All of us get tired and frustrated. It is in those moments of fatigue that we resort to our sins, losing our zeal for God and the desire to do His will. That's when we need to be able to rely on a set of principles that will sustain and renew us in our love and pursuit of the One who creates, redeems, and sanctifies. "All rules should be directed towards the following primary practice: to preserve the inner spirit of life, fervency and zeal. Do such practices or exercises as will on the one hand allow your exhausted powers to be renewed, and on the other hand, mortify or muffle the passions. Thus, everything related to this should be contained in the following three sets of rules: "1) Rules for preserving the inner spirit of zeal; 2) rules for exercising the powers for the good, or self-forcing; and 3) rules for warring with the passions, or exercising self-opposition." - St. Theophan the Recluse. "Rules for the Beginner of an Ascetic Labor." The Path to Salvation: A Manual of Spiritual Transformation, translated from the Russian by Fr. Seraphim Rose, (Arizona: The Holy Monastery of St. Paisius, 2006), p. 220. #StTheophantheRecluse #Zeal #Podvig #PrayertotheHolySpirit #Passions #God #Will #Creator #Redeemer #Sanctifier #HolyTrinity #HolySpirit

You will notice when the Spirit has sparked a fire within you. Do everything you can to protect that light and warmth. Far too often we let down our guard, allowing the world and the Evil One to pull us back from God and all that is eternal toward that which is temporary and meaningless. "The seed of life has been planted - guard it with everything you have. Otherwise you have nothing to which you can apply your labors, and nothing with which to carry them. You have received the Spirit - do not extinguish it. If you are zealous, be zealous for what is great. Watch over what has been given you, what you have acquired. This acquisition is the coin which will buy you the treasure. If it is lost, all is lost. Armies at war take all care to secure their positions. It is the same here." - St. Theophan the Recluse. "Rules for the Beginner of an Ascetic Labor." The Path to Salvation: A Manual of Spiritual Transformation, translated from the Russian by Fr. Seraphim Rose, (Arizona: The Holy Monastery of St. Paisius, 2006), p. 219. #StTheophantheRecluse #Life #InteriorLife #Work #HolySpirit #luminousdarkness #Struggle #Zeal #God #Eternity #Evil

The happiness we perceive in this life is never permanent. It fleets and it fools. It is most often dependent on the actions of others. And it always seems to rely on various levels of pleasure and prosperity. The only real and lasting happiness is in the Lord. Seek Him and you will find a deeper contentment. As the great saint says: "Do not gravitate to the earth. All is corruptible; only the happiness beyond the grave is eternal, unchanging, true, and this happiness depends upon how we spend this life of ours!" - St. Theophan the Recluse, The Path to Salvation: A Manual of Spiritual Transformation, translated from the Russian by Fr. Seraphim Rose and the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood (Safford, Arizona: St. Paisius Monastery, 2006), p. 12. #StTheophantheRecluse #Lord #Happiness #Life #InteriorLife #Pleasure #Prosperity #Corruption #Sin #Sinner #Eternity #FrSeraphimRose #meditation #secretmeditation

Continual prayer and constant remembering. Practicing silence and approaching stillness. These are the loves and labors that lead to the indwelling of the Lord. Once you feel the warmth, don't stop. Once you see the inner glow of your heart, don't stop. Keep going and God will set you aflame. "Apply the following comparison to this: When a spark falls on a hot object, the object begins smoldering gradually; then it catches first until finally it is engulfed by flame, and, being dark by its essence, it becomes bright and shining on account of the fire that engulfs it. That is how it will be for you. Growing warm gradually, you will begin to glow; the spiritual flame will break out, and, once it has penetrated to all parts of you, will engulf you and make you bright, although you are in and of yourself dark." - St. Theophan the Recluse. "Letter 52." The Spiritual Life and How to be Attuned to It, translated from the Russian by Alexandra Dockham, (Arizona: The Holy Monastery of St. Paisius, 2017), p. 211-212. #PrayUnceasingly #continualprayer #transfiguration #Reflection #Remember #Theoria #DivineCloud #love #StTheophantheRecluse

God knows everything about us. But do we know everything about ourselves? We must commit to uncovering the things we have done to harm ourselves and others. When we're honest about these sins and transgressions, we participate in the catharsis necessary for theoria (illumination). "Do not try to conceal yourself, covering your nakedness with a fig leaf and hiding in the bushes from the Lord, who comes to you in the conscience and exposes you. Blame yourself completely, and ask forgiveness without placing blame on anyone else." - St. Theophan the Recluse. "Letter 60." The Spiritual Life and How to be Attuned to It, translated from the Russian by Alexandra Dockham, (Arizona: The Holy Monastery of St. Paisius, 2017), p. 243. #Sin #Sinner #Renewal #Confession #Relationships #StTheophantheRecluse #Temptation #InteriorLife #Catharsis #Theoria

