sin
 

Know that All that You Have Received from God, Was Given as a Loan

Buy yourself rest with struggle, the unseen face of God with watchfulness, the delight of eternal goods through fasting and thirst. Keep in your head your mind and knowledge; in your eyes the look of God; under your feet the ground where you shall return; in your ears the teachings of the Bible.

The Tender and Harsh Callings of God

Trials, sorrows, problems and other similar things – are also works of the Holy Spirit, meant to wake us up from the sleep of injustice. For God scolds the faithful people, from who He can fashion “the chosen vessels”.

“Repentance and Humbleness Complete the Deeds you Have Not done” – Father Ilie Cleopa

For instance you do prostrations. When I was young I would compete with my brothers and see who can do more prostrations in an hour. I could do 500, but now I can’t do even one.

Father Cleopa, about the Biggest Concern on New Year

These are my thoughts for the New Year! Let us thank the Holy Trinity and Theotokos, our intercessor, because she made us worthy of living another year.

“To See if We Match…” – As for Matching, God Will Match Us

But who can say they found the other? Under this aspect we do not match even with our brother, with whom we were raised and we developed in the same family.

For the Mother of God, the Praise of People Is Not Inferior to that of Angels

What praise can we bring with our weak and sinful lips to the most honourable of all creations, praised more than angels and archangels, the most holy Theotokos, who became worthy to be the Mother of the Most High God, and the Guardian of all Christian people? However, in order to be good Christians, we need to praise incessantly (and do in the same time the will of God!) the mediatrix of our salvation.

Fighting Thoughts – Past as Fault, Future as Fear, Sin as Constant Temptation

The devil, in order to trouble you, sends you all sorts of thoughts. About past, future, present, about the sins that you did or could do, through dreams or visions that may seem to be “from God.”

Pray and You Will Find the Joy of Life

It is very good for Christians to pray incessantly, as God and the Apostle said “Pray without ceasing”, meaning all day and every minute

Temptations Attack from Outside and Inside

From the inside, that is from the heart come all our sins. For Christ has said to the Apostles: “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man” because it would mean to wash your hands “but that which cometh out of the mouth”. Because what comes out, comes from the heart. From the heart come adulteries, crimes, pride, insults. As in hell, they come out of our heart, and when they do, we are tempted from the inside.

Why are Some Good Deeds Useless?

When people restrain themselves from food but are gossiping and envy someone, it is considered a sin. What is the use of the bodily fasting if we ignore the spiritual fasting? What is the use of helping others if we amass fortune by stealing? What is the use of good deeds if we are proud? We are mixing good deeds with vainglory. The devil wins again. Even if we make good deeds, it is useless, because we are mixing them with evil.

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