It may be the case that we have many highways in our heart.
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But in the end, the goal of our pilgrimage is not a place at all,
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but God Himself.
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Elder Aemilianos of Simonopetra
real paradise on earth
Grace proceeds from brotherly love, and by brotherly love is grace preserved; but if we do not love our brother the grace of God will not come into our souls.
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Saint Silouan the Athonite
He gave us the Holy Spirit
Some there are who spend their whole lives trying to find out about the sun, or the moon, or in seeking like knowledge; yet this is of no profit to the soul.
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The Merciful Lord gave the Holy Spirit on earth, and by the Holy Spirit was the Holy Church established. The Holy Spirit unfolded to us not only the things of the earth, but those too which are of heaven.
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Both in heaven and earth, the Lord is made known only by the Holy Spirit and not through ordinary learning.
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Even children who have no learning at all, come to know the Lord by the Holy Spirit… There are some who spend their whole lives in trying to find out about the sun, or the moon or in seeking like knowledge; yet this is no profit to the soul.
Saint Silouan the Athonite
prepare the heart
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When you love someone, you like to think about what you’re going to do when you see him; how you are going to approach him, and give him the gift that you have brought and wrapped especially for him.
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The same thing is happening here both on the part of the pilgrim and on the part of God. The heart of the pilgrim is not occupied by a single ascent or a single highway, but by the entire country, the whole of the Temple, all of Mount Sion.
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God prepares things for the heart, the heart prepares itself for God.
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Elder Aemilianos of Simonopetra
longing for ascent
For God is always in excess of what we can know and desire.
If our desire is from God, then God Himself will cause it to increase and grow, as He does in the life of the Pilgrim.
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Elder Aemilianos of Simonopetra
and breathed life into it
The Words Require Faith
What is that you say? Taking dust from the earth he shaped the human being? Yes, it says; it did not simply say ‘earth’ but ‘dust,’ something more lowly and substantial even than earth, so to say.
You think the saying amazing and incredible; but if you recall who is the creator in this case, you will no longer withhold faith in the event but marvel at the Creator’s power and bow your knee to it. If, on the other hand, you chanced to put your mind to these matters in light of the limitations of your powers of reason, you would likely get this strange idea into your head, namely, that a body could never be made from earth a brick or a pot, yes, but never could such a body be made. Do you see that unless we take into account the Creator’s power and suppress our own reasoning which betrays such limitations, we will be unable to accept the sublimity of the message? After all, the words require the eyes of faith, spoken as they are with such great considerateness and with our limitations in mind…
“God shaped the human being, and breathed,”
Saint John Chrysostom
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Great is this Mystery
Man was formed of the dust of the ground – what good thing can there be in him?
Behold, God in His goodness adorned man with the grace of the Holy Spirit,
and he became after the likeness of Jesus Christ, Son of God.
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Great is this mystery, and great is the mercy of God towards man.
Saint Siouan the Athonite
perennial thanksgiving
We must not let any season pass by without giving thanks
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Saint Athanasios the Great
in His presence
in the history of all people and nations, we all forget that at every moment of our life we are standing in the presence of God.
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Elder Aemilianos
of Simonopetra
model of brotherly love
Cover a man who stumbles, so long as you receive no harm from him …and give him encouragement. Then your Master’s loving kindness will bear you up.”
Abba Isaak
holy outbursts
Grace acts secretly, but often it bursts out in the open, in holy outbursts and deeds… there is fire inside wood but it is hidden. Rub a piece of wood against another piece, and you get smoke :: then fire appears.
There is electricity in amber and sealing wax but it is not visible. Rub a piece and immediately you will notice the attraction of small particles and even some sparking.
The telegraph is also silent, but as soon as the device begins to produce friction, electricity immediately awakens and acts swiftly.
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saint theophan the recluse
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