Dear Friends and Family,
Christ is Risen!
The semester is racing by, and we're nearly approaching the final month of classes! The month of May is full of exciting events. On Wednesday I'll be heading to the UK for an Orthodox Youth Festival, and hopefully a trip to the Monastery in Essex. Directly after I return three parishioners from my church in Boston will be coming for a pilgrimmage to the Holy Mountain and Thessaloniki, and directly after that some other folks will be coming, and then a trip to Romania to meet Vera, Teo and Sophia and a journey home with them to Boston for the summer!
Nothing to share in the way of insights, except for the following gem from Fr. Justin Popovich:
"It is essential to create in our people (speaking to the Serbian nation, but really to all of us) the sense that the faith of Christ is a virtue beyond nationhood, being ecumenical and catholic, trinitarian; and that for someone to believe in Christ entails their waiting on Christ, and only on Christ, with every event of their lives."
Glory to Thee for All Things!
with love,
mike
Monday, April 26, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
In Light of the Volcano...
Dear Friends and Family,
Today, while reading an editorial in the greek paper Kathimerini entitled "The Lesson of the Ash," something struck home very clearly. In the article the author reminds his audience that we as humans only understand our innate dependence and limitations when the works of our own hands begin to fail us, or when nature intervenes (referring specifically to the recent volcano eruption, and the consequent halt in sky travel all over the globe). His article reminded me quite vividly that we, the "enlightened" ones, have become very sure of ourselves, of our cleverness and capabilities. We undermine reality to philosophize about multiple realities because we have come up with advanced methods to avoid the only true one, one that, if we do not act, meets us with the bitter kiss of death; by taking pain-killers, drugs, "injections" of emotional and sexual highs from various forms of media, among other things, our religion (the avoidance of reality) has truly become our opiate.
It is times like these however, when the surprising silence in the air, reminds us that we do not rule the earth or the skies, but are rather completely dependent to their beck and call. We often only realize this when the rug is pulled out from underneath us (when we lose our ever-present "oxygen" as it were...the system that we have spent lifetimes building) When our economic system, like an enormous teetering mountain, begins to come crashing down upon us, we realize that our are inventions are built on the straw foundation of our human confidence. Human ingenuity is truly a marvel to behold, as we are capable of so much! But a denial of our dependence and a confidence leading back to ourselves, makes it all seems so vain. When we grasp on to our own intelligence and craftsmanship as if it is the ultimate mind, we find in the end, that we have been fooled...but it's often too late.
We, the children of the Enlightenment, call the children of the "dark continent" (or of the pre-settler America's or any other "unenlightened" land) barbarians and fools. We conquered them, educated them, civilized them and taught them a religion that we ourselves would not uphold, only to discover that we had successfully beaten most of the precious, God-given, wisdom out them--wisdom that we could have done well to listen to and to apply!
10 years of higher education often opens the door to...
...a suffocating world of hyper-analysis, inability to smile, and depression. We are so advanced and educated that we are able to (or rather, forced by our diseased minds, to) deconstruct the view of a marvelous sunrise or a breath-taking mountain-range. While we blow our minds up like balloons, filling them with numbers and information, we allow our life-giving organ, our heart, to wither like an unwatered flower in the hot sun. Never before has man been so in need of his Creator. Never before have we been so defiant and desirous to lead our own destiny. But destiny in our hands inevitably leads to confusion and despair. Confusion, because it is not our natural state, and we know this. Despair, because life has a way of showing us that we are not in charge. Beloved friends, let us wake up to this reality and seek within ourselves the answers that have for so long lain dormant and untouched...and that we have been taught to keep that way.
