crowds. The elders lament when they compare the present with the past. The younger are yet more to be compassionated, for they do not know of what they have been deprived. All this is enough to stir the pity of men who have learnt the love of Christ; but, compared with the actual state of things, words fall very far short...

Saint Basil the Great
(Letter 90)

GODLINESS: TO KEEP WHAT IS GOD'S IN HONOR

(From a sermon delivered at a priests' conference at Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, New York, in 1966; Orthodox Russia, 1966, no. 19, p. 8)

What to do? With such a question I appealed in 1921 to an Optina Elder.... After going through the frightful revolutionary years of 1917, 1918, and 1919, when everything was collapsing and being destroyed, I came to a state which was simply pathological: why fight when everything is coming to an end? My outlook was transmitted to my close ones. The Revolution, the chaos as it were, confirmed my words for those around me.

I became a priest, but the conditions of my soul remained the same. And thus it was that I went to Optina to the Elder with the question: What to do?

The most important thing the Elder [Nectarius] told me was this: "The Church of Christ goes as it were on a railroad track. The path of the rails is known, it is defined, but you and I must pay attention to what happens in the coach which is on the rails. In the coach occurs the personal life of a man. A man goes in and out of the coach, and there will be an end to the rails, but the end of each person is separate: one leaves the coach earlier, another later, and here it is that Christian godliness is necessary.

"The dogmas of faith, faith itself is revealed to us, and none of us doubts it; but the confession of faith must be in godliness. 'No one is good save God alone'�this is to hold what is God's in honor. It is the Divine that must be our concern; it must enter into all sides of our life�personal, family, public. Godliness is disclosed to us by the daily Divine services. At the daily Midnight Service is read the 17th Kathisma, which is a disclosure of God's righteousness by the Prophet David to his son Solomon. And the Church offers the 17th Kathisma in order to reveal our inward being. One of the methods for godliness is given by the Holy Church in a spiritual exercise which trains our mind to the remembrance of the Name of God�'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us.' Monastics are given a prayer-rope, but for a priest in the world the prayerful remembrance of his spiritual children can serve for training in the remembrance of the Name of God."

And so: What to do? The Elder said: "Live in such away that what is God's will be in honor; and the first, the chief thing is your mind, which must be in God."

Alexamdr

How fitting are these words of a great saint and father of the Church, and how they seem to reflect the situation of what is happening today. It almost is worthwhile to break it down line by line and carefully examine it. For each could produce a contemporary reflection on its own merit as to the situations that dare to rob of us our patrimony and faith in the Church today.

Saint Basil the Great if you notice does not address society for that is of the world, but rather is addressing the church. He addresses a sickness that seems to infect the church periodically and has to be cured. He gives us all the warning signs, signs that we have been seeing and having pointed out more and more in recent days. If you are unaware then you must be hiding your head in the sand, for it is all around us. Men who tell us tradition and faith that have been handed down to us no longer counts. Innovation that usurps the role of the Church and its proper teachings, introduction of things that diminish God and His role in our lives. All of this in the name of pride, for that is what it is when the connive and plot on how to exalt themselves as to knowing more than the fathers of the Church and all that has been handed down to us. Intellectual wisdom does not bring us salvation but true spiritual wisdom that can be imparted only from the Christ and His Holy Church inviolate.

We constantly hear and read the lamentations of what was and how it used to be, and yet we are constantly told to leave that behind and instead look forward. As we do so our numbers diminish as those that are behind us fall away because we ignore the need to feed them with the bread of Life that we leave behind in our vision to go forward no matter what the cost, yet we too will be one of those soon enough falling behind and being lost and spiritually starved. Yet we seem to be blinded by this pride and spiritual ignorance. We think we know better and are better than God, and that pride and deceit will be our destruction yet.

Our Lord gives us some simple descriptions of Himself and His role in our salvation. In Saint John�s gospel (6:35) our Lord gives us these simple words, �I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.� Words that we seemingly ignore in regards to where our sustenance is to be found spiritually. He also tells us in the same gospel (14:6-7), �I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him.� Amazing words and directions, words that we should be asking of those that want us to turn and look only forward. Are we being truly fed by Christ or are we being starved into spiritual oblivion? Are we being taught the way, the truth and that which will bring us life or are we being slowly blinded by leaving the tradition and all we have inherited behind? These are very direct questions, but ones that are essential and fitting with the words of Saint Basil the Great.

The time is now to reclaim what is rightfully ours, our faith, our traditions and our patrimony. Many wolves are out there that seek to destroy us and spread their pernicious lies. Many lament and know exactly why we have lost many of our faithful, and yet are blinded by their own pride and deceit. The time is to wake up and demand what has been stolen from us. If we do that, they will cower and submit. Their pride will be wounded but eventually their eyes will be opened.

Saint Basil the Great�s words are one of warning, but also words of rallying. We can both accept the words of warning and do nothing to our own condemnation, or we can rally around the Church and all of its fullness that will lead us to the way, and the truth, and the life in Christ. The choice is yours, but I know which way I will try to lead to that which Saint Basil wants us calls us to, the Church of Christ in its fullness and tradition.

Just my humble reflection on the words of this great saint.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

Father Anthony:

Asking your blessing during this holy season.

I can't agree with you more. In fact, I didn't look to see who the author was until I had read the piece. At first I thought it might be something contemporary and out of place here.

Guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.

BTW, how are you doing?

Keeping your recovery in my prayers,

BOB

First of all it must be understood that it is the duty of all
Christians - especially of those whose calling dedicates them to
the spiritual life - to strive always and in every way to be
united with God, their creator, lover, benefactor, and their
supreme good, by Whom and for Whom they were created. This is
because the center and the final purpose of the soul, which God
created, must be God Himself alone, and nothing else - God whom
Whom the soul has received its life and its nature, and for Whom
it must eternally live.

St. Dimitry of Rostov

Therefore let us leave untouched the senseless speculations of the masses and the false doctrines, and turn to the teaching delivered to us in the beginning, let us be temperate and ready for our prayers, persevere in fasting, and fervently implore the All-seeing God not to expose us to temptations, since the Lord has said: 'The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.'

St. Polycarp, Epistle to the Philippians.

According to the text, `We are the body of Christ and each of us is one of its members' (cf. 1 Cor. 12:27), we are said to be the body of Christ. We do not become this body through the loss of our own bodies; nor again because Christ's Body passes into us hypostatically or is divided into members; but rather because we conform to the likeness of the Lord's flesh by shaking off the corruption of sin. For just as Christ in His manhood was sinless by nature both in flesh and in soul, so we too who believe in Him, and have clothed ourselves in Him through the Spirit, can be without sin to Him if we so choose.

St. Maximus the Confessor, Second Century on Theology, Philokalia, V. 2

Charity, it is said, `rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.' It often happens to us to see the unrighteous, sinful doings of men, or to hear of them, and we have a sinful habit of rejoicing at such doings, and of shamelessly expressing our joy by foolish laughter. This is wrong, unchristian, uncharitable and impious. It shows that we have not Christian love for our neighbor in our hearts: for charity `rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth .' Let us therefore, cease doing this so that we may not be condemned with the workers of iniquity.


St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.

[Charity] rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth. (1 Corinthians 13:6 KJV)

These selections from the Church Fathers are wonderful.

Thank you, Alexandr!

