Clarity (Spiritual)
- Michael Haldas
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
“Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel…that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed (Luk 2:34-35). But the righteous are revealed as well. The steadfast love of the Mother of God never wavered before the Cross. Her faithfulness is revealed. The kindness of Joseph of Arimathea is forever marked by an empty tomb. The tears of a harlot reveal the nature of love, even hidden beneath the deeds of her life. In the judgment of God, all things are simply shown to be what they truly are. Sin is seen to be sin. Love is seen to be love. There is clarity.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“I thought if I had something to tell the younger generation, it would be: how to find God through rejecting all the thoughts that keep them away from Him. Then they would not only find God, but who they are themselves. We were all created to achieve this. This is the way out of a lot of issues, like anxiety and depression—of course, in their everyday cases. We are not talking about difficult clinical cases; but we all have anxiety and depression in our lives to a certain degree, and we all have confusion in our lives to a certain degree. Nepsis…(vigilance and controlling your thoughts)… can give you clarity and teach you how to find God’s will in your life simply by rejecting or controlling your thoughts and focusing on God, focusing on prayer.” (Bishop Emilianos)
“If we are truly sharing in the life of Christ, the light of His mercy will shine brightly through us…In order to gain the spiritual clarity to do that, we must mindfully turn away from all that would keep us in the dark and enslaved to sin and the fear of death. Because the eyes of our souls are not yet fully transparent to the light of the Lord, our spiritual vision is distorted. We do not yet see or know God, our neighbors, or ourselves clearly, but in ways that are deeply corrupted by our passions. That is why we must struggle to become fully receptive to the brilliant divine energies of our Lord through the healing found in the sacramental and ascetical life of the Church. As those who were born spiritually blind and have been illumined through the washing of baptism and the anointing of chrismation, we must remain vigilant against the persistent temptation to fall back into the comfortable ways of corruption. There is so much within us that would prefer to hide in the darkness rather than to be illumined in God. That is why we must pray daily, fast and confess regularly, serve our neighbors (especially those we find it hard to love) at every opportunity, and refuse to worship any of the false gods of this world (especially those we find most appealing).” (Fr. Philip LeMasters)
“To be in our “right mind” does not simply mean that we have not been diagnosed with a clinically defined mental disorder. It implies a clarity of vision and a “worldview” grounded in the reality of God’s existence and gracious presence. It also means freedom from moral, ethical and spiritual disorders. Perhaps to sit at the feet of Jesus and to be clothed and in our right mind indicates a state of spiritual sanity.” (Fr. Stephen Kostoff)
“How we receive suffering is often the means by which God breaks down our false notions and gives us the opportunity to gain clarity, to strip away illusions we have, or false gods and idols, and gain Him. Do we want Him or just what He can do for us? Pursuit of God Himself is where we find lasting peace, joy, and happiness. The real meaning we find to our lives is the result of gaining God. We need to get to this place where our faith is not understood or dependent on good outcomes, but faith in God’s goodness.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)
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