HOW TO PRAY WHEN THERE IS NO LIFE IN YOU. HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR WAY BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO CHRIST?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 มิ.ย. 2024
- When your heart and your mind are suspended, when there is no life in you, how do you find your way back to Christ, back to Life? How do you pray when you feel dead inside?
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The video 'HOW TO PRAY WHEN THERE IS NO LIFE IN YOU. HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR WAY BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO CHRIST?' was recorded by Fr Seraphim Aldea, at Mull Monastery (The Orthodox Monastery of All Celtic Saints), on the Isle of Mull.
Sometimes I can only stand in front of my icon of Christ...I can't even pray..I'm just there. Help is all I can say...all I can ask.
God bless you Brother
Bless you brother.
That's exactly how I feel.
I was an atheist for fifteen years - I sometimes am so used to apathy I don't even know when it's happening. I still can't mourn properly for my dead in my family. For years after my conversion, I could barely bring myself to irregularly pray or become upset over my sin. But as he said, the one thing I tried as hard as I could to do when apathy overtook me is to fast. Even when I felt God totally absent within me, I tried to fast. I am still Orthodox because of God's goodness in the parts of fasting where success found me in the darkest days after my conversion from atheism/antitheism.
I have very similar experience. Even when I felt agnostic, I wanted to fast. Not doing so didn't feel right.
I have been feeling very anxious, lonely, and down lately. I am truly praying for The Lord to guide me and give me strength during these bizarre times we’re living through. Please pray for me.
Father God bless you! I am Roman Catholic but you have no idea how much of a blessings these videos are. God bless you and your communtiy now and always 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🕊️
I had no idea how badly I needed to hear this. Depression is no joke, thank you so much, father!
Yes depression is deadly, and not to be underestimated
@@ethnocentricfun991 one should be careful. Despondency here is a reference to spiritual despondency and loss of hope of salvation or of getting nearer to God. Depression is a mental illness with feelings of hopelessness and helplessness but here it is a psychological despondency towards the things of this world and life on earth. They are different. Certainly spiritual prayers and life help in preventing as well as manage and decrease the gravity of depression but medical or psychological treatment should be used if needed. Spiritual despondency is a sin that needs to be prevented and be addressed in confession and with help from a spiritual father.
Thank you very much Father, I feel embarrassed for not having watched this very helpful and inspirational video. Your explanations and instructions touch my soul and my bones. I feel more secure in addressing these moments today and in the future and I feel I would like to share what Zi learned with others should the opportunity arise. Although I know a few people who overtime slip away from the church and spiritual life and Zi do not know how to approach them. I pray that they ask
Thank you again Father. So very well said. As someone who lives with chronic illnesses that can affect my mind at times, it is a blessing to be reminded that I am not my mind, and that my inherent worth and value isn’t dependent on how well it is working from one day to the next. My worth and value is in who I am in Christ and the divine image in me. Christ’s sufficiency is my sufficiency.
I’m pretty sure that I’ve already left the Protestant tradition and am walking towards the Orthodox Church. I am afraid of my wife’s and family’s reaction, so I’m praying about how to approach them all. Thanks for the videos.. these have blessed me and impacted me in a profound way.
Thank you Father! Thank you for your blessing. When i crossed periods like this, the only thing that i could do was to hold tight the Cross in my hand and sleep with it at night
I have felt this darkness in my soul for a while,sometimes a little light ,then I relapse again into darkness,sometimes its the weight of my sin,sometimes its just nothing, or a kind of anger... Glad to hear these words,I feel like this is what Christ wants me to know today..God bless you Fr.
A very critical topic for me Father . Thank you for that and thank God .
Also pray for me because this afternoon will be my first confession , and tommorow I will be baptized and chrismated in to the Orthodox Church .
I am ready , but at the same time humbled down to my core with all that it means for me personally.
May Christ give you the strength to hold on to the Grace you will receive, my dear Joshua. May you be able, through His action in you, to reach the full potential of His Grace, which is you-as-a-holy-person. Keep us all in your prayers - the world needs your prayer, unworthy as it may be (like the prayer of us all).
