The brick and the wheelchair

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, 

 

"What was that all about and who are you?
Just what the heck are you doing?
That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money.
Why did you do it?"
The young boy was apologetic. "Please mister ... please, I'm sorry... I didn't know what else to do," he pleaded.
"I threw the brick because no one else would stop..."
With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.
"It's my brother," he said.
"He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger.
Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!

God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us.

It's our choice: Listen to the whisper ... or wait for the brick!

Explanation of dreams ( Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos )

 

What are Dreams? 

St John Climacus gives a definition of dreams: “A dream is a movement of the nous while the body is at rest.” When the body is immobilised by sleep at night, the nous – not the rational faculty – continues working. This activity of the nous is what we refer to as dreams. Whereas dreams are an activity of the nous while the body is at rest, fantasy and imagination are an illusion of the eyes “when the mind is asleep. Fantasy is ecstasy of the nous, when the body is awake. Fantasy is the vision of something which does not exist in reality.” In other words, imagination is active while a person is awake, whereas dreams come into action during sleep.

There is a distinction between dreams and visions. “A vision is something seen more or less consciously when awake. A dream is something imagined during sleep” (St John Climacus). A person perceives visions by means of his senses, but he sees dreams through the action of his nous when his body is asleep.

In addition, the saints distinguish between dreams, visions and revelations occurring during sleep. According to St Nikitas Stithatos, we can see dreams, visions and revelations while asleep, and he examines the difference between them.

Dreams are images that do not remain unchanged in the imaginative faculty of the nous. They present a confused picture with constantly-altering scenes and forms.

Visions remain constant. They do not change, “but remain imprinted on the nous unforgettably for many years.” They benefit the soul by bringing compunction and revealing fearful wonders. As a result they keep the beholder reflective and in awe.

Revelations are theorias granted to the purified and illumined soul, “in a way that transcends normal sense perception”. They reveal the mysteries of God.

St Nikitas Stithatos goes on to explain that dreams are seen by “materialistic and sensually-minded people”, whose nous is darkened by passions and whose imagination is mocked by the demons. Visions are associated with “those well advanced on the spiritual path, who have cleansed the soul’s organs of perception.” Those who purify the soul’s senses and have progressed to a high level behold visions. Revelations are for perfect Christians, “who are activated by the Holy Spirit, and whose soul is united to God through theology.”

I think these clarifications are essential in order to make a distinction between dreams and theorias of God. We shall look at this issue in the next section, when we set out the factors that distinguish dreams coming from the devil from visions and revelations sent by God during sleep. It needs to be stressed at this point that dreams mainly affect man’s imagination. They are an action of the nous while the body is asleep, and most of them are the work of demons.

Types of Dreams

As we saw above, the Fathers make a distinction between dreams, on the one hand, and visions and revelations on the other. There are, however, many Fathers who speak about dreams in general. When we study their writings we realise that the dreams we see at night, while our body and senses are inactive, have many causes. Some dreams are the result of our natural physical state and impressions made on us during the day. Others are due to passions, in other words, to unnatural impulses of the soul. Some are clearly the work of demons. There are, however, dreams that come from God and are revelations bestowed by God, or the angels as God’s messengers.

The first category encompasses those dreams which are the result of the thoughts, reflections and impressions of the day. St Basil the Great, in response to the question, “Where do shameful nocturnal fantasies originate?”, teaches that, “They result from alien movements of the soul during the day.” These alien impulses of the soul and the impressions of the day are stored in our memory and create dreams. Many dreams also originate from physical reactions.

The second category includes dreams that arise from passions, which are actions of the soul contrary to nature. When the soul’s powers are corrupted and are motivated by the impressions provided by the senses, they provoke this type of dream. We can therefore see from our dreams which passions dominate us. More will be said on this subject in the next section.

The third category of dreams, so-called demonic dreams, is horrendous. Although the devil can also exploit the other two categories of dreams, he sometimes acts independently of them. St Diadokos of Photiki states succinctly that for the most part dreams are nothing more than “images reflecting our wandering thoughts or…the mockery of demons.” The demons trick those whom they have in their power. When they gain control of someone they appear to him both sleeping and waking in the form of angels or martyrs, and grant him a revelation of purported “mysteries” and bestow supposed “spiritual gifts” on him (St John Climacos).

But how do the demons act? What is it that they stir up during sleep? Evagrios Pontikos observes that the demons “make an imprint on the nous by arousing the memory, while the activity of our bodily senses is suspended during sleep.” The demons act mostly through our memory to provoke dreams.

We know from the patristic tradition that the majority of dreams are the work of Satan and fall into the third category. The demons transform themselves into angels of light or prophets and foretell the future. However, as St John Climacus remarks, the demons know nothing about the future from foreknowledge, because if they did, they would be able to foretell our death.

The demons attack monks more than anyone else by means of dreams, because they want to provoke them to abandon their sacred task. In particular, the demons attempt to disturb novices, who have left their homes and families, “representing to [them] that [their] relatives are either grieving or dying, or are captive for [their] sake and destitute” (St John Climacus). Of course no one should pay any attention to such dreams, because they are demonic deceptions intended to lead the monk to reject and abandon the monastic way of life.

The fourth category of dreams is those coming from God. Such dreams are sometimes called revelations and are associated with inner purity. Many such dreams are recorded in Holy Scripture. I should mention in particular the dreams of Joseph, the Betrothed of the Most Holy Mother of God, concerning Christ’s conception, birth and protection. St Isaac the Syrian says that the holy angels take the likenesses of saints “and show themselves in these likenesses in dreams to the soul while its thoughts are drifting, for joy, preservation and delight.”

So there are many kinds of dream and they are due to many causes. Christians should distinguish between dreams and examine where they come from. We shall now set out some factors that indicate the origins of dreams.

In general, as St John Climacus says, if we wake up from sleep peaceful this shows that we have been comforted by the angels unawares. If, on the other hand, we wake up troubled, “we are suffering as a result of evil dreams and visions.” A dream’s origin is indicated by whether it disturbs us or brings peace. This is not, however, absolute proof, as there is a sort of joy mingled with pride which comes from the devil.

St Diadochos of Photiki says that dreams that originate from the devil do no keep the same shape, but change from one form to another, alarm the senses, resound with laughter or “suddenly become threatening.” The figures that appear in the dreams sent by demons shout and menace, transform themselves into soldiers and sometimes “screech at the soul.” By contrast, dreams that come from God do not change shape or provoke fear and horror, but bring inexpressible joy and gladness.

St John Climacus teaches that demonic dreams usually show torments, judgments and separations, and make us frightened and miserable. This is a sign of delusion. It is possible, however, for us to see torment and judgment in dreams sent by God to make us repent. The difference is that in the first case such dreams bring despair, which is a sign of demonic deception, whereas in the second case, they give rise to intense prayer, repentance and a willingness to change.

Visions during sleep, according to St Nikitas Stithatos, are not all true, nor do they all leave an imprint on the nous. True visions are seen “only by those whose nous is purified, who have cleansed the soul’s organs of perception and who are advancing towards natural theoria.” Such people have purified themselves through prolonged fasting and exercise self-control in every aspect of their lives. They do not worry about day-to-day matters and are not concerned about this present life. They live like angels and “through exertion and hardship pleasing to God they have attained the sanctuary of God, the spiritual knowledge of created beings and the wisdom of the higher world.”

In general it should be stated that dreams that come from God (which are called visions and revelations) are as far removed from dreams that come from the devil (which have a strong imaginative element) as heaven is from earth. Just as there is no similarity between created and uncreated things, there is no similarity at all between diabolic and divine dreams.

According to patristic teaching, satanic dreams are characterised by colour and change, whereas dreams from God have no colour and are unchanging. This is how we can tell the difference between those sent by God and those which result from physical illness or satanic energy. Anthropocentric psychoanalysis, which does not make this distinction between created and uncreated, and does not accept the existence of demons and their energy, is unable to distinguish between different types of dreams. Thus it goes seriously wrong, because it can categorise divine visions as delusions and hallucinations. Only someone completely integrated into the Orthodox Tradition, who has the mind of Christ and has tasted heavenly things, is able to make this distinction and heal the illnesses of his spiritual children.

Dreams and Passions

We saw earlier that one category of dreams originates from passions, whether of the body or the soul. This issue will now be examined more closely, because by studying our dreams we can observe which passions dominate us, in order to fight against them.

