let’s go on a little walk

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when thoughts and our problems choke us and we are oppressed by everything, we should say to ourselves, “Come here, let’s go on a little walk. I’ll show you around Paradise. Come and see the magnificence of God!”

Do you know what you are going to be deprived of if you don’t bring your mind to the magnificence of God?

You will be deprived of seeing the angels! You see that the holy angels have order, and they each have different garments. Some angels’ wings are gold; other angels have wings of light – some green, some blue, others are red- all different. Man’s eye can not get enough of the magnificence of the wings of the angels in Heaven!

What is going on in Heaven is unspeakable! Oh how the devil keeps us occupied with all the earthly things here, and he deprives us of the splendor of Heaven.”

blessed Gerontissa Makrina

falling and rising within you

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“True self discover occurs only within the consciousness of the Church. Becoming one with the Body of the Church, and living within its assurance and certitude enables you to be free from changes, anxiety and sadness.

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Troubles simply come come and go, passing by like waves, but they will never be able to drown you.  You have become like the shore, unmoved by the pounding of the sea.  The waves will come and crash all around but you no longer fear them.   Instead they remind you  of the endless waves of the Holy Spirit rising and falling within you.”

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Elder Aemilianos of Simonopetra

the Way of the Spirit

(p. 137-138)

nourishing grace

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What food is for the body, the Spirit is for my life. The Spirit is the foundation of my very existence, He gives life to all flesh. “By the Holy Spirit every soul is given life”

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Elder Aemilianos of Simonopetra

the Way of the Spirit (p. 122)

stretch forth

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“Turning to God means I stretch forth to Him with perseverance.  Why?  Because I’m down here on  earth and He’s in heaven above.  Can I reach Him?  No, I can not ascend.  He must descend in order to find me.”

Elder Aemilianos of Simonopetra

Way of the Spirit (p. 74)

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The quote above recalls the image of the icon of the Resurrection.  Repentance – turning to God – is a gift God offers us.  We, each of us, falls every day.  We have not the strength to walk this life of repentance without Him.  He knows this, condescends,  outstretches His Hand, and lift us up.

Repentance is His goodness emptied into the deep heart of man, which in turn, man then offers back unto Him.  It is a never ending cycle of stretching forth and giving.  His self emptying and our self emptying.  The hope of the faithful : God has set His nebulous self-emptying Heart upon man (Job 7:17).

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In The Way of the Spirit, Elder Aemilianos, speaks of the timeless wisdom of the Orthodox Faith and the Orthodox experience of God.  He reminds the reader that God is the initiator, speaking to the deep heart within each of us – and the enduring steadfast love of our loving God – our pursuing God – our jealous, humble and self-emptying God.

Truly, He is mindful of us!

God bends toward the soul

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And just as the soul goes beyond its proper limits in order to encounter God, so too does God bend down toward the soul, abandoning its proper limits in order to give Himself to me, to surrender Himself to me.

Elder Aemilianos of Simonopetra

the way of the spirit (p. 35)

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

blessing from all eternity

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The truth is that God loved us before we were born and will love us still after we have died. God molded us in the depths of the earth. God knitted us together in our mothers’ wombs. God has inscribed us on the palm of his hand. Every hair on our heads is numbered and counted by God. We are held by God in an everlasting embrace. We belong to God from eternity to eternity. Indeed, we are God’s daughters and sons. As beloved children, our core identity is secure in the memory of God. Whether we do anything worthwhile, prove anything important, or give anything of value, God still loves us unconditionally. It is a strong, vital, and active fatherly and motherly kind of love that holds us safe and affirms our worth, wherever we go and whatever we do.

Henri Nouwen