Let us allow the prophetic words of Fr. Justin Popovich (and others) to soak into our very being and lead us to the TRUE Enlightenment:
"The more a man devotes himself to the ways of natural knowledge [whose chief characteristic is its approach by examination and experimentation], the more he is seized on by fear and the less can he free himself from it. But if he follows faith, he is immediately freed and "as a son of God, as the power to make free use of all things." "The man who loves this faith acts like God in the use of all created things," for to faith is given the power "to be like God in making a new creation." Thus it is written: "Thou desiredst, and all things are presented before thee" (cf. Job 23:13 LXX). Faith can often "bring forth all things out of nothing," while knowledge can do nothing "without the help of matter." Knowledge has NO POWER OVER NATURE, but faith has such power. Armed with faith, men have entered into the fire and quenched the flames, being untouched by them"
(Fr. J. Popovich "The Theory of Knowledge of Saint Isaac The Syrian").
We all know that natural knowledge is not evil, but a work of creation at which we can marvel and for which we can give thanks. But just for a moment, let's unplug and go within, let's turn down the noise of our calculations and analysis and see if there is a message in the "un-productive" stillness.
Let us turn from our father the Enlightenment, and become children of Faith, where instead of a fatal and false self-deification we find a confidence and foundation based in a sure, never-failing reality. Then we can marvel at the never-ending sun-rise of our lives as we plunge deeper and deeper into the ocean of true knowledge.
Glory to Thee!
with love,
mike
Today, while reading an editorial in the greek paper Kathimerini entitled "The Lesson of the Ash," something struck home very clearly. In the article the author reminds his audience that we as humans only understand our innate dependence and limitations when the works of our own hands begin to fail us, or when nature intervenes (referring specifically to the recent volcano eruption, and the consequent halt in sky travel all over the globe). His article reminded me quite vividly that we, the "enlightened" ones, have become very sure of ourselves, of our cleverness and capabilities. We undermine reality to philosophize about multiple realities because we have come up with advanced methods to avoid the only true one, one that, if we do not act, meets us with the bitter kiss of death; by taking pain-killers, drugs, "injections" of emotional and sexual highs from various forms of media, among other things, our religion (the avoidance of reality) has truly become our opiate.It is times like these however, when the surprising silence in the air, reminds us that we do not rule the earth or the skies, but are rather completely dependent to their beck and call. We often only realize this when the rug is pulled out from underneath us (when we lose our ever-present "oxygen" as it were...the system that we have spent lifetimes building) When our economic system, like an enormous teetering mountain, begins to come crashing down upon us, we realize that our are inventions are built on the straw foundation of our human confidence. Human ingenuity is truly a marvel to behold, as we are capable of so much! But a denial of our dependence and a confidence leading back to ourselves, makes it all seems so vain. When we grasp on to our own intelligence and craftsmanship as if it is the ultimate mind, we find in the end, that we have been fooled...but it's often too late.
We, the children of the Enlightenment, call the children of the "dark continent" (or of the pre-settler America's or any other "unenlightened" land) barbarians and fools. We conquered them, educated them, civilized them and taught them a religion that we ourselves would not uphold, only to discover that we had successfully beaten most of the precious, God-given, wisdom out them--wisdom that we could have done well to listen to and to apply!
10 years of higher education often opens the door to...
...a suffocating world of hyper-analysis, inability to smile, and depression. We are so advanced and educated that we are able to (or rather, forced by our diseased minds, to) deconstruct the view of a marvelous sunrise or a breath-taking mountain-range. While we blow our minds up like balloons, filling them with numbers and information, we allow our life-giving organ, our heart, to wither like an unwatered flower in the hot sun. Never before has man been so in need of his Creator. Never before have we been so defiant and desirous to lead our own destiny. But destiny in our hands inevitably leads to confusion and despair. Confusion, because it is not our natural state, and we know this. Despair, because life has a way of showing us that we are not in charge. Beloved friends, let us wake up to this reality and seek within ourselves the answers that have for so long lain dormant and untouched...and that we have been taught to keep that way.
