Receive all temptations with a peaceful heart Each day brings on new challenges regarding the health of your soul. Those moments when a family member or coworker makes a remark that are meant to anger you, are those times you need to guard your heart. When those around you are
How can we possibly love everyone? “I am the light of the world, whoever believes in me shall not walk in darkness but shall walk in the light of life.” We all know this vivid image of Christ, given to us by Our Lord Himself, tells us that it is
I’ve been asked to repost this story from the past While sitting in Murchie’s Tea and Coffee sidewalk cafe in Victoria, B.C., with my friend Archpriest Basil Rhodes, having a cup of coffee and a lemon scone, a homeless man stop behind me. The man was staring at our food, so
We must become a more compassionate people “In this way will the inequalities of earthly states be leveled out at God’s judgment (Saint Theophan the Recluse).” It is right that we consider the teachings of the Orthodox Church concerning our duties to those who have less than we. Saint John
Living a simple life contributes toward inner healing Our monastery has a large organic vegetable garden, believing as Orthodox monks that we should give witness to sustainable living. Raising free range chickens, and eating only organic eggs, fits in with our overall goal of living as good stewards of the
Our Christian response to the poor amongst us Americans are witnessing the widest gap between the highest and the lowest income families since officials began tracking the data more than a decade ago. It is thus prudent for us to examine the words of some of the greatest of the
Comforter, Spirit of Truth, come and abide in us The historical fact of the Resurrection was to be proclaimed throughout the world because the Church had been given the power to do so by the Holy Spirit. We are able to give witness to this fact because the Father sent
The Descent of the Holy Spirit Fifty days after the Resurrection, while the disciples and many other followers of Jesus Christ were gathered together to pray, the Holy Spirit descended upon them in the form of “cloven tongues of fire,” with the sound of a mighty rushing wind, and they
Monks: The original men in black The monastic vocation is a special calling from God that is all about relationships. It is a relationship that involves community (the monastic brotherhood), but primarily revolves around the monk’s relationship with God. Monks are not holy men who are living lives set apart
When our prayer becomes dry When we find ourselves struggling with prayer, and feel that it has become dry and lifeless, we are sometimes tempted to stop praying. When our prayer has become a struggle, it is good to remember that God knows our needs, and even knows what we