Arsenios
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2018
- Messages
- 3,577
- Location
- Pacific North West
- Gender
- Male
- Religious Affiliation
- Eastern Orthodox
- Political Affiliation
- Conservative
- Marital Status
- Single
I would like to post here pithy sayings of the Ancient Christian Fathers as they are given to me each week in our Church Bulletin and other sources... All are invited to contribute such morsels too...
Here are this week's:
Just as it is natural for ocean rocks to be pounded by waves,
similarly man will undoubtedly come into contact
with the assaults borne of thoughts.
St. Ephraim the Syrian
_________________________________________________
It may not be God’s will.
Time will show, because God knows better than us.
God always wants what is good for us.
Elder Arsenios Galanopoulos, the cave dweller
_________________________________________________
Firmly believe that the Lord is at all times everything to you.
During prayer He is the power and the fulfillment in the
Holy Spirit of each of your words.
During pious conversation He is your living water,
the ardent flow of your words at all times.
He is everything to you.
Be free from care in the presence of your Lord.
He has enclosed you with Himself upon all sides.
He penetrates you wholly and knows all your thoughts,
all your needs and inclinations,
and if you live in Him with faith and love,
then no evil shall befall you.
'The Lord is at hand; be careful for nothing' (Phil. 4:6).
--
St. John of Kronstadt
_______________________________________________________
If you wait for the perfect conditions to work out your salvation,
then you will never begin a God-pleasing life.
St. Nikon of Optina
_____________________________________________________
Marriage is a bridge leading us from Earth to Heaven.
Archimandrite Aimilianos Simonopetra
Mount Athos
______________________________________________________
Many people have never experienced
the pleasure of a light stomach.
St Paisios of Mt Athos
______________________________________________________
Fasting is an expression of love and devotion,
in which one sacrifices earthly satisfaction to attain the heavenly.
Altogether too much of one's thoughts are taken up
with care for sustenance and the enticements of the palate;
one wishes to be free from them.
Thus fasting is a step on the road of emancipation
and an indispensable support in the struggle against selfish desires.
Together with prayer, fasting is one of humanity's greatest gifts,
carefully cherished by those who once have participated in it.
Tito Coliander
____________________________________________________
Pain of heart is the condition for spiritual growth
and the manifestation of God’s power.
Healing occurs to those in desperation,
hearts pained but still trusting and hoping in God’s help.
This is when God acts.
Father Seraphim Rose
____________________________________________________
You see, if one doesn't cut away passions while young,
then as one matures, the self-will is weakened
and the passions increase.
St. Paisios of Mt. Athos
______________________________________________
People were not created merely to live here on earth
like animals that disappear after their death,
but to live with God and in God,
and to live not for a hundred or a thousand years,
but to live eternally.
St. INNOCENT of Alaska
__________________________________________________
Would it be difficult for God to constantly help everyone?
No, but then man would not be really helped in this way.
A spoiled child, whose parents constantly give him chocolates
so he wants them always to be giving him,
will become
lazy, ill-disposed and unfortunate.
Man, too, will never mature spiritually
if he is constantly assisted by God
without struggling himself.
Elder St. Paisios of Mount Athos
___________________________________________________
Arsenios
Here are this week's:
Just as it is natural for ocean rocks to be pounded by waves,
similarly man will undoubtedly come into contact
with the assaults borne of thoughts.
St. Ephraim the Syrian
_________________________________________________
It may not be God’s will.
Time will show, because God knows better than us.
God always wants what is good for us.
Elder Arsenios Galanopoulos, the cave dweller
_________________________________________________
Firmly believe that the Lord is at all times everything to you.
During prayer He is the power and the fulfillment in the
Holy Spirit of each of your words.
During pious conversation He is your living water,
the ardent flow of your words at all times.
He is everything to you.
Be free from care in the presence of your Lord.
He has enclosed you with Himself upon all sides.
He penetrates you wholly and knows all your thoughts,
all your needs and inclinations,
and if you live in Him with faith and love,
then no evil shall befall you.
'The Lord is at hand; be careful for nothing' (Phil. 4:6).
--
St. John of Kronstadt
_______________________________________________________
If you wait for the perfect conditions to work out your salvation,
then you will never begin a God-pleasing life.
St. Nikon of Optina
_____________________________________________________
Marriage is a bridge leading us from Earth to Heaven.
Archimandrite Aimilianos Simonopetra
Mount Athos
______________________________________________________
Many people have never experienced
the pleasure of a light stomach.
St Paisios of Mt Athos
______________________________________________________
Fasting is an expression of love and devotion,
in which one sacrifices earthly satisfaction to attain the heavenly.
Altogether too much of one's thoughts are taken up
with care for sustenance and the enticements of the palate;
one wishes to be free from them.
Thus fasting is a step on the road of emancipation
and an indispensable support in the struggle against selfish desires.
Together with prayer, fasting is one of humanity's greatest gifts,
carefully cherished by those who once have participated in it.
Tito Coliander
____________________________________________________
Pain of heart is the condition for spiritual growth
and the manifestation of God’s power.
Healing occurs to those in desperation,
hearts pained but still trusting and hoping in God’s help.
This is when God acts.
Father Seraphim Rose
____________________________________________________
You see, if one doesn't cut away passions while young,
then as one matures, the self-will is weakened
and the passions increase.
St. Paisios of Mt. Athos
______________________________________________
People were not created merely to live here on earth
like animals that disappear after their death,
but to live with God and in God,
and to live not for a hundred or a thousand years,
but to live eternally.
St. INNOCENT of Alaska
__________________________________________________
Would it be difficult for God to constantly help everyone?
No, but then man would not be really helped in this way.
A spoiled child, whose parents constantly give him chocolates
so he wants them always to be giving him,
will become
lazy, ill-disposed and unfortunate.
Man, too, will never mature spiritually
if he is constantly assisted by God
without struggling himself.
Elder St. Paisios of Mount Athos
___________________________________________________
Arsenios
Last edited: