وجبـــــــة روحيـــــ(†)ــــــــــة يوميـــــــــة

[Mary Naeem]

Small sins

St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain in his book Spiritual Exercises develops many arguments about how much damage is caused by the so-called light or small sins. Unfortunately many people, says the Saint, with a light conscience dismiss many deviations from the will of God, saying, “It is nothing that I told a little lie, is nothing, … that I made a joke, that I smoke, that I got angry, that I gossiped once, that I ate more than necessary … The Bible assures us that even for our idle talking we will give account to God (see. Matthew 12:36); and for overeating and for making fun will give account to God (see. Luke 6:25). Small sins are those that we call them as such so we can discern them from the big deadly sins. A lake is called small when is compared with the ocean. But in itself is not small. It has thousands and even millions of cubic meters of water. Thus, all sins have their “weight”, whether small or large. Even the small or “light” sins are damaging.

Translated by Dr. Nick Stergiou

[Mary Naeem]

The Sunday of the Prodigal Son

A young man called his Spiritual Father on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son. The Elder responded on the phone: “Many Years my child.” “Elder, is not my name day.” “I know but today is the Sunday of the Prodigal Son; we all celebrate because we are all Prodigal Sons!”

The wealth of the Prodigal Son

What is the wealth that is given to the Prodigal Son which he squandered in wild living? It is everything that is given to us by God; our health, our eyes to see, our ability to run and walk, and many others. And what do we do with this wealth? Aren’t we throw it away with wild living such as overeating, smoking, etc? Let’s go back to Him like the Prodigal Son.

[Mary Naeem]

Elders and their sayings

Knowing Yourself

The humble knowledge of our own self should be honored as more important that all sciences together.

St. Nikodemos the Hagiorate

The soul

Maintain pure your soul as the most important piece of your life.

St. Basil the Great

Eternal Life

Do you want to find the Eternal Life? Well then maintain these two things: faith and humility.

St. Isaak the Syrian

[Mary Naeem]

Elders and their sayings 2

Talking and not talking

The one who speaks because the Lord wants it, is doing fine. And the one who is silent, because the Lord wants it, is also doing fine.

Abba Poemen

The chastity of young people

The abstinence and chastity of the young people will be considered as a martyrdom of the moral sense.

St. Paisios the Hagiorate

The best counterattack

When you are attacked because someone doesn’t like you, the best method to deal with it, is not to be thinking about it but to pray.

St. Sofronios of Essex

[Mary Naeem]

Our talents

“And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.” St. Christopher has captured the essence of this verse from the Bible with his life. He was a huge man and he used his size and strength by assisting people to cross a dangerous river, where they were perishing in the attempt. This service pleased Christ so much that the Saint even carried Christ once in his life. He used his talents which were size and strength to please the Lord by doing good for other people to the point that he received from the Christ: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” So are we doing the same? Are we using our talents to help others and even improve ourselves to the point that we please the Lord? Or are we like the other servant, “the LAZY servant”? Are we inactive physically and emotionally? Are we slothful? Are we wasting our talents (e.g. our minds, our hearts, our bodies)? Please let’s remove from our lives laziness and sloth and use our talents like St. Christopher.

[Mary Naeem]

On Afflictions, Pain, and Labors

Along the difficult way—that is, in the trial of sickness and so forth—the thorn of doubt, of impatience, of cowardice comes to rend the garment of the soul. What is needed, therefore, is to pull out this thorn through faith, hope, and patience, having Jesus Christ as a model. Throughout His life on earth

He had many afflictions, and His all-holy soul was oppressed by many thorns, and so He exclaimed, “In your patience you will gain your souls (Lk. 21:19).”

Through illnesses and through grievous things in general, God bestows gifts upon us as a Father, for He seeks ways to impart His holiness: “What son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are without discipline, you are illegitimate children and not sons (Heb. 12:7-8).” Oh! Whenever we suffer, then it becomes manifest that we are children of God. And who would not like to be a child of God? Therefore, if you want to be a child of God, endure the afflictions and trials sent by God with thanksgiving, faith, and hope.

Even trials coming from people are really sent from God so that we may acquire tolerance, forbearance, compassion, and patience, for all these are divine characteristics, as the Lord says to us: “He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust (Mt. 5:45).” For this reason we are obliged to love all people. May no trace of hatred or evil be found in our souls, so that we may be called children of God.

