A blessing from God ( St. Paisios )

                
Elder Paisios quotes this old saying and asks, "What does it mean?" Clearly it is saying that it is better to work, which in earlier times would wear out your shoes, than to be lazy and to spend your time in bed wearing out the blankets.

Elder Paisios describes work in this way:
Work is a blessing, a gift from God. Work gives vigor to the body and refreshes the mind. If God had not given us work, man would have become moldy Those who are diligent work into their old age. If they stop working while they still have strength, they become melancholy; it's like death for them.
There is no way to gain peace without engaging in work of some kind. When we do take a break, like a vacation or even a lunch hour, when we did not return to work, what would we do? We would seek out some other kind of comfort. When it ended we would seek another. We would never find satisfaction. We would be filled with anxiety, not from work, but from our inability to find true comfort. We would feel an emptiness, a need for being of some value to others. Our soul would be longing to carry out the will of God which is to help and love others. This is why even though we may find ourselves fatigued at the end of a good days work, we can feel a sense of joy that we have been useful, worthwhile, have contributed to the life of mankind.


It is important to carry our faith into our work place. We should pray before we take on our various projects for God to guide and help us. We should find ways to show kindness to those we work with. In this way we carry our God's will into our work place. What is essential is to always keep God in mind while we work.


Work is a blessing from God


Resource: Elder Paisios of Mount Athos spiritual Counsels IV: Family Life, pg176

http://agapienxristou.blogspot.ca/2013/11/a-blessing-from-god-elder-paisios.html

Adolescence is the most important period of life ( Part 3 ) - St. Nektarios of Pentapolis

a talk given by St. Nektarios of Pentapolis
to a group of high-school students

Which one of you, now, aware of this calling and
his immense obligations can neglect his spiritual
development and moral formation? Who will ever, on account of laziness and negligence, condemn himself to illiteracy, imprudence, infamy, and dishonor? Certainly no one. For we have acquired the virtues, namely the love for toil and love for honor, from our ancestors, and we have received
nobility and courageousness as an inheritance.
 

Therefore, beloved children in the Lord, a struggle is demanded of us in order to acquire and there after preserve what is good.
Man’s entire life is a struggle; but ethical prosperity is the prize awarded by God, Who
officiates the  competition. Thus, it is not possible to prosper without toiling. “Efforts give rise to
glory,” according to Euripides. And it is also an irrefutable truth that “toil is the father of glory.” Honor and glory are the rewards of exceptional virtue and the trophies of a ceaseless struggle.
Every teenager finds himself standing before the two paths described by Prodikos. You are all familiar with Prodikos’ myth, and the labors of Hercules.
 

Hercules would have been unknown to us had he not chosen the path of virtue over the path of evil when he was offered to pick one of the two.The path of virtue, however, is a road that demands toil and exertion. “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way” of virtue; whereas, “wide is the gate and broad is the way” of evil “that leads to destruction” (Mt. 7:13-14) Hesiod, the Assyrian poet, when  speaking of virtue and evil, describes the path of evil being easy and smooth, in contrast to the path of virtue as uphill, and difficult. Behold his words:“Badness can be got easily and in shoals, the road to her is smooth, and she lives very near us.

 
But between us and Goodness the gods have
placed the sweat of our brows.
Long and steep is the path that leads to her, and it
is rough at the first; but when a man has reached the top, then is she easy to reach, though before that she was hard.”(Hesiod, Works and Days, verse 287).
Which one of you, now, does not see the struggle that he is obligated to undertake in order to acquire virtue?
Who does not comprehend that it cannot be otherwise, since “the gods have placed sweat between us and virtue”? Yes, beloved students! A great struggle and pain are demanded to acquire virtue.
Nonetheless, no one should back down.
Nothing other than a courageous decision and unwavering mindset is needed in order to acquire virtue.

 

http://www.stnektariosmonastery.org/weeklymessage.pdf

The Holy Scriptures , about false miracles

"Do not turn to mediums or seek out spirits, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God … I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people" (Leviticus 19:31, Lev. 20:6).

"Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord , and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you" (Deuteronomy 18:10-13).

"When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn" (Isaiah 8:19-20).

"All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. Here are no coals to warm anyone; here is no fire to sit by" (Isaiah 47:13-14).

"So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, 'You will not serve the king of Babylon.' They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish" (Jeremiah 27:9-10).

"The days of punishment are coming, the days of reckoning are at hand. Let Israel know this. Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac" (Hosea 9:7).

"On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision. He will not put on a prophet's garment of hair in order to deceive" (Zechariah 13:4).



Lord Jesus Christ said about false prophets:



"Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. … Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" (Matthew 7:20-23).


"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters" (Matthew 12:30).


The prophecy of the Savior about the last times:


"For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. " (Matthew. 24:24-25).

Apostle John the Theologian:

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).


Apostle Paul:

"Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:22-24).

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron" (1 Timothy 4:1-2).



About the antichrist:


"And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved" (2 Thessalonians 2:8-10).



Prophecies of the Apostle John about the time of the antichrist:


"He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed" (Revelation. 13:12-15). "But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur" (Revelation. 19:20).


