A sixteen year old’s call to monasticism My paternal grandfather built a lakeside home during his summer vacations and weekends while I was in high school. My brother Dwayne and I spent many summer days camping in tents on that property, a newly opened area previously owned by the Idaho
Category: The Morning Offering
The very first time I entered an Orthodox church The very first time I entered an Orthodox church, I felt drawn to Her. There was a tangible, inner tug, and an overwhelming sense of peace, holiness, and awe, emanating from the very walls of the temple. The serving clergy were
The Feast of the Ascension of Christ Today we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension of Christ. The importance of this historical event, is that Christ ascended into Heaven as man and as God. Having condescended to take on our flesh, becoming both perfect man, and, at the same time,
The more we seek Him the more His grace abounds Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk said, “Do not think about the sins of your brother but about what in him is better than in yourself.” These words are powerful, and can be life changing if we take them as our own.
Restored to health and wholeness The cleansing of the nous, the eye of the soul, is the necessary step towards our restoration to the state God intended when He created us. This restoration of the nous, darkened by our sin, brings about the transformation that must happen before theosis can
Ask for repentance in your prayer and nothing else In our struggle on the path to God, repentance must be the central theme. Only in repentance will we find the true meaning of life, for only in repentance can one enter into communion with God. This life has been given
I am grateful for the love of my mother The most important gift I received from my mother was the gift of love. She loved me, and demonstrated her love for me throughout my childhood. She also showed me how to love others, and that ability to be open to
Gratefulness makes us happy We all know that money can’t buy happiness, yet many are not aware that practicing simple gratitude does bring about happiness. Being grateful for the people we have in our lives, and for the things that we have, brings about a happiness that can not come
If you want to help the Church, correct yourself Whenever we hear of problems in the Church it is our natural inclination to want to read all about it and root out all the details. Yet if we really want to benefit our soul, we should take the advice of
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). Do