Let us allow the prophetic words of Fr. Justin Popovich (and others) to soak into our very being and lead us to the TRUE Enlightenment:
"The more a man devotes himself to the ways of natural knowledge [whose chief characteristic is its approach by examination and experimentation], the more he is seized on by fear and the less can he free himself from it. But if he follows faith, he is immediately freed and "as a son of God, as the power to make free use of all things." "The man who loves this faith acts like God in the use of all created things," for to faith is given the power "to be like God in making a new creation." Thus it is written: "Thou desiredst, and all things are presented before thee" (cf. Job 23:13 LXX). Faith can often "bring forth all things out of nothing," while knowledge can do nothing "without the help of matter." Knowledge has NO POWER OVER NATURE, but faith has such power. Armed with faith, men have entered into the fire and quenched the flames, being untouched by them"
(Fr. J. Popovich "The Theory of Knowledge of Saint Isaac The Syrian").
We all know that natural knowledge is not evil, but a work of creation at which we can marvel and for which we can give thanks. But just for a moment, let's unplug and go within, let's turn down the noise of our calculations and analysis and see if there is a message in the "un-productive" stillness.
Let us turn from our father the Enlightenment, and become children of Faith, where instead of a fatal and false self-deification we find a confidence and foundation based in a sure, never-failing reality. Then we can marvel at the never-ending sun-rise of our lives as we plunge deeper and deeper into the ocean of true knowledge.
Glory to Thee!
with love,
mike
Monday, April 12, 2010
Inspirational Gem #1
Dear Friends and Family,
A good friend, John M, came and visited Greece in January. In our efforts to “seize the day” while he was here, we briefly recorded (both audio and text) some thoughts and “gems” that we picked up throughout the course of our time together. These gems come from conversations that took place between us, with others (priests, monks, lay people), in “dialogue” with some books that we were reading, and just from life itself. We had intended to send them out bit by bit in the form of a mass e-mail, and still hope to do so, but life has a way of delaying these worthy efforts and making it difficult to complete. Thus, I have decided to start posting them slowly but surely on my blog, so that at least you all will be able to benefit from these moments as we did as well.
The following text is made up of some notes taken during an informal conversation with a local priest and confessor here in town, Fr. Spiridon. We were discussing various topics relating to ministry and work in the Church and this is mostly from the mouth of Fr. S:
We as humans, when we undertake any kind of work, we need to focus on two things: our effort and God’s blessing (hope, prayer, effort) and in trusting that He will complete the work in His time. We need to leave the results (and worrying about them) for God and be happy at all times even when things don’t go our way, knowing that our success lies in our effort and in God’s seeing our effort and blessing it (maybe not in such a way that matches with our understanding of human “results” but still a blessing nonetheless).
We don’t need too much experience or expertise when we begin a particular work in service to Christ and His Church, we just need to strive from our hearts to do God’s will out of love and not worry (i.e. if we are teacher) about how much someone understands something, but instead to focus on our effort and knowing that He will bless.
We never want to be slaves to a program. We make schedules and have a course of action. When you live like that, you are easily disappointed, and you switch things around by saying that, instead of God being in control and giving the blessing, we are in control and wait for God to be obedient to us. We have a list of things to do, and one step at a time, it leads us to become more and more anxious at every step. Anxiety comes when we trust ourselves and take things into our own hands. If you are confident and want to be in control then God says: ok, you can do it on your own? Fine, go ahead, and he “leaves you” to try.
A word of caution: hoping does not mean carelessness and saying that God will take care of everything and so I can sit back and watch, but rather means that we begin with respect and acknowledge that our human attempt is weak and poor and that God will complete and perfect our weakness.
A priest or layperson doesn’t start his labors thinking that he is capable, but rather because he loves the children of God and by his ministry in performing the sacraments (in the case of the priest), he puts his hope in God’s blessing.
The priest in the parish has to first have a fatherly relationship with his parishioners, and then be a teacher, otherwise they won’t listen (this is a mentality that seeks to avoid the trap of guruism).
Teachers have to have the sense of being life-long students, and must have the inspiration and desire to learn from their students. Only in this way will their students respect them. They have to be human first.
