St. Theophan the Recluse: In the Footsteps of Abraham

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24.03.2023, 01:05

Friday, March 24 (11), 2023
No Liturgy ─ no New Testament reading appointed

“The Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee” [Gen. 12:1]. This is a clear image of that conversion of the heart which is wrought in true believers when they earnestly take their cross and follow Christ.

They leave their father ─ their selfishness, crucifying it by self-denial; they leave their kindred ─ their sinful inclinations, passions and habits, crucifying them by an unflinching resolve to follow Lord’s commandments which slay evil passions; they leave their country ─ the entire domain of sin, the sinful world and its encroachments, crucifying it by their courage to be different and alien to the world, no matter what the price would be: loss of wealth, of social standing, or even death.

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By far the best idea is to lock your heart, that is, to put it under full control of the mind
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