Hermits of our times



  Fr. Seraphim Rose: Why do men learn through pain and suffering, and not through pleasure and happiness? . . .

 “Why do men learn through pain and suffering, and not through pleasure and happiness? Very simply, because pleasure and happiness accustom one to satisfaction with the things given in this world, whereas pain and suffering drive one to seek a more profound happiness beyond the limitations of this world. I am at this moment in some pain, and I call on the Name of Jesus—not necessarily to relieve the pain, but that Jesus, in Whom alone we may transcend this world, may be with me during it, and His will be done in me. But in pleasure I do not call on Him; I am content then with what I have, and I think I need no more. And why is a philosophy of pleasure untenable?—because pleasure is impermanent and unreliable, and pain is inevitable. In pain and suffering Christ speaks to us, and thus God is kind to give them to us, yes, and evil too—for in all of these we glimpse something of what must lie beyond, if there really exists what our hearts most deeply desire.”

+ Fr. Seraphim Rose, quoted in Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works

Comentarii

Trimiteți un comentariu

Postări populare de pe acest blog

The Divine Liturgy of the Greek Orthodox Church in English

Imagine
Lord Jesus Christ Son Of God Have Mercy On Me. a Sinner.   I was strolling through Moscow once on a Lenten evening. There were a lot of people in the churches. This warmed my heart. And although the forty times forty churches were largely lost under the Bolsheviks (even twenty times twenty sounds fantastic), thank God, there are many churches within the Garden Ring. And I repeat, these churches are not empty, and that’s putting it mildly. The smaller ones are even chock full. More and more people come to the churches. People of both sexes and all ages come. They whisper something of their own and repeat something learned by heart from a prayer book. They follow the service, bringing their requests, or, in general, repent of their sins. It’s their business—theirs and God’s. He hearkens to their whispers and thoughts, and He answers. If He didn’t answer they wouldn’t come. That’s something that just occurred to me. Indeed, no one beats us for prayer, and no one cheers us on. ...
Citiți mai multe

The Gospel of John • Official Full HD Movie • English

Imagine
How Jesus Christ  Lived and Suffered for Us The basis of life is love: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself (Mk. 12:30-31). Because of our sinfulness, none of us is capable of loving God and our neighbors in such a complete and perfect manner. Only Jesus Christ truly loved everyone, even His enemies. His infinite love was evidenced in His every word and deed. Being the only-begotten Son of God and God Himself, Jesus Christ in His pity for us came down from Heaven and was incarnate, becoming in everything the same as us, except in sin. Being the Sovereign Heavenly King, before Whom all Angels and creatures tremble, He deigned to take on the image of an ordinary person, to restore our corrupted nature. While possessing all the treasures of the world, He agreed to be born in poverty, lying in a manger in a dark cave. Being the supreme Lawgiver, Jesus Christ durin...
Citiți mai multe

The Spiritual War -- Elder Ephraim of Philotheou and Arizona

Imagine
  When travellers who have travelled a long and difficult road find a large, leafy tree along the way, they sit down beneath its shade, rest there, and after getting relief and gathering strength they continue their way. So does the Church offer the life-bearing tree of the cross of the Lord to those who have passed the time of the fast in ascetic labors and deprivations, for their “relief, cooling, and consolation.” The time of the fast is a time of increased asceticism and labors of piety. If there is any time when we must crucify our flesh with its passions and lusts, it is Lent. A true fast consists in alienating ourselves from everything bad, restraining our tongues from every idle word, especially corrupt and indecent words, in setting aside hatred and anger, and turning away all fleshly lusts and desires. Turning away from all this should be for us not a fast, not forced labors, but the most appropriate work, bringing peace and joy. However, our nature is prone to sin,...
Citiți mai multe