Unseen warfare..............

The daily war
from The Instructions of Commodianus (A.D. 240)

You seek to wage war, O fool, as if wars were at peace. From the first formed day in the end you fight.

Lust precipitates you, there is war; fight with it.
Luxury persuades, neglect it; You have overcome the war.
Be sparing of abundance of wine, lest by means of it you should go wrong.
Restrain your tongue from cursing, because with it you adore the Lord.
Repress rage.
Make yourself peaceable to all.
Beware of trampling on your inferiors when weighed down with miseries.
Lend yourself as a protector only, and do not hurt.
Lead yourselves in a righteous path, unstained by jealousy.
In your riches make yourself gentle to those that are of little account.
Give of your labor, clothe the naked. Thus shall you conquer.
Lay snares for no man, since you serve God.

Look to the beginning, whence the envious enemy has perished.

I am not a teacher, but the law itself teaches by its proclamation.
You wear such great words vainly, who in one moment seek without labor to raise a martyrdom to Christ.

Number 63 from The Instructions of Commodianus (A.D. 240)



Death, for men who understand it, is immortality;
while for the simple, who do not understand it, it is death.
And one should not fear this death, but ought to fear the perdition of the soul, which is ignorance of God. This is what is terrible for the soul!
Life is the uniting and joining of the mind (spirit), soul and body; while death is not the perdition of these joined parts, but the dissolution of their union; God preserves all this even after the dissolution.
Just as a man comes forth from his mother's womb, so does a soul come forth naked from the body.
Some are pure and bright, some are spotted by falls, and some are black from many transgressions. That is why the wise and God�loving soul, remembering and considering the calamities and extremities that come after death, lives piously lest it be condemned and subjected to them.
But the unbelievers, the mindless in soul, do not perceive and they sin, despising what is to be there. Just as on issuing forth from the womb thou dost not remember what was in the womb, so on issuing forth from the body thou dost not remember what was in the body.
Just as on issuing forth from the womb thou becamest better and greater in body, so on issuing forth from the body pure and undefiled, thou wilt be better and incorrupt, abiding in the heavens.

Mortal men ought to care about themselves, knowing in advance that death awaits them.
For blessed immortality is the lot of the holy soul when it is good, and death eternal meets it when it is evil. Remember that thy youth is past and thy powers exhausted, while thine infirmities have grown and already the time of thy departure is near, when thou wilt give an account of all thy deeds; and know that there neither will brother redeem brother, nor will father deliver son.
Always remember thy departure from the body, and do not let eternal condemnation out of thy thoughts; if thou wilt act thus, thou wilt not sin unto the ages.

Venerable Anthony the Great

Die daily, that you might live eternally, for one who fears God will live forever.

Venerable St. Anthony the Great

After death, it will be impossible for anyone through thoughts of God to heal the sickness brought on by sin, for confession has power on earth, but not in hell.

Holy Hierarch St. Gregory of Nyssa

To teachers of wisdom, it was not accidental that death entered our life, to instruct the intellect, to tame the passions of the soul, to calm the waters, and to establish calm.

Holy Hierarch St. John Chrysostom

Salvific for us and deadly for sin is the remembrance of death which was born of sin.

Holy Hierarch St. Ignaty Brianchaninov

Thank you Helen,
Most excellent thoughts to bear in mind and maintain humility. To my poems folder they shall go.

God Bless You, Helen

That is very beautiful and as well very profound.

Thank you Helen

Thanks Toltec....Tut.....

Sorry for replying late.
Computer was playing up!

They are nice words to remember!

helen

~Unseen Warfare~


''For our nature is so accustomed to please itself,
that it seeks its own comfort and pleasure in all its doings,
even the most righteous and spiritual,
and secretly and lustfully feeds on it as though it were food.''

What is Unseen Warfare....
A man's journey to Theosis...The Journey~

Thought I would share this!

ICXN
helen

Found this in some notes I had printed off years ago. Was wondering if it still was around, and yes, it is.

Bumped for posterities sake.

Originally posted by ADVISOR
Found this in some notes I had printed off years ago. Was wondering if it still was around, and yes, it is.

Bumped for posterities sake.

Hi Advisor/


Wow, this was awhile ago....thanks for the ''Bumped for posteririties sake''
They are quite wise words to remember!
Take care,

ICXC NIKA
helen