Elder Thaddeus was a well known Russian monk who took the teachings of God seriously. In his time on Earth he learned many things about the essence of life and the tricks that make people live the way they do. As you can see above he determined that our thoughts can determine the outcome of our lives.
"The thoughts that we give ourselves up to define our life." Just one of the many sayings from someone so wise and at peace. That is something that in the end we will all strive for, peace. but not just peace of the body but peace for our souls. No matter who we are or at what stage in life we may be in, there is a yearning in the pits of our being that just wants Love, forgiveness, peace. Would we need any kinds of money, if we were at peace? Would people fall to greed, lust, power, if they had found Love?
Elder Thaddeus took the gifts God blessed him with and he ran the marathon of life. In the year 1925 (age fifteen) he was told he had five years to live, through grace of our Lord he made it all the way to year 2003, over eighty years later!
Now, I am well aware that age DOES NOT equal to wisdom, not by a long shot. But by living through BOTH World War I, World War II and many more misfortunes, Elder Thaddeus learned each new step of wisdom and peace. In the book, that was translated by Ana Smiljanic, I was so moved by the swirling words of the wise that I ended up wanting to put sticky notes all over half of the book!
Things I really grasped and remembered from the book, is that God will not allow an evil to come upon us that we can't handle. So no matter what we are going through, feeling, craving for, we have the strength! If you want to rely on your own will power, then I pray for you! If you are of the Christian mind-set, then heed the words.
Another good thing I learned from this, is the power of prayer. Specifically the Prayer of the heart, or known as the Jesus Prayer which goes, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God; have mercy on me a sinner." When you breathe in, you say the first half, when you breathe out, say the second half. In time there is a peace that settles over your heart. I use this prayer nearly everyday when I grow frustrated, or when my wife becomes 'hangry' and I need to keep calm.
Lastly, I found many parts that appeased my side as a husband. There is a strength to being the head of a house hold, and that isn't being the strong one (though that is required). The real strength, is being humble and letting the one you love make choices they want, there is also having to make the choices they DO NOT want to make.
Here are a few of my favorite sayings from Elder Thaddeus:
"You can see for yourself how one can create harmony or disharmony with in the family depending on the kind of thoughts or wishes one has." (81)
"I often find that I want to defend justice, but I always seem to end up having injustice done to me.... We can defend justice, but will justice be done? The Lord knows why He has permitted injustice to happen. We will not prevent injustice by our words. With words we can only offend someone and make him hurt the other person even more. We think we are defending someone, but we are, in fact, only making matters worse." (98)
"Our thoughts can be very penetrating, and they have great power. This is especially true of the thoughts of parents. A parent must bear much and forgive all." (80)
Amazon's Description
"Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica was one of the most renowned spiritual guides of Serbia in the twentieth century. As a novice he lived in obedience to Elder Ambrose of Miljkovo Monastery, a disciple of the Optina Elders. From him Fr. Thaddeus learned the Prayer of the Heart and the selfless love that came to characterize his whole ministry to the suffering Serbian people. Born in 1914, Elder Thaddeus lived through all the suffering endured by Serbia in the twentieth century. Over the course of two World Wars, during the Communist takeover, and through the NATO bombings of 1999, he co-suffered with his people. He taught, counseled, and prayed for all who came to him in pain and sorrow. His words of love and hope provided spiritual balm for people from all classes of society. In 2002 Elder Thaddeus reposed, leaving behind a large collection of his teachings, preserved by his faithful spiritual children. His life, teachings, and spiritual conversations are here presented for the first time in English."
If your are interested in the writings of Elder Thaddeus, click the link below!
Citations:
"Thaddeus (Strabulovich) of Vitovnica." OrthodoxWiki, . 29 Sep 2012, 02:54 UTC.
25 Feb 2022, 21:51
"Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives". Amazon.Com, 2022, https://www.amazon.com/Our-Thoughts-Determine-Lives-Teachings/dp/1887904190/ref=sr_1_1?crid=E8127ZBRG1HC&keywords=our+thoughts+determine+our+lives+by+elder+thaddeus&qid=1645825199&sprefix=Our+Thoughts+%2Caps%2C114&sr=8-1.
Tadej, Ana. Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives. 1st ed., Saint Herman Of Alaska Brotherhood, 2009, pp. 80, 81, 98.
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