The sufferings of our whole life are not worthy to be compared with the inconceivable good things that God has prepared for those souls which carry their cross, whether it comes from the devil, other people, or one’s own nature. Because whatever passion or weakness may fight us, when we fight back against it, it causes us to be counted worthy of the blessing: “Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life (Jas. 1:12).”

For this reason, my child, endure everything, for a crown is being woven invisibly for the head of each one of us. Winter is bitter, but paradise is sweet. Endure the frost of trials that your feet may joyfully dance in heaven.

[Mary Naeem]

If God doesn’t intervene, there is no salvation for me”

Pay attention to this –pay close attention. It’s possible for someone to do the holiest of things, and yet his selfishness afflict him even more deeply. This is especially sure to happen when your selfishness has an unhealthy character. And therefore it’s this that I want you to pay attention to. One should understand that within him –apart from everything else –he has an unhealthy state. His weaknesses aren’t just natural weaknesses, but have an unhealthy character –this is the case even more now than ever. One should recognize that it’s because of this that his weaknesses are so strong, and that no matter how he tries, this weakness –this unhealthy state –will continually trip him up. And thus, someone cries out: “Who will release me from this state?”

Do not be afraid. The grace of God will do this, will release us; Not us –we don’t do this ourselves. We’re able to do nothing but to understand, to know, that truth. Realizing this, one may look at himself and say: “So it’s like this, is it? You’re the one who’s doing these things to me?” When this happens, he becomes very well aware that it’s his own selfishness that has created this awful situation in his life, and made him so miserable and unhappy. When a person realizes this he is more and more filled with contrition and is humbled. He seems more and more like chaff, as though he’s nothing before God; he appears not only like a tiny animal but like a sick, tiny animal. However, it’s at this very moment that he can, with even more hope, say to God: “My God, not only am I begging you to intervene, but I believe that this is my only hope. And so you’ll do this, my God, since apart from this there’s no salvation for me”. Man arrives at such a point –pay attention to this –at such a dead end that he says: “It won’t happen otherwise. If you don’t intervene –if you don’t save me God –there is no other solution for me”. And this is very beautiful.

Then, one really believes in God. That is to say, God brings things about in such a way that subsequently man believes; as though it couldn’t have happened any differently. He believes that God holds everything in his hand and that it’s impossible for God to leave his creature at a dead end, or to let him to plummet down asteep slope. At that point, man is completely dejected –completely disillusioned –with himself, but completely redeemed from whatever self-righteousness he had, and so he entrusts himself to God.

I don’t know how many of us reach this point of having courage to entrust ourselves to God. And it’s from this moment onwards that we shouldn’t fear. And yet, every one of us is able to do this. However, to change and to correct ourselves, none of us can do. We can’t stop having this selfishness, or having this unhealthy state within. This is the work that God –that the grace of God –will do. The work left to you, however, is not to live as though you don’t understand that you have these things, but to desire to battle with them –not to adorn and present them as being something precious. These things are nothing and make your life a misery. If you become conscious of your terrible condition and bow before God, then God will save you.

[Mary Naeem]

The Used Can

Someone said to Saint Paisios the Hagiorite that he shines like he is gold! The Saint turned to him and said that he is nothing more than a used can. However, he also said that even a can if you clean it well and you turn it towards the sun will shine like gold! The Saint of course meant that cleaning is confession and turning towards the sun is praying to God.

Personal Testimonies to Dr. Nick Stergiou

[Mary Naeem]

Watchfullness

Watch out for your thoughts that they do not travel here and there, but glue them tightly on the name of Christ.

Fr. Efraim Filotheitis

Translated by Dr. Nick Stergiou

[Mary Naeem]

Only Obedience saves us

People today are so obsessed with themselves, so mastered by their completely sinful state –a state in which sin and sickness are all mixed up together– and in which they are such prisoners, that only obedience can save them. In the end, this complete confusion of the soul being mixed with sin and sickness happens as a result of a more deeply rooted consent to these things by a person. In obedience, though, that is not able to remain. It will go. Just as someone who has this thing deep inside, if he will endure in obedience, it will leave. The question, though, is whether someone will decide to do obedience and to bear with it until the end.

Holy Hesychasterion “The Nativity of Theotokos” Publications.

Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos