What shall I render to the LORD for all his bounty to me? (Psalm 116:12)
St Mark the Ascetic says:
This, my son, is how you should begin your life according to God. You should continually and unceasingly call to mind all the blessings which God in His love has bestowed upon you in the past, and still bestows for the salvation of your soul. You must not let forgetfulness of evil or laziness make you grow unmindful of these many and great blessings, and so pass the rest of your life uselessly and ungratefully. For this kind of continual recollection, pricking the heart like a spur, moves it constantly to confession and humility, to thanksgiving with a contrite soul, and to all forms of sincere effort, repaying God through its virtue and holiness. In this way the heart meditates constantly and conscientiously on the words from the Psalms: ‘What shall I give to the Lord in return for all His benefits towards me?’ (Psalm 116:12) . . .
[St Mark mentions two results for us when we take time to examine and reflect on our lives – recollecting our sins so we can repent, and enumerating our blessings so that we thank God for all He has bestowed on us. For more on these two forms of confession, see also my posts Reflecting Back on 2025 and Two Different Ways to Make a Sincere Confession.]
‘Though I have done nothing good and have committed many sins before Him, living in uncleanness of the flesh and indulging in many other vices, yet He did not deal with me according to my sins, or reward me according to my iniquities (Psalm 103:10), but gave me all these gifts of grace for my salvation. If, then, from now onwards I give myself completely to His service, living in all purity and acquiring the virtues, how many holy and spiritual gifts will He not grant me, strengthening me in every good work, guiding and leading me aright.’ If a man always thinks in this way and does not forget God’s blessings, he encourages and urges himself on to the practice of every virtue and every righteous work, always ready, always eager to do the will of God. (THE PHILOKALIA Volume 1, pp 148-149)
Happy New Year to all! May God bless you and be with you throughout 2026.
This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. (Exodus 12:2)
… in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me… (Ezekiel 29:17)
Fraternized 