My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE. Ο ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΕΝ ΤΩ ΜΕΣΩ ΗΜΩΝ! ΚΑΙ ΗΝ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΑΙ.
DEVOTION TO PRAYER (Part III)
By Archimandrite Aimilianos of Somonopetra (Holy Mountain)
Another monk was praying at night, during the office, when a remarkable thing happened. His mind left his body and flew out over the sea, it went to the mountains and the valleys, looked at the trees, the flowers, the fish of the sea, and saw and heard that everything in creation glorifies God. From that day forward he was unable to stand at all, and from his darting eyes, tears never ceased to flow. He saw, and said, that creation, even though it lacks a soul, pours out tearful praises to God, "whereas, I, who have a soul, am lost in sin."
Hesychasts and ascetics, in unbroken succession, have never been absent from the Holy Mountain, down to the present day and hour. Let us call to mind Saint Silouan (+1938), whose entire life was a constantly flourishing prayer. More recently, Elder (Geronda) Joseph Spelaiotes (the Hesychast, +1959) devoted his life to prayer, which he absorbed deeply. He made it his strength, and experienced it as the sweetness of Paradise. He is survived by many spiritual children and grandchildren.
From the Holy Mountain, the Prayer of Jesus has been communicated to the world. It was from here that Saint Paisius Velitchkovski (+1794) gave the Prayer to the Slavs. Father Sophronios, also an Athonite, has done the same thing in Europe.
Athos also influenced Saint Athanasius of Meteora, as well as Saint Dionysios of Olympus, and they inspired many others, who cannot be numbered. Symeon Monochiton, Iakovos the Elder (Geronda), Saint Thomas, the Kollyvades...the Prayer has hastened into the entire world. And so there are Holy Mountains in Russia! And in Serbia there are Holy Mountains! Wherever you go. In Europe there are now monasteries populated by Athonite monks, and they do nothing else but disseminate the Jesus Prayer, as much as they are able.
What would our life be like, dear friends, without the Prayer of Jesus? And what would the world be without it? A heart which does not have this prayer seems to me to be like a plastic bag--now you put something into it, but it will soon tear and you'll throw it away. That which gives meaning to our life, to our existence, is prayer, because it is prayer which gives us God. They say that life will come to an end when men cease to pray. But is it possible for them ever to stop praying? No. Because there will always be those who love the Lord. And as long as such souls exist, the world will not be lost. Unceasing prayer is the hidden life of the world. And thus the world will not perish, but will be renewed, and just as it now "grows in travail" because of the corruption of nature (cf. Romans 8:22), so too, when "the new earth and the new heaven" appear (2 Peter 3:13), it will rejoice in the eternal joy and glory of the human race, made radiant in the outpouring of Divine Light.
Let us pray. Let us mystically keep our censers burning, because, as we said, when we keep the Name of Jesus on our lips or in our heart, we become tabernacles (temples) of God, we become Godhearers.
Solomon says somewhere that God chose for his dwelling place the sun, the created light--but God, Who is uncreated light--left it! It was not possible even for a vast and dazzling star to be the dwelling place of the Great God. And so God left the sun, and made the "dark cloud" His dwelling place, clothing Himself in darkness and invisibility. Now, if we cannot look at the sun, how would we look at Christ, full of light, who transcends all creation? And so He hides Himself in invisibility, so that we can be free, and believe, and choose God. When Solomon set about building His Temple, he gathered together materials of gold, silver, emeralds, and whatever else was most precious, expending more wealth than anyone since in order to make a house for God. When he was finished, however, he said that he had prepared another house for God "to dwell in anew" (I Kings 8:53). That new house is the Church.
My dear friends, we too have a house for the Lord to dwell in: our heart. Do you remember what the Lord said when He ascended into heaven? "I will be with you always" (Saint Matthew 28:20). And this is why, during the last living act of the Liturgy, the elevation of the Sacred Chalice, the priest says: "forever, now and always, and unto the ages of ages." What does that mean? It is as if Christ is saying: I am going away. I am entering into My dark cloud, I am returning to My invisibility, and you will lose sight of Me. But remember that I am always before you, I am always with you. I will remain here unseen, unobserved, in the innermost parts of the sanctuary, to be consumed by the priest, so that you can consume me as well, whenever you want.
And so, my dear brothers and sisters, make ready your spiritual censers, and procure fragrances for your souls, because God has chosen neither the sun, nor the temple of Solomon, which He permitted to be destroyed. Why? Because He wanted His house to be, through prayer, the heart of each of us.
"The Christian, approaching God with a prayer to Him, or to His Most Pure Mother, or to the Angels and Saints, in order to insure the success of his prayer, ought to try to resemble as far as possible the Lord Himself, or His Most-Pure Mother, or the Angels and Saints. In this lies the secret of drawing near to God, and of His speedily hearing our prayers" (Saint John of Kronstadt).
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"--Saint John Chrysostom
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George