There are moments in life when you are not able to make a wish, because speech ceases and then you feel the need to express yourself only through prayers and blessings.
Metropolitan Nafpaktos Hierotheos
A Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain
carry out their words
A few brothers who had lay persons approached Abba Felix and begged him to say a word to them. But the old man kept silent. After they had asked for a long time he said to them “you wish to hear a word,” they said “yes Abba”. Then the old man said to them “there are no such words nowadays. When the brothers used to consult their elders, and when they did what was asked of them, God would show them how to speak. However now, because they ask without doing that which they hear , God has withdrawn the grace of His Word from the elders, and they do not find anything to say, because there is no longer anyone who carries out their words.” Hearing this the brothers groaned, saying “Pray for us Abba”
Metropolitan Nafpaktos Hierotheos
A Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain
tell me a word
A word spoken from the heart of the hermit as from the Holy Spirit, in the language of the desert, is considered real and authentic; and the one who requests it, receives it as the fruit of Grace without elaborating on it in his mind. This “word” from the spiritual father is absolutely necessary for the one who asks. The “word” comes from a soul which is the friend of God, Wounded by the love of God, and is spoken in accordance with the measure of the “thirst” of the one who asks.
Metropolitan Nafpaktos Hierotheos
A Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain
a faith that satisfies
An experience of God is, first of all, an inner assurance that through faith in God, the Christian finds the true meaning of his life. He feels that his faith in Christ is a faith that satisfies him internally, that give meaning to his live and guides him – that is a strong light which is enlightens him. When he thus feels the Christian faith inside him, he has started to live the Grace of God, God is not something external for him.
Archimandrite George
Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Saint Gregorios of Mount Athos
Experiences of the Grace of God
free to love
The basis for real and deep love is free will. It is not possible for someone to love another person if forced to do so by some need or compulsion.
The Struggle in Christ In the Apostasy of our Times
The Holy Monastery of Saint Gregorios : Mount Athos
it contains with it the eternal life {the jesus prayer}
I pray that the All-good God will send down upon you the All Holy Spirit, as He did to His divinely sent holy Apostles so that you may be enlightened to walk the arduous path of salvation. “Behold now, what is so good or joyous, as for brethren to dwell together in unity with love” There is nothing more beautiful than for a synodia to be replete with godly love. Then everything is radiant, everything is full of beauty, while God above delights, and the holy angelic spirits rejoice above where love is boundless.
Love one another as I have loved you. By this all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.
John 13:35
O, Love, whoever possesses you has a truly blessed heart, for within love what could one possibly want and not find. Humility, joy, patience, goodness, compassion, forbearance, enlightenment, and so on are all there. But in order to obtain this supremely woundrous love, we must constantly call upon the God of love to give it to us. When the name of God is remembered through the prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me
Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ ἐλέησόν με
It contains within it eternal life and eternal life is the God of Love. Therefore, he who prays this prayer obtains true godly love.
Elder Eprhaim: Counsels from the Holy Mountain
Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ ἐλέησόν με
spiritual springtime
When love establishes its throne in the soul, it bestows the most beautiful spiritual springtime. Everything glistens with the breeze of love’s refreshing fragrance, for it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endure’s all things, thinks no evil, does not act wickedly, sees all things simply: love covers everything. For this reason it earned the crowing achievement: Love covers everything.
Elder Ephraim: Counsels from the Holy Mountain
the saints have much grace
May the Grace of Christ be with you, within your soul, my child… to enlighten you and increase your love for Him, so that you may be kept near Him and not be swept away by the current of worldliness and fall away from God and lose your immortal soul which is worth more than the entire world.
The amount of Grace that came to you is small, the saints through had much Grace.
Elder Ephraim, Counsels from the Holy Mountain
contemplate His compassion
May God bless us and in His good, open His sea of compassion to us, so that we may all be found united together in the eternal and blessed life, where there is “neither pain, nor sorrow nor sighing, but life unending” and “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Oh what joy that can not be taken away! What a confident awareness that henceforth the torments of this toilsome life have ended!
What God is as great as our God!
He is a Father overflowing with compassion, Who does not take sins into account, as long as His repentant child says, “I have sinned against Heaven and in your sight.” Then at once the Father embraces and kisses Him and obliterates from His heart every trace of displeasure that the childs proflifacy may have occasioned!
I lose my senses when I contemplate His abyss of paternal compassion toward sinners.
Elder Ephraim : Counsels from the Holy Mountain
inhale jesus :: exhale jesus
Yes, my child, love humility above all and then you will obtain Jesus, who is lowly in heart, as an everlasting possession of your soul.
Inhale Jesus. Exhale Jesus
And then you will know what Jesus is. Where is earthly love then! Is it possible for a firebrand to fall upon a parched forest and fore anything to survive? The same thing happens with the twigs of human thoughts when the love of Jesus falls upon them.
gladsomelife.com 