If we commence to keep God’s commandments with fervent zeal, from that moment onward grace will illumine all of our senses with deep sentiments, as if it were burning our thoughts and penetrating our heart with the peace of unyielding friendship, preparing us to consider things of the spirit rather than things of the flesh. This is what frequently occurs to those who approach perfection -- to those who without ceasing keep within their hearts the memory of the Lord Jesus. Let this be his only exercise and his constant practice. To all who without ceasing meditate on His holy and glorious Name in the depths of their heart will see the light of their minds. Thus tamed by such an exacting effort of thought, every stain on the soul’s surface is consumed in ardent feeling because, our God is a consuming fire. Thus the Lord invites the soul to immense love of His own glory, for persevering in the mind’s memory of that glorious and most desirable Name with an ardent heart, produces in us a love for His goodness that is habitual, which, from that moment onward, nothing can disturb. This is the precious pearl which is obtained upon having dispossessed oneself of all one’s belongings and whose discovery brings about ineffable joy.
~ Diadochus of Photice ~
