Saint Quote Of The Day
What Is Meant By The Worship Of God?
'Unless a man hates all the activity of this world, he
cannot worship God. What then is meant by the worship of God? It means
that we have nothing extraneous in our intellect when we are praying to
Him: neither sensual pleasure as we bless Him, nor malice as we sing His
praise, nor hatred as we exalt Him, nor jealousy to hinder us as we
speak to Him and call Him to mind. For all these things are full of
darkness; they are a wall imprisoning our wretched soul, and if the soul
has them in itself it cannot worship God with purity. They obstruct its
ascent and prevent it from meeting God; they hinder it from blessing
Him inwardly and praying to Him with sweetness of heart, and so
receiving His illumination. As a result the intellect is always shrouded
in darkness and cannot advance in holiness, because it does not make
the effort to uproot these thoughts by means of spiritual knowledge.'