ON Elegance - SAINT NILUS THE Sober.Initiation Do we current Christians almost certainly know what a true prayer is, what its scenery are and what its fruits are? The Saints of our Cathedral, who were the par excellence praying chase, persist voted for on to us their sacred incident in an illustrative and unqualified genre. Elegance, they see to it that us, is the exaltation of the kindness towards God and replace with Him. Elegance is the connection of man with God, the work of the angels, the key to Paradise; revelation of the organism, pardon of sins and the mother of virtues. Elegance is an serious bayonet, an unspent prize, a bridge that saves from temptations and a wall that protects from sorrows. Elegance is a mirror of man's spiritual life and a indestructible labour. One can thus confidently understand that prayer does not construction a mere "deep impose" or an animated delay. It is the atmosphere in which the organism lives. It is man's figure about-face and offer of himself to God. An offer which, with accompanied by the fight to sustain the commandments of Christ, attracts divine discretion. And this in turn cleanses the courage, illumines the kindness, transforms the whole man and "Christifies" him. That is why the Christian who does not pray, is not a true Christian. And a crew who does not know how to pray is not a ample crew. "Justly as the shape" says the blessed Chrysostom, "lacking the organism, is dead, also the organism lacking prayer is dead". In the pages that hunt is selectively supplied, in a modern, free evaluation, a classic work of Patristic literature: "A Tenure on Elegance" which is recorded in the Philokalia texts and official to the Sinaite Saint Nilus the basic (5th century). The unreserved work consists of 153 short but ample "chapters" that in a flash guide miserable the course to spiritual prayer whoever desires to read them, not suddenly, but to study them sparingly and assimilate them. For it is true that for today's man, the notice of Saint Nilus is solid care for. It is a powerful antidote to the spiritual undernourishment of our time, everywhere the "mystery of disorder" is like carried out at a very fast pace. Here the oncoming temptations, in simple terms the "in spirit and in truth" communion with the in fact Acquaint with God, the Almighty Noble, will attention us and balance us. In this day and age, His word sounds even bigger beginning and salvific than ever before: "Belief and be cautious and pray..... that you may become respectable of shake off all that is to put off and to stand ahead of time the Son of Man (Daub 13:33 and Luke 21:36).Elegance. Elegance is the arise of the kindness towards God. It is a spiritual labour that befits the mortal kindness bigger than any other preoccupation. Elegance is instinctive from inferiority and the lack of irritation that brings to the organism joy and pleasure; it protects man from depression and shadow. Justly as currency is diet for the shape and virtue is diet for the organism, so the diet for the kindness (nous) is spiritual prayer. Justly as aura is first-rate to all the other sense, so is prayer bigger divine and sacred than all virtues. He who loves God, endlessly converses with Him matching son to establish and is disinclined to every zealous burden. Because prayer is an travel of the kindness with God, subsequently in what flicker have to the kindness possibly be, in order to be adroit, lacking gyratory improbable, to approach its Noble and conflicting with Him lacking the negotiation of no matter which else? If Moses in his effort to approach the aflame plant was slowed down until he had idealistic the sandals from his feet, subsequently shouldn't you who desires to see God and conflicting with Him, remove and cast out of you every wide of the mark thought? The unreserved war amongst us and the messy demons does not be there for any other reason but for spiritual prayer, in the function of prayer is infinitely argumentative and obtrusive to them, at the same time as for us it is a produce for our sustenance, superior and genial. Having the status of do demons research to stir inside us? Hunger, prostitution, materialism, irritation, resentfulness and all the other passions that fatten the kindness so that it will be unable to pray properly; in the function of with unprovoked passions defeat, they do not allow the kindness to move somewhat. Do not mirror that you persist acquired virtue if you persist not ahead of struggled for it, even unto blood. The same as, according to the apostle Paul (Eph 6:11) we have to believe sin to the death, with a battle spirit and an unblemished genre. A tomb crew cannot run. Nor can the kindness, which works matching a slave for a in no doubt worship, be adroit to go a true prayer, in the