Hope in God

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS.\, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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HOPE IN GOD

Faith and hope are indispensable for everyone who faces many challenges in life. Without either faith or hope, a person cannot endure disappointments, failure, pain, suffering, sadness, and even death. Those who lack either one of them fall into despair and hopelessness. When one loses faith and hope in God is not able to face life at it is and tragically it leads some to turn to drugs, alcohol, and even suicide. Suicide among many young people has increased dramatically over the years because they lack both faith and hope in God.

Saint Paul speaks about both in his letter to the Hebrews, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

Hope is a God-given virtue together with that of faith. There is enormous power both in faith and hope. No matter what situation we encounter in life when we struggle against great odds and most extreme conditions which may even threaten our very life, we must hold on to faith and hope if we are to triumph and live. According to our Holy Church, the state of hopelessness is the most grievous and horrific condition that anyone can find himself in.  

If we possess faith and hope there is nothing that we cannot accomplish in life. Without them nothing is possible. Without them, one falls into a pit of despair and a dark place. He feels unable to climb up from that abyss of fear and agony. Under those dreadful conditions, the person usually gives up.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ offers hope to all who believe in Him and are willing to follow Him. Do we, however, accept Him as our King and Master? Are we willing to trust Him and to obey Him? Do we truly believe that what is impossible for man is possible with God? The Psalmist makes very clear for us that "our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and shield. Yes, our hearts are glad in Him, because we trust in His Holy Name. Let Your steadfast love, O Lord be upon us, even as we hope in You" (Psalm 33:20-22).  

Evagrios of Pontus wrote: "The demon of despondency, which is called the 'noonday demon' (Psalm 91.6) is more grievous than all others...It arouses in him bitterness against the place and way of life itself and his work, adding that there is no more love among the brethren and no one to comfort him...Then it provokes in him a longing for other places..."

Despondency and despair is a spiritual illness and we must seek healing from the Physician of our souls and bodies, Christ God. Our Lord is ready to come to our aid and to bring healing to us but one who is ill must invite Him and trust in Him. "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, 'Do you believe in the Son of God?' He answered and said, 'Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?' And Jesus said to him, 'You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.' Then he said, 'Lord, I believe!' And he worshiped Him" (St. John 9:35-38). Having opened the blind man's eyes, Jesus also opens the eyes of his heart, offering spiritual illumination.

We are reminded, dear friends, by our Lord God Who says to us, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him, the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice (St. John 10:1-4).

As Christian believers, we listen only to His voice and no other. "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep" (St. John 10:7). Jesus, the Good Shepherd gives hope to all of mankind, even during a time of uncertainty and distress. He offers salvation to all who believe, the Kingdom of Heaven to those who say to Him, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise" (St. Luke 23:41-43).

Finally, our Lord says to us: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace, in the world, you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (St. John 16:33). Despite our suffering that one experiences in life, we, as Christian believers must maintain the peace, faith, hope and joy of Jesus Christ who has "overcome the world" of darkness and despair through His saving work.

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

Prayer as an Important Aspect of our Spiritual Life (Part VI)

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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PRAYER AS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF SPIRITUAL LIFE
By Monk Moses

Contrition and Compunction in Prayer

According to the same Holy Father, Saint John, who authored the famous spiritual book, The Ladder (Climacus), true prayer is both mother and daughter of tears. Contrition and compunction are their regular companions. Compunctious prayer is based on an attentive life attentive to the ever-presence of God in our life, to the purity of our heart, to the genuine humility of our spirit, and to the mystery of death which we must ever remember and contemplate. As it is impossible for fire and water to live together, it is similarly impossible to mix compunction with a life of luxury. And if we could only direct our awareness to the many salutary interventions of God in our life, our eyes would fill with tears of joy for His abundant blessings. Orthodox Christian hymnology is replete with such sweet tears of gratitude combined with tears of compunction, which in ascetic terminology refer to harmolyp (joyful sadness).

