Some Counsels of Saint Arsenios of Paros

(feast day January 31^st)

*   Trust in God, have hope in Him, and love Him, and He will not forsake you. For if men who are wicked, love their children, how much more must God love His?. Now they are children of God who love Him and keep His commandments. Those, on the other hand, who do not love Him, do not believe in Him, and do not live in accordance with His commandments, and who do not love their fellowmen, especially the poor, giving them alms, are children of the devil.

*   If you believe in Christ, have hope in Him, love Him with all your soul and heart, whatever you seek from Him with faith and is to your bene­fit He will give you. Seek above all the Kingdom of Heaven. When you love Him and do His commandments, He too will love you, and you will be united with Him. "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."

Excerpts on the Jesus Prayer.

By Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov.

   Among the many forms of prayer current in our day the Prayer of the Name of Jesus has attracted widespread interest, and much of what has been written on the subject is deserving of serious attention. There have, however, been not a few absurd pronounce­ments, and it would therefore seem called for now to devote a separate section to the study of this spiritual exercise. The theory of the Jesus Prayer can be set out in a few pages but its practical application entails such difficulty that from earliest time the fathers and teachers of the Church have constantly warned seekers after this way of union with God to be cautious, to approach with awe and to look for a guide already experienced in this ascetic feat...

   There is nothing automatic or 'magic' about the Jesus Prayer.

   Unless we labour to keep His commandments, we call upon His Name in vain. He Himself declared: 'Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?. And in thy name have cast out devils?. And in thy name done many wonderful works?. And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity' (Matt. 7.22,23).

Concerning the Psalms.

Excerpts  from the Letter of St. Athanasius to Marcellinus.

   Son, all the books of Scripture, both Old Testament and New, are in­spired by God and useful for instruction, as it is written; but to those who really study it, the Psalter yields special treasure. Each book of the Bible has, of course, its own particular message: the Pentateuch, for example, tells of the beginning of the world, the doings of the patriarchs, the exodus of Israel from Egypt, the giving of the Law, and the ordering of the taber­nacle and the priesthood....  Esdras (the story of Susanna ) [tells] the deliverance from exile, the return of the people, and the building of the temple and the city .... Each of these books, you see, is like a garden which grows one special kind of fruit; by contrast, the Psalter is a garden which, besides its special fruit, grows also some of those of all the rest...

   My old friend made rather a point of this, that the things we find in the Psalms about the Savior are stated in the other books of Scripture too; he stressed the fact that one interpretation is common to them all, and that they have but one voice in the Holy Spirit.

The Inner Closet of the Heart

St. Dimitri Rostov

Enter into thy closet and shut the door

Saint Dimitri Rostov (+1709)

   There are many among you who have no knowledge of the inner work required of the man who would hold God in remembrance. Nor do such people even understand what remembrance of God means, or know anything about spiritual prayer, for they imagine that the only right way of praying is to use such prayers as are to be found in Church books. As for secret communion with God in the heart, they know nothing of this, nor of the profit that comes from it, nor do they ever taste its spiritual sweetness. Those who only hear about spiritual meditation and prayer and have no direct knowledge of it are like men blind from birth, who hear about the sunshine without ever knowing what it really is. Through this ignorance they lose n1any spiritual blessings, and are slow in arriving at the virtues which make for the fulfillment of God's good pleasure. Therefore some idea of inner training and spiritual prayer is given here for the instruction of beginners, so that those who wish, with God's help, can start to learn the rudiments.

   Inner spiritual training begins with these words of Christ, "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret" (Matt. 6: 6),

How Christian life begins in the Mystery of Baptism.

Saint Theophan the Recluse

   The Mysteries which primarily refer to the beginning of the Christian life are Baptism and Repentance. Therefore, the rules concerning the beginning of life in a true Christian way are set forth first under the heading of baptism, and then under repentance.

   Baptism is the first Mystery (Sacrament) in Christianity; it makes a Christian man worthy to be vouchsafed the gifts of grace through other Mysteries also. Without it one cannot enter into the Christian world and become a member of the Church. The Pre-eternal Wisdom has made a house for Himself upon earth, and the door leading into this house is the Mystery of Baptism. By this door not only do people enter into the house of God, but at this door also they are clothed in a garment worthy of it; they receive a new name and a sign which is impressed upon the whole being of the one being baptized, by means of which, later, both heavenly and earthly beings recognize and distinguish them.

How Christian life begins in the Mystery of Baptism.

Saint Theophan the Recluse

   The Mysteries which primarily refer to the beginning of the Christian life are Baptism and Repentance. Therefore, the rules concerning the beginning of life in a true Christian way are set forth first under the heading of baptism, and then under repentance.

   Baptism is the first Mystery (Sacrament) in Christianity; it makes a Christian man worthy to be vouchsafed the gifts of grace through other Mysteries also. Without it one cannot enter into the Christian world and become a member of the Church. The Pre-eternal Wisdom has made a house for Himself upon earth, and the door leading into this house is the Mystery of Baptism. By this door not only do people enter into the house of God, but at this door also they are clothed in a garment worthy of it; they receive a new name and a sign which is impressed upon the whole being of the one being baptized, by means of which, later, both heavenly and earthly beings recognize and distinguish them.