Theosis From The East
From the Hymns of St Ephrem the Syrian
4th Century
The Most High knew that Adam had wanted to become a god, so He sent His Son who put him on in order to grant him his desire.
Free will succeeded in making Adam's beauty ugly, for he, a man, sought to become a god.
Grace, however, made beautiful his deformities and God came to become a man.
Divinity flew down to draw humanity up.
For the Son had made beautiful the deformities of the servant and so he has become a god, just as he desired.
Far more glorious than the body is the soul, and more glorious still than the soul is the spirit, but more hidden than the spirit is the Godhead.
At the end, the body will put on the beauty of the soul, the soul will put on that of the spirit, while the spirit will put on the very likeness of God's majesty.
He gave us divinity, we gave Him humanity.
Quoted Hymns on Faith, Hymns of Paradise, Hymns on Virginity, and Nisibene
Hymns as found in The Luminous Eye - The Spiritual World Vision of Saint Ephrem the Syrian
(1985 - Sebastian Brock - pages 152-154)
2010-09-26
2010-09-24
OUR LOVED ONES PASS BY. THEY DO NOT PASS AWAY!
OUR LOVED ONES PASS BY.
THEY DO NOT PASS AWAY!
by
A. Noradunkian
1994
Today we are witnessing the victory of arrogant death, who proudly is challenging the hope of mankind by saying, "I am the end of all life, I am the annihilation of all essence. Even the ancient gods were not immune to me, the old heroes - Achilles and Hector became victims to my authority and command". Those haughty words and proud challenges were also made at the Crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. But the life of the Life-Giver did not end at the crossroad of death. Death could not swallow up Life. Life will never turn to tragedy. Life represents the positive dimension of the cosmos when it is ingrained with love.
At every tolling bell there stands the life-giving Jesus Christ saying with certainty, "I am the Resurrection and I am the Life. I have overcome death". This is not a theoretical statement. It is a historical fact whose living proof is the living Church for the last 20 centuries. There is no any other organization in this world which has lasted 20 centuries with so many heroic martyrs, except the Church of Jesus Christ to testify for the fact of the triumphant Resurrection.
Humanity will rise again not because it is righteous, good and holy, but because God loves mankind. Humanity is God's children. God cannot forsake mankind. He cannot abandon it. Humans are His highest creation made in His image. Mankind may become prodigal and may even deny the Lord like St. Peter. But mankind belongs to God, He loves all men and women. God's love and mercy are inexhaustible. God is not covetous or stingy. Rather His loving-kindness, generosity, and mercy are inexhaustible. Humans can endure injustice, pain and misery but there are things which humans can not tolerate and allow, such as hypocrisy, dishonor and death. Death is the adversary, the treason and the violation of life.
Today, God is calling each one of us to believe, to hope, to love and to wait for the day of the Resurrection. Today, mortal man walks with a pain and a sorrow in his heart. But tomorrow, on the day of Resurrection, he will march with a victorious torch of life in hand to his Redeemer and God.
From the Armenian Church Discussion Group
2010-09-06
PUT DESPAIR TO OBLIVION
PUT DESPAIR TO OBLIVION
And since I put you up, my fruitless soul As target facing my inherent gaze, So, stoning it with verbal pebbles, As if you were a wild tameless beast, I will relentlessly throw stones at you.
And although they will never call me righteous, However, at the start of my response, As spoken by the wizard, I will begin a voluntary combat With myself, as if I were a foe.
And, while confessing mysteries concealed, That do concern my thoughts, As sinful acts that have already happened, I will present to you, my God and Lord, For, what will be the measure of my soul's sins, What measure will apply to me from your unending mercy,
So that the grace obtained from you
By many times exceed my greatest sins,
The more incurable and aching are wounds consuming me, The brighter will be your divine skill, O healer of the heaven, The more I multiply my debts, The more commendable will always be your charity, O grantor of the benefits, As spoken in your blessed parable, For, out of you are both salvation and redemption, You renovate with your right hand, And strengthen with your finger, You justify using your will, And comfort with your unction, And you encourage with the dew of your grace.
You grant relief
And put despair to oblivion,
You dissipate the gloom of grief,
Convert to happiness a mournful wail.
To you are due the blessings and praise in higher heaven From all forbearers and their descendents, All through the ages.
Amen!
...
St. Grigor Narekatsi, 10th Century
The Book of Sadness
A Word To God From The Depth Of My Heart Chapter IX Part C Translated from the Armenian By Hachatoor Hachatoorian Pages 48-49 "NAIRI" Yerevan, Armenia 2007
040809
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Also on Facebook
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
And since I put you up, my fruitless soul As target facing my inherent gaze, So, stoning it with verbal pebbles, As if you were a wild tameless beast, I will relentlessly throw stones at you.
And although they will never call me righteous, However, at the start of my response, As spoken by the wizard, I will begin a voluntary combat With myself, as if I were a foe.
And, while confessing mysteries concealed, That do concern my thoughts, As sinful acts that have already happened, I will present to you, my God and Lord, For, what will be the measure of my soul's sins, What measure will apply to me from your unending mercy,
So that the grace obtained from you
By many times exceed my greatest sins,
The more incurable and aching are wounds consuming me, The brighter will be your divine skill, O healer of the heaven, The more I multiply my debts, The more commendable will always be your charity, O grantor of the benefits, As spoken in your blessed parable, For, out of you are both salvation and redemption, You renovate with your right hand, And strengthen with your finger, You justify using your will, And comfort with your unction, And you encourage with the dew of your grace.
You grant relief
And put despair to oblivion,
You dissipate the gloom of grief,
Convert to happiness a mournful wail.
To you are due the blessings and praise in higher heaven From all forbearers and their descendents, All through the ages.
Amen!
...
St. Grigor Narekatsi, 10th Century
The Book of Sadness
A Word To God From The Depth Of My Heart Chapter IX Part C Translated from the Armenian By Hachatoor Hachatoorian Pages 48-49 "NAIRI" Yerevan, Armenia 2007
040809
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Also on Facebook
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
CITIZEN OF TWO WORLDS
CITIZEN OF TWO WORLDS
Since through his body and soul man becomes a participant in both the intelligible and the sensible, he is a citizen of two worlds, yet a whole being, with a special vocation to spread the grace of God through the whole of creation, animate and inanimate. He is superior to the angels, because, as he is made in the image of God, he can be open to the entire universe, the sensible as well as the intelligible. He is akin to God and matter, a member of both families, made to enjoy both the divine and the terrestrial. In him and through him, matter too is to be redeemed. That is why Christ became man and assumed a material body. Man in Christ is the Savior of the world: he restores it to God so that it may be filled with his glory.
...God includes the whole universe in his creation as well as in redemption in Christ. This does not remove all distinctions between humanity and the rest of creation. Humanity has a special vocation as the priest of creation, as the mediator through whom God manifests himself to creation and redeems it. But this does not make humanity totally discontinuous with creation, since a priest has to be an integral part of the people he represents. Christ has become part of creation, and in his created body he lifted up the creation to God, and humankind must participate in this eternal priesthood of Christ.
Metropolitan Paulos Mar Gregorios
The Human Presence: Ecological Spirituality and the Age of the Spirit Pages 65 and 89, Amity House, New York 1987 First Published by the World Council of Churches 1978
041509
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Also on Facebook
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Since through his body and soul man becomes a participant in both the intelligible and the sensible, he is a citizen of two worlds, yet a whole being, with a special vocation to spread the grace of God through the whole of creation, animate and inanimate. He is superior to the angels, because, as he is made in the image of God, he can be open to the entire universe, the sensible as well as the intelligible. He is akin to God and matter, a member of both families, made to enjoy both the divine and the terrestrial. In him and through him, matter too is to be redeemed. That is why Christ became man and assumed a material body. Man in Christ is the Savior of the world: he restores it to God so that it may be filled with his glory.
...God includes the whole universe in his creation as well as in redemption in Christ. This does not remove all distinctions between humanity and the rest of creation. Humanity has a special vocation as the priest of creation, as the mediator through whom God manifests himself to creation and redeems it. But this does not make humanity totally discontinuous with creation, since a priest has to be an integral part of the people he represents. Christ has become part of creation, and in his created body he lifted up the creation to God, and humankind must participate in this eternal priesthood of Christ.
Metropolitan Paulos Mar Gregorios
The Human Presence: Ecological Spirituality and the Age of the Spirit Pages 65 and 89, Amity House, New York 1987 First Published by the World Council of Churches 1978
041509
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Also on Facebook
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
ROOM FOR EVERYBODY
ROOM FOR EVERYBODY
Everyone is useful in the Church. Every person has something to offer; there's plenty of room for everybody, for those who have a mild character and for those who may be strict and demanding. The Body of the Church resembles the human body. Just as we need both sweet and sour foods, even bitter herbs, because each food has something to contribute in substance and vitamins, so too the Body of the Church needs every one of us.
Each person complements the character of the other, and we are all obliged to tolerate not only the spiritual temperament of others, but also their human weaknesses
Now, unfortunately, there are those who have irrational expectations from other people. They expect everyone to be like them, to have their spiritual temperament; and if the other person does not meet their standard, if they are a bit more lenient or more austere, they are eager to find them non spiritual.
...
Elder Paisios of Mount Athos.
