I know a man who, when he saw a woman of striking beauty, praised the Creator for her. The sight of her lit within him the love of God.
Interpretation
The quote expresses admiration for beauty as a reflection of divine creation.
In this quote, John Climacus highlights how the experience of witnessing beauty can evoke feelings of reverence and love for the Creator. It suggests that beauty, when recognized, can serve as a bridge to a deeper spiritual appreciation and connection to God, emphasizing the idea that the appreciation of physical beauty can lead to a greater understanding of divine love and creation.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about finding divinity in everyday life.
The first stage of this tranquility consists in silencing the lips when the heart is excited. The second, in silencing the mind when the soul is still excited. The goal is a perfect peacefulness even in the middle of the raging storm.
Someone who is elated with wine speaks the truth on all subjects, even without meaning to. In the same way, anyone who is inebriated with the spirit of penitence will never be able to tell lies.
God belongs to all free beings. He is the life of all, the salvation of all ~faithful and unfaithful, just and unjust, pious and impious, passionate and dispassionate, monks and laymen, wise and simple, healthy and sick, young and old just as the effusion of light, the sight of the sun, and the changes of the seasons are for all alike; 'for there is no respect of persons with God.'
Obedience is the burial of the will and the resurrection of humility.
The slave of the belly ponders the menu with which to celebrate the feast. The servant of God, however, thinks of the graces that may enrich him.
Ascend, my brothers, ascend eagerly. Let your hearts' resolve be to climb. Listen to the voice of the one who says: 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of our God' (Isa. 2:3), Who makes our feet to be like the feet of the deer, 'Who sets us on the high places, that we may be triumphant on His road' (Hab. 3:19).
Love is a flower that grows in any soil, works its sweet miracles undaunted by autumn frost or winter snow, blooming fair and fragrant all the year, and blessing those who give and those who receive.
Come not, when I am dead, To drop thy foolish tears upon my grave, To trample round my fallen head, And vex the unhappy dust thou wouldst not save. There let the wind sweep and the plover cry; But thou, go by. Child, if it were thine error or thy crime I care no longer, being all unblest; Wed whom thou wilt, but I am sick of Time, And I desire to rest. Pass on, weak heart, and leave me where I lie: Go by, go by.
No one really needs me,β he says, and there's no self-pity in his voice...βI do,β I say. βI need you.β He looks upset, takes a deep breath as if to begin a long argument, and that's no good, no good at all, because he'll start going on about Prim and my mother and everything and I'll just get confused. So before he can talk, I stop his lips with a kiss.
We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.
Of all the worldly passions, lust is the most intense. All other worldly passions seem to follow in its train.
There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives - the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them.
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