Sadness, difficulty, anger, and fear seem to be a part of life. But from where do these arise? Setting aside illness and death for the moment, these emotional responses flood our minds frequently, if not daily, as expressions of disappointment in ourselves and others. As humans, partly through the fact of sin and partly through the conditioning of our culture, we tend to think we are not capable or good enough. Often, the expectations others put upon us are inappropriate. Sometimes, a loved one does something that causes us grief. Occasionally, a coworker acts underhandedly. Maybe, a church member is talking behind our backs. Whatever the case may be, healing is available. While specific recovery techniques can be found for the various pains that come to us, don't ever forget that the most important part of healing is giving ourselves over to the divine cloud. What that means is this: while God is always doing 99 percent of the work, when we re-focus our intellect, emotion, body, relationships, and spiritual life on Him, we are giving the 1 percent that is needed to heal and make ourselves whole again. The more we fix our self on God, the more our life becomes an organic whole that is linked with the original divine purpose; and the pain that tries to invade will not be allowed to take permanent hold. #Detachment #Sin #Sinner #Church #sadness #Anxiety #anger #Healing #God #DivineCloud #luminousdarkness #Divinity #Spirituality

"...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 help." - Psalm 22:6-11 #Psalms #SacredScripture #God #Struggle #Humanity #Hate #Evil #Mocking #Podvig #Spirituality #VocalPrayer #MeditativePrayer

"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 every temporal possession, by renouncing everything carnal and natural in the realm of our fallen nature. Plead by the fulfillment of Christ's commandments. Plead by sincere repentance for the sins you have committed. Plead by thanking and praising God for all the trials and troubles sent you. Plead by an abundance of prayer and psalmody. Plead by means of the Jesus Prayer and combine with it the remembrance of death." - St. Ignaty Brianchaninov, The Arena: An Offering to Contemporary Monasticism, translated from the Russian by Archimandrite Lazarus (Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Monastery, 1991), pp. 66-78. #Repentance #Confession #Mercy #God #Hell #Pilgrimage #Detachment #Sin #Sinner #JesusChrist #JesusPrayer #Commandments #Redemption #prayer #PrayUnceasingly #MeditativePrayer #meditation #secretmeditation #Peace #thanksgiving

"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; then we abandon not only unceasing prayer but even the prayers appointed for definite times—we begin to scorn this essential and indispensable occupation as if it were an activity of little importance and little needed. Forgetful of physical death, we die a spiritual death." - St. Ignaty (Brianchaninov), The Arena: An Offering to Contemporary Monasticism, translated from the Russian by Archimandrite Lazarus (Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Monastery, 1991), pp. 66-78. #StIgnatyBrianchaninov #Evil #Podvig #Death #Fear #Suffering #Immortal #Sacrifice #JesusChrist #Christ #Sin #Sinner #Commandments #PrayUnceasingly #prayer #MeditativePrayer #meditation #secretmeditation #Spirituality #SpiritualDeath

To truly help others - to intercede for them - one must love. To truly love - to sacrifice for them - one must know God. To know God - to understand His will - one must reach for Christ. To reach for Christ - to go beyond the self - one must contemplate Him. To contemplate Christ - to reside in Him - one must let go. To let go - to enter the Divine cloud - one must trust. To trust - to be bathed in the luminous darkness - one must be sanctified. To be sanctified in the Holy Spirit - to live in God - one must detach. Each night before bed, pray to die to your old self. Each morning when you wake, pray to live in God every minute of the day. By this sacrifice, you will be redeemed and others will be helped. #JesusChrist #God #HolySpirit #HolyTrinity #Father #Will #Redemption #Death #Sin #Conversion

"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 that He began long before we turned our hearts from Him. To be born from above means we must let go of our fears and allow the Spirit to move us where He wills. "What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). Reflect on being born from above and following the Spirit. Begin a secret meditation deep in your heart. #StJohntheEvangelist #StJohntheTheologian #Father #God #JesusChrist #HolyTrinity #HolySpirit #Sin #Sinner #Reflection #MeditativePrayer #meditation #secretmeditation #Renewal #InteriorLife

"Prayer, attention, and work are safe ways to tame your thoughts and your passions in order to follow God's will." - A monk from Mount Athos #prayer #PrayUnceasingly #God #MountAthos #Attentiveness #Work #Will #Struggle #Podvig #Passions