Abba Poemen Archives - Page 2 of 2

Patience (Part III): Patience as a Characteristic of Prayerful Living

08/25/2017

Patience Is Practical Patience is practical in that it is necessary, within chronological time, to overcome obstacles to seeking God and barriers which prevent openness to God’s grace. It is a factor that contributes to transformation. Patience is also a manifestation of an open and God-filled life. It is a characteristic of a manner of life which embodies God’s presence. Patience was seen as an alternative to the mind’s and the ego’s need for “immediate

The Cell, Meeting God and Ourselves (Part X) The Cell and the World

07/05/2017

The Cell and the World Is anachoresis a rejection of the inhabited world? Is the solitude and inwardness of the cell a selfish endeavor? The desert abbas and ammas helped form a wider Christian monastic tradition that combines seeking God with conversion of life. In the cell the monk risks all in the battle between the ego (subjectivity) and openness to the Other. Through ascetic praxis the boundaries of the self are extended beyond itself

Practice of the Heart

10/05/2015

Abba Poemen said, “Teach your mouth to say what is in your heart.” Many of the desert fathers and mothers, as well as the Philokalia in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, have described prayer as bringing your thinking down into your heart. It always seemed like soft piety to me until someone taught me how to do it, and I learned the immense benefits of the prayer of the heart. As a Catholic, I was often

Humility and Simplicity

09/15/2015

Abba Poemen asked at every moment: “Who am I and who are You?” St. Francis would also spend whole nights praying this same prayer. Baron Von Hugel, in his classic study of mysticism, said this might just be the perfect prayer. It is through encountering the absolute safety of God that we discover our true self, and in finding our truest self, we find a God who is always and forever larger than we expected.

Understanding

10/24/2012

Some disciples came to see Abba Poemen and said to him: “Tell us, when we see brothers dozing during the sacred office, should we pinch them so they will stay awake!” And the old man said to them: “Actually, if I saw a brother sleeping, I would put his head on my knees and let him rest.” UNDERSTANDING — COMPASSION — is the foundation of a monastic lifestyle. Without it there is no hope at

Guest

06/21/2012

Abba Poemen said to Abba Joseph: “Tell me how I can become a monastic.” And Abba Joseph replied, “If you want to find rest here, and hereafter, say in every occasion, ‘Who am I?” WHO is THERE ANYWHERE in the world who is not looking for something: for approval, for money, for a home, for a career, for success, for security, for happiness? We are, by nature, spiritual foragers, seekers after grails. We look constantly

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Patience (Part III): Patience as a Characteristic of Prayerful Living

The Cell, Meeting God and Ourselves (Part X) The Cell and the World

Practice of the Heart

Humility and Simplicity

Understanding

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