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Prayer of the Heart in an Age of Technology and Distraction, Part 6

By Fr. Maximos (Constas) The Orthodox Church is a bottomless spring of spiritual wisdom, granting the eternal life of Christ to all who ardently seek it. Through the millennia this wisdom has been captured for us in part in the writings of the Fathers, the lives of the saints, and the various collections of sayings of the monastic fathers. Among the most prized literary possessions of the Church is the spiritual classic The Philokalia, which

Thoughts on Knowing Wisdom. Thoughts on Adversity.

By Michael Haldas Thoughts on Knowing Wisdom, June 3, 3016 “Christ is the true light of the world; it is through Him alone that true wisdom is imparted to the mind…In Scripture wisdom always is traceable to God, who in the second Person of the Trinity is Himself often called Holy Wisdom.” (Jonathan Edwards, OCPM 1/29/2016) “Wisdom is not smarts, nor cleverness, nor a high IQ…The Word of God became the incarnate God-man who enables

What the Fathers Sought

What the Fathers sought most of all was their own true self, in Christ.  And in order to do this, they had to reject completely the false, formal self, fabricated under social compulsion in “the world.”  They sought a way to God that was uncharted and freely chosen, not inherited from others who had mapped it out beforehand.  They sought a God whom they alone could find, not one who was “given” in a set,

The Fifteenth Day of Great Lent. The Annunciation of the Theotokos.

THE ANNUNCIATION of the THEOTOKOS On the twenty-fifth day of this month we celebrate the Annunciation of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. Verses The Angel announced to the Virgin the Great Son of the Father’s great Counsel. The Angel said, “Rejoice”, to Mary on the twenty-fifth. Synaxarion God, Who is merciful and loves mankind, is ever solicitous about the race of men. When, as a loving Father, He saw the work of

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, (flourished c. 500), probably a Syrian monk who, known only by his pseudonym, wrote a series of Greek treatises and letters for the purpose of uniting Neoplatonic philosophy with Christian theology and mystical experience. These writings established a definite Neoplatonic trend in a large segment of medieval Christian doctrine and spirituality—especially in the Western Latin Church—that has determined facets of its religious and devotional character to the present time. Historical research has been unable to identify the author, who, having assumed the name of

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Great Lent: Shut No One out from Your Love. Many Languages but One Human Nature.

Shut No One out from Your Love Do all you can to love everyone. If you are not yet able to, at the very least don’t hate anyone. Yet you won’t even manage this if you have not reached detachment from the things of this world. You must love everyone with all your soul, hoping, however, only in God and honouring him with all your heart. Christ’s friends are not loved by all, but they

The Eleventh Day of Christmas. The Theophany and Healing (Part I)

By Fr. George Morelli [1] “And the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the truthfulness of His word. O Christ our God, who hast revealed Thyself and hast enlightened the world, glory to Thee!” “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. (Mt 9:12) The Feast of the Theophany of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ brings greater understanding of God’s encounter with His Chosen

The Invitation of Grace

As I shared earlier this year, the Bible is “a text in travail.” Sometimes the biblical writers catch a glimpse of God’s true character–love, mercy, and justice–and sometimes they lose sight of it. Old Testament scholar and theologian Walter Brueggemann traces the evolution of human consciousness through three sections of Hebrew Scriptures: the Torah (the five books of the Pentateuch), the Prophets, and the Wisdom literature (including Job, the Psalms, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes).

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

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)

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