Thoughts – Page 3

Deeper Into the Mystery

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…it is not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every question, but to make us progressively aware of a mystery. God is not so much the object of our knowledge as the cause of our wonder. ~ Metropolitan Kallistos Ware

Orthodoxy is a faith that is deep enough to allow her believers to confront the complexities of our human experience, while at the same time recognizing that not all is understood in this life, but viewed as a Mystery. So, the view that believers never doubt, is simply not true. Doubt is not the opposite of faith, but rather the vehicle by which we are challenged to go deeper into the Mystery that is true faith. Nothing keeps we true believers from struggling with uncertainty, for it is this very uncertainty that keeps us from complacency. Complacency is the true enemy of faith, and the inhibitor of spiritual growth. It is complacency that keeps us from the Kingdom of God, and the joy that comes when we are in Communion with Christ. It is not a question of choosing sides, but of surrendering to Divine Wisdom. ~ Abbot Tryphon

As Earthen Vessels

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But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:7

We are all containers; sometimes of the Light, sometimes of the Dark. ~ Gerontissa Gabrielia

Like Shavings of Wood

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Most men are like shavings of wood curled around their central emptiness. ~ St. Theophan the Recluse

Through Stillness

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Monastery in Meteora, Greece

When you go forth, guard what you have gathered. When the cage is opened, the birds fly out. And then we shall find no further profit in stillness. ~ St. John Climacus (The Ladder of Divine Ascent)

Love of God proceeds from conversing with him; this conversation of prayer comes about through stillness, and stillness comes with the stripping away of the self. ~ St. Isaac the Syrian (The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life)

True wisdom is gazing at God. Gazing at God is silence of the thoughts. Stillness of mind is tranquillity which comes from discernment. ~ St. Isaac the Syrian (Homily 64)

Whatsoever Things…

Patio Nasturtiums, Roses and Chamomile Glow in Hazy Light

…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. ~ Philippians 4:8

In the Joy of His Creatures

A Harris Hawk, seeking her food from God.

Greetings on the Feast of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon! To this very day, and through his holy prayers and healings, he’s been very helpful with family and friends!

When God, who is absolute fullness, brought creatures into existence, it was not done to fulfill any need but so that his creatures should be happy to share his likeness, and so that he himself might rejoice in the joy of his creatures as they draw inexhaustibly upon the Inexhaustible. ~ St. Maximus the Confessor

He will cover you under his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. ~ Psalm 91:4

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? … St. Matthew 6: 25-34

My rejoicing heart has taken flight!

One of my most favourite birds in the world – a falcon, flew to – and landed on my gloved arm (several times)!

My wonder-cup brims and runneth over with spiritual delight and gratitude to God – for allowing me the honour and privilege of interacting with these wild and majestic creatures… A day I’ll always treasure and remember.

Thank you God, for your Gift of Nature!

Positivity of Prayer

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If you can help a person, do so. If you are unable to help, then pray for them. If you do not know how to pray, then wish them well. It will help them, because positive thinking is a weapon also. ~ St. Nikolai Velimirovic

From Flower to Flower

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Be like little bees that go about from flower to flower and gather only the nectar from which they can make honey. A bee flies from flower to flower – to many flowers. But bees don’t stay where there’s no nectar from which they can make honey – they flee. So, may you collect from everyone only what is good and beneficial to you. Let the rest just slip by, as though through raindrops. ~ Elder Paisios; A Little Corner of Paradise

Our Lord Jesus Christ deserves unending praise!

For all His known and unknown blessings…

For helping us to find and grind the good wheat…

For wisdom to avoid indigestible chaff.

While threshing and milling a myriad of useless thoughts and actions over stressful situations… Mercifully, and with God’s help (again), it recently occurred to me I’d reacquired an ugly old habit of hovering over stinky, nectarless, flowers. Phew!

Thank you for your prayers. They mean a lot to me!

Jesus, beautiful goodness, adorn me with flowers of good thoughts and feelings. ~ Ikos 6; Akathist for Holy Communion

As Innocent Children

On Holy Saturday morning, two lone Cherry Blossoms fell from the tall Church vase and clung tenaciously to the Gospel sitting on the Winding Sheet. Reflections from the overhead flowers are seen on the side of the Gospel. May we be as those two unwavering blossoms, and cling to the Good News of God’s Word!

Christ is Risen!

When He came to dwell among us, he showed us the way to live: simply, humbly, and meekly. We should approach Him just as He created us – as innocent children. ~ Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica (Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives)

Truly He is Risen!

More Precious Than…

… A five minute prayer with all your body aching is more precious than a prayer lasting the whole night in bodily comfort. ~ Elder Sophrony (Sakharov) [of Essex, England]

5 Minutes – With English Subtitles