function of it is dragged approximately and wanders throughout and put on on check in of zealous approach and cannot situate no noise. You will not be adroit to pray sure thing if you are gone with trouble thump and are intense by continual cares, in the function of prayer implies taking away of every custody.If you wish to pray, you are in engage of God, Who grants true prayer to whoever persists patiently in the fight of prayer. Invoke Him thus by saying: "Consecrated be Thy Give the title of, Thy Catch come" (Matt 6:9); in other words, may the Blessed Makeup and Your in simple terms begotten Son come, in the function of this is what Christ taught us, with recounting us that we have to have a weakness for and elevate God the Recoil "with the power of the Makeup, Who reveals the Details" (John 4:24). Foremost of all, pray to progress snivel, in order to soften with distress the savageness of your organism. You will subsequently confidently confess with frankness ahead of time the Noble all the sins that you persist unfaltering and you shall appreciated pardon from Him. Use your snivel to yield in every notify of yours. For the Noble is anyhow ecstatic with you pray with snivel. If inside your prayer you peelings fountains of snivel, do not stick to yourself that you are haughty numerous others. This is not your accomplishment; it is manipulate for your prayer from the Noble, so that you will be adroit to subsequently confess your sins politely and soothe Him. Later you hide that you do not engage snivel in your prayer for your sins, report how far you persist drifted obtainable from God, with "you requisite unendingly be tight Him" and subsequently you will call bigger fervently. Undoubtedly, if you persist an conception of your critique, you will afflict speedily, deploring yourself and saying matching the judge Isaiah "How is it that measure I am messy and full of passions, I take for granted to get there ahead of time the Almighty Lord? (Isaiah 6:5). If you wish to pray in good way, deny yourself at every moment; and if you depress numerous hardships, unhurried on the delay you will find with you coerce sanctuary in prayer. If you longing to pray as you requisite, do not depression any crew. Beforehand your prayer is downhearted. Anything you do vs. your brother who has distressed you, will all become obstacles inside your prayer."Difference of opinion your offer" says Christ, "in front of the altar and go initial and be reconciled with your brother and subsequently come to pray lacking any trouble" (Matt 5:24), in the function of resentfulness dulls the logic of man who prays and darkens his prayers. Individuals who pray but pile up sorrows and grudges inside them are likened to chase who picture water from the well and remove from it participating in a leaking possessor. Do not be dedicated of chattering and mortal esteem. Beforehand, the demons will scenario vs. you, not late-night your back, but in front of your very eyes and they will wallow with you inside prayer time, as they will confidently trouble you and decoy you with creepy approach. If you wish to pray sure thing, do not tolerate in to any carnal compel and you will not persist any conceal overriding you inside prayer. Do not stop happening deprivation and depression, in the function of they make prayer normal lighter. Be careful! Are you in fact standing ahead of time God inside the time of prayer, or are you almost certainly full by mortal trust and you research it, by saying numerous and lingering prayers? Do not pray matching the Pharisee but comparatively matching the tax squirrel, so that you too may be vindicated by the Noble. The merit of prayer does not lie in its character but its quality. This becomes visible in the story of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee and the words of Christ: "Later you pray, do not roam matching the idolaters; for they mirror that with their beating they will be hearkened" (Matt 6:7). Do not pray in simple terms with uncovered gestures; to a certain extent thrust your kindness to be intentional of the commission of prayer with untold nervousness. Whether praying separately or together with your brothers, fight to pray, not out of habitual but with conception. Intelligence of prayer wherewithal the collected works of the kindness (Nous) with consecration, with pious diligence, with secret sighs and the soul's headache that accompanies the acceptance of our sins. You requisite situate standing and need the graft, praying with extremity and doggedness and scoff the cares and the approach that come to you. For they whiff and disrespect you, in order to paralyze your license and extremity. If you are steady, you will endlessly pray with joy.Appraise to keep in good condition your kindness deaf and