From a daily pastoral message via email of Gail Sheppard
032709
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Also on Facebook
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Everyone is useful in the Church. Every person has something to offer; there's plenty of room for everybody, for those who have a mild character and for those who may be strict and demanding. The Body of the Church resembles the human body. Just as we need both sweet and sour foods, even bitter herbs, because each food has something to contribute in substance and vitamins, so too the Body of the Church needs every one of us.
Each person complements the character of the other, and we are all obliged to tolerate not only the spiritual temperament of others, but also their human weaknesses
Now, unfortunately, there are those who have irrational expectations from other people. They expect everyone to be like them, to have their spiritual temperament; and if the other person does not meet their standard, if they are a bit more lenient or more austere, they are eager to find them non spiritual.
...
Elder Paisios of Mount Athos.
From a daily pastoral message via email of Gail Sheppard
032709
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Also on Facebook
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
THE JOY OF FREEDOM
THE JOY OF FREEDOM
God alone is truly and absolutely free. He alone is totally free from extraneous conditioning or even non-voluntary inner compulsion. He alone can say: "let be" and it is done. He alone is not caused, but is truly the uncaused cause. Man, as creation, would appear to be totally caused by the Creator, and therefore not free. But that is precisely the ambiguity of man. He is created. Yet he is also a creator, because he is made in the image of the Creator. The image is what is constitutive of man as man, distinguishing him from other animals. What is at the depth of human nature is not his sin, but his freedom. Because at the depth he is free, therefore at the depths he discovers also the source of his freedom, namely the Creator God. That does not mean, however, that God is simply the ultimate depth or ground of our own being. That He may well be, but it is more correct to put it this way: He is freedom; we are made in His image, therefore we find freedom in our depths; when this freedom discovers the love and the wisdom that also lie at the depths, we experience that freedom as direct access to God. That is joy. That is adoption to sonhood. There prayer is learned.
But the way to the depths can never be found in isolation. That road passes through the depths of other people. Even the omphaloscopia (navel-gazing) of the Athos hesychasts was not an attempt to find God in the depths by self-isolation. Freedom, love and wisdom are all maintained and transmitted in community. It is as the community reconciled by the Spirit encounters God in His grace, and renders to Him its self-oblation in loving self-surrender and in identification with the oblation of Christ on the cross that man in community experiences the joy of freedom. This Eucharistic encounter with God is what makes man authentically human. Here he experiences liberation from that awful dilemma of man - that if he approaches the Holy God he dies, and if he does not, he dies also.
...
Metropolitan Paulos Mar Gregorios
The Joy of Freedom: Eastern Worship and Modern Man Pages 65-66 The Christian Literature Society, Madras, India 1986 first published in 1967
032509
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Also on Facebook
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
God alone is truly and absolutely free. He alone is totally free from extraneous conditioning or even non-voluntary inner compulsion. He alone can say: "let be" and it is done. He alone is not caused, but is truly the uncaused cause. Man, as creation, would appear to be totally caused by the Creator, and therefore not free. But that is precisely the ambiguity of man. He is created. Yet he is also a creator, because he is made in the image of the Creator. The image is what is constitutive of man as man, distinguishing him from other animals. What is at the depth of human nature is not his sin, but his freedom. Because at the depth he is free, therefore at the depths he discovers also the source of his freedom, namely the Creator God. That does not mean, however, that God is simply the ultimate depth or ground of our own being. That He may well be, but it is more correct to put it this way: He is freedom; we are made in His image, therefore we find freedom in our depths; when this freedom discovers the love and the wisdom that also lie at the depths, we experience that freedom as direct access to God. That is joy. That is adoption to sonhood. There prayer is learned.
But the way to the depths can never be found in isolation. That road passes through the depths of other people. Even the omphaloscopia (navel-gazing) of the Athos hesychasts was not an attempt to find God in the depths by self-isolation. Freedom, love and wisdom are all maintained and transmitted in community. It is as the community reconciled by the Spirit encounters God in His grace, and renders to Him its self-oblation in loving self-surrender and in identification with the oblation of Christ on the cross that man in community experiences the joy of freedom. This Eucharistic encounter with God is what makes man authentically human. Here he experiences liberation from that awful dilemma of man - that if he approaches the Holy God he dies, and if he does not, he dies also.
...
Metropolitan Paulos Mar Gregorios
The Joy of Freedom: Eastern Worship and Modern Man Pages 65-66 The Christian Literature Society, Madras, India 1986 first published in 1967
032509
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Also on Facebook
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
FASTING AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS
FASTING AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS
When fasting, you should fast in body, and in heart; abstaining from meat, gossip and slander. Do not say - this person is good or this person is bad. The fasting tongue is better than the fasting mouth; and when the heart abstains from wrath, that it better than both.
...
Fasting is an essential function for every Christian in this world. Christ Himself fasted, although He did not need to, but He wanted to teach us that the trials of the devil can only be controlled through fasting. By fasting we also receive spiritual gifts, become closer to God, and our prayers are accepted.
...
St Isaac the Great said, "A little cloud can obscure the sun, but after having passed, the sun reappears as it was." The same thing applies to the tribulations faced by [a true Christian], although they are difficult, they enlighten his soul after they pass.
Thank God who allows temptations and for all good things that work together for the good of them who love and trust in the Lord. And I, myself, as you know, have received many spiritual benefits. This is one of God's blessings.
...
Saint Pope Kyrollos the Sixth
Christian Behavior According to Saint Pope Kyrollos the Sixth
By: Pope Kyrollos VI Sons
Pages 7 and 43 and 68
St. Mina Monastery Press, Cairo, Egypt, 2000
032009
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Also on Facebook
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
When fasting, you should fast in body, and in heart; abstaining from meat, gossip and slander. Do not say - this person is good or this person is bad. The fasting tongue is better than the fasting mouth; and when the heart abstains from wrath, that it better than both.
...
Fasting is an essential function for every Christian in this world. Christ Himself fasted, although He did not need to, but He wanted to teach us that the trials of the devil can only be controlled through fasting. By fasting we also receive spiritual gifts, become closer to God, and our prayers are accepted.
...
St Isaac the Great said, "A little cloud can obscure the sun, but after having passed, the sun reappears as it was." The same thing applies to the tribulations faced by [a true Christian], although they are difficult, they enlighten his soul after they pass.
Thank God who allows temptations and for all good things that work together for the good of them who love and trust in the Lord. And I, myself, as you know, have received many spiritual benefits. This is one of God's blessings.
...
Saint Pope Kyrollos the Sixth
Christian Behavior According to Saint Pope Kyrollos the Sixth
By: Pope Kyrollos VI Sons
Pages 7 and 43 and 68
St. Mina Monastery Press, Cairo, Egypt, 2000
032009
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Also on Facebook
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
FRAGRANCE OF GOD
I
We make a big mistake when we devalue the body and the senses. Our senses are important stepping-stones on the path to God and Paradise. When I kneel in my garden, the aromas of the plants may overwhelm me, yet I may not see any save those immediately in front of me. When I kneel in prayer, God's presence permeates my entire being, though He remains invisible to my eyes.
It is true that, when all is said and done, we must transcend our fallen senses, including the sense of smell, for higher spiritual senses of a life unaffected by sin. Yet with the proper discipline even our earthly senses may assist us in the journey to God. God has filled the whole of Creation with signs of His existence, signs that our senses can apprehend and that our minds can translate into knowledge of Him...
God has created human nature with the capacity to resonate with the pulse of Divine Life. But sin has damaged this ability. It has put not only our senses "out of tune" but also the whole human instrument in disrepair. That is why we are unable to experience God in the garden with the same intimacy, harmony, and intensity of Adam and Eve before the Fall. That is what makes gardening such a bittersweet activity...
II
God wants us to hear His footsteps in the garden, to feel His embrace and kisses among the lilies, to feed on Him at the Tree of Life, and to breathe in His life with the fragrance of the rose, as did Adam and Eve. God wants us to inherent eternal life. But these things can come about only if we reorient our senses, tune our human instrument, so that we are able to respond to the grace that permeates ordinary life.
Christians are the "real" realists. The Son of God, by His incarnation, has demonstrated that the world is filled with symbols of God. These symbols that God has planted in the world testify not only to his existence but also to the goodness of His Creation. By the example of His own life, Christ teaches us that through our senses we may commence our spiritual journey, and that He will receive us into Paradise in the full integrity of our humanity, body and soul united, and together in communion with Him.
Vigen Guroian
Fragrance of God
Wm B Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids MI 2006 pages 11 & 15; pages 16-17
031809
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Also on Facebook
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
We make a big mistake when we devalue the body and the senses. Our senses are important stepping-stones on the path to God and Paradise. When I kneel in my garden, the aromas of the plants may overwhelm me, yet I may not see any save those immediately in front of me. When I kneel in prayer, God's presence permeates my entire being, though He remains invisible to my eyes.
It is true that, when all is said and done, we must transcend our fallen senses, including the sense of smell, for higher spiritual senses of a life unaffected by sin. Yet with the proper discipline even our earthly senses may assist us in the journey to God. God has filled the whole of Creation with signs of His existence, signs that our senses can apprehend and that our minds can translate into knowledge of Him...
God has created human nature with the capacity to resonate with the pulse of Divine Life. But sin has damaged this ability. It has put not only our senses "out of tune" but also the whole human instrument in disrepair. That is why we are unable to experience God in the garden with the same intimacy, harmony, and intensity of Adam and Eve before the Fall. That is what makes gardening such a bittersweet activity...
