Do not estrange your heart from God

“I implore you, brethren, never to break or despise the rule of this prayer. . . . A monk when he eats, drinks, sits, officiates, travels or does any other thing must continually cry: ‘Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me!’ so that the name of the Lord Jesus, descending into the depths of the heart, should subdue the serpent ruling over the inner pastures and bring life and salvation to the soul. He should always live with the name of the Lord Jesus, so that the heart absorbs the Lord and the Lord the heart, and the two become one. . . . Do not estrange your heart from God, but abide in Him and always guard your heart by remembering our Lord Jesus Christ, until the name of the Lord becomes rooted in the heart and it ceases to think of anything else. May Christ be glorified in you.” ~St. John Chrysostom