Sunday, November 06, 2011

Fr Seraphim and a Coptic reflection on prayer

I recently had the pleasure of being introduced to this wonderful man, a Coptic monk and priest (hieromonk, as the Greeks call them). I have very much enjoyed reading his reflection on prayer, which you can find HERE.

This is one portion which I found particularly beautiful:


The habitation of the longing, the meeting, the screaming and the tears is the heart, the wide place, in which God loves to dwell more than His own heaven. It is that sacred place wherein soft and gentle knocking is always heard; it is the place where Almighty God refuses to enter by force, because on its steps the freedom of Love is experienced. On its steps there is another departure (kenosis), not from the glory of Divinity, as in the Incarnation, but from using the power to impose His presence, for He will not allow Himself to break into the heart of man, unless this man genuinely and willfully opens his heart, earnestly desiring His Presence.

Read it all, and please make this wonderful article known through your own blogs.

Pray for me and my family as we prepare for travel. There are many obstacles in our way.

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