Elder Thaddeus
I love to read the Church Fathers. This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me. The more ancient, the better is kind of my “motto.” However, we cannot neglect the recent and even living Fathers who connect us with the great Tradition in a living and truly tangible way. These men (and women) have shown us and currently (in some cases) show us how we are to walk with Christ in the world.
One of the recent Fathers I have been reading recently is Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica. He spent his entire life in Serbia and was the hegumen of several monasteries, as well as being imprisoned twice by the Nazis. He is best known for his work, Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives. He has not been officially canonized by the Serbian Church, but many believe it is only a matter of time, and he is already locally venerated as a saint in some locations in Serbia. What will follow will be quotations from Elder Thaddeus, presented without comment. I will let the Elder speak for himself. If you are edified by these few quotes, I would highly recommend the book.
“We are too engrossed in things of this world and thus become spiritually impoverished, because one cannot sit on two chairs. One cannot drink both from the Cup of the Savior and from the cup of the adversary. We must decide whom we will serve: God or the things of this world. One cannot serve God and mammon at the same time.”
“A materialistic person cannot understand a spiritual person. Anything that a spiritual person says is fantasy to a materialistic person, because heavenly logic is completely different from the logic of this world.”
“The Lord will not abandon us if we always approach Him from the heart. He wants our hearts and our souls to burn with an even greater desire and longing for Him, that we may never fall away from Him and His love.”
“When the soul loves prayer from the heart it cannot bear to be separated from its Father. It is always in His company, in His presence, either when conversing with people or while at work. Such souls are always with Him and walk in His presence, as the angels and saints do. This is the beginning of the Kingdom of God in this life. Such souls become used to heavenly life and make the transition from this sorrowful and labor-filled life into eternal joy as ones who have already been cleansed.”
“No movement of thought that comes from the soul should be centered on anything that is of this world. The noetic center of our love must be God, and with God we love all. Everything is in Him and through Him. We must not become attached to things of this world.”
“We must despise the self for the sake of God’s love and not only reject “his lordship” the ego, but kill him as well. For if the ego is not dead, we cannot become one with God; “his lordship” will always be in the way. Like a nobleman, the ego cannot bow its head but holds it up high at all times. This is why we need humility, we need to become humble and meek.”
“He who has humbled himself does not think highly of himself. He knows he is nothing but dust. If it were not for the Lord preserving us and guarding us, we would be nothing but mud!”
“The Lord looks at the inner depth of the heart, at what the heart longs for and what it desires. And if He sees that a soul cannot come home, the Lord will, in His own time, cleanse it and draw it to the center, and the soul will find peace. However, if in the innermost part of the heart there is something unclean, something that is attracted to this world and is bound to it, then our wandering will last a long time and we will endure much sorrow and suffering. We who are, so to speak, pious, will have more sorrow than those who are not. This is because they do not feel inner pain, they give no thought to eternity but only to things of this world: enjoyment, food, drink…Their attention is entirely focused on this, whereas ours is divided: we want to be with the Lord, yet we have not yet let go of material things; our heart is still attached to them and we are not free. It is for this reason that we suffer a lot.”
“The heart must break loose from its desires. If we know that all of our relationships with our fellow men and our family are but worldly things, that they bind us to the extent that our hearts become attached to them, then it is better to despise one’s father and mothers, one’s brother, husband, and sister, because all of this is no good to us if it destroys God’s peace. If this is the case, then it is better to despise all of this, become one with the Lord, and pray for His help. We must humble ourselves and then reestablish a correct relationship toward our fellow men.”
“One should cleanse one’s heart from worldly plans and desires. Only then can we sincerely love our neighbor. Otherwise, our earthly love will cleave first to one thing and then to another. This is a fleeting, ephemeral love and it shatters us constantly. We do not live our life with understanding but superficially.”
“We must be vigilant at all times in order to prevent those with evil intentions from entering our innermost chamber. Vigilance and alertness, at all times!”
“In the spiritual realm thoughts are as clear as speech; they can be heard. For this reason the labor one invests for the betterment of one’s soul is more valuable than any other gift. If we do not prepare ourselves for eternity by correcting our characters, we will not be able to enter the company of the angels and saints. Then we will pass into eternity with all these faults and sins.”
“In this world it is possible for a person to expend great effort and labor for the good of his fellow men, yet for his soul to remain soiled with sin.”
“To the degree that we let go of our worldly cares, the Lord allows us to feel that He is with us. The Lord is peace, joy; He is father, mother, and friend to us. We have everything in Him. He is the One Who satisfies the needs of the soul.”
“When a soul becomes one with the Lord, it must always keep vigil. We are still in our bodies, through which we are attached to the things of this world.”
“We are very distracted and our concentration is weak. We are like a broken mirror that reflects reality in small fragments until the power of God makes us whole again, able to faithfully reflect His image.”
Through the prayer of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us!