joy{full}ness of heart

Leave a comment April 4, 2019 nourishinggrace

In speaking of joyfulness of heart, we should say a word about the nature of the heart in question. What sort of heart is it that feels this joyfullness? A broken heart, a heart that breaks itself oopen because of the majesty that it feels. When a person lives as a true member of the Church, against which the gates of hell cannot prevail (Matt 16:18) when he lives in the state of majesty that is proper to him, then he attains his fulfillment, his authetic self-expression, the revelation of his own true self. True self discovery occurs only within the consciousness of the Church. Becoming one with the body of the Church and living within its assurances and certitude, enables one to be free from changes, anxiety and sadness.

Elder Aemilianos of Simonopetra

inhale jesus :: exhale jesus

1 Comment April 3, 2019 nourishinggrace

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.

Elder Ephraim : Counsels from the Holy Mountain

our whole faith

Leave a comment April 2, 2019 nourishinggrace

LORD JESUS CHRIST SON OF GOD HAVE MERCY ON ME

These words contain our whole faith. In saying “LORD” we believe that we are servants of God and the He is our Lord. This honors Christ, that we make Him our Lord, but it also honors us, who are servants of such a Lord Who is God. When we say “JESUS, which is the human name of God, al the earthly life of Christ, from His birth to His Ascension comes to mind. In saying “CHRIST”, which means anointed by God, King of Heaven and earth, we confess and believe that Christ is our God, who created everything, and is in heaven and will come again to judge the world. In saying “HAVE MERCY ON ME” we enteat God to send us His help and His mercy for we acknowledge that without divine help we are no able to do anything. This in brief, is the explanation of these holy words. Whoever says them experiences many things.

With my whole heart, I pray that our sweet Jesus will give you this prayer, within your soul, that you may taste the spiritual ambrosia of prayer and are replenished overall.

Elder Ephraim : Counsels from the Holy Mountain

people of eternity

Leave a comment April 1, 2019 nourishinggrace

The life of the faithful should be filled with joy and gladness, which are among the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit Himself gives these fruits both to our souls and to our community. At the same time, our life must be something that transcends the world, informed by theological thought and feeling, manifesting the experience of eternity the place and time in which we live. We are obliged truly to be people of eternity….

We are obliged to learn, to think, and to live, to rejoice and to weep, to experience God, and to be raised to the heavens, exactly as did the Saints of the Church. This follows from the unity of the Church, which is something that God grants to us when we gather together.

Elder Aemilianos of Simonopetra

shine o cross of the Lord

Leave a comment March 31, 2019 nourishinggrace

Shine, O Cross of the Lord!

Illumine the hearts of those who honor you!

With love inspired by God, we embrace you,

for you are the only hope of the world.

Through you our tears are wiped away,

the snares of death are sprung,

and we pass over into everlasting joy.

Through the Cross reveal Your beauty to us, O Lord!

Help Your servants who ask for mercy in faith!//

Bestow upon us the fruits of abstinence!

from the Third Sunday of Great Lent, the Veneration of the Holy Cross

my Father art Thou my God

Leave a comment March 30, 2019 nourishinggrace

affirmations of goodness

Leave a comment March 29, 2019 nourishinggrace

Gratitude is an affirmation of goodness, for in our being grateful we affirm that there are good things in the world, and good people that are part of our lives. Our being grateful does not mean that everything in life is perfect, but it does mean that we look at life as a whole, and receive with gratitude all the goodness that is in our life. In turn, our gratitude becomes the foundation for building up those around us, for in being happy ourselves, we are more likely to bring about happiness in others.

Being happy nurtures those random acts of kindness that everyone loves to experience, and promotes goodness and kindness among even strangers. People love it when other people are good to random people. This happiness becomes like a magnet, and even strangers are drawn to us, and our list of friends proliferates. There is nothing that brings about satisfaction like being grateful for our life, for the lives of those around us, for the things in our lives, and for the love God has for us. Remember, it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.

Abbot Tryphon : the morning offering

gladdening

Leave a comment March 28, 2019 nourishinggrace

Prayer then, since it is communion with God, is gladdening. Certainly we shall have our struggle against our sins, and our passions. But not even this should depress us, once we have put our life into Jesus Christ’s hands. The struggle is necessary, however, for our life to be blessed.

Elder Aemilianos of Simonopetra

a vessel of myrrh

Leave a comment March 26, 2019 nourishinggrace

The name of Jesus, prayer of the heart, is called a vessel of myrrh by the Holy Fathers. ⠀⠀

You open it, you turn it upside down and the myrrh flows out, the place is filled with fragrance. … for each one of us is a temple of God, and when we pray we become celebrants of a great mystery.⠀⠀

This is why one of the Fathers of the Church says, very beautifully “ take a censer and cense, because Christ is in your heart from which rises the cry, “Lord Jesus Christ” and elsewhere he says, ⠀

⠀

“when we hear the swing of the censer, let us remember that we are a temple and let us feel in our minds that we are censing Christ., Who is in each of us, and thus let us venerate this tabernacle of the Holy Spirit”⠀

elder Aemilianos of Simonopetra

through prayer

Leave a comment March 25, 2019 nourishinggrace

Through prayer we will heal our brother’s wound and overcome every difficult situation. When a person understands that he is a zero, he neither gets angry, nor speaks unkindly, nor argues, but instead he prays for others.