Congratulations on that my Guardian angels and Mary a new creation in your heart be
You are blessed !
May God bless you forever..welcome home.
God bless you Joshua
Will put you in my prayer book☦️
Pray for me dear Father to come back to Christ!
Yes I feel dead inside.I've been diagnosed with cancer and my faith is crushed at the moment.I took care of my dad for years.He also suffered from same disease.So I feel overwhelmed and I feel betrayed by God.I need help from you father in order to restore my faith.Thank you.
I'm so sorry UR in my PRAYERS daily from now on! Fight never give up! 🙌🙌🙌
@@chachatruth3534 Thank you so much for your kind words and your support.Yes my dear friend I have no other option but to fight and NOT give up!
Oh dear father I can't pray and I feel I drift away from God. As you say...I m frozen. Thank you for the great advice.It is a consolation.I won't stop trying I promise you!
Not orthodox, am catholic but our faiths have so much in common
I am Catholic too! Getting a lot out of this beautiful channel!
True Indeed. Love and respect from Ethiopian Orthodox Chrsitian. :)
I am Episcopalian and also get a lot out of these videos
I’m Coptic , we are all one in Jesus, we are all one body , our love is what unites us
Bless you brother in Christ. Bless you for these past two videos. I have been the most depressed I have ever been in my life these past couple months. Trying to find my place in this world amongst all the evil and chaos as a 26 year old man has proven difficult.
As a conservative and Traditional Catholic trying to walk the path of Sainthood, I find myself ostracized from society and so many of my peers. I'm laid off from work, money is tight, I have no idea what to do for a career, or what God's will is for me. My family is falling apart, some of us are walking the faith, others are chasing drugs and bound by sin. Often I don't feel like praying at all. But your videos are a beacon of light in darkness. I must be obedient, I must offer it all to His glory. Please say a prayer for my family, and thank you. God bless you.
May you be blessed, dear one, and may you grow into the source of light your family and friends need. Try to follow your calling. Place Christ above everything and everyone. You are not helping anyone if you drown with them; rather, you need to grow strong in your faith, you need to reach that unshakable foundation of holiness which we all can acquire in Christ and then, only then reach out to pull them from their fall. Focus on Christ and He will take care of all those around you.
@AmidstMyDreams ••• Please know you're not alone. I will pray for you my brother in Christ. You are a beloved child of the most High 🙏🏼
Offering prayers for you. Christ knows your struggles.
Pray for me and I will pray for you 🙏 heaven help us all 🙏
I will add my signature to all you have said. The only difference is I’m 56.
God bless you, and let us pray for each other. 🌹
Excellent video. Perfect timing. I've felt dead for the past month. I've stopped praying, talking to God, stopped reading the Bible. I've attended church & Bible study via Zoom, but am only going through the motions. Your talk today has given me hope. Thank you! May God bless you & the monastery.
You seem to know just what people need to hear.....
May you be blessed beyond measure 🙏🙏
That is so kind, dear one - thank you for your blessing. I always go into the chapel with no idea about what I should talk about. I pray a little, I wait a little, then I think of someone I love from confession and I talk to him / her. I cannot do it otherwise - it feels impersonal and sterile. May we all be blessed.
I needed every word of this. I am missing my church and it's people, I am tempted to allow myself to be lifeless and in the dark. I need Christ more than ever and you have bridged that gap. Shalom.
Thank you, Father. These are the same directions I have been given by my father confessor many times, and they are true words. I used to suffer from severe depression, some of it from chemical imbalance, some from trauma, much from demonic influence. Now, by the grace of God and years of spiritual and mental work, I am much, much better. But I notice if I even for one day forego my small prayer rule that feels so routine and dry so many times, I suffer greatly. God truly honors and meets us when we "show up" and give him at least our desire to love him.
I am so happy to hear this. This year has been extra hard. I cry inside because I have no words. Now I know I can use my body life a scaffold to offer it in prayer. I am nothing but the power of Christ the Resurrection will raise me up.
