acquire the Holy Spirit and thousands around you will be saved

Leave a comment March 15, 2015 nourishinggrace

Our starting point is always wrong. Instead of beginning with ourselves, we always want to change others first and ourselves last. If everyone were to begin first with themselves , then there would be peace all around!

Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives

“…starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change”

Michael Jackson Man in the Mirror

dwelling in unity

Leave a comment March 14, 2015 nourishinggrace

a new commandment I give to you,

that you love one another; as I have loved you.

John 13:34

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you,

and that your joy may be full.

John 15:11

the Lord : our strength and foundation

Leave a comment March 13, 2015 nourishinggrace

Christian humility is not in any way a form of weakness, but just the opposite: it is strength in a person, although not human strength, but rather God’s strength.

My strength is made perfect in weakness , said the Lord to the Apostle Paul when the latter asked the Lord that the messenger of Satan that was buffeting him depart from him (2 Cor 12: 9).

Therefore, the Holy Apostle , understanding the significance of the Lord’s words, said: Most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me ( 2 Cor 12: 9).

Man has free will, and therefore the grace or power of God is fully manifested in him only when he wholly gives himself over to God, that is, when he is permeated with the spirit of humility and obedience to God’s will.

Archbishop Averky

The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society

rejoice in this day

Leave a comment March 12, 2015 nourishinggrace

O give thanks unto the Lord

for He is good

for His mercy endures forever…

This is the day that

the Lord has made

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118: 1 & 24

the heart of the fast

Leave a comment March 11, 2015 nourishinggrace

Fasting, in the Orthodox understanding, includes more than abstinence from certain types of food. It implies prayer, silence, and internal disposition of mind, an attempt to be charitable, kind, and – in one word – spiritual. “Brethren, while fasting bodily, let us also fast spiritually.”

Father Alexander Schmemman

Great Lend : A School of Repentance

It’s Meaning for Orthodox Christians

patience

Leave a comment March 10, 2015 nourishinggrace

The Greek word for patience is hypomoni, which means “endurance.”… But patience also means endurance. The greatest form of patience, and its greatest test, is patience in the face of suffering— the ability to endure wrongs and afflictions patiently. It is rooted in humility, for the humble man does not consider himself worthy of more than he receives… That is why the humble man is patient with people.

Vassilios Papavassiliou

MEDITATIONS FOR GREAT LENT:

Reflections on the Triodion

that you may dwell in gladness

Leave a comment March 9, 2015 nourishinggrace

There are many who say, “Who will show us good things?” O Lord, the light of Your face was stamped upon us. You put gladness in my heart; From their season of wheat, wine, and oil they were multiplied. I will both sleep and rest in peace, For You alone, O Lord, cause me to dwell in hope.

Psalm 4:7-9

When you behold light, remember who gives it to you; When you see heaven and earth and sea and all they contain, be in awe and give praise to their Creator. When you put on your clothes, remember whose gift they are and give thanks to Him who takes care of your needs. In a word, remember and praise God in all your actions, and then you will be praying incessantly and your soul will be filled with gladness.

The Way of a Pilgrim

wholeness and chastity

Leave a comment March 9, 2015 nourishinggrace

the true and full meaning of the Greek word for chastity, sophrosini, is “wholeness” or “wholemindedness.” Chastity is therefore a state of being in which the soul and body work together as one.

Vassilios Papavassiliou