"The most important work that a spiritual wrestler can do, is to enter within the heart, there to fight Satan; to hate and repel the thoughts that he inspires and to wage war upon him." - St. Makarios of Egypt. "Fighting Satan in the Heart." The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology, Timothy Ware, Editor, Faber & Faber, 1966, p. 201. #Satan #Evil #PrayerAgainstEvil #PrayeroftheHeart #Sin #Sinner #Renewal #Repentance

"Just as thieves do not lightly attack a place where they see royal weapons prepared against them, so he who has grafted prayer into his heart is not easily robbed by the thieves of the mind." - St. Mark the Monk. "Spiritual Thieves." The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology, Timothy Ware, Editor, Faber & Faber, 1966, p. 201. #Heart #Mind #prayer #PrayeroftheHeart #evil #MeditativePrayer #ContemplativePrayer #Spirituality

Waters flow Clouds float People flit Movement is all around Look beyond Eternity awaits us Be still Find the silence It is found in every hour #Eternity #luminousdarkness #silence #Stillness #ContemplativePrayer #MeditativePrayer

I need to let go of all my fears, Lord. I need to release all of my anger. In their place, I truly want... Peace. Joy. Tranquility. Love. Truth. Goodness. Beauty. Silence. Stillness. You. #Lord #Peace #Joy #Tranquility #Love #Truth #Goodness #Beauty #silence #Stillness

Where are you, God? I seek you. Are you here, Lord? I need you. Are you close? I hope to see you. Can you hold me? I want to feel you. You are loving and faithful. I will seek you in this silence. #God #Lord #Love #Faith #Hope #silence #Stillness

Have you started working on letting go of those things, which the world imprints on you? Those things, which are not of God? Examine your thoughts, deeds, desires, and dreams. Are they worldly or other-worldly? Seek the light of the world, not the world itself. #Sin #Sinner #Redemption #Redeemer #luminousdarkness #God

Creation is a good, which God gave to us out of pure love. But that doesn't mean everything we create is as equally true and beautiful. That is why it is so important to work on ridding ourselves of those things that block our relationship with God. More specifically, this process of 'stripping away' is vital to healing and growing in union with Christ. "Contemplation, then, is not simply abstraction and negation; it is a union and a divinization which occurs mystically and ineffably by the grace of God, after the stripping away of everything from here below which imprints itself on the mind, or rather after the cessation of all intellectual activity; it is something which goes beyond abstraction (which is only the outward mark of the cessation)." - St. Gregory Palamas, The Triads, as found in The Classics of Western Spirituality, Paulist Press, ed. John Meyendorff, pp. 34-35. #ContemplativePrayer #theosis #Divinization #prayer #continualprayer #luminousdarkness #MysticalTheology #StGregoryPalamas #Grace #God #Creator #JesusChrist

When people meet you, do they see a profession; a social status; a nationality; an income bracket; an age; an education? Or, do they encounter God? While it may not seem fair to be evaluated by what we look like, how we sound, where we're going, or who we hang out with, the truth is that our countenance says so much more about who we really are than what we think we portray. That is why it is important to look deep inside to understand who or what is in us that gets reflected to others. Take Mary, for example. Our veneration of her does not only come from the miraculous fact that she willingly bore the Word of God as flesh, but also because of how she lived and exuded the light, love, and mercy of Christ. In other words, she chose each and every day to receive what was being given to her through the Holy Spirit, and to share it as a constant state of love and sacrifice to others. Simply put, her soul magnified the Lord. On this day, when we commemorate Mary's death, let us remember more clearly what she was in life and follow her example. The following is taken from Luke 1:46-55. ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’ #Mary #MotherofGod #StLuketheEvangelist #God #JesusChrist #HolySpirit #HolyTrinity #soul #Mercy #Love #Dormition #love #Sacrifice #SacredScripture

"It is only through death - death in Christ - that we come to life. 'Unless a grain of what falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces much grain' (Jn. 12:24); 'He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it' (Mt. 10:39); 'I die every day... What you sow does not come to life unless it dies' (1 Cor. 15:30, 36). 'I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me...' (Gal. 2:20)." - Fr. John Chryssavgis, Soul Mending, p.9. #StJohntheEvangelist #StMatthew #StPaul #JesusChrist #Death #ParishLife

Everyone asks questions of God all the time. Why am I here? What is my purpose? Are you there? Are you listening? Can you help me? Please, will you help me out of this problem? Please, I'm begging you, can you help me? Why is he/she/they doing this to me? Where am I going? Why do I do these things? No matter your question, part of God's answer will always be that you simplify your life. Think about it. How many problems in your life come from the overcomplicated, overwrought, overinvolved, overly-selfish, and overtly evil passions, thoughts, and behaviors you choose on a regular basis? Reflect on this. The good news is that you can stop this today. Learn to live in relationship with God first and foremost. Seek solutions that breed simplicity and offer peace. Avoid complication. This is what the Holy Spirit is doing when He offers us His sanctifying grace. Stop blocking His work in you. Pray. #God #HolySpirit #Simplicity #Sin #Sinner #Repentance #prayer #continualprayer #Grace

The Sacrament of Confession is a necessary and beautiful part of a contemplative life. It forces us to reflect on ourselves, and our relationship with God and others. More specifically, it gives us the opportunity to encounter God out loud, forcing us out of our desire to lie to ourselves, and helping us more clearly participate in the forgiveness we need in order to draw closer to Him who desires our sanctification. While many people throughout history have disagreed with the practice of Confession, those who participate in this sacrament on a regular basis find that it has a real psychological and spiritual benefit. The only problem is, very often when we go to Confession, we continue to behave as if the sin is still with us. In other words, we either forget to or decide not to forgive ourselves. We have a tendency to do this because we carry such deep shame and guilt that we don't believe our souls and minds are mended or cleared of this particular disease of sin. This is us being our own worst enemy. This is also us believing the evil one (who tells us we are worthless) more than we believe the Word Incarnate. Please remember: you are a unique and beautiful child of God. Learn to forgive yourself. And then you will be able to forgive others. #Confession #Sin #Sinner #ContemplativePrayer #Sacraments #Forgiveness #JesusChrist #HolySpirit

The Transfiguration of Jesus can be found in Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36, John 1:14, and 2 Peter 1:16–18. In these accounts, Jesus and three of his apostles, Peter, James, and John, go to Mt. Tabor. There Jesus radiates light, revealing His divinity, while Moses (the lawgiver) and Elijah (the prophet) appear on either side of Him. Then, "... a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen" (Luke 9:34-36). Meditate on this: in addition to the glory revealed about Jesus in the Transfiguration, God shows us clearly what He wants for us. So, when we choose to pray, and then, in prayer we choose to be more silent before His eternal glory, God will engulf us in His light (we enter the cloud) and allow us to more fully participate in it (the cloud transfigures us). Follow Jesus up the mountain and see how prayer changes you. The following is a 12th century icon of the Transfiguration. #transfiguration #StMatthew #StMark #StLuketheEvangelist #StJohntheEvangelist #MtTabor #JesusChrist #HolySpirit #HolyTrinity #Father #Prophets #Elijah #Moses #MeditativePrayer #secretmeditation #continualprayer