Continued. The Means by Which One Can Cultivate in Oneself Unceasing Remembrance of God With Love

And a word or two more in addition to what has been said.

One must remember God. This must be brought to the point where the thought of God becomes native and fused with the mind, the heart, and our consciousness. In order to establish such a remembrance and such a thought, one must labor upon oneself without laziness. Labor—and God will grant that you attain it; do not labor—and you will not attain it. And if you do not attain it, nothing will come of you, you will gain no success in the spiritual life—and indeed you will have no spiritual life at all, for this is precisely what the spiritual life is. See how essentially important this is!

As you strive to keep the thought of God, do not hold it bare, but unite with it all the ideas about God that you know—His divine attributes and acts—dwelling now on one, now on another. Meditate more on God’s creation and providence, on the incarnation of God the Word and the work of our salvation that He accomplished, on His death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven, on the sending of the Holy Spirit, the ordering of the Holy Church as the guardian of truth and grace, and on the preparation of heavenly dwelling-places in the Heavenly Kingdom for all believers and for yourselves. Add also meditation on the divine attributes: His ineffable goodness, wisdom, omnipotence, justice, omnipresence, universal sovereignty, omniscience, all-blessedness, and majesty. All of this please consider both during prayer and—better still—apart from prayer, while reading. When you have considered all of it and contemplate it clearly, your thought of God will not be a bare thought but one accompanied by and drawing to itself a multitude of saving reflections that act upon the heart and awaken the energy of the spirit. You may compose your own brief doxological prayer in which all of this is gathered together. For example, something of this kind: “Glory to Thee, O God, worshipped in Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! Glory to Thee, who hast created all things! Glory to Thee, who hast honored us with Thine own image! Glory to Thee, who hast not abandoned us in our fall! Glory to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ, who didst come, become incarnate, suffer, die for us, rise again, ascend into Heaven, send us the All-Holy Spirit, order Thy Church for our salvation, and promise and prepare for us the Heavenly Kingdom! Glory to Thee, O Lord, who in wondrous ways orderest the salvation both of each individual soul and of whole peoples. Glory to Thee, O Lord, who drawest even me toward salvation.”

This last point, try especially to make clear to yourself. Bring yourself to an awareness of God’s great mercies toward you in particular, and then always thank Him for them. Give thanks for the fact that He gave you birth in this world, birth among a Christian people, of devout parents, and that you then received such a good upbringing. Give thanks also that He is instilling in you such holy resolutions as you have recently made, and that you have even arranged additional support for the strength of that resolution. Review your whole life from its beginning, from the time you first began to be aware of yourself, and note all the occasions of unexpected deliverance from danger and unexpected gifts of joy. Many dangers we do not even notice, because they pass us by without our being aware of them. But when we look back, we cannot fail to see that here and there danger existed and passed us by, though we cannot say how it passed. Discern such moments in your own life, and confess that they were God’s mercy to you—God who has loved you. Know that the hidden mercies of God toward each one of us are without number, for all things come from God. So confess these mercies and thank God from your whole heart. But if you look carefully into the course of your life, you will find not a few occasions of God’s manifest mercy toward you as well. Disaster threatened, but it passed you by—you do not know how. God delivered you. Confess this and give thanks to God who loves you.

Even knowledge of the mercies common to all warms the heart; how much more will it be warmed by seeing God’s mercies toward you in particular. Love kindles love. When you feel how the Lord loves you, you cannot remain cold toward Him: the heart will itself be drawn to Him in gratitude and love. Keep your heart under the influence of this conviction of the Lord’s love for you—and the warmth of heart will soon grow into a flame of love for the Lord. When this comes to pass, you will need no reminders to keep God in mind and no instructions in how to succeed at it. Love does not allow one to forget the beloved Lord even for a moment. This is the goal. Please take it to heart and embrace it with conviction. And then direct all your labor toward this very end—toward the establishment in mind and heart of the thought of God.

To meditate on God’s attributes and acts yourself may be somewhat difficult for you. But it seems you have the writings of Saint Tikhon. In his cell-letters you will find the most helpful of aids. The saint contemplates each divine attribute and act with clarity and portrays it in words filled with warmth and conviction which, if you read attentively, will pour over into your own heart as well.

There is one more small point I ought to explain to you, but that will be for another time.