30 June 2020
The Doctrine of Truth
O
God, You Who are the truth, make me one with You in love everlasting. I am
often wearied by the many things I hear and read, but in You is all that I long
for. Let the learned be still, let all creatures be silent before You; You
alone speak to me.
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, p7
29 June 2020
Having a Humble Opinion of Self
EVERY man naturally desires knowledge; but what good is knowledge without fear of God? Indeed a humble rustic who serves God is better than a proud intellectual who neglects his soul to study the course of the stars. He who knows himself well becomes mean in his own eyes and is not happy when praised by men.
If I knew all things in the world and had not charity, what would it profit me before God Who will judge me by my deeds?
Shun too great a desire for knowledge, for in it there is much fretting and delusion. Intellectuals like to appear learned and to be called wise. Yet there are many things the knowledge of which does little or no good to the soul, and he who concerns himself about other things than those which lead to salvation is very unwise.
Many words do not satisfy the soul; but a good life eases the mind and a clean conscience inspires great trust in God.
The more you know and the better you understand, the more severely will you be judged, unless your life is also the more holy. Do not be proud, therefore, because of your learning or skill. Rather, fear because of the talent given you. If you think you know many things and understand them well enough, realize at the same time that there is much you do not know. Hence, do not affect wisdom, but admit your ignorance. Why prefer yourself to anyone else when many are more learned, more cultured than you?
If you wish to learn and appreciate something worth while, then love to be unknown and considered as nothing. Truly to know and despise self is the best and most perfect counsel. To think of oneself as nothing, and always to think well and highly of others is the best and most perfect wisdom. Wherefore, if you see another sin openly or commit a serious crime, do not consider yourself better, for you do not know how long you can remain in good estate. All men are frail, but you must admit that none is more frail than yourself.
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, p6
Having a Humble Opinion of Self
EVERY man naturally desires knowledge; but what good is knowledge without fear of God? Indeed a humble rustic who serves God is better than a proud intellectual who neglects his soul to study the course of the stars. He who knows himself well becomes mean in his own eyes and is not happy when praised by men.
If I knew all things in the world and had not charity, what would it profit me before God Who will judge me by my deeds?
Shun too great a desire for knowledge, for in it there is much fretting and delusion. Intellectuals like to appear learned and to be called wise. Yet there are many things the knowledge of which does little or no good to the soul, and he who concerns himself about other things than those which lead to salvation is very unwise.
Many words do not satisfy the soul; but a good life eases the mind and a clean conscience inspires great trust in God.
The more you know and the better you understand, the more severely will you be judged, unless your life is also the more holy. Do not be proud, therefore, because of your learning or skill. Rather, fear because of the talent given you. If you think you know many things and understand them well enough, realize at the same time that there is much you do not know. Hence, do not affect wisdom, but admit your ignorance. Why prefer yourself to anyone else when many are more learned, more cultured than you?
If you wish to learn and appreciate something worth while, then love to be unknown and considered as nothing. Truly to know and despise self is the best and most perfect counsel. To think of oneself as nothing, and always to think well and highly of others is the best and most perfect wisdom. Wherefore, if you see another sin openly or commit a serious crime, do not consider yourself better, for you do not know how long you can remain in good estate. All men are frail, but you must admit that none is more frail than yourself.
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, p6
28 June 2020
Imitating Christ and Despising All Vanities on Earth
HE WHO follows Me, walks not in darkness,” says the Lord (John 8:12). By these words of Christ we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ.
The teaching of Christ is more excellent than all the advice of the saints, and he who has His spirit will find in it a hidden manna. Now, there are many who hear the Gospel often but care little for it because they have not the spirit of Christ. Yet whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ.
What good does it do to speak learnedly about the Trinity if, lacking humility, you displease the Trinity? Indeed it is not learning that makes a man holy and just, but a virtuous life makes him pleasing to God. I would rather feel contrition than know how to define it. For what would it profit us to know the whole Bible by heart and the principles of all the philosophers if we live without grace and the love of God? Vanity of vanities and all is vanity, except to love God and serve Him alone.
This is the greatest wisdom—to seek the kingdom of heaven through contempt of the world. It is vanity, therefore, to seek and trust in riches that perish. It is vanity also to court honor and to be puffed up with pride. It is vanity to follow the lusts of the body and to desire things for which severe punishment later must come. It is vanity to wish for long life and to care little about a well-spent life. It is vanity to be concerned with the present only and not to make provision for things to come. It is vanity to love what passes quickly and not to look ahead where eternal joy abides.
Often recall the proverb: “The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the ear filled with hearing.” Try, moreover, to turn your heart from the love of things visible and bring yourself to things invisible. For they who follow their own evil passions stain their consciences and lose the grace of God.
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, p5
Imitating Christ and Despising All Vanities on Earth
HE WHO follows Me, walks not in darkness,” says the Lord (John 8:12). By these words of Christ we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ.
The teaching of Christ is more excellent than all the advice of the saints, and he who has His spirit will find in it a hidden manna. Now, there are many who hear the Gospel often but care little for it because they have not the spirit of Christ. Yet whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ.
What good does it do to speak learnedly about the Trinity if, lacking humility, you displease the Trinity? Indeed it is not learning that makes a man holy and just, but a virtuous life makes him pleasing to God. I would rather feel contrition than know how to define it. For what would it profit us to know the whole Bible by heart and the principles of all the philosophers if we live without grace and the love of God? Vanity of vanities and all is vanity, except to love God and serve Him alone.
This is the greatest wisdom—to seek the kingdom of heaven through contempt of the world. It is vanity, therefore, to seek and trust in riches that perish. It is vanity also to court honor and to be puffed up with pride. It is vanity to follow the lusts of the body and to desire things for which severe punishment later must come. It is vanity to wish for long life and to care little about a well-spent life. It is vanity to be concerned with the present only and not to make provision for things to come. It is vanity to love what passes quickly and not to look ahead where eternal joy abides.
Often recall the proverb: “The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the ear filled with hearing.” Try, moreover, to turn your heart from the love of things visible and bring yourself to things invisible. For they who follow their own evil passions stain their consciences and lose the grace of God.
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, p5
27 June 2020
On Prayer
We are not left by ourselves to find our way in prayer. Jesus helps us at every step. Long before we ever began to pray, He was praying for us and our salvation. Whether we pray or don’t pray, whether we are asleep or awake, He prays for us. However, He does not just pray for us, He prays with us so that we can join Him in His praying. This happens for us, most obviously, in the Divine Service. There He includes us in His praying and gets us to join Him as He prays for us and the whole world. In the Divine Service, Jesus presents Himself to us as our intercessor and prays with us. That’s why we pray to the Father “through Jesus Christ our Lord” and in His name. That’s why the pastor often introduces a prayer by greeting the congregation with the words, “The Lord be with you”; he is announcing the presence of Jesus as our intercessor, our leader in prayer, and offers His assistance to us in our praying. Like a spell-checker on a computer, Jesus makes up for our weakness in prayer by doing it for us and getting us to join with Him. Therefore, as we pray, we can approach God boldly and confidently together with Jesus because He intercedes on our behalf.
John Kleinig, Grace Upon Grace: Spirituality for Today
On Prayer
We are not left by ourselves to find our way in prayer. Jesus helps us at every step. Long before we ever began to pray, He was praying for us and our salvation. Whether we pray or don’t pray, whether we are asleep or awake, He prays for us. However, He does not just pray for us, He prays with us so that we can join Him in His praying. This happens for us, most obviously, in the Divine Service. There He includes us in His praying and gets us to join Him as He prays for us and the whole world. In the Divine Service, Jesus presents Himself to us as our intercessor and prays with us. That’s why we pray to the Father “through Jesus Christ our Lord” and in His name. That’s why the pastor often introduces a prayer by greeting the congregation with the words, “The Lord be with you”; he is announcing the presence of Jesus as our intercessor, our leader in prayer, and offers His assistance to us in our praying. Like a spell-checker on a computer, Jesus makes up for our weakness in prayer by doing it for us and getting us to join with Him. Therefore, as we pray, we can approach God boldly and confidently together with Jesus because He intercedes on our behalf.
