Our common enemy is not of flesh and blood Many of us are horrified to be witnessing the massive changes that are taking place in our world. It would seem that there are attacks against the very soul of Western Civilization, with Christianity taking the brunt of this attack. At
I am crucified with Christ In our life, every undertaking, every action, every thought, must be a reflection Christ in our life. The Lord will grant us the strength and ability to accomplish good works and attain holiness, if we cooperate with His grace. Prayer alone is not enough if
Counteracting the Dark Side of the Internet I often google topics that interest me, finding information that would have required hours in the library in the past. I’ve visited Russian monasteries, watched videos of chanters in Greek monasteries, viewed Orthodox patriarchs serving the Divine Liturgy, all on the Internet. I’ve
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
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