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My mother always told me that work is prayer. I learned to pray while I work by cleaning my house, the clothes the dishes making the meals, tending to the sick in my life. Thank you for your lesson here. It speaks to me and consoles me ❤
Dearest Father, I am a quilter and needle worker and LOVE the peace that comes with it. Since my beloved husband died 5 years ago, the creativity with which God blesses me has saved me. I thank Him daily and pray it stays with me till He calls me Home. Thank you for your inspiring insights, Father. I’ll continue to lift you all in my prayers.
God bless you dear Father There’s a nice proverb in the bible thar says “ commit your works to the lord and your thoughts will be established “ it saved me as a youth so much - work for the lord with your body and your mind will follow .. it’s a practice that God himself revealed to Saint Anthony the great 🙏🥰✝️ and as you mentioned works to this day. Thank you for the reminder that prayers come in so many forms and moments 🙏
Dear one, nothing we say is new. Thank God for that! This is the immense blessing of growing in the embrace of Christ's Church: everything we need for our salvation is already revealed, all we need to do is allow the Church to teach and guide us through this life towards the Life of the Kingdom. Nothing is new, everything is founded on the wisdom of the tradition of the Church
God only knows, dear one. I know my sins, I know my failures, but I do not despair, because Christ is our salvation. I keep trying (despite so many failed attempts) to do things better and when I fail, I ask forgiveness and I start all over again. If Christ has not given up on me (He still keeps me alive), how could I dare give up on myself?
Unfortunately, dear one, we still have to give Caesar what is Caesar's. Legally, we (the Monasteries) are obliged to have these earthly insurance policies, as well, but our hearts place their trust in Christ alone.
Wow! I learned so much from watching and listening to you, Father, about prayer, meditation and the body. How inspiring! Thank you! I must work in my backyard among the plants my wife and I are growing. They must not be neglected. Keep me in your prayers. I am just recovering from a bout of COVID.
As a man that struggles with an overactive imagination and unwanted thoughts in prayer this sermon is such a blessing This is precisely why I am pursuing iconography. Our Heavenly Father blessed me with the gift and ability to draw and gave me a keen eye that I was not using that I should now put to good use and a tool for prayer and a new career path ( since I wish to become a monk like yourself but I have a younger disabled brother whom I take care of and I doubt any monastery would allow someone with non-verbal autism to live a cenobitic life amongst other monks ). I never thought of using the body to still the mind more specifically iconography being a way to do that Much peace, love and respect to you Farther Seraphim Thank you and may it be blessed 🌴🌴🌴
Hi Father Seraphim, my priest visited your monastery a week ago I want to thank you for your content you are a true peaceful soul may one day I learn this patience. Peace be with you and God bless.
I must move when I pray. I can pray literally for hours and hours if I'm cleaning my house or walking my dog or organizing my closet. I don't know why, but it helps me focus.
I feel like St. Therese when I try to really pray. It’s like the exhaustion in my body finally catches up and all I want to do is sleep. I can’t stop yawning every time I pray. Especially when I pray the rosary. I get through it and then I want to nap. So glad to have found this channel. I love discovering these voices that are full of wisdom.
You may think you're not saying a lot, but it really spoke to me! I dont know who you are but im suscribing. I have a feeling im going to want to hear more. Thank you 😊
It was bliss just watching you throw the pot: The centering of the clay, the coaxing it upward and outward, the re-centering, the reforming, and your patience with the process. We are the clay, God is the Potter. Thank you, Fr. Seraphim.
I love my spinning wheel so much for this reason. It’s a rhythm and I would do this with my wheel and prayer. There is something about spinning, turning - and contemplating the eternal aspect of circular movement.
Oh, dear one, that is such a rich conversation! Working with clay, making something out of dust, imprinting something of yourself in your creation (very literally, my skin is in the walls of these pots) etc - there are so many layers of meaning one can see in pottery. But then, the same can be found in any handiwork if one listens carefully to what Christ teaches us in our hearts.
Greetings, Father. Bless! I was failing miserably at disciplined prayer. I even despaired of receiving more godchildren because I wanted better for them than my inconsistency. I looked at what I was disciplined at, and I found that I always took a long morning walk after dropping my children off at school. I decided to try to hitch the discipline of prayer to the discipline that was already established to see if it could pull along my prayer into habit. I brought my prayer rope along and now I, glory to God, nearly run out of people to pray for by the time my walk is over. I am finally remembering our hierarchs too, our godparents, those who are sick, and our clergy. God gave me a way to focus and set aside time, and importantly, narrowed down my disperse awareness to step, step, step. Even the Jesus prayer falls into a cadence with my footfalls. What a blessing!!
People are very different, dear one, and this is something to celebrate and to be grateful for. Being different persons, our prayer is also different, because prayer is personal (myself facing Christ, even when I carry others in my prayer). Some find their natural prayer in complete stillness, others need to move to access that rhythm. For others (and I am one of those), things always change and I need to be very watchful and attuned to my own inner self, so I may discern what works at any given moment. Thank God you found your way - may Christ continue to bless you!
This is literally perfect. Trying to pray the Jesus Prayer and having absolutely no control of my thoughts and no focus, wondering what I can do and Christ has sent this. Thank you Father, thank you.
I watch your videos, shall we say, religiously. They challenge me, encourage me, comfort me, and sometimes trouble me. All good things. This particular video spoke to a reality that I share with you in terms of discipling the body in unison with the mind and spirit. I'm a glassblower for thirty-three years now. My favorite time is my ever present prayer time when I work the glass. The heat of the fire is settling and to some extent purifying, in that it demands a particular intentionality to avoid harm, much like our prayer life. I love it that you're a potter. I tell people, when they watch me make glass, that if we believe that we were made in the image of God the Creator, then we must then be, little creators ourselves and encourage them to find that creative spark within thenselves with which to glorify God. Thank you for the gift you have given us in this beautiful, heartfelt video! Blessings!