John Kleinig, Grace Upon Grace: Spirituality for Today
26 June 2020
Relationship With Others
Draw nigh to the righteous, and through them you will draw nigh to God. Communicate with those who possess humility, and you will learn morals from them. A man who follows one who loves God becomes rich in the mysteries of God; but he who follows an unrighteous and proud man gets far away from God, and will be hated by his friends.
St. Isaac the Syrian
Relationship With Others
Draw nigh to the righteous, and through them you will draw nigh to God. Communicate with those who possess humility, and you will learn morals from them. A man who follows one who loves God becomes rich in the mysteries of God; but he who follows an unrighteous and proud man gets far away from God, and will be hated by his friends.
St. Isaac the Syrian
22 June 2020
On Holy Scripture
The proud sin greatly who, after studying secular literature and having turned to the Holy Scriptures, consider all that they say to be the Law of God, and do not endeavor to come to know the thoughts of the prophets and apostles, but seek out from the scriptures inappropriate texts for their own thoughts, as if this were a good work, and not the most defiled kind of study: to distort the thoughts of Scripture and submit them to their own intentions, in spite of obvious contradictions.
Saint Jerome
On Holy Scripture
The proud sin greatly who, after studying secular literature and having turned to the Holy Scriptures, consider all that they say to be the Law of God, and do not endeavor to come to know the thoughts of the prophets and apostles, but seek out from the scriptures inappropriate texts for their own thoughts, as if this were a good work, and not the most defiled kind of study: to distort the thoughts of Scripture and submit them to their own intentions, in spite of obvious contradictions.
Saint Jerome
20 June
2020
Dark Night of the Soul
The reason why the soul not only travels securely when in obscurity, but also makes greater progress, is this: In general the soul makes greater progress in the spiritual life when it least thinks so, yea, when it rather imagines that it is losing everything ...There is another reason also why the soul has traveled safely in this obscurity; it has suffered: for the way of suffering is safer, and also more profitable, than that of rejoicing and of action. In suffering God gives strength, but in action and in joy the soul does but show its own weakness and imperfections. And in suffering, the soul practices and acquires virtue, and becomes pure, wiser, and more cautious.
St. John of the Cross
Dark Night of the Soul
The reason why the soul not only travels securely when in obscurity, but also makes greater progress, is this: In general the soul makes greater progress in the spiritual life when it least thinks so, yea, when it rather imagines that it is losing everything ...There is another reason also why the soul has traveled safely in this obscurity; it has suffered: for the way of suffering is safer, and also more profitable, than that of rejoicing and of action. In suffering God gives strength, but in action and in joy the soul does but show its own weakness and imperfections. And in suffering, the soul practices and acquires virtue, and becomes pure, wiser, and more cautious.
St. John of the Cross
17 June 2020
Be On Guard
For we forewarn you to be on your guard, lest those demons whom we have been accusing should deceive you, and quite divert you from reading and understanding what we say. For they strive to hold you their slaves and servants; and sometimes by appearances in dreams, and sometimes by magical impositions, they subdue all who make no strong opposing effort for their own salvation. And thus do we also, since our persuasion by the Word, stand aloof from them (i.e., the demons), and follow the only unbegotten God through His Son — we who formerly delighted in fornication, but now embrace chastity alone; we who formerly used magical arts, dedicate ourselves to the good and unbegotten God; we who valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions, now bring what we have into a common stock, and communicate to every one in need; we who hated and destroyed one another, and on account of their different manners would not live with men of a different tribe, now, since the coming of Christ, live familiarly with them, and pray for our enemies, and endeavour to persuade those who hate us unjustly to live conformably to the good precepts of Christ, to the end that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful hope of a reward from God the ruler of all. But lest we should seem to be reasoning sophistically, we consider it right, before giving you the promised explanation, to cite a few precepts given by Christ Himself. And be it yours, as powerful rulers, to inquire whether we have been taught and do teach these things truly. Brief and concise utterances fell from Him, for He was no sophist, but His word was the power of God.
