Spiritual Work and Physical Work The compartmentalization of the work week can wreak havoc on the inner life. It is easier to keep your prayers, spiritual reading, and focus on Christ, reserved for the weekend. Like so many, you struggle to keep spiritually grounded while at work. So many jobs
Category: The Morning Offering
of the Soul Be not Fearful for God is Near Sometimes we enter a dark night of the soul, where God seems distant from us. This is only an illusion, for God is closer to us than our own breath. These times are allowed by God to bring us closer
Pettiness is the Enemy of Clergy Pettiness is that sickness of the heart that can lead some clergy to constantly be on the lookout for anyone who might offend them. Ready at a moment’s notice, they are poised to confront the offender. Such clergy build up their low self-esteem by
The Unity and Continuity of the Church is 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 to a
Giving of Ourselves over to The Noonday Demon There are times when we are tempted by what has been called the Noonday Demon, and give ourselves over to depression. This tendency can often find life in an almost chronic habit of complaining. We complain about our health to the extent
A cold, sunny day at the monastery The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly There is a lot of good that can be discovered on line. A number of years ago I was charged by my archbishop with the task of addressing our Diocesan Pastoral Conference on the subject of
The Limits of Human Reason and the Knowledge of God There is the seen, and there is the unseen, the material and the immaterial. That which is material can be scientifically examined and experienced, the immaterial can only be seen and experienced spiritually. These are two worlds that are only
The Caregiver Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco 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.
Pastoral Conference, San Francisco, CA Put Aside Resentment The decision to forgive another person a wrong done to us begins when we decide to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge. To forgive someone does not mean that we forget what they did to us, for this may be
in the Church The Abbot’s Study Refrain from a Life of Super CorrectDriven by fear, there are people who leave the Church and head into schism. In Greece there are at least eighteen “Old Calendar” Orthodox churches who claim to be THE Church, not recognizing each other as canonical. In the