St John Climacus writes that the heart of gluttons dreams of food and nourishment, but the heart of those who mourn dreams of judgment and condemnation. We know from the teaching of the Fathers that the human soul has three powers or aspects: the appetitive (desiring) aspect, the incensive aspect and the rational aspect. St Symeon the New Theologian writes about how we can understand from dreams which passions dominate us the most. When the soul’s appetitive aspect is stirred up by social contact, food and enjoyment, it sees the same things in dreams. When the incensive aspect of the soul is enraged against its fellows, it dreams of attacks by wild animals and reptiles, of wars and battles. When the soul’s rational faculty is elated with arrogance and pride, it imagines itself being caught up into the air, or seated on a high throne, or in command of the nation.

St Symeon’s disciple, St Nikitas Stithatos, is more revealing. He writes that someone who has made progress in the spiritual life can see the impulses of the soul by examining dreams. If the soul loves material things and pleasure, “it dreams of acquiring possessions and having lots of money, of female figures and passionate involvements, all of which lead to the soiling and defilement of soul and body.” If someone’s soul is grasping and avaricious, “he dreams of gold everywhere, and imagines himself acquiring it, lending it out at interest and storing it up in his treasuries. And he is condemned for his callousness.” If someone is hot-tempered and vicious, “he imagines himself pursued by wild beasts and poisonous snakes and is overwhelmed with fear and cowardice.” If his soul is full of self-esteem, “he will dream of acclamation and being feted by the people, of holding positions of power and authority. ” Even when awake he imagines that what is non-existent actually exists. If someone’s soul is full of pride and arrogance “he sees himself being carried along in a splendid coach and sometimes even flying through the air on wings, while everyone trembles at his great power.” Thus we can recognise the passions in our soul from the type of dreams we have.

We ought to note, however, that not everyone can make this distinction, only someone who has been trained in this struggle and has the precious gift of discernment.

Just as the impassioned person sees dreams that correspond to his passion, so the person who loves God and is diligent in practising virtue sees good dreams. According to St Nikitas Stithatos, if someone is sincere in his struggles for godliness, he sees in his sleep the outcome of events and awe-inspiring visions are revealed to him. He prays even when asleep and he awakes with tears on his cheeks and “words addressed to God” on his lips. When a person lives all through the day with noetic prayer and has learnt to converse with God, he does the same during sleep. His dreams and revelations are linked with God and prayer. It is possible for him to say the Jesus prayer with his lips even when asleep. He feels his heart praying continuously. His nous prays without ceasing. He wakes up aware of having prayed all night. It often happens that he is attacked by the devil. Then his nous automatically begins its converse with God (noetic prayer) and the devil vanishes. Such events do not make him afraid, in spite of the devil’s appearance, but bring him joy and gladness. All day long, even for days on end, he rejoices in God’s power and in the fact that the devil was driven off by the energy of the praying nous.

Dealing with Dreams

The holy Fathers were familiar with this sacred struggle and they describe how to deal with dreams. We shall look at some aspects of their teaching. First of all, preventive action is required. Because most dreams are connected with passions and every-day impressions, we have to struggle against the passions. The more we fight against passions, or rather, the more we strive to transform the passions and powers of the soul, the more we are freed from the dreadful state of dreaming. Our liberation from dreams is linked with dispassion and purification of the heart. St John Climacus writes that, “As a mass of dung breeds a mass of worms, so a surfeit of food breeds a surfeit of falls, and evil thoughts, and dreams.” We must therefore limit our food.

As many dreams result from alien impulses of the soul, avoiding such impulses helps us to get rid of awful dreams. If we purify our soul through being in a state of hesychia, so that it “is continuously musing on things that are good and pleasing to God”, it will dream of such things at night (St Basil). Our nous should be occupied during the day in musing on God’s name. Then our dreams will bring joy and gladness because, as St Symeon the New Theologian says, “What occupies the soul and enters it while it is awake, still occupies its imagination and thoughts during sleep.”

