HOLY SILENCE

Life is hard work. But ask yourself, "What kind of work am I doing? What am I working toward? Am I working at God's will or mine? Will my work bring me closer to Him and the Heavenly Kingdom?" The great saint tells us: "Labor, for nothing will come from you otherwise. If you are not successful in prayer, do not expect success in anything else. It is the root of everything." - St. Theophan the Recluse. "Letter 71." The Spiritual Life and How to be Attuned to It, translated fro

How can you complain about life if you don't pray? How can you be angry with God when you don't speak to Him, or, more importantly, listen to Him? The time has come to elevate your life. The only way to do this is by communicating with God, which is prayer. The great saint tells us: "Prayer is the exaltation of the nous* and the heart to God, so they can give glory and thanks to Him." - St. Theophan the Recluse * For the Orthodox Christian, the nous is often called the eye of

"...I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people. All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they shake their heads; ‘Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver— let him rescue the one in whom he delights!’ "Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother’s breast. On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me you have been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to

"Do not fritter away the time given you for repentance. Do not rivet your eyes to the earth on which you are a momentary actor, on which you are an exile, on which by the mercy of God you are given a chance to change your mind and offer repentance for the avoidance of hell's eternal prisons and the eternal torment in them. Use the short spell of your pilgrimage on earth to acquire a haven of peace, a blessed refuge in eternity. Plead for the eternal possession by renouncing e

"Our mind is so darkened by the fall that unless we force ourselves to remember death we can completely forget about it. When we forget about death, then we begin to live on earth as if we were immortal, and we sacrifice all our activity to the world without concerning ourselves in the least either about the fearful transition to eternity or about our fate in eternity. Then we boldly and peremptorily override the commandments of Christ; then we commit all the vilest sins; the

"The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). To be born from above means we must let down our barriers and allow the Father to continue the creating that He began in us long before our parents knew each other. To be born from above means we must let go our of our sins and allow the Son to continue the redeeming and recapitulating in us tha

"Today the faithful celebrate the feast with joy illumined by your coming, O Mother of God. Beholding your pure image we fervently cry to you: 'Encompass us beneath the precious veil of your protection; deliver us from every form of evil by entreating Christ, your Son and our God that He may save our souls'." - Kontakion (a type of hymn) sung on the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God. #MotherofGod #God #JesusChrist #soul #Faith #Joy #luminousdarkness #IntercessoryPr

"What we human beings achieve in our lives, is like the conquest of a mountain. The human soul cleanses itself through the effort of climbing up." - A monk from Mount Athos #God #Sin #Sinner #PrayUnceasingly #MeditativePrayer #Podvig #Struggle #Humanity #humility #MountAthos

"The body at work but the thought with God - such should be the state of a true Christian. "We should set in order our inner state as soon as we open our eyes each morning. In this same state of inner order we should keep ourselves all day, and in the evening warm and strengthen it and so fall asleep. It is a good thing to set limits to our personal affections, avoiding particular friendships, and making all our relationships with others of the same nature. When inner prayer

"Do not overlook the fact that health does not depend on food alone, but above all on inner peace. Life in God, cutting us off from worldly turmoil, brings peace to the heart and, through this, keeps the body also in good health. "Activities are not the main thing in life. The most important thing is to have the heart directed and attuned to God." - St. Theophan the Recluse. "Work, Inner and External." The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology, Timothy Ware, ed., Faber and Fab