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Thoughts on Service. Thoughts on Spiritual Sensitivity and Discernment

09/11/2019

By Michael Haldas Thoughts on Service, May 30, 2016 “God values self-control, a spirit of generosity, and a commitment to humble service…The trials and hurts we experience for Christ’s sake build our character, demonstrate our faith, and prepare us for further service to the Lord.” (Life Application Study Bible, 1 John 2:15,16, 2 Corinthians 11:23-29) “Whatever struggles we have on our plate will seem like nothing once we’ve given ourselves over in service to others.

Prayer: The Need for Intentional Silence

09/10/2019

By Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis, May 23, 2018 We all know the externals of prayer. Many people also pray in front of icons. Today’s reflection is about the need for intentional silence. Before we can encounter God, there is a necessity for silence and stillness. You might be wondering “it is not silent when we worship,” so does there need to be silence in order to encounter God? There has to be a sense of stillness,

Trust and Surrender

09/09/2019

Power, according to Jesus and the Trinity, is not something to be “grasped at” (see Philippians 2:6-7). I don’t need to cling to my title, my uniform, my authorship, or whatever other trappings I use to make myself feel powerful and important. Waking up inside the Trinitarian dance, I realize that all of this is rather unimportant; in fact, it’s often pretense that keeps me from my True Self and gets in the way of

The Last Banquet

09/06/2019

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 23, 2015 Once a week I teach a class at a local alcohol and drug treatment program. It is on the “spirituality of recovery.” Recently I shared Marmaladov’s speech from Crime and Punishment (at the end of this article). There were tears in the room. For many, the version of the gospel they have heard only condemns. Most of the men I meet want to get well, to get sober. Not all

Are you Over-Bearing? Knowing How to Teach.

09/05/2019

Are You Over-Bearing? The Superior must not reprove with anger. An angry or violent reproof does not set the brother free from his fault but it throws the Superior into a state of sin. That is why the Bible says: ‘The Lord’s servant must be … forbearing, correcting his opponents with gentleness.’ [2 Tim. 2:24-25] We ought not to be inflamed with anger when others have offended us, nor should we show ourselves too indulgent

The Nun Whose Monastery was the World

09/04/2019

By Fr. Michael Plekon “We like it when the “churching” of life is discussed, but few people understand what it means. Indeed, must we attend all the church services in order to “church” our life? Or hang an icon in every room and burn an icon-lamp in front of it? No, the “churching of life” is the realization of the whole world as one great church, adorned with icons— persons who should be venerated, honored,

The Container and the Contents

09/03/2019

Theologically and objectively speaking, we are created in union with God from the beginning (e.g., Ephesians 1:3-6). But it is very hard for people to believe or experience this when they have no positive sense of identity, no strong boundaries, and little inner religious experience. Thus, the first part of the spiritual journey is about externals, formulas, superficial emotions, flags and badges, correct rituals, Bible quotes, and special clothing, all of which largely substitute for

Sacred Cosmology in the Christian Tradition (Part V)

09/02/2019

St. Maximos the Confessor 1,400 years ago, St. Maximos the Confessor (580-662) brought the ‘Logos’ paradigm to new heights, creating an unsurpassed synthesis showing that all are representatives of one simple and supreme principle, the Logos Principle which underlies the deep structure of the cosmos. For Maximos, the perennial integrity paradigm of the cosmos was self-evident. It was the Church as the cosmic ‘living symbol’; the house of all horizons and perspectives. The Logos is

Sacred Cosmology in the Christian Tradition (Part IV)

08/30/2019

Logos and Creation The fundamental cosmic intuition of the Christian spiritual path is that creation is the manifestation of an order that at one and the same time transcends it, sustains it from within and manifests itself through it. This intrinsic, transcendent, immanent order is the Logos — the eternal son of God. The term ‘Logos’ in Christian theology marries, through the revelation of St. John’s Gospel and the Epistles of Paul, its Greek philosophical

The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist: A Little Great Friday

08/29/2019

Today is a little Great Friday, a second Great Friday. For today the greatest man among those born of women, John, the Holy Forerunner and Baptizer of the Lord, is murdered. On Great Friday, people murdered God, crucified God. On today’s holy great feast, people murdered the greatest of all men. It is not I who chose to use the expression “the greatest.” What are my praises of the great and glorious Forerunner of the

Blog

Thoughts on Service. Thoughts on Spiritual Sensitivity and Discernment

Prayer: The Need for Intentional Silence

Trust and Surrender

The Last Banquet

Are you Over-Bearing? Knowing How to Teach.

The Nun Whose Monastery was the World

The Container and the Contents

Sacred Cosmology in the Christian Tradition (Part V)

Sacred Cosmology in the Christian Tradition (Part IV)

The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist: A Little Great Friday

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