tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27139233.post6740675401110600787..comments2023-12-22T19:01:28.512-08:00Comments on Holy Nativity Orthodox Church: Dark BeliefFr. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981965403145920704noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27139233.post-56903715848641813272009-06-16T10:51:34.224-07:002009-06-16T10:51:34.224-07:00Dear ag1817,
That holy fathers have been warmed by...Dear ag1817,<br />That holy fathers have been warmed by the Divine Light encourages me move towards the faint warmth, the small sparks that even in my weakness God has allowed me to notice. Accepting that I am only a beginner on the path to holiness is the only sanity. My life is not very holy, at least not by any monastic standard. Neither am I very loving by any standard. But I do say my few prayers. I do try to do acts of kindness. These are not "works" that save me. These are practical, albeit minuscule in comparison to what others do, steps I take toward the Light in the hope that God will see my weak faith and rescue me. I am not and will never be a saint, I have accepted that; but I am a beginner on the road to sainthood, and I may not make it many steps down that road before I die (In fact, at best, I lean down that road and fall and get up and lean and fall--I haven't yet learned to walk on the road to holiness--but I'm on the road, I haven't given up).Fr. Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16981965403145920704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27139233.post-49744780771450701522009-06-15T15:16:11.406-07:002009-06-15T15:16:11.406-07:00Dear Fr. Michael,
I so enjoy your blog becau...Dear Fr. Michael, <br /> I so enjoy your blog because of its "earthiness. The stories of the saints that truly experience the Divine Light offer me hope. Oh, how I would long to walk so closely with God. But my own experience often seems closer to the story told by Elie Wiesel of the "Trial of God" carried out by Jews in a Nazi concentration camp. After an extended trial with prosecutors, defense attorneys, and various witnesses a three judge panel "convicted" God of "injustice" in his treatment of the camp inmates. Shortly after the judgment was pronounced someone noticed that it was the hour for evening prayers. Everyone then proceeded to cover their heads with their hands (they had no yarmulkas) and proceeded to pray the traditional prayers as if nothing had happened. <br /> I would so much prefer the "Divine Light" experience of the saints, who, like Fr. Arseny, stayed warm, and alive, for days in the Siberian "freezer." Is the reason I don't experience this because they were far more committed to prayer and purifying themselves from the passions than I am? If so, can someone please help me because I have failed so often in the past that I no longer trust my feeble efforts to even momentarily try? Is the "narrow way" that Jesus told about the way these saints followed? Are they the "saved" and am I among those on the broad way going to hell?agelerishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12722111489781409157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27139233.post-2555774591522017172009-06-13T15:55:44.158-07:002009-06-13T15:55:44.158-07:00Thank you, Father, this post is very encouraging. ...Thank you, Father, this post is very encouraging. I was just thinking today about how in every joy/good there is an element of pain (even if it is just the pain of knowing the joy cannot last). I've become convinced that the pain is as much a part of my salvation as the joy/good. <br /><br />I like the metaphor of "stones in our lives"! I'm headed to the beach with a 2 1/2 year old. We're probably going to pick up lots of stones and see remarkable creatures. Sometimes you have to look at your stones from all angles. Remind me I said that the next time I am overhelmed by my stones :)Barbaranoreply@blogger.com