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| +Saint Isaiah the Solitary |
ON GUARDING THE INTELLECT
St. Isaiah continues to describe signs of one's progress in the journey to God.
IX. If your intellect (νούς) is freed, the breach between it and God is eliminated.
"The unspeakable bliss of them that behold the infinite goodness of Thy countenance." Earthly bliss all passes away by itself ____
Is it not worthwhile, therefore, to despise all the enjoyments of this transitory world, and of this still more fleeting life, in order to strive with the whole heart after spiritual and unchangeable joys? +Saint John of Kronstadt
Haggai was born in Babylon during the time of the captivity of Israel. He was of the tribe of Levi and prophesied about 470 years before Christ. As a youth, he visited Jerusalem. He urged Zerubbabel and Joshua the priest to restore the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, prophesying for this Temple greater glory than the former Temple of Solomon, The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of Hosts (Haggai 2:9), for the Lord and Savior was to appear in this new temple. He lived long enough to see one part of the temple built by Zerubbabel. He died in old age and joined his ancestors. +The Prologue
Hebrews 7:1-6 KJV
7 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.
5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:
6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.
Saint Mark 9:10-15 KJV
10 And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.
11 And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?
12 And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought.
13 But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.
14 And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.
15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.
THE NUN WHO FELL
One of the desert fathers relates the following beneficial story:
In Thessaloniki, there was once a convent of virgins. One of the nuns by virtue of the works of the tempter, left the monastery and fell to prostitution. She remained in this loathsome sin of immorality for a number of years. Yet after some time, with the help of God, Who loves mankind, she repented and returned to her convent. But before she was able to enter into the convent, she fell dead at the gates.
In the meantime, her death was revealed to a certain holy man. In this revelatory vision, he saw – amongst other things – both the Holy Angels who had come to take her soul and the demons following behind the soul. On the one hand, the Angels claimed the nun had returned to the convent repentant, and thus her soul belonged to them. But the demons answered: “She has worked so many years for us, and therefore her soul should be ours. Moreover, she did not even manage to enter into the convent. How, then, can you claim that she repented?”
The Angels, however, cut them off, saying that from the moment that God, Who is omniscient, perceived that the nun’s intention was aimed at repentance, He gladly received her and she was justified. “She was master over her repentance, in reaching the goal which she had intended; the Lord over her life, however, is the Master of all.”
After hearing these words, the demons were thwarted and departed, leaving the soul to the Angels.
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