Monday, January 19, 2009

Check it out!

Not sure if this is legally online or not, but I found a book on tape that has really impacted me a lot! Many of you have probably heard of or read Fr. Arseny, but this website has his book on tape! PLEASE “read”/listen to it if you have not already. And if you have LISTEN AGAIN! If anyone has any favorite quotes etc, please feel free to post.

http://www.philokalia.org/arseny.htm

(note: not necessarily promoting the website itself...just this book :)).

Love,
Mike

3 comments:

anyuta said...

He grew sad, and becoming pensive, he said, “Miraculous? Miracles? No, nothing ever happened to me that could be called a miracle Every priest—hearing the confessions of so many people, giving communion and accompanying the dying, guiding his spiritual children—every priest has remarkable spiritual experiences. The same thing can happen to lay people, to any believer, but very often we cannot see the magnitude of what is happening and do not see the will of God, His hand, His providence, His leadership. Yes, what happened to me and what I saw around me shook me up, made me tremble so that I clearly saw the will of God. I didn’t stop to think whether it was a miracle or simply the result of amazing coincidences in my life. I have always believed and I firmly believe that God brings us to everything that happens and therefore whatever way we take, we must recognize only His will in everything.
“And it is only by understanding things in this way that a man can see the will of God. Many events in which I participated amazed me and I said to myself, ‘but this is a miracle.’ But then when I realized my own nothingness I understood that it is not for me to see a miracle.
“Everything in life is a miracle: the main miracle is that by the will of God man lives on earth. Believe in this!”

anyuta said...

(p. 117)

anyuta said...

I just read something similar from the writings of Mother Gavrielia--

"Miracle is the normal course of events according to God's Will. What we call a Miracle is only what is natural to God."