Justin Martyr
Be On Guard
For we forewarn you to be on your guard, lest those demons whom we have been accusing should deceive you, and quite divert you from reading and understanding what we say. For they strive to hold you their slaves and servants; and sometimes by appearances in dreams, and sometimes by magical impositions, they subdue all who make no strong opposing effort for their own salvation. And thus do we also, since our persuasion by the Word, stand aloof from them (i.e., the demons), and follow the only unbegotten God through His Son — we who formerly delighted in fornication, but now embrace chastity alone; we who formerly used magical arts, dedicate ourselves to the good and unbegotten God; we who valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions, now bring what we have into a common stock, and communicate to every one in need; we who hated and destroyed one another, and on account of their different manners would not live with men of a different tribe, now, since the coming of Christ, live familiarly with them, and pray for our enemies, and endeavour to persuade those who hate us unjustly to live conformably to the good precepts of Christ, to the end that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful hope of a reward from God the ruler of all. But lest we should seem to be reasoning sophistically, we consider it right, before giving you the promised explanation, to cite a few precepts given by Christ Himself. And be it yours, as powerful rulers, to inquire whether we have been taught and do teach these things truly. Brief and concise utterances fell from Him, for He was no sophist, but His word was the power of God.
Justin Martyr
16 June 2020
The Blood of Jesus
“The blood of Jesus, by which He has ransomed and redeemed us (Acts 20:28; Romans 3:24–25; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18–19; Revelation 1:8–9; 5:9), justifies us before God the Father (Romans 5:9), cleanses us from all impurity (Hebrews 9:14; 1 John 1:7), and makes us holy (Hebrews 10:29; 13:12). Jesus gives us that blood to drink in Holy Communion (Matthew 26:27–28). There He sprinkles our hearts, not just our bodies, with His blood so that we are holy through and through (Hebrews 9:13–14; 10:21; 12:24; 1 Peter 1:2). In Communion, His blood speaks a better word to us than the blood of Abel (Hebrews 12:24). Jesus’ blood does not cry out for justice and revenge but for pardon and justification. It contradicts Satan when he condemns us for sinning against God and others for sinning against us; it covers and protects us with Christ’s own righteousness and holiness. By our faithful reception and reliance on His blood in Holy Communion, we stand under the protection of Christ, just as the Israelites were kept safe from the angel of death in Egypt by the blood of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:21–27; Hebrews 11:28). Thus we overcome the evil one by the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God (Revelation 12:11).”
John W. Kleinig, Grace Upon Grace: Spirituality for Today
The Blood of Jesus
“The blood of Jesus, by which He has ransomed and redeemed us (Acts 20:28; Romans 3:24–25; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18–19; Revelation 1:8–9; 5:9), justifies us before God the Father (Romans 5:9), cleanses us from all impurity (Hebrews 9:14; 1 John 1:7), and makes us holy (Hebrews 10:29; 13:12). Jesus gives us that blood to drink in Holy Communion (Matthew 26:27–28). There He sprinkles our hearts, not just our bodies, with His blood so that we are holy through and through (Hebrews 9:13–14; 10:21; 12:24; 1 Peter 1:2). In Communion, His blood speaks a better word to us than the blood of Abel (Hebrews 12:24). Jesus’ blood does not cry out for justice and revenge but for pardon and justification. It contradicts Satan when he condemns us for sinning against God and others for sinning against us; it covers and protects us with Christ’s own righteousness and holiness. By our faithful reception and reliance on His blood in Holy Communion, we stand under the protection of Christ, just as the Israelites were kept safe from the angel of death in Egypt by the blood of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:21–27; Hebrews 11:28). Thus we overcome the evil one by the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God (Revelation 12:11).”
John W. Kleinig, Grace Upon Grace: Spirituality for Today
15 June 2020
The Holy Church
The Church is holy, although there are sinners within her. Those who sin, but who cleanse themselves with true repentance, do not keep the Church from being holy. But unrepentant sinners are cut off, whether visibly by Church authority, or invisible by the judgment of God, from the body of the Church. And so in this regard the Church remains holy.
St. Philaret of Moscow
The Holy Church
The Church is holy, although there are sinners within her. Those who sin, but who cleanse themselves with true repentance, do not keep the Church from being holy. But unrepentant sinners are cut off, whether visibly by Church authority, or invisible by the judgment of God, from the body of the Church. And so in this regard the Church remains holy.
