All is Sent Down by You When we hear the words, “all is sent down by you” this does not mean that God wills anything evil to happen but only that we always need to be open to God’s presence, grace and mercy, no matter what. God allows difficulties to
Category: The Morning Offering
Forgive me for noticing your sins. I have my own baggage. There’s hope for us both!
The Importance of the Desert to the Inner Life The Russian word, “Poustinia”, means “desert”, and the importance of the poustinia to the inner life can not be dismissed. If we are to hear the voice of God speaking to us, we must listen to His silence. If we are
We Must be Quick to be Merciful Some people abandon themselves to sin in order to cover up their lack of self esteem. In their need for intimacy and acceptance, they seek out worldly pleasures, thinking these will fill the void that has kept them from happiness. In their desperate
The secret to lasting relationships.
Being Orthodox in a Non-Orthodox World In this pluralistic society there are many Orthodox individuals who’ve found themselves sharing their lives with non-Orthodox family members. Sometimes these families are not even practicing Christians, so the struggle to keep to the traditions and practices of the Orthodox Faith can be difficult.
Spiritual Maturation and the Church Calendar One of the most spiritually profitable discoveries for me, personally, was when I started, as a new Orthodox Christian, the observance of the liturgical calendar. Each day of the year I was carried along with the cycle of commemorations that brought to life various
I never thought it would come to this.
The Common Men Called by the Lord As we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, it is good to remember that the Lord did not call academics, religious leaders, or important members of the King’s Court, as His Apostles, but rather He called what were essentially
Participating in the Heavenly Banquet We recently had a visiting couple attend the Sunday morning Liturgy here at the monastery. From out of state and on vacation, they entered the temple shortly after the Gospel reading. Not only did they miss the beginning of the Liturgy, they were not properly