Showing posts with label Spiritual Accounting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spiritual Accounting. Show all posts

Saturday, August 31, 2019

You are forgiven everything with the confession you made ( Elder Ephraim of Arizona )


My child, have no worries.
 I have taken up your burden. I only beg you to be at peace. Your words may be just on paper, but I feel the power, the meaning, and the essence of what you write; I enter into the spirit of your words. I entreat you to be at peace from now on. You are forgiven everything with the confession you made. Satan perceived your character and torments you, but without anything serious having occurred. 
Everything you write (that is, the thoughts that torture you ) is a trick of the evil one to make you despair, be distressed, and so forth. 
Throw everything that happened to you into the depths of the sea. Map out a new course in your life. If you keep thinking the same way, know that you will become the laughing-stock of the demons. I beg you, just be obedient to me. After your confession, everything has been forgiven, so let bygones be bygones. Don’t scratch a wound that made you suffer so much. Don’t be deceived by the thought that it is your fault. If you hadn’t taken him to the doctors, etc., then such thoughts would rightfully fight you. Whereas, as things are now, you have fulfilled your duty. God wanted to take him, for a reason that only His infinite wisdom knows, while you are thinking you killed him! Be careful with this thought, or else it might lurk in your heart. It is a ruse of the devil to harm you, as he knows how. This skilled trickster has drowned in the depths of hell countless multitudes with despair. 
When something happens and the devil sees that a person is upset by it, his trick is to pile on a multitude of supposedly legitimate thoughts in order to lead the poor person to a great storm and drown him. (As the saying goes, a fox loves a scuffle ). And when the storm passes, he sees that he was in danger of drowning in just a spoonful of water.
Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Friday, December 22, 2017

Every night, review how you passed the day... ( Elder Ephraim of Arizona )

Every night, review how you passed the day, and in the morning review how the night passed, so that you know how your soul’s accounts are doing.
 
 If you see a loss, try to regain it through caution and forcefulness. If you see a profit, glorify God, your invisible helper. Do not let your conscience prick you for long, but quickly give it whatever it wants, lest it take you to the judge and the prison (cf. Mt. 5:25 ). 
 
Does your conscience want you to attend to your prayer rule and regain prayer? Give it these things, and behold, you are delivered from going to the judge. Do not weaken the saving voice of your conscience by disregarding it, because later you will regret it to no avail.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Humble yourself, and from now on confess

Humble yourself, and from now on confess, for confession contains most holy humility, without which no one is saved.
The devil greatly rejoices when he manages to persuade a person to hide diabolical thoughts.
This is because he will achieve his premeditated, soul-destroying goal.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Every night, review how you passed the day, and in the morning review how the night passed, so that you know how your soul’s accounts are doing



 Every night, review how you passed the day, and in the morning review how the night passed, so that you know how your soul’s accounts are doing. If you see a loss, try to regain it through caution and forcefulness. If you see a profit, glorify God, your invisible helper. Do not let your conscience prick you for long, but quickly give it whatever it wants, lest it take you to the judge and the prison (cf. Mt. 5:25 ). Does your conscience want you to attend to your prayer rule* and regain prayer? Give it these things, and behold, you are delivered from going to the judge. Do not weaken the saving voice of your conscience by disregarding it, because later you will regret it to no avail.

*Prayer rule (κανών )
Α prayer rule consists of the prayers and metanoias** which one does daily, under the guidance of one’s spiritual father.


** Metanoia (μετάνοια )
Ιn its primary sense, «μετάνοια» (pronounced «meh-tah΄-nee-ah» ) means repentance, literally, “a change of mind”. However, it can also mean the specific act of making the sign of the cross, followed by a bow either down to the ground or to the waist. It is a gesture of reverence, worship, respect, or repentance. A typical prayer rule includes a number of metanoias done while saying the Jesus prayer. Some translators use the word “prostration” for this term.


Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

The devil greatly rejoices when he manages to persuade a person to hide diabolical thoughts...


Humble yourself, and from now on confess, for confession contains most holy humility, without which no one is saved.
The devil greatly rejoices when he manages to persuade a person to hide diabolical thoughts.
This is because he will achieve his premeditated, soul-destroying goal.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

The devil greatly rejoices when he manages to persuade a person to hide diabolical thoughts.

 
Humble yourself, and from now on confess, for confession contains most holy humility, without which no one is saved.
The devil greatly rejoices when he manages to persuade a person to hide diabolical thoughts.
This is because he will achieve his premeditated, soul-destroying goal.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Monday, September 7, 2015

Humble yourself, and from now on confess, for confession contains most holy humility, without which no one is saved.


Humble yourself, and from now on confess, for confession contains most holy humility, without which no one is saved.
The devil greatly rejoices when he manages to persuade a person to hide diabolical thoughts.
This is because he will achieve his premeditated, soul-destroying goal.

Elder Ephraim Arizona

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

The devil greatly rejoices when he manages to persuade a person to hide diabolical thoughts.


Humble yourself, and from now on confess, for confession contains most holy humility, without which no one is saved.
The devil greatly rejoices when he manages to persuade a person to hide diabolical thoughts.
This is because he will achieve his premeditated, soul-destroying goal.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Counsels from the Holy Mountain
On Confession and Spiritual Accounting

Sunday, May 24, 2015

The devil greatly rejoices when he manages to persuade a person to hide diabolical thoughts



Humble yourself, and from now on confess, for confession contains most holy humility, without which no one is saved.
The devil greatly rejoices when he manages to persuade a person to hide diabolical thoughts.
This is because he will achieve his premeditated, soul-destroying goal.


Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Counsels from the Holy Mountain
On Confession and Spiritual Accounting