Practical instruction (Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi)

There’s no other factor that’s so effective as various sorrows, self-inflicted or otherwise, in bringing the mind to a humble outlook. The impossibility of its redemption teaches it in practical terms just how insignificant and inconsequential it is. Then the Lord’s words ‘You can do nothing without me’ (Jn. 15, 5) become perfectly clear and, with the assistance of Grace, the mind ascends to the real world of the kingdom above.