Consider what privileges you enjoy who have been initiated into the Mysteries, with what company you offer up that mystic hymn, with what company you cry aloud the “Thrice Holy Hymn.” Teach “them that are without” that you have joined the chorus of the Seraphim, that you are ranked as a citizen of the commonwealth above, that you have been enrolled in the choir of angels, that you have conversed with the Lord, that you have been in the company of Christ. If we regulate ourselves in this way we shall not need to say anything when we go out to those who are left behind: but from our advantage they will perceive their own loss and will hasten hither, so as to enjoy the same benefits themselves. For when, merely by the use of their senses, they see the beauty of your soul shining forth, even if they are the most stupid of men, they will become enamored of your goodly appearance. For if corporeal beauty excites those who behold it, much more will symmetry of soul be able to move the spectator and stimulate him to equal zeal. Let us then adorn our inward man, and let us be mindful of the things which are said here when we go out: for there especially is it a proper time to remember them. And just as an athlete displays in the lists the things which he has learned in the training school, even so ought we to display in our transactions in the outside world the things which we have heard here.
Saint John Chrysostom
If Thine Enemy Hunger, Feed Him
Homilies on Profitable Subjects
Category: PRAYER
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Do you not know that if you come and worship God and take part in the work which goes on here, the business you have on hand is made much easier for you? Have you worldly anxieties? Come here on that account that by the time you spend here you may win for yourself the favor of God, and so depart with a sense of security; that you may have Him for your ally, that you may become invincible to the demons because you are assisted by the heavenly hand. If you have the benefit of prayers uttered by the fathers, if you take part in common prayer, if you listen to the divine oracles, if you win for yourself the aid of God, if, armed with these weapons, you then go forth, not even the devil himself will be able henceforth to look you in the face, much less wicked men who are eager to insult and malign you.
But if you go from your house to the market place and are found destitute of these weapons, you will be easily mastered by all who insult you.
This is the reason why both in public and private affairs, many things occur contrary to our expectation, because we have not been diligent about spiritual things in the first place, and secondarily about the secular, but have inverted the order.
For this reason, also the proper sequence and right arrangement of things has been upset, and all our affairs are full of much confusion.
Saint John Chrysostom
If Thine Enemy Hunger, Feed Him
Homilies on Profitable Subjects -
Among the many things he taught me, I learned that I must only actively seek to vent my problems, thoughts, doubts, fears, concerns, and anxieties to God. I must not seek out people, since every troubling issue lies within His hand and is resolved by Him alone.
A Spring in Sinai: Hieromartyr Mina Abood: His Life, Miracles, and Martyrdom in Post-Revolution Egypt
Anthony Marcos -
Many are the sins which are able to enter through the eye of a needle. The devil, for example, does not ask you not to pray, only to delay it. If he finds that you are accustomed to prayer, then when you wake up he will say to you, “Wait until you have washed your face.” Before you awaken, he has placed in your mind any thoughts to occupy you and make you forget, and many other things to delay you. As for you, do not give him a chance, but continue in your prayers, even while you are going to wash your face. Be very careful, then, and avoid the first step that leads you into negligence and laxity, or causes you to sin.
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Life of Repentance and Purity -
It is important, then, that your spiritual senses be trained to recognize God’s voice calling you to return to Him. Therefore you must correlate whatever you go through—whether disease, troubles, or problems—with your relationship with God. Make all of them an occasion to strengthen your fellowship with Him, to deepen your prayers and increase your love for God.
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Life of Repentance and Purity -
Do not rush and make a vow to God about something that later on you might not be able to carry out. For example, do not vow your virginity while in a state of spiritual excitement then realize that you are unable to live this life. Instead of the vow, offer your desire as a prayer. Say to Him: “Lord, this is my heart’s desire. If You see that it is good and possible for me, grant it and give me the strength to carry it out. Let it be according to Your will in my life.”
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Spiritual Means
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Perhaps you spend too little time in communion with God through His Word.—It is not necessary to make long prayers, but it is essential to be much alone with God; waiting at His door; hearkening for His voice; lingering in the garden of Scripture for the coming of the Lord God in the dawn or cool of the day. No number of meetings, no fellowship with Christian friends, no amount of Christian activity can compensate for the neglect of the still hour.
When you feel the least inclined for it, there is most need to make for your closet with the shut door. Do for duty’s sake what you cannot do as a pleasure, and you will find it become delightful. You can better thrive without nourishment than become happy or strong in Christian life without fellowship with God.The Gift of Suffering
by F.B. Meyer
