the heart you need

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afflictions will never cease, but God gives us the kind of heart we need, not to simply withstand them, but to profit by them.

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like a city under perpetual siege, the human heart will always be surrounded and under perpetual attack, but it will always have God as its defender

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elder Aemilianos of Simonopetra




on renunciation


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do all the good you can

do not speak evil of anyone

do not steal from anyone

do not lie to anyone

do not be arrogant toward anyone

do not hate anyone

do not be absent from the Divine Services

be compassionate to the needy

do not offend anyone

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Saint John Climacus

the ladder of divine ascent

step 1 :: on renunciation of the world :: no. 21


he who would lose his life

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A man does not cease to feel pain because he has seen God.  On the contrary, God’s presence is often felt in the midst of great agony, in the midst of great pain, in moments of great loss and failure, for he who would lose his life for My sake shall find it (Matt 16:25).

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Elder Aemilianos of Simonopetra

Psalms and the Life of Faith





participate in grace

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It is in the Liturgical assembly, through prayer and the Sacraments, that we experience and share in God’s love and holiness.  God ceaselessly empties Himself, for no other reason than to fill us with Himself.

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Elder Aemilianos of Simonopetra

Psalms and the Life of Faith