...we ought to learn the virtues through practicing them, not merely through talking about them, so that by acquiring the habit of them we do not forget what is of benefit to us. 'The kingdom of God', St. Paul says, 'resides not in words but in power' (I Cor. 4:20). For he who tries to discover things through actual practice will come to understand what gain or loss lies in any activity that he pursues..."

St. Peter of Damaskos (Book 1:A Treasury of Divine Knowledge, The Philokalia Vol. 3 pg. 183)

Alexandr

Adam, before the fall ... participated in ... divine illumination and resplendence, and because he was truly clothed in a garment of glory he was not naked, nor was he unseemly by reason of his nakedness. He was far more richly adorned than those who now deck themselves out with diadems of gold and brightly sparkling jewels.
St. Paul calls this divine illumination and grace our celestial dwelling when he says, 'For this we sigh, yearning to be clothed in our heavenly habitation, since clothed we will not be found naked' (2 Cor. 5:2).

St. Gregory Palamas (Topics of Natural and Theological Science no. 67, The Philokalia Vol. 4 edited by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware; Faber and Faber pg. 377)

Is there a quote of the day that you're getting these from Alexandr, or do you just find ones that you like and post them?

I reach over and pick up a book at random, let it fall open, and type whatever my eyes come to rest on. I have yet to not have something jump out at me that has a correlation to whatever is occuring in my life. Or else I'll be researching something else on the web, and a patristic quote will jump out at me. There really is no rationale on my part. I leave it in God's hands.

Alexandr

The perfection of the Christian life -- and I mean that life which is the only one the name of Christ is used to designate -- is that in which we participate not only by our mind and soul but in all the actions of our lives, so that our holiness may be complete, in accordance with the blessing pronounced by Paul, in our 'whole body and soul and spirit' (I Thess. 5:23), constantly guarded from all admixture with evil.

St. Gregory of Nyssa, From Glory to Glory

Virtues and vices are the food of the soul and it can feed on either one, turning to whichever one it wants. If it is bent toward moral excellence, it will be fed by virtue - by righteousness, temperance, meekness, endurance. In other words, it is just as St. Paul says, 'being nourished by the word of truth' (1 Tim. 4:6).


St. Ignatius of Antioch

[to a sick monk] Concerning fasting, do not grieve, as I have said to you before: God does not demand of anyone labors beyond his strength. And indeed, what is fasting if not a punishment of the body in order to humble a healthy body and make it infirm for passions, according to the word of the Apostle: "When I am weak, then am I strong" (II Corinthians 12:10).

"Saints Barsanuphius and John: Guidance Toward Spiritual Life," trans. by Fr. Seraphim Rose, (Platina, California: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1990)

Alexandr:

On meditating with these gems of the spiritual life, it strikes me that one of the Desert Fathers was right when he looked at himself on his deathbed and wondered if he had even begun to live the Christian life. It isn't a despairing look. It's a terrifically humbling experience to see how the Holy Spirit has perfected our Fathers and to understand how far we have to go. But knowing that the Lord loves us and gives us these spiritually nourishing words is encouragement since it shows us that we, too, can attain to levels that we cannot on our own imagine--yet with His help and His grace none of these levels of holiness is impossible.

Glory be to Jesus Christ!! Glory to Him forever and ever!!!

May your efforts to edify us, your brothers and sisters, be rewarded in the Kingdom and may you have a blessing for your efforts now, too.

In Christ,

BOB

For to despise the present age, not to love transitory things, unreservedly to stretch out the mind in humility to God and our neighbor, to preserve patience against offered insults and, with patience guarded, to repel the pain of malice from the heart, to give one's property to the poor, not to covet that of others, to esteem the friend in God, on God's account to love even those who are hostile, to mourn at the affliction of a neighbor, not to exult in the death of one who is an enemy, this is the new creature whom the Master of the nations seeks with watchful eye amid the other disciples, saying: "If, then, any be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away. Behold all things are made new" (2Cor. 5:17).

The Homilies of St. Gregory the Great On the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel

Seek God daily. But seek Him in your heart, not outside it. And when you find Him, stand with fear and trembling, like the Cherubim and Seraphim, for your heart has become a throne of God. But in order to find God, become humble as dust before the Lord, for the Lord abhors the proud; whereas He visits those that are humble in heart, wherefore He says: �To whom will I look, but to the one who is meek and humble in heart?�

St. Nectarius of Aegina

We must not artificially isolate ourselves from the reality of todays world; rather, we must learn to use the best things the world has to offer, for everything good in the world�if we are only wise enough to see it�points to God, and we must make use of it. Too many people make the mistake of limiting Orthodoxy to church services, set prayers, and the occasional reading of a spiritual book. True Orthodoxy, however, requires a commitment that involves every aspect of our lives. One is Orthodox all the time every day, in every situation of life�or one is not really Orthodox at all. For this reason we must develop an Orthodox worldview and live it.

"Living an Orthodox World-View", a lecture given at the St Herman Summer Pilgrimage, Platina, CA, August 1980; Orthodox America, Aug.-Sept. 1982.

And this is love, that we walk after His commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it." Divine Truth is contained and found in the commandments of the Gospel. Divine love gives us will, strength, and perseverance for we walk after the [divine] commandments, for we walk after His commandments in them and with them. Our love -- as much towards the Lord Christ as towards men -- consists of living according to the commandments of Christ. For at the end, everything comes back to this double commandment: the commandment of love of God and one's neighbor. This is why the holy Evangelist recalls all the commandments to a single one: This is the commandment, That ... you walk in it [love]. We now know that the entire Gospel of Christ is contained in the single commandment on love: he who lives in love lives in Christ God. Thus, he who fulfills the Gospel of God is deserving of heaven and earth.

Commentary on the Second Epistle of St. John by St. Archimandrite Justin Popovich, in Orthodox Life, #5, 1994

And [Naaman] dipped himself . . . seven times in the Jordan' [2 Kgs. 5:14]. It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [this served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions, being spiritually regenerated as new-born babes, even as the Lord has declared: `Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven'"

St. Irenaeus of Lyons (190 AD), Fragment 34

The Russian ascetic, Father Tychon, who lived sixty years on Mt.
Athos after he had visited three hundred monasteries in Russian, said,
"God blesses with one hand in the morning the entire world, and uses
both hands to bless the humble man. A humble person is above the whole
world."

from an Athonite Gerontikon

Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, came to Elisha with many gifts. And what did the prophet do? Did he go out to meet him? Did he run towards him? No, he sent a lad to find out why Naaman had come, and did not even admit him to his presence. This was to prevent anyone thinking that he had cured Naaman in return for the gifts that he brought (cf. 2King 5:8-16). This story, without teaching us to be arrogant, shows us that we should not flatter, because of our needs, those who value highly the very things it is our vocation to despise.

St. Neilos the Ascetic, Philokalia, Vol. 1

And the second commandment of the Teaching; 2. Thou shalt not commit murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not commit paederasty, thou shalt not commit fornication, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not practise magic, thou shalt not practise witchcraft, thou shalt not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is begotten."

Ante-Nicene Fathers: Volume VII, Apostolic Teachings and Constitutions, Chapter II. -The Second Commandment: Gross Sin Forbidden.)

In two things then was Abraham victorious: that he killed his son although he did not kill him and that he believed that after Isaac died he would be raised up again and would go back down with him. For Abraham was firmly convinced that He Who said to him, 'through Isaac shall your descendants be named,' was not lying.