More to come!
with love,
mike
A good friend, John M, came and visited Greece in January. In our efforts to “seize the day” while he was here, we briefly recorded (both audio and text) some thoughts and “gems” that we picked up throughout the course of our time together. These gems come from conversations that took place between us, with others (priests, monks, lay people), in “dialogue” with some books that we were reading, and just from life itself. We had intended to send them out bit by bit in the form of a mass e-mail, and still hope to do so, but life has a way of delaying these worthy efforts and making it difficult to complete. Thus, I have decided to start posting them slowly but surely on my blog, so that at least you all will be able to benefit from these moments as we did as well.
The following text is made up of some notes taken during an informal conversation with a local priest and confessor here in town, Fr. Spiridon. We were discussing various topics relating to ministry and work in the Church and this is mostly from the mouth of Fr. S:
We as humans, when we undertake any kind of work, we need to focus on two things: our effort and God’s blessing (hope, prayer, effort) and in trusting that He will complete the work in His time. We need to leave the results (and worrying about them) for God and be happy at all times even when things don’t go our way, knowing that our success lies in our effort and in God’s seeing our effort and blessing it (maybe not in such a way that matches with our understanding of human “results” but still a blessing nonetheless).
We don’t need too much experience or expertise when we begin a particular work in service to Christ and His Church, we just need to strive from our hearts to do God’s will out of love and not worry (i.e. if we are teacher) about how much someone understands something, but instead to focus on our effort and knowing that He will bless.
We never want to be slaves to a program. We make schedules and have a course of action. When you live like that, you are easily disappointed, and you switch things around by saying that, instead of God being in control and giving the blessing, we are in control and wait for God to be obedient to us. We have a list of things to do, and one step at a time, it leads us to become more and more anxious at every step. Anxiety comes when we trust ourselves and take things into our own hands. If you are confident and want to be in control then God says: ok, you can do it on your own? Fine, go ahead, and he “leaves you” to try.
A word of caution: hoping does not mean carelessness and saying that God will take care of everything and so I can sit back and watch, but rather means that we begin with respect and acknowledge that our human attempt is weak and poor and that God will complete and perfect our weakness.
A priest or layperson doesn’t start his labors thinking that he is capable, but rather because he loves the children of God and by his ministry in performing the sacraments (in the case of the priest), he puts his hope in God’s blessing.
The priest in the parish has to first have a fatherly relationship with his parishioners, and then be a teacher, otherwise they won’t listen (this is a mentality that seeks to avoid the trap of guruism).
Teachers have to have the sense of being life-long students, and must have the inspiration and desire to learn from their students. Only in this way will their students respect them. They have to be human first.
More to come!
with love,
mike
Monday, April 5, 2010
Χριστός Ανέστη!
Christ is Risen!
Although this is a bit late, I hope and pray that everyone who is celebrating Orthodox Easter (both yesterday and continuing through Bright Week and beyond) has a peaceful, joyful few weeks, infused with the renewing Grace of the resurrection of Christ which happened at a particular historic point, but effects us drastically even today, if we would have the eyes to see!
with much love,
mike
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Pig Farmer For a Day
It occurred to me that it's been a while since I've posted a personal segment, as opposed to the occasional translation or interesting quote. The pictures that you will find below were added before the text, because I wanted to give you all a sense of what I had been up to last weekend while it was still fresh. Now, however, a bit of an explanation is due:
Last weekend (i.e. before Holy Week) an American friend of mine, Peter, who has lived for about 1 year at the monastic community of St. Dionyius at the foot of Mt. Olympus GR, invited me to join him for a weekend at this beautiful historic monastery. Because school is out for Pascha, I decided to go for it, and took the train with him to the small town of Litohoro which sits at the base of the renowned Olympus mountain. One can really understand, to an extent, why the ancient Greeks considered it the home of the God's, at least from an aesthetic perspective, as its beautiful slopes and sprawling picturesque valleys provide a mystical contrast--juxtaposing the flat "earthly" agriculture terrain to the looming "heavenly" peaks.