II
God wants us to hear His footsteps in the garden, to feel His embrace and kisses among the lilies, to feed on Him at the Tree of Life, and to breathe in His life with the fragrance of the rose, as did Adam and Eve. God wants us to inherent eternal life. But these things can come about only if we reorient our senses, tune our human instrument, so that we are able to respond to the grace that permeates ordinary life.
Christians are the "real" realists. The Son of God, by His incarnation, has demonstrated that the world is filled with symbols of God. These symbols that God has planted in the world testify not only to his existence but also to the goodness of His Creation. By the example of His own life, Christ teaches us that through our senses we may commence our spiritual journey, and that He will receive us into Paradise in the full integrity of our humanity, body and soul united, and together in communion with Him.
Vigen Guroian
Fragrance of God
Wm B Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids MI 2006 pages 11 & 15; pages 16-17
031809
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Also on Facebook
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
IMAGE OF THE TRUE LIGHT
IMAGE OF THE TRUE LIGHT
He [God] did not make the heavens in his image,
nor the moon, the sun, the beauty of the stars,
nor anything else which you can see in the created universe.
YOU ALONE are made in the likeness of that nature which surpasses all
understanding;
YOU ALONE are a similitude of eternal beauty,
a receptacle of happiness,
an image of the true light;
and if YOU look up to Him,
you will become what He is,
imitating Him who shines within you,
whose glory is reflected in your purity.
Nothing in all creation can equal your grandeur.
All the heavens can fit into the palm of God's hand;
the earth and the sea are measured in the hollow of His hand.
And though He is so great that He can grasp all creation in His palm,
you can wholly embrace Him; He dwells within you,
nor is He cramped as He pervades your entire being, saying:
"I will dwell in them and walk among them" (2 Corinthians 6:18).
Mar Gregorios Nyssa
Glory to Glory: Texts from Gregory of Nyssa's Mystical Writings
by J. Danielou (SVS Press 1979) pages 162-3
031109
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
or subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
He [God] did not make the heavens in his image,
nor the moon, the sun, the beauty of the stars,
nor anything else which you can see in the created universe.
YOU ALONE are made in the likeness of that nature which surpasses all
understanding;
YOU ALONE are a similitude of eternal beauty,
a receptacle of happiness,
an image of the true light;
and if YOU look up to Him,
you will become what He is,
imitating Him who shines within you,
whose glory is reflected in your purity.
Nothing in all creation can equal your grandeur.
All the heavens can fit into the palm of God's hand;
the earth and the sea are measured in the hollow of His hand.
And though He is so great that He can grasp all creation in His palm,
you can wholly embrace Him; He dwells within you,
nor is He cramped as He pervades your entire being, saying:
"I will dwell in them and walk among them" (2 Corinthians 6:18).
Mar Gregorios Nyssa
Glory to Glory: Texts from Gregory of Nyssa's Mystical Writings
by J. Danielou (SVS Press 1979) pages 162-3
031109
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
or subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
STANDING IN THE TEMPLE
STANDING IN THE TEMPLE
Just as he did a thousand years ago, so today the simple believer goes to church in order primarily to "touch other worlds" (Dostoevsky). In a sense, he is not interested in worship, in the way in which experts and connoisseurs of all liturgical details are interested in it. And he is not interested because "standing in the temple" he receives all that for which he thirsts and seeks: the light, the joy, and the comfort of the Kingdom of God, that radiance which, in the words of the agnostic Chekov, beams from the faces of the "old people who just returned from the church."
What use could such a believer have for complex and refined explanations of what this or that rite represents, of what the opening or closing of the royals doors is supposed to mean?
He cannot keep up with all these symbolisms, and they are unnecessary for his faith. All he knows is that he has left his everyday life and has come to a place where everything is different and yet so essential, so desirable, so vital, that it illumines and gives meaning to his entire life.
Likewise he knows that this other reality makes life itself worth living, for everything proceeds to it, everything is related to it, everything is to be judged by it - by the Kingdom of God it manifests.
And, finally, he knows that even if the individual words or rites are unclear to him, the Kingdom of God has been given to him in the Church: in that common action, common standing before God, in love and unity.
Father Alexander Schmemenn
The Symbol of the Kingdom - chapter article Orthodox Synthesis: The Unity of Theological Thought Edited by Joseph J. Allen Pages 45-46 SVS Press, Crestwood, NY 1981
031109
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
Just as he did a thousand years ago, so today the simple believer goes to church in order primarily to "touch other worlds" (Dostoevsky). In a sense, he is not interested in worship, in the way in which experts and connoisseurs of all liturgical details are interested in it. And he is not interested because "standing in the temple" he receives all that for which he thirsts and seeks: the light, the joy, and the comfort of the Kingdom of God, that radiance which, in the words of the agnostic Chekov, beams from the faces of the "old people who just returned from the church."
What use could such a believer have for complex and refined explanations of what this or that rite represents, of what the opening or closing of the royals doors is supposed to mean?
He cannot keep up with all these symbolisms, and they are unnecessary for his faith. All he knows is that he has left his everyday life and has come to a place where everything is different and yet so essential, so desirable, so vital, that it illumines and gives meaning to his entire life.
Likewise he knows that this other reality makes life itself worth living, for everything proceeds to it, everything is related to it, everything is to be judged by it - by the Kingdom of God it manifests.
And, finally, he knows that even if the individual words or rites are unclear to him, the Kingdom of God has been given to him in the Church: in that common action, common standing before God, in love and unity.
Father Alexander Schmemenn
The Symbol of the Kingdom - chapter article Orthodox Synthesis: The Unity of Theological Thought Edited by Joseph J. Allen Pages 45-46 SVS Press, Crestwood, NY 1981
031109
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
TOWARDS HOLINESS
TOWARDS HOLINESS
The Inaccessible One has become accessible, the transcendent God has taken flesh and dwelt among us. The holiness which surpassed every human notion and was a separation reveals itself to be otherwise: the very holiness of God can become infinitely close without becoming any the less mysterious; it becomes accessible without our being able to possess it; it lays hold of us without destroying us. In this perspective we can understand the words of St Peter in his General Epistle, that we are called to become partakers of divine nature...
All holiness is God's holiness in us:
It is holiness that is participation and, in certain way, more than participation, because we participate in what we receive from God, we become a revelation of that which transcends us. Being a limited light, we reveal the Light. But we should also remember that in this life in which we are striving towards holiness, our spirituality should be defined in very objective and precise terms.
When we read books on spirituality or engage in studying the subject, we see that spirituality, explicitly or implicitly, is repeatedly defined as an attitude, a state of soul, an inner condition, a type of interiority, and so on.
In reality, if you look for the ultimate definition and try to discover the inner core of spirituality, you find that spirituality does not consist of the states of soul that are familiar to us, but that it is the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in us, by us, and through us in the world.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
God and Man, Pages 81-82
Hodder and Stoughton
Revised 1974 international paperback (1971 first edition)
030609
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
The Inaccessible One has become accessible, the transcendent God has taken flesh and dwelt among us. The holiness which surpassed every human notion and was a separation reveals itself to be otherwise: the very holiness of God can become infinitely close without becoming any the less mysterious; it becomes accessible without our being able to possess it; it lays hold of us without destroying us. In this perspective we can understand the words of St Peter in his General Epistle, that we are called to become partakers of divine nature...
All holiness is God's holiness in us:
It is holiness that is participation and, in certain way, more than participation, because we participate in what we receive from God, we become a revelation of that which transcends us. Being a limited light, we reveal the Light. But we should also remember that in this life in which we are striving towards holiness, our spirituality should be defined in very objective and precise terms.
When we read books on spirituality or engage in studying the subject, we see that spirituality, explicitly or implicitly, is repeatedly defined as an attitude, a state of soul, an inner condition, a type of interiority, and so on.
In reality, if you look for the ultimate definition and try to discover the inner core of spirituality, you find that spirituality does not consist of the states of soul that are familiar to us, but that it is the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in us, by us, and through us in the world.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
God and Man, Pages 81-82
Hodder and Stoughton
Revised 1974 international paperback (1971 first edition)
030609
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
GOD'S RELATIONSHIP OF LOVE
GOD'S RELATIONSHIP OF LOVE
Why has God allowed the angels and man to sin? Why does God permit evil and suffering? We answer: Because he is a God of love. Love implies sharing, and love also implies freedom. As a Trinity of love, God desired to share His life with created persons made in His image, who would be capable of responding to Him freely and willingly in a relationship of love.
Where there is no freedom, there can be no love.
Compulsion excludes love; as Paul Evdokimov used to say, God can do everything except compel us to love Him. God, therefore - desiring to share His love - created, not robots who would obey Him mechanically, but angels and human beings endowed with free choice. And thereby, to put the matter in an anthropomorphic way, God took a risk: for with this gift of freedom there was given also the possibility of sin. But he who takes no risks does not love.
Without freedom there would be no sin. But without freedom man would not be in God's image; without freedom man would not be capable of entering into communion with God in a relationship of love.
