“Don’t pressure your children,” says Elder Porphyrios. “Whatever you want to say to them, say it with your prayers. Children don’t listen with their ears. They’ll only listen to what we want to tell them when divine grace appears and enlightens them. When you want to say something to your child, say it to the Theotokos instead and she will do all the work. Your prayer will become a spiritual hug, which will embrace your children and captivates them….”
There is nothing higher than what is called repentance and confession. This sacrament is the offering of God’s love to mankind. In this perfect way a person is freed of evil. We go and confess and we sense our reconciliation with God; joy enters us and guilt departs. In the Orthodox Church there is no impasse. There is no impasse because of the existence of the confessor who has the gift of grace to forgive. To be a confessor is a great thing.
Don’t struggle directly with temptations, don’t pray for it to go away, don’t say “take it from me, O God!” For then you are acknowledging the strength of the temptation and it takes hold of you. Because, although you are saying “take it from me, O God,” basically you are bringing it to mind and fomenting it even more. Your desire to be free of the passion, will, of course, be there, but it will exist in a hidden and discreet way, without appearing outwardly….
