Eliot,

Thanks for the clarification – now I get it. It honestly didn’t make sense before.

It was a comment on what Benjamin Peck wrote: “our sins and passions are like diamonds”.

It’s hard to resist those diamonds, but we know it can be done. Because it has been done time and time again before us. The Saints and Martyrs of Christianity were men and women and CHILDREN who were tortured, cut, burned and mercilessly executed all for believing in Christ. They died because they said “yes” to God, and “no” to the world. These were sometimes children who were no older than 16 years old, who had such incredible strength in Christ, that they went through the most gruesome torture imaginable.

I am marveling at the faith of those people; they didn’t loose their faith even thought they suffered many years of incarceration and torture. Communism brought torture, crucifixion and martyrdom upon entire nations.
In the free world, the Western world, people freely and willingly gave up their faith. When freedom is used to indulge our sinful nature, the illusion of freedom is all there is. In the end, most are left with only big smiles hanging over their faces to hide their emotional distress caused by broken lives, broken homes and broken ambitions.
He who has eyes to see the state of the world begins to understand why there are people who chose to “leave the world, leading a life of prayer and solitude, for the sake of the world”.

Nick: I have to say that I am impressed to see people so young being on the ‘right path’. I’ve been searching and wandering in the wrong places for some 30 years till I found what is truly important. Maybe I went too far, but I would still say that this is a good and healthy thing to discuss. It would be a bit boring to read here only praises. Generally speaking, pride is a very subtle thing that can so easily creep into our lives. “Pride,” for example, may take the form of “humility” or the pride of holiness. So, one needs to be aware of it and watchful his/her entire life.

Thank you very much for your analysis of my comment. I do not really understand why can’t I go on “exploring the sayings of elders, starets, etc. without the guidance of a spiritual father”. In fact, I am not really exploring the sayings of the elders now. I’ve been reading over the past years and now I bring here what I believe it is important. Currently I am following some “pieces of advice”. I am trying to be there to “lend a hand” when necessary. I feel lonely when surrounded by people mostly interested in “worldly” things. When this is the case, I would rather be alone. Again, thank you!

Come on Eliot, you go to far. Us giving him praise is not the same as his seeking praise. He did not post this piece. Fr. Hans did. You are turning this into something that it is not. Perhaps less reading of the sayings of some elder this or elder that, and a reflection on Scripture is in order:

“Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things…” (1 Corin. 11:2)

“[F]or the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” 1 Peter 2:14-15)

“Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth”. (Proverbs 27:2)

We praised him. He did not praise himself.

Eliot: You said “I often feel confused and lost myself.” I can undersatand that. But you can’t go on exploring the sayings of elders, starets, etc. without the guidance of a spiritual father. Your statement about confusion implies you grapple with this on your own. Your statement about getting into trouble once more seems to relate to a prior exchange which we made and which I though I made in jest about the rapidity of you posts.

Eliot: we do not travel on the path of The Way alone. Remember that.

Did it come out this way? I am certainly not his spiritual father. I often feel confused and lost myself …

I am only saying that we should not tempt this young man to seek praise; let him receive his reward from his Father in heaven. Good deeds are not done to be honored by others because “Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full”. Isn’t that an interesting and challenging perspective in America’s “instant-gratification” culture? I guess I going to get in trouble once more …

And this has ‘what’ to do with this young man’s sermon?

Do you have some issue we are not aware of?

So if you want to boast, take pride in the things that make you weak, for when you are weak, you are strong – in Him. Be afraid of the praise and acceptance of others, for they are the fertilizer for the self-important and grandiose thoughts that are yours by nature anyway, which spring up in the shallow ground of your carnal mind. Carry about the Death of the Lord so you may have the Life of the Lord. Be ready to suffer with Him, that you may reign with Him.
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I saw the snares that the enemy spreads out over the world, and I said groaning, “What can get through from such snares?” Then I heard a voice saying to me, “Humility.” (St. Anthony the Great)
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“If but ten among us lead a holy life, we shall kindle a fire which shall light up the entire city.” — St. John Chrysostom

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Abba Isidore said, ‘If you fast regularly, do not be inflated with pride, but if you think highly of yourself because of it, then you had better eat meat. It is better for a man to eat meat than to be inflated with pride and glorify himself.” (The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, p. 106)

As the son of a priest I can only say of the following:

Fr. John you have much to be proud of in your son.

Ben you have much to be proud of in your Dad.

Keep it up!

The “free” world went through a process of psychological destruction. Tens of millions have been negatively impacted by materialism and by the sexual revolution: children are being “torn apart” by shared care, destined to be drawn into a “social black hole” of drug abuse and promiscuity.

Hundreds of millions of victims … it seems that mankind is going through a perpetuating cycle of physical and emotional destruction.
The new generation of saints and martyrs “shine in the darkness” like the rays of sunshine:

Confessors of Christ from the Gulag: Valeriu Gafencu Taken from the book: “The Saint of the Prisons”

There is nothing under the sun that can survive without God. You cannot accept Christ. I cannot accept spiritual death.

We live in a world of confusion, of loose morals, of sin. It’s considered shameful to be a believer and old-fashioned to be moral. The baptized man, in order to be saved, has to live all his life in the Holy Spirit, but we haven’t succeeded in doing this. We have believed, we have prayed, we have kept the faith, we have suffered, but in order to be united with Christ, one must purify oneself inwardly through confession and renew oneself through Holy Communion. Therefore unite yourself to Christ conscientiously and with great steadfastness, making yourself a bearer of His holiness, His power, His love, His light, His immortality. You must oppose sin mercilessly. Then you will be reborn. There is no path of compromise.’

“Another time he said to us, ‘The teaching of Christ is so wonderful, so consummate, that if we understand it, we have the most powerful argument possible for the existence of God. When I had this revelation, I wept from pain and from happiness! Those who believe in Him must bear witness to this truth even if it means being martyred. Wasn’t the Son of God killed as an enemy of His people?’