Should our prayers be favored with such tears, let us be careful not to lose this blessing because of pride. Mark the Ascetic informs us that with these tears Christ has visited us and has opened our eyes. The memory of our sins in general and not necessarily specific sins is sufficient for compunction. Saint Varsanouphios says that compunction will come when we tame our will such that we are able to abandon our non-spiritual rights and our love for worldly popularity. It is important to distinguish true compunction from the tears of superficiality, vanity, and sentimentality. And we must be careful. Compunction can be wiped out by a careless tongue.

Unceasing Prayer of the Heart

The present author is insufficiently prepared for an adequate discussion of the next stage in this topic the unceasing, spiritual prayer of the heart, marked by a single unwavering thought otherwise known as the Jesus Prayer. The topic of spiritual sobriety and vigilance, spiritual contemplation and action is very advanced and extremely difficult. I shall limit my efforts to the mentioning of a few applicable comments found in the inexhaustible treasury of the Holy Fathers of the Church.

Saint John of the Ladder (Climacus) instructs that if the mind wants to pray united with the heart and is unable to achieve this, then the prayer should be said with the mouth, while the mind holds and attends to the words of the prayer. In the time the Lord will bless us with the prayer of the heart when we will be able to prayer without constraints and distracting imaginations. This charisma (gift) is given, as are all charismata (gifts), to the simple and humble soul, in accordance with the austere and precise spiritual order. To the one who is simple, humble and temperate in all things, Christ Himself will bestow the prayer of the heart.

The so-called Jesus Prayer is simply the repetition of the phrase: "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner." There are some minor variations in the wording. The power of this prayer is unlimited. The very name of Jesus banishes the demons, as Saint Anthony the Great tells us. This prayer and the name of Jesus is repeated by many saints. Saint John Chrysostomos says that the acquisition of the prayer of the heart is not a matter of one or two days, but involves much time and effort, until the enemy (Satan), is banished and Christ comes to dwell in our heart. According to Saint Neilos the Ascetic, the best defense against the enemies is the name of Jesus. And who are the enemies? Burning desires, sinful delights, diabolical schemes and the like. As to how to say the Jesus Prayer properly we have instructions in the book called Philokalia.

The unceasing prayer comes from great love (agape). It is not of course when one becomes inattentive, idle and critical. Our love for God cannot be impeded by the work we do. The Person of God, no matter what he or she is doing, can have a constant remembrance of God, a constant doxology (praise), a constant thanksgiving. God loves us all, but He loves even more those who love Him. Our prayer reveals the measure of our love for Him. The infinite love of God for man has provided for prayer, so that, at any moment one so desires and all the days of his life, one can have conversation with God. All the Saints kept their life of prayer unceasing.

Abba (Father) Poimen, the great Father of discernment (diakrisis), says that there are three most useful principles: fear of God, unceasing prayer, and love for our neighbor. The disciple of Abba (Father) Vessarion, Abba (Father) Doulas, mentions in the gerontikon that he found his elder praying continuously with his arms raised for fourteen days. Only after he lowered his arms did the disciple disturb his elder (geronda). Saint Basil the Great says that unceasing prayer means to so unite yourself with God, through the manner of your whole life, that your very life becomes an unceasing prayer. Abba (Father) Isaac says that unless the grace of the Holy Spirit abides in our heart, perfection in this prayer cannot be attained. When the Holy Spirit dwells in our heart, prayer is not interrupted even when we sleep. And Niketas Stathatos calls this unceasing prayer a spiritual reflection, a remembrance of God with persistent contrition.

One of the elders (gerondes) of Mt. Athos related to us that he had received a letter from a simple woman in which, among other things, she wrote:

"Father, I am a widow with two children and am working to raise them, etc. Please pray for me because I do not have enough time and I pray only eight hours."

Yes, you read correctly, eight hours, and she did not consider it enough! Apparently, she was practicing the spiritual prayer. The person who is dedicated to God does not measure, does not calculate, does not give in order to receive. He or she offers themselves completely to God and God gives himself completely in return.