St. Philaret of Moscow
14 June 2020
On Our Passions
It is one thing to be delivered from bad thoughts, and another to be freed from the passions. Often people are delivered from thoughts, when they do not have before their eyes those things which produce passion. But the passions for them remain hidden in the soul, and when the things appear again the passions are revealed. Therefore it is necessary to guard the mind when these things appear, and to know toward which things you have a passion.
St. Maximus the Confessor
On Our Passions
It is one thing to be delivered from bad thoughts, and another to be freed from the passions. Often people are delivered from thoughts, when they do not have before their eyes those things which produce passion. But the passions for them remain hidden in the soul, and when the things appear again the passions are revealed. Therefore it is necessary to guard the mind when these things appear, and to know toward which things you have a passion.
St. Maximus the Confessor
13 June 2020
Coram deo
"When
will we receive another, you receive Him. [...] Let a hungry Christ be fed
here, a thirsty Christ to be given drink, a naked Christ to be clothed, a
foreigner Christ be taken in, an ill Christ be visited." he said.
"These are needs that arises on the journey. This is how we are to live in
a world where Christ is needed." Coram deo
St. Augustine of Hippo
12 June 2020
On Gaze of God
On Gaze of God
Do not say,
"this happened by chance, while this came to be of itself." In all
that exists there is nothing disorderly, nothing indefinite, nothing without
purpose, nothing by chance ... How many hairs are on your head? God will not
forget one of them. Do you see how nothing, even the smallest thing, escapes
the gaze of God?
11 June 2020
On the Rule of Faith
On the Rule of Faith
Bear always in
mind that this is the rule of faith which I profess; by it I testify that the
Father, and the Son, and the Spirit are inseparable from each other, and so
will you know in what sense this is said. Now, observe, my assertion is that
the Father is one, and the Son one, and the Spirit one, and that they are
distinct from each other. This statement is taken in a wrong sense by every
uneducated as well as every perversely disposed person, as if it predicated a
diversity, in such a sense as to imply a separation among the Father, and the
Son, and the Spirit. I am, moreover, obliged to say this, when they contend for
the identity of the Father and Son and Spirit, that it is not by way of
diversity that the Son differs from the Father, but by distribution: it is not
by division that He is different, but by distinction; because the Father is not
the same as the Son, since they differ one from the other in the mode of their
being. For the Father is the entire substance, but the Son is a derivation and
portion of the whole, as He Himself acknowledges: “My Father is greater than
I.” In the Psalm His inferiority is described as being “a little lower than the
angels.” Thus the Father is distinct from the Son, being greater than the Son,
inasmuch as He who begets is one, and He who is begotten is another; He, too,
who sends is one, and He who is sent is another; and He, again, who makes is
one, and He through whom the thing is made is another. Happily the Lord Himself
employs this expression of the person of the Paraclete, so as to signify not a
division or severance, but a disposition (of mutual relations in the Godhead);
for He says, “I will pray the Father, and He shall send you another
Comforter...even the Spirit of truth,” thus making the Paraclete distinct from
Himself, even as we say that the Son is also distinct from the Father; so that
He showed a third degree in the Paraclete, as we believe the second degree is
in the Son, by reason of the order observed in the Economy. Besides, does not the
very fact that they have the distinct names of Father and Son amount to a
declaration that they are distinct in personality?
10 June 2020
God Put to Death
He
that hung up the earth in space was Himself hanged up; He that fixed the
heavens was fixed with nails; He that bore up the earth was born up on a tree;
the Lord of all was subjected to ignominy in a naked body—God put to death!...