Archimandrite (now Bishop) Kallistos Ware
The Orthodox Way
pages 75-76
St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, New York
1st Paperback Edition 1979 (Revised since this edition in 1995)
030409
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
Why has God allowed the angels and man to sin? Why does God permit evil and suffering? We answer: Because he is a God of love. Love implies sharing, and love also implies freedom. As a Trinity of love, God desired to share His life with created persons made in His image, who would be capable of responding to Him freely and willingly in a relationship of love.
Where there is no freedom, there can be no love.
Compulsion excludes love; as Paul Evdokimov used to say, God can do everything except compel us to love Him. God, therefore - desiring to share His love - created, not robots who would obey Him mechanically, but angels and human beings endowed with free choice. And thereby, to put the matter in an anthropomorphic way, God took a risk: for with this gift of freedom there was given also the possibility of sin. But he who takes no risks does not love.
Without freedom there would be no sin. But without freedom man would not be in God's image; without freedom man would not be capable of entering into communion with God in a relationship of love.
Archimandrite (now Bishop) Kallistos Ware
The Orthodox Way
pages 75-76
St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, New York
1st Paperback Edition 1979 (Revised since this edition in 1995)
030409
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
2010-07-22
STRIVING UPWARDS
STRIVING UPWARDS
I shall never forget the remarkable words about truth spoken by the simple Himalayan mountaineer Tensing, the Sherpa who climbed Everest with [the New Zealander] Hillary. He said that we must approach mountains with reverence, and God in the same way. Indeed mountains demand a certain mindset in order to grasp their magnificence and their beauty. Truth lies hidden from people who rush at it without reverence, who set out unprepared, disregarding the dangers, precipices and crevasses.
It is the mark of human history to strive upwards. You may well object: think how many steps there have been leading downwards. Yes, of course; at first glance there are more steps leading downwards; more people who have fallen and rolled down into the abyss. But the important thing is that human beings have all the same kept attempting to climb to this summit above the clouds, and the greatness of humanity lies in the fact that people have the capacity to reach the peaks of intellectual and spiritual contemplation, to reach what Pushkin called "the neighborhood of God.
"Human beings have two countries, two homelands. One is our own country, that place where each of us was born and grew up. But the other is that hidden world of the spirit which the eye may not see and the ear may not hear but where, by our nature, we belong. We are children of the earth and at the same time visitors to it...and contact with God is possible...
Christ calls people to bring the divine ideal to reality.
Father Alexander Men
Christianity for the Twenty-first Century
lecture given September 8, 1990 - the night before he was murdered
Russian version published in 1992
English translation from:
Christianity for the Twenty-first Century: The Prophetic Writings of Fr. Alexander Men
Edited by Elizabeth Roberts and Ann Shukman
Pages 181,183 & 185 Continuum Publishing, New York - 1996
022709
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH,
ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
I shall never forget the remarkable words about truth spoken by the simple Himalayan mountaineer Tensing, the Sherpa who climbed Everest with [the New Zealander] Hillary. He said that we must approach mountains with reverence, and God in the same way. Indeed mountains demand a certain mindset in order to grasp their magnificence and their beauty. Truth lies hidden from people who rush at it without reverence, who set out unprepared, disregarding the dangers, precipices and crevasses.
It is the mark of human history to strive upwards. You may well object: think how many steps there have been leading downwards. Yes, of course; at first glance there are more steps leading downwards; more people who have fallen and rolled down into the abyss. But the important thing is that human beings have all the same kept attempting to climb to this summit above the clouds, and the greatness of humanity lies in the fact that people have the capacity to reach the peaks of intellectual and spiritual contemplation, to reach what Pushkin called "the neighborhood of God.
"Human beings have two countries, two homelands. One is our own country, that place where each of us was born and grew up. But the other is that hidden world of the spirit which the eye may not see and the ear may not hear but where, by our nature, we belong. We are children of the earth and at the same time visitors to it...and contact with God is possible...
Christ calls people to bring the divine ideal to reality.
Father Alexander Men
Christianity for the Twenty-first Century
lecture given September 8, 1990 - the night before he was murdered
Russian version published in 1992
English translation from:
Christianity for the Twenty-first Century: The Prophetic Writings of Fr. Alexander Men
Edited by Elizabeth Roberts and Ann Shukman
Pages 181,183 & 185 Continuum Publishing, New York - 1996
022709
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH,
ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
Theosis, the transformation of the individual person into the closest possible union with God, is likely to occur towards the final stages of the spiritual journey. Repentance, on the other hand, is not only the initial stage of the spiritual journey, but also the path itself. It is the development of a way of repentance that most of us have the most to learn, and about which the Church has most to say. Repentance is a constant theme in the services of the church, in Holy Scripture, and in the teachings and discussions of the patristic authors. It is the first word of the Forerunner's message, and the last earthly act of the thief hanging on the cross beside the Savior. Repentance is the summary of prayer and sacrament, the act in which all human beings are beginners, all are equal.
Since everything we have and everything we are is a gift from God, repentance is one of the few genuine offerings that a person can make. Each person is free to make an offering of repentance to God, in return He agrees to participate in the transformation of that person.
It hardly needs to be said that in repentance it is the aim to change oneself, not to change the rest of the world or to change the mind of God...
It is not possible to repent on behalf of another person. Naturally, this makes the process [of repentance] very different from the expected behavior of individuals or groups of individuals (up to and including entire nations) that tend to set about solving problems by changing the rest of the world first...
It is God, not the individual, who is in charge. It is the individual, not God, who needs to change.
Father Meletios Webber
Steps of Transformation
Pages 93-94, Conciliar Press, Ben Lomond, California - 2003
022509
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH,
ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
Theosis, the transformation of the individual person into the closest possible union with God, is likely to occur towards the final stages of the spiritual journey. Repentance, on the other hand, is not only the initial stage of the spiritual journey, but also the path itself. It is the development of a way of repentance that most of us have the most to learn, and about which the Church has most to say. Repentance is a constant theme in the services of the church, in Holy Scripture, and in the teachings and discussions of the patristic authors. It is the first word of the Forerunner's message, and the last earthly act of the thief hanging on the cross beside the Savior. Repentance is the summary of prayer and sacrament, the act in which all human beings are beginners, all are equal.
Since everything we have and everything we are is a gift from God, repentance is one of the few genuine offerings that a person can make. Each person is free to make an offering of repentance to God, in return He agrees to participate in the transformation of that person.
It hardly needs to be said that in repentance it is the aim to change oneself, not to change the rest of the world or to change the mind of God...
It is not possible to repent on behalf of another person. Naturally, this makes the process [of repentance] very different from the expected behavior of individuals or groups of individuals (up to and including entire nations) that tend to set about solving problems by changing the rest of the world first...
It is God, not the individual, who is in charge. It is the individual, not God, who needs to change.
Father Meletios Webber
Steps of Transformation
Pages 93-94, Conciliar Press, Ben Lomond, California - 2003
022509
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH,
ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE
SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE
The spiritual struggle of a Christian has never been easy. He has to contend not only against the obvious temptations of the world and against the corruption in himself, not only "against flesh and blood, but against...the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph. 6:12)
In addition to the decisive support which participation in the life of the Church offers him, he is comforted by the knowledge that there exists a "great cloud of witnesses," those who have already been through the same struggles and know how to advise and encourage people who follow their footsteps. The spiritual experience of numerous ascetics is contained is crystallized form in the writings of the Fathers. We can draw on their spiritual life, as is the case in our time.
Humble enjoyment of the teachings of the Fathers, whether in the monastic cell of an elder or through books, is a basic part of Orthodox [Christian] devotional life.
Archbishop Paul of Finland
The Faith We Hold
Page 26, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, New York - 1980
022009
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH,
ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
The spiritual struggle of a Christian has never been easy. He has to contend not only against the obvious temptations of the world and against the corruption in himself, not only "against flesh and blood, but against...the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph. 6:12)
In addition to the decisive support which participation in the life of the Church offers him, he is comforted by the knowledge that there exists a "great cloud of witnesses," those who have already been through the same struggles and know how to advise and encourage people who follow their footsteps. The spiritual experience of numerous ascetics is contained is crystallized form in the writings of the Fathers. We can draw on their spiritual life, as is the case in our time.
Humble enjoyment of the teachings of the Fathers, whether in the monastic cell of an elder or through books, is a basic part of Orthodox [Christian] devotional life.
Archbishop Paul of Finland
The Faith We Hold
Page 26, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, New York - 1980
022009
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH,
ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
THE INDESCRIBABLE BALM
THE INDESCRIBABLE BALM
My Beloved, I thank you and praise God from all my heart for that Great Redeemer and Savior, Who is always compassionate with us, and does not deal with us according to our numerous sins, nor punishes us with respect to our trespasses.
I am very pleased that nothing in the world can trouble or upset me, for I take refuge in the impregnable fortress, inside the safe shelter. I am reassured in the bosom of His mercies. At all times, I have continuous flow of comfort and blessing.
The Lord's grace flutters its wings and casts away any trouble or sadness, and heals the heart with its indescribable balm. Oh, how sweet it is to feel this in your heart, as He eliminates the cares of the world. He helps to strengthen and speed man through his struggle. No one can withstand the trials without His care or power.
Our forefathers compared this Grace with a mother teaching her child to walk. She stands at a distance from him and when she feels that he is about to fall, she hurries to him, embraces him and wipes away every tear from his eyes. That is the way God's Grace deals with man.
