“We should follow the example of the birds. They are always joyful, whereas we are always bothered by something.”
anxiety dissolves with Faith
“What is true for parents is also true for teachers.
With prayer and sanctity you can also help children at school. Don’t attempt to correct bad situations with human methods. No good will come of this. You will only produce good results with prayer. Invoke the grace of God on all the children, for divine grace to enter their souls and transform them. That is what it means to be a Christian. You teachers transmit your anxiety ot the children, without realizing it, and this affects them. Anxiety dissolves with faith. What is it that we say?
“We commit our whole life to Christ our God.”
Saint Porphyrios
our nourisher and hope
The tree of life in the heart of paradise is Christ.
All men may know and approach this tree and find nourishment and feed on the Holy Spirit.
Saint Silouan the Athonite
What air is to the body, the spirit of God is to the soul.
As you breathe from the air the elements required to nourish your body, so likewise you breathe into yourself from the Spirit of God good inclinations and thoughts…
O Holy Trinity, our Nourisher and Hope!
St John of Kronstadt
My Life in Christ
innumerable gifts
Nothing is nearer to us than God. He is the God of hearts, of the very hearts, and the heart, in its turn, is nearer than anything to us. It is the whole man, ” the hidden man of the heart,” as the Apostle says.
St John of Kronstadt
My Life in Christ
God hides the mysteries He offers to us, so that He might teach us to search for them in love.
Narsai of Edessa
deep designs : Divine Wisdom
God is a mystery to all beings. God is in us, and that is why we are a mystery to our own selves. God reveals Himself only to the meek and humble. He is present everywhere, and He is a mystery. We may learn a little about Him, or may gather some knowledge from nature, but for the most part, we are surrounded by mystery
Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives:
Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
selfless labor
Look at the bee, how diligently it labors! It gives of itself without reserve, unsparingly. The lifespan of a bee is a month and a half at the most. It often dies working, without going back to its home, the hive. And we? How we pity ourselves and spare ourselves! Or, look at the ant who is never tired of dragging a heavy burden. Even when its burden falls down, the ant patiently picks it up and goes on with its work. As for us, we give up immediately if things do not go the way we want them to!
Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives
Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
one who discovers their habits will also find the Word and Wisdom of God, who is Christ Himself.
Orthodox Study Bible Notes on Proverbs 6:6
give Him your heart
a fresh, hopeful breeze
Our Lord is the sole comfort of both angels and men, of every soul that yearns for Him. He alone is eternal. We can seek comfort from our fellow men here in this life, but all this is very limited, for created beings are limited in time and space and cannot dispense eternity. God alone takes care of every need of our souls.
Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives:
the Life and Teachings of Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
Psalm 27:4
a light to our path
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
Proverbs 16:9
There, now you understand what repentance is all about. Repentance is a complete turning of one’s heart toward Absolute Goodness , and not only of the heart but also of the mind, the feelings, the body, and one’s whole being. Repentance is the unbreakable union of love with our Father and Creator. Therefore we must always be in prayer and at all times ask the Mother of God to give us the strength to love Him as she herself does, along with the saints and the angels. Then we will be blessed both in this life and in eternity as well. For God is love, peace, and joy, which fills every being that seeks Him from the heart.
Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives: the Life and Teachings of Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
freedom
The Lord commands us to love our enemies, not for their sake, but for our own good. For as long as we wallow in the remembrance of an insult we have suffered from a friend, a neighbor, or a relative, we will have neither peace nor rest. We must become free from such thoughts. This means that we must forgive from the heart. Everything must be forgiven. The peace we feel afterwards brings a sense of well-being, joy, and comfort not only to us but to all who surround us. Everyone will feel the impact of our thoughts if our thoughts are kind and peaceful. And the opposite is true, as well.
Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives:
the Life and Teachings of Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
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Embrace the counter-intuitive… ask yourself what is normal?
When one sees the violence and hatred going on in the world, even now just outside of our Nation’s Capitol in Baltimore, it’s clear that we have lost touch with what is normal. Where are the voices of healing?
Normal is not what everyone does, or even what the majority of people are doing.
Normal is the Truth, the Way and the Life.
infinite Love
Faith is the beginning of love.
Evagrios of Pontus
All that is best, that attracts our spiritual gaze and the inclinations of our heart in man, is from God, from His Son, and from His Spirit…
God is nearer to us than any man at every time. He is nearer to me than my raiment, nearer than the air or light, nearer than my wife, father, mother, daughter, son, or friend. I live in Him, soul and body. I breathe in Him, think in Him, feel, consider, intend, speak, undertake, work in Him. “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being.”
St John of Kronstadt
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