St. Ephrem the Syrian, Commentary on Genesis

As long as the flesh is in full health, let us observe abstinence at all times and in every place. When it has been tamed (which I do not suppose is possible this side of the grave), then let us hide our accomplishment.

St. John Climacus, "The Ladder of Divine Ascent,
STEP 14: On That Clamorous Mistress, the Stomach

If you have promised Christ to go by the strait and narrow way, restrain your stomach, because by pleasing it and enlarging it, you break your contract. Attend and you will hear Him who says: "Spacious and broad is the way of the belly that leads to the perdition of fornication, and many there are who go in by it; because narrow is the gate and strait is the way of fasting that leads to the life of purity, and few there be that find it.

St. John Climacus, "The Ladder of Divine Ascent,
STEP 14: On That Clamorous Mistress, the Stomach

My belly is getting spacious and broad, I guess I'd better pay more attention to my fasting.

As the Feast of the Nativity draws near, my thoughts increasingly turn towards food, so here is another "Stomach" quote. I promise, last one!



On one occasion, a certain excellent man, who feared God in his life and works, and who was living in the world, went to Abba Poemen. Some of the brethren, who were also with the old man, were asking him questions, wishing to hear a word from him.

Then Abba Poemen said to the man who was in the world, "Speak a word to the brethren," but he begged him saying, "Forgive me, father, but I came to learn." And the old man pressed him to speak and, as the force of his urging increased, he said, "I am a man living in the world, and I sell vegetables, and because I do not know how to speak from a book, listen ye to a parable.

"There was a certain man who had three friends, and he said to the first, 'Since I desire to see the Emperor come with me,' and the friend said unto him, 'I will come with thee half the way.' And the man said to the second friend, 'Come, go with me to the Emperor's presence,' and the friend said to him, 'I will come with thee as far as his palace, but I cannot go with thee inside.'

"And the man said the same unto his third friend, who answered and said, 'I will come with thee, and I will go inside the palace with thee, and I will even stand up before the Emperor and speak on thy behalf.'"

Then the brethren questioned him, wishing to learn from him the meaning of the riddle, and he answered and said unto them, "The first friend is abstinence, which leadeth as far as one half of the way. The second friend is purity and holiness, which lead to heaven. And the third friend is loving-kindness, which establishes a man before God and speaketh on his behalf with great boldness.

E. A. Wallis Budge, "The Paradise of the Holy Fathers, vol. II, p. 102

Abstinence from what?

Dr Eric,

Try food, or anything else that can be considered worldly. What is being pointed out is quite obvious, we no longer take what is needed to sustain ourselves, but rather overindulge to the point that we we focus on our own desires instead of what is necessary to achieve salvation. All you have to do is look TV or any other thing that is media oriented and it should be quite obvious.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

Amma Theodora said, "It is good to live in peace, for the wise man practices perpetual prayer. It is truly a great thing for a virgin or a monk to live in peace, especially for the younger ones. However, you should realize that as soon as you intend to live in peace, at once evil comes and weighs down your soul through accidie, faintheartedness, and evil thoughts. It also attacks your body through sickness, debility, weakening of the knees, and all the members. It dissipates the strength of soul and body, so that one believes one is ill and no longer able to pray. But if we are vigilant, all these temptations fall away. There was, in fact a monk who was seized by cold and fever every time he began to pray, and he suffered from headaches, too. In this condition, he said to himself, 'I am ill, and near to death; so now I will get up before I die and pray.' By reasoning in this way, he did violence to himself and prayed, When he had finished, the fever abated also. So, by reasoning in this way, the brother resisted, and prayed and was able to conquer his thoughts.



Sr. Benedicta Ward, "The Desert Christian," (New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1975), pp. 83-84

... He comes not as a fierce man of war, threatening all things living with death, but as a newly born babe, bringing the hope of rebirth and life into the entire realm of death; He comes--but the land of destruction does not meet, does not embrace, does not praise, does not even see its Saviour, and does not hear the Word of God keeping silence in a manger. Virtually in vain does the glory which Jesus Christ had with God the Father before the world was (John 17:5) on the lips of the angels, follow Him descending into the world and pursuing Him, attain even unto the earth.

Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow

... The incorporeal and incorruptible and immaterial Word of God entered our world. In one sense, indeed, He was not far From it before, for no part of creation had ever been without Him Who, while ever abiding in union with the Father, yet fills all things that are. But now He entered the world in a new way, stooping to our level in His love and Self-revealing to us.

St. Athanasius the Great

... Today the Lord is born, the life and salvation of mankind; today a reconciliation is made of Divinity to humanity, and of humanity to Divinity; today all creation has leapt for joy; those above sent toward those below; and those below towards those above; today occurred the death of darkness and the life of humanity; today a way was made toward God for man and a way for God into the soul.

St. Macarius the Great

...He comes not as a fierce man of war, threatening all things living with death, but as a newly born babe, bringing the hope of rebirth and life into the entire realm of death; He comes--but the land of destruction does not meet, does not embrace, does not praise, does not even see its Saviour, and does not hear the Word of God keeping silence in a manger. Virtually in vain does the glory which Jesus Christ had with God the Father before the world was (John 17:5) on the lips of the angels, follow Him descending into the world and pursuing Him, attain even unto the earth."

Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow

He became a servant on earth; He was Lord on high. Inheritor of the height and depth, Who became a stranger. But the One Who was judged wrongly will judge in truth, and He in Whose face they spat, breathed the spirit into the face. He Who held a weak reed was the scepter for the world that grows old and leans on Him. He Who stood [and] served His servants, sitting, will be worshipped. He Whom the Scribes scorned -- the Seraphim sang "holy" before Him.

St. Ephraim the Syrian, Hymns on the Nativity

He who sits at the right hand of the Father goes without shelter at the inn, that He may for us prepare many mansions in the house of His heavenly Father ... He was born, not in the house of His parents, but at the inn, by the wayside, because through the mystery of the Incarnation He is become the Way, by which He guides us to our home .

Venerable Bede

Jesus Christ, radiant center of glory, image of our God, the invisible Father, revealer of His eternal designs, prince of peace; Father of the world to come. For our sake he took the likeness of a slave, becoming flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, for our sake, wrapped in swaddling bands and laid in a manger adored by the shepherds and hymned by the angelic powers, who sang: Glory to God in the heavens and on earth peace and good to men. Make us worthy, Lord, to celebrate and to conclude in peace the feast which magnifies the rising of Thy light, by avoiding empty words, working with justice, fleeing from the passions, and raising up the spirit above earthly goods. Bless Thy Church, formed long ago to be united with Thou through Thy life-giving blood. Come to the aid of Thy faithful shepherds, of the priests and the teachers of the Gospel. Bless Thy faithful whose only hope is in Thy mercy; Christian souls, the sick, those who are tormented in spirit, and those who have asked us to pray for them. Have pity, in Thy infinite clemency, and preserve us in fitness to receive the future, endless, good things. We celebrate Thy glorious Nativity with the Father who sent thee for our redemption, with the life-giving Spirit, now and for ever and through all ages. Amen

an ancient Syriac liturgy

Joseph was amazed as he saw what was supernatural. He understood, O Virgin, the rain upon the fleece In thy conception without seed. And he understood the bush that burned without fire and was unconsumed, And Aaron's rod, which blossomed. Indeed, thy betrothed and guardian cried out to the priests: "A virgin gives birth, and after the birth remains a virgin.