Amid his struggles, God's Grace distances itself a little, to train him to walk in the path of virtue. But, when he is sad, troubled or discouraged, He hurries to comfort and encourage him.
How great and abundant are the mercies and blessings God gave man to enjoy. We pray and entreat God to always give us these blessings and keep us in His faith, and help us disregard worldly matters and concentrate on His blessings alone. He is capable of everything.
Saint Pope Kyrollos the Sixth
Christian Behavior
Pages 68-70, St. Mina Monastery Press, Cairo, Egypt - 2000
021809
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH,
ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
My Beloved, I thank you and praise God from all my heart for that Great Redeemer and Savior, Who is always compassionate with us, and does not deal with us according to our numerous sins, nor punishes us with respect to our trespasses.
I am very pleased that nothing in the world can trouble or upset me, for I take refuge in the impregnable fortress, inside the safe shelter. I am reassured in the bosom of His mercies. At all times, I have continuous flow of comfort and blessing.
The Lord's grace flutters its wings and casts away any trouble or sadness, and heals the heart with its indescribable balm. Oh, how sweet it is to feel this in your heart, as He eliminates the cares of the world. He helps to strengthen and speed man through his struggle. No one can withstand the trials without His care or power.
Our forefathers compared this Grace with a mother teaching her child to walk. She stands at a distance from him and when she feels that he is about to fall, she hurries to him, embraces him and wipes away every tear from his eyes. That is the way God's Grace deals with man.
Amid his struggles, God's Grace distances itself a little, to train him to walk in the path of virtue. But, when he is sad, troubled or discouraged, He hurries to comfort and encourage him.
How great and abundant are the mercies and blessings God gave man to enjoy. We pray and entreat God to always give us these blessings and keep us in His faith, and help us disregard worldly matters and concentrate on His blessings alone. He is capable of everything.
Saint Pope Kyrollos the Sixth
Christian Behavior
Pages 68-70, St. Mina Monastery Press, Cairo, Egypt - 2000
021809
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH,
ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
MASTERY AND MYSTERY
MASTERY AND MYSTERY
In our relation to nature, we have to walk the precarious path and live in the difficult rhythm between mystery and mastery. It is not technology and theology or science and theology that need to be reconciled. It is rather these two attitudes - mastery and mystery - which have to be held in tension.
Our mastery of the universe is like the mastery of our bodies; it is not that we may have it for our own use, but that we may give nature, as our extended body, into the hands of the loving God in the great mystery of the eucharistic self-offering. This is the mystery of the cross. Christ gave himself, with humanity and nature, to God, in self-denying love, and thereby saved humanity and nature. It is in that eternal act of sacrifice and love that we too are called upon to participate.
Technology is the way of humanizing the world of matter in time-space, and thereby of extending the human body to envelop the whole universe. But that humanizing and extension, if it is to be salvific, must find its proper culmination in man's offering of himself and the universe to God in love. A secular technology of mastery of nature for oneself is the "original" sin, of dethroning God, and claiming mastery for the sake of indulging our own cupidity, avarice, and greed.
The mastery of nature must be held within the mystery of worship. Otherwise we lose both mastery and mystery.
Metropolitan Paulos Mar Gregorios
The Human Presence: Ecological Spirituality and the Age of the Spirit
Page 93, Amity House, New York 1987
First Published by the World Council of Churches 1978
021309
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH,
ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
In our relation to nature, we have to walk the precarious path and live in the difficult rhythm between mystery and mastery. It is not technology and theology or science and theology that need to be reconciled. It is rather these two attitudes - mastery and mystery - which have to be held in tension.
Our mastery of the universe is like the mastery of our bodies; it is not that we may have it for our own use, but that we may give nature, as our extended body, into the hands of the loving God in the great mystery of the eucharistic self-offering. This is the mystery of the cross. Christ gave himself, with humanity and nature, to God, in self-denying love, and thereby saved humanity and nature. It is in that eternal act of sacrifice and love that we too are called upon to participate.
Technology is the way of humanizing the world of matter in time-space, and thereby of extending the human body to envelop the whole universe. But that humanizing and extension, if it is to be salvific, must find its proper culmination in man's offering of himself and the universe to God in love. A secular technology of mastery of nature for oneself is the "original" sin, of dethroning God, and claiming mastery for the sake of indulging our own cupidity, avarice, and greed.
The mastery of nature must be held within the mystery of worship. Otherwise we lose both mastery and mystery.
Metropolitan Paulos Mar Gregorios
The Human Presence: Ecological Spirituality and the Age of the Spirit
Page 93, Amity House, New York 1987
First Published by the World Council of Churches 1978
021309
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH,
ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
2010-07-21
some thoughts on prayer
SOME THOUGHTS ON PRAYER
Prayer is not form, it is function.
It is not posture, it is relation.
However, proper posture and proper form give prayer more profound function and deeper relationship.
One cannot know this until one has made the effort.
We will put effort into how and when we pray only after an honest appraisal of our distance from God and our lack communication with Him during the activities of our day-to-day life. These problem in our relationship with God become evident in times of sorrow and struggle.
"Lord, teach us to pray" is a request that reveals the Lord's prayer in the scriptures. In Holy Qurbana (liturgy), the priest announces the congregation's willingness to be taught the fullness of the Lord's prayer, by asking God:
- to open our mouths and our lips
- to cleanse our bodies and our souls
- purify our hearts and our minds
- so that we may invoke Thee and Pray to Thee, saying:
Our Father...
Why do you bow down before the altar?
1. that is what in the book instructions (rubrics) - obedience
2. that is what I need to do for proper worship and prayer - humility
3. this is my proper position before God - honesty
4. I need to present myself before God for His mercy on us all - sacrifice
Humbly written and submitted by a servant for edification and spiritual development.
Fr John Brian
Holy Transfiguration Mission
Madison, Wisconsin
2010-06-19
RENEWAL AND DEIFICATION OF CREATION
RENEWAL
The Holy Spirit is the source of renewal par excellence. From the very beginning, and continuously, the Spirit renews the whole creation. The incarnation of the Son is the new creation. Christ is the head of the new creation and new humanity. However, the place and role of the Holy Spirit is not secondary in this event of 'new creation.' The Spirit is the Lord of all creation. The event of new creation becomes a living and present reality through the Holy Spirit. In the power of the Holy Spirit the 'new creation' enters into creation and puts it in a dynamic process of renewal. Humanity and creation re-establish their original relation with God.
The Holy Spirit as a source of renewal is one of the favorite themes of Orthodox liturgy. Here are two references taken from the Armenian liturgy [as quoted from Armenian Church Hymns published in 1980]:
"The Renewer...who with his grace renews the cosmos...and us from the sins of Adam."
"Today the heavenly were in joy because of the renewal of the earthly, because of the renewal of creatures; the Holy Spirit descended to the holy upper-room and by Him the apostles were renewed."
In fact, the renewal of the whole humankind as well as heaven and earth, anticipated in the Eucharistic epiclesis, is the eschatological goal of the whole creation.
DEIFICATION
The ultimate destiny of humanity and creation is deification (theosis). The human being is the representative of the cosmos, a 'microcosm.' Men and women are superior to the cosmos. The latter receives grace through them who are called by God to a supreme vocation: deification, to become by grace that which God is by His nature.
Grace is the transforming and deifying presence of God revealed and poured out by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit transforms us and makes us God-like. Deification is liberation from death. It is re-creation, 'being in Christ,' communion with God. The Holy Spirit leads humanity to Christ and through Him to the Father. Humanity is called also to transform the whole creation in the power of the Holy Spirit. The deification of the cosmos is the restoration of the original order.
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia
The Challenge to be a Church in a Changing World
Pages 77-78, The Armenian Prelacy, New York 1997
021109
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
The Holy Spirit is the source of renewal par excellence. From the very beginning, and continuously, the Spirit renews the whole creation. The incarnation of the Son is the new creation. Christ is the head of the new creation and new humanity. However, the place and role of the Holy Spirit is not secondary in this event of 'new creation.' The Spirit is the Lord of all creation. The event of new creation becomes a living and present reality through the Holy Spirit. In the power of the Holy Spirit the 'new creation' enters into creation and puts it in a dynamic process of renewal. Humanity and creation re-establish their original relation with God.
The Holy Spirit as a source of renewal is one of the favorite themes of Orthodox liturgy. Here are two references taken from the Armenian liturgy [as quoted from Armenian Church Hymns published in 1980]:
"The Renewer...who with his grace renews the cosmos...and us from the sins of Adam."
"Today the heavenly were in joy because of the renewal of the earthly, because of the renewal of creatures; the Holy Spirit descended to the holy upper-room and by Him the apostles were renewed."
In fact, the renewal of the whole humankind as well as heaven and earth, anticipated in the Eucharistic epiclesis, is the eschatological goal of the whole creation.
DEIFICATION
The ultimate destiny of humanity and creation is deification (theosis). The human being is the representative of the cosmos, a 'microcosm.' Men and women are superior to the cosmos. The latter receives grace through them who are called by God to a supreme vocation: deification, to become by grace that which God is by His nature.
Grace is the transforming and deifying presence of God revealed and poured out by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit transforms us and makes us God-like. Deification is liberation from death. It is re-creation, 'being in Christ,' communion with God. The Holy Spirit leads humanity to Christ and through Him to the Father. Humanity is called also to transform the whole creation in the power of the Holy Spirit. The deification of the cosmos is the restoration of the original order.