That is wonderful, dear one. I wish I could have the courage to do what you are doing. I remember watching glassblowers work in Bucharest, when I was a teenager and it just fascinated me. I still have a very clear image of it. The reason I wanted to share this with everyone is that I do spend a lot of time in our pottery studio in the winter and it was increasingly awkward to me to record our videos in ''scenarios' that had nothing to do with my life. I never sit in an armchair, in my clean monastic vestments, with icons or books behind me etc :) It felt like cleaning one's house just before guests arrive, while in reality your house is always a mess! Eventually, if you love the people who are coming, you want them to see your house as it is, you no longer feel the need to pretend that it is something it is not. I spend most of my time in the winter in the studio, our pilgrims find me there, so why wouldn't I include you in this part of our life?
As a fellow potter, I have experienced exactly this in prayer but never thought to intentionally pursue pottery for the sake of prayer and quieting my mind. Thank you for sharing!
This was exactly what I needed right now, Father. Yesterday was full of persecution. We are very new to Orthodox and are 100% convinced of it. It happened so fast. We are attending an Orthodox Church and have become Catechumens. My husband and I feel as if we have found Christ and a home. We received emails from our previous church, presbyterian, asking us to answer some basic questions about who we think God is and what is the gospel of Christ, along with how does one end up in heaven. And I just want to weep. Because I just don’t know anymore. I feel like such a babe in the faith again. I as a stay at home mom, that is my job. And I love it. I’m also homeschooling our 4 year old, who God is teaching me kindness and patience through. But I love to crochet. It calms me down a little. I had a hard past and I disassociate a lot. I’ve never felt safe, until this year. Starting orthodoxy and healing slowly. I’m now able to sit silently for a few minutes, not very long or I start to panic from memories coming in, but just to sit with our icons and use my little prayer book. It’s been a sweet short amount of time. And being in the stillness of our Orthodox Church and trying through the icons there, it’s safe. It’s the safest place I’ve ever been. Thank you for sharing this Father. I don’t have the words. Christ spoke through you to me after a very dark day. Thank you.
Dear precious sister in Christ. God bless you! Thank you for sharing this beautiful personal story and the joy you are experiencing in the church. What an encouragement for us Orthodox to hear this. Stay close to Jesus. Those who do not understand will challenge you. Perhaps your Priest can give you a simple answer to give, out of love, to those who are upset. ☦️❤️🙏
God bless you dear Sister & your journey. You're doing the most important job in the world - being a good mum. Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me a sinner 💖🙏🇦🇺
@@mullmonastery I once heard someone say, “Keep your hands busy or the devil will use them.” Your explanation clarified the usefulness of that statement. Truly grateful that you continue to post your thoughts 🌻❤️
Thank you for showing us this process you have, Father! Every week, on Friday morning, I spend time on shared allotments where we grow vegetables to hand out to people who, for whatever reason, don't quite qualify for the foodbanks, but still need some aid. I try to spend the time harvesting, weeding, planting, sewing, in prayer. The physical movement helps me focus my mind, too. Using my talents and energies, physically, especially for good works, is a great way for me to find the peace for prayer.
God bless you dear Sister. I'm disabled. I crochet blankets for cancer patients & try to incorporate St George's cross in each. Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me a sinner 💖🙏🇦🇺
I had to play this video twice. The first time, all my attention went to your hands and the mug. I couldn't help it. The second time, I just listened to your words with my eyes shut. It went better :) Thank you, Father Seraphim.
@@mullmonastery, Dear Father, it was "distracting" in a very good way. I found it fascinating. I love using my hands to make/mend things. In my (very little) spare time, I paint icons, while listening to psaltic music or acathists, because I feel they keep my mind closer to God. But I cannot really pray while painting. I need to find a simpler and more mechanical craft. And more time...
The potters wheel, the Lord molding our heart, it’s a picture of God with us the potter and the clay. See His reflection in me, combine prayer with work, it’s quieting thank God from the traumaI need to connect my body with my mind, they split, hard to describe.🙏🥰thank you Father.🙏🥰creativity really brings peace, wow what wisdom, so true😊
I struggle greatly with this format, dear one, because pottery is where my silent self takes over. On the other hand, there is something extremely personal about it and, if God blesses that I should find a way to do it, I want to share this with you
Prayer comes in many shapes, dear one. Like food :) And we need all of them, if we want to have a healthy spiritual life. Again, like food: there is purpose even for the dreaded broccoli or Brussel sprouts in a healthy diet. The same way, we need to listen to the needs of our soul (there is a reason why we find certain types a prayer 'easier'), while also not neglecting the spiritual broccoli, the prayer that comes more difficult to us. There is often a great treasure hiding in these spiritual veggies :)
This has helped me immensely, Father. I have always said my best prayers whilst driving or working, and I thought it was a weakness and not proper prayer if I wasn't physically still and unoccupied. But I couldn't fight the fact that my mind is clearer when I work or move. So thankyou for this insight x
Thank you Fr Seraphim, thank you for this practical lesson in stillness during labour. I am scared to take the plough for fear of looking back. Like the servant entrusted with 1 Talent, I too am a wicked & lazy, Protestant by birth, mercy dwells in entitlement, my pride is both assertive, passive, and inverted. The synergy very much weighted on my action leaves me starved of humility always baited to despair. My words are as vomit, not worthy of the Lord's attention, vast in volume and emptiness. You are comfort to my soul Fr, thank you for showing me real hope in Christ. Amen ☦️
Over the years I have often sat at work doing hand finishing in print or just ironing or walking the dogs, cooking which I dont like, or even just weeding in the garden that I have found the most quiet and meaningful prayer time. What I am then doing becomes nothing, ie. ironing is boring to some, but it becomes the one thing that connects me and God in a peaceful setting. I used to call it putting my brains in neutral, but that neutrality is where peace in prayer is found. I try and teach my kids this. Father Seraphim, you were my first encounter with orthodoxy, I listened to your quiet gentle voice and thought 'who is this speaking this way?" You were the doorway I was so long seeking and now I am becoming orthodox since Great Lent in a lovely country church not too far from me that I never would have considered. I have been praying for you and the monastery since. Be blessed indeed.
