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The Destiny of Eros: Woman, the Bearer of Spices (Part I)

06/23/2014

After a long period of patriarchy, women today wish to be treated as human beings in their own right, free and responsible individuals. The leaven of the Gospel is at work, setting us free at last from the old pagan structures. But because the necessary fight for social equality has so often had to be waged against men, there is now some uncertainty about woman’s true identity, what it means to be feminine. The body,

The Lord’s Prayer (Part II)

06/20/2014

As the Jews were called by Moses to escape from the country of Egypt, to follow him in the dark night, to cross the Red Sea, so also is each individual brought into the wilderness, where a new period begins. He is free, but not yet enjoying the glory of the Promised Land, because he has taken with him, out of the land of Egypt, the soul of a slave, the habits of a slave,

Being Chosen & Being Blessed

06/19/2014

Being Chosen Jesus is taken by God or, better, chosen by God. Jesus is the Chosen One. From all eternity God has chosen his most precious Child to become the savior of the world. Being chosen expresses a special relationship, being known and loved in a unique way, being singled out. In our society our being chosen always implies that others are not chosen. But this is not true for God. God chooses his Son

CLINGING TO DISTRACTION LIKE A DOG TO A BONE (Part II)

06/18/2014

Though addressing monks in his own monastery, St. Hesychios speaks to all of us on the contemplative path when he says, “One who has renounced such things as marriage, possessions and other worldly pursuits is outwardly a monk, but may not be a monk inwardly. Only the person who has renounced obsessive thoughts is a true monk.” For Hesychios, then, a monk is not a geriatric vegetarian who mutters prayers, but any woman or man

ON THE CONQUEST OF THE WORLD

06/17/2014

ST. BASIL THE GREAT says: One cannot approach the knowledge of the truth with a disturbed heart. Therefore we must try to avoid everything that disturbs our heart, that causes forgetfulness, excitement or passion, or that awakens unrest. We must free ourselves as much as possible from all fuss and flutter and ado over vain things. Yes, when we serve the Lord we shall not be troubled about many things, but always keep in mind

The Apostles’ Fast

06/16/2014

The Orthodox year has a rhythm, much like the tide coming in and going out – only this rhythm is an undulation between seasons of fasting and seasons (or a few days) of feasting. Every week, with few exceptions, is marked by the Wednesday and Friday fast, and every celebration of the Divine Liturgy is prepared for by eating nothing after midnight until we have received the Holy Sacrament. It is a rhythm. Our modern

FATHER MAXIMOS: FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT (V)

06/13/2014

“Elders like him [Elder Ephraim], even though austere at times, are capable of loving everybody unconditionally precisely because they can see the other person in his natural state, beyond the external characteristics of personality,” Fr. Maximos explained. “That’s who the late Elder Ephraim really was, not the fearsome person I imagined him to be before I met him. Elders like Papa Ephraim are capable of loving even the worst among us because they know that

He neither Exists nor doesn’t Exist. He is!

06/12/2014

In the end, it often seems that our search for God resembles a vain attempt to get through to Him via the wall rather than the door. And when we don’t make it, we deny Him. That’s what these young people have been trying to do. But you can’t just approach God superciliously, anyhow and anyway you want. The locus of His mystery has its entryways through which you have to gain admittance with circumspection

ON WAKING UP

06/11/2014

Spirituality means waking up. Most people, even though they don’t know it, are asleep. They’re born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep without ever waking up. They never understand the loveliness and the beauty of this thing that we call human existence. You know, all mystics-Catholic, Christian, non-Christian, no matter what their theology, no matter what their religion-are unanimous on one

Instructive Recollections from the Holy Mountain

06/10/2014

Subsequently, the Elder related to me some things from his life on the Mountain that were relevant to our topic. “I lived a heavenly life on the Mountain. I was about twelve years old when I went there. I had two Elders and I was totally obedient to them. They sent me to fetch two bags of dirt for their gardens. This work had to be done by noon. I ran barefoot, jumping along the

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The Destiny of Eros: Woman, the Bearer of Spices (Part I)

The Lord’s Prayer (Part II)

Being Chosen & Being Blessed

CLINGING TO DISTRACTION LIKE A DOG TO A BONE (Part II)

ON THE CONQUEST OF THE WORLD

The Apostles’ Fast

FATHER MAXIMOS: FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT (V)

He neither Exists nor doesn’t Exist. He is!

ON WAKING UP

Instructive Recollections from the Holy Mountain

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