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Due to its mythological significance, the mountain is not as well known for housing the monastery of St. Dionysios, even though it is apprx 500 years old, and famous due to its holy founder, and for its welcoming but austere monastic atmosphere. But in the Orthodox world it is a fairly frequented non-Athonite pilgrimage site, and therefore something that I too had been interested in visiting, but never had a found a good excuse to go. Finally, my time had come :).
So after arriving at the train station in Litohoro, we decided to walk to the monastery and see if someone would decide to pick us up along the way (Peter was fairly well known by the locals as being the representative American staying at the monastery and so it was not improbable that someone would be pass by and recognize him). It was about a 2 hour walk and as we started out we knew that we would not regret it as the fresh rural air blew through our hair and refreshed us (especially me, the urban academic that I have become :)). The walk was paradisiacal to say the least. Going from highway roads with fields on both sides and mountains painting a beautiful background landscape in the distance, to quaint village houses and tiny cobble stone roads, we wound our way through the center and up towards the monastery itself. We passed ancient churches and monuments and were fortunate to have been picked up by a pleasant local who took us through the ugliest part of our journey and gave us a bit of a break from walking. We arrived safe and sound and settled in having found me a room in the guest house.
Peter works with the pigs. He had suggested that I help him the following day, because he really loved his job and thought that I would enjoy it as well. I eagerly accepted his offer, although internally I was curious to see how my city-boy self would fair "wallowing" with the swine; but my idealistic side one over, and I figured that it would be a good break from the books to get down and dirty with the unclean ones.
This was the best decision I think I have made since coming to Greece.
Honestly it was a day full of external filth and internal joy. With ever splash of mud that found its way on my pants, with every lump of manure that oozed betwixt my boots and every speck of dirt that lodged itself behind my ear, I found a renewed strength and energy rushing through me. After I had overcome my fear of being trampled by 100 hungry piglets as I dumped feed into their troughs, I found it rather enjoyable to quite literally rub shoulders with these piggish...pigs, and if they were blocking my way, to give them a loving, but firm, boot out of my way. All day we went from pen to pen feeding hundreds of them (the monastery owns around 600 total, operating one of Greece's few organic pig farms), running around screaming "Roy, roy, roy", which in Greek pig language means, "eat, food, eat, food" or something like that. I got to see how the male breeding pigs, who bore a striking resemblance to some high school football players that I have encountered, would be set up with a couple of females to produce, in the way that comes quite naturally to them, itty bitty oinkers (I say SOME, not all...so no comments about not being PC please ;)).
I guess that if I was doing this all day everyday and had known no other life (like a very kind Albanian fellow that I befriended there), and then I had seen American movies and all of the lazy young people who are seen partying away, I would think that the grass WAS really greener on our side of the fence; but coming from the wealth of American society, and from the cement sterility of urban life, it gave me a new sense of being...just a nice glimpse of another aspect of the life of the world that I don't see too much of at the moment. Maybe someday that will change, life will become a bit more balanced (I pray that this is the case), and I am not unsatisfied with the beautiful life that God has given me in Thessaloniki, but this was a taste of another cuisine that opened up a side of me that needed to come up for a bit of air I believe.
So there it is. Hate to say it, but the highlight of the monastery was the PIGS! Let this be a lesson to all of use: let's not look only what we might consider the cookie-cutter examples of our Faith (the ideal clergyman, that best monastery, the most active parish) to teach us the important lessons. Sometimes its the pigs that make our day! (don't take me too seriously please).