Father Seraphim, I am having struggles putting my words into proper form. But how you describe our bodies as tools, and confronting Christ on how we use these tools has left a deep laceration into my mind. It’s completely shaken me, and it reminds me of how much of a sinner I have always been. I am trying to say this as a testament to the wisdom gifted to you. God bless you, you are changing lives Father Seraphim.
Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner! This was incredibly timely and encouraging to me today. With my children being little, I have been frustrated with finding time to pray and be alone with God. I read a lot of the saints' lives, and to be honest, I've been frustrated because not a lot of them have been married with kids so I don't feel as if I can relate. However, this teaching is encouraging because as I'm doing dishes, folding clothes, etc I do pray a lot. I recently received the gift of tongues.. I asked of the Lord to go deeper in my prayer walk, and He graciously gave it to me. It has helped quiet my mind and has been the greatest blessing! Mother's can entirely relate to the comment at 10:50 "obstaining from food and sleep". It is sanctifying for sure. Just never thought of it on that way before this video. Thank you for encouraging this mother with who you are in Christ!
Father Bless, please. Glory to God! Thank you for your service. My favorite video of yours so far. God bless you. Please pray for me, my husband Justin, and two children Gregory & Mary.
Father Seraphim, this was quite mesmerizing . Not to take away from your message but the lighting, composition of this clip was beautiful, looks like a high quality documentary. I was in the post production side of the film business for forty six years and this stood out to me immediately. Well done my brother! Thank you.
6:53 This is so important in context of Eucharist. In liturgy we are called to touch Him by our own body, so we can make sure that He is still with us in His fullness, not only"spirituality", or through His teachings. Christ is fully with us. Forever
I love how you explain what I an experiencing. Being 68 yrs ear surgery and ear infections all summer. Not going to church cause I am phts8cally ill. However, i pray the rosary every day for 6 years, i started 54 Day Novena 32 days ago. I pray 3-4 rosaries. My mmind is toooo busy. Now I see. I have been trying to learn how to make rosaries. Expensive hobby. But buying slowly. I need to do more physical to balance. Mind body ans soul( spirtual life). Thank you soooo much
😊 that is kind of you to say, dear Laura. We are not going to sell these online, it is too expensive to ship them around the world. They are available only for the few pilgrims who make it the trip all the way to Mull and Iona. A little 'treat' for putting in all that effort to come so far to pray with us.
Thank you, truly 🙏 God bless this body. Holy Spirit came through and to me it felt like is infiltered in every bit of this video recording situation. The process of making that bowl was as strong energy/message deliverer as the speech itself. Cried through the video. Felt so healing to hear the message of our material bodies being a crucial part of us, with a purpose. God bless you, Father, and everybody who was led watching this video.
Father, I spent most of my teen and adult years living for myself and chasing instant gratification instead of remaining disciplined, working hard, acquiring skills and pursuing the spiritual life. This always left me feeling empty and brought me deeper into the pits of darkness. As I come back to the Lord, I still struggle with addictions (although Christ has given me strength along the way to resist), and overcoming the regrets of my past in what could have been. These thoughts haunt me and make me feel less. I struggle with understanding myself and what gifts Christ has given me that I may use for His glory in this world. As an adult male in his mid-30's, I don't know what is my true purpose.
Father..this resonates deeply within my soul. I have caved time and time again to carnal sins, allowing my body to dictate itself into a deeper pit. After my catechism, it only got worse and more intense. Even with all of the tools to figut it, I continued to let my body fall into these sins. But no more. The time is now. The Lord speaks through you humbly. Thank you for being an example and sharing this wisdom of the Church and the fathers. I have only been doing prayer with my prayer rope. But I think I'll start to incorporate peaceful activities as you have demonstrated. 🙏🏻☦️
This helps me understand the season of life I am in and how to be obedient by accepting my circumstances. This truth is applicable in every life circumstance.
Thank you so much! I often feel like I have to explain and defend my need to keep my hands busy during prayer, I thought it was just my A.D.D.! But it seems almost impossible for me to quiet my mind otherwise, so thank you for explaining this!
Very interesting as always dear Father. I love when you share your life and thoughts with us. How clever to make a pottery piece as you spoke. I send you light and love as always. May God Bless your communities and watch over the flock and the shepherd.
Winter is here, dear one, and (God willing) I'll be spending a lot more time inside, working in the pottery studio or in my cell. It feels more natural to talk to you doing these things than to talk to you from an armchair I rarely use otherwise :)
Thank you so much for this. I listened without watching, but reading some of these comments, will save it to watch properly. But I found it so helpful to think of letting my body help me to pray. Micelle Obama wrote about taking up knitting early in the pandemic and how much the activity helped her when there was so little else she could do meaningfully. Hearing your message makes so much sense. Thank you
Appreciate the reminder Father that the body can be a useful tool for our salvation. God keep you and please pray for my sister Suzannah who just reposed
Glory be to God that you found something useful in this, dear one. We are grateful when Christ allows us to do the smallest part of His work in someone's life.
