Saint Paul Archives - Page 9 of 10

THE MEANING OF THE GREAT FAST (Part II)

03/10/2015

By Mother Mary and Bishop Kallistos Ware One reason for this decline in fasting is surely a heretical attitude towards human nature, a false ‘spiritualism’ which rejects or ignores the body, viewing man solely in terms of his reasoning brain. As a result, many contemporary Christians have lost a true vision of man as an integral unity of the visible and the invisible; they neglect the positive role played by the body in the spiritual

Do Not Pass Judgment

02/16/2015

Consider well, my soul: do you fast? Do not despise your neighbor. Do you abstain from food? Do not condemn your brother. (Fourth Troparion of the Praises, Matins of Meatfare Sunday) IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT THE DAY before Lent begins (Cheesefare, or Forgiveness, Sunday) we hear this lesson from St. Paul’s Epistle: Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats;

FAST FROM SIN: Meatfare Week

02/09/2015

In vain do you rejoice in not eating, O soul! For you abstain from food, but from passions you are not purified. If you have no desire for improvement, you will be despised as a lie in the eyes of God, you will be likened to evil demons who never eat! If you persevere in sin, you will perform a useless fast; therefore, remain in constant striving so as to stand before the Crucified Savior,

Saint Porphyrios on Blackmailing God

01/14/2015

By Melinda Johnson Bargaining with God in prayer is such a common human behavior that it’s part of our culture. How many times have you seen a character in a movie, hands clasped, drenched in tears, promising, “God, if you will just [fill in the blank], I promise you I’ll never [fill in the blank] again!” Scenes like this appear in novels too, and many of us have caught ourselves doing something like this in

Smart Parenting + Halloween: A Few Spiritual Pointers for Orthodox Parents

10/31/2014

By Fr. George Morelli “But whosoever shall cause one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be to his advantage that a millstone turned by an ass were hung upon his neck, and he were drowned in the deep of the sea.” (Mt. 18:6) In the United States and many European countries as well, we are coming up to the annual festival of the celebration of “All Hallows’ Evening.”

Fruit of the Transfiguration

08/06/2014

“Lord, it is good for us to be here” (Matthew 17:4) The feast of Holy Transfiguration falls near the end of the liturgical year. Only the Dormition of the Theotokos follows, to complete and close the cycle. Why now? The time of the event comes six days following the confession of St. Peter [Matthew 17:1, Mark 9:2], or “about eight days” [Luke 9:28], although that doesn’t fix the date precisely. Nothing is arbitrary. It comes

Father Maximos on the Gift of Patience

07/17/2014

There was further discussion about the gift of chrestotis before we had a short break. When we reassembled, I suggested that we move on to the next spiritual gift. “Coming from the bottom up, Fr. Maxime,” I said, “you have spoken so far of self-control, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, and kindness or chrestotis. We’re left with patience, peace, joy, and love.” “Fine. Let’s continue with patience.” Fr. Maximos nodded, grinning. “God is infinitely patient. He does

Me, My “Selfie,” and I

07/07/2014

By Fr. Vasile Tudora “They say—and I am willing to believe it—that it is difficult to know yourself—but it isn’t easy to paint yourself either.” Vincent van Gogh, letter to his brother, September 1889 The self-portrait genre has been around from the very beginning of art. It was used to identify the artist, when no photography existed, or to tell one’s story in a visual manner or to dive deep into one’s existential struggles. Some

Fourth Friday after Pascha, Christ is Risen!

05/16/2014

“Ambassadors of the Faith: PROCLAIM HIS RESURRECTION” By Father Luke Melackrinos I want you to think about bottled water for a moment. Just a few short years ago we were all content to drink water from a sink. If back then we asked the question, “Would anyone pay for water?” I doubt anyone would have expected that in the year 2004 alone, U.S. Consumers spent an estimated 8 billion dollars on bottled water. Let me

Mysterium Tremendum, Mysterium Fascinosum

02/19/2014

Rudolph Otto in his book The Idea of the Holy says that when someone has an authentic experience of the Holy, they find themselves caught up in two opposite movements at the same time: the mysterium tremendum and the mysterium fascinosum, a scary mystery and a very alluring mystery. We both draw back from and are pulled forward into a kind of liminal space where we are not at home at all and yet totally

Archive

THE MEANING OF THE GREAT FAST (Part II)

Do Not Pass Judgment

FAST FROM SIN: Meatfare Week

Saint Porphyrios on Blackmailing God

Smart Parenting + Halloween: A Few Spiritual Pointers for Orthodox Parents

Fruit of the Transfiguration

Father Maximos on the Gift of Patience

Fourth Friday after Pascha, Christ is Risen!

Mysterium Tremendum, Mysterium Fascinosum

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