Your talks are good, but can you keep mic bit more closer so that It will be little more louder...
This is whole talk is life giving.
“Because that’s all they had to offer...”
Dear Fr. You are so profound in your explanation of spiritual matters but yet so simple to help us understand God. I love your sincerity. I have gone through one of these dark times and I experienced the resurrection of my soul & spirit by truly understanding the power of the presence of God.
I never thought how important my body was in this process until you brought this to light. As a RC Christian, I find listening to you more pure. Like refined gold. Life should be intimate with God, something I feel Roman Catholicism has slowly dissipated away from and replaced with confusion.
Im crystal clear when I listen to you. God Bless😊
Thank you for sharing this message. How often I forget that God gives me the strength to shut that door of darkness. This is exactly why I believe I have been so miserable lately and feeling empty. God is bringing me to something and it will be wonderful. Thank you and God bless you!
God bless you, father. You have breathed air into this little nurse's dimming light. He is the Good Shepherd. How He finds us...
Praise be to God for all things.
The Holy Spirit is in you. Your light shines bright. Please do not cease to shine. I pray that He continues to bless you and keep you in all of your ways and works. We need more watchmen and spiritual fathers like you.
If you would, please keep praying for us who strive to fight this real and invisible battle as lay men and women.
God bless you.
Lord have mercy on us all.
This is me now. Thank you father.
Oh my, how I wish I had heard this earlier in my life. I think back to times when I allowed misery to take hold of me, and self-pity to bring me to the point of suicidal thinking. Your words are vital in these dark times.
This hit close to my own sins, namely porn. My brain and heart work against me and the will of God in so many ways that it sometimes feel so futile, no matter what I do or restrict myself, even with the help of psychiatry and medicine. I can now only turn to God for help, do pray for me father Seraphim and anyone reading this.
🙏
Keep praying and meditating on Gods word. Keep planting seeds of scripture I highly recommend listening to proverbs and psalms - hearing David’s lament 😪 to God after his sexual sin is inspiring.
Thank you Father- I have had a hard time praying lately. I pray for strength and courage. Frozen is a great way to describe it. God bless you Father!
Never give up, hang in there, and it will inevitably be worth it (this is the main message of the Old Testament
Book Of Job and the New Testament Book Of Revelation)!
I knew I should have watched this when you uploaded it and now I know I would have been so well served. But I didn't. Better late than never. :) God bless you father.
Thank you for the life giving words, Father!!! May God forever bring His words through your blessed self! I lived my whole childhood, teenage and twenties into the feeling nothingness you spoke about, into despair and sin seemed the only joy I had left, what a lie that was. Now my being is so tired because every road of sin promises happiness but instead they all lead like you beautifully said, to despair and despondency. I truly believe God has answered my prayers through this word you gave us, as I am at crossroads now, an old temptation crawls back to ensnare me again. Thank you for the most beautiful teaching so far! May God return all the joy you bring us and make His presence be forever felt by you!
So happy to listen to you today more than ever...."La mulți ani, părinte!" I feel there are so many Romanians who are proud and happy that you bring so much comfort to people all around the world...I feel like crying each time I listen to you as while listening I can watch all the barriers between me and Christ being demolished...just your word...Thank you so much dear and beloved father Serafim!
"I can watch all the barriers between me and Christ being demolished...just your word...Thank you so much dear and beloved father Serafim!"
Yes, this!!! It's beautiful and awful all at once.
This video (and the one before it) came at such a good time, I am certain the Holy Spirit had everything to do with its release. I try everyday to follow our Beloved sweet Jesus but I found myself in such a deep state of dispair over my sins and how often I kept falling. I was literally on the ground as you mentioned in the last video, completely broken with the heaviness of life and struggling to get back up, telling the Lord that I was so tired and could not go on with the crosses He has given me...but listening to your video gave me courage and hope. I'm in a better place now because of it. Thank you Father!! Praying for you and keeping you in my intentions. I know our Lord is so proud of you and we (your viewers) are growing in virtue from your videos. Hope to meet you one day, Mull Monastery is on my top 3 places to visit (along with Medjugorie and Kibeho, Rwanda- from the Marian Apparitions that have taken place there) Praying for your mission!! Your friend in Virginia, USA!
