“Hope beyond all hope” – this is the definition of faith through which we overcome even those obstacles that seem unsurmountable. Such faith gathers together all our thoughts and strength of our heart in order to overcome all difficulties in order to achieve a single goal: to fight till our death in order to overcome with the help of God all difficulties of life. And we need to succeed because our salvation depends on it.

Our heart is as a tight knot, where our entire being is concentrated, and we are at the will of God. Thus, as the Holy Apostle Paul said about Abraham, we start to believe with faith beyond all faith. We believe that God “is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” (Matthew 3:9) and that “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). Step by step we prepare ourselves to assume even that scary leap of faith that overcomes death.

Gracious faith transports us from the land of created world to that of uncreated world, being a bridge above the abyss between God and man. And if man shows such a faith, then he will certainly will achieve the haven of love, for God is love. His fugacious life will be united with the eternal life of God, and this is one of the greatest miracles lived by man:  to become worthy of the gracious union with His own divine Life.

(Translation from Arhimandrit Zaharia Zaharou, Adu-ţi aminte de dragostea cea dintâi (Apocalipsa 2, 4-5) – Cele trei perioade ale vieţii duhovniceşti în teologia Părintelui Sofronie, Editura Doxologia, Iaşi, 2015, p. 26)