The greatest marvel of all is that the Father, the God of all wisdom and power, Who presides over the universe, is our Father. Even to me, poor Seraphim.
Featured image: Procession with the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, during his canonization on July 19 1913. (St. Tsar Nicolas II near the center.)
It is necessary to rouse the heart to pray, otherwise it will become quite dry. The attributes of prayer must be: love of God, sincerity, and simplicity.
– St. Seraphim of Sarov, Spiritual Instructions no. 25. Little Russian Philokalia Vol. 1
Featured image: Trinity Orthodox Church, Antarctica. Photo by Thiago Piccoli
Sin, to one who loves God, is nothing other than an arrow from the enemy in battle. The true Christian is a warrior fighting his way through the regiments of the unseen enemy to his heavenly homeland. According to the word of the Apostle, our homeland is in heaven; and about the warrior he says: ‘our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers.’
– St. Seraphim of Sarov, Letters, Little Russian Philokalia, V. III
Featured image: Wooden church in Northern Russia. Photograph by Richard Davies.
One must not nurse in one’s heart malice or hatred towards a neighbor who bears ill-will; but we must strive to love him and, as much as possible, do good, following the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ: Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you (Matt 5:44). And thus, if we will strive, as much as lies in our power, to fulfill all this, then we may hope that Divine Light will shine early in our souls, opening to us the path to the Jerusalem on High.
– St. Seraphim of Sarov, The Little Russian Philokalia
Featured image: Photographer Cas Oorthuys at Mt. Athos, 1959. source
A man who has taken upon himself to travel the path of internal mindfulness must have above all the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom. Upon his mind there must always be engraved these words of the prophet: Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling (Ps 2:11).
He should travel this path with the utmost care and with reverence for everything holy, and not negligently. Otherwise, he must take heed lest there should apply to him the divine decree: Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently (Jer 48:10). Reverent carefulness is necessary here because this sea– that is, the heart, with its thoughts an desires, which one must cleanse by means of mindfulness– is great and vast, and there are numberless reptiles there (Ps 103:27), that is, numerous vain, unjust, and impure thoughts generated by evil spirits.
– St. Seraphim of Sarov, The Little Russian Philokalia
Featured image: Taken with Holga film camera. source
God is a fire that burns and warms the heart, our internal parts. If we feel coldness in our hearts, which comes from the enemy because the enemy – the devil – is cold, then we need to call our Lord. He will come and will warm our hearts with our love for Him and our neighbor. This warmth will drive away the coldness of the enemy.
The Desert Fathers used to say: Seek the Lord, but do not ask Him strange things like where he is. Because where God dwells, there is nothing bad and harmful. Everything that comes from God is peaceful and beneficial and guides us to humility and to recognize only our own faults.
God shows us how much He loves us not only when we are doing good things, but when we are also insulting Him and making Him unhappy with our sins. How forbearing He is with our faults! And even when something that we believe is a punishment from Him comes to us, it is not! It has love that we eventually recognize.
Featured image: Great Tit Eating out of the Hand of a Horticulture Student. Photographer Richard Tepe, ca. 1915. Rijksmuseum
When despondency seizes us, let us not give in to it. Rather, fortified and protected by the light of faith, let us with great courage say to the spirit of evil: What are you to us, you who are cut off from God, a fugitive from Heaven, and a slave of evil? You dare not do anything to us: Christ, the Son of God, has dominion over us and over all. Leave us, you thing of bane. We are made steadfast by the uprightness of His Cross. Serpent, we trample on your head.
Featured image: Sarov celebrations. Participants of the procession to the grave of Seraphim of Sarov. source