Word from the Desert

Meditations on the Orthodox Life from the Early Church Fathers, Ascetics, Saints and Righteous

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Prayer, fasting, vigils, and all other Christian practices, however good they may be in themselves, certainly do not constitute the aim of our Christian life: they are but the indispensable means of attaining that aim. For the true aim of the Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God. As for fasts, vigils, prayer and almsgiving, and other good works done in the name of Christ, they are only the means of acquiring the Holy Spirit of God. Note well that it is only good works done in the name of Christ that bring us the fruits of the Spirit.
~St. Seraphim of Sarov

In order for one to understand the Saints and Fathers of the [Orthodox] Church, it is not sufficient to merely read them. The Saints spoke and wrote after having lived the mysteries of God. They personally experienced the mysteries.

In order for one to understand them, he too must have progressed to a certain degree of initiation into the mysteries of God by personally tasting, smelling, and seeing. You can read the books of the Saints and become very well versed in them with a ‘cerebral’ knowledge without even minutely tasting that which the Saints tasted who wrote these books through their personal experience.

In order to understand the Saints essentially, not intellectually, you must have the proper experience for all that they say; you must have tasted, at least in part, of the same things as they. You must have lived in the fervent environment of Orthodoxy; you must grown in it… A Whole new world must be born in a Westerner’s heart in order for him to understand something of Orthodoxy.

~Alexandar Kalomiros, Against False Union, 1959

The mysteries of our Faith are unknown and not understandable to those who are not repenting.

~Archpriest Nicholas Deputatov, ‘Awareness of God’ in the Orthodox Word Magazine, July-August 1976

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Monday

28Sep2009

As sticks are thrown into the fire...

Sep 28, 2009 |

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…and are unable to resist the power of the fire, but are burned up at once, so too demons, seeking to wage war against a man who has received the Spirit, are burned up and consumed by the divine power of the fire, provided only that the person always clings to the Lord and has trust and hope in Him. And even if the demons are strong as mighty mountains, they are burned up by prayer, like wax by fire.

In the meantime, great is the soul’s struggle and war against them. There are rivers of dragons there and mouths of lions. There is fire which flames up in the soul. Just as inveterate evil, inebriated with the spirit of error, is insatiable toward evil, either in murdering or committing adultery, so also Christians, having been baptized in the Holy Spirit, are not overcome by evil. But those who possess grace and still are flirting with sin are under fear and journey through a fearful place.

Take the example of merchants. While on a voyage, even if they find a suitable wind and a calm sea, still as long as they have not reached the harbor, they always are in fear lest suddenly a contrary wind should blow and the sea would be stirred up by waves and the ship would be in danger. So too Christians, even if they possess within themselves a favorable wind of the Holy Spirit blowing, they still fear lest the wind of the opposing force should rise up and blow and stir up a storm and waves for their souls. Therefore, there is need of great diligence so that we may arrive at the harbor of rest, at the perfect world, at the eternal life and pleasure, at the city of the saints, at the heavenly Jerusalem, at Church of the firstborn.

St. Macarius, Spiritual Homily 43.3-4
late 4th century