In order that He might not be seen, the luminaries turned away, and the day
became darkened—because they slew God, who hung naked on the tree...This is He
who made the heaven and the earth, and in the beginning, together with the
Father, fashioned man; who was announced by means of the law and the prophets;
who put on a bodily form in the Virgin; who was hanged upon the tree; who was
buried in the earth; who rose from the place of the dead, and ascended to the
height of heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. God Put to Death
Melito of Sardis
9 June 2020
On the Holy Trinity
Let us believe then, dear brethren, according to the tradition of the apostles, that God the Word came down from heaven, (and entered) into the holy Virgin Mary, in order that, taking the flesh from her, and assuming also a human, by which I mean a rational soul, and becoming thus all that man is with the exception of sin, He might save fallen man, and confer immortality on men who believe on His name...He now, coming forth into the world, was manifested as God in a body, coming forth too as a perfect man. For it was not in mere appearance or by conversion, but in truth, that He became man. Thus then, too, though demonstrated as God, He does not refuse the conditions proper to Him as man, since He hungers and toils and thirsts in weariness, and flees in fear, and prays in trouble. And He who as God has a sleepless nature, slumbers on a pillow.
Origen of Alexandria
On the Holy Trinity
Let us believe then, dear brethren, according to the tradition of the apostles, that God the Word came down from heaven, (and entered) into the holy Virgin Mary, in order that, taking the flesh from her, and assuming also a human, by which I mean a rational soul, and becoming thus all that man is with the exception of sin, He might save fallen man, and confer immortality on men who believe on His name...He now, coming forth into the world, was manifested as God in a body, coming forth too as a perfect man. For it was not in mere appearance or by conversion, but in truth, that He became man. Thus then, too, though demonstrated as God, He does not refuse the conditions proper to Him as man, since He hungers and toils and thirsts in weariness, and flees in fear, and prays in trouble. And He who as God has a sleepless nature, slumbers on a pillow.
Origen of Alexandria
7 June 2020
The Strong Name of the Holy Trinity
Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.
I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
St. Patrick’s Lorica
The Strong Name of the Holy Trinity
Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.
I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
St. Patrick’s Lorica
6 June 2020
On Becoming Holy
Every Christian should find for himself the imperative and incentive to become holy. If you live without struggle and without hope of becoming holy, then you are Christians only in name and not in essence. But without holiness, no one shall see the Lord, that is to say they will not attain eternal blessedness. It is a trustworthy saying that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners (I Tim. 1:15). But we deceive ourselves if we think that we are saved while remaining sinners. Christ saves those sinners by giving them the means to become saints.
St. Philaret of Moscow
On Becoming Holy
Every Christian should find for himself the imperative and incentive to become holy. If you live without struggle and without hope of becoming holy, then you are Christians only in name and not in essence. But without holiness, no one shall see the Lord, that is to say they will not attain eternal blessedness. It is a trustworthy saying that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners (I Tim. 1:15). But we deceive ourselves if we think that we are saved while remaining sinners. Christ saves those sinners by giving them the means to become saints.
St. Philaret of Moscow
5 June 2020
Thoughts on Good and Evil
God and the devil are found at opposite poles. No one can turn his face to God who has not first turned his back on sin. When a man turns his face to God, all of his paths lead to God. When a man turns his face away from God, all of his paths lead to perdition. When a man finally rejects God by word and in his heart, he is no longer fit to do anything that does not serve for his complete destruction, both of his soul and of his body.
St. Nicholas of Serbia
Thoughts on Good and Evil
God and the devil are found at opposite poles. No one can turn his face to God who has not first turned his back on sin. When a man turns his face to God, all of his paths lead to God. When a man turns his face away from God, all of his paths lead to perdition. When a man finally rejects God by word and in his heart, he is no longer fit to do anything that does not serve for his complete destruction, both of his soul and of his body.
St. Nicholas of Serbia
4 June 2020
Fear of God
A man obtains the fear of God if he has the remembrance of his unavoidable death and of the eternal torments that await sinners; If he tests himself every evening as to how he has spent the day, and every morning as to how he has spent the night, and if is not sharp in his relations with others.
St. Abba Dorotheos of Gaza
3 June 2020
Getting to Know God
As it is impossible to verbally describe the sweetness of honey to one who has never tasted honey, so the goodness of God cannot be clearly communicated by way of teaching if we ourselves are not able to penetrate into the goodness of the Lord by our own experience.
St. Basil the Great
Getting to Know God
As it is impossible to verbally describe the sweetness of honey to one who has never tasted honey, so the goodness of God cannot be clearly communicated by way of teaching if we ourselves are not able to penetrate into the goodness of the Lord by our own experience.
St. Basil the Great
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)