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Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Friday of the Fourth Week of Pascha. Sin is Not a Moral Problem

05/04/2018

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, December 8, 2014 Many readers have never before heard that there is no such thing as moral progress – so I am not surprised that I have been asked to write in more depth on the topic. I will start by focusing on the question of sin itself. If we rightly understand the nature of sin and its true character, the notion of moral progress will be seen more clearly. I

Stillness and Silence: Silence and Purity of Heart. The Silent Power of the Heart

02/01/2018

Silence and Purity of Heart The disciples of Abba Pachomius learned that silence is not simply the absence of sound. It is a unique form of human consciousness. In the silence of their teacher they were drawn beyond themselves into a transpersonal form of listening, seeing and learning. They witnessed the presence of God in Pachomius in such a way that the judgments of their egos were released. They were lured beyond the boundaries of

Ego as the Actor

10/30/2017

The ego is that part of the self that wants to be significant, central, and important by itself, apart from anybody else. It wants to be both separate and superior. It is defended and self-protective by its very nature. It must eliminate the negative to succeed at this. The ego is what Jesus called an “actor,” usually translated from the Greek as “hypocrite” (see Matthew 23). If our “actor” is merely defended, the shadow will

Patience (Part VII): Daily Awareness of One’s Death

10/06/2017

Abba Antony said: Therefore, my children, let us hold to the discipline, and not be careless. For we have the Lord for our co-worker in this, as it is written, God works for good with everyone who chooses the good. And in order that we not become negligent, it is good to carefully consider the Apostle’s statement: I die daily. 34 Abba Antony taught that a monk must live in such a way that the

The Third Way

10/02/2017

As I explore transformation as a process of letting go of the ego’s needs and accomplishments, you may think I’m overemphasizing detachment. But when you look at Jesus on the cross, you see that Christianity also fosters attachment. Jesus tells us to love and to pay the price for loving. The heart and the soul are the first to attach to things and fall in love. When we attach, when we fall in love, we

Patience (Part V): Patience Provides Space for Daily Repentance and Transformation

09/22/2017

Abba Antony said: Having therefore made a beginning, and set out already on the way to virtue, let us press forward to what lies ahead. And let none turn back as Lot’s wife did, especially since the Lord said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and turns back is fit for the Kingdom of heaven.” Now “turning back” is nothing except feeling regret and once more thinking about things of the world.

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

Patience (Part II): The Biblical Roots of Patience in Desert Asceticism

07/18/2017

The sources of desert wisdom are the sayings of the abbas and ammas and written accounts of incidents from their lives. The wisdom embodied in their actions and teaching was formed through years of meditation and teaching about the Bible and the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The Greek words used for patience in these sources can help us understand the role of patience in the lives of the desert monks. The Greek verb “hypomeno”

Watching the River

07/17/2017

To live in the present moment requires a change in our inner posture. Instead of expanding or shoring up our fortress of “I”–the ego–which culture and often therapy try to help us do, contemplation waits to discover what this “I” consists of. What is this “I” that I take so seriously? To discover the answer, we have to calmly observe our own stream of consciousness and see its compulsive patterns. That’s what happens in the

Face to Face—Beholding God

07/14/2017

My mind wandered back to these thoughts as I pondered the growing phenomenon of “selfies.” Of course, the “selfie” is the passion-driven distortion of the theology of the face – existence as ego. For the mystery of the face is not to look at myself, but to look at the other. You are God’s “selfie.” Ponder it. Nothing about the human body is as intimate as the face. We generally think of other aspects of

Archive

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Friday of the Fourth Week of Pascha. Sin is Not a Moral Problem

Stillness and Silence: Silence and Purity of Heart. The Silent Power of the Heart

Ego as the Actor

Patience (Part VII): Daily Awareness of One’s Death

The Third Way

Patience (Part V): Patience Provides Space for Daily Repentance and Transformation

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

Patience (Part II): The Biblical Roots of Patience in Desert Asceticism

Watching the River

Face to Face—Beholding God

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