Seeking and Desiring Virtue

By Archdeacon Habib Guirgus

Before walking in the way of virtue, you have to be filled with the desire for it and want to acquire it.

Follow all what will upgrade you in the Christian perfection, and constantly practice all the virtuous exercises.

Exert all efforts to grow in grace, according to what God has granted you. It is not enough to seek virtue and desire it, but hunger and thirst for it, and direct yourself toward it as a true desire.

The soul, which desires God and seeks to grow in grace, is the one walking in the way of perfection. This desire is a proof that God dwells in it feeding its roots.

If you felt a strong desire inside you, leading you to true virtue, and pushing you to acquire grace, do not put it off by your laziness, but rather seek it for it is from the Holy Spirit, so your feelings will grow, prosper and be fruitful. Righteousness and will enlighten you as the dawn of the morning, as light-to-light, till your heart is enlightened and illuminated. If you ignored it, it would be like the evening light, which will be dimmed little by little, till it becomes very dark.

How beautiful virtue is to those who seek it, and desirable to those who contemplate on it. When you taste its grace, you will love it and will never forget its sweetness the rest of your life.

Fight your lusts, which lead you to sin, which is temporal, for it will bring only sadness and calamity.

Love virtue and goodness, for they will pour joy and lasting happiness abundantly. Gaze your eyes on the beloved virtue, and the punishment of vileness. Let your mind dwell on the judgment of God, and keep your heart pure and be a sanctified mirror for perfection.

It's not enough that your soul be free from all sin, but decorate it with many virtues, to be on the beauty of the image of God (cf. Genesis 1:26,27), and let God be before your eyes at all times.