Christian, if we want to have our hearts filled with divine love, we must first empty them of the love of this world, it frivolous and sinful customs, and then turn our hearts to the one God, our only good and happiness and eternal beatitude.
The word of God quietens our nature. The love of it keeps us on the hard path of His will, so that we may put ourselves second and honour others more than ourselves. The word of God is always the word of the Cross that guides us into the abundance of divine life and gives us the freedom of sinless-ness. “Very Rev. Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou)”
In order to have the desired relationship with God, to love Him with all our heart and to remain constantly in His presence, it is necessary to have a pure and free heart. The heart becomes free when repentance uproots from within it the law of sin and all the commandments of God become the unique law of our being. Then a divine state and love is imparted to man which is made manifest in unceasing prayer and through it, love for his fellow man. This prayer shows that man is the image and likeness of God and he loves […]
The freedom that the man born of the Spirit seeks is neither political nor social but spiritual and of the heart. The more he becomes sanctified, the more he becomes free. Holiness is not an ethical principle but is purely spiritual and ontological. “Very Rev. Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou)”
God knew that no one by himself would be able to receive all of the wealth of His gifts. That is why He did not abandon man in the desolation of his fall, but sent his Only-begotten Son to the world and He perfected a Body in history the Church, to which He imparted all the glory and perfection of His gifts. We become members of the Church through faith in the word of Christ and repentance so that we may conform our minds and hearts to His saving will. “Very Rev. Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou)”
From these two nightmares, from pride and despair, we are freed by humility. As salt preserves and flavours food, so humility preserves love and makes it ever new. It makes the heart well pleasing to God so that it may be built up as the temple of God and the dwelling place of His Spirit. “Very Rev. Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou)”
The regenerated man has another mind, ‘the mind of Christ’, another understanding, ‘that which is in Christ Jesus’[, another heart, in which ‘dwells Christ by faith’. He becomes like unto Christ and fulfills his purpose. “Very Rev. Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou)”
We shall be blessed if, being conscious of our poverty and our nothingness, we take refuge in God, trusting in the honour He bestowed on us through His commandments and promises towards us. As the eternal Gospel of Christ affirms, ‘as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.’ Man’s rebirth occurs through his acceptance of the word of Christ. This word, as the ‘seed’ of God, remains in him as the law of life and does not allow him to sin ‘because he has been born […]
The Gospel of Christ was not received of man and is not after man. He Himself assures us that ‘without Him’ no good work is able to be completed. This is why He says imperatively to Nicodemus that he must be ‘born again’ from above, in order to understand His mysteries, to enact His commandments and thus to become ‘fit for the Kingdom of God’ “Very Rev. Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou)”
The wondrous Lord Jesus gave us the commandment to follow His ‘example’, if we want to become His eternal inheritance. He humbled Himself and became the servant of our salvation, giving His life as a ‘ransom’ to redeem all men from the death of sin. “Very Rev. Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou)”
Something similar occurs with our natural gifts: when man puts all his confidence in them, giving them absolute value, then his very gifts obstruct the road that leads to the acquisition of supernatural gifts that are conferred by God in His goodness. In our relationships, we notice the same thing: if they are not founded upon the assurance of our holy relationship with God, they will be weak and brittle, always ready to collapse and in danger of becoming an unending source of grief and torment. That is why the Lord says that every wise man who is taught the […]
In the life of man, there are two periods which are of the greatest significance. The first is youth, during which he will lay solid foundations for all his life and redeem his time with the wealth of eternity. The second is old age, when his just and praiseworthy life will be sealed with the same crown of righteousness that the Lord, the eternal and righteous Judge, will give to all those who loved His coming to the earth and honoured His Gospel. Youth is distinguished by enthusiasm for the light of knowledge, zeal for good desires, the search for […]
All the ordinances of the undefiled Church are offered to the world for the sole purpose of discovering the ‘deep heart’, the centre of man’s hypostasis. According to the Holy Scriptures, God has fashioned every heart in a special way, and each heart is His goal, a place wherein He desires to abide that He may manifest Himself. Since the kingdom of God is within us, the heart is the battlefield of our salvation, and all ascetic effort is aimed at cleansing it of all filthiness, and preserving it pure before the Lord. ‘Keep thy heart with all diligence; for […]
The purpose of the Christian life is for our intellect to be united with our heart, because then we’re cured.
The purpose of the Christian life is for our intellect to be united with our heart, because then we’re cured.