The Journey towards Love

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"And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full."

- Epistle of St. John 1:4​

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Through life in the Holy Trinity, through communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, man’s being is filled with true joy, which is nothing other than divine blessedness. Without this, man’s being is filled with grief, sorrow, and woe. If not with that, then what can death- and even before death, sin- fill the human being? A current of bitterness, or sinful pleasures that gradually change into bitterness, pours forth into the soul through every sort of sin. In every case, through each sin committed, at least a drop of bitterness falls on the soul and imperceptibly spreads throughout the soul. When the time comes, it grows into an enormous sorrow, and man, very often, does not even know where this grief in his soul and heart comes from. Through communion with Christ and His holy virtues, man’s being is filled with unceasing joy. Through living the love of Christ, man’s being is filled with inexpressible joy, as well as from living the righteousness of Christ, the goodness of Christ, the humility and meekness of Christ. And when man looks into himself- behold, he is completely filled with divine joy, and there is not a trace of grief or fear of death in him. Therefore, the holy Theologian proclaims: And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

-St. Justin Popovich

 

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God, Who is by nature good and dispassionate, loves all men equally as His handiwork. But He glorifies the virtuous man because in his will he is united to God. At the same time, in His goodness he is merciful to the sinner and by chastising him in this life brings him back to the path of virtue. Similarly, a man of good and dispassionate judgment also loves all men equally. He loves the virtuous man because of his nature and the probity of his intention; and he loves the sinner, too, because of his nature and because in his compassion he pities him for foolishly stumbling in darkness.

- St. Maximus the Confessor

 

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So often when we say ‘I love you’ we say it with a huge ‘I’ and a small ‘you’.

We use love as a conjunction instead of it being a verb implying action. It’s no good just gazing out into open space hoping to see the Lord; instead, we have to look closely at our neighbor, someone whom God has willed into existence, someone whom God has died for. Everyone we meet has a right to exist, because he has value in himself, and we are not used to this. The acceptance of others is a danger to us, it threatens us. To recognize the other's right to be himself might mean recognizing his right to kill me. But if we set a limit to his right to exist, it's no right at all. Love is difficult. Christ was crucified because he taught a kind of love which is a terror for men, a love which demands total surrender: it spells death.

If we turn to God and come face to face with him, we must be prepared to pay the cost. If we are not prepared to pay the cost, we must walk through life being a beggar, hoping someone else will pay. But if we turn to God we discover that life is deep, vast and immensely worth living.

-Metropolitan Anthony Bloom of Sourozh

 

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“Imagine that the world is a circle, that God is the center, and that the radii are the different ways human beings live. When those who wish to come closer to God walk towards the center of the circle, they come closer to one another at the same time as to God. The closer they come to God, the closer they come to one another. And the closer they come to one another, the closer they come to God.”

- St. Dorotheus of Gaza

 

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"Leave all human injustices to the Lord, for God is the Judge, but as to yourself, be diligent in loving everybody with a pure heart."

- St. John of Kronstadt

 

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"Man is more himself, man is more manlike, when Joy is the fundamental thing in him, and Grief the superficial. Melancholy should be an innocent interlude, a tender and fugitive state of mind; Praise should be the permanent pulsation of the soul. Pessimism is at best an emotional half-holiday; Joy is the uproarious labor by which all things live."

- G. K. Chesterton

 

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"The blessed apostle described even the higher gifts of the Holy Spirit as things that would vanish. He points to love as alone without end. 'Prophecies will end, languages cease and knowledge will fail' (I Cor. 13:8). As for love, 'love will never cease'. Actually, all gifts have been given for reasons of temporal use and need and they will surely pass away at the end of the present dispensation. Love, however, will never be cut off. It works in us and for us, and not simply in this life. For when the burden of physical need has been laid aside in the time to come, it will endure, more effectively, more excellently, forever unfailing, clinging to God with more fire and zeal through all the length of incorruption."

- St. John Cassian

 

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"Do not be vexed with those who show pride, or malice, effeminacy, and impatience in their intercourse with you, or others, but , remembering that you yourself are subject to the same and greater sins and passions, pray for them and be meek with them."

- St. John of Kronstadt

 

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"He who is insolent towards men is insolent towards God... Respect in man the grand, inestimable image of God and be forbearing towards the faults and errors of fallen man, so that God may be forbearing towards your own..."

- St. John of Kronstadt

 

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One of us asked Abba Sisoes, "What is pilgrimage, Abba?" He answered, "Keep silent; and wherever you go, say, 'I am at peace with all men.' That is pilgrimage."

 

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The love of God… is easy to understand: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.’ This love is unbounded. God does not need our love, so the love we show Him transcends all demands, all necessity, and all categorization. It is a perfect love. It is a love which we show to God because He draws us, without any compulsion, towards Himself. In loving God, we go beyond the love of family, the love of country, the love of self. Nothing more need be said, for this love is so demanding and so great that on it rests our salvation.

-Archbishop Chrysostomos of Etna

 

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…and pray without ceasing in behalf of other men. For there is in them the hope of repentance that they may attain to God. See, then, that they be instructed by your works, if in no other way. Be meek in response to their wrath, humble in opposition to their boasting: to their blasphemies return your prayers; in contrast to their error, be steadfast in the faith; and for their cruelty, manifest your gentleness.

While we take care not to imitate their conduct, let us be found their brethren in all true kindness; and let us seek to be followers of the Lord—who ever more unjustly treated, more destitute, more condemned?—that no plant of the devil may be found in you, but that you may remain in all holiness and sobriety in Jesus Christ, both with respect to the flesh and the spirit.