The Kontakia of Romanos, Vol. II, On the Annunciation II

Melchizadek anticipated Him; he the vicar was watching to see priesthood's Lord Whose hyssop cleanses creation. Lot saw the Sodomites who perverted nature; he looked for the Lord of natures Who gave chastity beyond nature. Aaron anticipated Him - he who saw that if his staff swallowed reptiles,

His cross would swallow the Reptile that swallowed Adam and Eve. Moses saw the fixed serpent that healed the stings of basilisks, and he anticipated he would see the Healer of the first Serpent's wound.

Moses saw the he alone received the brightness of God, and he anticipated the One to come - by His teaching, the Multiplier of the godlike.

St. Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns (On the Nativity.)

Nets and snares were fashioned, then, For the young fawn of the Virgin and Mother of God, But the trap was broken and the fawn escaped, tearing the snare.

With His mother, like a blameless deer, He fled Into Egypt, as Micah once said. O Thou Who art everywhere and Who rulest over all, where dost Thou flee?

Where dost Thou lead? In what city Shalt Thou make Thy dwelling? What house will contain Thee, what place will support Thee? No part of creation anywhere is invisible to Thy sight, But all things are laid bare to Thee, Thou art the Maker of All, O Christ. Why, then, dost Thou flee, Holy One? Because of Thee, Herod mourns as he weeps That his power will soon be destroyed.

St Romanos the Melodist - On the Massacre of the Innocents (Flight into Egypt).

The Firstborn, Who was begotten according to His nature, underwent yet another birth outside His nature, so that we too would understand that after our natural birth, we must undergo another (birth) outside our nature. As a spiritual being, He was unable to become physical until the time of physical birth. And so too physical beings, unless they undergo another birth, cannot become spiritual. The Son, Whose birth is beyond investigation, underwent another birth which can be investigated. So, by the one we learn that His majesty is limitless, and by the other we realize that His goodness is boundless. For His majesty increases without bounds, Whose first birth cannot be imagined by any mind, and His goodness overflows without limit, Whose other birth is proclaimed by every mouth.

St. Ephrem the Syrian, Homily on Our Lord

The Virgin today gives birth to the superessential One, And the earth proffers the cave to the unapproachable One. Angels with the shepherds sing song of praise; The Magi, with the star to guide pursue their way. For us there has been born, A newborn babe, the God before time.

Romanos the Melodist(Kontakia on the Person of Christ: On the Nativity I)

The purpose of the advent of the Saviour, when He gave us His life-giving commandments as purifying remedies in our passionate state, was to cleanse the soul from the damage done by the first transgression and bring it back to its original state. What medicines are for a sick body, that the commandments are for the passionate soul.

St. Isaac of Syria

The vine which produced the unfertilized fruit carried It as though in the encircling arms of the branches, and said: 'Thou, my fruit, my life, By Whom I am known as I am and was. Thou art my God. As I behold the seal of my virginity unbroken, I proclaim Thee the immutable Word become flesh. I know no seed; I know Thee as one who delivers from corruption; For I am pure after having Thee as issue from me; For Thou hast left my womb as Thou hast found it; Thou hast kept it safe. For this reason the whole creation rejoices with me, crying: Mary, full of grace.'

The Kontakia of Romanos, On the Nativity II

Think not, therefore, it is of small things thou art hearing, when thou hearest of this birth, but rouse up thy mind, and straightway tremble, being told that God hath come upon earth. For so marvellous was this, and beyond expectation, that because of these things the very angels formed a choir, and in behalf of the world offered up their praise for them, and the prophets from the first were amazed at this, that "He was seen upon earth, and conversed with men(7)." Yea, for it is far beyond all thought to hear that God the Unspeakable, (8) the Unutterable, the Incomprehensible, and He that is equal to the Father, hath passed through a virgin's womb, and hath vouchsafed to be born of a woman, and to have Abraham and David for forefathers.

St John Chrysostom, Gospel According To St. Matthew, Homily 2

�Now the day of mercy has shown forth! Let no one persecute his neighbor with revenge for the wrong he has caused him! The day of joy has arrived! Let no one be guilty of causing sorrow and grief to another person. This is a cloudless and bright day!

"Let anger be stilled for it disturbs peace and tranquility. This is the day in which God descended to sinners! Let the righteous man be ashamed to exalt himself over sinners. This is the day when the Lord of creation came to servants! Let the master of the house humble himself in similar love to his servants. This is the day on which the Wealthy One became poor for our sake! Let not the rich be ashamed to share their table with the poor.

St. Ephrem the Syrian


A Blessed and Glorious Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to one and all!

Alexandr

Wonderful words today Alexandr [ well it has also to be added - as usual ]

Each and every one of them strikes home

"Good and God-loving men accuse people of something bad when they are present, but when they are absent they not only refrain from accusing them, but do not permit others to do so when they attempt to speak of them."

From St. Anthony the Great (170 Texts on Saintly Life no. 30) REF:Fr Seraphim Rose, "Letters"

The man who endures accusations against himself with humility has arrived at perfection. He is marvelled at by the holy angels, for there is no other virtue so great and so hard to achieve.

St Isaac the Syrian

God is nearer to us than any man at every time. He is nearer to me than my raiment, nearer than the air or light, nearer than my wife, father, mother, daughter, son or friend. I live in Him, soul and body. I breathe in Him, think in Him, feel, consider, intend, speak, undertake, work in Him. `For in Him we live, and move, and have our being' (Acts 17:28).

St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ

And when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. And for three days he could not see.

By no means would he [Saul] have been able to see well again unless he had first been fully blinded. Also, when he had rejected his own wisdom, which was confusing him, he could commit himself totally to faith. Since he had not believed that the Lord had conquered death by rising on the third day, he was now taught by his own experience of the replacement of three days of darkness by the return of the light.

Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles from the Venerable Bede

Adam, God's first-formed man, transgressed: could He[God] not at once have brought death upon him? But see what the Lord does, in His great love towards man. He casts him out from Paradise, for because of sin he was unworthy to live there; but He puts him to dwell over against Paradise: that seeing whence he had fallen, and from what and into what a state he was brought down, he might afterwards be saved by repentance.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechetical Lectures: Lecture 2 no. 7)

God did not bless Adam in Paradise, because that place and all that is in it is blessed. But God blessed him on the earth first so that by that blessing without which His grace blessed beforehand, the curse of the earth, which was about to be cursed by His justice, might thus be diminished. But even though the blessing was one of promise, in that it was fulfilled after his expulsion from Paradise, His grace, nevertheless, was of actuality, for on that same day, God set Adam in the garden to dwell, clothed him with glory and made him ruler of all the trees of Paradise.

St. Ephrem the Syrian, Commentary on Genesis

Great stuff, keep 'em coming!

Seek, my child, the nobility of the soul, for it is truth; that of the body is false. Do not seek honor from men, for this injures one; but rather, seek heavenly glory . . . . Thou art to be sympathetic with all the brethren and help them as much as possible; and, thou art to minister unto them that are unable or weak. Do not desire to live by another's labors . . . . Never ridicule anyone, and especially when they are in misfortune. When thou wilt hear that a certain brother is disorderly, supplicate God to correct his life. Visit and help the sick, and serve the brethren as their servant; so thou might be a friend of Christ Who, for thy sake, became a servant and minister. Always heed, my child, not to fall into temptations. However, if it happens that thou shouldst fall, straightway, rise up and amend thyself with repentance, and again hasten to prayer. In this manner, live thy life, my child, and God shall always hearken to thee and help thee in soul and body.

