The Journey towards Love

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The Lord wants us to love each other; this is the essence of freedom — love for God and for your neighbor. This is both freedom and equality. But in earthly titles there can be no equality; this is of no concern to the soul, however. Not everyone can be a king or a prince; not everyone can be a patriarch or an abbot, or a leader, but no matter what your title you can love God and serve Him, and that is all that matters. And whoever loves God more on earth shall be in greater glory in the Kingdom.

- St. Silouan

 

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Those who struggle and sense their sinfulness as well as God’s loving-kindness and who trust in His great mercy, elevate their souls to Paradise with great confidence and little physical effort, if they have good intentions.

- Elder Paisios

 

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When we walk in simplicity, keep the commandments, and patiently and persistently seek divine love with tears and pain, guarding Jethro's sheep like Moses --- that is, guarding the good and spiritual movements and meditations of the nous during the heat of the day and the frost of the night of continuous battles and temptations, which we crush with our struggle and humility --- then we are counted worthy of seeing God and the Bush in our hearts, burning with the divine fire of Love,, burning but not consumed.

And having approached it through noetic prayer, we hear the divine voice in a mystery of spiritual knowledge saying, "Put off thy sandals from thy feet!" That is, put off from yourself every self-will and worry for this age as well as all childish thoughts, and be subject to the Holy Spirit and His divine will, "for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."

- Elder Joseph the Hesychast

 

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As a man who drinks wine and gets drunk on a day of mourning forgets all the pangs of his sorrow, so the man who in this world (which is a house of lamentation) is drunk with the love of God, forgets all his sorrows and afflictions and becomes insensible to all sinful passions through his inebriation.

His heart is made steadfast by hope in God, his soul is as light as a winged bird, at every moment his mind rises out of the earth and soars far above
the heavens through the meditation of his thoughts, and he takes delight in the immortal things of the Most High, his prayer is unceasing, and he is like a man who has the wind for his steed, so that his enemy cannot overtake him. Every time he seeks him, he flies from him.

- St. Isaac the Syrian

 

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This one is for Originalist:

 

[pcosmar]

Now that is a powerful truth right there.
I don't care who you are.

 

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[eduardo89]

I don't like admitting when a Georgian is right, but he's right.


Gabriel was born as Goderdzi Urgebadze in Tbilisi in the family of a Communist Party functionary, who was murdered in 1931. After a compulsory service in the Soviet army, he decided to join the monastic life and was ordained into monkhood under the name of Gabriel in 1955. He made himself famous by tearing down a banner depicting Vladimir Lenin during an International Workers' Day parade in downtown Tbilisi in 1965. He was arrested, tried, ruled to be psychotic, and confined to a mental hospital for seven months.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_(Urgebadze)

 

[pcosmar]

I don't like admitting when a Georgian is right, but he's right.

I agree Ed.. And this is my main issue with religion (any religion) People will often defend and follow their church and leaders (with their mind) than follow Christ (with their heart).

it is something to be mindful of, and cautious about.

 

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Seek God daily. But seek Him in your heart, not outside it. And when you find Him, stand with fear and trembling, like the Cherubim and the Seraphim, for your heart has become a throne of God. But in order to find God, become humble as dust before the Lord, for the Lord abhors the proud, whereas He visits those that are humble in heart, wherefore He says: "To whom will I look, but to him that is meek and humble in heart?"

- St. Nektarios of Aegina

 

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Whoever strives towards God and really wants to become Christ’s follower must follow Him, endeavoring to improve himself and become a new person, not retaining anything within oneself that is peculiar to the ancient person — for it is said:" if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation."

- St. Macarius the Great

 

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There is nothing on earth that I need, except that which is most essential. What do I need, what is most essential? I need the Lord, I need His grace, His kingdom within me. On earth, which is the place of my wanderings, my temporary being, there is nothing that is truly mine, everything belongs to God and is temporal, everything serves my needs temporarily.

- St. John of Kronstadt

 

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