We should also pray before going to sleep. If we fall asleep after praying, we shall have corresponding dreams. Abba Philemon exhorts, “Before going to sleep, say many prayers in your heart, and resist thoughts and the attempts of the devil to lead you where he wills…as far as you can, take care to sleep only after reciting psalms and attentive reading; and do not let your mind accept alien thoughts through negligence.” Praying before sleep and striving to cut off thoughts is a good way of dealing with bad and demonic dreams.

Then we need a good means of countering dreams after we have seen them. The most effective method of confronting dreams is to stop them abruptly. We should avoid thinking about them when we wake up. Many people examine the dreams of the previous night, which leads to many errors. The holy Fathers recommend that we reject them completely and hold them in utter contempt.

St John Climacus describes the person who totally rejects dreams as “a wise man”, whereas he calls someone who examines them and believes in them “completely inexperienced”. The demons aim to defile us through dreams, so the same Saint advises us “never to think about the fantasies that have occurred to you during sleep.”

From the same standpoint, St Diadochos of Photiki says that not believing at all in dreams is sufficient to ensure our progress in virtue. “We can achieve great virtue just by never trusting our imagination.” In fact he teaches that, even if we were to reject dreams coming from God, for fear that they might be from the devil and we could be deceived, this is a good thing. God will not be angry with us in that case, because He sees that we are being careful. A servant who refuses to open the door at night to the master of the house, when he returns after a long absence, for fear that a deceiver may have the same voice as him and seize his goods, is praised by his master. The same happens when a Christian or monk does not accept dreams. God praises His servant because He knows that he acts in this way for fear of being deceived by the devil, who “transforms himself into an angel of light.”

We have to reject dreams and try to forget them, because by remembering them our hearts are filled with sadness, anxiety, despair and impurity. St John Climacus knows that many people, by continuously accepting dreams, have gone mad. When someone is constantly subject to the influence of the demons, the devil gains a hold over him and he becomes insane: “…so that these unfortunates are deceived and completely lose their wits.” This mainly happens in the case of demonic revelations. Many people get into such a state that, when they accept revelations and satanic dreams, they are mocked by the demons and “then they make sport of us even when we are awake.” The devil appears when we are awake and we become his servants. This results in the eternal death of the soul, as well as all sorts of other physical and psychological disorders.

The overall conclusion is that the type of dreams we have indicates what state we are in: whether we are enslaved to the passions, servants of the devil or servants of God. Dreams disclose our health or sickness, whether or not we are ill. On the one hand, confession, repentance and epitimion are necessary to cleanse us from passions. On the other, we must put no trust at all in dreams. In this way we shall be delivered from the tyranny of the devil, who desires our eternal death and wants to distance us from God.

Fear nothing when you have Christ within you ( Blessed Elder Ephraim of Arizona )

When Christ lives within you, fear nothing. In order for Christ to live within you, much humility is needed. Mentally fall at His immaculate feet and weep, saying: “My Jesus, Thou alone art left for me in this humble life of mine as light and life. Show me Thy spiritual beauty, so that I may be filled with divine love and run after Thy myrrh and cry out, ‘My soul has cleaved to Thee, Thy right hand has helped me.’ Oh, my Jesus, when shall I come and appear before Thy face? When, O light of my soul, shall I see Thee and be filled and say, ‘Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!’”


Yes, my child, love humility above all, and then you will obtain Jesus, Who is lowly in heart, as an everlasting possession in your soul. Inhale Jesus; exhale Jesus, and then you will know what Jesus is!

Christ commanded that we forgive our enemies seventy time seven every day. How much more so does He forgive, He Who is the Abyss of forgiveness! If you were able to count the drops of rain and the grains of sand, you would be able to measure only a small part of the infinite compassion of the infinite God.


Blessed Elder Ephraim of Arizona

On watching television :The theatre lulls the Christian life to sleep ( Saint John of Kronstadt )

 

The theatre lulls the Christian life to sleep, destroys it, communicating to the life of Christians the character of the life of heathens. "They all slumbered and slept" (St. Matthew 25:5); this disastrous sleep is produced, amongst other things, also by the theatre. And what besides? The sciences, taught in the spirit of heathenism, worldly cares carried to excess, love of gain, ambition and sensuality. 

