2 April 2008
The best moments on earth are those during which we meditate upon heavenly things in general, when we recognize or defend the truth, that heavenly dweller and denizen. Only then do we truly live. Therefore, the essential interests of the soul require that we should oftener rise above the earth, upwards to heaven, where is our true life, our true country, which shall have no end.
–From My Life in Christ, by St. John of Kronstadt, page 277.
1 April 2008
Love does not reflect. Love is simple. Love never mistakes. Likewise believe and trust without reflection, for faith and trust are also simple; or better: God, in whom we believe and in whom we trust, is an incomplex Being, as He is also simply love. Amen.
–From My Life in Christ, by St. John of Kronstadt, page 265.
31 March 2008
The life of the heart is love, whilst malice and enmity against our brother is death. The Lord keeps us on the earth in order that love for God and our neighbour may wholly penetrate our heart. This is what He expects from us all. This is, indeed, the purpose of the world’s standing.
–From My Life in Christ, by St. John of Kronstadt, page 249.
30 March 2008
Give yourself up entirely to God’s providence, to the Lord’s Will, and do not grieve at losing anything material, nor in general at the loss of visible things; do not rejoice at gain, but let your only and constant joy be to win the Lord Himself. Trust entirely in Him: He knows how to lead you safely through this present life, and to bring you to Himself–into His eternal Kingdom. From want of trust in God’s providence many and great afflictions proceed: despondency, murmurings, envy, avarice, love of money or the passion for amassing money and property in general, so that it may last for many years, in order to eat, drink, sleep and enjoy; from want of trust in God’s providence proceed in particular afflictions such as arise, for instance: from some loss of income through our own oversight, from the loss of objects, specially valuable and necessary, as well as immoderate joy at recovering some objects, or at receiving some large income or gain, or some profitable place or employment. We, as Christians, as “fellow citizens with the Saints and of the household of God,” [Ephesians 2:19] ought to commit all our life, together with all its sorrows, sicknesses, griefs, joys, scarcities and abundance unto Christ our God.
–From My Life in Christ, by St. John of Kronstadt, page 228.
29 March 2008
The kingdom of life and the kingdom of death go side by side. I say go, because they are spiritual. The Chief of the first–that is, of the kingdom of life–is Jesus Christ, and those who are with Christ are undoubtedly in the kingdom of life; the chief of the second–that is, of the kingdom of death–is the prince of the powers of the air–the Devil, with the spirits of evil subject to him, of which there are so many that their number far exceeds the number of all men dwelling upon earth. These children of death, the subjects of the prince of the air, are in constant stubborn warfare with the children of life–that is, with faithful Christians–and strive by every crafty means to win them over to their side, through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, because sin and crime are their elements, and through sins, if we do not repent of them, we pass over to their side; whilst those to whom sins form as though an everyday requirement, who drink in iniquity like water, are not disturbed by the spirits of evil, because they already belong to them as long as they live carelessly in regard to their souls. But as soon as they turn to God, acknowledging their sins, both voluntary and involuntary, the war bursts forth, and the hordes of Satan rise up and carry on an unceasing fight. You see by this how necessary it is to seek Christ, as the Chief of the kingdom of life, and the Conqueror of hell and death.
–From My Life in Christ, by St. John of Kronstadt, pages 209-210.
28 March 2008
The Lord is everything to me: He is the strength of my heart and the light of my intellect. He inclines my heart to everything good; He strengthens it; He also gives me good thoughts; He is my rest and my joy; He is my faith, hope and love; He is my food and drink, my raiment, my dwelling place. As a mother is everything to her infant–its mind, will, sight, hearing, taste, smelling and feeling, as well as its food and drink, its clothing, hands and feet–so, likewise, the Lord is everything to me, when I yield myself wholly unto Him. But, alas! when I fall away from the Lord, then the Devil enters into me, and if I did not turn my heart’s gaze toward the Lord, did I not, amidst the enemy’s oppression, call upon the Lord for help, then the Devil would have been, as he sometimes is, very evil to me: malice, despondency, perfect feebleness towards everything good, despair, hatred, envy, avarice, blasphemous, wicked and impure thoughts, contempt for everything–in sure, he would have been, and sometimes is, my intellect, my will, sight, hearing, taste, smell, feeling, my hands and feet. Therefore, put your trust in the Lord. He is that which is, infinite in holiness, omnipotence, grace, mercy, bountifulness, and wisdom.
From My Life In Christ by St. John of Kronstadt, pages 204-205.
21 March 2008
Do not fear bodily privations, but fear spiritual privations. Do not fear, do not be faint-hearted, do not be irritated when you are deprived of money, food, drink, enjoyments, clothes, dwelling, even of your body itself; but fear when the enemy deprives your soul of faith, of trust, and love for God and your neighbour; when he sows hatred, enmity, attachment to earthly things, pride, and other sins in your heart. “Fear not them [men] which will kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.” [Matthew 10:28]
From My Life in Christ, by St. John of Kronstadt, page 188.
21 March 2008
It is the same to the Lord to give flesh to any creature He likes, either to an animal or a plan, as it would to be to me to make a garment or clothing and put it on myself: “Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews.” [Job 10:11] And what an infinite multitude and variety of material the Lord has, out of which He, the Creator, creates various clothing, of various shapes for His creatures (animals, birds, fishes, reptiles, insects)! And us He will eventually clothe with light, like unto of the sun in his kingdom! “Upon thy right hand did stand the queen in a vesture of gold.” [Psalm 45:10] “Then shall the righteous shine forth, as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” [Matthew 13:43] And now we are clothed with the earth, water, air, warmth–such is our present clothing. And how wisely and conveniently all these elements are made and brought into union in our being! It is not heavy, and it is comely. O, Most-wise and Almighty Artist! How beautiful, suitable, and animate is everything that Thou hast created! At Thy Will even the dust is animate, the dust moves!
From My Life in Christ, by St. John of Kronstadt, page 176.
18 March 2008
We are accustomed to the works of God, and therefore value them but little; we do not, for instance, value even man as we ought to–that greatest work and miracle of God’s omnipotence and grace. Look upon every man, whether he is one of your household, or a stranger to you, as something perpetually new in God’s world, as upon the greatest miracle of God’s omnipotence and grace, and do not let the fact of your being accustomed to him serve as a reason for you to neglect him. Esteem and love him, as your own self, constantly, and unchangeably.
From My Life in Christ, by St. John of Kronstadt, page 167.
17 March 2008
Lord! as it is natural to the Prototype to attach, to assimilate to Itself Its images, to abide and to live in them, so, likewise, it ought to be natural to those who are created after Thine image to yearn with all their love, with all their ardour, after their Prototype, and to attach themselves to It. But our greedy, sensual flesh, gross and inert, withdraws us from Thee. Fasting and abstinence are necessary for us whilst we crave after sensual gratifications. Strengthen us in abstinence.
From My Life in Christ, by St. John of Kronstadt, page 153.
