watchfulness Archives - Page 5 of 5

Watchfulness

10/27/2014

Watchfulness and vigilance in thoughts, in feelings, and in our heart is the work of all Christians, and Holy Scripture itself has become the first source of inspiration and valuation of watchfulness. And Holy Scripture does not address monastics only. It addresses all Christians. If watchfulness be the lot of the monastics- ascetics because of the conditions of the physical and spiritual environment in which they live, it is equally true that the faithful, within

ON HUMILITY AND WATCHFULNESS (Part I)

10/21/2014

Whoever engages in inner warfare needs at every moment four things: humility, the greatest vigilance, the will to resist and prayer. It is a matter of dominating, with God’s help, the “Ethiopians of thought”, thrusting them out by the door of the heart, and crushing at once those who dash your little ones against the rocks (Psalm 137: 9). Humility is a prerequisite, for the proud man is once and for all shut out. Vigilance

Holy and Great Tuesday

04/15/2014

On Great Tuesday the Church calls to remembrance two parables, which are related to the Second Coming. The one is the parable of the Ten Virgins (Mt 25.1-3); the other the parable of the Talents (Mt 25.14-30). These parables point to the inevitability of the Parousia and deal with such subjects as spiritual vigilance, stewardship, accountability and judgement. From these parables we learn at least two basic things. First, Judgement Day will be like the

The Second Friday of Great Lent

03/14/2014

Tears, not Sorrows When you hear me speak of tears, you need not think of sorrow. The tears of which I am speaking bring more joy than all the laughter of the world can gain for you. Do you doubt my words? Then listen to St Luke who tells us how the apostles, after being beaten with rods by order of the Sanhedrin, were filled with joy. [Acts 5:41] Clearly that joy was not the

The Service of the Bridegroom (Part II)

04/30/2013

The Orthros of each of these days is called the Service of the Bridegroom (Akolouthia tou Nimfiou). The name comes from the central figure in the well-known parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). The title Bridegroom suggests the intimacy of love. It is not without significance that the kingdom of God is compared to a bridal feast and a bridal chamber. The Christ of the Passion is the divine Bridegroom of the Church. The

REPENTANCE IN THE PHILOKALIA (Part I)

09/21/2012

ST. ISAIAH THE SOLITARY I, ON GUARDING THE INTELLECT, SEC. 22 Here Isaiah the Solitary expresses the same confidence that Paul speaks of in Romans 8:38-39, that “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” All that is required is for the sinner to repent and return to God. “Be attentive to yourself, so that nothing destructive can separate you from the love of God. Guard your heart, and do not grow listless

The Philokalia

07/13/2012

Virtually every spiritual tradition has an authoritative scripture or scriptures that serve as a foundational text for its beliefs, practices, and spirituality. For Christians, that collection of texts is the Holy Bible. But the fracturing of the Christian Church in the fifth century (following the Council of Chalcedon in 451), the eleventh century (the break between what came to be known as the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches), and the sixteenth century (the Protestant

Archive

Watchfulness

ON HUMILITY AND WATCHFULNESS (Part I)

Holy and Great Tuesday

The Second Friday of Great Lent

The Service of the Bridegroom (Part II)

REPENTANCE IN THE PHILOKALIA (Part I)

The Philokalia

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