My dear Ashleigh, if Christ allows an affliction to befall us for no fault of our own (which is very rarely the case, if we are fully honest) that means He already knows we can overcome it and that, by fighting against it, we can grow in virtue and closer to Him. Most times, though, we have opened ourselves to the temptations that torment us long before, by allowing lesser evils to enter our hearts. Even so, Christ still blesses us, and the pain of the struggle will fully cleanse us and restore in us the beauty of His Image. Stay strong and never let go, dear one.
Thankyou so much. I cannot fast. I get really sick, but I can still pray with my arms high. Thanks again
This is me right now. Very difficult time.
Gosh! Nearly fell out of my chair when I heard about using your body as a structure for prayer. Connecting the verses of the Lord’s Prayer to parts of my body, is something I have been doing for quite some time. It slows down and grounds the prayer.
It’s so true. The body remembers. I have often found that my fingers would find their way on the guitar when I was on auto pilot and my mind could not remember the song. It was so good to hear this!
2 Corinthians 1:9 “Yes we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us, in whom we trust that he will still deliver us” I struggle with feeling dead inside and depressed but Paul’s writings help the saints suffered too through trials and we can look to them for inspiration and strength. David’s psalms also give me strength. Praying that Jesus resurrects our spirits and renews our faith.
Modern Christians can't even wrap their minds around the Saints of the past and the austerities that they practiced to gain self control and to tame the senses that war against the Spirit. Sometimes I think I'm a strong Christian who studies a lot, yet, when fasting, I'm tempted, and cannot conquer myself. There is nothing better than being around a true Saint of God who have mastered themselves and their desires, who can guide you, teach you discipline.
Muscle memory of prayer. Physical prayer. I love this. This is so useful for me as I’m sure for many other.
Precisely, dear one: muscle memory of prayer, an instinct of spiritual survival, these are the things that keep one alive when this darkness collapses over one's heart.
@@mullmonastery dear father you have no idea how important your videos are to me , your words give me strength and help me live my struggles with gratitude and peace in Christ ❤
You are in my prayers
Lebanese Orthodox from London 🙏
If you can’t hold onto God
Pray that He will hold onto you.
The image of crossing the desert which is often a barren wasteland and yet the desert fathers went there and thrived should give us hope that through their example we may find life too. Thank you for your kindness
I am so very glad to hear you expand on this topic. After spending all day trying to actively pray while I care for 5 children and 6th growing, I don't have much to give. Thank you Father so much.
I didn't even have the courage to comment on the last one...too dead inside
You are alive. Praise God ! You are alive ! You just don't feel it anymore. But carry on : you're not alone in pitch black darkness. Carry on, the sky awaits at the other side. Be blessed, and carry on 🙏
@@S.M.Jean-Mahmoud_Ier Thank you, it is so hard, but I'm trying to hold on. God bless you!
God is going to help you. May God bless you👍❤
Amen, Amen Amen
Yes, fasting will bring you out of the darkness. Jesus told us, this kind will only come out through fasting.
And yes, if all you can do, is hold up your arms with a broken heart, it is still a prayer, offered up to God Our Father.
He sees it and will use it. I know, I've just lived through all of this.
Now, pray the Holy Rosary, just start, ask for the grace to pray.
Plenty of utube rosaries to pray along with others throughout the earth right now. Know that you are prayed for and loved by God
Thank you from the depths of my heart.
Father, thank you for the teachings about getting back to prayers and not to falling into despondency. I will remember to hold on to the scaffolding of the prayers no matter what happens. We are not our brains! That is such a wonderful reminder. So often I mistakenly thought it was! And always safe guard our thoughts!
Deep Gratitude Dear Father, you have helped more than you know.
Hello Brother in Christ.
The last video was like a cry out in the muddy trenches, full of death. Glad I heard you.
I am catholic. I see no difference between us.
