love God abundantly

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Let us make a good beginning so that God may grant us repentance (turning to God), because the person who has repentance does not have pride or egotism. May God grant us awareness of ourselves so that we may have humility. When we humble ourselves, saying, “Forgive me,” and “May it be blessed,” the will of God will be done. The last shall be first and the first shall be last; whoever goes to the back, God will bring to the front. Therefore we should love God abundantly, because we all depend on Him…

Gerontissa Makrina

Words from the Heart

one person gives it to another

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Let us be very careful. Be very careful of conversations, anger, harsh words, idle talk and grumbling, because all of these harm our soul. May your nous be Heaven and your heart the Throne of God, and your mouth a Church… let us struggle to have humility in our soul. Humility. Whoever humbles himself and becomes “dust and ashes”, is the one who will receive the majesty of God. He will receive the gifts of the All-Holy Spirit in his soul. Through humilty, our Christ was crucified. Everything was achieved through humility. Our Christ wants fervent love and immense faith. When we love Him, He will also love us. He will have compassion for us, have mercy on us and save us.

… What spiritual unity takes place when one communicates with another! This is how the grace of God is transmitted. One person has grace and he gives it to another. What grandeur! The spiritual person has so much joy at the moment he communicates with another that he can’t hold back; whatever he has, he transmits to the other. Does he have divine flame, heavenly consolation, fire, fragrance? Whatever he has, he will give. These are gifts from God.

Gerontissa Makrina

Words of the Heart

humility is needed

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Whoever pursues the prayer as if it were gold and makes use of every minute is able to leap over all obstacles, accepting and enduring everything. Then God, and the Panagia protect this person. He will be careful not to judge, not to be disobedient, or do things without a blessing Humility is needed. When one looks to himself, he will see everything around him with a good eye. When a person has God within his soul, he does not speak ill of anyone, and when he sees someone who is suffering, he feels pain, weeps with him and entreats God to be merciful to him.

Gerontissa Makrina

♥️ WORDS OF THE HEART ♥️

our strength is in God

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“Do not be negligent, for prolonged indifference will diminish the light, rather study and grow strong, always asking for divine grace, having learned that your strength is in God. Have as your example every virtue so that you may hear from your Lord the sweet voice saying, “Come to me good and faithful servant, good worker in my mystical vineyard, you have been faithful in a little way, I will reward you in a great way, come forth unto the joy of your Lord.:

For you to be worthy to hear the meek voice of the Lord you must become humble. Learn from the humility of the Lord and ask for the grace of humility so that the Lord may raise you up and reward your works.”

“Spiritual Advice of the Elder Philotheos Zervakos” 

Translated by Archimandrite Polycarpos Rameras

the mercy of God towards man

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“…great is the mercy of God towards man. If all the people of the earth knew how deeply the Lord loves man, their hears would be filled with love of Christ and Christ’s humility, and they would seek to be like Him in all things. But man cannot do this by himself, for it is only of the Holy Spirit that he can become like unto Christ. Man that is fallen purified himself through repentance, and is made new by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and in all t things become like unto the Lord.

So great is God’s mercy towards us.”

The Writings of Staretz Silouan Wisdom from Mount Athos

page 67

little lent

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“In the earliest Christian tradition, the Cross that bore Christ is the Tree of Life that, long hidden within the earth, sprang up from the rock of Golgotha.  Every tree that I plant and that I grow in my garden reminds me that the cross is my redemption, that the reward from my agony in the garden is the blossom of an everlasting rose.”

Vigen Gurioan

From the Cross Christ gave thanks.

Eukharistia.

He blessed it.

Life calls unto Life and Deep to deep leading us forward on our little Lent into Nativity.

Temperatures for many are dropping and we hope for beautiful snow and frost to blanket the earth.   Give us a white Nativity!   Yet do not be fooled by exterior seasons of weather – no matter how cold.  For the crystalline silver-white cold of winter melts into spring before the interiorly warm hidden beating heart vigil candles of Orthodox Christian pilgrims preparing whole hearts yes, our whole beings to receive the cherished promised God-man-babe, in Whom we all live and move and have our being.