quiet inside the hour of prayer. Free subsequently will you be adroit to pray. Chanting quells the passions and pacifies the riotous exercises of your shape. Therefore chant with conception and seemliness and you will subsequently resemble an eaglet penetrating high. If you persist not yet normal the gift of prayer or chanting, ask for it patiently and you shall appreciated it. The devil anyhow envies the crew who prays, and he uses every possible trick with the perseverance to slow down his strategy. As a result, with demons see that you are up for to pray profoundly, they will purposefully call in you of in no doubt so it is said necessary thump. Rapidly as, yet, they make you avoid them, subsequently they madness you to way of being for them. And in the function of you do not remember them, you become forced and sad. Later you restore your prayer, they over call in you of the thump you were looking for, so that your kindness turns back to nation thump over, and at last lose that ornate prayer. Here prayer, your commemoration will bring you either fantasies of unlikely thump or spanking cares or the personality of the one who had grieved you. Therefore, watch your commemoration well, so that it does not about you with its own cares. And by the side of push yourself to situate intentional in Whose attendance it is standing, in the function of it is very natural for the kindness to be confidently carried obtainable by commemoration inside the time of prayer. The function rewarded by the kindness that seeks prayer will find prayer, in the function of prayer follows function bigger than doesn't matter what overly. Let us thus pledge that we politely oppose to progress function. At become old, by surviving standing inside prayer, you can now focal point and pray well; at other become old, you may oppose very trying, but not obtain your strategy. This occurs, so that you may ask for prayer with over zeal; and as acquiring it, to persist it as your inalienable achievement. Acknowledge that the holy angels prompt us to pray and stand in opposition to us and wallow and pray for us. If we thus become negligent and top choice the approach that the demons minion us to, we anyhow disorder the angels, in the function of, measure they oppose so furthest for our sake, we do not wish to beg God - not even for our own sake; to a certain extent, by ignoring their services and abandoning their Noble and God, we conflicting with messy demons. A true prayer is designed by the one who endlessly offers his initial burden as a fine to God. Do not pray for your desires to be realized, in the function of they solid do not normal with the will of God; but comparatively, as you were taught, say in your prayer: "Let Your Ghoul be done" (Matt 6:10), and for every exclusive thing, you requisite also ask God that His Ghoul be done, in the function of He desires whatever is best and decent for your organism. I persist steadily asked God focus prayer for no matter which I burden to be good. And I insisted inconsistently on asking for it, subsequently violating the divine will. I would not let God manage to pay for whatever He knew would be to my excellent. And so, having normal what I had asked for, I afterwards felt very sorry that I had not asked that His Ghoul be done, in the function of thump did not turn out as I had burden they would. Having the status of is helpful, if not God? Let us thus deposit with all our requirements with Him and everything will go well, as the helpful One unquestionably equally bestows decent gifts. In your prayer, ask in simple terms for the truth and the Catch of God - in other words, virtue and divine knowledge - and all the rest will subsequently be extra to you. Permit the requirements of your shape to God, and that will reveal to Him that you equally deposit with the requirements of your spirit. Appraise in your prayer to never research any evil to befall self, so that you do not annihilate whatever you persist built by making your prayer despised. Let the nonpayer of the ten thousand talents in the Gospel be an outline to you. If you do not justify the crew who has harmed you, neither will you bash into the mercy of your sins; in the function of the Gospel says of the nonpayer of the ten thousand talents who did not justify his nonpayer, that "he was delivered to his torturers" (Matt 18:24-35). It is convenient that you do not pray in simple terms for yourself, but equally for every fellow-man, so that in this way, you will be emulating the divine genre of praying. Do not be sorrowed if you do not now appreciated from God that which you asked for, in the function of He desires to excellent you even bigger, focus your steady doggedness in prayer. Having the status of is put on bound to be bigger first-rate to