Jesus became a model for us by bearing His Cross. He showed thus that whoever
wants to be saved must follow Him, endure the cross which the Lord will lay upon
him according to his strength, ascend to Golgotha, be crucified together with Jesus,
and then be glorified together with the Lord in the kingdom of God.
When the soul sees that the glory and repose in the bliss of heaven are given in
proportion to the cross it carried, it will regret that it did not carry a heavier cross in
order to receive greater glory and repose. It will say, “The labor then lasted only a
short time, whereas now I am deprived of eternal blessings!” Even the Patriarch
Abraham, when he sees blessings being distributed, will regret not having struggled
more!
One young girl was continuously sick with a nasty illness, which finally killed her.
One night she appeared to her sister, who asked her, “How are you doing, my sister,
in the place where you are?” And she answered, “What can I say, my sister? Christ
gave me much glory and repose because of my illness. Oh, if only I could return to
the earth to suffer a greater illness, so that I would receive more glory here!”
subm. no. 16
paragraphs: 1*, 4, 7 from pages 35, 43, 47
'*' means paragraph was chopped into pieces, perhaps not all of them included.
From the book
Councels from the Holy mountain
Selected from the letters and homilies of Elder Efraim of Arizona
Selection of passages from the book by Silviu Podariu
