Love and charity go a long way Many years ago I was sitting in a Seattle coffee house, laptop open and working on correspondence. Two young college age men were sitting at a table about two feet away. One of them made a rude remark that was obviously meant for
Holiness comes only to those who struggle Not an hour should pass without taking time to examine our heart, for the hour of judgement can come at any time, and we must be ready to give account to God for our life. We must resolve to turn ourselves around, with
Everything proceeds out of God’s mercy There is a common misconception concerning the word “mercy”. The word mercy is used throughout the liturgical services of the Church, as well as our private prayers, and the Jesus Prayer, yet many do not fully understand the meaning of this word. It is
Complaining bears the fruit of bitterness Instead of complaining, do something to make a difference in your life, and the lives of those around you. Keeping focused on making a difference. If there is reason to complain, change your complaint into a positive action that changes your perspective. Complainers never
In a world of darkness and despair The Holy Hierarch-Martyr Metropolitan Benjamin of Petrograd, who in 1922 became a martyr of Christ to Communist terror, said at his trial…”I do not know what sentence you will pass upon me—life or death—yet whatever your pronouncement, I will raise my eyes upward
We must always live our lives in preparation Increasingly, many of us Orthodox Christians have been wondering if we are perhaps coming into the age of the Anti-Christ. Events around the world have created a sense of doom among many believers, what with the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic collapse due
Love and support your priest and bishop, just as they love you Bishops and priests are often expected to do far more than is humanly possible. Bishops, as fathers to their people, are expected to be superhuman. Judged if they are not. Parish priests feel pressures that are found in
The energy of the mind inside the heart In the patristic tradition the heart is the center of our self-awareness. This self-awareness is the energy of the mind inside the heart, something the holy fathers referred to as our “noetic faculty”. There is an important distinction that must be noted