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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240118
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240119
DTSTAMP:20260519T051749
CREATED:20240113T203437Z
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UID:11487-1705536000-1705622399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:UNCEASING PRAYER AND SELF-KNOWLEDGE \nBy Elder Paisios of Mount Athos5 \n◊◊◊ \nIn regards to unceasing prayer\, if you want\, use a simple method if you \nare a simple person… Unfortunately\, some people don’t have as their aim the \nputting off of their old man\, repentance\, humility and the placing of asceticism \nas a supporting means for the sanctification of their soul in order to sense deeply \ntheir sinfulness and feel profoundly the need for God’s mercy\, and say with \nsweet pain\, “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me”. Instead\, they begin with arid \nascesis and pursue divine pleasures and divine lights… When they believe that \nthey have become holy\, immediately the enemy approaches… \nTherefore\, my brother\, ask for repentance in your prayer and nothing \nelse\, neither for divine lights\, nor miracles\, nor prophecies\, nor spiritual gifts – \n– nothing but repentance. Repentance will bring you humility\, humility will \nbring the Grace of God\, and God will have in His Grace everything you need for \nyour salvation\, or anything you might need to help another soul. \nThings are very simple and there is no reason why we should complicate \nthem. If we regard matters in this way\, we will feel…prayer as a necessity and \nwill not grow weary. We will…feel a sweet pain and then Christ Himself will \nshed His sweet consolation inside our heart. \nThus prayer does not tire but invigorates. It is tiresome only when we do \nnot enter into its meaning and do not understand the sense given it by our Holy \nFathers. Once we comprehend the need of God’s mercy\, the desire of this \nhunger will compel us\, without pressuring ourselves in prayer\, to open our \nmouth like a nursing infant\, and we will feel\, simultaneously\, all the security \nand joy of a baby in its mother’s embrace… \nWe should be in frequent contact with God and\, if possible\, in “constant \nvigilance” for more safety in order to continuously have an abundance of divine \nstrength. Of course\, the enemy does not rest and is constantly attacking us in a \nvariety of ways. However\, we can turn it to our advantage\, and render him into \nan unpaid worker\, who assists us in our unceasing prayer. For example\, when \nhe brings us evil or blasphemous thoughts\, we should start the Jesus Prayer and \nsay to the devil: “It’s good that you pricked at me\, for I had forgotten my Christ”. \nWhen we do this\, even if we were to keep the devil near\, he won’t remain\, since \nhe is not so dumb as to work for free and to bring benefit to our soul. \nIf we want to engage in fine and painstaking work\, let us take\, in order\, \nthe most difficult passions we have\, and whatever fault we detect during the \nday\, and humbly ask for God’s mercy so that we can be redeemed… In this way\, \nthe passions are uprooted… \nWhen someone first gets to know himself and becomes conscious of his \ngreat sinfulness and the great benevolence of God\, his heart breaks even if it is \nas hard as granite. Then\, real tears flow naturally and man does not pressure \nhimself neither in prayer nor in order to shed tears. Humility and <gratitude> \ncontinually work to “drill” on his heart\, and the wellsprings increase\, and God’s \nhand constantly caresses His hardworking grateful child. \n  \n5 Elder Paisios of Mount Athos. Epistles. Souroti\, Thessaloniki\, Greece: Holy Monastery “Evangelist John the \nTheologian\, 2002. 71-73.11 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-151/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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