temptation Archives - Page 2 of 2

The Sixth Monday of Great Lent: Just as Crabs & Idleness Contains All Sin

04/18/2016

Just as Crabs Just as a bundle of green logs suffocates and puts out a bonfire causing clouds of smoke, so excessive grief often surrounds the soul with thick cloud and dries up the fount of tears. Just as a blind person is no use as an archer, so a disciple with the mania of contradiction will end in perdition. Just as tempered metal can sharpen soft or rusty metal, so can a zealous brother

The Fourth Thursday of Great Lent: But Why does God Put up with Evil in the World? & Why does God allow Temptation?

04/07/2016

But Why does God Put up with Evil in the World? Why does error have a free rein and why does God allow the wicked to disturb the existence of so many people? First of all, before trying to understand, we need to put ourselves in front of the incomprehensible wisdom of God. One who is firmly anchored in God does not suffer any loss, even if attacked by a thousand waves and a thousand

The First Friday of Great Lent: Lent—the Tithe of the Year (Maxims 50-55)

03/18/2016

By Father Thomas Hopko, March 13, 2008 50. Be merciful with yourself and with others. Of course, we’re to be merciful to others, but we must be merciful to ourselves too. We cannot judge ourselves more harshly than God does, and the worst sin is despair. So we should be living by the mercy of God all the time—taking responsibility for our life, but not berating ourselves or beating ourselves up. God does not want

The Sixth Tuesday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Stand Fast and Watch! (Part I)

05/19/2015

By Saint John Maximovitch of San Francisco and Shanghai Stand fast on spiritual watch, because you don’t know when the Lord will call you to Himself. In your earthly life be ready at any moment to give Him an account. Beware that the enemy does not catch you in his nets, that he not deceive you causing you to fall into temptation. Daily examine your conscience; try the purity of your thoughts, your intentions. There

ON HUMILITY AND WATCHFULNESS (Part II)

11/12/2014

Do not direct your gaze towards the enemy. Never get into a controversy with him whom you cannot possibly resist. With his millennia of experience he knows the very trick that can render you helpless at once. No, stand in the middle of your heart’s field and keep your gaze upward; then the heart is protected from all sides at once: the Lord Himself sends His angels to guard it both from right and left

55 Maxims for Weekly Meditation, by Father Thomas Hopko

10/29/2014

SUNDAY 1. Be always with Christ and trust God in everything 2. Pray as you can, not as you think you must 3. Have a keepable rule of prayer done by discipline 4. Say the Lord’s Prayer several times each day 5. Repeat a short prayer when your mind is not occupied 6. Make some prostrations when you pray 7. Eat good foods in moderation and fast on fasting days MONDAY 8. Practice silence, inner

The Lord’s Prayer (Part II)

06/20/2014

As the Jews were called by Moses to escape from the country of Egypt, to follow him in the dark night, to cross the Red Sea, so also is each individual brought into the wilderness, where a new period begins. He is free, but not yet enjoying the glory of the Promised Land, because he has taken with him, out of the land of Egypt, the soul of a slave, the habits of a slave,

The Desert and Temptation (Part IV)

02/13/2013

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 Desert and Temptation (Part I)

09/19/2012

One of the great themes of monasticism is the desert. The monks deliberately went into the desert to be alone and to seek God. The ancients considered the desert the dwelling-place of demons. Anthony went into the desert to fight the demons on their own turf. It was a heroic decision to push his way into the realm of the demons — and a declaration of war on the demons that plagued him and sought

The Three Temptations

09/10/2012

I believe that all would-be Christians must face the same three temptations as Jesus did. These same demons are in all of us. The first temptation of Christ was to turn stones into bread (Matthew 4:3). Sounds good, but this is likely our need to be immediately impressive and effective, successful, relevant, and make things happen right now. It is our natural desire to look good. The false self tells you what it immediately wants

Archive

The Sixth Monday of Great Lent: Just as Crabs & Idleness Contains All Sin

The Fourth Thursday of Great Lent: But Why does God Put up with Evil in the World? & Why does God allow Temptation?

The First Friday of Great Lent: Lent—the Tithe of the Year (Maxims 50-55)

The Sixth Tuesday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Stand Fast and Watch! (Part I)

ON HUMILITY AND WATCHFULNESS (Part II)

55 Maxims for Weekly Meditation, by Father Thomas Hopko

The Lord’s Prayer (Part II)

The Desert and Temptation (Part IV)

The Desert and Temptation (Part I)

The Three Temptations

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