The Three Disciplines: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving Jesus Christ called for a thorough conversion of our heart and mind, and a complete turning away from the old man (our fallen nature). The main act that begins this conversion is metanoia, which means thorough change of mind. This happens when we
God’s Love is Without Measure “We have all sinned and fall short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23).” We Orthodox often miss the mark in understanding and ministering to this world. We fail the words of Christ, “to love one another as God has loved us”, and forget we
You can better help your priest by understanding this one thing Parish priests feel pressures that are found in no other profession. The type of man that generally is drawn to the holy priesthood is one who has a heart for serving others. Priests are often expected to do far
Silence is the sacrament of the world to come When radio was first introduced on the American scene, an important element in daily living was to be lost forever. No longer was silence a part of everyday life. With families gathering around the radio, often listening to shows or music
We must submit to God’s All-Consuming Love If we cultivate true self-knowledge, and thus see our own weaknesses clearly, we will advance so that soul is established with the mind in the heart. We must remember, as we struggle to open the heart, that God is powerless before our human freedom.
Will the Church thrive into the twenty-first century? For Orthodoxy to thrive into the next century, we must see a return to the very roots of our faith, where the Church proclaims the Good News of Christ in all its purity, and centers herself in the mystical and sacramental core
Holy Tradition is the Memory of the Church The fact that protestants, by and large, have traveled far from the faith and traditions of the Apostolic Church, is testament to what happens when one departs from the “memory” of the Church. This “memory” is kept alive through Holy Tradition, from
An ignored heart is a lost heart It is important that we direct all our thoughts, all our actions, and all our desires towards a burning love for God. Our heart must become inflamed with the love of God, and all our intellectual and emotional striving must be directed towards
A search that must lead toward Absolute Good As we search for a meaningful life, we should avoid the mirages in our world that lead to short term fulfillment. Our goal should be to avoid the illusory pleasurable life that leads to despair and melancholy. A life centered on striving
A monastic as a police and fire chaplain It has been a great blessing for me to have been serving as a police and fire chaplain for the past eleven years. My interest in chaplaincy began when I was asked by a number of inmates to serve as their Orthodox