St. Paisios, who is one of my favorite saints of all time, once wrote about how reading and learning from the lives of the Saints is like taking our “Spiritual Vitamins”! When we want to build up our immune system to fight diseases, we take vitamins and eat healthy things. We have to do this exact same thing in our spiritual lives as well! In reading the lives of the Saints, we learn from their examples! We have conversations with them through their writings and journals. These are the things that strengthen our immune system against the world, so that we can gain a healthy spiritual understanding of our existence and our purpose in this life.

“Never confuse the person, formed in the image of God, with the evil that is within him. Evil is but a chance misfortune, an illness, a devilish reverie (daydream). But the very essence of the person is the image of God, and this remains in him, despite every disfigurement.” -St. John of Kronstadt

Practicing the Jesus Prayer allows us to focus all of our interior thoughts on one thing: God Himself. It brings us from chaos to clarity…from insanity to sanity…from being a wild beast to a true Human Being, made in the image and likeness of our Creator.

How many of us even considered the words that are pronounced when the chalice is brought forth through the Royal Doors: “In the fear of God, and with faith and love, draw near”? This is our invitation to partake of the most incredible mystery the Church has to offer to us, a gift that we are totally unworthy to accept. But it is only by God’s grace that we may, with fear of God and faith and love, draw near to the body and precious blood of our Lord, God and Savior.

How can a person overcome fear? How can some pray without ceasing? How can we love an enemy? These are things that are simply humanly impossible to do! Or are they?