Saturday, February 6, 2021

St. Theophan the Recluse: On Christian grief


 Although we must shed tears in our grief, let us do this in a Christian way, not as the heathen who have no hope. Let no word of complaint come from our lips, nor any feeling of despondency darken our hearts. To weep and grieve is a very human thing, but to give way to despondency and despair, complaint and criticism, is satanic. So let us dissolve grief in hope, so that a new warmth and tenderness will be born in our tears: this will not be the kind of weeping that burns and torments, but one that melts the heart and pours out comfort.
+St. Theophan the Recluse, from a sermon preached during a severe drought during his service as bishop of Tambov, quoted in The Heart of Salvation: The Life and Teachings of Saint Theophan the Recluse, Chapter 4 Theophan's Episcopacy 

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