“When a man's intellect is constantly with God, his desire grows beyond all measure into an intense longing for God and his incensiveness is completely transformed into divine love. For by continual participation in the divine radiance his intellect becomes totally filled with light; and when it has reintegrated its passible aspect, it redirects this aspect towards God, filling it with an incomprehensible and intense longing for Him and with unceasing love, thus drawing it entirely away from worldly things to the divine.” MenLightChristianDesireGrowsDivineAspectFilledLongingIntellectDrawingIntenseOrthodoxTransformedParticipationWorldlyFillingDivine LoveRadianceWorldly ThingsLonging For God Author:Maximus the Confessor
“Without the power of intelligence there is no capacity for spiritual knowledge; and without spiritual knowledge we cannot have the faith from which springs that hope whereby we grasp things of the future as though they were present. Without the power of desire there is no longing, and so no love, which is the issue of longing; for the property of desire is to love something. And without the incensive power, intensifying the desire for union with what is loved, there can be no peace, for peace is truly the complete and undisturbed possession of what is desired.” ChristianSpiritualDesireIssuesSpringCapacityLongingPropertyUnionsPossessionOrthodoxNo LoveWhat Is LoveSpiritual Knowledge Author:Maximus the Confessor
“The Holy Spirit, out of compassion for our weakness, comes to us even when we are impure. And if He finds our intellect truly praying to Him, He enters it and puts to flight the whole array of thoughts and ideas circling within it, and He arouses it to a longing for spiritual prayer.” IfsIdeasWholeChristianSpiritualSpiritPrayerCompassionPrayingHolyWeaknessLongingIntellectFlightHoly SpiritOrthodoxOrthodox ChristianThoughts And Ideas Author:Evagrius Ponticus
“The Christian is not always praying; but within his bosom is a heaven-kindled love--fires of desire, fervent longings--which make him always ready to pray, and often engage him in prayer.” ChristianDesireHeavenPrayerFireReadyPrayingLongingBosomsFerventAlways Praying Author:Thomas Guthrie
“The logic of cross and resurrection, of the new creation which gives shape to all truly Christian living, points in a different direction. And one of the central names for that direction is joy: the joy of relationships healed as well as enhanced, the joy of belonging to the new creation, of finding not what we already had but what god was longing to give us.” GivingWellsDifferentChristianJoyNamesCreationShapesFindingsCrossesLogicLongingBelongingResurrectionChristian LivingHealedDifferent Directions Author:N. T. Wright