Archive

Sunday of St. John Climacus

Introduction On the Fourth Sunday of Holy Lent the Orthodox Church commemorates our Righteous Father John Climacus. He is called Climacus due to his authorship of the great spiritual work The Ladder of Divine Ascent. His commemoration is designated by the Church on one of the Sundays of Lent as his life and writings affirm him as a supreme bearer and proponent of Christian asceticism. The ascetic example of this great Saint of the Church

Conversations with Abba Isaac: Kung Fu and the Way of the Ant

By Father Micah Hirschy As was the case with many young men who grew up during the 80’s and 90’s, I went through a period of deep fascination with Kung-Fu movies.  There was something intrinsically appealing about a story where a young man could spend a few days with a Kung-Fu master or read an ancient scroll and henceforth become invincible and able to battle evil!  I also loved that the Kung-Fu Masters gave their Art really

Idolatry

The idolatry of self-esteem By Abbot Tryphon, January 15, 2020  Among the contributors to self-worship, is the possibility of falling into a form of idolatry associated with self-esteem. It is easy to fall into this form of idolatry, since our society has placed a great deal of emphasis on the need for self-esteem. The modern religion of psychoanalysis has promoted self-esteem as though it were the modern equivalent of enlightenment. The priests of this modern,

The Fifth Tuesday of Great Lent: Our Journey to God

We must be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives By Abbot Tryphon, December 24, 2019 The spiritual struggle that is required of us cannot depend on having a spiritual father. Most Orthodox Christians do not have one, and the average parish priest is not equipped, either with the time, nor the inclination, to take on the role of spiritual father to members of his flock. Just carrying the load as

“Showing Up” to Pray

By Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis, May 31, 2108 My Spiritual Father (the priest who I go to confession to, who also serves as a mentor and confidant) has taught me many things over the years.  One phrase he has used that I always try to remember, in prayer, worship and other things is: “Eighty percent of life is just showing up.”  In other words, eighty percent of the effort we make in doing something is just showing up. 

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent. Confession: The Manner by Which We Examine Ourselves

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the Body and Blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 (From the Epistle of the Vesperal Liturgy Holy Thursday Morning) Our

Conversations with Abba Isaac: Kung Fu and the Way of the Ant

By Father Micah Hirschy As was the case with many young men who grew up during the 80’s and 90’s, I went through a period of deep fascination with Kung-Fu movies.  There was something intrinsically appealing about a story where a young man could spend a few days with a Kung-Fu master or read an ancient scroll and henceforth become invincible and able to battle evil!  I also loved that the Kung-Fu Masters gave their Art really

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part IX

By Harry Boosalis The passion of pride seduced even Lucifer, who was created as the greatest and most glorious angel. Pride is thus the primordial cause of the fall of creation. Infiltrating even unto the heights of the angelic hosts, pride remains the main cause of man’s sin and his separation from God. It is pride and pride alone that transformed Lucifer into Satan. St. John Climacus mentions that a proud man needs no demon;

ON WAKING UP

Spirituality means waking up. Most people, even though they don’t know it, are asleep. They’re born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep without ever waking up. They never understand the loveliness and the beauty of this thing that we call human existence. You know, all mystics-Catholic, Christian, non-Christian, no matter what their theology, no matter what their religion-are unanimous on one