St. Theodora of Alexandria, "The Lives of the Spiritual Mothers: An Orthodox Materikon of Women Monastics and Ascetics

Every man whose effort is to become truly spiritual must try to hold himself aloof from noisy crowds and not go near them, so as to be outside the vortex and turmoil of men in body, heart and mind; for where there are men, there is turmoil. Our Lord showed us an example of withdrawal from people and solitude when He used to go alone up into a mountain to pray. In the wilderness too he conquered the devil, who dared to wrestle with Him. Naturally He was not powerless to conquer him even among the multitude; but He acted thus to teach us that we can more easily overcome the enemy and reach perfection in silence and solitude. Neither did the Lord show His glory to the disciples in the midst of people, but led them up into a mountain and there showed them His glory. John the Forerunner also dwelt in the wilderness until he appeared to Israel. In the world it is easier for the enemy to press upon us with his weapons, both inner and outer; attracting some men as helpers and assistants obedient to him, he there wages war against the faithful. Some shameless woman may serve as a very strong weapon to him, spreading wide her ensnaring nets. When Ezekiel saw four living creatures, each with four faces, all showing the glory of the Lord, he was not in a city or a village but outside in a plain; for God said to him, "Arise, and go forth into the plain, and there shalt thou be spoken to" (Ezekiel 3:22). In general such visions and revelations were given to the saints only in mountains and wilderness. Prophet Jeremiah, knowing how much solitude pleases God, also said, "It is good for a man when he bears a yoke in his youth. He will sit alone, and be silent" (Lamentations 3:27-28). Again, knowing well how much harm human talk brings to those who want to please God, he could not refrain from saying, "Who would give me a most distant lodge in the wilderness, that I might leave my people, and depart from them?" (Jeremiah 9:2). Also Prophet Elijah received food from the angels, and this not among a crowd of people, nor in a city or a village, but in the wilderness. All these and similar things, which occurred to the saints, were written to persuade us to imitate those who loved retirement, for it can lead us too to the Lord. So try to be well grounded in it, that you may be led to the vision of God, which is the most spiritual contemplation.

St Anthony the Great, "Early Fathers From the Philokalia," by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, (London: Faber and Faber, 1954), pp. 46-51

Thank you so much Alexandr for posting this today.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

Some thoughts after reading this, (which even married priests struggle with)..

Indeed, where there are people, there is turmoil. These people can be family, friends, co-workers, fellow church goers, etc. I have felt that those times which I have avoided people, have been my most spiritual times and perhaps, even, the times I have been closest to God. However, we are not all called to the monastic life, and taking this route of seclusion can be dangerous to one's marriage and family life.

Our most difficult ascesis in the spiritual life, and most especially in today's secularly oriented world, is *balance*. It is very difficult to keep the scales balanced...either scale being tipped is not good for those called to the Christian family life.

So, if we are called to be in the world, we must continually strive to not be 'of the world'...atleast, not too much. We need to struggle with loving others, even those who are not loveable, forgiving others, being peaceful with others, being humble to others, limiting our egos, and deferring to others, having integrity with others in all sorts of conversation and dealings without sounding self-righteous or acting holier-than-thou, and not being judgemental of others, even when our guts tell us that they are wrong--and always remembering that we, too, probably do much that others can judge us on as well...I especially like an old fashioned Greek saying/response to diplomatically end a conversation when someone was being judged: 'it is their accounting for, not mine'.

All this is so difficult. That is why we can temporarily take comfort in words of the Desert Fathers as Alexandr so lovingly posts for us...in the form of temporary monastic retreats in which we leave behind all the 'turmoil' of others and of the world.

In Christ,
Alice

It was revealed to Abba Anthony that there was one in the city who was his equal. He was a doctor by profession and whatever he had beyond his needs he gave to the poor, and every day he sang the Sanctus with the angels (from Sayings of the Desert Fathers).

Beware of the counsels of the evil one, if he should come in the guise of one professing truth to beguile you and lead you into deceit. Even if he should come to you as an angel of light, do not believe him or obey him; for he is apt to fascinate the faithful by the attractive semblance of truth. Those who are not perfect do not know these wiles of the devil and are not aware of what he is constantly putting into them; but the perfect know, as the Apostle says, "But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Hebrews 5:14). These the devil cannot seduce; but he easily fascinates those faithful, who keep scant attention on themselves, by a bait which appears sweet, and he catches them as a fisherman catches fish with a hook hidden in the bait . . . as Solomon says, "There are ways that seem to be right to a man, but the end of them looks to the depth of hell" (Proverbs 16:25). These things happen to them because in their self-reliance they always follow the inclinations of their heart and fulfill their own desires, not listening to their fathers or asking their advice. So the devil shows them visions and illusions, and puffs up their hearts with pride. Sometimes he sends them dreams at night, which he fulfills in the daytime, thus to plunge them into greater prelest. More than that, he at times shows them light at night, so that the place where they are becomes bright; and he does many other things mistaken for true signs. He does all this to set their mind at rest as regards himself and make them accept him for an angel. As soon as they have accepted him as such, he hurls them down from their height, through the spirit of pride which takes possession of them. He strives to keep them in the conviction that they have become greater and more glorious in spirit than many others and have no need to turn to their fathers and listen to them. But they, according to the Scriptures, are in reality clusters of grapes, shiny but bitter and unripe. Directions of the fathers are onerous for them, for they are convinced that they know everything already.

Anthony the Great, "Early Fathers From the Philokalia," by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, (London: Faber and Faber, 1954), pp. 52-54

Sometimes afflictions are sent to a person even though he is innocent, so that he would suffer for others, as did Christ. The Saviour Himself first suffered for people. His Apostles suffered for the Church and for people. Perfect love means suffering for your neighbor.

St. Ambrose of Optina (+1891)

So the Orthodox believe in redemptive suffering and victim souls like some Catholics do? Very interesting.

A human being who does not endure courageously the unpleasant burdens of temptations, will never produce fruit worthy of the divine wine-press and eternal harvest, not even if one possesses all other virtues. For one is only perfected through zealously enduring both all the voluntary and involuntary afflictions.

St. Gregory Palamas, Treatise on the Spiritual Life

As long as we are in this world, let us repent with our whole heart of the evil things which we have done in the flesh, so that we may be saved by the Lord while we still have time for repentance. For after we have departed from the world, we are no longer able there either to confess or to repent anymore.

Second Clement, c. A.D. 100.

�Send your treasures to the heavenly storage room. Deposit your wealth in God�s Bank, distributing it to the poor, the orphans and the widows, so that you can receive a million times more in the Second coming of Christ�

Elder Joseph the Hesychast

Do not works precede Scripture and Tradition? Does not Tradition precede Scripture? Were not the works of Noah, Abraham, the Forefathers and representatives of the Church of the Old Testament pleasing to God? And did not the tradition exist among the Patriarchs, beginning with Adam, the forefather of all? Did not Christ give liberty to men and teaching by word of mouth before the Holy Apostles by their writings bore witness to the work of redemption and the law of liberty? Wherefore, between Tradition, works and Scripture, there is no contradiction, but, on the contrary, complete agreement.