So here's some shots of the the pigs and the monastery! Enjoy!
with love,
mike
Friday, March 26, 2010
Before the Crucified One
By Fr. Eusebius Vittis (+2009)
O soul, you who are weary and saddened by many things that, out of politeness, you would rather not mention. Instead, you hold them within you, not wanting to offend, hurt or scandalize any other soul around you--from near or far. You, o restless soul, who search for peace, run to the Crucified One, the Sweet Jesus; kneel before Him with contrition. Tell Him the following words with courage, slowly, purely, and honestly, and with steadfast faith that you will be heard:
O Lord my Jesus, meek and humble in heart, I wholeheartedly beg and beseech You:
Release me from the desire to be admired by others.
Release me from the desire to be loved by others.
Release me from the desire to be sought out by others.
Release me from the desire to be honored by others.
Release me from the desire to be praised by others.
Release me from the desire to be preferred by others.
Release me from the desire to give advise to others.
Release me from the desire to be commended by others.
Release me from the desire to be cared for by others.
Release me from the fear that they will humiliate me.
Release me from the fear that they will scorn me.
Release me from the fear that they will reject me.
Release me from the fear that they will slander me.
Release me from the fear that they will forget me.
Release me from the fear that they will offend me.
Release me from the fear that they will suspect me.
***
Lord, grant me to desire that others be loved more than me.
Lord, grant me to desire that others be esteemed more than me.
Lord, grant me to desire that the good view of others increase, and that my own decrease.
Lord, grant me to desire that others be put to use more than me.
Lord, grant me to desire that others be praised more than me.
Lord, grant me to desire that others be remembered, and not me.
Lord, grant me to desire that others be preferred and chosen over me.
Lord, grant me to desire that others make progress in virtue more than me, if of course I could achieve something like that on my own.
O soul, you who art hurt and wounded by that which you have inflicted on yourself, if the Lord hears you--and he will hear you if your prayer is genuine, honest, fervent and comes from the depths of who you are--
--how much peace will reign in your heart!
--how much serenity will take root inside of you!
--how much tranquility will be painted on your face!
--and amongst all of the events of your life, how many blissful moments will you experience, both large and small!
Don’t forget, beloved soul, that most of the offenses that we experience stem from the exaggerated concept that we have of ourselves. They have their beginning when we overestimate what we do and offer, with the hidden intention of increasing our status in the world, however possible.
The greatest thing in the world is to be forgotten by everyone, except by those who we love and who love us (even if we find that those who we love very much do not respond in like manner). Maybe you think, blessed soul, that your love for others is greater than their’s for you. How can you truthfully measure this? The Holy Spirit through the Apostle says: ”owe no man anything, except to love one another“ (Romans 13:8). In other words, your debt is always unpaid! So how are you so bold as to make demands as if you’d paid it? Love, therefore, without waiting for some sort of response. Love the following truth, and carry it in your heart: that anything, except for our ”debt“, creates within us
restlessness, instead of joy,
agitation, instead of peace,
anxiety, instead of certainty,
Don’t ever forget this!
Let’s allow this attitude, therefore to be implanted within us. Let’s not stop walking this road. Let’s not allow prideful thoughts to trick us, such as the following:
I could be doing something else, much more important than what I am doing,
It is a thought, seduced by deceptive aspirations, desires and unfounded zeal to leave our everyday work, as we quite ridiculously want our virtuousness to blossom more than that of our neighbor’s.
Rather, let us keep busy with what we are doing, because that is what God has given us to do.
Let us occupy ourselves by doing it as best as we can.
This means, in short, to do it
with clarity.
with energy.
with joy.
completely.
As Before the Lord!
So let them forget us, let them despise us, let them not understand us, let them slander us, let them persecute us, let them...
How important is this in the end? It will all pass away one day or another, and that which will remain is the friendship and love of God. Both of these He will increasingly magnify. We will grow in patience and faithfulness in our friendship and love for Him. Our endeavors and efforts to become increasingly more receptive to His love will also grow. When we are made worthy to receive the Lord himself through Holy Communion, how can we have even the smallest complaint regarding everything that has been mentioned above.
Perhaps the mistaken thought will arise, my beloved soul, if you’ve devoted yourself to the monastic life, that these things which are written above absolve you from the duty of disclosing your interior life to those who bear the responsibility of your soul and who guide you on the road of the Lord. This would be a very grave mistake!