Concluding Remarks on Prayer

Dear friends, let our prayer be regular, but not out of custom and duty; let it be with program, but not for the sake of the program. In this way, our prayer can be expected to have sweet warmth and inspirational variations and graces. In a mystical yet certain way, God will inform us if our prayer is True and pleasing to Him through the joy and peace which will fill our soul. For many, temptations, difficulties, misfortunes, dangers, deaths, losses have been stimuli which led them to the art of prayer. These difficulties have helped them to more fervent and stronger prayers which earlier had not been achieved, even with persistent effort, because they were not whole-hearted or lacked sincerity.

The True Art of prayer is taught to the person who prays by God Himself. Customary prayer, without a spirit of contrition, of compunction, is not pleasing to God. A soul who loves God cannot live without prayer. God draws the soul to himself through prayer. Only to the humble person will God give the taste of the sheer sweetness of prayer. Only the prayer of the humble person can be pure.

In the final analysis, my dear brothers and sisters, whoever you are, strong or weak, warm or cold, young or old, educated or uneducated, wealthy or poor, clergymen or laymen know that not even a single word of our prayer is in vain. They are all heard, all of them! For this reason do not forget, during those sacred hours, to mention my unworthy person, since God also loves prayers for others, particularly for those who have so much need. (Source: Taken from the book, Athonite Flowers)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!' -- Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

Our Lord Jesus Christ Invites you to His "Great Supper"

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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OUR LORD INVITES YOU TO HIS "GREAT SUPPER"

"Then He said to him, 'A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at suppertime to say to those who were invited, Come, for all things are now ready. But they all with one accord began to make excuses...Then the Master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper" (St. Luke 14:-16-24).

The Divine Liturgy is indeed the Heavenly "Great Supper" that all Christian believers are invited by Him to attend and participate in. Saint Theophylact writes: "By 'a certain man' the Lord means His Father, the Lover of man. But whenever it alludes to God's love for man, He is presented as a man, as is the case here. Since the parable treats of God's extreme love for man and the divine economy of the Incarnation which He worked in us, making us sharers of the Flesh of His Son, the parable calls God a man and this divine economy a great supper."

Are we to turn down His invitation to us to attend His Heavenly Banquet? To do so is a great mistake and a sin. To make excuses such as "I need my sleep, I need to take my son or daughter to an athletic game, I need to do things around the house, or to do my weekly shopping, etc., reveal our lack of understanding of Who it is Who is inviting us and for what reason.

In order to justify our laziness, we can come up with all kinds of excuses. We, as the children of God, were created by Him to worship "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth...for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring'" (Acts 17:24-28).

In the New Testament, Sunday became the greater holy day because our Lord Christ, having risen from the dead, sanctified that day. According to the Church canons (rules), whoever violates this commandment is subject to excommunication i.e., "...without any graver necessity or any particular difficulty compelling him to absent himself from his own church for a very long time, fails to attend church on Sundays for three consecutive weeks, while living in the city, if he be a cleric (priest), let him be deposed from office; but if he be a layman, let him be removed from Communion." Do you see how serious it is not to attend the Divine Liturgy on Sundays? By not attending the Divine Liturgy for months and years, and by not receiving the Divine Eucharist one cuts himself or herself from God, a kind of self-imposed excommunication.

In the church, He Himself is present in His Body and Blood. God revives us in the Mystery of Baptism. It is in the church that we find forgiveness from Him through the Mystery of Repentance/Confession. He offers us His own self in the Most Holy Communion. I ask you where else can we find such sources of incorruptible life? According to an ancient ascetic, they who throughout the week fight against evil, hurry on Saturdays and Sundays to church to partake from the sources of the Living Water of Holy Communion, in order to quench the thirst of their hearts and to be cleansed of the filth of their defiled conscience.

Besides the fact that in His Holy House our Lord protects us and gives us strength, He also teaches us, for the Divine Service in its entirety is a true school of Divine love. In God's holy church, we hear His word, we bring to mind His marvelous divine acts, we learn about our future; indeed, in God's "temple everything uttereth His glory" (Psalm 28:9), as if before our very eyes there take place feats of the martyrs, the victories of the ascetics, courage of kings and priests; we learn about the Mystical nature of God, about the salvation which Christ has granted us; here we rejoice at Christ's Glorious Resurrection. It is not accidental that we refer to Sunday Divine Liturgy as a "lesser Pascha".

