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Stop Complaining! Happiness.

01/08/2021

Stop Complaining! Complaining weakens our resolve By Abbot Tryphon, November 8, 2019 · Abbot Tryphon If we are always complaining about how unfairly we are treated, we will have failed in our imitation of Christ, Who was abused by His enemies unto death. We should strive to reign with Our Lord by loving our enemies and never complain. Christ looked towards His Heavenly Father and when we are tempted to complain we should gaze upon the cross.

Does God Exist?

01/16/2020

God is a merciful God, quick to forgive, quick to show mercy, quick to embrace us when we turn to Him. In all of eternity our God chose to create humankind in His image and likeness, offering His creatures the opportunity to commune with Him in the endlessness that is time. He’s given us free will, allowing us to choose, or not to choose, a relationship with Him. We, in our freedom, can choose between

Holiness Means “Set Apart”

10/29/2019

By Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis, June 2, 2018 The word we use in the Greek language for “saint” is agios for male saints and Agia for female saints. Agios means “holy” and “holy” means “set apart.” The “saints” or the “holy ones” are those who strived in their lives to put God first in all things. They “set apart” the relationship with the Lord and put it ahead of everything else. The decision to strive for holiness isn’t easy, and it

The Desert and Temptation (Part IV)

06/26/2019

Without temptation the monks become careless. They let themselves go, and so live any old way. Temptations force them to live consciously, to exercise discipline, and to be wakeful. Thus the monks don’t pray for temptations to stop, but for God to give them enough strength. The story was told of Mother Sarah, that for thirteen years she endured being violently assaulted by demons of impurity. She never prayed for the struggle to cease, but

The Twenty-Fifth Day of Great Lent. “. . . BUT BY PRAYER AND FASTING” (Part III)

04/04/2019

[Fasting] should be practiced on two levels: first, as ascetical fast; and second, as total fast. The ascetical fast consists of a drastic reduction of food so that the permanent state of a certain hunger might be lived as a reminder of God and a constant effort to keep our mind on Him. Everyone who has practiced it—be it only a little—knows that this ascetical fast rather than weakening us makes us light, concentrated, sober,

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

Human Development in Scripture

09/25/2017

It is helpful for us to know about the whole arc of life and where it is tending and leading. Walter Brueggemann, one of my favorite scripture scholars, brilliantly connected the development of the Hebrew Scriptures with the development of human consciousness. Brueggemann says there are three major parts of the Hebrew Scriptures: the Torah, the Prophets, and the Wisdom literature. The Torah, or the first five books, corresponds to the first half of life.

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part II). The Goal and Telos of Christian Life (Part II)

06/29/2017

So, what do the terms “purity of heart” and “kingdom of God” mean? We begin with purity of heart. Abba Moses speaks at quite some length about what it is, as well as what it is not. First, we will look at what Abba Moses says about purity of heart in positive terms-what he says about what it actively is. Abba Moses connects purity of heart to a variety of other terms and concepts that

Let Us Discern Between the Living and the Dead

07/18/2016

Today, many historical forms of Christianity are dead or dying. Trying to preserve them through blind conservatism can lead only to the creation of malicious and distrustful ghettos which idolize formalism, or to “fascist” adventures that lead nowhere. On the contrary, we must trust in the “newness of the Spirit,” who will transform this death into resurrection. New approaches are already developing, approaches which rediscover and develop the deepest intuitions of thinkers such as Gregory

Be Ready

07/10/2013

THEREFORE YOU ALSO MUST BE READY; FOR THE SON OF MAN IS COMING AT AN HOUR YOU DO NOT EXPECT. —MATTHEW 24:44 Sooner or later there arises in every human heart the desire for holiness, spirituality, God, call it what you will. One hears mystics speak of a divinity all around them that is within our grasp that would make our lives meaningful and beautiful and rich, if we could only discover it. People have

Archive

Stop Complaining! Happiness.

Does God Exist?

Holiness Means “Set Apart”

The Desert and Temptation (Part IV)

The Twenty-Fifth Day of Great Lent. “. . . BUT BY PRAYER AND FASTING” (Part III)

The Third Way

Human Development in Scripture

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part II). The Goal and Telos of Christian Life (Part II)

Let Us Discern Between the Living and the Dead

Be Ready

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