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.
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DIVINE GRACE (ΘΕΙΑ ΧΑΡΙΣ) (Part II)
In accordance with this sacred teaching, the Council of Carthage in the 3rd century decreed: "Whosoever should say that the Grace of God, by which a man is justified through Jesus Christ our Lord, avails only for the remission of past sins, and not for assistance against committing sins in the future, let him be anathema. For the Grace of Christ not only gives the knowledge of our duty but also inspires us with a desire that we may be able to accomplish what we know" (Canons 125, also 126 and 127).
The experience of Orthodox ascetics inspires them to call Christians with all power to the humble acknowledgment of one's own infirmity so that the saving Grace of God might act. Very expressive in this case are the expressions of Saint Symeon the New Theologian (10th century).
"If the thought comes to you, instilled by the devil, that your salvation is accomplished not by the power of your God, but by your own wisdom and your own power, and if your soul agrees with such a thought, Grace departs from it. The struggle against such a powerful and most difficult battle which arises in the soul must be undertaken by the soul until our last breath. The soul must, together with the blessed Apostle Paul, call out in a loud voice, in the hearing of Angels and men: 'Not I, but the grace of God which is with me.' The Apostles and Prophets, Martyrs, and hierarchs, holy monastics and righteous ones--all have confessed this Grace of the Holy Spirit, and for the sake of such confession and with its help they struggled with a good struggle and finished their course" (Homilies of Saint Symeon the New Theologian, Homily 4).
He who bears the name of Christian, we read in the same Holy Father, "If he does not bear in his heart the conviction that the grace of God, given for faith, is the mercy of God...If he does not labor with the aim of receiving the grace of God, first of all through baptism, or if he had it and it departed by reason of his sin, to cause it to return again through repentance, confession, and a self-belittling life: and if, in giving alms, fasting, performing vigils, prayers, and the rest, he think that he is performing glorious virtues and good deeds valuable in themselves--then he labors and exhausts himself in vain" (Homily 2).
What, then, is the significance of ascetic struggle? It is a weapon against "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (I John 2:16). It is the cleaning of the field of the soul from stones, overgrown weeds, and swampy places, in preparation for a sacred sowing, which will be moistened from above by the grace of God.
The Providence of God and Grace
From what has been set forth, it follows that there is a difference between the concepts of God's Providence and Grace, providence is what we call God's power in the world that supports the existence of each man; while Grace is the power of the Holy Spirit that penetrates the inward being of man, leading to his spiritual perfection and salvation. (Source: Orthodox Dogmatic Theology by Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George