A Monk In The World

Oh Christ, You pray for those who crucify You, and You crucify those who love You! + Father Arsenie (Papacioc)

“I regret, O my God, that You did not reveal Your holy will to me earlier, for I would have hurried to do it even before You called me to do it. Do You wish to take back the lands, honor, and glory that You gave me? I have long been ready to return them to You. Do you wish to take my children? I commit them to Your will. Do you want any part of my body? Take it. It is not much to take, for soon I will leave it all behind. Do You want my soul? Why would I deny You even this? Everything that You gave me, take from me, for You love a cheerful giver. I do every task You send me freely, without compulsion; I suffer nothing that I did not agree to in advance. I do not work for You, O my God, like a slave. Rather, I bring my own will into agreement with Your holy will.” The Sunflower John Maximovitch

People are mistaken when they think that the life they have belongs to them and that they can do with it whatever they want. Life is a gift from God. The Lord takes it when He wills. And we see this at almost every step. "Whose breath is it that has come forth from you?" (Job 26:4) St. John of Kronstadt

Metropolitan Anthony Bloom: Living Prayer

On Prayer by Saint Sophrony

From the Book Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works

Who put me in this bed of worms? Who buried me in the dust, to become a neighbor of snakes and a banquet for worms? Who pushed me off the high mountain, to become a companion of bloodthirsty and godless men? My sin and Your justice, O Lord. My sin stretches from the creation of the world, and it is swifter than Your justice. I count my sins throughout my entire life, throughout the life of my father and all the way back to the beginning of the world, and I say: Truly, the name of the Lord's justice is mercy. .... At least raise me up by a head above the rotten stench of this bed of worms, to inhale the incense of heaven and return to life. At least raise me up as high as a palm tree so I can laugh at the serpents chasing my heels. O Lord, if there has been even one good deed in the course of my earthly journey, for the sake of that one deed deliver me from the companionship of bloodthirsty and godless men. O Lord, my hope in despair. O Lord, my strength in weakness. O Lord, my light in darkness. Place just one finger on my forehead and I shall be raised. Or, if I am too unclean for Your finger, let a single ray of light from Your kingdom shine upon me and raise me-raise me, from this bed of worms, O my beloved Lord. Prayers by the lake

What can be impossible for God, Who is able to give life to stone and form man out of it? He can miraculously accomplish the same with a painted image. "All things are possible to him that believeth"; [Mark 9:23] and the Highest miraculously comes down from heaven to him that believeth. He is similarly united with, and works miracles by, the sign of the life-giving cross. My Life in Christ, ☦️ St John of Kronstadt