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Friday of the 5th Week of Pascha. Grace and Truth Supersede the Law

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 (From the Gospel at the Divine Liturgy on Pascha) Christ is Risen! I remember from my college days that I was a really good test-taker. I had this system that I called “read, retain, regurgitate, release.” I would read the information, retain it in my brain, regurgitate it for the exam, and then it was released from my brain

REAL PEACE (Part IX)

“How is this joy of God born within the heart of a person?” Michael asked. “According to the teaching of the elders, it starts when a person begins to strive spiritually and tirelessly to implement the commandments of God. He will encounter fatigue and many difficulties along the way. But there will also be a gradual emergence in his heart of the first rays of God’s joy, which will offer him further inducement to continue

Meditation and Worship (Part VIII)

The spiritual life, the Christian life does not consist in developing a strong will capable of compelling us to do what we do not want. In a sense, of course, it is an achievement to do the right things when we really wish to do the wrong ones, but it remains a small achievement. A mature spiritual life implies that our conscious will is in accordance with the words of God and has remoulded, transformed

You Become the God you Worship

The “Principle of Likeness” means that like knows like, love in me knows love. And hate in me will see hate everywhere else. If there’s no love in you, if you are filled with fear and hatred, you will not know God. You actually can’t. There’s no abiding place for an infinite God in you, because your field is too small and safe. The infinite cannot abide inside of the finite unless the finite is

Do Not Judge

As it is, the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son ….I judge no one … For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world! (Jesus Christ. See In. 5: 22. 8: 1 S. 12: 47) Therefore, judge nothing before the time, [that is] until the Lord comes. He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the motives of every heart.

The Ninth Day of Christmas: Life Lessons from St. Basil the Great

We are bombarded with messages about who we should be… Should we be “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”, keeping ourselves “Jerseylicious,” or believe that we can “do whatever we want” as Miley Cyrus recommends? It is difficult to be a Christian, when we are told to be many different things at once. So how do we, in this day and age, figure out who we are supposed to be? Who do we follow? In the

Father Maximos on Self-Control

“How can we start?” Maria asked. “I mean, how can we practice temperance and self-control?” Fr. Maximos ate a piece of stuffed tomato before replying. “The proper way is to start with simple things, like being critical of your thoughts and actions. Let us say that a thought tells you you should do a certain thing, say buy a new television set. Examine it. Ask yourself, ‘Do I really need it?’ If you think you

Father Maximos on Temperance and Self-Control

Fr. Maximos served himself some hummus and continued. “Apostle Paul describes the fruits of the Spirit in the form of a scale, a hierarchy. He lists the highest and most exalted gift first and ends up with the most basic and foundational.” “What does that mean?” said Emily, who has a reflexive aversion to the notion of hierarchy, which has traditionally denoted social divisions and inequalities. “Think about it,” Fr. Maximos responded. “He lists love

Father Maximos on Christ as the Only Way to the Father

Another woman raised her hand. “I apologize for my Greek,” she said shyly. “Don’t worry, my English is worse,” Fr. Maximos reassured her. “Christ claims,” the woman continued, “that the only way to reach the Father is through Him. This is always a question that is raised among people. What will happen to the rest of the world, to the billions of people who are not born Christian and who may not have even heard

The Desert and Temptation (Part II)

Human life is marked by constant conflict. We can’t just float through life. We have to confront the temptations that life brings with it. And there will never be a time when we can rest on our laurels. Temptations will be with us till the point of death. In another passage Anthony says: “No one can make it to the kingdom of heaven untempted. Take away the temptations, and no one will find salvation.” Anthony