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Sunday Divine Liturgy reveal to us our extreme hope. It was not without reason that the holy Prophet David said that "We have thought, O God, of Thy mercy in the midst of Thy temple" (Psalm 47:10). Sunday Divine Liturgy is the best weapon against those numerous depressions and sorrows which inhabit our gray everyday life. This divine service is a brightly shining rainbow of God's covenant amidst the fog of the everyday experience. 

You see now how necessary it is for everyone to attend and participate in the Divine Liturgy every Sunday? It does not matter if it is summer, autumn, winter or spring. God invites us to His Heavenly Banquet and we must feel honored, appreciate and respect His invitation. A true Christian can never, ever, reject God's invitation to do is death.

With agape in our Merciful and Loving God,

+Father George

July 22-St. Mary Magdalene and St. Markella

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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THE HOLY MYRRH-BEARER AND EQUAL TO THE APOSTLES MARY MAGDALENE (July 22nd)

One of the myrrh-bearing women, and equal to the Apostles, she was born in the city of Magdala by the Lake of Gennesaret, of the tribe of Issachar. She was tormented by seven evil spirits, of which she was freed and healed by the Lord Jesus. She was a faithful follower and servant of the Lord during His earthly life, and also stood beneath the Cross on Golgotha and lamented bitterly with the Most Holy Mother of God. After the Lord's death, she visited His tomb three times; and when He rose again, she saw Him twice, once alone and the other time with the other myrrh-bearing women. She traveled to Rome, went before Tiberias Caesar and presented him with a red egg, greeting him with the words: "Christ is risen!" At the same time, she denounced Pilate to Caesar for his unjust condemnation of the Lord Jesus. Caesar listened to her and moved Pilate from Jerusalem to Gaul, where this unjust judge died under imperial displeasure after a terrible illness. After that, she returned from Rome to Ephesus, to Saint John the Theologian, whom she helped in his task of preaching the Gospel. With great love for the Risen Lord and with great zeal, she proclaimed the holy Gospel as a true Apostle of Christ. She died peacefully in Ephesus and was buried, according to tradition, in the same cave in which the seven young men (see August 4th) had been in a charmed sleep for a hundred years. They came to life and then died. Saint Magdalene's holy relics were then taken to Constantinople. Near the Garden of Gethsemane, there is a beautiful Russian church dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene. (Source: The Prologue from Ochrid)

Please note: Although it is sometimes said that Saint Mary Magdalene was the "sinful woman" of the Gospel, this is nowhere stated in the Tradition of the Church, in the sacred hymnology, or in the Holy Gospels themselves, which say only that our Lord cast seven demons out of her, not that she was a fallen woman. "Magdaleine" is a form of Magdalene.

Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. First Tone

When Christ God had been born for our sakes from the Virgin, thou faithfully didst follow Him, keeping His statutes and heeding His sacred laws, O august Mary Magdalene. Hence, as we today observe thy holy remembrance, we receive the loosing of our sins and transgressions through thy holy prayers for us.

Kontakion Hymn. Fourth Tone

When God, the Mighty, the Transcendent, in essence, came in the flesh into the world, He received thee, O Mary, as His true disciple as we meet. For thou hadst thy whole desire and thy love set upon Him; wherefore, thou didst bring to pass many cures for the ailing, and now translated to the Heavens' heights, thou ever fervently prayest for all the world.

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THE HOLY MARTYR MARKELLA OF THE ISLAND OF CHIOS, GREECE

Saint Markella was born in the 14th century on the island of Chios, Greece and was the daughter of the mayor of her town. She was raised in the Christian faith by pious parents but lost her mother at a young age. This was especially difficult for her father who fell into depression. The young Markella was devoted to Christ and strove to preserve her virginity, fighting off numerous temptations from the Devil. Seeing he could make no progress with Markella, the Evil One turned his attention to her father and enflamed within him an unnatural lust for his daughter.

