Ancient Christian Witness

2 comments:

Tony said...

Hey, nice! Thanks for sharing!

June 4, 2009 at 4:19 PM

Anonymous said...

Hello,
Pray for me a sinner,
Gleanings from Orthodox authors and Holy fathers,
He,
then,
who knows what is to his benefit should struggle to acquire this virtue before anything else, according to St. Basil the Great. For St. Basil advises us not to fight against all the passions at once ... Rather we should fight the passions one at a time,
and start by patiently enduring whatever befalls us.
This is right; for the person who lacks patient endurance will never be able to stand fast even in an ordinary battle,
but will bring only flight and destruction upon himself and others by retreating.
St. Peter of Damaskos, The Philokalia, Vol. 3 ....
A brother questioned Abba Poemen in these words, "What does the Scripture mean: 'See that none of you repays evil for evil?'" The old man said to him, "Passions work in four stages: first, in the heart; secondly, in the face; thirdly, in words; and fourthly, it is essential not to render evil for evil in deeds.
If you can purify your heart, passion will not come into your expression; but if it comes into your face,
take care not to speak; but if you do speak,
cut the conversation short in case you render evil for evil." The Desert Fathers ~
Pray for me a sinner,
ICXC NIKA
eleni

July 5, 2009 at 4:14 AM