About the future capital of the world state (Babylon):

"The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride
will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world's great men. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. " (Revelation. 18:23).

Christ Is Everything For The Christian Soul ( St. Nikolai Velimirovich )

           
Until Christ becomes completely everything for the soul which authentically has a certain permanent and unchanging value, until then, man cannot enter into suffering for Christ. How could St. Marina the fifteen-year-old girl enter into suffering for Christ? For to her, Christ was completely everything! How could Saint Julitta have rejoiced upon seeing her three year old son Kyriacos dead for the Faith of Christ? Again, for her, Christ was completely everything. Behold, how St. Tikhon of Zadonsk speaks in detail of how Christ is everything to man in the form of a conversation between Christ and man:

Do you desire good for yourself?
Every good is in Me.

Do you desire blessedness?
Every blessedness is in Me.

Do you desire beauty?
What is more beautiful than Me?

Do you desire nobleness?
What is more noble than the Son of God and the Holy Virgin?

Do you desire height?
What is higher than the Kingdom of Heaven?

Do you desire riches?
In Me are all riches.

Do you desire wisdom?
I am the Wisdom of God.

Do you desire friendship?
Who is a kinder friend than I Who lay down My life for all?

Do you desire help?
Who can help except Me?

Do you seek joy?
Who will rejoice outside of Me?

Do you seek comfort in misery?
Who will comfort you outside of Me?

Do you seek peace?
I am the peace of the soul.

Do you seek life?
In Me is the source of life.

Do you seek light?
'I am the Light of the world' (John 8:12).


by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

http://agapienxristou.blogspot.ca/2013/04/christ-is-everything-for-christian-soul.html

Finding spiritual peace ( St. Seraphim of Sarov )

            

The spiritual world is gained by sorrows. The scriptures say: "We went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place" (Ps. 66:12). For those who desire to serve God the path lies through many sorrows. How can we praise the holy martyrs for the sufferings which they bore for God, when we cannot even bear a fever?

Nothing so aids the acquiring of internal peace as silence, and as much as is possible, continual discussion with oneself and rarely with others.

A sign of spiritual life is the immersion of a person within himself and the hidden workings within his heart.

This peace, as some priceless treasure, did our Lord Jesus Christ leave his followers before His death, saying, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you" (John 14:27). The apostle also spoke this about it: "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7); "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14).

In this way, we must direct all our thoughts, desires and actions toward obtaining God’s peace, and always cry out with the Church: "Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us" (Is. 26:12).

It is necessary by all means to try to keep one’s spiritual peace, and not to become provoked by insults from others. To do this, it is necessary always to restrain oneself from anger, and by careful watch to guard the mind and heart from unclean waverings.

Insults from others must be borne without disturbance; one must train oneself to be of such a nature, that one can react to insults as if they did not refer to oneself. Such an exercise can bring serenity to our heart and make it a dwelling of God Himself.

We see an example of such a lack of malice in the life of St. Gregory the Miracle-Worker. A certain immoral woman demanded payment from him, purportedly for a sin committed with her. He, not in the least angry with her, humbly said to one of his friends: pay her the price which she demands, quickly. The woman became possessed as soon as she accepted the unrighteous payment. The bishop then prayed and exorcised the evil spirit from her.

If it is impossible not to become indignant, then at least restrain your tongue according to the words of the Psalmist: "I am so troubled that I cannot speak" (Ps. 77:4).

In this instance we can take as examples for ourselves St. Spyridon of Tremifunt and St. Ephraim the Syrian. The first bore an insult when he entered the palace by the demand of the Greek emperor: one of the servants present in the emperor’s chamber, taking him for a beggar, laughed at him, did not allow him to enter the chamber and even struck him on the cheek. St. Spyridon, being without malice, turned the other cheek to him, according the word of the Lord (see Mt. 5:39). The Blessed Ephraim, living in the desert, was once deprived of food in the following fashion. His pupil, carrying the food, accidentally broke the vessel on the way. Blessed Ephraim, seeing the pupil downcast, said to him: "Do not grieve, brother. If the food did not want to come to us, then we will go to it." And so the monk went, sat next to the broken vessel, and, gathering the food together, ate it. He was thus without malice!

In order to keep spiritual peace, it is necessary to chase dejection away from oneself, and to try to have a joyful spirit, according to the words of the most wise Sirach: "Sorrow has killed many, but there is no good in it" (Sir. 30:25).

In order to keep spiritual peace it is also necessary to avoid judging others in any way. Condescension towards your neighbor and silence protect spiritual peace. When a person is in such an state, then he receives Godly revelations.

In order not to lapse into judgment of others, it is necessary to be mindful of oneself, to refuse to receive any bad information from anyone and to be as if dead to others.

For the protection of spiritual peace it is necessary to enter into oneself more often and ask: Where am I? In addition, it is necessary to watch that the physical senses, especially sight, serve the inner person, not diverting the soul with mortal items, because the gifts of grace are received only by those who have inner workings and keep watch over their souls.

St. Seraphim of Sarov