I find this lately while working. And such a peace and serenity. St Benedict mentioned prayer and work. Thank you for a very beautiful video. Golden words of wisdom. Thank you.
Blessings to you Fr Seraphim, always comforting others, praying for you that you get the same comfort also . I have learned so much from you. I wish I had a spiritual father like you! God bless you ❤
Lookong good in an apron, Father! I love cooking and baking to express my creativity now that I am retired and no longer work as a graphic artist. And it fills my soul with joy to feed someone. Trust me, my aprons get a work out! "Aprons cover a multiple of sins" as my late mama used to say 😊 Bless you, Father for this EXTRA special video. You make many salient points.
I vlog for much of the same reasons. Sometimes, I think I should be drawing after reading the Bible. Or making rosaries. Or painting. Thank you for your guidance, Father Saraphim.
This was interesting. I have no real skills like that, most of my work is more mental, and not quieting at all. But I have found, going for a walk, really helps calm my mind and think, and often more listen for guidance. I also tend to do that when I mow the lawn, water it, or cut up limbs that fall from our trees. I try to get out and do something most any time I can, and hope that the calm quiets the mind and allows me to gain understanding. I thought of it more like meditation, but not in the eastern way, but in a Christian way, but I am not the type that can sit still to quiet the mind, I have no clue how anyone could do that. But walking, or doing more physical work, that does not need a lot of thought, does wonders for me. It is nice to see a man of faith, clearing up in what I am doing in those times. It would be cool to learn something like pottery or some hobby that would help me calm my mind more. When it is rainy, snowy or super hot, I have trouble getting outside for those activities that calm my mind.
This made perfect sense to me. I have recently started knitting for this reason. It focuses my thoughts on what my body is doing which calms both my mind and body. Your connecting this reality to prayer has been a gift from God.
Thank you father! This is actually very useful, something a little more physical for us in the world who have allowed our minds to be stuck in the physical realm.
Good morning, Father. I am blessed to have viewed this video and hearing the wise words of your voice. I was having issues silencing myself for prayer this morning before I went to work, leading me to be a bit frustrated. I found your video after my prayer time, so it was definitely needed. Thank you, and Peace be with you!
Thank you so much Father! I am a potter myself and I have recently been trying to understand what the Saints and Church Fathers mean by silence in prayer. I have so many thoughts all the time haha and I struggle to keep them silent while praying, and I have been praying that God would help me with this. After watching this video I now see how much I do this while throwing quite often but haven’t really been able to give it a name, I just know it’s the best time to talk with God, I will now be exploring this
Parinte drag! Chiar daca nu stiu multa engleza, simt cum cuvintele sfintiei tale imi patrund in inima. Le simt focul, trairea , autenticitatea. Multumesc mult pentru starea de liniste si bucurie pe care mi-ati oferit-o! Doamne ajuta!
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May God bless us all!
God bless u father, can i stay to monestry for couple weeks for prayer and fast?❤
Blessings to you Father, your Monastery and the whole 🌎 world, Amen. Let's all love like Jesus 💓.
My mother always told me that work is prayer. I learned to pray while I work by cleaning my house, the clothes the dishes making the meals, tending to the sick in my life. Thank you for your lesson here. It speaks to me and consoles me ❤
Dearest Father, I am a quilter and needle worker and LOVE the peace that comes with it. Since my beloved husband died 5 years ago, the creativity with which God blesses me has saved me. I thank Him daily and pray it stays with me till He calls me Home. Thank you for your inspiring insights, Father. I’ll continue to lift you all in my prayers.
God bless you dear Father
There’s a nice proverb in the bible thar says “ commit your works to the lord and your thoughts will be established “ it saved me as a youth so much - work for the lord with your body and your mind will follow .. it’s a practice that God himself revealed to Saint Anthony the great 🙏🥰✝️ and as you mentioned works to this day.
Thank you for the reminder that prayers come in so many forms and moments 🙏
Dear one, nothing we say is new. Thank God for that! This is the immense blessing of growing in the embrace of Christ's Church: everything we need for our salvation is already revealed, all we need to do is allow the Church to teach and guide us through this life towards the Life of the Kingdom. Nothing is new, everything is founded on the wisdom of the tradition of the Church
Proverbs 16:3. Thank you.
You have such a beautiful soul, Father Seraphim, and your devotion is an inspiration.
God only knows, dear one. I know my sins, I know my failures, but I do not despair, because Christ is our salvation. I keep trying (despite so many failed attempts) to do things better and when I fail, I ask forgiveness and I start all over again. If Christ has not given up on me (He still keeps me alive), how could I dare give up on myself?
Father seraphim, many have car insurance and many buy life insurance. we however have CHRIST insurance 😊☦️♥️
Unfortunately, dear one, we still have to give Caesar what is Caesar's. Legally, we (the Monasteries) are obliged to have these earthly insurance policies, as well, but our hearts place their trust in Christ alone.
I just told my 13v year old this last night praise God!!!!yes amen 🙏
You have to do both
Wow! I learned so much from watching and listening to you, Father, about prayer, meditation and the body. How inspiring! Thank you! I must work in my backyard among the plants my wife and I are growing. They must not be neglected. Keep me in your prayers. I am just recovering from a bout of COVID.