A. Khomiakov, The Church is One

A man is not saved by having once shown mercy to someone, although, if he scorns someone but once, he merits eternal fire. For 'hungered' and 'thirsty' is said not of one occasion, not of one day, but of the whole life. In the same way 'ye gave me meat', 'ye gave me drink', 'ye clothed me', and so on, does not indicate one incident, but a constant attitude to everyone. Our Lord Jesus Christ said that He Himself accepts such mercy from His slaves (in the person of the needy).

Archimandrite Sophrony (His Life is Mine, Chapter 9

A monk had a brother living in the world who was poor, and so he supplied him with all he received from his work. But the more the monk supplied, the poorer the brother became. So the monk went to tell an old man about it. The old man said to him, "If you want my advice, do not give him anything more, but say to him, 'Brother, when I had something I supplied you; now bring me what you get from your work.' Take all he brings you, and whenever you see a stranger or a poor man, give him some of it, begging him to pray for him."

The monk went away and did this. When his secular brother came, he spoke to him as the old man had said, and the brother went sadly away. The first day, taking some vegetables from his field, he brought them to the monk. The monk took them and gave them to the old men, begging them to pray for his brother, and after the blessing he returned home. In the same way, another time, the brother brought the monk some vegetables and three loaves, which he took, doing as on the first occasion, and having received the blessing he went away.

And the secular brother came a third time bringing many provisions, some bread, and fish. Seeing this, the monk was full of wonder, and he invited the poor so as to give them refreshment. The he said to his brother, "Do you not need a little bread?" The other said to him, "No, for when I used to receive something from you, it was like fire coming into my house and burning it, but now that I receive nothing from you, God blesses me."

Then the monk went to tell the old man all that had happened, and the old man said to him, "Do you not know that the work of the monk is of fire, and where it enters, it burns? It helps your brother more to do alms with what he reaps from his field, and to receive the prayers of the saints and thus to be blessed."

"The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers"

On one occasion Abba Ammon went to Abba Anthony, and he lost his way, and sat down for a little and fell asleep; and he rose up from his slumber, and prayed unto God, and said, "I beg Thee, O Lord God, not to destroy that which Thou hast fashioned." Then he lifted up his eyes, and behold, there was the form of a man's hand above him in the heavens, and it showed him the way until he came and stood above the cave of Abba Anthony; and when he had gone into the cave of the old man, Abba Anthony prophesied unto him, saying, "You shall increase in the fear of God." Then he took him outside the cave, and showing him a stone, said, "Curse this stone, and strike it," and he did so. Abba Anthony said unto him, "It is thus that you shall arrive at this state, for you shall bear heaviness, and great abuse;" and this actually happened to Abba Ammon.

Now, through his abundant goodness, Abba Ammon knew not wickedness. And after he had become a bishop, through his spiritual excellence they brought unto him a young girl who had conceived, and they said unto him, "So-and-so has done this deed; let them receive correction." But he made the sign of the Cross over her stomach and ordered them to give her six pair of linen cloths, and he said, "When she delivers, either she or the child will die, and if either dies let them be buried." Then those who were with him said unto him, "What is this that you have done? Give the command that they receive correction." And he said unto them, "See, my brothers, she is nigh unto death; what can I do?" Then he dismissed her.

And the old man never ventured to judge anyone, for he was full of loving kindness and endless goodness to all the children of men.

E. A. Wallis Budge, "The Paradise of the Holy Fathers,"

...advance into battle without hesitation. Should you be visited by the troubling thought of the hatred and undying malice, which the enemies harbor against you, and of the innumerable hosts of the demons, think on the other hand of the infinitely greater power of God and of His love for you, as well as of the incomparably greater hosts of heavenly angels and the prayers of saints. They all fight secretly for us and with us against our enemies...

Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 15)

Demons often transform themselves into angels of light and take the form of martyrs, and make it appear to us during sleep that we are in communication with them. Then, when we wake up, they plunge us into unholy joy and conceit. But you can detect their deceit by this very fact. For angles reveal torments, judgments and separations; and when we wake up we find that we are trembling and sad. As soon as we begin to believe the demons in dreams, then they make sport of us when we are awake too. He who believes in dreams is completely inexperienced. 'But he who distrusts all dreams is a wise man. Only believe dreams that warn you of torments and judgments. But if despair afflicts you, then such dreams are also from demons.

St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent

Alexandr:

Noticed your online icon. Hope you don't have the flu that is going around.

Your brother in Christ,

Bob

Even if an angel should indeed appear to you, do not receive him but humiliate yourself, saying, 'I am not worthy to see an angel, for I am a sinner.'

St. Clement of Rome

Do not let the sun go down on the anger of your brother (Eph. 4:26); that is, let no one be angry and enraged against his brother until the setting of the sun.

Elder Ephraim of Philotheou Mount Athos, "Counsels from the Holy Mountain"

A brother asked Abba Isidore the priest, "Why are the demons so frightened of you?" The old man said to him, "Because, ever since the day I began practicing ascesis, I have striven to prevent anger from reaching my lips.

The Desert Fathers

BROTHER: What is purity of soul?

OLD MAN: Remoteness from anger and from the error of the remembrance of evil things, and being weaned from the bitter nature, and reconciliation with our enemies, and peace which is beyond troubling, and simplicity of love which is above this world; with these things is the inner man cleansed, and he puts on Christ and is redeemed.

E. A. Wallis Budge, "The Paradise of the Holy Fathers

He who has put a stop to anger has also destroyed remembrance of wrongs; because childbirth continues only while the father is alive.

St. John Climacus, �The Ladder of Divine Ascent

St. Gregory of Nyssa said that birds and other animals rejoice because of their lack of awareness, while man, being endowed with intelligence, is never happy because of his grief. For, he says, we have not been found worthy even to have knowledge of the blessings we have lost. For this reason nature teaches us rather to grieve, since life is full of pain and effort, like a state of exile dominated by sin.

But if a person is constantly mindful of God, he will rejoice: as the psalmist says, "I remembered God, and I rejoiced" (Psalms 77:3). For when the intellect is gladdened by the remembrance of God, then it forgets the afflictions of this world, places its hope in Him, and is no longer troubled or anxious.

St. Peter of Damaskos, "JOY" (from "The 24 Discourses), "The Philokalia vol. III," - pp. 260 - 263.

Like a flaming pillar in the deepest darkness, so is the coming of God among men. The news of this coming began with an angel and a maiden, with a conversation between heavenly and earthly purity. When an impure heart converses with a pure one, there is strife. When an impure heart converses with a pure one, there is strife. Only when a pure heart converses with a pure one is there joy, peace and a great wonder

St. Nicolai Velimirovich, HOMILY ON THE ANNUNCIATION

When the holy Abba Anthony lived in the desert he was beset by boredom, and attacked by many sinful thoughts. He said to God, 'Lord, I want to be saved but these thoughts do not leave me alone; what shall I do in my affliction? How can I be saved?'

A short while afterwards, when he got up to go out, Anthony saw a man like himself sitting at his work, getting up from his work to pray, then sitting down and plaiting a rope, then getting up again to pray. It was an angel of the Lord sent to correct and reassure him: 'Do this and you will be saved.' At these words, Anthony was filled with joy and courage. He did this, and he was saved.