Everything that was mentioned above should in no way do away with the revealing of thoughts and sins which ought to occur with your Geronda or Gerondissa; rather, they assume this! These things which were written are meant to show you what you must do in your cell, when, face to face with your Beloved Lord, you pour out your entire existence in fervent, loving prayer.
May the grace of the Lord be with you, beloved soul!
_____________________________________
Translation © by M. Tishel
O soul, you who are weary and saddened by many things that, out of politeness, you would rather not mention. Instead, you hold them within you, not wanting to offend, hurt or scandalize any other soul around you--from near or far. You, o restless soul, who search for peace, run to the Crucified One, the Sweet Jesus; kneel before Him with contrition. Tell Him the following words with courage, slowly, purely, and honestly, and with steadfast faith that you will be heard:O Lord my Jesus, meek and humble in heart, I wholeheartedly beg and beseech You:
Release me from the desire to be admired by others.
Release me from the desire to be loved by others.
Release me from the desire to be sought out by others.
Release me from the desire to be honored by others.
Release me from the desire to be praised by others.
Release me from the desire to be preferred by others.
Release me from the desire to give advise to others.
Release me from the desire to be commended by others.
Release me from the desire to be cared for by others.
Release me from the fear that they will humiliate me.
Release me from the fear that they will scorn me.
Release me from the fear that they will reject me.
Release me from the fear that they will slander me.
Release me from the fear that they will forget me.
Release me from the fear that they will offend me.
Release me from the fear that they will suspect me.
***
Lord, grant me to desire that others be loved more than me.
Lord, grant me to desire that others be esteemed more than me.
Lord, grant me to desire that the good view of others increase, and that my own decrease.
Lord, grant me to desire that others be put to use more than me.
Lord, grant me to desire that others be praised more than me.
Lord, grant me to desire that others be remembered, and not me.
Lord, grant me to desire that others be preferred and chosen over me.
Lord, grant me to desire that others make progress in virtue more than me, if of course I could achieve something like that on my own.
O soul, you who art hurt and wounded by that which you have inflicted on yourself, if the Lord hears you--and he will hear you if your prayer is genuine, honest, fervent and comes from the depths of who you are--
--how much peace will reign in your heart!
--how much serenity will take root inside of you!
--how much tranquility will be painted on your face!
--and amongst all of the events of your life, how many blissful moments will you experience, both large and small!
Don’t forget, beloved soul, that most of the offenses that we experience stem from the exaggerated concept that we have of ourselves. They have their beginning when we overestimate what we do and offer, with the hidden intention of increasing our status in the world, however possible.
The greatest thing in the world is to be forgotten by everyone, except by those who we love and who love us (even if we find that those who we love very much do not respond in like manner). Maybe you think, blessed soul, that your love for others is greater than their’s for you. How can you truthfully measure this? The Holy Spirit through the Apostle says: ”owe no man anything, except to love one another“ (Romans 13:8). In other words, your debt is always unpaid! So how are you so bold as to make demands as if you’d paid it? Love, therefore, without waiting for some sort of response. Love the following truth, and carry it in your heart: that anything, except for our ”debt“, creates within us
restlessness, instead of joy,
agitation, instead of peace,
anxiety, instead of certainty,
Don’t ever forget this!
Let’s allow this attitude, therefore to be implanted within us. Let’s not stop walking this road. Let’s not allow prideful thoughts to trick us, such as the following:
I could be doing something else, much more important than what I am doing,
It is a thought, seduced by deceptive aspirations, desires and unfounded zeal to leave our everyday work, as we quite ridiculously want our virtuousness to blossom more than that of our neighbor’s.
Rather, let us keep busy with what we are doing, because that is what God has given us to do.
Let us occupy ourselves by doing it as best as we can.
This means, in short, to do it
with clarity.
with energy.
with joy.
completely.