As a man that struggles with an overactive imagination and unwanted thoughts in prayer this sermon is such a blessing
This is precisely why I am pursuing iconography. Our Heavenly Father blessed me with the gift and ability to draw and gave me a keen eye that I was not using that I should now put to good use and a tool for prayer and a new career path ( since I wish to become a monk like yourself but I have a younger disabled brother whom I take care of and I doubt any monastery would allow someone with non-verbal autism to live a cenobitic life amongst other monks ). I never thought of using the body to still the mind more specifically iconography being a way to do that
Much peace, love and respect to you Farther Seraphim
Thank you and may it be blessed
🌴🌴🌴
God bless you & your Brother. 💖🙏🇦🇺
This was incredibly beautiful and wise. Thank you, Father. I will try to put your advice into practice. Lord have mercy!
I am so grateful that you found it useful, dear one. I treasure my time at the throwing wheel and I would like to share this treasure with you
Agreed!
Lord Jesus Christ son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner
Hi Father Seraphim, my priest visited your monastery a week ago I want to thank you for your content you are a true peaceful soul may one day I learn this patience. Peace be with you and God bless.
I must move when I pray. I can pray literally for hours and hours if I'm cleaning my house or walking my dog or organizing my closet. I don't know why, but it helps me focus.
I feel like St. Therese when I try to really pray. It’s like the exhaustion in my body finally catches up and all I want to do is sleep. I can’t stop yawning every time I pray. Especially when I pray the rosary. I get through it and then I want to nap.
So glad to have found this channel. I love discovering these voices that are full of wisdom.
You may think you're not saying a lot, but it really spoke to me! I dont know who you are but im suscribing. I have a feeling im going to want to hear more. Thank you 😊
Same 😊
Thank you Father, you have touched me with your words. Me and my family are orthodox catechumens, please pray for us🙏🏻
So happy for you and your family! 🙏🏼♥️☦️
It was bliss just watching you throw the pot: The centering of the clay, the coaxing it upward and outward, the re-centering, the reforming, and your patience with the process. We are the clay, God is the Potter. Thank you, Fr. Seraphim.
I love my spinning wheel so much for this reason. It’s a rhythm and I would do this with my wheel and prayer. There is something about spinning, turning - and contemplating the eternal aspect of circular movement.
Oh, dear one, that is such a rich conversation! Working with clay, making something out of dust, imprinting something of yourself in your creation (very literally, my skin is in the walls of these pots) etc - there are so many layers of meaning one can see in pottery. But then, the same can be found in any handiwork if one listens carefully to what Christ teaches us in our hearts.
Me too. I spin and do bobbin lace which were acceptable activities for anchoresses
@@suem6004❤❤❤
Another spinner here❤
Greetings, Father. Bless! I was failing miserably at disciplined prayer. I even despaired of receiving more godchildren because I wanted better for them than my inconsistency. I looked at what I was disciplined at, and I found that I always took a long morning walk after dropping my children off at school. I decided to try to hitch the discipline of prayer to the discipline that was already established to see if it could pull along my prayer into habit. I brought my prayer rope along and now I, glory to God, nearly run out of people to pray for by the time my walk is over. I am finally remembering our hierarchs too, our godparents, those who are sick, and our clergy. God gave me a way to focus and set aside time, and importantly, narrowed down my disperse awareness to step, step, step. Even the Jesus prayer falls into a cadence with my footfalls. What a blessing!!
People are very different, dear one, and this is something to celebrate and to be grateful for. Being different persons, our prayer is also different, because prayer is personal (myself facing Christ, even when I carry others in my prayer). Some find their natural prayer in complete stillness, others need to move to access that rhythm. For others (and I am one of those), things always change and I need to be very watchful and attuned to my own inner self, so I may discern what works at any given moment. Thank God you found your way - may Christ continue to bless you!
This is literally perfect. Trying to pray the Jesus Prayer and having absolutely no control of my thoughts and no focus, wondering what I can do and Christ has sent this. Thank you Father, thank you.
I watch your videos, shall we say, religiously. They challenge me, encourage me, comfort me, and sometimes trouble me. All good things. This particular video spoke to a reality that I share with you in terms of discipling the body in unison with the mind and spirit.
I'm a glassblower for thirty-three years now. My favorite time is my ever present prayer time when I work the glass. The heat of the fire is settling and to some extent purifying, in that it demands a particular intentionality to avoid harm, much like our prayer life.
I love it that you're a potter. I tell people, when they watch me make glass, that if we believe that we were made in the image of God the Creator, then we must then be, little creators ourselves and encourage them to find that creative spark within thenselves with which to glorify God.
Thank you for the gift you have given us in this beautiful, heartfelt video! Blessings!
That is wonderful, dear one. I wish I could have the courage to do what you are doing. I remember watching glassblowers work in Bucharest, when I was a teenager and it just fascinated me. I still have a very clear image of it.
The reason I wanted to share this with everyone is that I do spend a lot of time in our pottery studio in the winter and it was increasingly awkward to me to record our videos in ''scenarios' that had nothing to do with my life. I never sit in an armchair, in my clean monastic vestments, with icons or books behind me etc :) It felt like cleaning one's house just before guests arrive, while in reality your house is always a mess! Eventually, if you love the people who are coming, you want them to see your house as it is, you no longer feel the need to pretend that it is something it is not. I spend most of my time in the winter in the studio, our pilgrims find me there, so why wouldn't I include you in this part of our life?
Lessons, I hear you, thx. Praise Jesus Christ
As a fellow potter, I have experienced exactly this in prayer but never thought to intentionally pursue pottery for the sake of prayer and quieting my mind. Thank you for sharing!
This was exactly what I needed right now, Father. Yesterday was full of persecution. We are very new to Orthodox and are 100% convinced of it. It happened so fast. We are attending an Orthodox Church and have become Catechumens.