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia
The Challenge to be a Church in a Changing World
Pages 77-78, The Armenian Prelacy, New York 1997
021109
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
BRUSHING AGAINST GOD
One of the paradoxes of human existence is that there is nowhere God is not. Even though we naturally assume that He is more concerned with certain parts of our lives than with others, God is not nearly as restrictive as we are. One of the closest analogies I have come across is that God is fascinated with us - who we are and what we do. No detail of our lives is too small for His infinite interest.
We cannot brush against God without being changed. In the case of the woman who was healed when she touched Jesus surreptitiously in the crowd, the encounter with God changed her life. So it is with us. Every meeting with God, no matter how casual or seemingly insignificant, involves both judgment and transformation.
Father Meletios Webber
Steps of Transformation
Page 147, Conciliar Press, California 2003
020609
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
We cannot brush against God without being changed. In the case of the woman who was healed when she touched Jesus surreptitiously in the crowd, the encounter with God changed her life. So it is with us. Every meeting with God, no matter how casual or seemingly insignificant, involves both judgment and transformation.
Father Meletios Webber
Steps of Transformation
Page 147, Conciliar Press, California 2003
020609
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
THE INNER KINGDOM
'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God' (Matt. 5:8). Made in God's image, man is a mirror of the divine. He knows God by knowing himself: entering within himself, he sees God reflected in the purity of his own heart. The doctrine of man's creation according to the image means that within each person - within his or her truest and innermost self, often termed the 'deep heart' or 'ground of the soul' - there is a point of direct meeting and union with the Uncreated. 'The kingdom of God is within you' (Luke 17:21).
This quest for the inward kingdom is one of the master themes found throughout the writings of the Fathers. 'The greatest of all lessons,' says St. Clement of Alexandria, 'is to know oneself; for if someone knows himself, he will know God; and if he knows God, he will become like God.' St. Basil the Great writes: 'When the intellect is no longer dissipated among external things or dispersed across the world through the senses, it returns to itself; and by means of itself it ascends to the thought of God.' 'He who knows himself knows everything,' says St Isaac the Syrian; and elsewhere he writes:
"Be at peace with your own soul; then heaven and earth will be at peace with you. Enter eagerly into the treasure house that is within you, and so you will see the things that are in heaven; for there is but one single entry to them both. The ladder that leads to the kingdom is hidden within your soul. Flee from sin, dive into yourself, and in your soul you will discover the stairs by which to ascend."
Archimandrite (now Bishop) Kallistos Ware
The Orthodox Way pages 70-71
St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, New York
1st Paperback Edition 1979 (Revised since this edition in 1995)
020409
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
This quest for the inward kingdom is one of the master themes found throughout the writings of the Fathers. 'The greatest of all lessons,' says St. Clement of Alexandria, 'is to know oneself; for if someone knows himself, he will know God; and if he knows God, he will become like God.' St. Basil the Great writes: 'When the intellect is no longer dissipated among external things or dispersed across the world through the senses, it returns to itself; and by means of itself it ascends to the thought of God.' 'He who knows himself knows everything,' says St Isaac the Syrian; and elsewhere he writes:
"Be at peace with your own soul; then heaven and earth will be at peace with you. Enter eagerly into the treasure house that is within you, and so you will see the things that are in heaven; for there is but one single entry to them both. The ladder that leads to the kingdom is hidden within your soul. Flee from sin, dive into yourself, and in your soul you will discover the stairs by which to ascend."
Archimandrite (now Bishop) Kallistos Ware
The Orthodox Way pages 70-71
St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, New York
1st Paperback Edition 1979 (Revised since this edition in 1995)
020409
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
Blessing of Candles
Here is a prayer for the blessing of candles:
O Lord Jesus Christ, the true light that illumines every man that comes into the world: Do Thou bestow Thy blessing upon these candles, and sanctify them with the light of Thy grace; that as they, kindles with visible fire, do dispel the shadows of night, so may also our hearts, lighted by the invisible flame of the Holy Spirit, cast out the darkness of sin; to the end that with the eye of a cleansed soul, we may see that which is well-pleasing to Thee and necessary for our salvation; so that having triumphed over the dark afflictions of this world we may at the last attain to the Light Everlasting: For Thou art our Savior, and to Thee do we ascribe glory, with Thine unoriginate Father, and Thine all holy, and good, and life-giving Spirit: now and ever and forever. Amen.
In the preparation for Divine Liturgy (Holy Qurbana), prayers are said in greeting the altar, including prayers at lighting candles.
On the left (north side): O Jesus, full of light, in Your light we see light, for You are the true light that enlightens the whole creation. Enlighten us by Your glorious light, O Radiance of the heavenly Father.
On the right (south side): O Pure and Holy One, who dwells in the abodes of light, keep away from us evil passions and hateful thoughts; grant us purity of heart, so that we may do the deeds of righteousness.
From Orthodox Service Books in use in Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish, Madison, Wisconsin
020109
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
O Lord Jesus Christ, the true light that illumines every man that comes into the world: Do Thou bestow Thy blessing upon these candles, and sanctify them with the light of Thy grace; that as they, kindles with visible fire, do dispel the shadows of night, so may also our hearts, lighted by the invisible flame of the Holy Spirit, cast out the darkness of sin; to the end that with the eye of a cleansed soul, we may see that which is well-pleasing to Thee and necessary for our salvation; so that having triumphed over the dark afflictions of this world we may at the last attain to the Light Everlasting: For Thou art our Savior, and to Thee do we ascribe glory, with Thine unoriginate Father, and Thine all holy, and good, and life-giving Spirit: now and ever and forever. Amen.
In the preparation for Divine Liturgy (Holy Qurbana), prayers are said in greeting the altar, including prayers at lighting candles.
On the left (north side): O Jesus, full of light, in Your light we see light, for You are the true light that enlightens the whole creation. Enlighten us by Your glorious light, O Radiance of the heavenly Father.
On the right (south side): O Pure and Holy One, who dwells in the abodes of light, keep away from us evil passions and hateful thoughts; grant us purity of heart, so that we may do the deeds of righteousness.
From Orthodox Service Books in use in Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish, Madison, Wisconsin
020109
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
ALTARS OF KNOWING
Simon [of Taibutheh* in the 7th Century] speaks of three altars of knowing.
The first is the knowledge of works or the observance of the commandments, and the second, the knowledge of "theoria," the meditation on the mysteries of God which are hidden in every work of creation. As we have seen, the scriptures are able to enlighten us in these matters.
The third altar is the knowledge of hope, by which we draw near "the living altar which is Christ, our hope and our God." Just as Christ was united with the Word of God "inseparably and forever, so also the mind is united to Christ without any intermediary and forever; and it is on this altar that a man sanctifies, glorifies and praises at all times; and it is through it that he lives, moves, feeds, sleeps, and does everything without interruption."
...
The goal of all perfecton is communion with God at a level beyond human knowledge. This communion begins while one is still a novice and takes place in the meditation of the mind during prayer. The communion with God consists in thanks and gratitude offered to God in the inwardness of the mind, with a simple faith which has no doubt.
[*The term "Taibutheh" means "his grace" and refers to the fact that Simon claimed all things are accomplished by God's grace.]
Chorbishop Seely Beggiani
Introduction to Eastern Christian Spirituality: The Syriac Tradition
pages 87-88 & footnote page 112
University of Scranton Press 2001
013009
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
The first is the knowledge of works or the observance of the commandments, and the second, the knowledge of "theoria," the meditation on the mysteries of God which are hidden in every work of creation. As we have seen, the scriptures are able to enlighten us in these matters.
The third altar is the knowledge of hope, by which we draw near "the living altar which is Christ, our hope and our God." Just as Christ was united with the Word of God "inseparably and forever, so also the mind is united to Christ without any intermediary and forever; and it is on this altar that a man sanctifies, glorifies and praises at all times; and it is through it that he lives, moves, feeds, sleeps, and does everything without interruption."
...
The goal of all perfecton is communion with God at a level beyond human knowledge. This communion begins while one is still a novice and takes place in the meditation of the mind during prayer. The communion with God consists in thanks and gratitude offered to God in the inwardness of the mind, with a simple faith which has no doubt.
[*The term "Taibutheh" means "his grace" and refers to the fact that Simon claimed all things are accomplished by God's grace.]
Chorbishop Seely Beggiani
Introduction to Eastern Christian Spirituality: The Syriac Tradition
pages 87-88 & footnote page 112
University of Scranton Press 2001
013009
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
also on Facebook
2010-06-11
GOD WILL NEVER ABANDON
GOD WILL NEVER ABANDON
If anyone truly desires to do the will of God
with all their heart,
God will never abandon them
but will constantly guide them along the paths of His will.
If someone really sets their hearts on the will of God,
God will find even a little child to illuminate
so as to communicate His will to that person.
But if a person does not truly desire the will of God,
even if they were to go to a prophet,
God would put it into the heart of that prophet
to give a response comparable to the deceit
that was in the seeker's heart.
Dorotheos of Gaza, 5th Century (Discourse 5)
The Book of Mystical Chapters, page 69
translated by John Anthony McGuckin
Shambala Publications 2002
012809
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
If anyone truly desires to do the will of God
with all their heart,
God will never abandon them
but will constantly guide them along the paths of His will.
