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Ahab's Confession
" You see that it is good to make confession... Ahab... the King of Samaria, became a most wicked idolater, an outrageous man, the murderer of the Prophets (cf. I Kings 18:4), a stranger to godliness, a coveter of other men's fields and vineyards. Yet when by Jezebel's means he had slain Naboth, and the Prophet Elijah came and merely threatened him, he rent his garments and put on sackcloth.
And what said the merciful God to Elijah? 'Have you seen how Ahab is pricked in the heart before Me?' (I Kings 21:29) as if almost He would persuade the fiery zeal of the Prophet to condescend to the penitent. For He says, 'I will not bring evil in his days'. And though after this forgiveness he was sure not to depart from his wickedness, nevertheless the forgiving God forgave him, not as being ignorant of the future, but as granting a forgiveness corresponding to the present season of repentance. For it is the part of a righteous judge to give sentence according to each case that has occurred.
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- St. Cyril of Jerusalem
On Prayer of the Nous and the Heart - Two Thoughts from the Elder Emphraim
"The main goal of the monastic life is to unite monks very strongly with God, Who is the ultimate. When a person is united with God and God dwells within his heart, he lacks nothing. There is no void within his soul. Furthermore, he does not even lack any material thing necessary for living in this present life. This is but one more proof of how
much God loves those who obey Him.
Prayer is the means by which we are united very closely with God. By "prayer," we do not mean just praying now and then in front of icons, but along with this—which we must do—a monk uses seven words of prayer, which he says when he works, when he eats, when he sits, and when he occupies himself with anything whatsoever, without stopping! We say these words with the mouth, with the nous, or with the heart: "LORD JESUS CHRIST, HAVE MERCY ON ME."
Saying them constantly does not does not tire us. In the beginning one must persist a little; but later, he becomes accustomed to it and says the prayer with great ease and does not want to stop. When he says it, he feels so much spiritual exultation that even at the most difficult moments, if there are any, he is not disturbed or troubled. Rather, with patience he takes refuge in Christ, Whom he entreats to have mercy on him, and Christ consoles him and gives him joy. What is more beautiful than to entreat Christ at every moment and to say His holy name with these lips of clay? Is there a greater honor?
These words contain our whole faith. In saying "Lord," we believe that we are
servants of God and that He is our lord. This honors Christ, that we make Him our lord, but it also honors us, who are servants of such a lord, Who is God.
When we say "Jesus," which is the human name of God, all the earthly life of Christ, from His birth to His Ascension, comes to mind.
In saying "Christ," which means anointed by God, king of heaven and earth, we
confess and believe that Christ is our God, Who created everything and is in heaven and will come again to judge the world.
In saying "have mercy on me," we entreat God to send us His help and His mercy,
for we acknowledge that without divine help we are not able to do anything. This, in brief, is the explanation of these holy words. Whoever says them experiences many things.
With my whole heart I pray that our sweet Jesus will give you this prayer within your soul, that you may taste the spiritual ambrosia of prayer and are replenished overall.
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"To guard love, the pinnacle of virtues, diligence in prayer is an immediate spiritual necessity. Struggle in prayer if you want our Christ to dwell in you, and He, the most experienced general, will struggle together with you. He will fight for us and grant us the victory.
We become like roaring lions when we get a good grip on the Prayer—not when we
pray carelessly or lukewarmly, but with strength of soul! Invigorate ourselves with the thought that the prayer is everything. Without the prayer, expect a general decline, going from one fall to another. If we hold on to the prayer with all our strength during temptations, we will certainly overcome the devil and we shall ascribe the victory to the all-holy name of Christ.
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On Having your Mind Centered on God
"Let us therefore consider how we ought to conduct ourselves in the sight of the God - head and of His Angels, and let us take part in the psalmody in such a way that our mind may be in harmony with our voice"
- St. Benedict of Nursia
Three Pearls From St. Dorotheos of Gaza
"We ought all of us always to give thanks to God for both the universal and the particular gifts of soul and body that He bestows on us. The universal gifts consist of the four elements and all that comes into being through them, as well as all the marvelous works of God mentioned in the Divine Scriptures. The particular gifts consist of all that God has given to each individual.
These include wealth, so that one can perform acts of charity; poverty, so that one can endure it with patience and gratitude; authority, so that one can exercise righteous judgment and establish virtue; obedience and service, so that one can more readily attain salvation of soul; health, so that one can assist those in need and undertake work worthy of God, sickness; so that one may earn the crown of patience; spiritual knowledge and strength, so that one may acquire virtue; weakness and ignorance, so that, turning one's back on worldly things, one may be under obedience in stillness and humility; unsought loss of goods and possessions, so that one may deliberately seek to be saved and may be helped when incapable of shedding all one's possessions or even
of giving alms; ease and prosperity, so that one may voluntarily struggle and suffer to attain the virtues and thus become dispassionate and fit to save other souls; trials and hardship, so that those who cannot eradicate their own will may be saved in spite of themselves, and those capable of joyful endurance may attain perfection. All these things, even if they are opposed to each other, are nevertheless good when used correctly; but when misused, they are not good, but are harmful for both soul and body.
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"Better than them all, however, is the patient endurance of afflictions; and he who has been found worthy of this great gift should give thanks to God in that he has been all the more blessed. For he has become an imitator of Christ, of His holy apostles, and of the martyrs and saints: he has received from God great strength and spiritual knowledge, so that he may voluntarily abstain from pleasure and may readily embrace hardship through the eradication of his own will and his rejection of unholy thoughts, and may thus always do and think what is in accordance with God's will. Those who have been found worthy of using things as they ought to be used should in all humility give heartfelt thanks to God, for by His grace they have been freed from what is contrary to nature and from the transgression of the commandments. We, however, who are still subject to the passions and who still misuse things, and who therefore act in a manner that is contrary to nature, should tremble and in all gratitude should give heartfelt thanks to our Benefactor, astonished at His unutterable forbearance, in that though we have disobeyed His commandments, misused His creation and rejected His gifts, He endures our ingratitude and does not cease to confer His blessings on us, awaiting until our last breath for our conversion and repentance. "
"Thus we should all give thanks to Him, as it is said: "In everything give thanks" (I Thessalonians 5:18). Closely linked to this phrase is another of St. Paul's injunctions: "Pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17), that is, be mindful of God at all times, in all places, and in every circumstance. For no matter what you do, you should keep in mind the Creator of all things. When you see the light, do not forget Him who gave it to you; when you see the sky, the earth, the sea and all that is in them, marvel at these things and glorify their Creator; when you put on clothing, acknowledge whose gift it is and praise Him who in His providence has given you life. In short, if everything you do becomes for you an occasion for glorifying God, you will be praying unceasingly. And in this way your soul will always rejoice, as St. Paul commends (I Thessalonians 5:16). Remembrance of God rejoices the soul; and he adduces David as witness: "I remembered God, and rejoiced" (Psalms 77:3).
Conscience is called the adversary, because it always opposes our evil will; it
reminds us of what we ought to do but do not, and condemns us if we do something we ought not. That was why the Lord called it adversary and commanded us: "Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him" (Matthew 5:25), that is, while you are in this world, as Basil the Great says.
So let us guard our conscience, while we are in this world; let us not allow it to accuse us in something, nor disregard it in anything however small. For you must realize that from disregarding this small and insignificant thing we pass to neglect of big things. If someone begins to say "What does it matter if I eat this scrap? What of it if I look at this or that?", then from this "What matters this, what matters that?" he will fall into a bad habit and will begin to neglect big and important things and trample down his conscience. Thus becoming hardened in evil, he will be in danger of falling into complete insensitivity.
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