Be Watchful Over Yourself

St. Nicodemus the Hagiorite

By: St. Nicodemus the Hagiorite

So, brother, since the enemy watches you constantly, waiting for an opportunity to sow evil in you, be doubly watchful over yourself, lest you fall into the nets spread for you. As soon as he shows you some fault in your neighbour, hasten to repel this thought, lest it take root in you and grow. Cast it out, so that no trace is left in you, and replace it by the thought of the good qualities you know your neighbour to possess, or of those people generally should have. If you still feel the impulse to pass judgment, add to this the truth, that you are given no authority for this and that the moment you assume this authority you thereby make yourself worthy of judgment and condemnation, not before powerless men, but before God, the all-powerful Judge of all.

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On How to Perceive the Divine Mystery

Fyodor Dostoevsky

By: Fyodor Dostoevsky

Love all God’s creation, the whole of it and every grain of sand. Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything.  If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things.

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The Type of Marriage that Brings Blessings

St. John Chrysostom

If a man and a woman marry to satisfy their sexual appetites, or to further the material aims of themselves or their families, then the union is unlikely to bring blessings. But if a man and a woman marry in order to be companions on the journey through earth to heaven, then their union will bring great joy to themselves and to others.

From “On Living Simply”, No. 70, a collection of excerpts from the writings of St John Chrysostom, chosen and translated by Robert Van de Weyer.

The Nativity is a Day of Joy

Nativity by: Fra Angelico

This [Christmas] night bestowed peace on the whole world; So, let no one threaten; this is the night of the Most Gentle One -let no one be cruel; This is the night of the most Humble One – let no one be proud. Now is the day of joy, – let us not revenge; now is the day of good will, – let us not be mean.
In this day of peace let us not be conquered by anger… Today the Bountiful impoverished Himself for our sake; so, the rich one, invite the poor to your table. To-day we received a Gift for which we did not ask; so let us give alms to those, who implore us and beg. This present day cast open the heavenly doors to our prayers; let us open our door to those who ask our forgiveness… Now the Divine Being took upon Himself the seal of humanity, in order for humanity to be decorated by the seal of Divinity.

St. Isaac the Syrian (The Bible and the Holy Fathers for Orthodox compiled by Johanna M. Manley; St. Vladimir’s Press pg. 970)
Taken from: Here

On Loving God in the Depths of our Hearts

Jesus Christ

By: Diadochus of Photiké (c.400-before 486)

Anyone who loves God in the depths of his heart has already been loved by God.

In fact, the measure of a man’s love for God depends upon how deeply aware he is of God’s love for him.

When this awareness is keen it makes whoever possesses it long to be enlightened by the divine light, and this longing is so intense that it seems to penetrate his very bones.

He loses all consciousness of himself and is entirely transformed by the love of God.

Such a man lives in this life and at the same time does not live in it, for although he still inhabits his body, he is constantly leaving it in spirit because of the love that draws him toward God.

Once the love of God has released him from self-love, the flame of divine love never ceases to burn in his heart and he remains united to God by an irresistible longing.

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On Dealing with Sin

Confession- by: Boris Klementiev

God wants to help us deal with sin but He waits for us to come to Him, to invite Him, to welcome Him.  Advent is a time for doing just that.   Opening our hearts to the Lord with contrition filled prayer is the most important thing we can do to  prepare for the joy of Christmas.  Not to do so is to prefer to live in self-contradiction, a cold dark misery not worthy of human dignity.

To live in sin is a self-contradiction: it is to cleave to a word of doubt in our lives that stands against all that is truly human so that we permeate our culture with death and sew malice in our civilization.  We are made to live in the truth with integrity, that spiritual harmony with God, the world and ourselves.  Sin contradicts all of this. This absence of love, this misery diminishes our capacity to live with ourselves, the world and God..     To believe this fantasy is to turn in on oneself, fight against oneself, to  be consumed in self-occupation.  The fantasy proposes that the obedience of love by which we live by love is oppressive; therefore, we should protect ourselves and secure our destiny by our own cleverness and industry. 

On Helping Others

Mother Teresa helping a child

By: Fr. Alexander Elchaninov

You cannot cure the soul of others or ‘help people,’ without having changed yourself. You cannot put in order the spiritual economy of others, so long as there is chaos in your own soul. You cannot bring peace to others if you do not have it yourself. Often, we help other people, not by a series of conscious acts directed upon their soul, but rather by influencing them through our spiritual gifts, without ourselves seeing or knowing how we do so. Once (St.) Anthony the Great asked a visitor who said nothing at all, ‘Why do you not ask me anything?’ and the other answered, ‘It is enough for me to look at you, holy father’.

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The Nativity Fast

The Nativity of Christ

The Church journeys toward the birth of Christ God, steered by the ship that is the Nativity fast. She does so with the knowledge that unless she struggles up the mountain that is desperately too steep for her to climb, she will never know the breadth of the gift that is the mountain’s levelling by the hand of God. Resurrection unto life is the ultimate gift of the Incarnation, but unless a man understands that he is dead, he will never know the meaning of resurrection.

The fast is a holy and blessed tool that brings us closer to such self-awareness. It reveals to us who we are, perhaps more importantly who we are not, and makes us more consciously aware of that for which we stand in need. Then and only then, with eyes opened — even only partially — by the ascetic endeavour, we will truly know the life-giving light of the Nativity of Christ. We will hear with awe the proclamation of the hymn at vespers, taking the mystery presented therein as united directly to us:

On True Christian Love

Fr. Damascene Christensen of Platina

By: Fr. Damascene Christensen

True Christian love is not just a feeling or a pleasant disposition of the soul. It is a self-sacrificing, ceaseless, life-long act of heroism unto death. It is fiery yet dispassionate, not dependent on anything, not on being loved in return or having a kinship of blood. One no longer thinks of receiving something for oneself. One can be spat upon and reviled, and yet in this suffering there is such a deep, profound peace that one finds it impossible to return to the lifeless state one was in before the suffering. One blesses life and all that is around one, and this blessing becomes universal. Such love can only come from God. This is the only love that Christ is truly interested in, the love He came to earth to show and teach humanity. With this love He gave up His Spirit on the Cross.

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The Lord Is In Every Christian

St. John of Kronstadt

By: St. John of Kronstadt

Remember that the Lord is in every Christian. When your neighbour comes to you, always have great respect for him, because the Lord is in him, and often expresses His will through him. ‘ It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure’ (Phil. 2:13). Therefore, do not grudge anything to your brother, but do unto him as unto the Lord; especially as you do not know in whom the Lord will come and visit you; be impartial to all, be kind to all, sincere and hospitable. Remember that sometimes God speaks even through unbelievers, or disposes their hearts towards us, as it happened in Egypt when the Lord gave Joseph favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. (Gen. 39:21).

Excerpt taken from the book- My Life in Christ, by: St. John of Kronstadt.