Moments

“There are moments in life when our customary peace is temporarily set aside by unanticipated events. None of us are immune to these events and once they arise we must give them our complete attention.” (Metropolitan Alexios)

“We have different moments in life—moment when we are sad and moments when we are happy. We are like the weather: it is cloudy now, it was sunny earlier, and it will possibly rain later. We cannot guarantee that we will remain in a state of grace and peace all the time. This is quite normal. But nevertheless, there is a certain danger when we come to a state of spiritual coldness and can no longer be inspired by meeting God.” (Protosinghel Galaction Dominte)

“…the response to both the joys and struggles of life is this: in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. In faith we respond to all of the circumstances and events of life with prayer and supplication. We turn to God. We seek His will and His guidance. We overcome the fear of the unknown with prayer of the heart. We vanquish the anxiety of uncertainty by calling on the name of the Lord. But our prayers are not supplications marked by worry, impatience, or resignation. They are infused with the spirit and power of thankfulness. They are filled with grateful praise and adoration of our God who loves us and gives us salvation. Our prayers echo the affirmation of the Psalmist who sang, “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2) In a moment of life when anxiety and fear could consume us, our requests to God for His provision in our time of need, our prayers to Him should be filled with thanksgiving. Our supplications should reveal the depth of our faith in the almighty power of God.” (Archbishop Demetrios)

“…we should live each day, each hour, each moment of our lives as if we could suddenly be called to give an account of our sins. We are to live each moment as if we could receive a tap on the shoulder, and be taken before the Judgment seat of the Lord most high. We do not necessarily have to believe that "fire and brimstone" shall rain down upon the earth, but we do have to believe that one day we will be asked to give an account of the gifts that we have been given, and how we have used these gifts for the glory of God. Christ knows that we will never be completely prepared for His return and subsequent judgment, but He still exhorts us to continual perseverance and spiritual askesis so that we may one day fulfill our potentialities and truly exist in His likeness.” (Cosmas Halekakis)

“We all have our low moments in life—I certainly have my share. In these moments, I remember some advice I received at one of my lowest moments from a priest who spoke with compassion but also with intention. He told me “Don’t be a victim, be a survivor. God does not want victims, He wants survivors.” I have taken that advice to heart for over 30 years. This life is a marathon and our purpose is to survive it, hopefully thrive in it, but in all circumstances to glorify God in it and serve others in it. And sometimes to goal will be just to keep moving and that’s okay. In the early moments of a marathon, there is the joy of the start. In the later moments of the marathons, there will be adrenaline for the finish. Along the route there will be spurts of energy and moments of despair. But most of the race is just putting one foot in front of the other and staying steadfast to the goal of finishing. Ife works the same way—some joys, some setbacks, but most of the time just putting one foot in front of the other and staying steadfast in the journey to salvation.” (Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis)

“ “Abiding in the word” (keeping the commandments, engaging in the practices of the faith) is the necessary pre-condition for “knowing the truth.” One manifestation of this with which many believers are familiar is the “coin drop.” Any amount of information may have passed our ears and eyes. The Scriptures, the Liturgy, various hymns and writings, all of them bathe us in their wisdom while we remain inert, untouched, and even bored. And yet, there can come a moment when the “coin drops.” A single phrase can catch our attention and understanding takes place – sometimes with wonderful joy and delight. These great moments of grace point towards something that has taken place in the heart. Hours, weeks, even years, standing in the services, fasting and failing, confessing and struggling, all work as a plow on the hardened soil of the heart. So much seed had fallen by the wayside or on the rocks and disappeared. But then, a single seed finds fertile ground and its grace fills the soul. Such moments are not just worth the wait, they point towards the essence of the faith and the true nature of its work. We are not saved by information. We are saved by the Word working richly in our hearts transforming us. A single such word can save.” (Father Stephen Freeman)

“Moments of clarity appear, much like the sun when it peeks out between the clouds on a cloudy day. However, just as the clouds often move back over the sun’s rays and cover them once again, so often that moment of clarity and insight gets covered back over by the noise and distraction of our daily life, and eventually it is forgotten.” (Fr. Joshua Makoul)

“I think the evidence for this is that anyone who perseveres in prayer does so because at some point, or maybe even at multiple points, he or she has experienced something of the real God. Some moment of clarity, of awe or joy, something numinous and impossible to express in words. We know what the real thing is.” (Hieromonk Maximos)

“There are blessed or tragic moments when we can see a person revealed to us in a light with a depth, with an awesome beauty which we have never suspected before. It happens when our eyes are open, at a moment of purity of heart; because it is not only God Himself Whom the pure in heart will see; it is also the divine image, the light shining in the darkness of a human soul, of the human life that we can see at moments when our heart becomes still, becomes transparent, becomes pure...” (Metropolitan Anthony Bloom)

“No one feels God's presence all the time, at every moment of his or her life. Even the greatest saints have moments of doubt, uncertainty, and darkness…There have been many times when I have experienced a moment of spiritual clarity only to have it drowned out by the cares of everyday life. The Faith gives me daily disciplines so that I can keep what I have heard rather than losing precious treasure in the rush of daily life….This present moment is the best moment of my life. Why would I say that? Because the present moment is the only point of contact I have with God. All else, past and future, is a construct of my imagination. The present moment is the only reality I have.” (Rev. Christopher H. Martin, Father Barnabas Powell, Albert S. Rossi, PhD)

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