The goal of the monk is to acquire the Holy Spirit The monastic vocation is a special calling from God that is all about relationships. It is a relationship that involves community (the monastic brotherhood), but primarily revolves around the monk’s relationship with God. Monks are not holy men who
Category: The Morning Offering
Unless we protect our children, we are allies of the evil one As a priest, I am deeply shocked, almost beyond words, by the abuse perpetrated upon innocent children by clergy who have demonstrated a total lack of commitment to the teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and who, in
Cultivating and treasuring the salvific caution born out of love of God When we first begin to take our Orthodoxy seriously, we tend to throw ourselves into it in such a way that it is like diving deep into the sea. Many generations of experienced and holy men and women
What do we do when our prayer becomes dry? When we find ourselves struggling with prayer, and feel that it has become dry and lifeless, we are sometimes tempted to stop praying. When our prayer has become a struggle, it is good to remember that God knows our needs, and
We only think we can be of Christ and of the world “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). As
God infuses His Energies into the icons The Old Testament God was revealed to us by Christ Jesus. Prior to the incarnation of the Logos, God’s people were forbidden to make any image of Him, for no one had seen His face. Yet when Christ said to His disciples, “he
Abbot Tryphon’s homily on the Holy Icons (click above to view the 7 minute sermon).
Joy is the infallible sign of God’s presence One of the teachings of recent saints that has struck many people in recent times has been the teachings of Saint Paisios of Mt. Athos, and Elder Thaddeus of Serbia, to consciously cultivate godly, positive ways of thinking and feeling. Although we
It is God Who sought me out I’m facing another three day hospitalization on the 2nd of November. My cardiologist has decided they need to do another procedure for my heart, so, once again, I am facing my mortality. I turn 75 on the 9th of November, so I am
Replacing political correctness with love and respect I have witnessed many changes in this nation during my 75 years, but the one change that has saddened me the most is that the influence of Christianity has been replaced by virtues running wild – particularly “a hungering and thirsting for righteousness”,extracted