In honor of Saint Seraphim of Sarov ( 15.01.2006 )
Today, in honor of Saint Seraphim of Sarov, Metropolitan Nahum of Strumica celebrated Divine Liturgy in the
“In order for man to receive and behold in his heart the light of Christ, it is necessary, as much as possible, he to distance himself from visible things. After he has cleansed his soul by virtue of repentance, good works and faith in the Crucified, closing his physical eyes, he must engross his mind inside the heart, incessantly crying out and calling upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then in proportion to his zeal and warmth of spirit toward the Beloved, he will delight in the Name called upon, which inspires a desire to seek yet greater illumination. In the mind that dwells in the heart in such a manner, dawns the light of Christ, enlightening the soul inwardly with its Divine splendor, as the prophet Malachi says: “But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise” (Malachi 4:2). This light is at the same time life according to the Gospel words: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). The mind of the man who contemplates from within the eternal light is pure and has no sensory images in it. The whole man, since engrossed in contemplation of the uncreated grace, forgets all sensory, so that he does not want to behold even himself. He desires to hide himself in the heart of the earth, lest he be deprived of the true good – God” (Saint Seraphim of Sarov).