- St. Ignatius of Antioch, third Bishop of Antioch and disciple of St. John

 

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“Direct all your attention to the acquisition of love for your neighbor as the basis of your life and your task. Love your neighbor according to the dictates of the commandments of the Gospel, not at all according to the dictates and impulses of your heart. The love planted by God in our nature was damaged by the fall and cannot act correctly. On no account allow it to act! Its actions have lost their purity…. Love your neighbor in the following way: Do not get angry with him and do not bear resentment or a grudge against him. Do not allow yourself to say to your neighbor any reproachful, abusive, sarcastic or caustic words. Maintain peace with him as far as possible. Humble yourself in his presence. Do not try to have your revenge on him either directly or indirectly. Whenever possible, yield to him. Get out of the habit of arguing and quarrelling, and reject it as a sign of pride and self-love. Speak well of those who speak evil of you. Pay good for evil. Pray for those who cause you various offences, wrongs, temptations, persecutions. Whatever you do, on no account condemn anyone; do not even try to judge whether a person is good or bad, but keep your eyes on that one evil person for whom you must give an account before God – yourself.

Treat your neighbors as you would like them to treat you. Forgive and pardon men their offences against you from the depth of your heart, so that your heavenly Father may forgive you your countless offences, your debt of sin.”

- St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

 

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Meekness is an unchangeable state of mind, which remains the same in honor and dishonor.

Meekness consists in praying calmly and sincerely for a neighbor when he causes many turmoils.

Meekness is a rock overlooking the sea of anger, which breaks all the waves that dash against it, yet remains completely unmoved.

Meekness is the buttress of patience, the door, or rather, the mother of love, and the foundation of discernment, for it is said: The Lord will teach the meek His ways. It prepares us for the forgiveness of sins; it is boldness in prayer; an abode of the Holy Spirit, a fellow-worker of obedience, the guide of the brotherhood, a bridle for the enraged, a check to the irritable, a minister of joy, the imitation of Christ, something proper to angels, shackles for demons, a shield against bitterness.

- St John Climacus

 

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Do not ask for love from your neighbor, for if you ask and he does not respond you will be troubled. Instead show your love for your neighbor and you will be at rest and so will bring your neighbor to love.

- St Dorotheos of Gaza

 

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Life giving faith consists in unquestioning belief in Christ as God. Only when Christ is accepted as perfect God and perfect Man does the plenitude of spiritual experience described by the Apostles and Fathers become possible. Christ is now the cornerstone on which we must construct our entire life, both temporal and eternal… Christ, having linked God and man inseparably in Himself, is the one and only solution of the apparently insoluble conflict [of evil in the world]. He is in truth ‘the Savior of the world’ (John 4.42.) He is the measure of all things, human and divine. He is the sole way to the Father. He is the sun which illumines the universe. Only in His light can the way be seen.

- Archmandrite Sophronius Sakharov

 

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Let us not overlook Him here, hungry, in order that He Himself may feed us there. Here let us clothe Him, that He may not send us forth naked from the safe refuge with Him. If we give Him to drink here, we shall not say with the rich man: ‘Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool our tongues’ (Luke 16:24). If here we receive Him into our homes, there He will prepare many mansions for us. If we go to Him when He is in prison, He Himself will free us also from our bonds. If, when He is a stranger, we take Him in, He will not look down upon us as strangers when we are in the Kingdom of heaven, but will give to us a share in the heavenly City. If we visit Him when He is sick, He Himself will quickly free us also from our infirmities.

- St. John Chrysostom

 

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The love of God is not taught. No one has taught us to enjoy the light or to be attached to life more than anything else. And no one has taught us to love the two people who brought us into the world and educated us. Which is all the more reason to believe that we did not learn to love God as a result of outside instruction. In the very nature of every human being has been sown the seed of the ability to love. You and I ought to welcome this seed, cultivate it carefully, nourish it attentively and foster its growth by going to the school of God’s commandments with the help of His grace.

– St Basil the Great

 

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At the beginning of our spiritual journey, when we are spiritually immature, our entire religious attitude is ego- centered, emotional, and rational. The deeper level of awareness, the noetic consciousness [that is, the consciousness of the nous], has not yet been fully opened. We are our egos, defined by our passions. We are far from being authentic persons because we are caught up in our isolated individualism. [But] as we grow, and gain more control over our passions, and our souls become purified, Grace illumines our noetic consciousness. We become more aware of Gods presence, and more aware of the other. We move away from self-centeredness. The focus of our attention is on God. As this happens, our own personal I expands and encompasses others, so that we cannot conceive of ourselves in isolation from God and our brothers. This is the bond of authentic spiritual love, empowered by Grace. The more we grow in this noetic consciousness, the more our love embraces all of those around us. We pray from the heart for them, and for the whole world. We are purified by Grace, so that we can authentically love in a purely unselfish way. This is the essence of what it means to be a Christian: to authentically love.

By truly loving God and our neighbor we are purified, illumined, and deified. We are restored from our fallen state, from our ego/self-centeredness, and from the tyranny of our rational and emotional consciousness. The passions come under control, subordinated to the love of the Other. We become purified of all that focuses us on ourselves and of all barriers to love.

- Fr. Isaaky

 

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As we cross the sea of the world, repentance should be our ship, reverential awe its pilot, and love its harbour.

- St Isaac of Syria