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Daily Meditations

Feast of the Holy, Glorious, and All-Praiseworthy Chiefs of the Apostles, Peter and Paul

06/29/2016

The divinely-blessed Peter was from Bethsaida of Galilee. He was the son of Jonas and the brother of Andrew the First-called. He was a fisherman by trade, unlearned and poor, and was called Simon; later he was renamed Peter by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who looked at him and said, “Thou art Simon the son of Jonas; thou shalt be called Cephas (which is by interpretation, Peter)” (John 1:42). On being raised by the

The Fruitfulness of Barbarism

06/28/2016

At the same time barbarism is increasing. In the first place, it is spreading from the third world: negatively, as the revenge of the revolted slaves, which is the cause of all the destructiveness of ‘cultural revolutions’; and positively as the witness, whether dionysiac or contemplative, of the irrational continents – including France itself, at whose heart there lies a third world of the soul, the spirit of the Celts, and that of Provence, among

The Apostles’ Fast

06/27/2016

By Father Stephen Freeman The Orthodox year has a rhythm, much like the tide coming in and going out – only this rhythm is an undulation between seasons of fasting and seasons (or a few days) of feasting. Every week, with few exceptions, is marked by the Wednesday and Friday fast, and every celebration of the Divine Liturgy is prepared for by eating nothing after midnight until we have received the Holy Sacrament. It is

Visitation of His Grace, Bishop Ilia (Katre) of Philomelion Sunday, July 3, 2016

06/24/2016

It is with boundless joy and fervent anticipation that we announce the visitation of His Grace, Bishop Elias of Philomelion, on Sunday, July 3, 2016 His Grace was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, USA, to Albanian immigrant parents who had arrived in the United States in 1920. During his youth, he attended the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George, whose priest influenced his decision to become a priest. During this period, he learned the Albanian

Digging into Our Spiritual Resources

06/24/2016

Digging into Our Spiritual Resources When someone hurts us, offends us, ignores us, or rejects us, a deep inner protest emerges. It can be rage or depression, desire to take revenge or even an impulse to harm ourselves. We can feel a deep urge to wound those who have wounded us or to withdraw in a suicidal mood of self-rejection. Although these extreme reactions might seem exceptional, they are never far away from our hearts.

SEEING BY TORCHLIGHT (Part III)

06/23/2016

Evagrius insists as strongly as St. Hesychios on the importance of cultivating this first stage of watchful awareness. In our discovery of inner stillness, we first learn a good deal more about our obsessive mental habits than about inner stillness. But Evagrius is convinced that this ordeal with thoughts is crucial to our contemplative training and that we should take every opportunity to observe all we can about these thoughts; which thoughts “arc less frequent

REAL PEACE (Part VI)

06/22/2016

“So when we examine ourselves and discover that our behavior is similar to that of Christ, we can rejoice,” Fr. Maximos continued. “Otherwise we should humble ourselves. Never justify ourselves. Whoever tries to justify himself or herself will never reach metanoia.” “How does one humble oneself?” Maria wondered. “Thank God there are plenty of opportunities in our everyday life to humble ourselves! The more difficulties we have in life, the greater the opportunities for humility.”

Keeping Death before our Eyes Every Day (Part I)

06/21/2016

Keeping Death before Our Eyes Every Day In his Rule St. Benedict advises the monks to keep death before their eyes every day. In saying this, he summarizes what we are told in numerous stories about the monks: they lived in the awareness of their death. This makes them inwardly more vital and focused. Thinking about death liberated them from all fear. Thus a young monk asks an elder: “Why am I seized by fear

Monday of the Holy Spirit

06/20/2016

The Descent of the Holy Spirit By Bishop Alexander (Mileant) The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost is described by the Evangelist Luke in the initial chapters of his book “Acts of the Holy Apostles.” It was God’s will to make this event a turning point in the world’s history. Pentecost, celebrated on the fiftieth day after the Jewish Passover, was one of the three major holidays of

Pentecost: The Descent of the Holy Spirit

06/19/2016

Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko In the Old Testament, Pentecost was the feast which occurred fifty days after Passover. As the passover feast celebrated the exodus of the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt, so Pentecost celebrated God’s gift of the ten commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai. In the new covenant of the Messiah, the Passover event takes on its new meaning as the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection, the “exodus” of men from this

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