My husband and I feel as if we have found Christ and a home.
We received emails from our previous church, presbyterian, asking us to answer some basic questions about who we think God is and what is the gospel of Christ, along with how does one end up in heaven. And I just want to weep. Because I just don’t know anymore. I feel like such a babe in the faith again.
I as a stay at home mom, that is my job. And I love it. I’m also homeschooling our 4 year old, who God is teaching me kindness and patience through.
But I love to crochet. It calms me down a little. I had a hard past and I disassociate a lot. I’ve never felt safe, until this year. Starting orthodoxy and healing slowly. I’m now able to sit silently for a few minutes, not very long or I start to panic from memories coming in, but just to sit with our icons and use my little prayer book. It’s been a sweet short amount of time. And being in the stillness of our Orthodox Church and trying through the icons there, it’s safe. It’s the safest place I’ve ever been.
Thank you for sharing this Father. I don’t have the words. Christ spoke through you to me after a very dark day. Thank you.
Dear precious sister in Christ. God bless you! Thank you for sharing this beautiful personal story and the joy you are experiencing in the church. What an encouragement for us Orthodox to hear this. Stay close to Jesus. Those who do not understand will challenge you. Perhaps your Priest can give you a simple answer to give, out of love, to those who are upset. ☦️❤️🙏
God bless you dear Sister & your journey. You're doing the most important job in the world - being a good mum. Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me a sinner 💖🙏🇦🇺
This was truly helpful 🌻
Thank you for sharing this wisdom ❤️
Glory be to God for every word or thought that helps us, dear one. I am grateful we could offer you that today
@@mullmonastery
I once heard someone say,
“Keep your hands busy or the devil will use them.”
Your explanation clarified the usefulness of that statement. Truly grateful that you continue to post your thoughts 🌻❤️
Thank you for showing us this process you have, Father! Every week, on Friday morning, I spend time on shared allotments where we grow vegetables to hand out to people who, for whatever reason, don't quite qualify for the foodbanks, but still need some aid. I try to spend the time harvesting, weeding, planting, sewing, in prayer. The physical movement helps me focus my mind, too. Using my talents and energies, physically, especially for good works, is a great way for me to find the peace for prayer.
Yes, my mind is so much quieter when my hands are busy. Especially when I sew or crochet 🧶🙏🙏🙏
God bless you dear Sister. I'm disabled. I crochet blankets for cancer patients & try to incorporate St George's cross in each. Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me a sinner 💖🙏🇦🇺
I had to play this video twice. The first time, all my attention went to your hands and the mug. I couldn't help it. The second time, I just listened to your words with my eyes shut. It went better :) Thank you, Father Seraphim.
I'm sorry, dear one :) maybe listening with your eyes closed is a good idea. I can understand how the 'making' itself can be distracting.
@@mullmonastery, Dear Father, it was "distracting" in a very good way. I found it fascinating. I love using my hands to make/mend things. In my (very little) spare time, I paint icons, while listening to psaltic music or acathists, because I feel they keep my mind closer to God. But I cannot really pray while painting. I need to find a simpler and more mechanical craft. And more time...
Within the silence we can definitely hear and be guided from Jesus in the way we need to go in life. Thank you Holy Ghost for loving us all, Amen ✝️.
Thank you for sharing this adorable part of your life on the potters wheel
The potters wheel, the Lord molding our heart, it’s a picture of God with us the potter and the clay.
See His reflection in me, combine prayer with work, it’s quieting thank God from the traumaI need to connect my body with my mind, they split, hard to describe.🙏🥰thank you Father.🙏🥰creativity really brings peace, wow what wisdom, so true😊
You put forth very careful and illuminating words. I really like the styling of this video.
I struggle greatly with this format, dear one, because pottery is where my silent self takes over. On the other hand, there is something extremely personal about it and, if God blesses that I should find a way to do it, I want to share this with you
Thank you.
Glory be to God for all good things, dear one
God bless you, Father.
I like praying when I commute to work and when I go for a walk for exercise. It’s so much easier to do when I am doing something.
Prayer comes in many shapes, dear one. Like food :) And we need all of them, if we want to have a healthy spiritual life. Again, like food: there is purpose even for the dreaded broccoli or Brussel sprouts in a healthy diet. The same way, we need to listen to the needs of our soul (there is a reason why we find certain types a prayer 'easier'), while also not neglecting the spiritual broccoli, the prayer that comes more difficult to us. There is often a great treasure hiding in these spiritual veggies :)
THIS IS GREAT! WATCHING you work at the WHEEL.
Glory be to God, dear one. I always pray Christ uses whatever we have to offer to help someone, somewhere, even in a very small measure
Thank you for your prayers, as we all pray for you.
This has helped me immensely, Father.
I have always said my best prayers whilst driving or working, and I thought it was a weakness and not proper prayer if I wasn't physically still and unoccupied. But I couldn't fight the fact that my mind is clearer when I work or move. So thankyou for this insight x
Thank you Fr Seraphim, thank you for this practical lesson in stillness during labour. I am scared to take the plough for fear of looking back. Like the servant entrusted with 1 Talent, I too am a wicked & lazy, Protestant by birth, mercy dwells in entitlement, my pride is both assertive, passive, and inverted. The synergy very much weighted on my action leaves me starved of humility always baited to despair. My words are as vomit, not worthy of the Lord's attention, vast in volume and emptiness. You are comfort to my soul Fr, thank you for showing me real hope in Christ. Amen ☦️
Over the years I have often sat at work doing hand finishing in print or just ironing or walking the dogs, cooking which I dont like, or even just weeding in the garden that I have found the most quiet and meaningful prayer time. What I am then doing becomes nothing, ie. ironing is boring to some, but it becomes the one thing that connects me and God in a peaceful setting. I used to call it putting my brains in neutral, but that neutrality is where peace in prayer is found. I try and teach my kids this.
