A Monk In The World

“God is everywhere. There is no place God is not…You cry out to Him, ‘Where art Thou, my God?’ And He answers, “I am present, my child! I am always beside you.’ Both inside and outside, above and below, wherever you turn, everything shouts, ‘God!’ In Him we live and move. We breathe God, we eat God, we clothe ourselves with God. Everything praises and blesses God. All of creation shouts His praise. Everything animate and inanimate speaks wondrously and glorifies the Creator. Let every breath praise the Lord!” ☦️ St. Joseph The Hesychast

A prayer from the heart has more power than a thousand words, especially for someone who won't listen. ☦️St. Paisios the Athonite

"all creation rejoices. But what is this joy about? Why, in her own words, shall "all generations call me blessed"? Because in her love and obedience, in her faith and humility, she accepted to be what from all eternity all creation was meant and created to be: the temple of the Holy Spirit, the humanity of God. She accepted to give her body and blood-that is, her whole life-to be the body and blood of the Son of God, to be mother in the fullest and deepest sense of this world, giving her life to the Other and fulfilling her life in Him. She accepted the only true nature of each creature and all creation: to place the-meaning and, therefore, the fulfillment of her life in God.~Alexander schmemann

All the saints wrote many praises to our Panagia. But I, the poor one, have found no words more elegant or sweet to describe her, than to cry out to her at every moment: "My dear Mother! My dear, sweet Mother! When my soul departs may it come into your hands, and through them may it be given to its Creator, your Only-begotten Son." St. Joseph the Hesychast

‘ We cannot live a life of prayer, we cannot go ahead Godwards, unless we are free from possession in order to have two hands to offer and a heart absolutely open not like a purse which we are afraid of keeping open because our money will drop out of it, but like an open and empty purse—and an intelligence completely open to the unknown and the unexpected. This is the way in which we are rich and yet totally free from richness. And this is the point at which we can speak of being outside the Kingdom and yet be so rich inside and yet also so free.’ Beginning to Pray Metropolitan Anthony Bloom

To pray somehow, says Mark the Ascetic, lies within our power, but to pray purely is a gift of God's grace. So, whatever we can, let us offer to God, however small (for us), and God's power will flow into your feeble strength, and prayer, dry and scattered, but frequent—everlasting—when acquired and transformed into nature, will become pure, bright, ardent, and worthy prayer. - St. Alexis Mechev of Moscow

"My soul thirsts for the Lord and with tears I call on Him. How can I not ask You? You asked for me first and you gave me the taste of sweetness from the Holy Spirit, and my soul loved You to the end. You see, Lord, my sorrow and tears, if you did not attract me with Your love, I would not ask You as I ask You; but Your Holy Spirit gave me the gift to know You and my soul rejoices, because You are my God and my Lord and I thirst for You to tears." St. Silouan the Athonite