SEEK GOD daily. But seek Him in your heart, not outside it. And when you find Him, stand with fear and trembling, like the Cherubim and the Seraphim, for your heart has become a throne of God. But in order to find God, become humble as dust before the Lord, for the Lord abhors the proud, whereas He visits those that are humble in heart, wherefor He says: "To whom will I look, but to him that is meek and humble in heart?" [Source]
--St Nektarios, whose feast is today
3 comments:
Oh my! That advice from St. Nektarios is so wise. I'm copying this and keeping it. Thank you, Paul.
Unlike Rome, the Orthodox do not have legal checklists and quantitative codices to refer to when "canonizing" a person as a "holy one" (ie, saint). For the Orthodox it truly is a liturgy-in-praxis (a work of the people in motion). Popular veneration sets the standard for sainthood, not the administration who must hunker down and accept prima facie those who the people choose. This is so true of Nektarios who was embraced by the Greeks as "the saint of our modern days." Grassroots piety for him exploded owing to untold miracles and healings of "the little saint who lives though dead". Thanks for honouring Nektarios today with us.
You are very welcome, JN1034. I saw your post, followed the links, and felt moved to "spread orthodoxy." OK, that was tongue in cheek, but also with a grain of truth.
Since, historically, we can see that the universal practice of glorification (canonization) arises from popular piety and local cultus, and that is how most western saints were recognized through late antiquity and the early middle ages, it seems to be the proper method. I love that persons such as Oscar Romero are venerated by the people.
Btw, I was present for the (first 7.5 hours of) the glorification of St John Maximovich II, Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco. Don't know if I had mentioned that.
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