Why We Need the Poor

Without the poor we have no quick way to lay up treasures in heaven.

Without the poor after we "sell all" that we have, who will we give it to?

Without the poor there is no way to give directly to Christ.

Without the poor we are hopelessly deluded by materialism.

Without the poor we have no vision of a simple lifestyle.

Without the poor we cannot learn to be content with what we have.

Without the poor we have no people to thank God for us.

Without the poor can not learn to be generous.

Without the poor we cannot receive from God as we have given.

Without the poor our riches become chains that fasten us to this life and condemn us to poverty hereafter.

The poor don't need us, but we need the poor!!

Beauty Touches but Clutching Devours

What beauty there is in the world! But why must we fight with the temptation to own it for ourselves? Where does this unwarranted desire come from? We encounter beauty, we admire beauty. That is a blessing for which we should thank God. Beyond that is a perversion. To take hold of that beauty, to own that beauty and deny it to others, what are we doing but stealing from God what is meant for all?


Divine creation cannot be stolen! Take that beauty if your flesh is weak; lock her away and deny her to others. The beauty will fade almost in an instant. A cut flower will wither, a caged bird will not sing, and the smile of a girl will fade if she is lusted after as a possesion. Either that or her continued delight will tear her veil of chastity in two.


I know this, but still I cannot enjoy the beauty of girl, the joy of her laughter, the pleasure of her conversation. Because although all this is a gift from God my deceitful heart wants more. I want sole propierty of that smile, that laughter, those words. This is not about sex, for sex is merely the easiest way to stake a claim of ownership. The pleasure in fornication is merely the spur with which to take that easy route to ownership. This is how our own body conspires against us!


Lord deliver unto us bromide for our tea! So that we may press ourselves as close as we wish to the beauty of Your creation and enjoy the dance.

An Assurance of Hope

I must admit that I never felt such joy the day I learned to pray for the salvation of the whole world and everything in it. But it didn't come immediately after my conversion, because then there was still the idea of Hell and everlasting torment for those who "rejected Christ."

Yet this is not part of any Orthodox creed, nor has it ever been Orthodox dogma. The concept of Hell as a place for punishment is largely a western construct (specifically medieval). This view is held by some in the Eastern church, but it is also held alongside others who view Hell as something else, and here I must use the words of others:

"It remains spiritually impossible to talk of Hell for others. The theme of Hell can only be broached in terms of I and Thou. The threats in the Gospel concern me; they formulate the serious tragic element in my spiritual destiny; they prompt me to humility and repentance, because I recognize them as a diagnosis of my state.But for you, the numberless you of my neighbour, I can only serve, bear witness, and pray that you will experience the Risen Christ and that you and everyone will be saved."

-Olivier Clement

This leads us to the practice of praying for all, and that includes the dead, so that all may be saved. This is not a new teaching, and Church fathers throughout history, from St. Paul ("that God may be all in all"), through St Issac, up until present day saints such as Silouan, have taught us to hope and pray for universal salvation.

"The assurance of the salvation of all cannot be an assurance of faith, because there is no clear and affirmative statement about this in Holy Scripture; but it can be an assurance of hope, because, knowing God as we know Him, we have the right to hope for everything."
- Metropolitan Anthony of Sourzoh

We cannot say that all will be saved, or even that all must be saved. But how can we imagine that the saints in Heaven won't continually pray for those on earth who have not met Christ, and even more, those who are still suffering in Hell? I too think that living Christians should pray in a like manner, and knowing God, have an assurance of hope. At least some of us should. Just some thoughts (not all my own) I felt like sharing.

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Saturday Prayer for the Dead:
Remember the souls of Thy servants O Lord,for Thou art good,and insofar as they sinned in this life,forgive them;for no one is sinless but Thee,Who canst also give rest to the departed
Now and forever and to the ages of ages.
Amen

Pray Without Ceasing

"We say 'Jesus' and we rest in plenitude and totality that can no longer be taken from us. The name Jesus then becomes a bearer of the whole Christ. It brings us into His total presence. In this total presence are found all the realities towards which the name has served as a means of approach: salvation & pardon, the Incarnation & the Transfiguration, the Church & the Eucharist, the Father & the Spirit.

All things appear to us "gathered togther in Christ" (Ep 1:10). If we cling to the name of Jesus we shall receive the special blessing that the scripture promises, "Have mercy on me as is Thy custom toward them that love Thy name" (Ps 119:132). And may the Lord be pleased to say of us what He said of Saul:
"He is a chosen vessel of Mine. to bear my name" (Acts 9:15)"

- A monk of the Eastern Church