Tag: prayer

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God bless the world

I pray for the end to the war in Ukraine. I pray that China doesn’t invade Taiwan.

I had a really positive day today. My friend let me help others at her op shop. I felt grateful to make friends with new people.

I am a limited extrovert. I am not so extroverted as when I’m sick, but I can socialise nonetheless. Not so much at church, but I value friendship anywhere.

I pray there will not be a third world war. I pray for religious cooperation between faiths. I pray for the salvation of the souls of my enemies.

God bless the world

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Let us stand fast, with fear!

Although I have taken the vaccine, I still want to live a life according to Christ’s precepts, to get me into paradise, or to take away punishments in hell. Life is troublesome, and people in society are feeling burnt out, due to overwork or lockdowns. Life is a nightmare for some suffering from severe mental health issues. I try to pray for them.

We must all pray for the salvation of the whole race of humanity. God is merciful, God can make things right all at once, even through a couple of thousand righteous people praying. We must think to ourselves ‘maybe God will show us mercy, and take away this plague from under our midst.’ God can save whosoever He wishes, too. So never think you are beyond salvation.

Our battle is in our mind, in our thoughts, in our imagination. Satan tends to make us fantasise about things, and we suffer the wounds of his vainglory. So concentrate on the breath, for say 1-5 seconds, or as long as you can, so you may not give an ear to his fantasies. Satan once imagined himself as equal to God, and from there he exited paradise.

Try to focus on the breath, maybe say a few prayers, praying in your own words. Always hope that God can take you out of your current reality and place you in a better situation and circumstance. God is the God of healing, the God of salvation. By Christ’s death on the cross, He reconciled the whole world to Himself, and from His pain, He sympathises with each and every one of our weaknesses.

If deep breathing doesn’t work, distract yourself. Do housework, take out the garbage, do the laundry, read a book. You have got a lot to live for. Christ has called you out of darkness into His army to do battle for Him, against your sinful inclinations, against the demons, and against your former self. Know you are getting stronger everyday.

Try to continue battling against your sinful addictions, knowing that each success brings you closer to righteousness. God blesses the righteous, and covers His servants with a shield. The battle for your soul is not over until God takes your soul to heaven. Let us stand well, let us stand in awe, and fear of God! Let us attend!

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Lockdown is lifted

The snap 8 day lockdown is lifted for south-east QLD. Yay! Now I can go back to reading at the library and buying boss coffees!

I must apologize for the way I’ve behaved in the past. I was unable to get shock treatment for my mental illness before I was 18 years old. I was kept for very long amounts of time in the kiddies mental health unit when shock treatment could of cut my stays in half. It would of saved me a lot of embarrassing moments in my life too if I had shock therapy.

But I didn’t realise I was full blown mentally ill until my psychotic breakdown in 2017 when I pushed a male nurse. I was put on a treatment authority, which I am very glad they did. It obviously means I have some unresolved suppressed anger issues in the depths of my subconscious.

But with age comes limited humility. With social isolation and social rejection, I’ve come to accept my place in society, and the scorn and humiliation that comes with it. It teaches me the virtue of humility, which St John Climacus says in the ladder of divine ascent ‘without humility nobody shall enter the bridal chamber.’

I thank God for enemies. Bless my enemies, oh Lord. Bless them, and do not curse them, as the prayer by St Nicholai Velimirovich says for his enemies. God bless us all.

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Lockdown 2/8/21

Are my sins so great, that all of south-east Queensland must suffer? I have no justification for my sins. I do not know how I will get through the final toll-houses in the ascent of the soul to heaven. I ask God to have mercy on me, and on all those whom I pray for.

This would be the 3rd day of lockdown. Our governor decided to have an extension of this lockdown to contain the delta variant.

I really wish my prayers would be an offering acceptable to God. But my works are not enough. I’m begging God to have mercy on me, and on all those I know. But it is not enough, because I am vainglorious, and an angry person at heart.

I am praying that there be a little mercy shown to the Australian people. But I am not as St Paisios or St Porphyrios. I am an outcast from the kingdom.

Lord, be kind to us, particularly to the souls in hell!

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I am going at my own pace

Today is the 9th of July 2021. I must admit, I haven’t amounted to much in the world’s eyes. I haven’t got a degree, I don’t drive a car, I don’t have a full time job. But one of my teachers at my English conversation group said I am ‘well-red’. Indeed, I like to read books, and I mean paperback books, not articles online and e-books.

Recently I read ‘Pope Francis, an authorised biography.’ I highly recommend this book. It says that Pope Francis had a profound sense of humility, which is the reason it didn’t take long for the Sistine Chapel to declare him Pope in the selection process. He is of Argentinian origin. His former name as a Cardinal was Jorje Bergoglio.

I also read ‘The search for Spock,’ by Gene Roddenberry. It was a thrilling read. They essentially bring Spock back to life by a complex series of events. If you like classic Star Trek, this book is for you.

Though I have written about book reviews in this post, I am also wanting to discuss other topics. When I say ‘I go at my own pace,’ I mean that I play it safe, I stay within my boundaries, and I do care what other people think. If I didn’t care what other people think, I could get in serious trouble with the police! I think when people say ‘I don’t care what others think,’ they really mean that they are ambitious and driven. I am not ambitious in the world’s eyes. But I am a man of prayer.

For example, I pray for the souls of the dead, such as for my grandparents, and for those whom I’ve known who passed away before me. According to the Orthodox Church, the souls of the dead usually need our prayers, both alone and at the divine services, as they didn’t usually attain to the level of Sainthood, so could be in danger of hell fire. But our prayers could take them up out of hell. Or rather, it could convince them to implore God’s mercy in that fire, until God changes his decision about their soul.

Thank you to all who read my blog. God bless you all, and I hope the Antichrist doesn’t come in my time!

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Some more words on hell

I was talking to my spiritual father one day, and asked him to listen to my understanding of hell, to correct it if it is heretical or doctrinally unsound. I said to him ‘There are no bars around hell, sinners and demons can leave anytime they want, but why would they want to leave?’ And my spiritual father agreed with this theology, saying, ‘There is no repentance left after death.’

I have heard from Archbishop Lazar Puhalo that some of the Fathers of the church say that people can be saved from hell after death, but the church won’t form a doctrine about it, because none of the theologians know for sure. He stated as well, ‘But we assume the love of God is greater than all things.’

Even the devil is eligible for salvation. However, there was a monk in the desert who one day asked an angel, ‘Can the devil be saved?’ So the angel returned to heaven and asked the Lord this question and came back to the monk with the answer. The angel said ‘The Lord will utterly forgive the devil, if he should repent.’ Later on, when the devil appeared before the monk, the monk told the devil, ‘You can still be saved if you repent.’ The devil laughed in his face and disappeared.

Satan would rather rule in hell than serve in heaven. God does not punish the demons and sinners with some kind of material fire. They punish themselves with the fire of their own unwillingness to accept the light of God as love and warmth. When Jesus says of the last judgement, ‘I never knew you! Depart from me, you practitioners of lawlessness!’ I think he really meant what sinners say to God throughout their entire lifetimes, ‘I never knew You! Depart from me, you God of wickedness!’