"How pitiful I am; and how pitiful is my daily repentance, for it has no firm foundation. Every day I lay a foundation for the building, and again with my own hands I demolish it."
These are words I found in A Spiritual Psalter, (not to be confused with the Psalter), which comes from the works of St. Ephraim the Syrian. These words really stuck to me today when I came across them for the first time. It felt almost like a brick hit me in the face because it was a reiteration: I AM in charge of my own salvation. Obviously, this is not news to me but I think these words are really powerful because of the analogy that they are making. "...with my own hands I demolish it." It seems so easy, yet it is so hard to use that foundation to keep on building higher and higher. I love that I read these words when I did, on the 4th Saturday of Great Lent... I should probably tape them to my refrigerator so that they are a daily reminder for the remaining weeks of the lenten period leading up to Pascha.
As a little note, I received this little book as a gift at a bridal shower a year or two ago, and I only picked it up to read a few days ago when I was decluttering my books. I am crazy about this book because every single word is so meaningful, and as a bonus, nothing is hard to comprehend in it. As I have come to understand, this book was complied by St. Theophan the Recluse, using the teachings of St. Ephraim. It was compiled in a setup very similar to the Psalter.
it's a lovely book. Lord have mercy on us.
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