Keep vigilant, keep calling out.
Amen.
Very very true. You must surely have suffered too.
I have realized I am nothing. Now I understand that being a void, being empty, being nothing, is the state needed for God to enter.
What you said is like some water found in an endless desert. A dry desert I have been wandering in for 50 years or so. Well, the desert was not always as dry as now at 65 years of age.
Thanks for that drink of water. I needed it.
Bless you dear Father Seraphim!
Thank you, you held a shell and that’s how I feel at times like these an empty shell waiting to be filled with life again.
I always find it easier to pray when things in my life are going well.
I am new to your channel. These words were spoken 3 years ago and yet today they still resonate in men’s hearts. Truly God has chosen to speak through a humble vessel. May the Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon me, the sinner.
Thank you, Father. God bless you.
Thank you Father I have been in such a dark place and struggling so much with life and my prayer life. You explained things so well and I feel like everything you said is just what I needed to hear. May you be blessed always.
God bless you brother in Christ! Know that I have a sincere love for you in Christ. I truly cannot express it other than a love which lights my heart. May God bless you and protect you dear one!
I wish I could smash the like button 50 million times here.
God bless you!
This is brilliant. Many religions see the body as nothing but a cage, but Orthodoxy sees body and soul (and mind) as all essential. When one breaks, fix it with the other.
Thank you very much for your sermon father Praise Jesus
Pray for me Father. My saint name is George.
Thank you Father
You are an answer to many prayers of mine.
I have been asking for a guide, for true teaching.
Your videos are always spot on with were I am and are providing me with the foundation and scaffolding that I have been searching for
Wow. Amazing advice. I find this to be a gem and a cornerstone of spirituality. Thank you Pr. Seraphim Aldea for this treasure.
Thank you so much you are a great help in dark times..a Big Hug from a Roman Katholik
Thank you dear Father! This is the theology of our generation. He who endures till the very end shall be saved. The words of St.Silouan the Athonite “keep your mind in the hell and don’t despair” are paradigmatic for the times that we live.
AMHN I understand so much now🙏thank you your sister in Christ Thomais...Thomais is my Greek Orthodox Christian name ..comes from Thomas the Apostle name...I pray for my best friend ..I heard some bad news about her health yesterday 😥
Drear Thomais, we all pray that your friend regains her health or - if God allows it otherwise - may this cross be the cross of her salvation. Be strong for her: be strong in your faith (for when she falls in hers), be strong in your prayer (for when she fails in hers), keep carrying your cross (and help he carry hers when it gets too heavy). This is an opportunity to LOVE, dear one: embrace it and God Who Is Love will not be far from your heart and the heart of your friend.
@@mullmonastery Thank you 🙏✝️❤..will do love,patience and endurance AMHN
This is exactly what I needed. Thank you so much Father! Blessings!
This makes me happy, dear one. I am grateful that these words could help you, even in the slightest measure. May we all be blessed.
@@mullmonastery Thank you Father! For these past months, you have been a true διάκονος of the Lord for me, the agent of Divine transformation. May the Lord keep on working thru you, for the benefit of us sinners (of whom I am the foremost), and for the benefit of His Church at large!
A wonderful meditation on why seemingly repetitive and meaningless Catholic prayer habits are important. I have read of dementia patients who can only remember the Our Father, Glory Be, and Hail Mary. When there isn't anything left, what is left is Holy.
I have been experiencing such dryness in prayer for the past year. Although I have been forcing myself to pray devotions I find myself feeling like a empty shell. I wonder if I have lost my faith and there is no-one to talk too. Thank you Father....Donna
I think it’s important as we grow from ‘baby’ Christians to full grown strong Christians the hard work of praying when we are empty is essential and a real test of faith. We struggle as Christians with purpose, there’s never Christian struggle with with out purpose ✨ keep going sister this is a really hard time for the faithful but Christ will keep us✨
@@autumxxleaves4186Thank you for taking the time to offer a caring message
Thank you for these last 2 videos. The kind of spiritual guidance you don't always get when you need it most. Peace to you Father.