One day he declared his desire for her at which she ran away in tears and fear. Arriving at the edge of the water and with nowhere to run, a rock opened up for Markella to enter so that her lower half could be enclosed within the rock. When her father arrived in pursuit of her, he was furious to have been deprived of his desire and beheaded his daughter there. The miraculous rock remains on Chios in the church dedicated to Saint Markella the virgin-Martyr and is said to spring healing waters. (Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)

Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn of Virgin Martyr Markella
First Tone

Submitting to the laws of the Lord's divine teachings, you strove to keep them blamelessly, O Martyr Markella. And fearing the violence of your father, you fled from him and dwelt in the mountains. Pursuing you he found you and slew you, O undefiled bride of Christ.  Glory to Him Who strengthened you. Glory to Him Who crowned you.  Glory to Him Who works healings for all through you.

In Christ's Service,

+Father George

Prayer as an Important Aspect of our Spiritual Life (Part V)

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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PRAYER IS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE (PART V)
By Monk Moses

The Answer to Our Prayer

The delay in seeing our prayer requests fulfilled, in having our questions answered, is yet another point on which our life of prayer is tested. It is neither a matter of God not hearing our prayers nor of His being indifferent to our suffering. God does not want us to be troubled and tormented, but to be in constant communion with Him with our fervent prayers, which should increase if not immediately answered. We should thank God whether He gives us what we ask for or not since in either case He is acting for our own good. We should not be discouraged and disillusioned when we do not receive what we ask for in prayer. God may be testing our persistence. Let us not tire easily.

If we do not receive what we seek we should thank God, nonetheless, is if our prayer has indeed been answered since He knows our true needs of the present hour better than we do. Saint John Chrysostomos writes, "Glory Be To God for all things!" ("Δόξα Σοι ο Θεός, πάντων ένεκεν"). It may be that our hope does not materialize because what we desire is not essential, even though it may seem indispensable to us at the time. If something is truly indispensable God will provide it instantly. Therefore, even in the case of apparent rejection, Saint John Chrysostomos reassures that in essence, we have succeeded. Any failure that brings a benefit to our life in fact, not a failure but success.

 "But Father, I am asking for spiritual things that are good for me, why is it I do not receive them?" you may ask. Perhaps because your zeal for them is insufficient. Perhaps because the requests are not truly from your own heart, but contrived from other sources or motives. Perhaps you are not worthy to receive them at this time. It is not possible that God, Who takes care of the birds, the irrational animals and the plants of the earth, and Whose compassion for human beings far surpasses any paternal bond of kinship ignores us without reason.

Our drowsy yawning, our flight even from the very first disappointment when everything seems to bother us, our indifference, accompanied by much carelessness and doubt, indicate quite clearly that in the final analysis, we do not really know what we want and what we seek. There are times when it is clear, as when we do not ask today what we were asking just yesterday, that we do not really need what we pray for. The illness of constant change in our desires, easily understood psychologically, can effect and torment our life of prayer. Essential changes in the way we pray come from mystical experiences, divine breezes, subtle whispers of the Holy Spirit in humble, peaceful and understanding hearts. As our hearts improve, so does our attitude in prayer.

Saint John Chrysostomos asks rhetorical questions and provides answers which summarize the matter well:

"Are you in a state of calmness and serenity? Then, beseech the Lord to make more permanent this joy in your heart. Are you are troubled by the onslaught of tribulations and temptations? Beseech the Lord to calm the storm in your life. Has your prayer been heard? Thank God. Have you not been heard? Persist in your prayer until you are heard."

To thank God for pleasant things that come our way is natural. But to be able to thank God even for the unpleasant events that happen in our life is remarkable, and when this really happens in our lives, we truly bring delight to God and shame to the devil. Sorrow changes to spiritual joy. No one is more holy than the person who can be grateful to God in his suffering.

Saint John of Ladder (Climacus) says that effective prayer is characterized by two main elements: sincere thanksgiving and contrite confession. He clearly tells us that our requests in prayer are sometimes not fulfilled for one of the following reasons. We may be asking before the appropriate time, we may not be worthy, or we may be seeking out of a sense of vainglory. Another possible reason is that, if we do receive what we pray for, we may fall into the sin of pride. Also, having received what we ask, we may fall into the other sin of negligence.