Father Seraphim, you were my first encounter with orthodoxy, I listened to your quiet gentle voice and thought 'who is this speaking this way?" You were the doorway I was so long seeking and now I am becoming orthodox since Great Lent in a lovely country church not too far from me that I never would have considered. I have been praying for you and the monastery since. Be blessed indeed.
The sigh at the end..."i don't know what I am telling you...just TRUST"!😊❤ beautiful. God bless YOU! Amen
Father Seraphim, I am having struggles putting my words into proper form.
But how you describe our bodies as tools, and confronting Christ on how we use these tools has left a deep laceration into my mind. It’s completely shaken me, and it reminds me of how much of a sinner I have always been.
I am trying to say this as a testament to the wisdom gifted to you.
God bless you, you are changing lives Father Seraphim.
Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner! This was incredibly timely and encouraging to me today. With my children being little, I have been frustrated with finding time to pray and be alone with God. I read a lot of the saints' lives, and to be honest, I've been frustrated because not a lot of them have been married with kids so I don't feel as if I can relate. However, this teaching is encouraging because as I'm doing dishes, folding clothes, etc I do pray a lot. I recently received the gift of tongues.. I asked of the Lord to go deeper in my prayer walk, and He graciously gave it to me. It has helped quiet my mind and has been the greatest blessing! Mother's can entirely relate to the comment at 10:50 "obstaining from food and sleep". It is sanctifying for sure. Just never thought of it on that way before this video. Thank you for encouraging this mother with who you are in Christ!
Wonderful Teaching!😊❤
Hands-on God!
Father Bless, please. Glory to God! Thank you for your service. My favorite video of yours so far. God bless you.
Please pray for me, my husband Justin, and two children Gregory & Mary.
May you all be blessed and united in your love, dear one. Please keep us in your prayers too.
Father Seraphim, this was quite mesmerizing . Not to take away from your message but the lighting, composition of this clip was beautiful, looks like a high quality documentary. I was in the post production side of the film business for forty six years and this stood out to me immediately. Well done my brother! Thank you.
6:53
This is so important in context of Eucharist. In liturgy we are called to touch Him by our own body, so we can make sure that He is still with us in His fullness, not only"spirituality", or through His teachings. Christ is fully with us. Forever
Happy birthday,Father Seraphim!💐
Much love from Belgrade! 🤍
Thank you for this wonderful video, Father Seraphim
Doamne ajută!
Glory be to God, dear Kevin. Doamne ajuta!
I love how you explain what I an experiencing. Being 68 yrs ear surgery and ear infections all summer. Not going to church cause I am phts8cally ill. However, i pray the rosary every day for 6 years, i started 54 Day Novena 32 days ago. I pray 3-4 rosaries. My mmind is toooo busy. Now I see. I have been trying to learn how to make rosaries. Expensive hobby. But buying slowly. I need to do more physical to balance. Mind body ans soul( spirtual life). Thank you soooo much
Great video! I want a mug made by you Father!
😊 that is kind of you to say, dear Laura. We are not going to sell these online, it is too expensive to ship them around the world. They are available only for the few pilgrims who make it the trip all the way to Mull and Iona. A little 'treat' for putting in all that effort to come so far to pray with us.
Thank you, truly 🙏 God bless this body. Holy Spirit came through and to me it felt like is infiltered in every bit of this video recording situation. The process of making that bowl was as strong energy/message deliverer as the speech itself. Cried through the video. Felt so healing to hear the message of our material bodies being a crucial part of us, with a purpose. God bless you, Father, and everybody who was led watching this video.
Thank you for sharing these beautiful thoughts Father. As well as responding so beautifully to other listeners 🙏 words filled with life.
Father, I spent most of my teen and adult years living for myself and chasing instant gratification instead of remaining disciplined, working hard, acquiring skills and pursuing the spiritual life. This always left me feeling empty and brought me deeper into the pits of darkness. As I come back to the Lord, I still struggle with addictions (although Christ has given me strength along the way to resist), and overcoming the regrets of my past in what could have been. These thoughts haunt me and make me feel less. I struggle with understanding myself and what gifts Christ has given me that I may use for His glory in this world. As an adult male in his mid-30's, I don't know what is my true purpose.
💖🙏🇦🇺
This has been incredibly helpful, thank you 🙏
God bless you father Seraphim
Thank you very much, kind sir 🙏
Father..this resonates deeply within my soul. I have caved time and time again to carnal sins, allowing my body to dictate itself into a deeper pit. After my catechism, it only got worse and more intense. Even with all of the tools to figut it, I continued to let my body fall into these sins. But no more. The time is now. The Lord speaks through you humbly. Thank you for being an example and sharing this wisdom of the Church and the fathers. I have only been doing prayer with my prayer rope. But I think I'll start to incorporate peaceful activities as you have demonstrated. 🙏🏻☦️
This helps me understand the season of life I am in and how to be obedient by accepting my circumstances. This truth is applicable in every life circumstance.
In your humility, you are a font of wisdom. Bless you, Father.
we worship an Incarnate God. so too, our prayer to Him should be incarnate. thank you, Father Seraphim
Thank you so much! I often feel like I have to explain and defend my need to keep my hands busy during prayer, I thought it was just my A.D.D.! But it seems almost impossible for me to quiet my mind otherwise, so thank you for explaining this!
