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Daily Meditations

Do Not Judge: Causes and Types of Criticism (Part II)

11/06/2015

He who is not aware of his own spiritual condition is spurred on by pride and criticizes others, and for this he is condemned by the impartial Lord. On the other hand, he who is aware of his condition is humbled, and with magnanimity towards his fellows, seeks the Lord’s mercy. Concerning a person who has attained self-awareness, one saint says: “He who has a sense of his sins is superior to one who resurrects

Shaping Life Spiritually (Part II)

11/05/2015

Every evening numerous dramas are played out as husbands and wives come home from work, bringing with them a chaotic mass of negative feelings from the office. They are glad to see each other, but they are full of thoughts from work. And thus there is no meeting of minds; people talk past each other and unload problems dragged in from elsewhere. Here it would be a good exercise to take the path home more

Metropolitan Kallistos: The Theologian’s Task is Never Complete

11/04/2015

By Seraphim Danckaert In a recent ceremony, Ss. Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute for Post-Graduate Studies in Russia bestowed a doctorate honoris causa on His Eminence Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia. The Metropolitan took the occasion as an opportunity to reflect on the nature of Orthodox theology. He also discussed his sources of inspiration, both among modern Orthodox theologians and among the Holy Fathers. After mentioning several figures, His Eminence described two key lessons from St. Gregory

Give Yourself to Christ

11/03/2015

Give Yourself to Christ I was worried and he counseled me. “Didn’t I tell you on another occasion that when you completely open your heart to the Lord, without reservations, the Lord will enter it and make it incapable of sinning? Did you understand? You become incapable of evil. When the Lord loves us in the depths of our heart He brings meekness and kindness. Even if we wish to get angry, to do harm

ON THE AVOIDANCE OF EXTRAVAGANCE

11/02/2015

It is a known fact that a person who practises the piano too zealously gets cramp in his hands, and a too diligent writer exposes himself to writer’s cramp. Dejected and downcast, the musician or author, just now so full of hope, must break off his work; in idleness he is exposed to many evil influences. From this example you should take warning. Fasting, obedience, self-discipline, watchfulness, prayer all make up the constituent parts necessary

Meditation and Worship (Part I)

10/30/2015

MEDITATION AND PRAYER are often confused, but there is no danger in this confusion if meditation develops into prayer; only when prayer degenerates into meditation. Meditation primarily means thinking, even when God is the object of our thoughts. If as a result we gradually go deeper into a sense of worship and adoration, if the presence of God grows so powerful that we become aware of being with God, and if gradually, out of meditation

WATCHFULNESS IN DIVINE WORSHIP (Part I)

10/29/2015

Looking carefully at the liturgical wealth of our Orthodox Church, we note endless points in which watchfulness is mentioned or commented on: in the daily sacred services (Midnight Office, Orthros, Hours, Vespers, Compline), in the prayers of the Divine Liturgy, in the Great Canon, in the hymnology of the Octoechos, the Triodion and the Menaia. The worship of our Orthodox Church is a profoundly contrite worship, a worship of returning into our true, deeper self.

The Soul (Part II)

10/28/2015

Does the Soul Exist? Since some people do not realize it quite clearly enough, it is necessary to demonstrate briefly that every human being has a rational soul. Some deny this truth, convinced that human beings consist only of their bodies. A good argument is the following. Only the human being manages to think of objects outside its own body and to meditate upon things it does not see. Furthermore, the human being reflects upon

The Nous

10/27/2015

Man, this superior creation of God, the pinnacle of creation is composed of matter and spirit, body and soul. His surpassing from the material to the immaterial, from the perceptive to the non-perceptive world is achieved with the power of the soul, the nous.1 The foundation of the faith of our Orthodox Church is that man constitutes the image of the Triune God. The Triune God is Nous (Father), Word (Son) and Spirit. The Nous

Holy, Glorious Demetrios the Myrrh-gusher of Thessalonica

10/26/2015

The Great Martyr Demetrios the Myrrh-Gusher of Thessalonica was the son of a Roman proconsul in Thessalonica. Three centuries had elapsed and Roman paganism, spiritually shattered and defeated by the multitude of martyrs and confessors of the Savior, intensified its persecutions. The parents of St Demetrius were secretly Christians, and he was baptized and raised in the Christian Faith in a secret church in his father’s home, By the time Demetrios had reached maturity and

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