Quotes from The Philokalia Vol. 1, pg 169

May 15, 2013 | Uncategorized, Wisdom

We are not mightier than Samson, wiser than Solomon, more knowledgeable about God than David, and we do not love God better than did Peter, prince of the apostles. So let us not have confidence in ourselves; for he who has confidence in himself will fall headlong.

Let us learn humility from Christ, humiliation from David, and from Peter to shed tears over what has happened; but let us also learn to avoid the despair of Samson, Judas, and that wisest of men, Solomon.

The more the rain falls on the earth, the softer it makes it; similarly, Christ’s holy name gladdens the earth of our heart the more we call upon it.

Quotes from The Philokalia Vol.  1, pg 169

Letting Go of Resentments

March 25, 2013 | Uncategorized, Wisdom

by Fr. John Jillions
James 3:11-4:6
Mark 11:23-26

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses. (Mark 11:25-26)

St Nikolai Velimirovich
Saint Nikolai Velimirovich (1881-1956) was bishop of Ohrid and of Zhicha in Serbia. He suffered under the Nazis (including imprisonment and torture in Dachau) and after WWII moved to the United States, spending his final years at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery and Seminary, where he was Rector. When I served Holy Trinity Church in Rahway, NJ (1987-94), the late Father Dragoliub Sokic, a retired Serbian priest who had been Bishop Nikolai’s last secretary often came to the Liturgy with his wife Olga. He spoke warmly of this deep man who actively practiced love of enemies and letting go of offenses.

Saint Nikolai was an influential and prolific theological writer and preacher and was canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church in 2003. In addition to his Prologue from Ohrid, a collection of saints’ lives and meditations, he wrote scores of prayers and poems, including this one.
Forgiveness

(Saint Nikolai Velimirovich)

That God may forgive us, let us forgive men.
We are all on this earth as temporary guests.
Prolonged fasting and prayer is in vain
Without forgiveness and true mercy.
God is the true Physician; sins are leprosy.
Whomever God cleanses, God also glorifies.
Every merciful act of men, God rewards with mercy.
He who returns sin with sin perishes without mercy.
Pus is not cleansed by pus from infected wounds,
Neither is the darkness of the dungeon dispelled by darkness,
But pure balm heals the festering wound,
And light disperses the darkness of the dungeon.
To the seriously wounded, mercy is like a balm;
As if seeing a torch dispersing the darkness, everyone rejoices in mercy.
The madman says, “I have no need of mercy!”
But when he is overcome by misery, he cries out for mercy!
Men bathe in the mercy of God,
And that mercy of God wakens us to life!
That God may forgive us, let us forgive men,
We are all on this earth as temporary guests.

Humility and the Jesus Prayer

March 23, 2013 | Uncategorized, Wisdom

The power of the Jesus Prayer lies in its expression of humility and need. “Have mercy” is the cry of the humbled heart for the salvation that only God can give. We cannot save ourselves but we know someone who can, and this knowing causes us to cry out with all our hearts “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” The Desert Fathers and Mothers consistently taught the need for humility:

Theodora said that neither asceticism, nor vigils, nor any kind of suffering are able to save. Only true humility can do that. There was a hermit who was able to banish the demons. And he asked them: “What makes you go away? Is it fasting?” They replied: “We do not eat or drink.” “Is it vigils?” They said: “We do not sleep.” “Then what power sends you away?” They replied: “Nothing can overcome us except humility alone.” Amma Theodora said: “Do you see how humility is victorious over the demons.”

Source

Rhyme of PrayerPrayer

February 25, 2013 | Uncategorized, Wisdom

Pray gently and calmly, sing with understanding and rhythm; then you will soar like a young eagle high in the heavens.

The Philokalia: Volume One, page 65