“The last enemy to be destroyed is death…” And that destruction, that extermination of death began when the Son of God Himself in His immortal love for us voluntarily descended into death and its darkness, filling its despair and horror with His light and love. And this is why we sing on Pascha not only [...]
Archive for July, 2009
Fr. Alexander Schmemann on Death and Resurrection
Posted in Uncategorized on July 29, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Saint Poemen the Great on Babbling and Silence
Posted in Uncategorized on July 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart is condemning others he is babbling ceaselessly. But there may be another who talks from morning till night and yet he is truly silent; that is, he says nothing that is not profitable.
* This excerpt was taken from the book “The Sayings of the [...]
Fr. Justin Popovich on the Main Objective of the Devil
Posted in Uncategorized on July 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
We must not forget that the principal objective of the devil is to deprive man of his God-like potential, to de-theanthropize him, to delete his divinity, and to thus transform him into a being similar to himself.
* This excerpt was taken from the book “Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ” by Fr. Justin Popovich
Elder Joseph the Hesychast on Trusting in God
Posted in Uncategorized on July 17, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Don’t fear sicknesses, even when you suffer up to the edge of death. As God is constantly present, why do you worry? “In Him we live and move.” Our struggle is in His embrace. We breath God, we are surrounded by God, we touch God, we mystically eat God. Wherever we turn, wherever we look, [...]
Saint Seraphim of Sarov on Not Judging Others
Posted in Uncategorized on July 15, 2009 | 1 Comment »
You cannot be too gentle, too kind. Shun even to appear harsh in your treatment of each other. Joy, radiant joy, streams from the face of him who gives and kindles joy in the heart of him who receives. All condemnation is from the devil. Never condemn each other. We condemn others only because we [...]
Saint Nectarius of Aegina on How to Find God
Posted in Uncategorized on July 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Seek God daily. But seek Him in your heart, not outside it. And when you find Him, stand with fear and trembling, like the Cherubim and the Seraphim, for your heart has become a throne of God. But in order to find God, become humble as dust before the Lord, for the Lord abhors the [...]
An Angelic Confirmation of Saint Gregory Palamas’ Teaching on Unceasing Prayer
Posted in Uncategorized on July 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The divine Gregory had a beloved friend named Job, a very simple man of great virtue. Once when they were conversing, Gregory told him about prayer, that each Christian individually ought always to make an effort to pray, and to pray unceasingly, as the Apostle Paul exhorts all Christians in common, “Pray without ceasing” (1 [...]
Saint John of Kronstadt on Peace and Despair
Posted in Uncategorized on July 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Sometimes in nature a warm, healthful wind blows, pleasantly and lightly, permeating and coming in contact with the body, and the sky is serene; whilst at other times a cold wind blows, one feels, somehow, distressed and feverish, the wind pierces to the very bones and affects the body unpleasantly, the earth and sky are [...]
