Thinking upon our own death Saint Sisoes, the great ascetic, standing before the tomb of Alexander the Great, beheld the skeletal remains of one who was once covered in magnificent garments. Astonished, the saint mourned for the vicissitudes of time and the transience of glory, and tearfully proclaimed, “The mere
The Journey of Joyful Sorrow in the expectation of the Resurrection The main reason Christianity spread so rapidly following the Resurrection of Christ, was the power behind the resurrection. The truth of Christ’s resurrection empowered believers to joyfully embrace martyrdom, knowing that they would be joined in eternal bliss with
Those who hold authority must guard their hearts When people are hurting, and seeking professional help, they are vulnerable, and the trust they place in the professional makes them particularly open to exploitation. This is why we must have institutions and lines of authority that hold professionals accountable. We can
The purpose of the Church is for the cure of humankind The heart is not simply a natural operation that serves as a pump circulating blood. According to Orthodox Patristic teaching the heart is the center of our self-awareness, and the place wherein resides the “nous” (the eye of the
Complaining weakens our resolve If we are always complaining about how unfairly we are treated, we will have failed in our imitation of Christ, Who was abused by His enemies unto death. We should strive to reign with Our Lord by loving our enemies and never complain. Christ looked towards
Setting sensible priorities We all need to set sensible priorities, making sure we pay attention to our health, our family, and our spiritual life. We must not let our life be so full of work that we don’t allot time to focus on the things that bring us joy. We
The capacity to forgive and the capacity to love The capacity to forgive is directly related to the capacity to love, and it is in our act of forgiving others, that we find forgiveness. For it is in the turning away from our own self-concern, and our own
Pets as gifts from God Every evening I try to spend an hour or so in the library, sitting in front of the fire place. Our beloved Norwegian Forest Cat, Hammi, sleeps in the library/community room every night. Hammi is most happy when the entire monastic brotherhood is gathered together
Metaphysical Philosophy and Pure Theology There are only a few Orthodox saints who’ve been given the honor of being called, “theologians”. Saint John the Theologian, and Saint Symeon the New Theologian, to give two examples, were declared Theologians by the Church, because their theology was the result of their having
We are a microcosm of the universe With this Lenten journey upon us it is good to contemplate the profound nature of our earthy struggle. This life is not about all the temporal things that often consume our energy and attention, but about those things that impact eternity. Humans are