If someone really sets their hearts on the will of God,
God will find even a little child to illuminate
so as to communicate His will to that person.
But if a person does not truly desire the will of God,
even if they were to go to a prophet,
God would put it into the heart of that prophet
to give a response comparable to the deceit
that was in the seeker's heart.
Dorotheos of Gaza, 5th Century (Discourse 5)
The Book of Mystical Chapters, page 69
translated by John Anthony McGuckin
Shambala Publications 2002
012809
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
IN SMALL THINGS
I COME TO THEE IN SMALL THINGS
I come to thee, My child, in the very smallest things, in the humblest details. Each one of thy getsures can in itself become an expression of limitless Love.
Thou dost wash a plate. Thou dost dry it. Let these actions carry within them love towards all those who have eaten off this plate, toward all those who will eat off it.
A woman goes out of door. She goes to hang the washing on the line so it will dry. Does this rapid movement of service not remind thee of something? Those two arms, spread out for an instant, do they not make thee think of two other arms which were stretched out on sacred Wood?
Everything becomes sacred, if thy love transfigures it.
Love Himself is amongst us as He who serves.
Fr. Lev Gillet
In Thy Presence, page 43,SVS Press 1977
012309
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - check out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration
I come to thee, My child, in the very smallest things, in the humblest details. Each one of thy getsures can in itself become an expression of limitless Love.
Thou dost wash a plate. Thou dost dry it. Let these actions carry within them love towards all those who have eaten off this plate, toward all those who will eat off it.
A woman goes out of door. She goes to hang the washing on the line so it will dry. Does this rapid movement of service not remind thee of something? Those two arms, spread out for an instant, do they not make thee think of two other arms which were stretched out on sacred Wood?
Everything becomes sacred, if thy love transfigures it.
Love Himself is amongst us as He who serves.
Fr. Lev Gillet
In Thy Presence, page 43,SVS Press 1977
012309
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - check out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration
The Mercy of Differences
The Mercy of Differences
Maybe we have needed to be separated by languages and cultures and distances in order to spiritually develop into the divinity for which we have been created.
For in the struggles to understand, we learn empathy.
In the difficulties to tolerate differences, we learn mercy.
In the extraordinary encounter with those that are different than ourselves, we encounter a transcendent divinity that is greater than us all.
Fr John Brian Paprock
from key note address "Human Rights and Spiritual Development"
delivered at Wisconsin State Capitol December 10, 2008
http://frjohbrian.blogspot.com/2008/12/human-rights-and-spiritual-development.html
012109
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - check out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration
Maybe we have needed to be separated by languages and cultures and distances in order to spiritually develop into the divinity for which we have been created.
For in the struggles to understand, we learn empathy.
In the difficulties to tolerate differences, we learn mercy.
In the extraordinary encounter with those that are different than ourselves, we encounter a transcendent divinity that is greater than us all.
Fr John Brian Paprock
from key note address "Human Rights and Spiritual Development"
delivered at Wisconsin State Capitol December 10, 2008
http://frjohbrian.blogspot.com/2008/12/human-rights-and-spiritual-development.html
012109
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - check out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration
15 Quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.
15 Quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.
1. We must have the faith that things will work out somehow, that God will make a way for us when there seems no way.
2. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
3. All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.
4. An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
5. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
6. Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.
7. Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.
8. Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
9. I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
10. Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.
11. The time is always right to do what is right.
12. To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.
13. We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
14. We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
15. The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
From speeches and books during his public life in the 1960s http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/martin_luther_king_jr.html
011909
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - check out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration
1. We must have the faith that things will work out somehow, that God will make a way for us when there seems no way.
2. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
3. All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.
4. An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
5. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
6. Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.
7. Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.
8. Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
9. I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
10. Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.
11. The time is always right to do what is right.
12. To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.
13. We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
14. We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
15. The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
From speeches and books during his public life in the 1960s http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/martin_luther_king_jr.html
011909
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - check out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration
TEN POINTS ON PRAYER
TEN POINTS ON PRAYER
1. Prayer helps education to enhance truth, virtuous life, faith, reverence
and mutual respect.
2. One who prays to God Almighty daily will never be a liar, filthy mannered
or one without faith. He will not ill-treat his fellow men or superiors.
3. Prayer is the enthusiasm of childhood, the dependence of youth, and the
peace of old age.
4. Prayer with full heart will be accepted by God and it will be returned to
us as a symbol of blessings.
5. One, who loves his fellowmen, is a real devotee.
6. Because all that is created by God deserves love, many things beyond our
dreams are possible through prayer.
7. Pray to God loudly during the day and night alike.
8. These prayers will help us to remove the darkness in our lives, and to
take away the weakness among us.
9. These prayers are a means to achieve salvation and redemption, which are
the final goals in our lives.
10. So pray with hope and faith and worship God. Brethren, God will be
pleased with you.
Let there be the love of the Father, grace of the Son, and the fullness of
the Holy Spirit that gives peace among you forever and ever.
St. Gregorios of Parumala (India)
1870 speech in "Parumala Kochi Thirumeni" by Fr. E. J. Abraham
Translation by Jose Kurian Puliyeril as "St. Gregorios of Parumala"
2001, Puliyeril Publications, Kottayam
011609
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - check out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration
1. Prayer helps education to enhance truth, virtuous life, faith, reverence
and mutual respect.
2. One who prays to God Almighty daily will never be a liar, filthy mannered
or one without faith. He will not ill-treat his fellow men or superiors.
3. Prayer is the enthusiasm of childhood, the dependence of youth, and the
peace of old age.
4. Prayer with full heart will be accepted by God and it will be returned to
us as a symbol of blessings.
5. One, who loves his fellowmen, is a real devotee.
6. Because all that is created by God deserves love, many things beyond our
dreams are possible through prayer.
7. Pray to God loudly during the day and night alike.
8. These prayers will help us to remove the darkness in our lives, and to
take away the weakness among us.
9. These prayers are a means to achieve salvation and redemption, which are
the final goals in our lives.
10. So pray with hope and faith and worship God. Brethren, God will be
pleased with you.
Let there be the love of the Father, grace of the Son, and the fullness of
the Holy Spirit that gives peace among you forever and ever.
St. Gregorios of Parumala (India)
1870 speech in "Parumala Kochi Thirumeni" by Fr. E. J. Abraham
Translation by Jose Kurian Puliyeril as "St. Gregorios of Parumala"
2001, Puliyeril Publications, Kottayam
011609
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - check out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration
2010-05-28
PRAYER AND GOD'S HELP
Prayer gives expression to our striving towards communion with God. This communion is the natural manifestation of our love for God and of God's love for us. Through the channel of prayer we "pour out our hearts before God," which is a Biblical expression meaning that in prayer we express to God our thoughts and feelings of praise, gratitude and worship.
However, prayer is not only a form of worship; it is also a means available to us for overcoming the evil that lodges in our inmost self. In this sense prayer is like a special line that carries man's cry for help to God.
Lord, have mercy! This is the cry for help that is repeated again and again in the service. It is also the individual's cry for help as he keeps watch at the door of his heart and cries out to the Lord to drive away the passions that creep in. This corporate and private cry for help arises from our sense of powerlessness; "Apart from me you can do nothing," the Lord says (Jn 15:5). But it is equally strongly based on our trust that the Lord wants to purify our hearts, if only we ask. We are branches of Christ the Vine, and each branch that strives to bear fruit the Lord "prunes, that it may bear more fruit" (Jn 15:2).
Thus God's help and our own prayers will save us from "the corruption that is in the world because of passion."
Archbishop Paul of Finland
The Faith We Hold, pg. 70
SVS Press 1980
011409
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - "Neighbors, Strangers, and Everyone Else" is the latest title - check it out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration or Amazon.com
However, prayer is not only a form of worship; it is also a means available to us for overcoming the evil that lodges in our inmost self. In this sense prayer is like a special line that carries man's cry for help to God.
Lord, have mercy! This is the cry for help that is repeated again and again in the service. It is also the individual's cry for help as he keeps watch at the door of his heart and cries out to the Lord to drive away the passions that creep in. This corporate and private cry for help arises from our sense of powerlessness; "Apart from me you can do nothing," the Lord says (Jn 15:5). But it is equally strongly based on our trust that the Lord wants to purify our hearts, if only we ask. We are branches of Christ the Vine, and each branch that strives to bear fruit the Lord "prunes, that it may bear more fruit" (Jn 15:2).
Thus God's help and our own prayers will save us from "the corruption that is in the world because of passion."
Archbishop Paul of Finland
The Faith We Hold, pg. 70
SVS Press 1980
011409
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - "Neighbors, Strangers, and Everyone Else" is the latest title - check it out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration or Amazon.com
God's love is always available
Fear arises from the absence of God's love in a person's life. Of course, God's love is always available to anyone who wishes to receive it. But many times, we ignore the hand that God lovingly holds out to comfort, encourage and guide us into his family circle. When we neglect or turn away from his love, worries, anxieties, and finally deep fears may grab hold of us.
Yet, when we open ourselves to God's love and let his compassion and concern for us fill our lives, fear fades and eventually disappears. As St John puts it in his First Epistle "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear..."
Why does a lack of love cause us to be fearful? St John goes on to explain that fear is linked to punishment, while God's love through the sacrifice of his Son has removed the threat of ultimate punishment. Yet many times, we allow the power of God's love to slip away from us, and the dread of punishment to creep back in.
