Wherein the temporal and the eternal are connected We can be rich in liturgical correctness and wealthy in traditions, but if we do not have love and mercy, we are in reality bankrupt. Our Lord Himself made love and mercy the chief criterion whereby we will be judged on the
Category: The Morning Offering
What about people who are not Orthodox? It is always a pity when people who claim to be Orthodox make judgements against fellow Christians. In the tradition of Orthodoxy, wherever we find beauty and truth, it is of God, and it is our calling, as Orthodox Christians, to rejoice when
Finding one’s true home in the Orthodox Church The one thing I have learned since my entrance into Orthodoxy is that this is the preserved Church that Christ founded, and the very Church whose first pastors were the apostles themselves. Preserved once and for all, it is neither East nor
The importance of a disciplined life of prayer One medicine for the heart, is the use of a “Prayer Rule.” This “Rule” is of the utmost importance, for the prayer rule helps develop the discipline we all need to progress, spiritually. It is one of the great tools the Orthodox
The willingness to suffer with another person What does it mean to truly love another person? It means we carry the other person in our heart. If we do not bring the other person into our heart, we do not really love them. If we are unwilling to help another
Freely responding to God’s invitation to commune with Him It is important to remember that our God did not create us as puppets, but rather as persons with the freedom to respond, or not, to His invitation to enter into communion with Him. Just as a loving dad, desiring to
We must use discernment when sharing the faith The holy Elder Porphyrios of Mount Athos, was forced to move to Athens because of his poor health. While walking with two young spiritual daughters in the area of Omonoia one day, they spotted a young woman coming their way wearing the
Unceasing prayer is simply keeping our mind attached to God by our desire As we address our prayers to God, it is good to remember that we need not confine our prayer in words. It is also good to remember that God does not require us to remind Him by
Our thoughts determine our lives “Our life depends on the kind of thoughts we nurture. If our thoughts are peaceful, calm, meek, and kind, then that is what our life is like. If our attention is turned to the circumstances in which we live, we are drawn into a whirlpool
I must accuse myself, blame myself, judge myself I see people’s sins, but I don’t know whether they have made peace with God. I don’t know if the person who has sinned regrets it, but I am not called to judge them, but only to forgive them. As I become