Our charity must be based on love of God and neighbor Food is a common problem for many people, for food so often fills a void, and becomes a way of comforting oneself when faced with the stresses that are a part of our modern age. Yet food is not
Category: The Morning Offering
On caring for the environment as good stewards of our world As Orthodox monks we hold to the importance of respecting the environment, which requires us to be good stewards of what God has given us. An important part of that stewardship is working towards sustainability, based on a simple
In every way we must strive to restrain anger Abba Evagrius the Monk said that, “Anger is by nature designed for waging war with the demons and for struggling with every kind of sinful pleasure. Therefore angels, arousing spiritual pleasure in us and giving us to taste its blessedness, incline
Where communion with God is restored At the Mystical Supper in the Upper Room Jesus gave a dramatically new meaning to the food and drink of the sacred meal. He identified Himself with the bread and wine: “Take, eat; this is my Body. Drink of it all of you; for
Serving as the front line of protection for our communities Police officers are, by necessity, good actors, for they have to wear a mask to cover the pain and trauma that comes with their job. Often the focus of anger and accusation from the very communities they are pledged to
Caregivers must also care for themselves My dear mother was diagnosed with dementia, back in 2003. Soon after the diagnosis I moved her from Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, and into an assisted living place on Vashon Island, where I could be involved in the supervision of her care. The dementia
The perspective of Dr. Peter Hammond, a convert from Islam Dr. Hammond’s doctorate is in Theology. He was born in Cape Town in 1960, grew up in Rhodesia, and converted to Christianity in 1977. Adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond’s book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat:
To win the battle we must focus only on your own sins When we take our eyes off our own sins we focus only on the sins of the other. As their sins get our attention, we fail to struggle with the passions that keep us from the wholeness that
Today is Thomas Sunday, called so after Saint Thomas the Apostle, who wanted to place his hands in the wounds of Christ, before he would believe that He had risen from the dead. Thomas is like all of us. He is the “everyman”, who would one day be a great
The centrality of repentance in the life of a Christian 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