(Next: Contrition and Compunction in Prayer)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"- Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

Prayer as an Important Aspect of our Spiritual Life (Part IV)

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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PRAYER IS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE (Part IV)
By Monk Moses

Obstacles to Prayer

An elder (geronda) of Mt. Athos used to tell young monks: "Do not strike up a conversation with your thoughts and imaginings!" Another elder (geronda) said: "Above my cell, many birds will fly. I cannot forbid them, But that which I can do is to disallow them to make their nest on my roof!"  Saint John of the Ladder (Climacus) says: "Even if your mind is constantly distracted from your prayer, you must struggle unceasingly to recall it.  We shall not be condemned because our attention was distracted in prayer, but rather because we did not attempt to bring it back."

The "thoughts and imaginings" of which the first elder spoke trouble many of us a great deal and can be serious obstacles to prayer. A long and difficult struggle may be needed to cut them off completely. This is so because, in many cases, even though these thoughts and imaginings are foreign to our true nature, they have nonetheless become very familiar. They have established their lairs in us. We have become accustomed to them and, as a matter of course, consider them quite natural. When they come to disturb our prayer, concentration can be quickly lost. And these thoughts may not leave us when we want them to go away, especially if they correspond to our uncontrolled desires (passions) if they are indicative of a weakness in our will. As we said, the struggle can be long and difficult. Let us be honest and not try to hide or justify our weakness.

There are many other and varied obstacles to prayer. There is hesitation, anxiety, and pain related to nonexistent illness. There is ill disposition, hunger, thirst, sleepiness, impatience, remembrances, weariness. We may recall details that we thought had been relegated to oblivion telephone numbers, sayings of elders (gerondes), irritations and annoyances of the past. All these can be problems for beginners, but they should not dishearten us. In addition, there are imaginings and demonic fears that usually trouble those who are advanced in prayer, and sometimes beginners to a lesser degree.

More fundamentally, we can say that the devil uses our negligence and our inattention to leave the heart unenlightened by the life of prayer, bringing a myriad of vain thoughts and imaginations to draw us away from the essence of prayer. But we must keep in mind that which is exclaimed in the Divine Liturgy: "The doors, the doors; in wisdom, let us be attentive!" The doors of the mind and of the heart must be well guarded, so that the originator of evil will not control them and be able to enter freely.

It is most difficult to guard our thoughts and protect them from evil theories, demonic deceptions, false visions. Very particular attention is needed here. The purpose of prayer is not the vision of God, but the pouring out of his mercy. A strong desire to see God may be the beginning of error. Let us live as unworthy and incapable, as we certainly are, and if God should will to appear to us, then all well and good.  But this should not be our agonizing purpose.

There was once an ascetic who was praying in the desert and a temptation came to disturb him. Humbling himself, as usual, the ascetic was tempted with the presence of a false light. Deeming himself unworthy to look upon the divine light, and wanting to shun false lights, he buried his face in the sand. The temptation disappeared and an inexpressible peace filled the heart of the ascetic. This story illustrates how very much aware and sober we must be.

Let us, therefore, guard against obstructions. Let us stand courageously, like the ascetic mentioned by Saint Neilos the Ascetic, who had been bitten by a snake while praying. He did not move until he had completed his prayer. "and he who loved God more than himself was not harmed at all."

A similar incident is mentioned by Palladios about a certain monk called Elpidios. He was bitten by a scorpion but did not move from his position of prayer either.

A characteristic of contemporary man, who is easy-going in some ways, is a strong sense of hurry, and great impatience. He expects a great deal quickly and without much toil. The impatience which possesses him makes him want to hurry in prayer; he wants instant results, here and now. He wants to reap fruit before even sowing. Without a drop of sweat, he expects miracles, visions, and revelations. Such pure but naive desires of contemporary man, who in spite of his folly does not cease desiring God, are frightfully and dangerously exploited by the many wolves in sheep's clothing, who have infiltrated the spiritual fold of Christ. (Source: Taken from the book, Athonite Flowers)

(Next: The Answer to Our Prayer)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George