orthodoxgladness:

We easily forget the spiritual literature we have read, because we read it without pain in our hearts. We do not empathize with what we read. – St. Paisios the Athonite

Until I carry my own cross. Feel the nails being pounded into my own hands and feet. Struggle for my own breath against the wood. I will never understand the words of the saints. The words will always be their words. Not my words.

Christianity is lived. It is experienced. It is breathed. I cannot be a Christian without being in the arena. Awaiting the lions jaws. The soldier’s sword. Prepared to spill my blood.