These Three Things...

"In the End Times a man will be saved by love, humbleness, and kindness. Kindness will open the gates of Heaven; humbleness will lead him into Heaven; a man, whose heart is filled with love, will see God." -St. Gabriel of Georgia

Love and Being

*God pours Himself out in an ecstasy of love. He does not remain in the Heavens and call to Himself the servant He loves. No, He Himself descends and searches out for such a servant, and comes near, and lets His love be seen, as He seeks what is like Himself. From those who despise Him, He does not depart; He shows no anger toward those who defy Him, but follows them to their very doors, and endures all things, and even dies, in order to demonstrate His love. All this is true, but we have not yet declared the highest things of all: for not merely does God enter in close fellowship with His servants and extend to them His hand, but He has given Himself wholly to us, so that we become temples of the Living God, and our members are the members of Christ. The head of these members is worshipped by the cherubim, and these hands and feet are joined to that heart.* -St. Nicholas Cabasilas

*I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.* -John 15:5

Η Άνοιξη της Ψυχής

"What the power of spring customarily does to the earth's nature, this grace also does to the soul through purity. The power of springtime causes even the delicate roots that grow in the valleys to sprout, warming the earth as a fire does a cauldron, so that it sends forth the treasures of verdure that God has planted in the earth's nature to gladden creation and for His own glory. In like manner grace causes the manifest blossoming of all the splendor that God has concealed in the soul's nature, and it shows this to her and causes her to rejoice in its beauty." -St. Isaac the Syrian

Μετάνοια

"To repent is to look, not downward at my own shortcomings, but upward at God's love; not backward with self-reproach, but forward with trustfulness. It is to see, not what I have failed to be, but what by the grace of Christ I can yet become." -Kallistos Ware (The Inner Kingdom)

Warfare

If you take up arms against some passion, take humility as an ally, for she will tread upon the asp and basilisk, that is, sin and despair, and will trample upon the lion and dragon, that is, the devil and the dragon of the body. -St. John Climacus

Sanctified Life

*"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." How are to seek first the kingdom of God? In the following manner: let us suppose that you wish to walk, or drive, or else go in a boat somewhere on any wordly, temporal business; before doing so, first pray to the Lord that He may correct the ways of your heart, and then also your present bodily way, or that He may direct the way of your life in accordance with His commandments; desire this with all your heart, and often renew your prayer concerning this. The Lord, seeing your sincere desire and endevour to walk in accordance with His commands, will, by degrees, correct all your ways. Further, for instance, if you wish to get pure air into your room, or if you go for a walk in the fresh air, think of the pure and of the unclean heart. Many of us like to have pure air in the rooms (and this is an excellent habit), or are fond of walking in the fresh air, but they do not even think of the necessity of the purity of the spirit or heart (of, so to say, spiritual air, the breath of life); and , living in the fresh air, they allow themselves to indulge in impure thoughts, impure movements of the heart, and even impurity of language, and most impure carnal actions. Again, when seeking material light, remember the spiritual light which is indespensible for the soul, and without which it remains in the darkness of the passions, in the darkness of spiritual death. "I am come a light into the world," says the Lord, "that whosoever believeth on Me, should not abide in darkness." If you see the fury and hear the howling of the tempest, or read of shipwrecks, think of the storm of human passions causing daily groans and disturbance in the hearts of human society; and pray fervently to the Lord the He may subdue the tempest of sins, as He once subdued the tempest at sea by His word, and that He may root out our passions from our hearts, and re-establish in them unceasing tranquillity. If you experience a feeling of hunger or thirst, and wish to eat and drink, think of the hunger or thirst of the soul (it thrists after righteousness, for justification, Christ,  for sanctification), which, if you do not satisfy, your soul may die from hunger, crushed by the passions, weakened and exhausted; and in satisfying your bodily hunger, do not forget to appease, above all and before all, your spiritual hunger, by conversing with God, by heart-felt repentance for your sins, by reading the story and precepts of the Gospel, and especially by the communion of the Divine Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ. If you are fond of dressing elegantly, or when you put on your clothes, think of the incorruptible garment of righteousness, in which our souls should be arrayed, or of Jesus Christ Who is our spiritual raiment, as it is said: "For as many of you as have been baptised into Christ, have put on Christ." A passion for dress often entirely thrusts out from the heart the very thought of the incorruptible raiment of the soul, and turns the whole life into vain care about elegance in dress. If you are a scholar, a student in any educational establishment, or an offical in some ministry, or officer in any of the branches of the military service, or a technologist, a painter, a sculpter, a manufacturer, a mechanic--remember that the first science for each one of you is to be a true Christian, to believe sincerly in the Holy Trinity, to converse daily with God in prayer, to take part in the Divine service, to observe the rules and regulations of the Church, and to bear in your heart, before your work, during your work, and after your work, the name of Jesus, for He is our light, our strength, our holiness, and our help.* -St. John of Kronstadt

Mystery of Love

*God, deem me worthy of insight into the mystery of your love which is depicted in your dispensation for the perceptible world, in the works of your creation, and in the mystery of the Slaughter of your beloved Son.* -St. Isaac the Syrian