Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the Lord have created it. ~ Isaiah 45:8
Tag: Orthodox Christian
Exaltation
Dry Spells
Sometimes we are tested by pleasure, sometimes by distress or by physical suffering. By means of His prescriptions the Physician of souls administers the remedy according to the cause of the passions lying hidden in the soul. ~ St. Maximus the Confessor
We know God is with us, but sometimes there may be struggles to feel His Presence and Love, or even pray. Yet, there is a consolation!
During times of spiritual dryness, faithful perseverance in prayer is the sweetest of all our prayers to God. By clinging tenaciously to Christ’s love with prayer, regardless of circumstances, we are blessed.
4th Century St. Macarius the Great reminds: One must force himself to prayer when he has not spiritual prayer, and God, beholding him thus striving, and compelling himself by force, in spite of an unwilling heart, gives him the true prayer of the Spirit.
The Holy Apostle Paul writes the rewards of perseverance in prayer: And we also have joy with our troubles because we know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces experience, and experience produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. God gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us. ~ Romans 5:3-5
Archpriest Nikolai Guryanov encourages: Do not grieve, do not be sad: Again will come a time to be glad; patiently wait, patiently endure, to those who wait will come their reward!
Everything that has a beginning has an end… Except for God, Who is beginningless.
This is just for now!
Overflow With Hope
Ancient Church in Naples, Italy 2017
With so many things happening in the world and life, remember to keep looking up! There’s Sonshine everywhere!
Lord, help.
Heal Me, O Lord
A bouquet of church flowers… Bright, beautiful and full of Light.
Our Daily Bread
My husband bakes two tartine loaves per week. Pulled from a searing oven, they crackle, hiss, and fill the entire house with the song of bread. A single whiff of its aroma can make one weak in the knees.
Be that as it may, tartine bread is a luxury and not a necessity. One can thrive without treats. In fact one can live longer (and have it seem much, much longer) without treats.
Moving along to some small thoughts regarding our Real Daily Bread, and how we can’t Live without It –
Initially, the Lord’s Prayer seems simple and straightforward. However, the more one ponders, the more profound and spiritually sumptuous it becomes.
The first two words alone, Our Father are warm, loving, powerful and mind-boggling. Calling the Creator our Father? One can only reflect in amazement!
Then, further along, and as trustingly as a child, we are taught to entreat God to give us this day our daily bread… our spiritual and physical sustenance needed according to our salvation.
Although God knows exactly what we need, we are shown throughout this prayer the importance of reaching out, regardless. This draws us closer to our Heavenly Father. By casting cares and anxiety aside, and by praying, we bring He Who Is… our Daily Bread… into ourselves, under the roof of our soul… Especially when receiving the Sacrament and Gift of Holy Communion.
God loves us.
God provides for us – today, tomorrow and always.
He is our Blessed, Heavenly Bread and our Cup of Life.
He is our Benediction.
His Loving Kindness
Mystras, Greece – 2017
Sunflower Sense
A friend shared this wonderful quote by St. John of Tobolsk.
O Christian! Remember this once and for all: even on cloudy days the sunflower continues to follow the sun in its focused love, even though it cannot see the sun. The Sun that illumines our life’s path is the will of God. It does not always shine on us without clouds, often, clear days are followed by overcast days when rains, winds, and storms arise, No Christian is safe from these phenomena, these changes in spiritual weather. May our love for the Sun, the will of God, be as strong as the sunflower’s, so that even in days of hardship and sorrow, we will continue to sail unerringly along the sea of life, following the directions of the barometer and compass of God’s will that leads us to the safe haven of eternity. ~ St. John of Tobolsk from The Sunflower
Walk Carefully
Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true)… Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time… ~ Ephesians 5:9, 15, 16
Marble Floor Mosaic in the 4th Century Basilica of San Giovanni (St. John) in Laterano in Rome, Italy.
Thy Will Be Done
I had a heart-warming conversation with a friend regarding God’s Will.
Asking her the result of a job interview, she grinned saying, “I haven’t heard anything back yet… but that’s okay, because it’s in God’s Hands. If I’m meant to get it, I will.”
Empowered Faith joyfully anticipates Providence’s decision come what may… knowing things will work out for the best regardless, because it’s God’s Will.
From feeble past experience when my personal agenda didn’t align with God’s will, I sometimes struggled (putting it mildly). By second and third-guessing myself, it never felt peaceful (big clue something wasn’t right). Sometimes, I would sort of acknowledge His Will… up to a point, not fully accepting it… and still doing what I thought best in spite of – (Much to my Guardian Angel’s chagrin).
This has made for more than one heck of a bumpy ride on occasion, me speeding nowhere… at a mindless Mach 10. When relinquishing the Driver’s Seat back to God, we’re freed from useless detours and snarled traffic jams along this mortal coil’s stretch of highway.
God’s Will is for us to keep His commandments and to give thanks for all things.
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18
With thankfulness and gratitude for my faithful friend, who’s a breath of fresh air…
May God grant us all strength and help to overcome the limitations of our own will… even if the path ahead seems unclear. May we allow Him to help us accept what appears difficult, or unbearable, or impossible according to our own will, by remembering that God loves us. That He knows and wants what’s best for us, and that He answers our petitions according to what’s best for our salvation.
Lord! Thou knowest all things. Do with me as Thou willest! ~St. Theophan the Recluse