Sometimes, this happens because we disobey God in some way and, as a result, we develop a guilty conscience. There's a very deep sense within us that if we violate God's laws or step outside his will, something bad may happen. Some punishment may strike.
Some might argue that such feelings of guilt are unhealthy, and we should do everything in our power, through psychotherapy or any other means, to get rid of them. But I'm not so sure. I think that feelings of guilt, those prickings of a conscience that has been violated by certain improper or immoral acts, may be a very healthy thing. After all the rules of behavior that God has established in this world are not optional. The universe operates according to certain laws relating to our health, our sexuality, our personal morality, and our relationships. And there are likely to be consequences if we decide we won't follow these laws.
Still, I'm not one of those people who believes that God will routinely reach down from some seat in heaven and smack us if we step out of line. The way he operates is generally much more loving, subtle, and parental than that. More often, when we step outside of God's will and begin trying to live by our own wills, we'll get a sense that something is not quite right. Often, we may first experience anxiety; then, a wave of fear may sweep over us, as we wonder where our lives are going and what traps we may fall into...
God offers his love to us in a direct, warm, caring beam of divine light. His love streams directly from his heart to ours. All we need do is receive, in order to enjoy it fully and bask in its comforting rays. But for us to receive God's love in its fullness, we must have a genuine relationship with him in our innermost beings. It's essential that we in some sense be in union with him as a result of a decision to love, trust and follow his Son. Then, when we've established and developed such a relationship, we find that we, in turn, can become human channels for the great powerful agape love that we've received from God. We can return love to him, and we can also express this same love to others, in much the same way God has expressed it to us.
Archbishop Iakovos
Faith For A Lifetime: A Spiritual Journey, pp. 48,100-101 Doubleday 1988
010909
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - "Neighbors, Strangers, and Everyone Else" is the latest title - check it out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration or Amazon.com
Yet, when we open ourselves to God's love and let his compassion and concern for us fill our lives, fear fades and eventually disappears. As St John puts it in his First Epistle "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear..."
Why does a lack of love cause us to be fearful? St John goes on to explain that fear is linked to punishment, while God's love through the sacrifice of his Son has removed the threat of ultimate punishment. Yet many times, we allow the power of God's love to slip away from us, and the dread of punishment to creep back in.
Sometimes, this happens because we disobey God in some way and, as a result, we develop a guilty conscience. There's a very deep sense within us that if we violate God's laws or step outside his will, something bad may happen. Some punishment may strike.
Some might argue that such feelings of guilt are unhealthy, and we should do everything in our power, through psychotherapy or any other means, to get rid of them. But I'm not so sure. I think that feelings of guilt, those prickings of a conscience that has been violated by certain improper or immoral acts, may be a very healthy thing. After all the rules of behavior that God has established in this world are not optional. The universe operates according to certain laws relating to our health, our sexuality, our personal morality, and our relationships. And there are likely to be consequences if we decide we won't follow these laws.
Still, I'm not one of those people who believes that God will routinely reach down from some seat in heaven and smack us if we step out of line. The way he operates is generally much more loving, subtle, and parental than that. More often, when we step outside of God's will and begin trying to live by our own wills, we'll get a sense that something is not quite right. Often, we may first experience anxiety; then, a wave of fear may sweep over us, as we wonder where our lives are going and what traps we may fall into...
God offers his love to us in a direct, warm, caring beam of divine light. His love streams directly from his heart to ours. All we need do is receive, in order to enjoy it fully and bask in its comforting rays. But for us to receive God's love in its fullness, we must have a genuine relationship with him in our innermost beings. It's essential that we in some sense be in union with him as a result of a decision to love, trust and follow his Son. Then, when we've established and developed such a relationship, we find that we, in turn, can become human channels for the great powerful agape love that we've received from God. We can return love to him, and we can also express this same love to others, in much the same way God has expressed it to us.
Archbishop Iakovos
Faith For A Lifetime: A Spiritual Journey, pp. 48,100-101 Doubleday 1988
010909
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - "Neighbors, Strangers, and Everyone Else" is the latest title - check it out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration or Amazon.com
THE TRANSCENDENT
My child, I shall not leave thee in peace. I want to teach thee to transcend.
Take pleasure in all harmonious beauty. It is good. But thou must learn how to tear thyself away from it, so that what is sublime in it can be seen.
Do not blaspheme against intelligence, for I am both the origin and the summit of Thought. But I do not want thee chained for ever to the tedious discipline of reasoning. I wish to give thee vision.
Hold to obedience and to piety, qualities so many people make mock of these days. But I do not want thee to doze off into a comfortable morality or piety. I wish to inspire thee to sacrifice.
Thou dost realize the distance which lies between thy God and thyself. And it is right that thou shouldest. But be careful not to calculate that distance in order to keep to it strictly, adopting the stance that requires least effort.
My child, I wish to reveal to thee, day by day, God become man; thy Lord Love taking flesh, taking thy flesh.
It is assuming human nature, without any confusion, it is in becoming one of us without ever ceasing to be Himself that limitless Love supremely shatters all limits.
Fr. Lev Gillet
(page 39, In Thy Presence, SVS Press 1977)
010209
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - "Neighbors, Strangers, and Everyone Else" is the latest title - check it out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration or Amazon.com
Take pleasure in all harmonious beauty. It is good. But thou must learn how to tear thyself away from it, so that what is sublime in it can be seen.
Do not blaspheme against intelligence, for I am both the origin and the summit of Thought. But I do not want thee chained for ever to the tedious discipline of reasoning. I wish to give thee vision.
Hold to obedience and to piety, qualities so many people make mock of these days. But I do not want thee to doze off into a comfortable morality or piety. I wish to inspire thee to sacrifice.
Thou dost realize the distance which lies between thy God and thyself. And it is right that thou shouldest. But be careful not to calculate that distance in order to keep to it strictly, adopting the stance that requires least effort.
My child, I wish to reveal to thee, day by day, God become man; thy Lord Love taking flesh, taking thy flesh.
It is assuming human nature, without any confusion, it is in becoming one of us without ever ceasing to be Himself that limitless Love supremely shatters all limits.
Fr. Lev Gillet
(page 39, In Thy Presence, SVS Press 1977)
010209
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - "Neighbors, Strangers, and Everyone Else" is the latest title - check it out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration or Amazon.com
Love of Goodness
God's dealings with man are not limited to our legalistic ideas about reward and punishment. Salvation, which is the ultimate goal of Christian life, is not a "reward" but a gift freely given by God. We cannot "earn" or "merit" it by anything we do, no matter how pious or self-effacing we think ourselves.
In everyday life we naturally think that good deeds should be rewarded and crimes punished. But our God does not "punish" on the basis of human standards. He corrects and chastises us, just as a loving father corrects his erring children in order to show them the way. But this is not the same thing as being "sentenced" to a "term" of pain and suffering for some misdeed. Our God is not vindictive; He is at all times perfectly loving, and His justice has nothing to do with human legal standards.
He knows that we cannot come to Him without purity of heart, and He also knows that we cannot acquire this purity unless we are free from all things: free from attachments to money and property, free of passion and sin, and even detached from bodily health if that stands in between us and true freedom before God. He instructs us, through both revelation and correction, showing us how we may acquire this freedom, for 'Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free' (John 8:32). As St. John Cassian teaches:
God "leads you on by a still higher step to that love which is free of fear. Through this you begin effortlessly and naturally to observe all those things you originally observed out of fear of God and punishment, but now you do them no longer from fear of punishment, but from love of Goodness itself, and delight in virtue." (Institutes)
Anonymous - The Teaching of the Fathers ON ILLNESS page 6-7,Nikodemos Orthodox Publications Society, 1986
010709
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - "Neighbors, Strangers, and Everyone Else" is the latest title - check it out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration or Amazon.com
In everyday life we naturally think that good deeds should be rewarded and crimes punished. But our God does not "punish" on the basis of human standards. He corrects and chastises us, just as a loving father corrects his erring children in order to show them the way. But this is not the same thing as being "sentenced" to a "term" of pain and suffering for some misdeed. Our God is not vindictive; He is at all times perfectly loving, and His justice has nothing to do with human legal standards.
He knows that we cannot come to Him without purity of heart, and He also knows that we cannot acquire this purity unless we are free from all things: free from attachments to money and property, free of passion and sin, and even detached from bodily health if that stands in between us and true freedom before God. He instructs us, through both revelation and correction, showing us how we may acquire this freedom, for 'Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free' (John 8:32). As St. John Cassian teaches:
God "leads you on by a still higher step to that love which is free of fear. Through this you begin effortlessly and naturally to observe all those things you originally observed out of fear of God and punishment, but now you do them no longer from fear of punishment, but from love of Goodness itself, and delight in virtue." (Institutes)
Anonymous - The Teaching of the Fathers ON ILLNESS page 6-7,Nikodemos Orthodox Publications Society, 1986
010709
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
"A Little Spiritual Help" is a group that is over a year old with over 1,000 members on Facebook. It is also a Yahoo group. This is an archival post.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
one way to support this effort is to buy books - "Neighbors, Strangers, and Everyone Else" is the latest title - check it out at: http://www.lulu.com/transfiguration or Amazon.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)