Do not forget your goal, my child. Look
into heaven and see the beauty that awaits us. What are the present,
earthly things? Aren’t they but ashes and dust and a dream? Don’t we see
that everything here is subject to decay? Whereas things above are
everlasting, the kingdom of God is endless, and blessed is he who will
dwell in it, for he will behold the glory of His divine face!
My child, do not forget that we are in
this world only temporarily and that our life dangles by a thread and
that all the desirable things in the world are vain. So, whoever
despises the vain things of the world—in other words, does not
passionately desire them—will participate in the eternal good things.
So, when we have this knowledge of the
truth, naturally we shall turn the eyes of our soul at every moment
towards the eternal life, towards the heavenly Jerusalem, where the
choirs of angels chant godly canticles of ineffable sweetness and
wisdom. Oh, my children, how much glory your souls will have when after
death they ascend to the heavens and are numbered with the angels in
heaven!
Let us glorify the risen Lord, Who
counted us worthy to celebrate His holy Resurrection. Let us pray that
He will also count us worthy to celebrate the eternal Sabbath in the
heavens, in the new Jerusalem, in the eternal joy. “And no one will take
this joy away from you (Jn. 16:22).” Indeed, my child, for earthly joy
is followed by sorrows which can annihilate it, whereas heavenly joy is
not, because it flows continuously as if from an inexhaustible and
life-giving spring.
Let us compel ourselves in our Christian duties in order to be able to celebrate the eternal Pascha* close
to our Christ and see Him face to face for our blessed enjoyment,
without it being interrupted anymore by trials and despair.
*Pascha
Pascha literally means “passover.” It is the celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection, known in Western Christianity as Easter.
From Counsels from the Holy Mountain: Selected from the Letters and Homilies of Elder Ephraim of Arizona
http://www.orthodoxpath.org/saints-and-elders-counsels/the-eternal-life/
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