Tag Archive for ‘soul’
Take a survey of your abilities, and consult God
It is the opinion of St. Gregory the Great that the world is to some persons so full of ambushes and snares, or dangerous occasions of sin, that they cannot be saved but by choosing a safe retreat. Yet there are some who find the greatest dangers in solitude itself; so that it is necessary [...]
Truly, this is the way of love
A brother once went out on a pilgrimage from the monastery of Abba Poemen, and came to a hermit, who lived in love towards all and received many visitors. The brother told the hermit stories of Abba Poemen. And when he heard of Poemen’s strength of character, he longed to see him. The brother returned to Egypt. And [...]
Turbulence of spirit is a sign of spiritual weakness
The measure of our being is not to be sought in the violence of our experiences. Turbulence of spirit is a sign of spiritual weakness. When delights spring out of our depths like leopards, we have nothing to be proud of: our soul’s life is in danger. For when we are strong, we are always [...]
We are born with a conscience
We do not have to create a conscience for ourselves. We are born with one, and no matter how much we may ignore it, we cannot silence its insistent demand that we do good and avoid evil. No matter how much we may deny our freedom and our moral responsibility, our intellectual soul cries out [...]
What the soul seeks
(stream of consciousness) A soul in pain seeks diversion. Or if tired, perhaps to find some rest, but where? Root-less-ness, a feeling of not belonging, can be a source of deep inner alienation, leading to isolation. Form; that which has boundaries, is not what the soul needs, at least on the level of inner thirst [...]
Who do you wish to become?
The deep secrecy of my own being is often hidden from me by my own estimate of what I am. My idea of what I am is falsified by my admiration for what I do. And my illusions about myself are bred contagion from the illusions of other men. We all seek to imitate one [...]
Unlikeness . . .
Unlikeness means, not that the likeness has been destroyed, but that it has been concealed by something else which has been laid over it. The soul has not in fact put off her original form but has put on one foreign to her. The latter is an addition; the former has not been lost. This [...]
The delights of contemplation
If you ask me how to obtain the delights of contemplation, my immediate answer is by living in the wilderness and coming up from it. You know what scripture says: `The Lord God will make the wilderness of Sion like delights, and her desert like the garden of the Lord’. Stay in solitude and be [...]
Angel of Life
My beauty is my openness, for I am without form, for how can compassion love and empathy be constrained. I am the one who calls you to embrace all that you are, your darkness is your pathway into deeper mystery, your path of light a dark one, placing one foot in front of the other, [...]
When We Follow Our Vocation
We know when we are following our vocation when our soul is set free from preoccupation with itself and is able to seek God and even to find Him, even though it may not appear to find Him. Gratitude and confidence and freedom from ourselves: these are signs that we have found our vocation and [...]
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