The Desert Fathers

Guard thyself then, O man; thou hast the signs of Antichrist; and remember them not only thyself, but impart them also freely to all. If thou hast a child according to the flesh, admonish him of this now; if thou hast begotten one through catechizing, put him also on his guard, test he receive the false one as the True. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work. I fear these wars of the nations; I fear the schisms of the Churches; I fear the mutual hatred of the brethren. But enough on this subject; only God forbid that it should be fulfilled in our days; nevertheless, let us be on our guard. And thus much concerning Antichrist.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture XV

All men ,led by the light of fallen nature alienated from guidance of God's light ,will be enticed into submission to the seducer(antichrist).

St Ignaty Brianchaninov

�We firmly believe that the Church will never fall, will never waiver and will not be destroyed. For this is what Christ taught, by Whom the heavens were established and the earth was founded, and stands firmly as the Holy Spirit says�. (Ps. 32:6) The Antichrist will lure to himself �those who have a weak and feeble mind, will seduce and will tear them away from the living God.�

St. John of Damascus, Oration on the Transfiguration of the Lord

Never before on this earth has there been such a huge number of people who freely and easily, without any shame, without any pangs of conscience "call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20).

Archbishop Averky of Syracuse (of Blessed Memory)

Truly never before has the cross of each person who wants to be a true Christian been as heavy as in this time of the triumph of falsehood which we are experiencing.

Archbishop Averky of Syracuse (of Blessed Memory)

You can say that again!

Whatever Fr. Macarius advised, he always put humility at the forefront of his counsels; from that virtue he brought forth all the subsequent virtues which make up the character of a true Christian. Here is the essence of the lessons Fr. Macarius taught to all who thirsted for his instructions and edification: to examine your conscience; to continually struggle with your passions; to cleanse your soul of sins; to love God in the simplicity of your heart; to believe in Him without calculating; to have unceasingly before you His limitless mercy, and with all the strength of your soul to praise and bless Him in all of life's unpleasant circumstances; to look for your own guilt, and forgive any trespass of your neighbor against you in order to obtain God's forgiveness for your sins; to try to establish love for your neighbor in yourself; to preserve peace and tranquility in your family and acquaintances; to recall more often the commandments of God and to try to fulfill them, as well as the decrees of the Church; if possible, to go to confession and partake of the Holy Mysteries several times a year; to observe all four fast periods, as well as Wednesdays and Fridays; to attend Vigil and Liturgy on every feast day; to say morning and evening prayers and even a few psalms every day, and, if time allows, to read a chapter of the Gospels or the Epistles of the Apostle; to pray every morning and evening for the repose of the departed and the salvation of the living, and, at the beginning of this prayer, to pray with reverence for the Sovereign Tsar and all the Royal Family. If, under whatever circumstances, you cannot fulfill these obligations, then reproach yourself so as to sincerely repent, and make a firm resolve not to fail likewise in the future. Pray even for those against whom you bear some ill will, for this is the surest means towards reconciliation in Christ.

From the "Reminiscences of a Spiritual Son" in Elder Macarius of Optina (Platina, CA: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood Press, 1995), pp. 357-358.

Alexandr

Alexandr,

I'm glad to see these are up and running again.

Dr. Eric

The "principal characteristics" of the zealot according to knowledge are the following: "fervent love for God and neighbor, gentleness, religious tolerance, forbearance, graciousness of manner." St Nectarios of Aegina

Prayer is grace. God gives it when there exists zeal and humility� Let Christ not be missing from your heart.

Elder Amphilochios of Patmos +1970

Dear Alexandr,

I am thrilled to see these words of wisdom again...

and happy to see you back, hoping that you are now feeling better.

In Christ,
Alice

Alexandr,

Great quotes!

I'm glad to see you back here!

Keep 'em comin'!

Have you realized that the world and worldly cares do not hinder in fulfilling God's commandments, when there is zeal and attention? That silence and retirement from the world are useless, if laziness and negligence prevail?"

St. Simeon the New Theologian

The non-possessive ascetic is a son of detachment, and thinks of what he has as if it were nothing. When he becomes a solitary, he regards everything as refuse. But if he worries about something, he has not yet become non-possessive.

St. John Climacus, "The Ladder of Divine Ascent,"

The good Lord shows His great care for us in that the shamelessness of the feminine sex is checked by shyness as with a sort of bit. For if the woman were to run after the man, no flesh would be saved.

St. John Climacus, "The Ladder of Divine Ascent

Oh dear!!!
Not to make light of this, but anyone with children will know how much this has changed.
In my day we used to wait for phone calls from boys, today's girls take matters into their own hands and call the boys!

Alice

I must agree. That's why I was scared of dating.

Sometimes a guy has to beat them off with a stick.

Terry

A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, "You are mad; you are not like us.

St. Anthony the Great

O St. Anthony, the time is already here!

Kind of an early prophecy that was fleshed in by St. Nilus, concerning the 20th centruy.

An Athonite elder said, "Blasphemous thoughts are like airplanes that annoy us, against our will, with their noise, and we are powerless to prevent them. The heavy anti-aircraft battery is psalmody, because it is both prayer to Christ and disdain for the devil."

an Athonite Gerontikon

Wherefore on no account suffer any evil habit to master thee; but, while it is yet young, pluck the evil root out of thine heart, lest it fasten on and strike root so deep that time and labor be required to uproot it. And the reason that greater sins assault us and get the mastery of our souls is that those which appear to be less, such as wicked thoughts, unseemly words and evil communications, fail to receive proper correction.

St. John Damascene, Barlaam and Ioasaph

Do all in your power not to fall, for the strong athlete should not fall. But if you do fall, get up again at once and continue the contest. Even if you fall a thousand times because of the withdrawal of God's grace, rise up again each time, and keep on doing so until the day of your death. For it is written, "If a righteous man fall seven times" -- that is, repeatedly throughout his life -- seven times "shall he rise again" (Proverbs 24:16). So long as you hold fast, with tears and prayer, to the weapon of the monastic habit, you will be counted among those that stand upright, even though you fall again and again. So long as you remain a monk, you will be like a brave soldier who faces the blows of the enemy; and God will commend you, because even when struck you refused to surrender or run away. But if you give up the monastic life, running away like a coward and a deserter, the enemy will strike you in the back; and you will lose your freedom of communion with God.

St. John of Karpathos "The Philokalia

ALEXANDR:

I suspect that St. John would agree with this paraphrase for those of us who are of the laity:

"So long as you remain a Christian, you will be like a brave soldier who faces the blows of the enemy; and God will commend you, because even when struck you refused to surrender or run away. But if you give up the struggle, running away like a coward and a deserter, the enemy will strike you in the back; and you will lose your freedom of communion with God.

Thank God for you, first of all, and thank you for posting this thought-provoking passage.

In Christ,

BOB

Bob,

Whether we are of the laity or bound by monastic habit, we strive for the same goal, and face the same enemy. I heard once the laity compared to the Army and monasticism compared to Special Forces. The enemy sends his crack troops against the special forces, but does not overlook the army by any means.
So yes, your paraphrase is a very apt adaptation for the laity, in my humble opinion.

Alexandr

One who has an evil heart should not despair, for with God�s help, one can correct his heart. He must only remain vigilant and miss no opportunity to help his neighbors. He must open himself up before his elder, and must be as charitable as possible. This, of course cannot be accomplished all at once, but the Lord is very patient. He brings a person�s life to an end only when He sees him ready to depart into eternity or when he sees no hope for his correction.

Counsels of the Venerable Elder St. Amvrossy of Optina

Alexandr

" . . . or when He sees no hope for his correction."

