“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things..” (Phillipians 4.8)
“We saw what disappointment the disciples experienced after the crucifixion. We saw the fear and terror that seized them; but then suddenly [all was] changed. Hope replaced disappointment. Terror became manliness. Fear and trembling became unshakable conviction… We ask, 'What was it that changed them? What gave them wings to fly everywhere and preach the … [Read more…]
Hardly a day goes by without hearing the worn out question, “Why?” Just yesterday, while at my teaching assistant job, I heard a conversation held by several high school students criticizing God and the Church, proudly waving the banners of science and moral freedom. It hurt me to hear their doubt bordering on anger. I … [Read more…]
“Outer stillness, with discerning asceticism (discipline), very quickly brings also interior stillness (the peace of the soul), which is an essential preparation for delicate spiritual activity. For as much as one distances oneself from the world so much more is the world distanced from within you and worldly thoughts leave and the mind of a … [Read more…]
January is such a wonderful month; the great feast of Theophany following the joyous celebration of the Nativity of our Lord; new beginnings with the new calendar year; the full force and beauty of winter (despite the threats of El Nino!); the anticipation of Great and Holy Lent in the distant shadows of our liturgical … [Read more…]
“Today religion, or at any rate doctrine, is not with the majority of people a dominant issue and does not arouse major passions… Modern historians are, I think, retrojecting into the past {Church history} the sentiments of the present age when they argue that mere religious and doctrinal discussion cannot have generated such violent and … [Read more…]