The theatre is the school of this world, and of the Prince of this world, that is, the Devil, but sometimes he is transformed into an angel of light in order to more easily tempt people who are not far-seeing, he sometimes introduces an apparently moral play on to the stage.  This is done in order that everybody should proclaim and repeat that the theatre is a most moral institution, and that it is not less worth frequenting than the church, and even, perhaps more so, because in church everything is the same, whilst in the theatre there is a variety of plays, scenery, costumes and actors.

Most men not only bear Satan's burden willingly in their hearts, but they become so accustomed to it that they often do not feel it, and even imperceptibly increase it. 

Sometimes, however, the evil enemy increases his burden tenfold, and then they become terribly despondent and fainthearted, they murmur and blaspheme God's name. The usual means that men of our time take to drive away their anguish are, entertainments, cards, dancing, and theatres. But such means afterwards increase still more the anguish and weariness of their hearts.

 If, happily, they turn to God, then the burden is removed from their heart, and they clearly see that previously the heaviest burden was lying on their heart, though frequently they did not feel it. O, how many men there are who have "forsaken [God] the Fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no [living] water"! 

Men have very many such broken cisterns, nearly everybody has his own. The broken cisterns are our hearts, our passions....

The healing mission of the Church ( Metropolitan of Limassol, Athanasios )

The main mission of the Church is to heal a person. In other words, when a person becomes part of the Church is healed if he follows the therapeutic regime which aims to assist him to return to the natural state which God gave him when He had created him.

After the fall of our forefathers, our nature was corrupted. When man severed his relationship with the Lord after disobeying His command, all his mental and physical capacities were immediately corrupted and perverted; his mind turned away from its unbreakable communication with the Lord, which was his natural state, towards the creation and matter, passions and sin. From that moment sickness and perversion entered man’s nature.

This is the reality of the fall, the sin of the forefathers, namely the hereditary sickness which passes on from one generation to another because we are natural descendents of our forefathers. Thus, each man has inherited this condition of spiritual sickness; the perversion of his nature.

Jesus Christ is called the ‘New Adam’, because He enters history at a certain point in time and accomplishes a mission. Christ’s mission was not so much to hand over the Gospel, namely His teachings, neither to give us a book called ‘Gospel’, but to give us Himself. In other words, just as we have inherited the sickness of our nature through the first Adam, Jesus offers us Himself, so that through the baptism we unite with Him, become one with Him, and then through the Holy Eucharist we acquire the capacity to unite with Him organically and ontologically (actually). This means that the actual unity with the Body and Blood of Jesus flows into our being, into our soul and our body. This is the reason why we become children of God and why the Church exists. The Church would have no reason to exist if it did not administer the holy mysteries, particularly the mystery of the Holy Eucharist.

The Church is not an institution aiming to increase its followers for various reasons. It is the place where man is healed spiritually and is given the opportunity to unite with Jesus Christ. However, man needs to follow a certain therapeutic treatment called ‘askesis’. It entails obeying all of the Lord’s commands handed over to us by Jesus in the Gospel. Jesus’ commands are the medication which treats our sickness. In fact, the Lord shouldn’t have given us any commands since He had created us in His image; His commands are inherent in our nature and our conscience reminds us about them. Nevertheless, as the holy fathers say, the Lord did give us the appropriate medication to cancel out wickedness.

A sick man goes to the doctor and receives a certain treatment, not because the doctor impinges on his freedom or his dignity, but because his advice if heeded, may cure him. If he doesn’t follow the doctor’s instructions his illness will persist and may even cause his death. In the same way the Lord’s commandments act as a therapeutic treatment.

There are many commands and on the outset it seems difficult for someone to remember and obey all of them. Nevertheless, the most essential command is one and has to do with our entire being. It is: “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind and with all your strength.’ And it goes on ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’. This part is the result and the evidence of our genuine love towards the Lord. In other words, it is not possible for someone who does not love God, to love himself, his neighbor, nature or the rest of the creation. Therefore, all the commandments have a common mission; they converge on the love towards the Lord. This is the natural state of man; this is how the Lord created him, namely, to move towards the Lord with a loving force. This is easy to understand since as the Scriptures say ‘The Lord is love’. But we must appreciate that we are not moving towards an idea, namely ‘love’, but towards a person.