As Before the Lord!
So let them forget us, let them despise us, let them not understand us, let them slander us, let them persecute us, let them...
How important is this in the end? It will all pass away one day or another, and that which will remain is the friendship and love of God. Both of these He will increasingly magnify. We will grow in patience and faithfulness in our friendship and love for Him. Our endeavors and efforts to become increasingly more receptive to His love will also grow. When we are made worthy to receive the Lord himself through Holy Communion, how can we have even the smallest complaint regarding everything that has been mentioned above.
Perhaps the mistaken thought will arise, my beloved soul, if you’ve devoted yourself to the monastic life, that these things which are written above absolve you from the duty of disclosing your interior life to those who bear the responsibility of your soul and who guide you on the road of the Lord. This would be a very grave mistake!
Everything that was mentioned above should in no way do away with the revealing of thoughts and sins which ought to occur with your Geronda or Gerondissa; rather, they assume this! These things which were written are meant to show you what you must do in your cell, when, face to face with your Beloved Lord, you pour out your entire existence in fervent, loving prayer.
May the grace of the Lord be with you, beloved soul!
_____________________________________
Translation © by M. Tishel
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Selfishness
by Fr. Eusebios Vittis
The selfish man is characterized by his enslavement to the pleasures, and by a lack of patience amidst unpleasant circumstances, whatever they may be. For this reason, when he succeeds in satisfying his own will, he finds himself in a state of pleasure and arrogance, and, when he doesn’t succeed, he is tyrannized by pain and pleasure and feels a sense of choking in his soul, which is a foretaste of the Gehenna of fire.
The wise man acts exactly the opposite, because wisdom constitutes the source of self-restraint and patience. With temperance, the wise man bridles his will and with patience endures all of the unpleasant events in life. According to that which is written above, all of which comes from the teaching of the bishop and holy-martyr Peter of Damascus, ascesis takes on the following process:
1. Denial of one’s own mind-set (φρόνημα), which is the starting point.
2. Acceptance of the Divine Will in place of that which he previously possessed.
3. Keeping the commandments of God, as a specific expression of God’s will.
4. An ordering of things, where man wants the will of God.*
5. Automatic denial of selfish delight, and an acceptance of suffering--something that is implied in the usurping of the Divine Will.
This is ascesis.
Translation © M. Tishel
-------------------------
*After consulting a Greek linguist, the translator conclude that the meaning of this sentence is a bit abstract even in the original Greek text. This of course could be due to a number things, not the least of which might be a minor error in word choice etc. To maintain the integrity of the text, we decided to leave it as is.
The selfish man is characterized by his enslavement to the pleasures, and by a lack of patience amidst unpleasant circumstances, whatever they may be. For this reason, when he succeeds in satisfying his own will, he finds himself in a state of pleasure and arrogance, and, when he doesn’t succeed, he is tyrannized by pain and pleasure and feels a sense of choking in his soul, which is a foretaste of the Gehenna of fire.
The wise man acts exactly the opposite, because wisdom constitutes the source of self-restraint and patience. With temperance, the wise man bridles his will and with patience endures all of the unpleasant events in life. According to that which is written above, all of which comes from the teaching of the bishop and holy-martyr Peter of Damascus, ascesis takes on the following process:
1. Denial of one’s own mind-set (φρόνημα), which is the starting point.
2. Acceptance of the Divine Will in place of that which he previously possessed.
3. Keeping the commandments of God, as a specific expression of God’s will.
4. An ordering of things, where man wants the will of God.*
5. Automatic denial of selfish delight, and an acceptance of suffering--something that is implied in the usurping of the Divine Will.
This is ascesis.
Translation © M. Tishel
-------------------------
*After consulting a Greek linguist, the translator conclude that the meaning of this sentence is a bit abstract even in the original Greek text. This of course could be due to a number things, not the least of which might be a minor error in word choice etc. To maintain the integrity of the text, we decided to leave it as is.
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