For those of us, dear Keith, who experience this darkness, it is vital to prepare before it falls upon us, because when it does nothing in us functions properly anymore: our brain, our heart, everything is affected. We need to develop a sort of instinct of spiritual survival, a muscle memory of prayer (as someone beautifully said in a different comment) and we need to develop and train this instinct long before we are hit again. be blessed, dear one.
@@mullmonastery
Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living god, have mercy on me a sinner. I also pray a couple most holy Theotokos save us, help us. I pray them with a catholic prayer rope and a wear the miraculous medal and I'm thinking to learn the Rosary and I'm protestant. What do you think my dear brother in Christ?
Thank you father. God bless you
Good afternoon Father, been listening to you for a few years now. Thanks for making these videos. God bless you and the monastery. Come back to St. Innocent in Macon, Georgia again when we can pretend to be normal people doing normal things in my country.
Thank you Father.
I so appreciate these messages, they really touch me. My life right now is in the pits
many many thanks from Italy
I truly thank you for this message.
Amen 🙏 🙏 🙏
God bless you father. This is massively encouraging! Greetings from Serbia.
Thank you for your words brother may the lord bless you!
Thank you.
🩸🌊 Thank you, Father. I won’t comment anything personal here anymore. I promise. Thx 4 all u do
Such a blessing to watch this. Just wow. Exactly what I needed to hear. Please pray for my as I continue on my journey of strengthening my faith
I don’t believe in coincidence, I know for sure that God wanted me to find this blessed channel and this amazingly beautiful videos , I thank God for you father seraphim , i was extremely happy that I watched them all In one day(maybe 2!)I thank God every second , I thank you dear father for blessing us all with such wisdom 🙏❤️
God Bless you Fr.Seraphim you are truly blessed,you speak to our souls
Thank you father. Next to the Saint Joseph Oratory in Montreal , is a small chapel where Saint André Brsset would pray. It has been made into a museum where Saint André's instruments of penance are displayed. They made me uneasy as a child, they make sense after listening to you. We are invited to offer our body on the Cross that Christ chose for us. I have a long way to go.
Catechumen thoughts during this time of Covid distancing, despondency is a unwanted visitor when distancing. Videos such as presented are an infusion of spiritual thought. Blessings to you, yours and our church. May God bless us all.
Thank you Father🙏🏽
Thank you Father🙏🥰Exactly where I am Father😭😭💔💔broken feel too much, lots of thoughts trauma suffering loss.
God Bless you Father. I needed to hear this today.
Thank you so much for this talk, Dear Father Seraphim. What a blessing you are to me! A true God-send!
Please keep me in your prayers Father.
I walked a very terrible road and the conditions I've set for myself have created an extreme obstacle. Please keep me in your prayers.
Thank you father. Thank you so much for this message.
Your channel is a spiritual gold mine. You really know how to heal the soul. God bless you Fr Seraphim and your friends at the monastery! ❤
My name is Antonia, from Greece.
Ι am dead inside because I am exactly like prodigal son.
I am dead inside because I denied Him more than 3 times like Peter.
I am dead inside because I betrayed for more than 30 coins.
I am dead inside because οf my arrogance.
Pray for me!
Hang in there Antonia ! God is good!
Same condition. Please pray!
Father Seraphim, thank you so much for such wonderful talks! 🙏🏻 ❤ 📖
Excellent👍
Priceless. Thank you. 🙏🏻☦️❤️
Father, why were you holding that little shell in your hand? That hollow shell. Sometimes I feel I have no marrow in my bones, like a bird. Joyful. Your words bring joy into my heart, this old man.
YOUR words bring joy to MY heart. You notice things. I like it that people like you are in the world.
I love you father, thank you for those videos!
Thank you, dear one, for your kind words. We try our best to help a bit. This really is the time when we should all try our best to heal each other and to lighten the weight of our crosses. Be blessed, dear one.
@@mullmonastery Thank you, be blessed also, father!
GOD Bless u I really need this massage the world needs this Amen 🙏🏾