The Value of Adversity
It is good for us to have trials and troubles at times, for
they often remind us that we are on probation and ought not
to hope in any worldly thing. It is good for us sometimes to
suffer contradiction, to be misjudged by men even though we do well and mean well. These things help us to be humble
and shield us from vainglory. When to all outward
appearances men give us no credit, when they do not think
well of us, then we are more inclined to seek God Who sees
our hearts. Therefore, a man ought to root himself so firmly
in God that he will not need the consolations of men.
When a man of good will is afflicted, tempted, and
tormented by evil thoughts, he realizes clearly that his
greatest need is God, without Whom he can do no good.
Saddened by his miseries and sufferings, he laments and
prays. He wearies of living longer and wishes for death that
he might be dissolved and be with Christ. Then he
understands fully that perfect security and complete peace
cannot be found on earth.—Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
-
-
“Therein lies a crucial distinction between Christian hope and optimism. Whereas optimism tries to minimize the darkness, to see the glass half-full rather than half empty, hope folly acknowledges the darkness and the evil, but rests in Gods presence and His faithful promises. In fact—and this is certainly the witness of many saints—it is precisely in those times of darkness that we can become aware of God’s presence as a burst of Divine Light overwhelming us with a heavenly joy that surpasses any earthly peace or happiness we seek.”
All That I Have Is Yours: 100 Meditations with St. Pope Kyrillos VI on the Spiritual Life
Fr. Kyrillos Ibrahim -
What we know for certain is that the desire for pleasure is corrupting and destructive of virtue. It is a root of addiction and almost every vice. St. Paul famously said that the “love of money is the root of all evil.” That is true primarily because money is the currency of pleasure. The fathers described our fallen state as a pendulum that moved between pleasure and pain (hedone and odyne). Pleasure, they observed, often begets pain which drives us to seek more pleasure. The wisdom of both the Stoics and the Christian fathers is that only a willingness to endure pain, at some level, is able to nurture virtue. We are not called to love suffering, but to flee suffering can be among the worst choices in life.
—Fr. Stephen Freeman, A Virtuous Man -
You are ill, and your illness is very painful; you have become low-spirited and despondent; you are troubled and tossed with thoughts, each darker than the other; your heart and your lips are ready to murmur, to blaspheme God! My brother! listen to my sincere advice. Bear your illness bravely, and do not merely not despond, but on the contrary, rejoice, if you can, in your illness. You would ask me what there is for you to rejoice at when you are racked all over with pain? Rejoice that the Lord has sent you this temporary chastisement in order to cleanse your soul from sins.“ For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth.” Rejoice in the fact that now you are not gratifying those passions which you would have gratified had you been in good health; rejoice that you are bearing the cross of sickness, and that therefore you are treading the narrow and sorrowful way leading to the kingdom of heaven. Maladies in our eyes only appear painful, unpleasant, and terrible. It is seldom that any one of us during the time of sickness represents to himself the profit which his illness brings to his soul; but in God’s all wise and most merciful Providence, not a single malady remains without some profit to our soul. Sicknesses in the hands of Providence are the same as bitter medicines for our soul, curing its passions, its bad habits and inclinations. Not a single malady sent to us shall return void. Therefore, we must keep in view the utility of sicknesses, in order that we may bear them more easily and more calmly. “He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin,” says the Holy Scripture.
—St. John of Kronstadt, On Sickness
-
Worries are less obtrusive when we choose activities that bring us into a state of flow. When we experience flow, we are completely immersed in what we are doing. We are so absorbed in the present moment that time falls away and we forget our worries. A friend of mine is obsessed with ice climbing. Climbing up a mountain in the bitter cold does not sound like much fun to me, but when she explained why she loves it, I immediately understood. “It forces me to focus only on climbing, because if I don’t I could fall. It’s the only time I forget everything else–all my worries, my work, everything–and just focus on what is right in front of me.” What my friend was describing was the sensation of being in flow.
A few years ago I took up sewing. I spent hours creating dresses and dance costumes. I was so absorbed in my creations that hours flew by without my noticing. Nowadays, I experience flow most when I’m writing. Instead of sewing fabric, I stitch together ideas. When I’m immersed in a writing project, I can’t think about anything else. Writing gives me plenty of footholds to climb out of all the dark places my thoughts want to go. Other introverts might feel this way when they are playing the piano, gardening, or cooking. Anything that fully immerses us in the present moment will also give us respite from our worries.
—Michaela Chung, The Irresistible Introvert -
“What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens.”
—Ellen Glasgow -
“If you wish to remember God unceasingly, do not reject as undeserved what happens to you, but patiently accept it.”
—St. Mark the Ascetic -
“Could I too choose to make the pain stop by staying busy? Eventually, the action was over and everyone had to go home. There is always a point when the doing ends, and then we are faced with the deafening and horrendous silence that is our thoughts.”
—Joe Watson Jr., The End of Despair -
“God Himself heals the proud. This means that inner sorrows (by which pride is healed) are sent to us by God, for the proud man will not suffer anything from others. But the humble person will endure everything, and will always say, ‘I deserve this.’”
—St. Ambrose of Optina -
There was a hermit who was often ill. But one year he did not fall ill and he was very upset and wept saying, ‘The Lord has left me, and has not visited me.’
The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks
Benedicta Ward
SO GOOD QUOTES 