Absolutely nothing will help us if we are not lenient toward the weaknesses of men and forgive them. For how can we hope that God will forgive us if we do not forgive others?
Absolutely nothing will help us if we are not lenient toward the weaknesses of men and forgive them. For how can we hope that God will forgive us if we do not forgive others?
We all have to die, beloved brethren, and it will be hard for us if, while we are in this world, we do not love each other, if we are not reconciled to our enemies, whom we have offended, and if one has grieved another, if we do not forgive him. Then we will not have eternal blessedness in that world, and the heavenly Father will not forgive our sins.
– St. Peter of Cetinje, Letter to Radulovichs, 1805
Featured image: On the Iset river, Russia. From the Prokudin-Gorskii collection. Photographer: Sergei Mikhailovich. 1863-1944. Library of Congress
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
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