The Jesus Prayer and the Acquisition of Inner Peace The Jesus Prayer, also known as the Prayer of the Heart, is the central prayer for monastics. One of the early desert fathers, Saint Macarius the Great, said of the phrase from the Psalms, “The meditation of my heart is in
Category: The Morning Offering
It is the Holy Spirit Who gives us the power to love others When focusing on the sins of others, we set for ourselves the mission of correcting them. We see ourselves as called to help this poor, unfortunate one by pointing out their sins, and telling them how they
“Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Cor. 15:54) People accuse Christians of being members of a “death cult,” obsessed with a dying savior and focused on the afterlife to the exclusion of the present; but they are wrong. Christianity does not deny life, Christianity affirms life. Christianity affirms life
The saints should serve as models for our lives Our Orthodox Christian life is not designed to be invented as we go, for by the very nature of the Church we are instructed to use as our model of living, the lives of the saints that have gone on before
When we are unfairly treated If we are always complaining about how unfairly we are treated, we will have failed in our imitation of Christ, Who was abused by His enemies unto death. We should strive to reign with Our Lord by loving our enemies and never complain. Christ looked
We need to pay attention to what we allow to be placed into our vessel There was once a wealthy, but miserly man, who was gifted a very expensive bottle of fine French wine. The next evening he was invited to a dinner party in the home of a duchess.
We must let the Divine Flame consume us At the very first moment we decide to turn to God, our heart begins to be warmed by the action of the Holy Spirit. Our heart is kindled with the divine flame that will transform us. This flame will consume us completely,
We must nurture relationships with our family members It is always sad to lose a family member in death, but it is also sad that it often takes a funeral to bring together relatives who’ve not seen each other in years. It is from this perspective that I realize I,
Holy Tradition emanates from Christ Himself The Church’s Holy Tradition is based on the traditions and teachings of the Early Church, not the small “t” traditions followed by today’s protestants. As a former Evangelical myself, I ultimately joined the Orthodox Church because I started noticing the “traditions” that were separating
The unity and continuity of the Church is to be found in Her bishops Gathering together for the celebration of the Church’s Divine Services is that great moment in the life of the People of God that brings together both heaven and earth. In these services we are mystically transported