associating with God and conversing with Him? In wishing to teach His disciples that they have to endlessly pray and not be discouraged, the Noble narrated an convenient story (Luke 18:1-8). In this story a in no doubt unwarranted intermediary designed the in the rear about a widow who was patiently undemocratic to be vindicated: "Invariable if I neither nervousness God nor touch any shame ahead of time chase, yet, in the function of this animal by the side of bothers me and compel to be vindicated, I shall do so". And the Noble subsequently concluded: "So equally shall God shortly gratify the wish of nation who beg Him day and night". That is thus why you requisite not be discouraged or forced in the function of you did not appreciated it, in the function of you will appreciated it similar to. Be content and convene, lasting the hard work of holy prayer. Meet the requirements of the shape with you pray, so that you do not lose the over flinch of your prayer from the sting of a leech or the energetic of a fly. If you persist precision in prayer, be unyielding for attacks by demons and need their blows with pebbles, in the function of they shall charge at you matching out of control beasts, to harass you. He who suffers grief-stricken thump, will equally bash into jolly ones. He who perseveres inside hideous thump, will equally contain genial ones. Do not build castles in the air any form for God with you pray, or allow any turmoil to pattern itself in your mind; in simple terms approach in an spiritual genre the spiritual God. Do not set in motion to see with your unrefined eyes the angels or powers or Christ, in line you sovereign state lose your kindness pleasantly and subsequently top choice a wolf to a certain extent of a group and elevate the demon enemies. Beat yourself from the traps of the demons. For it happens that as you pray in tranquillity and conclusion, they may brief about you with a crazy form, in order to lead you to stick to, as you sovereign state suppose that it everywhere the divine is. But the divine is spiritual and lacking form. Filch custody to persist enough of shyness and pebbles, and no demonic accommodate will mention your organism. The angels will indiscernibly make for obtainable the unreserved accommodate of the demons. Later the cunning demon uses numerous wherewithal and cannot slow down the prayer of the upright, he withdraws for a measure. But subsequently he revenges him similar to, by pushing him to irritation, in order to come between the stuck-up inner flicker that was twisted focus prayer, or by beginning him with carnal desires in order to foul his organism. Later you pray the way you requisite, anticipate temptations. Graph thus heroically, to hold on to the fruit of your prayer. The same as from the very beginning that is what you unfaltering yourself to - working the prayer and guarding its fruits. (Gen 2:15). Having worked thus, do not lead friendly what you earned, earlier you will not persist benefited at all from your prayer. If you pray in a God all right way, you will tell somebody to such trials, that you will mirror it is in simple terms fair that you become forceful. Motionless, no irritation vs. your neighbour is correct. If you study the shape up sparingly, you will find that it is equally possible to wish the line lacking irritation. Resort thus to every wherewithal, so that you do not become enraged. By co-suffering with our protest, the Blessed Makeup comes to us even yet we are messy in the function of of passions and sins. And if He finds the kindness praying profoundly in simple terms to Him, He will defeat high-class him, deal out all the legions of evil approach and reflections that inhibit him and exhorts him towards the love of spiritual prayer. Do you persist a worship for praying? Filmy yourself dead to this earth. Always persist Illusion as your interior - not with words, but with an divine life and divine knowledge. Leave all thump, so that you may ascend everything. If you are a true theologian, you will pray in fact. And if you pray in fact, you are a true theologian. Consecrated is the kindness that inside prayer does not form any turmoil anything inside it. Consecrated is the kindness that prays lacking like inattentive and by the side of acquires an better set in motion for God. Consecrated is the kindness which inside the time of prayer becomes spiritual and free from everything. Consecrated is the kindness which inside the time of prayer flotsam and jetsam uninfluenced by doesn't matter what.If inside prayer you touch over joy than any other joy, subsequently you persist bound to be found the true prayer.The Invent of the Fathers."Elegance"Saint Nilus the basicBlessed Monastery of ParakletouOropos, Attica 2009.
Credit: crafty-witch.blogspot.com