Amen 🙏
Very interesting as always dear Father. I love when you share your life and thoughts with us. How clever to make a pottery piece as you spoke. I send you light and love as always. May God Bless your communities and watch over the flock and the shepherd.
Winter is here, dear one, and (God willing) I'll be spending a lot more time inside, working in the pottery studio or in my cell. It feels more natural to talk to you doing these things than to talk to you from an armchair I rarely use otherwise :)
@@mullmonasteryMay our Lord and Savior BLESS you on your upcoming birthday.
Thank you so much for this. I listened without watching, but reading some of these comments, will save it to watch properly. But I found it so helpful to think of letting my body help me to pray. Micelle Obama wrote about taking up knitting early in the pandemic and how much the activity helped her when there was so little else she could do meaningfully. Hearing your message makes so much sense. Thank you
*Michelle
BeautyFULL 🙏🏽🙏🏽
Appreciate the reminder Father that the body can be a useful tool for our salvation. God keep you and please pray for my sister Suzannah who just reposed
This message is very important
Glory be to God that you found something useful in this, dear one. We are grateful when Christ allows us to do the smallest part of His work in someone's life.
Wonderful thoughts, thank you! Blessed be the Lord! 🙏
My prayer is so peaceful and fruitful when I paint with Christ. Thank you for sharing your prayer and creative process with us. 🙏🙏🙏
Ok this is brilliant. God bless you brother
Thank you for this, Father.
God bless you!
May we all be blessed, dear one!
I find this lately while working. And such a peace and serenity. St Benedict mentioned prayer and work. Thank you for a very beautiful video. Golden words of wisdom. Thank you.
Doamne-ajută! Mulțumesc pentru re-amintire. E așa de ușoară uitarea. Spirale duhovnicești. Doamne-ajută!
🙏🏻thank you Fr, this was so helpful, May God bless you🙏🏻
Blessings to you Fr Seraphim, always comforting others, praying for you that you get the same comfort also . I have learned so much from you. I wish I had a spiritual father like you! God bless you ❤
Lookong good in an apron, Father! I love cooking and baking to express my creativity now that I am retired and no longer work as a graphic artist. And it fills my soul with joy to feed someone. Trust me, my aprons get a work out! "Aprons cover a multiple of sins" as my late mama used to say 😊
Bless you, Father for this EXTRA special video. You make many salient points.
My Lord; an aswer that I have been seeking for years, has come through this Servant of Yours.
I am truly grateful Father.
I vlog for much of the same reasons. Sometimes, I think I should be drawing after reading the Bible. Or making rosaries. Or painting. Thank you for your guidance, Father Saraphim.
YOU are wonderful,Dear Fr.!Thank You very much!Lots of Love!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Please keep us in your prayers, dear one. We all always need prayer.
@@mullmonastery 🥰🥹🫶🙏
Thank you for sharing
Thank you so much Father watching you spin the cup helped quiet my body & spirit tonight as have been struggling mentally recently 🙏
Father seraphim,please pray for my daughter Alissa and I that the Spirit of God dwells in us.
Hello I just found your channel 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼I’m an apprentice potter I love it 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Please pray for carrie and luke. I had a pottery in the 1980s
Thank you ❤
❤ Thank you for another post! ❤
Glory be to God for keeping us alive and healthy, so we may continue this work, dear one.
This was interesting. I have no real skills like that, most of my work is more mental, and not quieting at all. But I have found, going for a walk, really helps calm my mind and think, and often more listen for guidance. I also tend to do that when I mow the lawn, water it, or cut up limbs that fall from our trees. I try to get out and do something most any time I can, and hope that the calm quiets the mind and allows me to gain understanding.
I thought of it more like meditation, but not in the eastern way, but in a Christian way, but I am not the type that can sit still to quiet the mind, I have no clue how anyone could do that. But walking, or doing more physical work, that does not need a lot of thought, does wonders for me. It is nice to see a man of faith, clearing up in what I am doing in those times. It would be cool to learn something like pottery or some hobby that would help me calm my mind more. When it is rainy, snowy or super hot, I have trouble getting outside for those activities that calm my mind.
This made perfect sense to me. I have recently started knitting for this reason. It focuses my thoughts on what my body is doing which calms both my mind and body. Your connecting this reality to prayer has been a gift from God.
I'm an overthinker so I know this problem all too well haha thank you! ❤
Thank you father! This is actually very useful, something a little more physical for us in the world who have allowed our minds to be stuck in the physical realm.
Amen
This makes sense to me. My body needs exercise and resting from digestion to pray with focus. Help me Lord.
Wonderful. God bless you Father
May we all be blessed, dear one. Please keep us in your prayers
Thank you in Jesus's name for your kindness and down to Earth expression of faith in our Lord. I crochet Granny blankets.
Good morning, Father. I am blessed to have viewed this video and hearing the wise words of your voice. I was having issues silencing myself for prayer this morning before I went to work, leading me to be a bit frustrated. I found your video after my prayer time, so it was definitely needed. Thank you, and Peace be with you!
Love from Ethiopia. Thank you, father.
God bless you too, brother
Thank you so much Father! I am a potter myself and I have recently been trying to understand what the Saints and Church Fathers mean by silence in prayer. I have so many thoughts all the time haha and I struggle to keep them silent while praying, and I have been praying that God would help me with this. After watching this video I now see how much I do this while throwing quite often but haven’t really been able to give it a name, I just know it’s the best time to talk with God, I will now be exploring this
Parinte drag! Chiar daca nu stiu multa engleza, simt cum cuvintele sfintiei tale imi patrund in inima. Le simt focul, trairea , autenticitatea. Multumesc mult pentru starea de liniste si bucurie pe care mi-ati oferit-o! Doamne ajuta!