The Church moves man towards a personal meeting with the specific, personal God. In other words, the Church is the place which develops man as a person and not as an individual (an ‘individual’ means someone who is engrossed in his self). That is, it smashes his individualism, develops him as a person and turns him into someone who for the most part has a personal relationship with the Lord. This is also the main difference between the Orthodox Church and eastern religions which speak about a vague and faceless deity. This is the reason why prayer differs from meditation. Prayer is a personal motion towards a personal God; meditation is an impersonal motion from one man to another through the invocation of a vague deity.

The personal motion towards the Lord presupposes that the Lord also moves towards man. Since God is love, it follows that man, who has been created in the image of God, is also love. This loving motion enables man to come out of his self and offer himself to another person, just as Jesus did when He ‘emptied Himself’.

When man empties himself he meets the Lord in a loving union which is totally personal and totally fulfilling for man as a whole. Man’s union with the Lord does not only take place on a mental, philosophical, metaphysical or psychological level. It is a perfect union at all levels. We ought to understand these things if we are to appreciate our true mission in this world. Therefore, by understanding the numerous commandments, we also understand why we ought to obey them.

In other words, the Church is not the sum of certain commandments and laws but it is the place with a specific mission. The Saints of our Church, all the children of the Church who are indeed living children of God and of the Church, prove that what the Church says and promises is true. These people have followed the treatment offered by the Church and became the temple of the Holy Spirit and the chosen vessel of the Lord. Namely the Holy Spirit is present inside them. Indeed there are several such people who are experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit inside their souls. They know what ‘grace’ means.

When dealing with the reality of our worship, along with all the preconditions and evidence presented by the lives of our saints, we are faced with the entire range of the spiritual struggle. In other words, we understand why all these things happen, why the commandments are given, why askesis and the spiritual regime are necessary and what happens with the presence of Jesus and with the existence of the Church. Thus we understand what will happen to us. The only matter which still needs to be resolved is how to practically begin the process of our relationship with God, how to find Him and how to taste all the things promised by the Church.

The Lord does not discriminate. He does not offer His mercy to one but not to the other, neither does He give gifts to one but not to the other. There are no ‘chosen ones’ for the Lord. The Lord gives to each one the same grace and the same love. It is man who regulates his relationship with the Lord. Man is free to love the Lord absolutely. One may love Him a lot, another very little and yet some may hate Him.

Nevertheless, one has to be aware of his own intentions; he ought to be able to say that he will remain steadfast in his faith even though the Lord sometimes seems to leave him alone in his struggles. In other words, one must never lose heart. He ought to recognize that this mission is not up to him but it is a task accomplished by the Lord. Jesus said to His disciples: ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you’ (John 15, 16). The disciples may have offered their good intention, but unless the Lord was present with His grace to strengthen them, they could not have accomplished a single thing.

Bearing in mind the Lord’s presence we ought to wage our struggle with immense courage. One of the weapons the enemy uses is trying to prevent us from dealing with our sins and passions with courage and zeal.

The Lord offers us a medicine to help us with this process. It is the medicine of repentance in the face of the Lord. This means that one ought to repent not as someone who feels guilty, but as one who is the son of the Lord. Neither any trespass nor the devil are able to take away from us the privilege of being children of the Lord. Thus we may stand before the Lord and say: ‘Indeed, I have sinned; I have been misled. Nevertheless, I have not denied You and I am still seeking my deliverance’.

People ought not to be miserable inside the Church, because they have been called by the Lord to become gods through grace. This means that a person who lives the life of the Church becomes lord and not a miserable man. This is how the Lord makes him. The Saints, instead of feeling depressed, placed great emphasis on repentance because it made them feel children of the Lord. Repentance was like a life-giving force which led them straight to the throne of their Father.

In the Church there is no place for disappointment neither for backtracking, no matter what happens. Nevertheless, when someone begins his spiritual life, the enemy may succeed in stealing his soul and his heart, enslaving him into worldly matters and causing him to drop his first love towards the Lord.

Therefore, let us not be enslaved by the affairs of this world despite all our responsibilities and duties. Our heart must only move towards the Lord. The end.

 
Excerpts from a homily by the Metropolitan of Limassol, Athanasios, published in the ‘Paraklisi’ magazine, March 2012.