I saw a rainbow today.
So beautiful.
You may have liked that I take a photo,
to show you.
But instead I just stared at it for a long while,
then put it in my heart.
I’m sorry.
But I think it is more beautiful,
safe in there.
~FS
November 7
You partake of angelic life and attain an incorruptible and hence almost bodyless state when you have cleansed your intellect through tears, have through the power of the Spirit resurrected your soul even in this life, and with the help of the Logos have made your flesh–your natural human form of clay–a resplendent and fiery image of divine beauty. For bodies become incorruptible when rid of their natural humours and their material density.
~St Gregory of Sinai
The Words Escape Me
I have a nervous tongue,
but a steady hand.
I lack eloquence in speech,
but I can put down, in writing,
a pretty good sentence.
Words jumble and tumble from my mouth,
jostling one another to get free—
running, then stumbling over my lips.
As thoughts pile up in my head,
words fight each other for proper order;
struggling at the tip of my tongue,
pushing and shoving,
lunging then leaping out the door.
I hear their chaos
as they echo in my ears,
and I wonder,
“Do you understand me?”
“I’m not sure I just did.”
You nod and smile politely.
And I think again,
“If only I could have written to you instead.”
~FS
Wasting Grace
Grace will raise us up and give us new life, a life transformed and renewed. It will give us eyes to see, and ears to hear, so that we can become enlightened, illuminated by true wisdom. Grace is blessed life, given us by God, that we may live our life in God; in blessed peace and joyfulness.
We have this gift, this power that can make all things new for us. How is it then that I use this power, instead, to give my old self renewed power? I treat the power of life like it’s a battery-charger; using it to fill me up, and revitalize my profligate activities.
I squander grace in idle talk; giving myself over to foolishness, wasting precious moments, pregnant with opportunity for godliness, upon pettiness and vanities.
God gives us power to do His will, yet I pour this power flagrantly, out upon the earth. The gift He has given me, I have used selfishly, and upon my own desires. Whereas it was given to me for the benefit of others, as a power of spiritual freedom; I have used it wantonly, as a power of enslavement—binding myself and others to worldly distractions, and ridiculous delusions.
This life is not for my amusement, nor is the precious breath of life intended to fuel the selfish satisfaction of my vain pursuits.
Sometimes, I am justly denied God’s grace that I may rightly see the results of my choices. Then, in my utter lostness and despair, I cry out to God for help. And wonderfully, grace returns, sometimes immediately, and other times after long anguished waiting.
Grace is a gift that leads us into wisdom and light. May we live in grace wisely, never wasting grace.
~FS
November 6
By ‘many dwelling-places’ (John 14:2) the Savior meant the differing stages of spiritual ascent and states of development in the other world; for although the kingdom of heaven is one, there are many different levels within it. That is to say, there is place for both heavenly and earthy men (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:48) according to their virtue, their knowledge and the degree of deification that they have attained. ‘For there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for one star differs from another star in glory’ (1 Corinthians 15:41); and yet all of them shine in a single diving firmament.
~St Gregory of Sinai
November 4
Requitals correspond to our deserts, even if many people think they do not. To some, divine justice gives eternal life; to others, eternal chastisement. Each will be requited according to his actions–according to whether he has passed through this present life in a virtuous or in a sinful manner. The degree or quality of the requital will accord with the state induced in each by either the passions or the virtues, and the differing effects these have had.
~St Gregory of Sinai
Book is Now Available
I wanted to let you know that my book, Paths: Dead Ends & Open Doors, is now available on Amazon in paperback and for Kindle.
This is my spiritual memoir which many of you have read, in part, as I have sent out portions over the previous year. It is now collected into one narrative.
I hope you will enjoy it, and if you do, please include a brief review on Amazon, if you wouldn’t mind, as I hope more people may enjoy and benefit from it:
Thank you!
Love,
Francis
November 3
Passion-embroiled states are foretastes of hell’s torments, just as the activity of the virtues is a foretaste of the kingdom of heaven. We must realize that the commandments are activities producing effects, and that virtues are states, just as vices that have taken root are also states.
~St Gregory of Sinai
November 2
The efficacy of the commandments depends on faith working directly in the heart. Through faith each commandment kindles and activates the soul’s illumination. The fruits of a true and effective faith are self-control and love, its consummation God-given humility, the source and support of love.
~St Gregory of Sinai
November 1
A true sanctuary, even before the life to come, is a heart free from distractive thoughts and energized by the Spirit, for all is done and said there spiritually. If we do not attain such a state in this life, we may because of our other virtues be a stone fit for building into the temple of God; but we will not ourselves be a temple or a celebrant of the Spirit.
~St Gregory of Sinai
