joy{full}ness of heart

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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

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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

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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

shine o cross of the Lord

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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

affirmations of goodness

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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

a vessel of myrrh

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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, ⠀

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“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

our first gift from God

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Our first gift from God is our hearts.  He gives it to us free.  It is a piece of earth with stones.  You must dig each day and plow each day taking away the stones to make the earth of your heart ready to yield a crop 1000-fold.  It takes hard work every day to work the earth of your heart to give a crop of sweet grapes.  Geronta (Geronta is the Greek for Elder) and Gerontissa are the machines to break up the big boulders in your heart but to remove stones can only be done by you.  It takes a lot of hard work and labor to produce sweet grapes in the end from the rocky soil of your heart.

the blessed Gerontissa Makrina

endure endure endure

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Have much, much, much patience. Have endless patience. Over and over again, have this great patience; have patience, patience, patience. Endure, endure, endure. Endure EVERYTHING. Endure everything with much patience, with a heart full of peace and a closed mouth. Endure with patience and patience will rest in your heart.

blessed Gerontissa Makrina