"Since I have no time to be a saint
by storming heaven’s gates,
Make me a saint by making meals and washing up the plates”

@fascinatingwomanhood

Brothers, I urge you. Pray at least one our Father today. It takes 30 seconds, but those 30 seconds have great power. You may think 30 seconds is nothing, but God is so great, that reaching out to him even for 30 seconds is life changing. If you don't pray. Punch a hole in the material prison of your soul, light can enter even through the smallest crack, and enlighten a room full of darkness. So punch at least a little hole, and let the light of him who created the entire world shine at least one beam of light, one beam of hope, one beam of divine mercy, one beam of that which our soul longs for and desires, but it is too burdened by worldly cares to seek. At least one Our Father, to fulfill at least one commandment of Christ our God today, who commander us to pray this way. This is one step closer to Christ, one step closer to the infinite and mighty God, one step closer to clearing your soul of the worldly and modern pollution installed in us by our enemies, who do not stop, but continually seek to pollute us, to bring us down into the pit of despair and decadence. They will never stop seeking to destroy us, just one Our Father is the first "No". No, I will not be the way you want, No, I will not listen to your agenda, No, I will not be part of your vice. And it is the first "Yes". Yes, Christ is my Master, Yes, I want to heal, Yes I want to be free. All of this and so much more happens when you say just one Our Father, therefore don't hesitate, get up, shake off the dust that has collected on you out of negligence, and say with a loud and clear voice:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.

Amen!

https://orthochristian.com/160041.html

All ascetic labors, prayer, and prostrations are only the path to the one goal. The prayer rule that we read is the path. But if the paths do not lead to the goal, they are taken up in vain. If a traveler walks down a road but does not reach the city to which he was headed, then what was the point of his traveling?

It is the same with spiritual life: If a person does not reach the goal—to inculcate the remembrance of God in himself, to achieve a state of continually walking before the face of the Lord—it means that his labors of prayer and other ascetic labors were in vain.

When we will continually remember that the Lord is near and watching after us, that He sees our every deed, hears our every word, and knows our every thought, and that even when we sleep there is an Unsleeping Eye watching over us—only then will we cease to sin, because the salvific fear of God will abide in our hearts.

- St. Seraphim Zvezdinsky

Let my prayer arise in thy sight as incense, and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice.

https://youtu.be/YMsuYkzEE4o?si=79j2QVYee79si67X

The North

The North,
Where I left my heart.
Where my soul longs to be.
In the hills and valleys.
In the thick white fog.
In the vast and unending wilderness,
And the heath covered fields.
Which Christ himself crafted with his hand.
And saw that they were good.

@preaching_love
@poem_collection

(The North mentioned here refers to the north of England)

"If you put something fragrant on to burning coals, you motivate those who approach to come back again and to stay near, but if instead you put on something with an unpleasant, oppressive smell, you repel them and drive them away. It is the same with the mind. If your attention is occupied with what is holy, you make yourself worthy of being visited by God, since this is the sweet savour which God catches scent of. On the other hand, if you nurture evil, foul and earthly thoughts within you, you remove yourself from God's supervision and unfortunately make yourself worthy of His aversion."

- Gregory Palamas

Happy Palamas Sunday to all my brothers and sisters, may we learn from this vigorous, undefeated and holy man how to continually be mindful of our Lord, the most wonderful creator of all things, and let his light illumine us.

O Good Lord, enlighten us, and fill us with your light, which is the greatest thing we can possibly obtain on earth.