What a chilling thought, though so true, given human nature and the fickleness of the human heart. I guess this is something that should be taped to the mirror so we could see it at the beginning and the end of each day.

Lord Jesus, give us the grace You know we need so that we may never be found in this state.

BOB

The dearest thing of all for the Christian is the Truth, for the sake of witnessing to which the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth, as He Himself said to Pilate (Jn 18:37). And for the true Christian there can be only one desirable unity--unity in the Truth of Christ--the pure, undistorted, uncorrupted Truth, without any admixture of diabolic falsehood, not envenomed by any compromise with it. From this point of view, all these appeals for "peace" and "unity" are unacceptable, for they come from people who encroach on our principal treasure--the pure and undefiled truth of the teaching of Christ that has been preserved by us, and who wish to substitute for it a lie which is of the devil. The "unity" which is now envisaged by the enemies of the pure truth of Christ is not unity in Christ. It is that unity which the Antichrist, who wishes to subject all to himself and to found his kingdom on earth, is striving to create.

"On the Situation of the Orthodox Christian in the Contemporary World by Archbishop Averky of Syracuse


Alexandr

You know what, I've thought this for a long time. It's good to see that my speculation is backed up by someone greater than myself.

It would also explain the actions of those who are murderers or martyrs.

I'm thinking of the Columbine massacre in which there was a girl who was staring down the barrel of a gun and was asked whether or not she believed in God. She said yes, was killed and received her reward ("Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father." - Mat 10:32)

Whereas those demon obsessed boys ended their lives by killing themselves. ("Now the works of the flesh are manifest: which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, idolatry, witchcrafts, enmities, contentions, emulations, wraths, quarrels, dissensions, sects,envies, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like. Of the which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God." -Gal 5:19-21)

Just to be clear, I'm not trying to sit in judgment on those kids, just stating what seems to be what Scripture teaches. I hope and pray that everyone who was killed that day is in heaven.

This good zeal has always inspired our Most Holy Church to offer up liturgical petitions such as: "gather the dispersed; bring back those who have gone astray, and unite them to Thy Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church." This good zeal expands the hearts of Orthodox Christians to pray unceasingly for the repentance and the return of those who belong to other denominations and other religions, and of the whole world , to the light of our Holy Faith.

St Nectarios of Aegina

Moreover, in the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all. For that is truly and in the strictest sense 'Catholic,' which, as the name itself and the reason of the thing declare, comprehends all universally. This rule we shall observe if we follow universality, antiquity, consent. We shall follow universality if we confess that one faith to be true, which the whole Church throughout the world confesses; antiquity, if we in no wise depart from those interpretations which it is manifest were notoriously held by our holy ancestors and fathers; consent, in like manner, if in antiquity itself we adhere to the consentient definitions and determinations of all, or at the least of almost all priests and doctors.

St. Vincent of Lerins, A Commonitory.

...[the devil] sees the strength and firmness of will of those who pay attention to spiritual life, and strives to conquer their mind by means of ... curiosity, in order to gain possession of their mind and will. For this purpose he is wont to suggest to them thoughts that are lofty, subtle and wondrous, especially to those who are sharp-witted and quick to make lofty speculations. Attracted by the pleasure of possessing and examining such lofty thoughts, they forget to watch over their purity of heart...; they make an idol of their own mind and thus, little by little, without realizing it, they fall into the thought that they no longer need any advice or admonition from others, since they are accustomed in all cases to hasten to the idol of their own understanding and judgment.

Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 9)

"Good and God-loving men accuse people of something bad when they are present, but when they are absent they not only refrain from accusing them, but do not permit others to do so when they attempt to speak of them."

From St. Anthony the Great (170 Texts on Saintly Life no. 30)

Christanity is similar to tasting deeply of truth, eating and drinking of truth - to eat and drink on and on unto power and energy. It is like a certain spring when someone very thirsty begins to drink from it. But then, while he is drinking, someone rushes him off before he has drunk his fill. Afterward, he burns more ardently, because he has tasted the water and eagerly seeks it. So also in the spiritual life, a person tastes and partakes of the heavenly food, but while he is eating it is taken away and no one given him to eat his fill.

St. Macarius the Great, Fifty Spiritual Homilies.

There are five occupations which help to gain God's benevolence. The first is pure prayer; the second, psalmody; the third, reading the Holy Scriptures; the fourth, contrite remembrance of one's sins, of death and the terrible judgment; the fifth, work with one's hands.

"Reflections on the Eight Thoughts", Abba Evagrius, translated from the Russian text, "Dobrotolubiye."

The antichrist must be understood as spiritual phenomenon...,why will everyone in the world want to bow down to him, obviously it is because there is something in him that responds to something in us, that something being lack of Christ in us, if we will bow down to him (God forbid that we do so) it will be because we feel an attraction to some kind external thing which might even look like Christianity since antichrist means the one that is in place of Christ or looks like Christ.

Fr Seraphim Rose Not of this world p772

Labor to acquire thanksgiving toward God for everything, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and then you will find peace.

St. Barsanuphius

'A faithful friend is beyond price' (Eccles. 6:15), since he regards his friend's misfortunes as his own and suffers with him, sharing his trials until death.

St. Maximos the Confessor, Fourth Century on Love

But nothing causes such exceeding grief as when anyone, lying under the captivity of sin, calls to mind from where he has fallen, because he turned aside to carnal and earthly things, instead of directing his mind in the beautiful ways of the knowledge of God.
So you find Adam concealing himself, when he knew that God was present and wishing to be hidden when called by God with that voice which wounded the soul of him who was hiding: 'Adam, where art thou?' That is to say, Why do you hide yourself? Why are you concealed? Why do you avoid Him Whom you once longed to see?

A guilty conscience is so burdensome that it punishes itself without a judge, and wishes for covering, and yet is bare before God.

St. Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Repentance

It is known that the body has three kinds of carnal movements.

The first is a natural movement, inherent in it, which does not produce anything (sinful, burdening the conscience) without the consent of the soul and merely lets it be known that it exists in the body.

The second kind of movement in the body is produced by too abundant food and drink, when the resulting heat in the blood stimulates the body to fight against the soul and urges it towards impure lusts. Wherefore the Apostle says: "be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess" (Ephesians 5:18). In the same way the Lord commands His disciples in the Gospels: "take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness" (Luke 21:34). And those who are monks, and are zealous to achieve the full measure of sanctity and purity, should take particular care always to keep themselves such that they can say with the Apostle, "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection" (1 Corinthians 9:27).

The third movement comes from the evil spirits, who thus tempt us out of envy and try to weaken those who have found purity (who are already monks), or to lead astray from the path those who wish to enter into the door of purity (that is, those who are as yet on the threshold of monkhood).

However, if a man arms himself with patience and an unswerving faithfulness to the commandments of God, the Holy Spirit will teach his mind how to purify his soul and body from such movements. But if at any time he weakens in his feeling and permits himself to neglect the commandments and ordinances he has heard, the evil spirits will begin to overpower him, will press upon all parts of the body and will befoul it by this movement, until the tormented soul will not know where to turn, in its despair seeing nowhere whence help could come. Only when sobered, it returns again to the commandments and, shouldering their yoke (or realizing the strength of its obligations), commits itself to the Holy Spirit, it regains a salutary disposition. Then it understands that it should seek peace solely in God, and that only thus is peace possible.

St Anthony the Great, "Early Fathers from the Philokalia"

That's why he's St. Anthony the Great.